Photo diary: week 27, project 365

We're over a half-a-year mark with week 27. It's been another mercilessly hot week, and I can't wait for a true English summer, with rain and milder weather. I'm so not made for the heat.

We're so lucky to live next to the fields by the river. Whenever possible, we walk into the town centre through the fields and over the bridge. It's such a tranquil piece of green land. As it is technically the flood fields, I'm hoping they will never build here, though of course the greed of the construction firms has no limits, they keep trying to get permission to build housing all over the green lungs of the town. 

Eddie likes to climb over the metal fence next to the bridge, and here he is, showing off his acrobatic skills.

The fields are a perfect soil for meadowsweet, and at this time of the year, the white flowers scent the area with a sweet perfume. On Monday I walked back from school through the fields and picked up a big bunch of meadowsweet to dry. My Mum drinks it as a tea, it is a herbal remedy for stomach problems.

This is my mini potted garden next to the back door and kitchen. The phloxes are in full bloom right now, and they have a wonderful scent. The lavender attracts a lot of bees, so I'm doing my bit for the wildlife too.

On Wednesday we went to visit Sasha's new school. It is out of town, and takes about 40 minutes by car (without traffic) one way. He seemed to enjoy the visit, but it was brief, and I'm not sure he understands that this will be a permanent fixture for the next couple of years. I'm worried he would miss his old school and teachers, but there is nothing to be done about it. We were lucky to get a place in this school, all the other schools for his needs are even further to travel.

I don't often post his photos on my blog any longer, but just wanted to share this image of a happy boy on a trampoline in his new school.

On Thursday Sash had a respite day, so Eddie and I didn't have to hurry home after school. It was very hot, and we popped into The Shake Shop for a strawberry milkshake and some vintage music on the jukebox.

I enjoy looking at the interior design photos on Instagram, and decided to join in. And now I'll tell you about how staged and fake the world of Insta could be.

This painting of a lady in a hat is my Mum's artwork. She knows how obsessed I am about hats, and she painted this copy of The Parisian by the Russian artist Deineka as a gift for me. The artwork is enamel on a metal frame, and I love it. It usually hangs on the wall in the sitting room. The old novels by Dumas are on the shelves in one of our bedrooms upstairs. The mug's place is in the kitchen cupboard. For the photo, I put them all together, first clearing out the space on a piece of old furniture in the entrance hall/room, where we tend to put our hats, mail, keys and whatever random things happen to be there.
And hey presto, there is the arrangement done just for the photo.

After I posted the photo on Insta, one of the interior design pages commented on it, saying to DM them, if I wanted to be featured. I had to laugh. Our house is a tip: there are books and toys everywhere, there is no way I'd be able to appear in anything, unless it's for How NOT to do interior design features.

I bought this poppy seed cake in the Polish shop yesterday. I love their bakes, and poppy seed cake reminds me of my childhood.