Recharging

Oh my ...it seems like an age since I was here last. In fact, the longer I left it the less I felt like blogging!

The school holidays seem to be whizzing by but I'm finally starting to feel as if my batteries are recharging. I think I was ready for the break from work and the school routine. Very little craftiness has occurred - other than a little sock knitting.

The summer reading campaign is going well. I've read these ones so far (most of them your great recommendations):

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - recommended by Sainsbury's magazine! I'd never read this classic but once I got into it, I really enjoyed it. A very funny book, with great characters, and a main character who loves nothing more than organising other people's lives.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - recommended by Rachel. I loved this book - the quirkiness of the characters, the beautifully described settings - fab!

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson. My first taste of Persephone books and a lucky find at the library. Another one I loved - the main character Guinnevere Pettigrew normally lives a poor and very staid spinster's life but finds herself thrown into a world of oppulence, glamour and loose morals - a great snapshot of 1930's London society.

The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory - recommended by Trashy and very possibly my favourite read so far. I rarely choose historical novels but this one is well worth reading. The intrigue, ruthless ambition and back stabbing of the Tudor court had me gripped! I didn't want this book to finish.

PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern - recommended by Mrs Locket. I'm a latecomer to Cecelia Ahern's books and have intended to read this for some time. A great read - very sad, funny and poignant as the main character struggles to come to terms with the loss of her husband.

The Hat Shop on the Corner by Marita Conlon-McKenna - given to me by Maria :) A perfect light hearted romantic book that was a huge relief to read after The Other Boleyn Girl! A good story of little people triumphing over the corporate giants too.

Gods In Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson - sent to me by Jo :) Again, I would not normally have chosen to read this book but I'm so glad I did. It was a great story with a wicked little twist at the end. Great tortured characters all trying to come to terms with their own personal tragedies and trying to put dark secrets behind them.

I've just started Chocolat by Joanne Harris - I know the whole world has read this but as usual I'm late to the party! Loving it so far.

I was going to put in links to all those books but have just realised I'm too darned lazy - you can Google them, right? :)

A good deal of that reading was done over the past week. We went over the sea to the Isle of Wight - our first time there since we moved down south 12 years ago!

The weather was kind - thank goodness, as we were camping! The children had the best time, with loads of freedom, making lots of friends and fun days out, followed by falling into bed after dark with rosy cheeks and dirty feet :)

We did the touristy thing and visited Alum Bay and the Needles. The coloured sands of the crumbling cliffs at Alum Bay were a sight to behold.

A walk along the cliff to The Old Needles Battery .......

.....and the chance to see the iconic chalk outcrops of the Needles, was my favourite day out.

For the children, it was the theme park fun at Black Gang Chine :)

I'm now ploughing through a mountain of laundry and getting ready to send my little boy off to his first ever Cubs Camp.

I'm hoping for plenty more evening skies like this for the next three weeks at least!

xxx