Hello there Friends,
I hope you are well. It's going to be one of those Sunday evening waffle posts with a random outfit photo thrown in for good measure.
Let's start with the outfit:
This outfit is one I would definitely like to wear for a swing-dancing social when/if we will ever be able to do those again. I've often seen girls wear a BRILLIANT big trouser look which I've not really ever been able to recreate (also I worry about getting hot because I sweat and go bright red when swing dancing so generally a sleeveless dress is my best way to go.
I wore this for school and felt really happy with the outfit. Sadly, for me, being rather pleased with it, it was a commentless outfit- no one mentioned it.
I started with this cute blouse which has a pattern of Langoustines on it. I LOVE lobsters so the print made me think of them. It comes from a label/shop called Compania Fantastica but purchased from Castle Collection in Leigh on Sea, one of my few new retail purchases in 2020. I realised that I could achieve the Swing-dance look by adding these big trousers from ASOS (purchased in 2017).
The Flamingo cardigan is from Collectif but I bought it in a charity shop in April. The shoes were Charity-shopped also in 2018.
Accessories were these 60's-style earrings from Lorelai LQ, my Erstwilder Lobster brooch and my HM Samuel cross necklace (worn for my wedding).
The weekend has been a fairly average one.
Friday night, I got home from school around 6.20pm to find CBC wasn't home and his phone appeared to be switched off. I assumed he was in the pub with work colleagues but as he'd done an all-nighter the night before, I'm always concerned when he is AWOL and not answering his phone. Around 19:05, I finally got a text to say he was on the train and would be home in 10minutes or so but at 20:10, when he finally came through the door, it transpired he'd fallen asleep on the train and ended up much further down the line. As trains are only every 30minute at that time of night, it was a long wait. Sigh. After finally managing to get him out the door to the Chinese to get some take away (I was tired, had no desire to cook and the kitchen was a horrible mess). As soon as we got home, I served up plates and he was asleep on the sofa. No amount of cajoling would wake him so I ate mine, watched a funny movie called 'Crazy Rich Asians" and then decanted all his back into the containers and put it in the fridge.
The next morning, we got up horribly early at 7am, after having woken up a few times. A frantic-putting together of outdoor clothes, making thermoses of hot drinks and making sandwiches over what we could find and stale bread and we set off to CBC's school arriving at 8.05am. We were there to help out with the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award expedition day. We were all supposed to camp on the school field on Friday night but, because of the wind, that was cancelled. It was a shame that, because of Covid measures, we couldn't go to the usual camp site in Danbury and walk around there, instead, the students had to do a walk based on the countryside around town.
The 20 groups set off in intervals. Our first job was to drive to a flyover and help supervise a check point. After all the groups were through there, we headed off to go to the next check point which was in a more rural setting, after redirecting a few straggling students who were heading off in the wrong direction. We stayed there a while and had a little meander around, chatted to some students. We were singing a round called Old Bill Jones and a dog walker walked past us. We just carried on singing and when the next group of students came, they told us the dog walker told them we were singing.
After that, we went on a little drive to go and check the students were ok. At one stop, we found some Three Cornered Leek which tastes very similar to Wild Garlic. I picked a load (ironically, when we got home, I discovered it is growing in my garden, and it is apparently incredibly invasive!) to make pesto out of.
Our final destination was the car park at the golf course where the students would be ending. Along with another colleague, we went for a circular walk, whilst keeping an eye on the GPS trackers as to when the first students would be arriving, and then headed back. We saw some horses, an open air cinema and a starling popping in and out of a nest in a tree hollow (I have a video, will post tomorrow) and then headed back. The students ended up arriving in dribs and drabs- we collected map cases, trangeas and GPS trackers. Annoyingly, the last 2 groups ended up being an hour late as they started heading totally in the wrong direction at the last minute and CBC had to go and rescue them. We finally got home around 5pm.
After a VERY welcome cup of tea and a shower, we got dressed up nicely (oh so nice to get dressed up for a good reason!) and headed out to the Thai restaurant which was beautifully quiet with only 2 other tables occupied (unlike many other venues in the area which were very full) where we had a really delicious meal.
When we got home, CBC wanted to watch Eurovision. I, knowing he would fall asleep pretty swiftly, suggested that it was cold and we should take the laptop up with us to watch it sitting in bed. I was correct and after about 3 songs, he was asleep. I switched the laptop off and went to sleep too.
This morning, we got up around 9am. CBC got dressed for cycling. I got some washing loads together and put them into the machine. After a shower, I joined church on Youtube (and last week's service which I'd missed). After that, I did some putting away, sorted the horrendous kitchen, hung up washing, put more washing in, emptied the compost caddy and did the weekly 'school teabag ripping up and putting on the garden' procedure and then mulched my strawberry plants and added some straw around them (which I've seen Sophie do in the past) to use the straw with came in my birthday hamper. I then put away clothes.
CBC and I then went to the local garden centre (he was very impressed at its size - it looks tiny from the outside) and we picked up 3 new plants and 125litres of compost, 110litres of top soil and a bag of horticultural grit as well as some Willow trellis to try and tame the Clematis along as it ripped down the previous metal wire one. There's also a greengrocers stall who sets up there every weekend and we bought some plastic-free veg from him- potatoes, asparagus (Kent), aubergines, sweetcorn, carrots, cherry tomatoes. Then a brief trip to the COOP for bread (and lots of reduced bits).
When we got home, CBC repotted the new plants, we put up the trellis and then we finally filled my birthday planter (which CBC recently put on casters) with soil. I then planted Gladioli bulbs in it. I plant to put wildflowers in it too and to plant my Dahlias in it (they're doing well in their individual pots. I also planted out my remaining Courgette plant- although I'm worried about its chances of survival in the bed (the other two look awful!), it's just too big for the pot now.
Finally, I plated up the left over Chinese from Friday and we ate our dinner watching some more Eurovision. He lasted 3 songs before going to sleep.
One week left of school!
xx