Hi, July!

 A whole new month!  I'm still in my salad days  but a new month is still a new month.

I'm booked to take services every Sunday this month.  This is usual for the holiday period.  My friend E and her husband have a narrow boat so they are floating around on a canal somewhere.  I'm not taking all her services as she sometimes does two and I prefer to do just one although I will exert myself in an emergency.  I've also promised to take a midweek service.   Although this is an informal service in a village hall, it takes a lot more preparation than the Sunday jobbies.

A friend has written a book so I am hoping to go to the launch.  

I've got several lunches planned and will enjoy those.

I do not believe that I have shrunk with age, no matter what the ruler at the doctor's surgery says.  Rather, I think the distance down to my feet has increased considerably.  I have therefore decided that someone else can care for my feet for me and I have my first session booked with her.  I'm rather looking forward to that.  

I'm continuing to find UnFinished Objects to donate to the knitters' group stall, raising money to buy various thermal garments for homeless people.  I am rather ashamed of how many I have found but I am rejoicing in getting rid of them.   

So that was June!

 I know we Brits are for ever talking about the weather, but June has been amazing!  A bit chill in the middle then a heatwave at the end.

I took a cousin out for brunch to celebrate her birthday, met up with another cousin for coffee and cake and lunched in the local ice cream parlour with a third.  I like to stay close to my cousins: other than my nephew who has now moved from Bruges to the Welsh Marches, they are my closest relations.  

I've had "on-line morning coffee" with various friends.  One lives in Dorset and I doubt if we will ever again meet up face-to-face but these zooming jobbies are great.

I've been sorting my craft stuff to give materials to my autistic friend and Projects half Done to a sale of such items in aid of homeless people.  There's still a long way to go!

I've done "emergency" dog sitting as Holly's regular staff has been in hospital.

I led worship on just one Sunday but then led two services.

Early in the month I experimented with a couple of recipes: by the end making a sandwich was about all I could manage!

Jack has been a couple of times.  The garden looks good, I'm shattered.

I think I've kept a couple of ice lolly factories in business.

And while I was sorting things I found a picture of my mother and my sister, taken in June 1943.  G was born May 1943.  Being so untidy, I sometimes stumble across such things.

How about plan D?

 I was ready for today.  I had one very short service at 8am, (an offer made months ago to help a friend) then home for the day.  I'd decided that I wouldn't wear robes.  I rarely go without them, but I wasn't sure how long I would be vertical with them.  Country churchwardens are usually very accepting of such things.

Last night I was about to go to bed when an email arrived from a poorly vicar: could I take her service this morning?  Her two lay ministers were both elsewhere.  As number four on the list scarcely twelve hours before the service was due to start, I felt I had to say yes.  I was Plan D!

So today I went to two of my favourite churches.  Both stand in the most delightful churchyards.  Each has well kept areas around recent burials, but they also have areas which have been left to go wild.  This sign on one of them explains the philosophy.  I find it wonder-full.  

Mooching

Well, even mooching is hard work in this weather.  I haven't been here for ages but I have been rather preoccupied as a friend is ill and I am part of her support network, so you'll have to pardon me.  It seemed liked a good idea to do a post of somewhat random ideas.

Blogger continues to play up.  I think I'm finding most of my favourites but that's no thanks to my reading list.  I don't think my posts are appearing on other people's lists which is more than a little discouraging.  They take two or three days to appear on my own list.

This heat is pretty well unbearable.  I just don't do hot.  Cold, I can layer up but there's a limit to how many layers I can remove.    It's much too hot to sit in the garden.  I'm really glad of my new chair as I can relax and I've got a fan right next to me.

Oops.  I've just been checking a thesaurus and it appears that mooching has nuances of scrounging or freeloading for Americans, but this side of the pond it means rather aimless lazing around.  Read it the British way, please.

My knitting group is having a sale of UnFinished Objects or Projects half Done to raise money to buy thermal items for homeless people.  The organiser has been inundated with stuff as everyone wants to ditch the guilt so no offers, thank you!

Salad Days (2)

About the salads.

Cherimoya 

I'm trying to have as much variety as possible in my salads.  So far I've managed asparagus, banana, beetroot, blueberry, broad beans, carrot, cherimoya, cornichons, cucumber, , kiwi, lemon, lettuce, mangosteen, olives, peas, peppers, pineapple, potatoes, raspberries, red cabbage, red onions, rice, spring onion , star fruit, strawberry, sultanas, sweetcorn, tomatoes, watercress, white cabbage

Mangosteen

I've been lucky enough to find a new greengrocery stall at our local garden centre.  It's rather expensive so the lettuces, carrots, etc will be bought elsewhere but they have a few things I'd never tried before.  This week I had a cherimoya, or custard apple.  Can't say I was very impressed.  It tasted OK but there are large seeds to be spat out and the flavour wasn't good enough to compensate for that.

Star fruit

Last weeks I tried a mangosteen.  That was really nice but at £1.50 for a scant dessertspoon of fruit it won't be happening again any time soon.

I also had a star fruit.  I've had then before but not often bought them.  I thought they would look pretty on the plate.  They did.

Drawing June

Yesterday it was the monthly on-line drawing club with the WI.  Irises this time.    

I did a mindfulness session (also with the on-line WI) in the morning but I think this was probably more mindful than the mindfulness session.

Scams

 I go down a lot of rabbit holes on t'interweb.  Most are useless but I found one yesterday that I'd like to share with you.  

Take Five to Stop Fraud is (obviously) about protecting ourselves from scams.  They list over twenty different scams and give helpful advice on protecting ourselves.   They include three written-for-them Whodunnits, short stories inviting the reader to solve the crime by watching out for Red Flags.  

I've also been listening to some podcasts on BBC Sounds called "Scam Secrets".  Some scams are funny (well, not for the victim, obviously): try The Great Knitted Cardigan Scam!  All are serious and I'm getting better informed.  

Scams aren't funny and it's all too easy to fall for them.  Time spent informing myself is time well spent.

Hello June!

 

A favourite month for so many people, especially those who like to watch Wimbledon (not me).

I haven't much planned for June, really just a few meals out.  I'm writing that down so I can look back at the end of the month and probably say, "Well, that didn't go as planned!"

And that's the sort of diary I like.  It means that, if a lovely day is forecast, I can go to a nature reserve, or the seaside, or a country house with its gardens or whatever I like.  Or I can sit in my garden and listen to the birds.  

And if the weather doesn't make those happen I can undertake a project indoors.  

An empty diary month?  Nearly!  A lazy month?  Probably not!

(Just after I wrote that I read Kirsten's post for Saturday.  She has been inspired by Rustic Pumpkin  walking to raise money for a charity and she (Kirsten) has increased her step count.  My average in May was just 2188.  I want it to be 2500 in June.)