A heatwave................

I am quite sure you are sick to death of garden talk. Much like my family. They think I need to get a life. Hah. I love my garden. I still get excited about new flowers appearing. And while that happens, I will be out there enjoying it all. I do admit that the watering of it and the allotment take a huge amount of time. It is my main occupation, but the results are worth it. Even when I creak. 

Now we have got that out of the way, hello. It is Saturday night (just - midnight approaches) and we are having the most wonderful warm weather. So I have been sitting in the garden a great deal. Actually, I had an hour long nap at 4pm. What can I say......I am no longer a spring chicken.

Tomorrow, Jean and I have coffee duty at church, but Jean is in Cornwall at the moment, so Diana and I have been baking today. In the heat. Cup cakes, cinnamon loaf, chocolate tray bake, cheese straws. They are all ready to go in the morning. And tomorrow is going to be even hotter. It is also the Men's Final; at Wimbledon, and that should be a wonderful match. Numbers 1 and 2 in the current world standings - and one of them is British - Andy Murray. So the nation will be glued to the TV set and roaring on the support. 

I popped down to the allotment this evening to water, and the plants are thriving in the heat. The courgettes are multiplying, and some have become marrows. See below. If you click on any photo it will take you to Flickr, and there are descriptions under each photo. That would be in an attempt to keep this from becoming a gardening blog for the summer. The allotment BBQ was today, and there were loads of people down there having fun. I didn't go, because I didn't want to go alone. And anyway, I had too much else to take care of here, there and everywhere. 

Diana has not been feeling 100% today, so she has had a quiet time here at home. Frustrated, though, because she wants to DO stuff, of course. We did go down to the village centre for the Craft Market in the church hall this morning, and it was great to chat to other creative people who live nearby. 

Andrew, Ann and Missy will be here from Thursday to Saturday - they have a wedding to attend, so Missy and I will be playing together. I think and few adventures will be in order. 

I do love summer, you know - when the skies are blue, and the air is warm. Because the houses are all so close together here, when I sit outside, I can hear the children playing in paddling pools, the lawnmowers going, the birds tweeting, and voices - laughter and chatter. I love it. 

I keep thinking that I am saying the same thing over and over. I probably am. But hey, my life is following the same routine most days. Nothing wildly exciting. My hands are still on strike, and wearing a skirt to keep cool is a trade off. Coolness vs increased discomfort, because the skirt drifts around my legs, and touches that lightly, and that, my friends, means fire. But I am cool. 

Last night, I fell asleep in the rocker early, and woke at 1.27am. A new record, by one minute. And then I went upstairs to have a bath and dropped my book in the bath when I fell asleep again. Submerged. It is still drying out on the windowsill. Dr Ben Carson will have to wait a day or two for me to return. I cannot read soggy pages. 

We had a BBQ last night. And would have had another one tonight, had Diana been able to face food. Maybe tomorrow. The smell of meat being cooked outdoors is wonderful, isn't it? Sizzling. And popping out into the garden to gather vegetables to make salads is the best thing ever. Stop talking about the garden, Linds......

My sister loves Pinterest as much as I do, and found a crocheted daisy blanket she wanted, only she doesn't crochet, so Mother and I have been deciphering patterns, and making daisies. Well, Mum is making hundreds. Me, not so many, but they are slowly mounting up in a pile. It is always fun to try something new. Mine may make a cushion, perhaps. The hands. Ugh. The muscle relaxants are working well at putting me to sleep though. Not doing much for the hands so far. I live in hope. 

And I am still test driving cars to see which one I will choose next. The Peugeot was lovely, once I got used to the funny automatic gear changes. And the Nissan Qashgai is next on the list to try. It is fun to drive them all, though. Thankfully, Old Faithful is still puttering along. 

The local church is having a sleep out tonight. I went up to take some photos, and there are over 50 people sleeping out on the Rec. Quite a few of my friends.This is to raise awareness of the homeless problem, which is everywhere. Our church collects food for the shelter in the nearby town, but they are desperate to fund a place where they can offer somewhere to sleep,. Right now it is only a day centre, and there is such a huge need for more. More of everything. 

The huge cuts in the welfare budget have caused a massive increase in the need for food banks. At the time of the financial crisis in 2008, I looked for a food bank locally to donate to. In the entire county, there were none. Now there are dozens. The worst off are suffering the most, and it is a disgrace. It can happen to anyone. The average age for a first time house buyer in the UK has risen to 37. THIRTY SEVEN. That means that a whole generation of people are potentially living with their parents much longer, or are renting, which makes saving for a house even more unrealistic, given the cost of renting here. Or they become homeless. Social housing is just not there - nowhere near enough homes for the numbers who need them. And yet, house prices keep rising too, making the required deposit of 20% in most cases, an impossible dream. 

There is need. There is suffering. There are people hurting. 

Thank God I have a place to grow food, and store it. Thank God I have a home. A bed. So much. 

So, the week comes to an end. I have been trying the pilates again. I have had to make a swift exit from the pool at times when the aquazumba music is too loud, and the sound waves hurt. I have also got back in for softer numbers and danced in the water. Oh, how I love that too. 

And now I am heading for bed. And I will take a dry book with me. It is already Sunday here.....