summers end

My favourite six months of the year start in June and end up round about my birthday at the start of January. I love early summer and the excitement of the end of term, even though I don't work in terms any more. I love summer drinks parties & balls & weddings. I love how it is usually hot in June and this year was no exception: a heat wave started on the day of our wedding and lasted for three whole weeks. I love the long drawn out evenings when swallows and bats start swooping around in the bluing sky. I love weekends sat in pub gardens, or the park, or lately, our own garden. Of the air ringing with conversation, with laughter. The taste of salt in the air, and on your face, of sand in the eyebrows and sun warmed skin after a day spent surfing, sailing or merely sunbathing. Of shorts, of flat leather sandals, of cold beer and cold Riesling and pimms and champagne and ginger beer.



Come the end of August and I love the nostalgic feeling of new beginnings, even if really it's far from it. The harvest is brought in, we collect fruit from the hedgerows and from the trees. The nights start to close in and there is a quiver of excitement in the air: for frosts, autumnal colours, the smell of woodsmoke and the comforting warmness of scarves and jumpers. Of long boots and thick, cashmere, over the knee socks. Of cooking, of cosy afternoons in pubs, around fires after trips to the beach, windswept and grey. Of going home, roosting, snuggling up after long afternoon walks around London, over Hampstead Heath, and more frequently, in the countryside.

I still haven't heard anything but I am starting to feel more hopeful. That the elongated break of the summer might be over and something exciting might be about to happen just round the corner. And if it isn't, there is plenty else to look forward to in Autumn.

{All images by Toast}

{Good job I have no money or else I might become a Toast only wearer this autumn...}

Cornwall

On Friday we head to Cornwall for the bank holiday weekend (along with many others, I don't for one moment imagine that the train there & back is going to be any fun. I foresee drinking warm tins of beer sitting on our bags between the carriages). The wedding & honeymoon used up the remainder of Husband's leave, so this weekend is our last chance for a long weekend before Christmas.

We spent two glorious weeks in Cornwall on our honeymoon. I can't remember if I ever showed you any photos, and my Internet connection is so tediously slow today I can't face trying to check. pmt, mosquito bites & an unfulfilled need to see what the future holds makes for a rather grumpy Rachel. In any event, I leave you with a few snaps from the honeymoon & a promise for a less grumpy blogger on my return in September.

{Photos either by me or Husband}

The blood, the sweat, the tears...

I've been having trouble posting here recently. I am waiting for news of a second interview that I went for that wasn't in London. I have done all I can. I now wait for news to tell me whether our move "to the countryside" is happening now or is still a faraway dream. One phone call & either we stay & I am jobless, or we go & we enter a time of commuting & spending weeknights apart. Neither option is fantastic but both have their pros. Half of me can't even believe we are contemplating leaving London when we love it so much, but the other half reminds me that to live, one must work. To enjoy living, one must enjoy their work, and so a law job it must be. Even if it is not in London.

So that is why posts have been few & far between. It's hard to come up with things when you are waiting for the phone to ring.

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On Sunday, I met Christina from Steady Happy. It was so great to meet her & her wife, Patty. She came to the vintage shop where I help out on Sundays and we chatted away for ages. That's one of the things I love so much about blogging. In any other life Christina and I would never have met: she lives in LA, me in London (for now). But we did, and they were fab. (and I am very jealous. they are off to Paris to see Faith no More). Talking to Christina about music made me realise I am somewhat of a lapsed music fan these days. Heavy metal used to be my favourite - can you tell? - but the last proper metal gig I went to was Machine Head about 3 years ago. (Bob Dylan, Neil Young & The Flaming Lips were all more recent but not so heavy...). So today I have been listening to some forgotten music whilst I work {'work'} and the words have started to come back.

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The Cat Report

The little black cat, otherwise known by us as Pushkin (to retain his anonymity, you understand), is starting to feel a little better. Yesterday he was only sick once, although he did get a little confused and think that my hip bone protruding through my shorts as I sat on a deckchair in the garden was a mouse and bit it.

Today he had a productive morning between the hours of 5.30 and 7.30am, batting Husband and I in turn until one of us got up to feed him. He has tried that trick every morning so far. Morning exertions over he has sat beside me all day and slept... in a ball, on top of a pile of magazines on the sofa.

Where, no doubt, he will remain until he refuses to eat his own supper, tries to eat ours and then squirms so pathetically comically wrapped in a towel when we give him his pills that I might get Husband to take you a photo...

Cupcake?

I have been a bad blogger of late. Too much to do and not enough time to do it in. I have been to two weddings, lots of birthday parties, away from London to two interviews and helping a dear friend through a break-up and flat move.

The cat has been poorly and we had to take him to the vets. We were instructed to cook him boiled chicken and rice, which we did and he wouldn't eat. This morning I jumped through more job centre hoops and when I came back the cat was sick, again. It was looking like a bad Monday.

So this afternoon I baked. Bread. Cake. Cupcakes. I roasted homegrown tomatoes and made sauce for the freezer. I picked blackberries for pie & cobbler. I picked figs for fig and goats cheese salad. I shelled peas and then Husband made risotto.

And so, bad blogger that I am, all I have to offer you today is a mocha cupcake with coffee icing. There were 3 but then Husband ate one...

Vogue photo shoot

It is odd that I was super excited when I discovered that a photo shoot for Vogue is happening next door to the shop where I am working. And that the stylist came into to borrow a safety pin from me?

They are shooting a portrait of someone eating cakes in the Bakery and it is killing me that it is next door and I can't go and see who it is...

Country Hotel Wedding

Husband and I attended the second wedding since our own this past weekend, which is why it's been a bit quiet round here.

Each table was named after a different type of sweets, which were in jars in the middle of the tables. Each place setting had a small sweetie jar with a name label attached and we were invited to fill up our own jar like pic'n'mix. Husband ate his during the speeches. I ate mine this morning and discovered Husband had eaten half of those too.

The rest of this week I am juggling vintage shop hours, internet research and interview preparation. Back as soon as possible with the rest of these wedding photos and some more of our own recaps.

In the meantime, I have some birthday cupcakes to ice...

{Photo by me}

red and white stripes

another thing that I have been doing this week is making a few new cushion covers for my old student style cushions.

I bought the red and white striped fabric in a charity shop earlier this year for £2.50 and have been waiting for a moment of spare time. These are the simplest of things to make: I literally hemmed the two short ends and folded the piece of fabric together like a pillow case, good side in, and sewed it together. And repeat times 3.

They don't really go with our brown sofa which was a hand-me-down from M's parents but is super comfy and long enough to sleep on, even if it is a dull colour. I am keeping an eye out for a textured white bed spread type thing in cream or white to cover the sofa, but until then, this is the sitting room:

Cat

Can it really be a week since I last posted? Seems it can...

Everyone is away on their hols so I have spent the last week feeding 4 fish and as of yesterday, looking after next door's puss cats. One is staying with us, the other (a stray who adopted them and may or may not be staying indefinitely) is fed outside the neighbours house.

To make things more interesting the black cat is taking some tablets for his blood pressure which require crushing and mixing with water and jelly from his food before being syringed down his throat with him wrapped in a towel. Takes two that does. So Husband has been coming home early to help me.

Turns out Husband also occasionally takes photographs on his phone, just like me. Only while I am sleeping. And also while I am trying to blog with Cat sat on my lap. Husband thinks I am a cat (main giveaways include sleeping lots and curling up in patches of sunlight) so it amused him to see the two of us getting on so well...

{photos by Husband. apologies for the quality as they were taken on his phone}