Reading Review

Those who leave and those who stay - Elena Ferrante

Nico bought me the third instalment of this series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn't as exciting and easy to read as the first two but I enjoyed it on a different level because it follows the protaganist in the stage of life that I see myself in right now - that of early marriage and having children. 

I can't explain how this series affects me but I highly recommend it for readers of my demographic. Looking forward to the next one.

The Bat- Jo Nesbo

This one took me a loong time to get into.  I enjoyed it once it picked up the pace but for me it was trying too hard to be clever. I'd still like to try more from this author in the hope that he improves.

The Physicists - Friedrich Dürrenmatt

I recently reread this German classic to help one of my students. It's a strange German comedy play written in the sixties about a series of murders in a sanatorium. It's full of twists and laugh out loud moments but it's also terribly dated and I'm feeling older all the time since my eighteen-year-old tutee does not appreiate the humour!

June Goals

Here are my goals for this month:

• Finish, frame and hang my crossstitch.
• Keep up the videos.
• Celebrate Isabella's birthday.
• Three exercise sessions per week.
• Get caught up with my crochet projects.
• Get on top of the garden.
• 3 DIY projects.

Recipe: Super smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 apple
• 150g mixed berries
• Handful fresh mint
• 2tbsp chia seeds
• 150ml water

Instructions:

1. Chop

2. Blend

3. Drink

Make it Monday - Birthday Invitations

 Isabella turns four this month and there's going to be a big party. As a child, I never liked having to pick and choose among friends and I hated being told "sorry, you're not invited, I'm only allowed ... friends." Since Isabella is so social and often praised for including everyone at Kindergarten, I told her she could invite everyone. Hence a day spent making twenty-one invitations and a week hoping half that number might already have plans.

 While we were out on Saturday, I stocked up on pink card and flower stickers. I found a tulip template online and resized it.
Today I cut out twenty-one pink tulips. Isabella helped me stick on the flowers, I added washi tape and wrote the friends' names and she went crazy with a flower stamp and my ink-pad. Then I wrote the details on the back.

It was a fun, practical project and Isabella loved helping. I always forget how easy and fun it can be to get her involved in crafts.

Weekly Wisdom

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow
For babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.

The Saturday Update

We've had a long, hot week here. Work has been good. I started a new module and gained two new students. One of my tutoring students started a new book in German and it brought back lots of memories from uni so I am rereading it.

I've been cycling more, following a paleo diet most of the time and made it to zumba. Apart from the heat and the hayfever, I'm feeling good.

The kids have had  full week of nursery, kindergarten, playdates, swimming and bike rides.

This weekend is going to be quiet and cooler before another, really busy week!

Links!

This looks delicious.

Motherly advice.

An interesting article.

Cat fun.

Love this tap dancing.

Incredible bravery.

What a wonderful find.

The thing about perfection.