Category: Stuff I love!

Hairband pot from enchanted cosy co

The beginning of July brought many things, including July tea club, always a good part of the month. The postcard this month is adorable, and it also came with some tea stickers.

I was a bit superstitious about ordering a badge before I got my vaccine, just in case the appointment was cancelled or a school bubble popped, so once I’d been I treated myself to these badges (could not decide, so got both in the end). One not suitable for work though!

We finally have a lily in our pond!

Running was back to normal (Tues, Wed and Thurs) although no yoga on Wednesday night due to the semi final of the Euros. I was so excited that the tiny football car was back, and then so annoyed at ITV for not even showing it! On a side note, when the football is on BBC, who on earth actually chooses to watch ITV??? Anyway, I’m not on twitter, but the tiny football car is, and well worth a look if you want something light hearted to look at.

The runs were OK, but I got absolutely soaked on Tuesday morning (and no time to wash my hair so just had to towel it down and hope for the best!). I was so tired on Thursday morning after the late night of football (and the excitement of being in the final) but I had a meeting after school and didn’t want to leave my run until then as I knew I’d just want to come home and rest.

Big puddle on a run and fresh lemonade with my waffle

On Friday after work the 4 people in my team went to The Waffle House as a nearly end of term celebration. I’ve not been to a restaurant probably since 2019 (only the outside afternoon tea for my birthday, plus we’ve got a few takeaways when we’ve been away for the weekend) so I was a bit apprehensive, but it was good- the seating is all outside anyway, and it was well spaced out so it felt OK. I had the hummus and avocado on a vegan waffle and it was delicious. We have sometimes recreated this at home, but never with all the garnishes and it is just so much nicer having it cooked for you.

On Saturday we had some sad news- people can no longer log a (not)parkrun if your home event is Ellenbrook Fields, as it is “no longer a live event”. I knew that it was not coming back right away, but this seems to suggest that it’s gone for good. It’s frustrating because with places like Tring and Little Stoke, the reasons were a bit clearer, but parkrun have posted something a bit ambiguous about not securing landowner permission (when people in my running club who are in the core team say this is not true).  Anyway, I cheered myself up thinking about actual parkrun returning in a fortnight- it’s not all bad. It’s funny because I now need to choose a new home event, and for ages Panshanger was (it started as St Albans, but once Panshanger started I changed it to that), but as I was more involved in EF I just feel like that is my home because I know the community there much more than anywhere else. No doubt we will go between Jersey Farm and Panshanger when not touristing, as JF is right by my parents and I can run to Panshanger as they’ve moved the start closer to me, but EF was perfect as it was in the middle.

Pancakes for breakfast, vegan doughnuts ordered, and a cute postbox topper seen on my run.

Anyway, Saturday after my run was a lot of jobs (cleaning, work bits, car admin) to get done so Sunday was free to be enjoyed. We even popped out to charge the car a little bit as our home charger has not been installed yet. I must say I am not missing going to petrol stations.

The weather was gorgeous on Sunday. I went for a run to Panshanger trying to work out the new parkrun route (they’ve posted it on their page and I know some people who’ve put it on strava). I think I did it? It will be a fairly longish warm up and cool down though as it totalled over 8 miles in the end. Or maybe 9.

Andy’s parents popped by to sit in our garden for a bit, and then I was off out again. Socialising is  turning out to be like buses! I’d arranged an afternoon tea with a couple of friends- we usually meet up a couple of times a year, but the last time we managed this was November 2019. We walked over to the farm where I’d been for my birthday- as the seating was all outside and very well spaced it felt good. Both of my friends are teachers too, and just hoping to make it to the end of term without any bubble popping going on, and they’ve been as cautious as me about mixing with others (or not basically). Apart from work colleagues and immediate family, they are the first people I’ve seen since the pandemic began- I felt out of practise with conversation! But it was lovely to catch up.

Just like in May, the vegan one was super tasty, and we appreciated the walk back after! They couldn’t hang about though as we’d booked it months ago without knowing about the football!

So, then there was the football. I enjoyed it. I think I went into it feeling happy that we’d made it that far, and of course winning would have been amazing. Penalties are always my most hated outcome (even if I don’t mind who wins I find them so stressful to watch), so that wasn’t great, but at least we got to celebrate a goal and be winning for a bit. Look on the bright side! I went to bed feeling OK (a late night but I slept better than the Wednesday night), but waking to see the news of the racism and the violence (the people trying to get in without tickets), was just depressing. This is why we can’t have nice things. This is why most other countries would be glad that we lost. And then the PM having the cheek to come out and criticise the racism after what he has said and done (check out Gary Neville’s interview on Sky…) and who he employs as Home Secretary just infuriated me more. So I went into Monday feeling a bit deflated, and not because of the loss, but because of the reminder of who I share this country with.

On a lighter note, it made me look forward to the Olympics and Paralympics.

Did you enjoy the football? Do you have any superstitions around sport? For us having nuts as a snack worked up until the penalties!

My week had runs on different days, due to me getting my second vaccine on the Wednesday (after the stress of my appointment being cancelled and then having to try and find a centre to rebook). I actually felt OK, but after I felt so bad last time I decided to set my alarm a little later on the Thursday, and run on Friday morning instead.

Those last few minutes of the match were super stressful and my Garmin agreed!

Back to the start though- it began with Wimbledon, as well as continuing with the Euros- lots of sport to keep us entertained. I always look out for my dad at the tennis (as he does the line judging), plus I find it quite soothing to watch.

I had a 4 mile run on Tuesday, and was super pleased that our site manager wanted to get home to watch the football (England playing Germany in the next round), because it meant we had to leave earlier than 5pm so I was just home in time for the kick off. We kept up the tradition of having some nuts as a football snack, which worked (as we won). We had to have a packet of Christmas nuts though as that was all we had!

I listened to the Tape Notes podcast with Adam Buxton and it made me sooo happy. I watched The Adam and Joe show when I used to babysit, and then listened to their radio shows and podcasts (I had the royal wedding song stuck in my head as an earworm when I did the Stockholm marathon)- it was such an in depth look at how he creates jingles and songs and was just such an enjoyable listen. 

On Wednesday I had to get to a vaccine centre after work. I was really nervous as I don’t like injections (I know that they don’t hurt, but I think as I have fainted in the past I get a bit worked up about it happening again). Also, as after my first jab I felt quite under the weather, I wasn’t looking forward to that potentially happening again. I went to a different centre this time, and it was much easier. There were no queues, and I was seen really quickly which was good as then the nerves could not build up too much. The person administering it said that probably my side effects would be far less this time, but I’d still have the sore arm. She was sort of right, although my arm was way better (it felt more like a muscle pain last time). I was relieved to get it done (particularly as we keep having kids at work being tested, and if they come back positive and we all have to self isolate it would have meant cancelling the appointment). The best bit? I got a sticker! I didn’t get one last time.

On the Thursday Andy was off to pick up our new car while I was at work, and the garage gave him a cake with my name (the car was in my name) and the new reg number. That was a very kind gesture, although sadly not vegan so I had something from my Vegan Kind subscription box instead. I wasn’t brave enough to drive the new car to work on Friday though!

Friday started with a gentle out and back run to the fields- I was feeling OK after my jab but I didn’t want to push it in case I felt worse later. all was good though. Annoyingly when I checked on Strava, June was the first month this year where I didn’t run over 100 miles- it was only 97! If only I had noticed sooner then I could have gone out on extra bits here and there. Although I missed one Sunday long run due to not feeling well, and of course the Brighton half was cancelled so I didn’t run a half marathon.

Pancakes an Red Velvet tea for breakfast = good start to Saturday 

Saturday started with a run, and then time to get more car bits sorted. I was selling my car to my brother, so I sorted out the paperwork, took it to the car wash and then took it over to him.  Andy drove over later and then I had to drive home. It’s going to take some getting used to, as there are no gears (and not even an ignition switch, you just unlock it, get in and then somehow it’s ready to drive).  It’s also way bigger than my old car (which was a little i-10)- I have never needed a big car and really like the flexibility of being able to squeeze into a small parking space and so on. Anyway, as we are down to one car now, it needed to be a bit bigger for weeks away.

I did a bit of pottering in the garden (including the third and hopefully final coat of paint on the gate), but we made sure we had eaten dinner before kick off of The Big Match (England playing Ukraine). As previously mentioned, nuts had been our lucky snack, so we opted for salt and vinegar peanuts this time. I’d made some cold brew tea (fruity tea in water in the fridge) and topped that up with lemonade. The match turned out to be much more enjoyable (usually it is so tense that you can’t enjoy it) and even relaxing- how novel!

On Sunday I headed out on a shorter run (7 miles) as we had planned a walk but Andy wanted to be back for the Grand Prix. I met some of the OH ladies out on their run (going in the opposite direction) so we had a nice catch up mid-run. Croissants for breakfast (one vegan Pret bake at home, and one of the nice La Boulangerie ones) and then we were off to Panshanger. I drove the car part of the way, partly to get the hang of driving it, but also as it’s 4 miles away so it would have been a super long walk and we would not have been home in time.

The cows were in the field we walked through and they were all over the path! I don’t mind them but I still prefer them further away. Of course we could not resist stopping at the Planted Coffee Co trailer- it was super warm despite being cloudy, so an iced tea was perfect for the walk back. I also bought a lemon muffin to have while Andy had more of the car cake.

I caught up on some TV, did a bit of work and pottered in the garden (in between rain showers). I was so excited to see a flower appearing in the lily in our pond!

Have you ever driven an electric car? How many miles do you tend to run in each month? Are you enjoying the Euros/ Wimbledon?

A while ago we booked tickets for the Bristol comedy festival- it was all set up with covid in mind- it’s outdoors, you have to book seats in pairs or groups so you are only sat with people from your household and so on. Since then the same festival is coming to St Albans which would have been ideal (so much closer to home), but as we had the tickets and it was in half term we thought a few days away would be good to look forward to. So reaching the final week of half term felt quite nice as we have that to look forward to next week.

Pineapple candle jar, buttons, wellbeing Disney tips and a wellbeing dinner (eg eating on the sofa instead of in the dining room- pasta with broccoli and veggie sausages).

The final week went well- the children were only in for 3 days as we had training days on the Thursday and Friday. This makes a huge difference as they all get so tired and it’s a lot harder work. We have wellbeing buddies in school (recently set up) and mine gave me a pack of dark chocolate buttons to help me in the final week- so thoughtful. We also had a staff get together where we did some glass painting. At the moment we can’t really socialise as you can only have 4 people in the staffroom at once, and so people tend to be quite spread out around the school. Working as a team is one of the really good things about working in education, and we have missed that for these past 15 months. Anyway, the get together (or stay apart?) was really good- we could use the hall so everyone was spread out. I made a little pineapple on my jar, and I was pleased with the result. Mainly though it was nice to actually chat to people for a bit.

Online training essentials of tea and biscuits, run scenes and lunch delivered

Also for wellbeing, I decided to order my lunch on one of the final days, from Pret (uber eats delivers). I had not had a lunch like that in ages, and it felt like such a treat.

On the Wednesday I had to rush off as I had an online training course to get to, and thankfully got home with enough time to make myself a cup of tea- training essentials of course!

I had some enjoyable runs again- on the Tuesday it started raining about half way around, but the Wednesday and Thursday were dry (although I got wet from the long plants again). One morning there were amazing sunbeams coming through some of the trees. I do love the peacefulness of the early morning runs- I might pass one or two people walking their dogs but that’s all.

On the Thursday we had to be in school- the morning was standard training bits, and the afternoon was gymnastics training. Oh my goodness me I was tired when I got home- we had the mats, the ropes (I can’t climb them though), ladders and all sorts of equipment out, we were running, hopping, skipping about and making routines. Good fun but tiring!

This robin keeps visiting our pots to collect nesting material

We watched the Friends reunion and had a Pudding Stop pudding to share- this one was a gooey chocolate pudding and was so good. They don’t look that big, but we made the mistake of having one each once and they are so rich it just isn’t good by the end. Sharing one is perfect. I really enjoyed watching the Friends thing too (although I didn’t feel they needed James Corden in it at all)- it was a bit like a flashback episode when they showed little classic clips. I know some of it hasn’t aged well, but on the whole it’s still so funny.

On the Friday we could work from home, so I took advantage of that and had a slightly longer run (5 miles) listening to With Me Now. It was so warm and I was regretting my longer leggings for most of it (not when I ran past a load of stinging nettles though).

I was super efficient with my work and managed to sort out all sorts of bits that had been on my list for a while so I felt very satisfied when I had finished for the day. No commute meant that I could also get on with cleaning (usually a Saturday job) so I could really set myself up for a relaxing weekend.

On Saturday we walked over to Panshanger and back. There has been a plant-based coffee trailer in the park but it’s too far from home to carry something back during a run (4 miles) so we treated ourselves to a drink each for the walk home, and a lemon muffin for later. We couldn’t hang about, as we had booked a test drive of an electric car. At the moment we have a car each, but Andy works from home so barely uses his car. Mine is small and perfect for commuting, but not good when we go away for a week (mine is an i10 like in the pic below- it just happened to park next to the car we had just test-driven) so we do need a slightly bigger one if we go down to one car. I was super nervous as I have only driven a handful of cars (literally- 1-the car I learnt in, 2-my first car, a Clio, 3-one of Andy’s cars- also a Clio and then 4, my i10). If we hire a car then Andy drives as I just get so nervous about it all, but as I would be driving each day then I really did need to give it a go. I’ve had my car for 6 years now (but my last car I had for 12 years…) and have always thought that my next car would be electric as that is the way things are going, but I did think I’d have this one for a few more years. Anyway, we’ve not decided anything, but I did manage to drive it and actually quite enjoyed it.

Test drive car park, half the lemon muffin and my pineapple candle holder being used

On our way back we popped in to see Andy’s parents and sat in their garden for a catch up.

On Sunday I had arranged to meet my dad and brother at the end of my long run, in Ellenbrook Fields. It was the 50th weekend of (not)parkrun, so I wore my red top to commemorate (I can’t say celebrate, because it’s not good that it’s been that long).  I had an enjoyable run through the fields, did most of the parkrun route, and met them near the back of the fields, and we then ran back to St Albans together. It nearly totalled 11 miles, and had I been at home I would have run up and down the road to get it up to the round number, but I could not be bothered with it then! Again thankfully the weather was good and we sat in the garden and had breakfast. My  mum insisted on making me some porridge as well as giving me a couple of vegan croissants- there is no saying no to her! (Technically we are allowed inside now, and both my parents have had both their doses, but of course they are not a guarantee of 100% protection, and none of the kids I work with will be vaccinated so I could easily pass it on- I don’t think the LF tests that we have to take at work are worth the plastic they are wrapped in as if we do get a positive it has to be conformed via a PCR one anyway)

Lots of daisies on our lawn from taking part in No Mow May, plus the red kite soaring overhead. I love hearing them whistle to each other.

Once home it was time for more gardening jobs (staking the trees, potting on seedlings and planting out some courgette and tomato plants), but also time to actually sit outside and enjoy garden. I’d made an iced tea latte (basically we had some left over peach tea, so I left it to cool, then topped it with cold milk) and that was perfect to enjoy in the sunshine.

Then it was time for some packing ahead of our little trip away.

How many cars have you driven or owned? 

The penultimate week of term arrived alongside lots of wind and rain. It really felt so much more like early April than late May. I keep feeling like we are coming up to the Easter holidays not the May bank holiday!

Our evening walks were squeezed in between torrential rain showers and rainbows.

I did my standard 3 morning runs, plus yoga on Wednesday, and I think I had a dry run on the Tuesday but that was all.

The leaves do look very lush when they are coated in water, now they are so green. They perfectly match the matcha too. Although I ended up with very soggy trainers as running through the narrow paths with tall cow parsley on either side meant that the water just poured off the plants and into my shoes.

I’ve been slightly in love with the clothes from Magic Moon Club, and when they released a new princess collection I decided to treat myself with my April payday.

I went for Ariel (one of my fave films growing up, plus I love the green colour) and Rapunzel (Tangled is one of my fave more recent Disney films and fits with lockdown perfectly). The Tangled jumper was a lilac colour which just doesn’t suit me, so I used their “choose your style” tab which basically means you can choose any colour with any design on it- I went for grey as that would still go with the purple and yellow colour scheme. I was very pleased with how they turned out, and one good reason for the cold weather was getting to wear them!

Lovely lilac in flower, and the peony covered in buds.

One evening I managed to get out in the garden for a bit, planting out a few things from the greenhouse, before I had to head in as it started hailing!

On the Friday we had the sad but seemingly inevitable news that parkrun was delaying the UK re-start date. A shame as legally they could have returned from March, they have been so sensible about aiming for the summer, and they’ve got research to show how low the risk is to all participants. It seems utter madness to me that I could (if I wanted to) go to a pub or a nightclub or go to an enclosed restaurant for a meal etc etc, but I can’t run with others in an organised way. On Saturday morning I went for a run and listened to the With Me Now podcast- it’s my fave parkrun podcast anyway, and I felt much more optimistic after listening to it.

My worry is that parkrun are now tied to the so-called roadmap, and that if things like the Indian variant delay things (although, we all know that even though this gov said “data not dates”, they then released a load of dates and have ignored the data the whole way through…), then parkrun will be further delayed.  I also realised that it was one month until the restart date, so reasons to be cheerful! (Another good podcast right there). I had some pancakes with berries for breakfast and then got on with the fun jobs of cleaning and tidying- I like to get those out of the way early on in the weekend.

I made some vegan peanut butter blondies

Later on I watched a chat by Danny Norman (from WMN) about it, and again, felt more optimistic.

On Saturday night we felt like watching something cheerful and easy, and ended up watching School of Rock. I wasn’t sure how it would have aged, but it stood the test of time and was enjoyable.

On Sunday I was up early for a 12 mile run (I really have to think that the Brighton half is going ahead now- they’ve sent out the info regarding the covid risk assessments with masks being needed in the start pens and so on). Anyway, I saw lots of rabbits and some pretty flowers. It was so sunny when I left but soon clouded over. Once home it was time for a quick shower and breakfast as we had to deliver some bits to the hospital ( family member- all OK now).

I treated myself to a toastie in front of Lilo and Stitch- I felt I needed something summery as the weather had just been a bit rubbish.

How do you feel about parkrun coming back?  Do you like a toasted sandwich?