15 Positive Things about the Summer

I loved Kezzie's recent post, where she listed 15 positive things about her summer. So here's mine.  I'm not sure if I'll reach 15, but I'll try.

1) LB passing all of her GCSE's was a great day this summer.  It probably sounds a bit boring, but it was probably the highlight of the year for me. I was so pleased for her to have done so well, after all the work she put in this year. Her school had a great year with regard to exam results, which was also a good thing for everyone who studies and works there.

2) Growing quite a lot of food on our allotment this summer has been another highlight. It's great to feel a bit more independent of supermarkets, even if it is restricted only to a few months of the year and to just a few types of food.

3) Our trip to Australia was special. We all loved our time on the Gold Coast, despite the fact that OH had to be rescued by a life guard at one point. Did I mention that? I was so thankful to the guy, who appeared out of nowhere and set off on his surf board to bring OH back to shore when he got into trouble in rough waves. They are thoroughly professional, all respect to them. We learned a big lesson that day. Seeing my sister and her family and some members of OH's family, was also very special, of course.

4) Continuing with the simple task of completing my current hand stitched quilt is bringing me much positivity and joy. I just find it so relaxing and being able to make something that will be useful, from resources that I already have around our house, is very satisfying. I always enjoy snuggling under my homemade quilts on the sofa. It hands down beats a bought blanket any day, as they soften and fade so nicely with age and washing.

5) In spite of the ups and downs at work, we've consistently been getting very good sales, especially compared to last year when it was very quiet in the shop over the summer, mainly due to the heat. I'm very grateful for that and it is very satisfying to know you are doing a good job and raising lots of money for the charity.

6) I'm very thankful to have missed the extreme heat of summer whilst in Australia, and that the summer weather has been more mixed this year compared to last year. I like the unpredictability of an English summer.  Rain is good (in moderation).

7) It's been great having LB at home for almost 10 weeks this summer, after leaving school way back in June, following her GCSE's.  Having said this, she's been out and about most of the time, so I haven't seen that much of her, but it's good to know that she's got lots of friends to hang out with and isn't bored and lonely. (Boredom can be good too though, as it does spur creativity)

8) Whilst in Australia, I found a soap saver in an Op Shop (Charity shop) for $1.  I used to have one of these when I was a teenager, until it got thrown away, contents and all. You use it to save up all your slivers of soap and create a new bar with them.  As I am a bar soap user, I'm hoping to make good use of it and I've already warned OH never to throw it away. It takes an age to fill, which was why I was so disappointed when it originally got thrown out, as it was almost full.

9) Finally, we have got around to taking some older plants out of our garden and replacing them with new plants after 3 or 4 years of procrastinating about doing it.  I have a problem letting go of things, plants included, but it feels good to have a garden refresh.

10) Attending another Give and Take event and giving away more items from our home. Many of them belonging to LB, but regardless, it felt good to send them off into the universe, to possibly be of use to someone else and save them from having to spend money.

11) Recycling all of LB's GCSE exercise books felt very good, probably for her too. She didn't want to keep them after her exams.  I did make her keep her Maths and English books just in case, but now she has passed both, they will be going the same way.  I did tear out all of the blank pages and have been using them for making lists and paper pieces for my quilting.

12) Walking with my dog in and around the green spaces near where we live. We love our dog and miss her so much when we go away.  Walking her in summer is so enjoyable and gets me out of the house and into the sunshine on a daily basis. I love to observe the nature around us when we're on walks, whether it is the plants in other peoples' gardens or the hedgerows and trees in parks and other open spaces.

13) One more positive memory from our holiday in Australia was that whilst we stayed on the Gold Coast there was a Country Music Festival one weekend.  We walked down to the beach where they were playing and I got to watch some of Australia's best known Country Music artists play live.  Being a country music enthusiast, it was a great serendipitous moment for me.

14) Letting go of the housework and ironing and caring whether it got done or not was great for me for most of the summer. In any case, it was way to hot most of the time to stand over an iron. LB even started to wash some of her own clothes this summer, which is all good to encourage independence as far as I'm concerned.

15) One of our shop volunteers winning Volunteer of the Year Award across the whole charity I work for, was a great moment this summer.  We're yet to have the Award Event, but the person concerned really deserves it for her commitment and hard work over a number of years.