The best is yet to be

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in his hand

Who saith, ``A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!'

That's by Robert Browning and that second line is often in my mind.  I would never have believed how good life is in these later years.  True, I have my aches and pains but life is truly glorious.

Each day, each week, each month brings its own glories and soon August will start.  One of the most wonderful things I have read on a blog this last month was someone's goal for the month.  She listed only one goal, just "Enjoy summer" and those two words have enriched July for me.  Thank you, Rivulet.

So I'm going to have "Enjoy summer" as my hope for August.  You may remember that I prefer hopes to goals.  I'm hoping to have a picnic at Normanby and maybe one at Clumber Park.  I'm hoping to sit in my swing and to smell not just the roses but the lavender and the sweet peas too.  Could life ever be any better?

Common theme

If there's one theme which runs through most of the (British) blogs I read, it's the weather.  According to the BBC  it's the nation's favourite topic of conversation.  I'm definitely a meteorological opinionist but if one more person asks me if it's hot enough for me, I won't be responsible for the consequences.  Just for the record, I don't do hot.  I can normally cope with cold but even my own home isn't a sanctuary from the heat despite through draughts, frequent showers and a fan which seems to be running non stop.

It's also a common bloggy theme but to be fair that's more about the lovely things people can do in this weather.  Watering gardens and gathering the harvest, watching the tennis and giving personal coaching via the TV, flopping out and doing gentle crafts, all these have their aficionados.

A nice simple card

Me, I favour doing as little as possible but that does make for a depressing time just before bedtime when I mentally re-run the events of the day.  Yesterday though was different.  I went to Mandy's and made three cards.  So here you go.

A little more complicated

I've slipped in a sheet of card to show it more clearly

and my favourite of the three

I don't believe it!

Seen yesterday.  

A basket of strawberries

It's been a very busy week and I have spent today flopped out in my chair but I wanted to report on a lovely craft day I went to yesterday.

I'm sure someone would like this box of strawberries.

It was at Doncaster Racecourse (no silly, not on the track, in the hospitality area!) and there were about three hundred crafters there.  It is an annual event famed for its goody bags so everyone was there panting to see what we had received.  It was no disappointment - stamps and dies by Tattered Lace, big packs of all sorts of adhesives, paper, card, embellishments and plenty of stuff to make weep a women who is tying to declutter.  Don't worry, no need to pass the tissues, I'm stronger than that.

And someone else would like to play with this card 

Anyway, we made five cards and to be honest some of them were disappointments but it was a great day out anyway.  These two were my favourites so I thought I'd share them with you.

which has a slider

Making simple things super

Three of us always go out to celebrate each other's birthdays.  The "birthday girl" chooses the pub or restaurant, the other two pay.  

When I rang Jane recently she didn't want to go to a pub.  Midsummer birthdays can be celebrated with a picnic, she said.  She'd even provide the picnic she said.

No way, I said.  It's your birthday so Sarah and I will provide the picnic.

Then I regretted it.  Sarah has been hospitalised twice in the last couple of months.  She's not well.  So guess who would have to do the lion's share?

I made it as easy on myself as I could.  Most things ordered from Mr Tesco.  And delivered by Mr Tesco's lad.  Just a bit of cooking.

But presentation makes or mars anything.  To make things easier we decided to have the picnic in Jane's garden, a glorious setting.  I took my banqueting table and my starched table linen.  Plastic was banned from the scene.

Jane with Riot and Pandemonium, her cats

Even Jane's cats seemed to approve (not surprising with the wonderful fish we were eating!)Truly a simple meal was made super