Lessons Learned – results, chefs, parties and talent!
This week’s lessons learned
- Nothing says summer quite like eating ice-cream in the back garden with the kids after school.
I enjoyed having house guests again – it has been a while. Dave and Debbie and Joseph were passing through on the way from England to use our cottage on the North coast.
- They were also a great distraction from the final stage of the 11-plus transfer test (academic selection for 11 year olds). Saturday in our house was an anxious time, as we waited for the post man to deliver the news of which school my daughter would be moving to in September. He finally arrived at 11.45 am, and these photos tell the story (excuse the un-brushed hair!)
This was the last year that children here in Northern Ireland sat the 11-plus transfer test. Exactly what is to replace it is still the subject of much debate, and children starting Primary 7 this coming year are all facing uncertainty.
- Death is not Dying – have you seen this yet? If not, please visit the link to hear Rachel Barkey speak. As she says on her blog “Cancer does not define me. Neither does being a wife or a mother. All these things are part of who I am but they do not define me. What defines me is my relationship with Jesus.”
- I have been AMAZED that so many people around the world don’t use a clothes line to dry their clothes! Seriously amazed! So – how do YOU dry your clothes?
- It is lovely to go to a 40th birthday on a beautiful summers evening, and have caterers serve you the most delicious food in the garden, including champagne with strawberries in the bottom of the glass, and redcurrants draped over the edge of the glass. It is even more delightful when the chef is a finalist from last years BBC Masterchef! No photos of the party food as I gave my Canon the night off.
- I expected Susan Boyle to win Britain’s Got Talent, but was delighted when the dance group Diversity won.
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- Finally, I am loving the long bright evenings of June – sunset is nearly 10pm, and it gets light again before 5am.
For more lessons learned this week be sure to visit the lovely Jo-Lynne at Musings of a Housewife, who has been helping me (again) to move things about a bit on my blog.
Take care until next time.
congrats to your daughter!
no, we do not use a clothesline. We have a dryer and we are in hot Pheonix, Arizona, USA.
That 40th birthday bash sounds like fun! We went to a little neighborhood housewarming party and that was catered too. 🙂
and… I love Diversity. Thanks for sharing their last performance. I caught the others on You tube, but I hadn’t seen that one yet. It’s incredible!
We had ice cream yesterday also! I don’t own a dryer so we hang our clothes to dry year round…
https://allaboutmeandabagofchips.typepad.com/
Congratulations again to your daughter, I’m sure she’s very excited to get moving now.
YEAH! for your daughter. Congrats! Congrats!
We dry our clothes in the dryer. I work and live in Florida so by the time I get home and the clothes are ready to be dried it’s raining or dark!
Thank you for the link to Death is not dying – my husband has stage 4 throat cancer. A journey we travel each day.
ICE CREAM! in summer – nothing better.
Congratulations to your daughter!
Now I want some ice cream! This is our first really hot week – almost 90 degrees out today!
We use a dryer for our clothes, but I would love to be able to hang our clothes in the warm sun to dry. I’ll bet air dryed sheets smell wonderful!
And congrats to your daughter! That’s wonderful news! 🙂
Yeah for ice cream. Congrats to your daughter – she looks really happy with the news. And no clothes line here either.
You changed up your blog layout…or did I miss its debut?
hi janmary!!
congratulations to your daughter!
i also had ice cream the other day…so goooooood!
Our first signs of summer:
First watermelon, eaten outside with the juice running down your face and arms;
First Ribs, cooked up crispy and juicy on the grill;
The YMCA outdoor pool opens, and
Of all things- Henna Tattoos all around!
Stan at Scrappers Workshop
https://scrappersworkshop.com/blog
I WISH we used a clothesline. Many homeowners associations prohibit them as “unsightly” where I live. And living right behind a highway makes me question just how dirty our clean clothes would end up. My grandmother used one when I was a kid and I loved the smell of clothes that were dried on it!
I’m SO envious of your long days – enjoy!!
I thought the right 3 were in the top 3 on Britain’s got talent but my favourite was the sax player. I thought he was amazing.
I try to use the clothes line, but if it’s cold or nasty outside we use the dryer! Love the pictures!
I really enjoy your posts! I don’t use a clothesline, I must admit. I do like the idea of it though… 🙂
The longer days defintely have my vote for good things about summer, too.
I dry my clothes in the dryer. Although bedsheets fresh off the clothesline are a fond childhood memory.
o what I would give for an ice cream from home
Your daughter looks so happy! And I have to say, I loved the tilted angle of those shots – I need to remember to try that sometime.
I like using a clothes line, it is just our humidity is so high that it is sometimes pointless. Last time I hung up towels, they came in almost as damp as they were put out.
Congratulations on your daughter’s test result!
I better go and check out those links… looks like I might have to skip that workout I was going to do… he he
God bless!
Amanda
surfing on in from Aus…
yeah I did the clothesline post a few weeks ago too, amazing the response, like it is illegal in some areas in the States, I was flabbergasted, I come from a place where old ladies compete to get their washing out first
I feel your pain with the school thing, we had that the year before last, our son was awaiting selective school results and we have it this year but this year we already had a private school place sorted out as a back-up so less of a headache but still a horrid situation
the party sounds nice
Sarah
Thank you for the link to Rachel Barkey. What an AMAZING witness for the truth of a loving God in the midst of pain and suffering. She says she is focused on “ending well.” Wow. Her testimony is reaching around the world. She will never know how many people she has reached for the glory and grace of Christ. THANK YOU for that link!
– and the clothesline? Our homeowner’s association doesn’t allow them either, but I doubt FavoriteSon’s allergies would withstand air dried sheets. We use the dryer.
I totally agree on the clotheslines. There were such a staple to our parents. How did we lose such practical sense in one generation? – in more ways than a clothesline!
Love the joyous pictures of your daugther. You caught that moment very well!