Where is Summer

With another wet day today one is wondering what has happened to the summer. The odd rainy day isn't unusual but this constant rain and the cold isn't something I can remember this time of year.

It makes you wonder what we are doing to the environment. It is clear the effects of global warming are starting to show in the weather patterns. I can't remember a summer that has started like this. It been so wet for so long. It seems all the rain is falling at the wrong time of the year. This is all because the jet stream is in the wrong place, it is far to far south.

It looks like this changing weather is something we are going to have to get to use to. Something we have brought on ourselves. What we need now is to find ways to return things to normal. It not just about not making it worse, it is reducing in our use of carbon fuels to the point that the environment can start to recover. It is about doing things to reverse what we have been doing and putting things right.

To do this is going to take a whole rethink not only how we use fossil fuels but how we live, where we work and how we protect the countryside. The reason we need to do this is for your children and their children. We have to act now and not bury our heads in the sand thinking it doesn't concern us. Saying that is like saying you don't care about your children's future.

Better Saturday

After yesterday I was hoping to make much more of today and any better weather that came our way. I didn't want to be stuck in the house again like the day before. I'd rather get out and about and have some fun, even if it was just going down to the park.

It was a joy being woken up by Lucy and soon we found ourselves in the chair downstairs watching television with our drinks as we both woke up before breakfast. With breakfast out of the way Lucy went off to the family room to play for the early part of the morning occasionally involving me in her games and getting me to do things with her toys she just couldn't manage on her own.

It was about mid morning when we head out of the house. This time were on our way to the shops, but that was not all, and although it wasn't warm it was dry so we headed for one of the many playgrounds in Oakham to get out of the house. We had a great time there playing but what surprised me most were the number of people there given the weather. Seems they were all doing the same as us a making use of the dry conditions; Eventually after several "last goes" on everything we head to the supermarket to get some food.

When Lucy and myself got home I got with making some nice crispy ham rolls for everyone. They went down a dream with people having them either plain, with pickle and in my own case with some fine mustard. After lunch it was back to playing for Lucy as I gathered up the plates and did the dishes. Soon I was needed as part of one of her games and gladly joined in. I was keen as always to make the most of having her at home.

As we got to the middle of the afternoon the weather had improved quite a bit so it was off out to the park again, but this time leaving our coats at home. The sun was shining and at least it was warm out. We head once more in to Oakham to the main park there complete with Lucy scooter which she insisted on taking. Once again we had a great time, and I think Lucy favourite was going down the small hill on the scooter after getting me to say "ready, steady, go".

When we got home I got on with dinner and Lucy went off to play with whoever she could find. I love the way she just adores and looks up to her sisters and looks forward to seeing them so much. With dinner out of the way I could join in their games until finally it was time for Lucy to go off to bed. As always after her stories, cuddles and kisses not a peep was heard from her room and she entered the land of her dreams. Too be followed by her older sisters later in the evening as the sun finally set on the long day.

It was so good to get out after being stuck in for most of the day before because of the weather. It's bad enough be stuck in when it is the winter but given it is summer you feel you really should be able to get out and have some fun. I'm just glad we managed it today. 

Yucky Friday

Well all I can say is it must be the school holidays because the weather today has been rubbish. It has been wet cold and windy. It is more like late February than early June. 

With the weather being so yucky there really isn't much to write about today. Thankfully not all days are like this one, but to make this a normal family blog post would be as dull as the day was. So what I'm going to do is write a brief summary and that is about it.

Basically the day started like any other with Lucy getting up firs to be followed by Emily and Catherine. Catherine went in to Oakham to met her friends during the morning and I went shopping with Lucy. After we finished shopping it was just playing in the house. We played all kinds of games with Emily joining in now and again. In the end Emily left for a sleep over and Catherine came home for dinner and took over from Emily in the play role. Along the way Lucy managed to fit in some time on the Cbeebies website and a little television. In the end bedtime came for Lucy and after kisses and cuddles she fell asleep to be joined by later in the evening by Catherine.

It wasn't the sort of day I waned for school holidays and especially on a day when I had all three girls, but then you never know what the weather is going to throw at you in Britain. I just hope we have some sunshine in the next couple of days to make up it.

Wet and Grey Thursday

The weather seems so unsessional at the moment, rather than sunny and mild it is just wet and cold, not really what you would expect of early June. It really limits what you can do, but in true British tradition you just have to try and do your best and make the most it. Something it seems we are meant to be legionary for that a round the world, although secretly I think we just like to think of ourselves that way. 

The day started with Lucy little voice calling Daddy which never fails to make me smile. Soon I was up and with her things we headed downstairs to wake up with a drink while we watch television before breakfast. After breakfast we played together, but not far from Lucy's mind were her sisters and she kept asking if she could wake them up. I had to explain they were tired and we better let them have a lay in. In the end Catherine made an appearance and before I went out with Lucy we woke up Emily for the day.

Our trip was to the Post Office that opens in the Village Hall two mornings a week. It a travelling Post Office and a service a lot of people in the village seem to use. They even have a coffee bar in the main hall where people met up and talk over a nice cup of tea and coffee. On the way there we found a black cat, and it was just seconds before Lucy had her confidence and she was stroking her like they had been best friends for years. Our business at the post office didn't take long and we head across the road to the church. 

When we got inside the church Lucy head ed straight for the piano. Soon she had herself a chair and I lifted the lid and she was playing away. It still amazes me that she has a good ear for music at an early age. The notes she pressed together as played didn't seem to jar, but instead seemed to be in harmony, like they are parts of cords. After she finished playing on the piano we played various games in the church most of which involved ordering me about,  before had to leave. On the way in we had noticed a memory tree for the Queens Jubilee and so i ask Lucy what her memory was and she mentioned a Jubilee bear and so I wrote a tag for her and added it to the tree before we left.

When we got home we all organised lunch and people had the things they fancied from the food cupboard before we headed out to Oakham to do the shopping. There we dropped off Catherine and her friend who were off out around the town, did the shopping and then returned home to Emily who was talking to her friends on the computer. Lucy did a variety things in the afternoon from playing with me and her big sister to resting and watching a few programmes on the television. In the end Emily left us to go swimming with her friends and we headed back out to Oakham to pick up a cold and wet Catherine.

When we got home I got on with cooking a nice warming roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings except bread sauce which only I seem to like these days. Thankfully Lucy settled herself down and watched a film and left me alone to get on with cooking. Just before it was ready Emily returned and everyone sat around the table to eat. After a little play Lucy went up to bed and after her stories, kiss and cuddles she went off to sleep. Sometime later Emily and Catherine went off to bed and the house fell quiet for another day.

I'm getting to that point that I want to go out in the fresh air and sunshine, but alas that isn't to be for at least another day. The weather forecast for tomorrow is much like today and I can see it being another say where going to the park is going to be out of the question. I just hope the weather people have got it wrong but I fear from todays weather they might be right.

Another Early Start

With it being the school holidays Lucy was coming for an extended stay and that means lots of fun and games for everyone. She is here with me from Wednesday to Sunday giving us almost five days with her, something I have been looking forward to since her last long stay here in the village.

Picking Lucy up on a weekday means getting up at six and the first thing I did after a coffee was to check the long range weather forecast and text her mummy for her wellies. The next five days look wet and I don't want her having wet shoes if we go our after a shower. With the wellies sorted it was long until I headed out of the door and headed to the city via Melton to pick up some petrol along the way. It was too early a start for the petrol stations to be open in Oakham.

I arrived early in the city and parked a little way from Lucy's mummies house to make sure I wasn't too early. I didn't want to rush her by turning up before Lucy was ready to leave and before she had her stuff packed for her. After a short wait I finished the journey and went to the door to be greeted by Lucy;s smiley face and soon I had her bags of things. After her goodbyes we set off back to the village via Melton for some breakfast.

When we arrived in Melton we popped into McDonald 's for some breakfast. I'm not a big fan of their burgers but their breakfast menu is to die for and I rather like their coffee, so it was the place to go to eat. Lucy had a milk and a bacon sandwich to nibble on which she ended up taking with us as we continued or journey which was to take us on to the Ashwell garden centre.

We just had a few things to pick up there from the pet shop and I also wanted a just general look around. Lucy loves seeing the fish swimming in the ponds, the outdoor chess set and then there is the putting green to play with. I noticed with sadness that in Rutland Village, which is part of the garden centre, two of the units were up for rent. Clearly hit by the downturn caused by the recession. One of them was the camping shop the other the former farmers food shop that had become a saddlers for a while. It is a shame to see closed shops and I'm sure people would rent them if the rents were cheap enough.

Once we finished there we headed home and as soon as we got in Lucy was greeted by an over excited  George, before meeting the latest addition to the pet family. With that out of the way we started a relaxing morning, playing games, watching television and generally having a nice time. At one point she had me sending pictures and messages to her big sisters on my phone. It was sweet how she said she loves them and misses them. All of this took us through to lunchtime which Lucy decided to have with her dolls, offering them her food and drink. It was all rather sweet.

With lunch out of the way and the sun hiding behind the clouds the promise of afternoon in the park was gone so we headed to Mini Monsters. A soft play area that Lucy knows well in Oakham. She loved it there and made some new friends to play with in her time there. She also had drink and a cake and every so often she would come back to the table in a rush for a drink and a nibble before going off to play again. In the end we had to leave Mini Monsters and head home for a quick dinner.

With dinner out of the way there was one thing left to do for the day, reunited Lucy with her big sistsers. So we headed off in the car to go and pick them up from their mum on the A1. Soon Lucy was running at her sisters when she saw them and Emily picked her up and hugged her and this was shorty followed by a hug from Catherine. All the way back home they chatted and caught up with each other.

Once home it was time for Lucy to go to bed. Soon everyone had read her a story and she was tucked up in bed getting her goodnight kisses and cuddles. Emily and Catherine settled down to do their own things before finally going to be themselves, and with that the house fell quiet.

It has been lovely to see Lucy again and then to reunite her with her sisters. I really miss them when they are not here so it was nice to have them all under the same roof again.