Joy Pockets (250711)

I have a few Joy Pockets from this last week.

• Yet more leaps in the Imp's speech. She's gone from being a very quiet child to chattering almost non-stop. And the more that comes out, the funnier and cheekier she is. I had to walk away from her and her Grumpy in a shop on Saturday, because she essentially 'zinged' him. She shouldn't be so much of a smart aleck to her grandfather, but unfortunately I couldn't help but split a side laughing, so had to walk away so she couldn't see me laughing so hard about it.
• Day out to Rand Farm Park. Nevermind the hayfever after-affect, watching the Imp glued to a woman milking a cow, getting over her nerves of feeding the goats and donkeys, and being so enthralled and gentle with the rabbits was lovely. It was also a shock when we went so she could pet the bunnies that she immediately spotted the girl guide troop there that had been told to sit in a row on a bench to take their turn, and she squidged her bum right in the middle of them, and sat as good as gold (they were older, and I think she sat even better than they did).

The Imp with the Bunny

• The summer flowers. I think I actually enjoy them more than spring flowers.

Purple wildflowers on our way to the park

Japanese-breed sunflower in our back garden

• The Imp starting to appreciate then environment around her, and actually enjoying a short trip through the nearby woods.

Walking on a path through the woods

• Friends that checked on me after injuring myself on Wednesday.
• Friday Night Girly Night! We had such a fantastic giggle that I've not had for a while. 
• Being gifted veg, eggs, and quail's eggs fresh from a friend's allotment. We go through loads of veg and eggs, so it's highly appreciated. And we had never tried quails' eggs before, and I think the Imp is now hooked. It was the first time that I've let her peel her own boiled eggs, and she was amazingly quick (and doing a better job than I was).

Our rather pretty quails' eggs

Mel

A bit of a hit...

Apologies for the sudden onslaught of transfers from my old blog tonight. I was just going to start transferring the recipes themselves,  but realised that the beginning couple of posts were a good opening to introduce what I was thinking 2 1/2 years ago.

Not a lot has been going on here. The sparkling (way too hot and humid for me) weather here in the UK this weekend finally allowed me to weed the garden for the first time in almost a fortnight. I love the energy that my few veg share when I'm helping them out. I am grateful, though, that the temperature came down quickly, because it was making the Imp poorly (hayfever sucks).

I may not like the hot weather...the thought of a beach holiday is my idea of a nightmare...but I do appreciate the need for it, and for the different cycles of weather. I think that is one thing that gets forgotten by most people: the need for the different weather. I'm personally on the fence about the issue surrounding global warming, because I do feel that it all works it's way around. But even though I don't like the hot weather, I am grateful for the energy and life that it gives, along with the rainy days.

I'm always thinking of a saying that I grew up hearing in Indiana, and they say the exact same thing here in the UK: "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change for you". To be honest, with the off day that the Imp and I had today, it works for toddlers, as well. :P

Mel