YESTERDAY WE went on a long bicycle ride in the countryside, up and down hilly roads past wild roses and babbling brooks all the way to the castle ruins. It's only our third or so time out on our new folding bikes, and I've discovered that I have an unrealistic, romanticised version of what it might be like to go riding in the countryside: I would wear pretty things and not get hot or tired and arrive at our destination looking perfect.
AFTER WHAT meteorologists have been calling the wettest May in 160 years, the rain finally stopped, perfectly in time for the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. We spent as much time outside as we possible could, both of us getting blinded by the sun, which we hadn't seen in months, both of getting a little sunburned, so unaccustomed was our skin, despite being coated in SPF30 ...
TODAY RESTAURANTS and pubs will be opening for indoor seating for the first time since the last lockdown. Until now, it has been only outdoor seating, and the weather has definitely not been cooperating. Our favourite sandwich shop in town, where we would order for pickup, has become a casualty of the pandemic and in its place, a new chocolate shop will open...
RANDOMLY CAME across a Pinterest board last week entitled "Beautiful Women". The man whose board it was had been diligently collecting busty blondes and me. It was a mildly amusing, slightly strange discovery to say the least. It's the early May bank holiday weekend here, and while we're being more lounge-y than normal for a Monday, we're back at work for at least part of the day ...
THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS are out, creating fluffy pink poufs in the skyline, against old stone cottages and cloudy spring skies and making everything bright and hopeful. Tiny fallen pink petals line the walkways and flutter lightly on breezes and while it's become a little chilly again, very warm weather is expected for May, so perhaps spring may be taking its time but is definitely on the way.
THE COLD HAS suddenly returned and it's not easy going back to brisk temperatures after having so many bright and warm spring days. The daffodils are fading and it's still technically the long weekend, but we've decided to spend some time back at work after a rather eventful few day of too much of everything.
HAVEN'T BEEN able to stop thinking about Sarah Everard since her disappearance the night of March 3rd. We have been consumed with the news for nearly two weeks now. There have been so many thoughts, so many feelings, a lot of sadness, and a lot of anger. I've been slowly trying to put things together into something (hopefully) coherent, but for now, perhaps it's best to take some time to reflect.
P JUST TOLD ME about a new app that has been touted as the new anti-Instagram app. The fact that there is now interest in Instagram alternatives could be a sign that it is losing its popularity. Either that, or with everyone turning away from WhatsApp in favour of more secure options, perhaps Facebook's reign our privacy and data is finally coming to an end.
Valentine's weekend was cosy fires and late-night conversations, glasses of wine in fluted glasses; music and films, and chocolate. P made an extra special dinner on Sunday and while other years may have been spent at dinner reservations at fancy restaurants, and despite the lockdown conditions, it didn't feel like anything was missing.
I'VE BEEN TELLING P that the key to life is finding things that work. There is a small dehumidifier upstairs that quietly collects excess moisture from the air every day and we now have drama-free internet connectivity. I ordered a clothes steamer that quickly gets out wrinkles on cotton duvet covers and heavy sofa slipcovers and it's just well, so satisfying when you find something that works.
AT THIS MOMENT, Mark, our internet service provider engineer, is upstairs installing our new service, replacing Alexa and a year and a half of a very slow and spotty connection once and for all, we hope. We are meeting this new year head-on and have decided to be a little more proactive with things, and so far it seems to be working. This week's links are late, late because have been wrapped in mundane administrative tasks that have piled up until they were no longer avoidable ...
SUNDAY was one of those bright winter days that highlights all the lacy frost patterns on the leaves of hedges and those that trail up tree trunks and along the sides of stone walls. It shone on the frosty blades of grass and the broken panes of ice beside puddles on the gravel road that leads away from the river ...
AT THE TIME of writing, Lockdown 3.0 has been announced in England for the foreseeable future, signalling an abrupt end to the holiday season that lasted a little longer than past years, simply because the new year fell on a Friday morning. We decided that we might as well begin work again today rather than on the first of January as other years ...
IN THE PAST WEEK, we ate a little too much, drank a little too much, and watched a lot of holiday films. I did something that was very strange to my being, a thing very foreign to me, a thing normal people refer to as relaxing. For the first time in a very long time, I did not work for five days straight. It was wonderful, actually.
Not certain why it took me so long to finally catch up on Pride and Prejudice, the 1995 TV series starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It was just added to Netflix this past July, so perhaps that is the reason. I've been watching an episode a day during cardio sessions on the exercise bike and had no idea it was so charming and can now see why the world has been swooning over Colin Firth ever since ...
