Hothothot

We have been down to visit Daughter 2 in London. We were supposed to go the previous week, but postponed because it was SO HOT, but actually it was pretty hot when we did go. We didn't do anything Londony, because who wants to be even hotter? But we did the odd useful task, such as a bit of gardening (me) and erecting a guinea pig run from a kit (Mr L). 

This was popular. 

I had my 76th birthday on July 4 (happy 250th, USA) and Daughter 2 laid a fancy table, with my mum's tablecloth and Mr L's mum's china, on orders from Littlest Granddaughter. 

I admired Daughter 2's tissue box and wondered if I could make a quilt of it. 

There was scooshing of water to cool down. 

And Daughter 2 and Mr L put up a sort of sail (this was it in its unfinished state) to shelter their kitchen windows from the sun. Not sure it's a long-term solution. 

When we got home yesterday, bollards celebrating Edinburgh's 900th birthday had sprouted in the streets. Evidently it's 900 years since King David 1 established us as a burgh in 1124 - which makes it 902 years ago, but never mind. Maybe we're trying to be slightly rude about the relative youth of the USA? Anyway, I'm sure Edinburgh was a (small) town long before that. Our oldest surviving building dates from 1130-ish. 

It was relatively cool here yesterday, but today it got up to 26C-ish, which is 79F-ish - much too hot for me. But it's not too bad in the house. Too hot for gardening, but I took some photos. Everything is flourishing. 

Including the weeds. I don't mean the clematis above, which I love. It's mostly the little willow herb, which hides among the plants and suddenly pops up with a million seeds. It's pretty enough, but not in my garden, thank you. 

 

Family stuff

For Mr L's birthday, a few weeks ago, Son and Mrs Son gave him afternoon tea on a steam train, above. 

We did it on Tuesday. This is the afternoon tea. 

And this, for I think only the second time ever in my blog (which is now over 20 years old, good grief, why do I do this?) is me. I don't like having my photo taken, hence the rabbit-in-headlights smile, and it was both very hot and very windy, hence the Einstein-like hair and the baggy shirt. 

Minimalising Monday has got a bit behind, but last Wednesday we gave our garden umbrella to the daughter of friends. We bought it during Covid, at the point when you were only allowed to be visited in the garden - and this coincided with nice weather. But mainly it's lived under the bed. Neither of us sits in the garden very much, and if we do, we don't bother with the umbrella and just sit in the shade. As above. Whereas their daughter has just bought a house with a garden, and wanted one. Done!

This, randomly, is a photo of my lovely granny and grandpa, Ella (Isabella) and Tom Campbell. Well, to be frank, my granny was lovelier than my grandpa, who was good at heart but could be something of a curmudgeon at times. My granny was an absolute pet. She had a sad early life, but was so contented with everything in her adult life and never said a cross word. This photo had gone brown, but SIL 1 used the magic of electronics to restore the colour. 

The year has turned, but the days are still long. This was taken at ten at night. 

Minimalising Monday this week - slim pickings, but it's something. Two perfectly nice pots that somehow never get used. 

We took the Edinburgh Two to the Glasgow Science Centre today. Look at the size of Big Grandson! He'll be fifteen next month. He doesn't really need to be taken anywhere, but we do like having them around. 

 

The things of Christmas

I have been SO busy arranging the carol concert - but it all went well. We made £6000+ for our funds - well, minus quite a lot for expenses - and £1000+ for charity, so that was good. We probably won't sell as many tickets for our next concert in May, so a little cushion of profit will help to fund that one. Then we do an all-for-charity Come and Sing in June and after that my 3-year stint as chair will be over nearly two-thirds done. Hurray. 

Meanwhile, other people have done other things. Littlest Granddaughter made a robot (above) for her best friend - designed by her and partly made by her, though her mum helped. 

She and her mum and the other grandparents also went to see the show her dad is in, in Birmingham, and she sat on a throne after the show. You can see how she's posing. I hope she's not going to be an actor. I mean, we need actors. But corporate law probably pays better. 

And Biggest Granddaughter played the part of a charger in a panto at church. I didn't see this show so don't know the context. 

I'm off down to London again tomorrow to visit Daughter 2 and do some dishes. When I get back, I'll start concentrating on things such as decorating the house, currently a bit bare. 

 

Guests

It's mid-term in England so we've got visitors - Daughter 2 and Littlest Granddaughter. 

She has been very busy. 

Playing with the dolls' house, 

making apple jigsaws and then eating them,

playing with slime. (We went to the corner shop to get the newspaper. I handed over the coupon and LG saw a bottle of slime with an alien in it. "Sorry," I said, "I didn't bring any money with me." "Oh," said the helpful chap behind the counter. "you can pay me tomorrow." Oh, great... So what could a granny do?)

The Edinburgh grandchildren came over as usual on a Friday, so Littlest Granddaughter wanted to make Biggest Granddaughter a birthday cake (her birthday is in a couple of weeks, but LG won't be here). It had to be in the shape of a heart because LG loves BG SO MUCH!

 

Essex

We've been away again - do these people never stay at home? - this time down to Daughter 2's in London. We visited Forty House, a Jacobean (early 1600s) house in Enfield. The grounds haven't been built on, so there's a 273 acre estate with a pond, parklands, a big walled garden and so on. Amazingly, it's now owned by Enfield Borough Council and is open free to the public. The house itself is large by most people's standards but not uncomfortably huge - a lovely family home. Its most recent owners were the Parker Bowles family - Queen Camilla's former husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, grew up here. Lucky chap!

It's partly furnished, not with the original furniture, and this room has clothes for dressing up.

A very realistic elephant. 

The queen surveys her policies. (I've just looked up "policies", meaning the managed estate round a house, and discovered that this is a Scottish rather than a standard English use of the word. So I suppose it's wrong here, since the house is in England. But I like the grandeur that the word implies.)

The gardens are stunning, even at this time of year. 

Later, I drew a picture of Smallest Granddaughter and she drew one of me drawing her. I look encouragingly young and much smarter than in reality - though somewhat naked. (I was not.)

The next day we visited the little medieval town of Waltham Abbey. You can easily imagine what it was like 500, 600 years ago or more.

Small Granddaughter helpfully holds up this somewhat crooked house. She was dressed as a rabbit only temporarily; she became rather hot.

The town has a very pretty setting on a river

and a beautiful church, the remains of the abbey which was (inevitably) demolished by Henry VIII. I wish he hadn't.

Then we went to a children's farm, with lovely views over the Essex countryside. (Why do we live in a town?)

There were rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, meerkats etc. 

And many many pumpkins, and really good playparks. 

It was a lovely weekend. But now we're home again. 

We have (mainly) had fun

We have been quite busy. Summer has at last arrived, so we've been in the garden a bit. 

And played with Lego and other stuff. 

We have trampolined with the cousins (well, I just spectated),

played in playparks, 

visited Jupiter Artland with family members, 

where there is art in the woods

and there are huge "landforms" to run around

and a weird sort of statue thing, which the kids always like (surprisingly).

We have visited the beach

- and Vogrie Country Park, also with the cousins. 

So we have not been idle. We have had fun, and some of us have had ice cream.