Lately

The weather here this last week has been utterly mental - beautiful sunshine & bbq weather one day & then torrential rain & woodburner-going foul weather the next!  It's a well known fact that you can experience 4 seasons in one day in Scotland - and we do frequently! - so when we do have a lovely day, we just have to get out & enjoy it.

We're so fortunate to live in a lovely village with a huge country park just a 2 minute walk from home so this is where we usually head with smallest child on his bike & mad hound in tow.  Conveniently, it's also the walk we have to take en route to the pub, not that it's been warm enough to sit out in the beer garden yet!

However, Murphy (aka Turtle, for some unknown reason!) is happiest just sat at my feet as I sit in my office typing out my blog posts & updating the school website I run (www.monikieprimaryschool.co.uk in case you want a peek!!)

I've been feeling like a need a project to work on again since finishing the school library & after talking to my friend the other day, we've decided we're going to start restoring & updating furniture again.  She used to do it years ago before she had children & I used to do it when we lived in France so we've decided to join forces & start up a wee enterprise.  When I think of the beautiful old pieces I used to find in brocantes & vide greniers, I could cry that I'm so far away now!!  My speciality back then was to revamp old beds, particularly lits corbeille & lits bateau.  I loved transforming  them from manky old pieces that looked like they were fit only for the bonfire to beautiful, repainted & reupholstered beds.  I'll try & hunt out some old before & after photos.  I also had some stunning old armoires too but unfortunately, when we moved back to the UK, we had to sell most of the pieces we had, booo!  I also did an upholstery course years ago but I might do another course to refresh my memory.  I've still got the kit though so I'm part-way there!

Anyhoo, we've stocked up on our first few pieces of furniture, fabric & Annie Sloan supplies & tomorrow.....we paint!!  I'm actually really looking forward to it & just from talking to a few friends about it, we've already got 3 people interested to see what we do & one lady has specifically asked if we can find & restore a dresser for her!  

So watch this space folks, there could be a new business about to be born!!  Exciting stuff......!

Book Club newbie

I've been a bit of a bookworm for as long as I can remember reading.  I just love that feeling of getting really wrapped up in a story & I have the whole scenarios painted vivdly in my over-active imagination!  One of the worst feelings for me has to be reaching the end of a brilliant book, I just want the story to go on & on......

 

Joining a book club has been on my list of things to do for a couple of years but it was only through a chance discussion at the school gates one day that I realised quite a few of the mums had formed a reading group & the next meeting was to be held the next evening.  I asked about the type of books they read as being totally honest, I don't want to read heavy, lengthy tomes - I read for total enjoyment.  Admittedly, I do want to break out of my literary comfort zone of my usual & much loved crime thrillers though.  I also love to read light-hearted, fun chick-lits (not my favourite term in the world!) too.  But I hoped by joining a book club, it would push me to read & hopefully enjoy, something I wouldn't usually choose.

 

The first meeting I attended, the group had read Tout Sweet by Karen Wheeler, a story of a city girl who upped sticks & moved to rural France.  Although I didn't have time to read this before the meeting, I have been urged to by the other ladies to give my thoughts on it, mainly as I lived in rural France myself for 7 years!  So I'll read it at some point & get back to it.

 

 

 

So the read for March was The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri.  This was volume 7 of a series about an Italian detective, that a couple of members of the group were raving about.  I decided to download the first book of the series to begin with as I wanted to get a feel for the character beforehand.  I have to say, it took me about 6 chapters before I could really get in to the first book but I really enjoyed the actual book club choice.  Although it's a detective series, therefore solving crimes & murders, it's not quite as grisly as my usual crime reads.  The main character, Inspector Montalbano is getting older & wants to retire but he just can't seem to cut the ties from his police force.  He's a really likeable character, although grumpy as hell....almost like an Italian Rebus!!  He's a total foodie & I love the way the author describes in great detail his 3-course meals & the ambiance of the restaurants.  I could almost be sitting on the restaurant terrace smelling the garlic & fresh seafood, feeling the warm air on my skin & listening to the waves gently lapping in the distance....ahhhhh!!!  I will definitely be working my way through the rest of the series & trust me, you will want to be booking a trip to Italy after reading them!

 

 

 

 

 

This brings me to this month's read *silently groaning*.  The group have decided, so that they don't always stick to one genre of book, that every 3 months, they will alternate between a light-hearted read, a heavier story & then a classic.  This month we have the' heavy', which is Exodus by Leon Uris.  As soon as I realised it wasn't available on Kindle, alarm bells started ringing!  I ordered it from my local library & could've cried when I collected it.  Not only is it 636 pages long, the writing is miniscule so I just know I'm going to get horrible eye strain reading it.  And to add insult to injury, there are 10 pages missing smack bang in the middle of the book!!  It's really not making me want to read it but I finally started it late last night.  I will persevere & try & get through it but I'm not entirely sure I will finish this one, plus the fact that during the school holidays, I get very little time to myself.  I usually try to snaffle an hour during the daytime for a sneaky read but not for the next 2 weeks!!  The story was made into a film starring Paul Newman & just by total coincidence, I noticed it was on one of the Sky movie channels last weekend.....so I recorded it as a back-up plan!!  I will really try not to cheat though (although I know a couple other BC members have also got the film to watch too, mentioning no names!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyhoo, I'll let you know when, or even if, I finish it.  But if you're looking for a totally brilliant read, take a look at this.  I only bought it because it was on a daily Kindle offer & it really was fantastic.  Think of a really clever Forrest Gump type character that keeps flitting between present day & his past, & you'll get the gist of it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm next on the list to host Book Club on 20th April so I'll be back after then with a review & to let you know what May's book will be.  Now, what wine, nibbles & cake shall I lay on?  That is, afterall, the most important part of Book Club!!

 

À tout à l'heure!!