• Sleeping in.
• Feeling a little hungover. Mr. LA can be a little too handy with the cocktail shaker at times.
• Making pancakes with bacon and maple syrup for breakfast.
• Pulling on some scruffy clothes and getting to work in the garden. I scrubbed the old sandpit clean, hacked back the overgrown shrubs, swept the decking and cleared plenty of weeds.
• Removing the associated dirt and grime in the shower.
• Pulling on my skinny jeans and a Breton top.
• Loving Revlon Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon. It’s the perfect summer red.
• Smothering the children in suncream.
• Heading into town in the sunshine.
• Picking up a picnic lunch.
• Finding a quiet spot on Cathedral Green.
• Watching the world go by.
• Realising just how desperately Jesse needs a haircut.
• Buying Izzy new sandals.
• Picking up supplies in Wilkinsons.
• Treating the children to a pair of new water pistols.
• Rushing home to carry on with our lengthy ‘to do’ list.
• Planting flowers in terracotta pots.
• Giving the lavender bush some TLC.
• Clearing, cleaning and tidying the house.
• Listening to the children’s shrieks of joy as they conducted a water fight in the street.
• Bleaching the bathroom to within an inch of its life.
• Drying the washing on the line outside.
• Beginning to flag.
• Re-energising with a mug of tea and a few cubes of Green & Blacks butterscotch milk chocolate.
• Preparing Spinach and Feta Pie and a huge salad.
• Sitting on the front step in the last of the day’s sun to drink a white wine spritzer.
• Feeling exhausted, but content.
• Bribing Jesse with ice cream.
• Bathing two sleepy children.
• Reading bedtime stories.
• Drinking mojitos and watching Heroes.
• Collapsing into bed.
• Cuddling Jesse under our bedcovers.
• Stealing an extra half an hour of sleep.
• Eating a scrambled eggs, bacon and baked beans.
• Drinking two cups of tea in quick succession.
• Scrubbing the length and breadth of the hallway, stairs and landing. The woodwork was gleaming by the time I was through.
• Filling cracks and sanding walls smooth.
• Thinking about my Dad.
• Enjoying the sight of our new rubbish bin. It sounds odd, but it’s often the most mundane things that give me the most joy. Needless to say, my husband thinks I’m crazy.
• Eating leftovers for lunch.
• Dusting and sweeping.
• Loading up a friend’s car boot with rubbish for the dump.
• Gazing up at the faultless blue skies above.
• Watching Mr. LA replace the light fitting in the children’s bedroom.
• Assembling their new lampshade.
• Persuading the children to put away their clean laundry.
• Watching Jesse doze on the sofa.
• Cooking summer lasagna.
• Eating too much.
• Tucking Jesse in.
• Listening to Izzy read Malory Towers aloud.
• Needing an early night.

Love Audrey xxx