It’s Tuesday morning, the sun is very much out and there’s a man downstairs doing some tiling and listening to country music. The time is creeping towards midday and I’m wondering what the etiquette is around making your lunch when somebody is doing work in the kitchen?
I’m thinking that the only real option is to decide that you deserve a treat and go out for lunch.
Whether I actually deserve a treat or not is debatable. I had friends to stay all weekend and we did quite a lot of eating out. And I haven’t had the most productive morning - a couple of hours of work but then quite a bit of getting distracted on Reddit (“what’s the best nightie for labour?”, “how high should an open kitchen shelf be?” etc).
On the other hand, I’m generally of the mindset that deserving a treat is a fairly unconditional thing. Especially when you’re nearly eight months into growing a human and the majority of other things you enjoy have been heavily restricted.
It’s August 11th which means that I’m also pretty overdue with writing this July roundup. So maybe I’ll just get on with it and worry about lunch afterwards. (“Reddit, should I go out for lunch?”)
Here’s how last month looked:
Lots of crafts to replace all my more energetic hobbies (pottery painting, sewing, watercolours). BBQ on the beach. Walking as much as I can manage. Finding it very hard to know where the line is re: how far is too far to walk, and then suffering afterwards. Still avoiding the worst of the heatwave(s) by living in the north. Harvesting our first homegrown vegetables. Selling everything I own on Vinted. Pram shopping. A weekend back home in Northampton. Taking Grandad to the allotment. More BBQs. My final camping trip for a while. Swimming whenever it’s sunny. Sometimes swimming when it’s not sunny. Lots of spectating and trying not to feel too jealous about other people running. A very British evening watching open air Shakespeare in the rain.
Good things from July
Reading
I’ve been hooked on the most recent Strike book, despite the fact it was hardback and nearly 1,000 pages long and reading it felt like an arm workout. And this article about how creepy and unhealthy those weird melty baby snacks are is great.
Listening
The latest mini-series of British Scandal, where married couple Maralyn and Maurice attempt to sail around the world in a boat without a radio, and one half of the pair can’t even swim, made me feel extremely worried from start to finish. And I think I’m unprepared sometimes. Inevitably, it all goes wrong. There’s a lot of eating rotten turtle meat by the end.
Eating
We’ve been cooking outside as much as possible while the weather has been good. I’ve got a portable Cadac gas BBQ/stove which is amazing for an easy outdoor dinner while camping/beaching/vanning/gardening. We love doing fajitas on the griddle pan. We’ve also been eating a lot of homegrown courgettes - big green ones and tiny yellow ones.
Trying
My current project is learning how to make a pair of curtains for our bedroom. I can’t find any I like to buy and, armed with a sewing machine that my Grandma bought me nearly 20 years ago and I’ve barely used since, I just kind of think, how hard can it be? Except everybody I know who knows anything about sewing (my auntie, Isaac’s mum and Rita who owns the sewing shop) has said that, actually, it might be quite hard. Unperturbed, I’m currently working on a practice curtain to cover up the washing machine.
Looking forwards
I’ve probably got about another month left of work before attempting to take some sort of maternity leave (still trying to figure out how that’s going to look as a self-employed person). I’m trying to make that count, despite energy and motivation levels both already being at an all time low. I also really want to finish these curtains before the baby arrives. Generally, I’m trying to make the most of all the things I know will get more difficult soon (e.g. anything involving spontaneously leaving the house without a small human in tow). And I’ve got plenty more stuff to sell on Vinted.
Lunch update: Trevor the handyman popped out to make a call so I managed to make a quick cheese sandwich. That officially gives me one IOU token to myself to go out for lunch another day.
I cannot help with Sewing but Maralyn and Maurice is a great story/book. For another non-fiction recommendation “Raising Hare” by Chloe Dalton is both excellent and heartwarming. Best to you and Isaac for the new arrival!
You Tube is your friend! The beauty of being able to pause and rewind as many times as needed.