August

So here we are at the end of August. 
Just another couple of days left before that first day of school feeling hits and S stands by our front door for the traditional photo shoot and heads off on the start of a new academic year.

The weather has been good during the summer break. S has been out and about meeting up with friends at local parks, she's been to the cinema a couple of times, mooched around town, been trampolining, met my mum for lunch, had friends to stay and gone on a sleepover.
Plus in the middle of the holidays we had our own holiday when we took the Eurostar to Belgium.

I have well and truly fallen out of the blogging habit this month which is a shame as it meant I have missed the 10th anniversary of when I started recording our lives here at Jumble and Jelly. Although I don't post as regularly now as I did when the children were younger I can't imagine stopping because it's so lovely having a record of us and the things we do.

I am borrowing an idea I have seen on Pinterest and decided to write a round up of August using a series of prompts. An idea I can see me taking forward into the next decade of blogging.

This month I have been

Reading 

A French Affair by Katie Fforde. I took this away with me and read most of it on the train journey to and from Brussels. I wanted something which would be light and easy to read and I thought the title was very apt seeing as we had to travel through France.

How did it take me until I was 50 to read this book. I loved it. L-O-V-E-D it.

Watching


Serendipity, a fluffy rom com with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale as 18th August was Serendipity Day.

and Forgetting Sarah Marshall as it was Mila Kunis' birthday on 14th August.

Trying

To make a jelly in a seaside sandcastle bucket for Sandcastle Day. 
But the darn thing didn't fully set and ended up a quivering heap on the plate!

Cooking

I made lemon rice pudding meringue as a nod to Lemon Juice Day.
I made S some macaroni cheese and bacon sandwiches.
I also made honeycomb lasagne and ham and mustard hash. The lasagne will be making another appearance but the hash won't as although G liked this S didn't.

Eating

We made sure we included raspberries in our picnic lunch in Antwerp as this was the closest we could get for Raspberries and Cream Day.

Belgian fries. G liked them, S and I weren't that fussed. But the waffles. Well what can I say, we all loved those.

Drinking

Watermelon Day was on 3rd August and so I made sure to have some in to make a smoothie with it. I know this should probably be obvious because of it's name but I didn't enjoy it in a smoothie as it made it too, well, watery!

Doing

Silly things with my lovely daughter. It may not look it in this photo but she was laughing as much as me and G whilst we were posing for this!

Going

To Belgium. We stayed in Brussels and had day trips to Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges. We had a great time and I would thoroughly recommend a trip to Belgium to anyone considering it. 

One evening a couple of weeks ago we met up with some with friends and we took ourselves off to a local green where we enjoyed fish and chips for our tea. Their younger children played with S and we sat around chatting about this and that. A perfect way to unwind after a day at work and spend a relaxing summers evening.

On a great clue solving day out to Lymington. The treasure trail took us around the town as we worked our way through the puzzles. We got the answer wrong, but we didn't care as we had great fun trying to solve the mystery.

Loving

Rocky.

Let me introduce you to the latest member of our family.
He's 18 months old and needed a new home. How could we resist?
He was already named Rocky and of course we had to keep it but within a day or so we were calling him Rocky Road. Due to the fact he is always around your feet, especially when you are trying to walk down the stairs he is now being called Rocky Road Trip Hazard.

Feeling

Annoyed is how I was feeling a week or so ago after I discovered that now S's school will only allow girls to wear on of two 'official' style skirts I am expected to pay out £22.50 to purchase one.
The reason this new school uniform rule is being introduced is because other girls were wearing skirts which were too short and didn't comply with the rules. So now the school have decided that all girls have to wear one of the skirts they deem as acceptable. Never mind that many girls did wear skirts which were within the uniform guidelines. It makes me so cross.

Wearing

A dress which matched S's drink

and a bottle green scarf in homage of Word Scout Scarf Day.

Thankful.

This month marked the 10th anniversary of when we lost our dearest Dad. It feels utterly impossible that so long has passed since then. I still miss his dreadfully but will ever be thankful that he was my Dad.


Wondering

If I would find a lion suitable to photograph on World Lion Day and then finding this smiling face on a door not far from the apartment we were staying in.

Listening

I bought this Shaky album for 1 Euro whilst we were in Ghent. Bargain I'd say.
We used the cover for this year's take on Vinyl Record Day.
And in case you are wondering, yes that's me knelt against the washing line support in our back garden.

Although it hasn't happened as yet, in actual fact we're off to it tomorrow evening, G and I will be listening and warbling away when we go to Sing Along with Grease. Can't wait, what a way to end the month.

Patsy Cline and my Dad

The majority of the events I have chosen for this year long project are happy occasions, although that can not be said of today's choice.
On 5th March 1963 singer Patsy Cline was killed in a plane crash.

The main reason I chose this is because my dad really liked Patsy and in particular he liked the song Crazy.
I can't listen to that song without wanting to cry. 
Her voice, the lyrics, memories of my dad. 
Too much.
I much prefer Walkin after Midnight. 
As you can see from this photo Patsy embraced the cowgirl country and western image. I didn't fancy all those tassels so I went for this horsey scarf which echos the pattern on her skirt and is about as way out west as I want to go!

Last Thursday was St David's Day.
I had intended to go out in the garden and decide on where would be just the right spot for my new daffodil to live.
Then the snow happened.
Call me a wimp but I didn't fancy those weather conditions so I will be doing that little task this coming weekend instead.

Last August my sister T paid for a notice to be put in the local paper on the anniversary of when our dad died.
Unfortunately they printed some details incorrectly.
My sister complained and they refunded her money.
She had suggested we go out for a meal one evening, but trying to find a date when the three of us are free has provided more difficult than you would have thought.
So she decided to use the money to buy each of us one of these daffs to have in our garden.
I thought it was a really lovely gesture. 

Remember, Remember

Thursday was All Soul's Day.

A day to remember those we have loved and lost.

A candle on the mantle was lit for both mine and G's dad.

.

Friday was Fountain Pen Day. 
Last year I bought one of these disposable fountain pens in Peacock Green for writing out my Christmas cards.
I like to make card writing into it's own little occasion.
There should be nibbles and a Bailey's to hand and Christmas music playing, all helping to create the right kind of atmosphere.
I have a set of alphabet stamps and some festive stamps for addressing and decorating the envelopes and for this year I have chosen a new pink ink pen. 

Saturday was the birthday of Marguerite Patten. My brother-in-law bought me this set of cookbooks for Christmas a few years ago and they really make for interesting reading. I have made a few things from them and they really came in useful when both the children needed to take in food for a WW2 tea party when at junior school.
My plan had been to do a spot of baking yesterday but I'm trying to do some decorating as well as everything else and, well, something had to give and in the end it was the baking.

Talking of decorating I was painting our bedroom floor today and in the background I had on the movie Leap Year, which I know I have mentioned on here before.
Today is Love Your Red Hair Day and as Amy Adams is a natural red head and I love this movie it seemed like a good choice to go with.

Bats and Bows

27th August 2008 was the day my wonderful dad passed away.

For the past couple of years on this date (and also in February on dad's birthday) my sisters and I have met up for breakfast.

This is exactly what we did yesterday morning before going to the church with some flowers.

I had planned to sit down in the evening and cut out some bats in a super duper effort to be organised for Halloween as it was bat night but as the day went on I began feeling more and more melancholic and it just didn't happen.

Never mind, still plenty of time to get organised.

Today I have raided my daughter's jewellery collection for the perfect accessory to wear for bow tie day.

Very happy to wear this today because as any self respecting Dr Who fan knows Bow Ties Are Cool.

P O S H

An exhibition entitled Port Out Southampton Home has been running at the Sea City museum for the past year and is due to come to an end in a couple of weeks.

With G being off with me today we thought a little jaunt into town for lunch and then a wander around the exhibition would be just the thing to make sure we caught it before it closed.

I love the old advertising posters. They are so brightly coloured and 

some are just so stylish too. The exhibition told the history of the liners from their beginnings in the 1890's through to the modern day and was really very interesting. 

I must admit the section covering the 1920s and 1930s was a bit of a draw for me as everyone and everything looked so very glamorous. 
Not sure G would blend in with the in crowd with his Alterbridge t-shirt and jeans!
We did have a game of deck quoits and I'm pleased to report I won.

My dad was in the Merchant Navy and worked with Tommy Steele. He said when he wasn't working he constantly played his guitar and sang, Dad said it drove him mad!

A large and fascinating section of the exhibition was about the food provided on board. On display were a dozen or so menus from different ships across different decades. 
There was so much choice.
Had I been a passenger on R.M.S Berengaria on April 18th 1935 I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been choosing the fried calf's feet for dinner.

I can never resist the lure of trying on dressing up clothes when they are provided, in amongst all the reading I think it's fun when there are some parts which are a bit more interactive.
I think G looks quite good in this cap.

Where as I look fairly ridiculous in my posing!
All jolly good fun though..

On the way back to the car we had to walk past the shopping centre and discovered a new temporary art installation. Huge plastic snails. They reminded me of counters in a child's board game made super-sized. 
We need to go back for another look before they go in June.

8 years

This handsome little chap is my nephew's dog. His name is Ollie. He is just over a year old and today is the first time I met him. He was a gift to J from his girlfriend L and although he belongs to J Ollie spends most of his time with L and her family.
But this weekend he is at my sister's. My sister's home is the house we lived in with my dad when we were teenagers. We had a dog back then too, his name was Ben and he was a big softie who adored my dad.
Being in the back garden of our old home playing with a dog was an appropriate place to be this morning as today marks the 8th anniversary of when our lovely dad died.
8 years. It doesn't seem possible. Our dad was there for us whenever we needed him, a pillar of support, full of love and the biggest hugs to make you feel safe when the world seemed to be against you.
What can I say, he was the best, loved and missed but forever in our hearts.

Holyrood Part 4

Way back in September 2012 I shared photos of some new art work at the Holyrood council estate here in Southampton.

Previously blank walls by the communal entrance on a number of blocks of flats had been transformed with tiled snap shots of the City's history.

Whilst in town a month or so ago I spotted some new additions and so I made sure I had my camera with me when I made a flying visit there on Saturday.

Three of them are dedicated to the sea.

In August 1620 the Mayflower and the Speedwell set sail from Southampton for America. The Speedwell sprang a leak and they had to stop for repairs. When she was deemed unseaworthy the Mayflower continued the journey alone.
Depicted on the left is Southampton's Mayflower Memorial.

My favourite by far though is the Queen Mary. My lovely dad worked on this liner and served some of her rich and famous passengers.

This final one depicting different forms of transport is very zingy in it's yellow and orange tones with the brilliant splash of red from the tram and bus.

                                                                                          

I think the whole collection is wonderful, such an innovative way to show the heritage of our City in a vibrant and engaging way.

Lately

Let's have a little catch up of things which have been happening chez J&J shall we.


From the kitchen we have produced three things never cooked in there before.
S made sweet potato cookies. She decided to bake these as part of her homework on Zimbabwe from a traditional recipe found online, earning herself some words of admiration from her teacher. Very nice they were too.
I made British style patatas bravas, which earned a mixed reaction. One loved it, one tried it but didn't like it, one refused to eat it. Sound familiar? 
The last new thing on the menu was a whipple-scrumptious fudgemallow delight for Roald Dahl day. Oh my. 

I was very pleased when Friday evening rolled around and I was home with my feet up. It had been a busy week. I really felt like a glass of wine but we didn't have any in. What we did have cooling in the fridge was a Snowball. I had bought them a couple of weeks ago as it was something I had wanted to try. Out came the very infrequently used champagne saucers, the drink was poured and very quickly quaffed. I thought it was delicious. This now begs the question, do I try Advocaat on it's own? Any advice? 

Whilst (kind of) on the subject of glasses I wanted to show one of my latest purchases. 
I had an afternoon out with my sisters at the end of August, it was to spend time together on the anniversary of when we lost our dearest Dad. 
We went to a vintage and antique emporium where I found this little gem. It's now my glass of choice for my morning orange juice.

I've been very organised and sorted out all of C's birthday presents from the stash of items I have accumulated for her. I have a fair amount of things towards her Christmas present and for her birthday in October I think I counted 15 items for our budget of £10. I shall be wrapping them soon and will make sure I photograph them as I go. I have also decided on the gift for my other sister T whose birthday is in November and I'm really pleased with the theme running through it. This candle is part of it and when I have bought all the items I'll share it here.

Last week at book club our read for August was given a thumbs up by all. Black Hills was something a bit different and an enjoyable read but I felt it was about 100 pages too long, I got a bit bored with the two main characters trying to sort out their relationship when you know how it's going to end. Also whenever I looked at the cover I started singing 'Take me Back to the Black Hills, the Black Hills of Dakota, to the beautiful Indian country that I love' from the film Calamity Jane. And as much as I love Doris Day and that movie I was getting fed up with it!
In contrast this month we have The Spinning Heart which is only 160 pages long. Or should that be short. This should mean I have some time to read another of the books G gave me for my birthday. 
I have read the Phryne Fisher one already. G bought me that because we were hooked on watching the TV series on Netflix which was hugely entertaining. My next one will be The Year of Living Danishly.

We didn't go booting this weekend and the weekend before we only went to provide a bit of support to my mum and sister who were there selling so I only had time to have a mini wander and make a couple of purchases. A checked shirt for T and a sequinned top for S.

The lady who was on the pitch next to my sister didn't want to take any of her things home and gave me this length of Christmas fabric which she said is used to hang from a mantle. She said it had originally came from Denmark. I think I may wrap it around the metal base of the tree to hide it's ugly legs.

We were hoping to go on a wildlife walk at a local nature reserve at the weekend but when we got there for the advertised time we found it had already started. Weekends over the next couple of months will probably be a bit quieter as there seem to be less events on as we head into autumn, so it was a little disappointing we had missed this one. 

A Castle and some Chocolate

What a lovely weekend we've just had.

We took a little trip out on both Saturday and Sunday.

No prizes for guessing we took the train each day. 

Our destination on Saturday was Portchester for it's annual gala.

The event is held in the grounds of the castle which can clearly be seen from the train station.

Portchester is just a couple of stops up the railway line from our recent day out destination of Fratton so I thought it only right I should wear one of my purchases, a floaty summer skirt.

As mostly happens on our days out, our first mission was to buy some odds and ends to make a picnic lunch. I tend to take cups, plates and cutlery and some spread to butter sandwiches with and then we buy what we need when we are out. This way we aren't carrying lots of extra weight with us.
The little shopping precinct was busy with shoppers although it has to be said is one of the most unattractive we've been to. 

The road leading up to the castle was jam packed full of the prettiest houses and cottages

and a few of the owners had entered into the festivities of the day by decking out their homes with bunting and flags

As always there were the extra little things which caught my eye and captured my imagination....

a round window above a front door

the name of this cottage

the classic combination of red, white and blue. And if you have to have the yellow parking sign outside your home why not include a dash of yellow in your planting in an attempt to make it blend in a bit more.

the prettiest little patch of cottage garden with picket fencing, a brick wall and a wonderful lantern, all against the backdrop of a white washed wall.

Door knockers. Love the one on the left the most.

Once we were at the castle we found a spot to eat lunch and then went over to the arena where a local bagpipe band were playing.

Just like our last couple of outings with S she had again bought along a friend and the pair of them sat down to watch a Punch and Judy show. All I could think about was the recent book I had read at book club, Rivers of London, where the murderer was able to change his appearance so he looked like Mr Punch. It was a good read and enjoyed by all the group as far as I can remember.

The next event in the arena was a group of belly dancing ladies. They all looked so happy as they danced and they were so graceful, it was a delight to watch.

Portchester has couple of walks I am interested in doing but these will have to wait for our next visit. Further exploration of the castle will also need be done then too. T and I went there about 10 years ago with my aunt and two of her daughters and they had lots of fun that day.
Some days you can do more with the children and some days you have to settle for doing less and Saturday was definitely a doing less day.

Sunday was Father's Day. 
G said he didn't want any fuss made, no presents bought. 
I knew the children wanted to get him something though and when I saw this idea on Pinterest I hoped it would be a good compromise.
We used an old roll of wallpaper to write on, T and S taking turns to write alternate sentences.
G was thrilled with it.

I had been to the church in the morning and left some flowers for my dad,  I had a little chat with him and told him how much I missed him.

It wasn't until midday we set out on our trip for Sunday. We were off to Salisbury.
A short walk from the station is Queen Elizabeth gardens and here we were meeting G's mum and sister.

The parks are set in a very picturesque location and of course they give a fantastic view of the Cathedral

but it wasn't the view we were going for, it was the free entertainment. On 5 Sundays in the summer the council have organised music in the park concerts and the first was courtesy of Casa de Samba. The park was packed with people and the group made sure everyone was put into a party mood with their upbeat music.

This summer Salisbury is holding an art trail and to coincide with the Magna Carta celebrations barons are the theme.

There were a couple in the park but, for now,  I only took a photo of this Hello Kitty one.

I had already found out about this a few weeks ago and had noted it down as a day out possibility for the summer holidays.

G's sister is going to be in Salisbury at some point over the school break and suggested we come and do the trail whilst she is there then we can all do it together. 

A good excuse for yet another picnic in the park I reckon.