Wednesday 1 July 2015

Here Comes Summer

 Well, we're nearly there. Term ends next Wednesday and it can't come soon enough for any of us. The last few weeks have involved many university open days - some more successful than others - along with the usual end of term events and deadlines. Daughter number 1 came back home after finishing her Law degree at Oxford - she was so exhausted by the end that I think she was just relieved that it was all over. I seemed to be more upset than she was as we emptied her rooms for the final time. The last 3 years have just flown by and it only seems like 5 minutes since we were dropping her off for her first term. I was so lucky that she went to a uni only 30 minutes away and it was never any trouble to nip up with forgotten items (coats for the Michaelmas term and bedding being the most memorable!) or just to see her and take her out to lunch. I'm not sure I'll be able to do the same for E, especially as her current favourite appears to be Durham which took us a good 6 hours each way at the weekend.
Anyway, here are a few photos to sum up the last week or two:
Admiring the views from L's rooms for the last time:

 Having Vegetable Dumpling Soup for lunch at our local Tea Bar:
 L finally being able to relax with a non-Law book and falling asleep in the sun:
 Buying a Medlar tree for a friend's birthday:
 Having an Origami moment with the girls - mine is the deformed yellow one!
 Durham Cathedral:

 Enjoying a Lebanese meal before heading to our B&B for the night:
 Getting a brief glimpse of a ripe strawberry before E swooped in - I can net them against the birds but have yet to find something to keep daughters off!
 Enjoying this week's blooms:

 Going for a walk on Greenham Common with L. These cows looked very happy in the shade:

 Making Elderflower Cordial. Our tree hasn't recovered from R's pruning last year and only had a few blossoms right at the top where I couldn't reach. These were overhanging the wall of a local church - I hope they don't mind!

Finally, R is having a go at making some wine. Meet Morrison (as in 'Vin'!) which is currently fermenting quietly in my kitchen. It's quite companionable sitting there glugging quietly to itself. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Like the rest of the UK it has been rather hot here for the last few days. It does feel muggy today though and the barometer is swinging round to rain, so I'm hoping for a storm - I do love a nice bit of thunder. I'm just off to bottle my cordial then do the ironing and watch a bit of Wimbledon. Enjoy the rest of the week.
Toodle Pip for now. x

12 comments:

  1. Wow! Your daughter had a view to dream for! Dinner looks yummy. Enjoy the wine - and the warm weather - too. We had a few spots of rain the other day. It caused great excitement. We NEVER have rain in June and it was a lovely welcome break from the hot summer weather.

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  2. My eldest, Molly, has just finished her first year, while we too have been doing the rounds with her sister, Rosie. Three down , three to go! One of her options is Cambridge, only 40 mins from us, so if only for that reason and for its prettiness it would be lovely if she went there! Your elderflower cordial looks lovely; I should have a go before the flowers are over. And pick my gooseberries for the same reason. We've only had a couple of strawberries so far, shared evenly!! We used to make wine before we had our girls. I hate to say it but it was never very nice; hope yours is better! Have a lovely week. Jen

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  3. How lovely that daughter has finally finished her law degree, a well deserved summer rest for her! She did have a lovely view! Good luck to daughter no 2 finding the perfect uni, I hope it's not going to be too far away.
    That veggie soup with dumplings looks interesting as does your meal, you do enjoy some delicious meals for sure....
    Here's to your wine and cordial working out!xxx

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  4. Congratulations to your daughter on finishing her degree. I'm sure she'll enjoy a restful summer now. Her view was beautiful, lucky girl. I hope your second daughter finds just the right spot for herself.

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  5. Congratulations to your daughter for graduating. I can see what a wrench it was leaving that view. Hope you're not melting in the heat! Enjoy the rest of the week.

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  6. Well done to your daughter - my oldest has also just finished her degree, and I don't know where the time has gone. Durham looks lovely. I've never visited, but would like to one day. I love your elderflower cordial, so pretty and I'm sure it'll be delicious. P used to make wine and beer and I remember the bubbling demi-johns. I look forward to hearing how your wine tastes :)
    Cathy x

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  7. Congratulations to your daughter!!!! That will have been so much hard work - hopefully now she can have a rest before whatever comes next. And of course not forgetting the support crew with all the dashes to supply forgotten bedding etc! Good luck with the choice for daughter no. 2. We were lucky in that our son went to Glasgow, so just 40 miles away (tho had looked at unis in England), and daughter is at another ancient Scottish uni an hour's drive away, tho had offers from Durham and York, and Durham would have been her second choice. We went to the Durham open day on what was the hottest day of 2011 - perhaps that's why it wasn't her first choice - all that heat was too much for us Scots! It was lovely, tho, and she was nearly sidetracked into a different degree choice because of the personal tour we got from a professor in the Archaeology department - very student-focused.

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  8. Congratulations to your daughter, that really is wonderful. I hope that whatever the future brings for her it will be wonderful!! Hope that the cordial and the wine are great too!! xx

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  9. Congratulations to your daughter! Hope you all you have a wonderful summer.
    Amalia
    xo

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  10. Congratulations to your daughter on graduating. That was a lovely view she had, I'm sure she will miss it. The Lebanese meal looks delicious. I think elderflower cordial is delicious, hope you enjoy it. Amazing to see those cows on Greenham Common. Hope you have a great weekend. Barbara xx

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  11. Well done to your daughter on finishing her degree. I enjoyed all your photos here, thanks for sharing.
    Marianne x

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  12. Hi friend! I have been away from blogging for a bit so I am just coming around to visit you now. How wonderful that your daughter has finished school.....tell her congrats! I can only imagine how fast it all does go by. Looks like you guys are enjoying every second of your time together! Loving the shots! Happy weekend to you! Nicole xo

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