Photo diary: week 28, project 366

Did you notice that the days have got just a tiny bit shorter?
I know it's only minutes, but it feels like we're already getting less of sunlight.

I love watching bees in the garden, they are so full of energy and seem to be working hard all the time. In July they seem to be enjoying the potted lavender.

Mondays are Eddie's favourite days of home-schooling because they have new art tasks.
This time one of the tasks was to write your own name in five different styles/fonts.

For the last few summers I've been picking bunches of spiraea which grows in abundance in the flood fields and drying it for my Mum. She likes adding it to her tea. The plant has medicinal properties and a pleasant taste when brewed as a tisane.
This year I picked a bunch, but my Mum and I won't be seeing each other this year.

Meeting Suzanne who blogs at Expat Life with ChickenRuby was the highlight of my week. It was also the first time I dared to visit a café at Blue Boar to have a coffee. It's been one of my favourite haunts pre-Covid, as it's in a convenient location not far from the school, and I would often pop in there for a quick cup of latte before rushing to do my chores. It was nice to be back.

It's kind of strange meeting with someone whom you only know from reading a blog, but I felt like I've known Suzanne for a long time, and it was so lovely to finally meet in person. And then there was the adorable Bob as well. My son who stayed at home, was disappointed that he didn't come with me. I know he would have loved Bob.

Another first after the easing of the lockdown was going to M&S. I ordered some swimming trunks for my guys and went to pick them up, plus visited the food court to get some Percy pigs (oh, we missed them so much), some of their delicious ginger cookies and salted caramel cookies. Then I spotted the mini cucumbers and chuckled, seeing the name of the grower.
I love Inspector Montalbano books and TV series, and yes, his name is Salvo, not T, but this pack made me smile. They were tasty crunchy cucumbers as well, with a thin skin and oodles of flavour.

Sasha's favourite place in town is Cafe Nero, he loves sitting by the window and watching people passing by. He missed the cafe, which has re-opened recently. The social distancing arrangement works fine, but they could do better with cleaning. When we arrived and found a spot for Sash to sit with his father, I had to clear the table and use their disinfectant to wipe the table. The cafe wasn't busy at all, so they could have really done it.
Anyway, my boy was ecstatic to be back, he couldn't believe his eyes when he realised where he's going.

Today we received Eddie's school report, and I was delighted for him. He got 6 Es and 8Gs. It's been such a stressful year, with the lockdown, and Sasha turning 18 and trying to sort out his future respite visits and college in a year's time, his medication issues, etc etc.
I'm cherishing this moment of joy and feeling proud of him.

I've been reading on Mumsnet (where else?) just yesterday how some people scorn these announcements of school reports on Facebook. One parent said that she has a special needs child and this type of posts makes her feeling sad and inadequate as she cannot share the joy. I know where she comes from.
I have a severely autistic child, but I would never begrudge anyone feeling proud of their children's achievements, even if sometimes these posts make me sad as well. I'm glad for these children and their parents, but I'm also sad it would never happen to my boy, that he would never have a girlfriend/boyfriend, wouldn't be able to have a driving lesson, hold a job, be independent.

I love my boys, and I'm proud of both of them, for different reasons.

Today was Eddie's day, and I rejoice with him.

I'm too tired today to take any photos, so here is another picture from yesterday. On top of our lovely noisy neigbours', we also have an additional pleasure of the roadworks in the street, which start late in the evening and go on until 1am. The noise is horrible, and the flashing lights are abysmal.

We have one more week of school, and then the summer holidays will start.
As Lensky sings in Eugene Onegin, "What does the coming day have in store for me? It escapes my eyes, it is hidden". Who knows what the coming summer holidays will bring?

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