Sunday

It's not quite the holiday yet.  That will be tomorrow and at the moment I have this quietly nagging voice inside me telling me I should be planning, preparing, making, evaluating, marking  and generally getting ready for a new week's teaching.

Tomorrow it will hit home.  Tomorrow when I won't be rushing around getting ready, when I won't have a stack of print outs to remember to take, when I pootle off to Wyvale at some point in the morning before it gets too hot!  Bliss . . .

Yesterday was another uncomfortably warm day, especially in the afternoon.  Mind you, the bread dough rose quickly enough!!  The humidity kept coming in waves, it all clouded over and I thought there would be a storm for sure.  Nothing actually broke though. not even, I think, overnight.  There's no sign of it anyway!

This is not a good photo, but you can see the beginnings of a flower on the sweet corn.  I've never tried to grow sweet corn before so have no background experience but Beth says they're behaving really weirdly this year.  By now they should be much taller, hers and mine, but they're not, they are really titchy.  I don't know what's going on but as they were freebie plantlets, no complaints.  What will be, will be and if I only get one ear of corn I'm the better off..

Speaking of garden stuff brings me neatly to my next paragraph.  On Friday, as is the Newlands Spring tradition, the parents presented me with a gift towards which they had all donated - me and the rest of the team - TA, LSAs and regular covers.  My share was a wooden box.  Yes, a lovely green wooden box with my name, the class name and the year on the side.  Within it was a plastic liner so that it could be converted to a planter as well as various other goodies relating to gardening in some way.  Pretty gardening gloves, hand cream, a book of garden wit, etc, etc.  A lovely, thoughtful and very appropriate gift and I need to go a-shopping to see if I can get something for the box fairly soon - bedding plants of some kind, I think.  It will need to go under shelter come the bad weather.

As I am trying to cut down on freezer content, today I am roasting a chicken.  With it I shall have new potatoes and courgettes from Beth's allotment with, probably, some peas.  I think I will get out some of the 'chilli' from last week for Beth and either make a pie or a savoury crumble as a topping.  She likes that.

I'm going to Morrison's as soon as it opens today and have decided to treat myself to a selection of summer fruits.  I've not had much fruit lately and feel like feasting.  So dessert will be fresh fruit.  I'm going to make lemonade in Thermione, as recommended by Diane.  A fairly simple, easy lunch - after all, what is easier than a roast chicken?

Probably by the afternoon we will all be ready to crash out and rest as the heat rises, thinking enviously of those lucky souls with air conditioning.

Have a great day and stay as cool as you can!