Thursday photo #325

As much as the first week of the school holidays dragged, this one has gone in a flash. We’re not back to our usual levels of chaos, but we’ve started to get out and about a bit more. Most notably, the children have finally been swimming. Not quite in the nice warm swimming pool they were expecting, but the river was definitely a good alternative.

Revisiting old haunts

Up until Lia went to school, we went to National Trust Croome most weeks. Lia and I would often go while Libby was at school for a walk, a drink and a ride on her bike. Then we’d sometimes go at the weekend as a family. It was a great way to make the most of our National Trust membership, especially when we took a picnic and made it a free day out.

More recently, our visits had become less frequent but it was still our default place to go for a walk a little further from home. Then lockdown happened. When National Trust places reopened, I was cautious. I didn’t want to rush there straight away but there came a point when we needed to get out and about a bit more, so Croome was the natural choice.

The problem with the pre-booking system is that if you’re a bit disorganised and forget to check the weather forecast when you book, you end up visiting in the rain. Of course, that’s exactly what we did. Despite that, it was a lovely day out. There’s a one way system in place so we didn’t see many people at all. We found a tree to sit underneath for a picnic. The girls climbed trees and chattered away. It was a lovely way to spend a morning.

Blackberry picking

I always used to think of September as blackberry season. I’m not sure whether that’s my memory playing tricks on me, or whether the season has become earlier. Either way, there is an abundance of blackberries around here at the moment. We’ve been blackberry picking twice now and made two crumbles.

I would love to share a photo of the crumble, but they get devoured within moments of coming out of the oven. Instead, here’s a photo of the girls. Lia has her own ideas as to appropriate attire for blackberry picking. I think she would fit in better at a music festival.

Thursday photo #325

Despite things getting mildly more exciting here over the past week, nothing has been more exciting for the girls than going swimming. I’m not sure why I waited so long to take them really. They loved it so much we’re going again at the weekend.