After School.

After school - that bit of time which is usually not my favourite because... a) I am tired; b) there is much homework to be done by the littles; c) dinner must be thought of/cooked/cleaned up & d) I am tired. Oh yes, I mentioned that already. But show us a bit of warm sun and boring routines go out the window with homework taking place in the garden, sunnies firmly in place and blankets strewn on the grass.

I have been teaching Isabella to knit. She is the final one of our seven children to learn and I am proud to say I have had a hand in teaching them all. Bella picked it up in about two seconds flat showing me once again how quickly she 'sees' things. She is like me in the way she studies things, needing to know the whys & hows so that it makes sense. Once she has that there seems to be little she cannot pick up and she is now knitting a scarf (in the loosest sense of the word) for her little friend Celia.

I also love the generosity of this child. When asking her why she wanted to make something for Celia she replied that she didn't get to see her much and wanted to make sure Celia knew she was her friend. How cute is that?

We have also been studying insects after school. Nothing like getting close up to realise how amazing they are. How can such delicate wings possibly carry that bulky body through the air? 

After school the girls have also been playing volleyball accompanied by shrieks of 'mind the acer' from me! We have nurtured this particular acer for years and it would now cost approximately five hundred pounds to replace. In other words, there will be heads rolling should it get broken. Who am I kidding...when it gets broken.

After school there has been such warm sunshine turning wisps of hair to gleaming cobwebs floating in the breeze.

Violas are so pretty aren't they? I really must put more in this weekend.

After school Tiger Lily has joined us in the sun, nestling her stripy self on the warm flagstones.

Of course, our favourite thing to do after school is to head for the beach which we do as much as possible. The bag is permanently on stand-by in the car packed to the brim with costumes, towels, suncream and food.

We never forget how lucky we are to be able to do this. We can rummage around in rockpools at will, swim in the frankly freezing sea, paddle in the ripples at the water's edge and laze on hot sand on a daily basis should we so choose.

We bumped into friends and family there yesterday, everyone desperate to feel the sun on their backs (and fronts and heads and fingers and toes...you understand I'm sure). I can't quite take in how grown up our little Lucia is in this picture. It happens so suddenly.

Time flies away even if this blooming chap didn't.

I love the way the fields swoop down to the bay.

Flashy boat. Must admit to preferring our own rather scruffy looking Mermaid. Never have been interested in gin palaces, preferring my gin to be consumed drifting along in a far prettier boat than this.

After school yesterday we ate a huge platter of peppers and olives and salmon and feta and all sorts of other deliciousness. A glass of wine eased it down. After school Isabella fell asleep in about three seconds of hitting her bed thanks to being full of sea air. Bliss. 

And so the weekend is beginning and cloud has arrived. Of course. But maybe we shall pop down to the beach again today... after school. x