Saturday 17 July 2021

This Week.................3rd Saturday in July

Many Thanks for comments yesterday.  The greenhouse looks good, I was a bit worried that it would stick out like a sore thumb in the garden but because its at the side by the shed it fits in well. 

Such awful devastation caused by floods in Germany and neighbouring countries and so many people dead. I joked about the yellow weather warning for rain here the other day but it looks as if those poor people could have done with some serious weather warnings over there. Although how they would have prepared for 3 months worth of rain falling in just a few hours I don't know.....It's frightening.

Flowers on the table this week are a cheap bunch of  Alstromeria from Morrisons padded out with bits from one of Hydrangeas........... the one that looked badly damaged by frost in early May.

 
I've now gone two weeks without swimming. Tut tut! although I'm only 2½ miles further away from the pool than I was at the cottage it feels much further and the amount of lane swimming sessions were cut  plus the price has gone up so I just seemed to go off it all. School holidays start next week so they will have more family sessions and fewer lane swimming opportunities. Despite the ending of regulations they are carrying on the same with booking for swimming at set time slots and restrictions on the changing rooms. Looks like they have no intention of getting back to pre-covid normal.
 
I've read a couple of books this week but given up on  more. Someone commented on the library book photo post that they had just read .........The Lip by Charlie Carroll and enjoyed it but I found it was about a young girl who had watched her mother jump off a cliff not long after her father died (at least I think that was the story - I might be wrong!). Decided I didn't want to read about her hiding and watching people even if the book brings attention to the difficulty of living in Cornwall when houses are so expensive caused by the incomers. Also gave up on Elizabeth Gifford - The Lost Lights of St Kilda and Rose Macaulay - Crewe Train.
 
On the other hand I enjoyed a book that wasn't in the library book photo because I picked it off the shelves in Stowmarket library after a blog post by new blogger Hilary (Trips, Books and Hedgehogs).
The book was  by Ruth Hogan - The Keeper of Lost Things. Fiction published in 2017.  Anthony Peardew was once a well know author of short stories and has spent half his life collecting and lovingly caring for things other people have lost. As he approaches his last days he leaves his house and the collection to his assistant Laura - giving her the task of finding the owners of all the Lost Things. This is a gentle story of co-incidence and serendipity which I enjoyed.
The other book I've read was one of Donna Leon's crime fiction books set in Venice......Falling In Love. I came late to this series and have only read about 8 out of 30, the library have lots more in stock and I tend to request one when I'm short of ideas for crime to read.
Now I'm reading quite a fat non-fiction book(unusual for me) it's called 'Islands of Abandonment' by  Cal Flyn.about................. abandoned places:ghost towns and exclusion zones, no man's lands and fortress islands - and what happens when nature is allowed to reclaim its place.
 
It's always good to find people who like similar reading matter so I'm enjoying Miki's Blog "Farms on my Bookshelf"  She's written about Copsford, the book I thought was a lost treasure when I  found a copy  (it wasn't a lost treasure at all!) Here is where I wrote about the reprint.

It's handy being 3 minutes walk from the hairdressers as I can wash my hair before I go and then Kirsty can cut it wet which is so much better and costs me less than having it washed there. It needed cutting especially if the weather really is going to get warmer at last. I asked her what were their plans for next week when things could perhaps get a bit more normal, she said they've had no advice and really don't know what to do for the best and will probably go with whatever their customers want.

This week I am grateful for
  • No problems with the greenhouse
  • Enough fine weather to get the patio weeded
  • Good books to read

Have a good weekend..............a heat wave is  forecast  for Suffolk (that's 3 consecutive days over 27℃ apparently) .............so  I shall go to boot-sales early then stay at home, slap on the Factor 50 and return bronzed and tanned on Monday! 

Sue

27 comments:

  1. I don't have my hair washed or dried either - they always make me look like someone else! I like arriving/leaving with wet hair and saving some money! Envious of your greenhouse it's going to be so much fun. Keeper of Lost Things looks good, I might seek it out. My pool is stopping bookings from Monday and going back to free for all - not sure what that will feel like.

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    1. My hair is so short it dries very quickly and always on its own

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  2. A rarity where I can beat you in your reading genre - i have read all of Donna Leon's books.

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    1. I'm not sure if the library have the early ones, but still lots left for me to read

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  3. I absolutely hate going to the hairdresser. I only go when I absolutely have to nowadays, between taking more off than I want, ending up with a parting where it doesn't belong, poufy top and straight sides. Shudders. LOL

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    1. I don't mind going now it's just 3 minutes walk and we are almost neighbours

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  4. I enjoy all sorts of crime fiction though I tend to avoid books by American authors except for Michael Connelly who has as his protagonist Harry Bosch the detective. His later books feature stories based around defence lawyer Mickey Haller and new detective Renee Ballard. All are well crafted and there has not been a duffer yet. Maria

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    1. I am always on the look out for Michael Connolly books too. Bosch is on Prime TV and I wish I hadn't started to watch it because Bosch isn't as I'd pictured him and it's putting me off the TV series.

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    2. I don't know that Author - I will investigate

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  5. I love having my hair done but I am one of the lucky ones where the lovely Sharon comes to my house. It works so very well.
    xx

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    1. Very handy, I used to have someone come and do everyones - but that was many many years ago

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  6. I love my hairdresser and go every week. It is part of my wellbeing!

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  7. Donna Leon's novels have definitely been a favourite with me too. I enjoy immersing myself in her descriptions of everyday Venice with the subtle crime plots interwoven.

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    1. It often sounds very hot there - I like the food descriptions

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  8. I have 3 books on hold - waiting at my library for me to pick up. One is the latest by Elly Griffiths and another is Donna Leon's first in her Venice series! So thanks for mentioning her. There will be lots of reading time this week!! :)

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  9. I'm going to have to give Donna Leon a go. I seem to have read a lot of disappointing books lately.

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    1. I soon give up on anything I dont enjoy.......so many books......so little time!

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  10. I've read several of DL's books too. They are a good read. Thriving plants growing in your greenhouse will be blissful. Consider a single orchid in a hanging basket and it will add surprise and exotica to the greenhouse.

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    1. Next year it will have tomatoes, cucumber, aubergines and peppers - sorry, no flowers

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  11. I ordered a sample of the first book in Donna Leon's series, thank you for the recommendation.

    lizzy

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    1. If you like it then you are at the beginning of 30 books!

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  12. Flooding over such a huge area must be a very unusual, it's going to take so long to repair the damage and so many people missing, just terrible.
    Hope you stay safe

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  13. I have "The Keeper of Lost Things" on hold at the library but it will be a few weeks yet before it's my turn. I also have the latest Donna Leon on hold as I have read all her books and always look forward to the latest!

    I am so happy that I was finally able to get my hair cut after them being closed since November! Over here the first question asked are "Did you get your shot"? Did you get the second shot yet? Have you been able to get an appointment at your hair salon? And I love having it washed and dried there!

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  14. Hi Sue! Thanks again for mentioning my blog. I wonder what you thought of Copsford, did you like it? Just went out for a lovely bike ride between Rotterdam and Delft. We have been having freak weather with all the rain in the south (only 200 km away) and not a drop here.

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  15. Doesn't it feel good to swim? Now that I'm back at the lake I'm swimming every day (that isn't rainy!) And the books sound good! Happy week!

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