Midsummer musings.....

Our summer thus far has been something of a disappointment.

I wake up in the morning, sun splitting the trees, so decide to wear a t-shirt and shorts.

By mid-morning, it's clouded over, and feeling a tad chilly, so I add a shirt to the ensemble.

Lunchtime, it's blowing a gale and rain is falling horizontally, so it's upstairs to change into a jumper and jeans, plus socks.

Mid-afternoon, the sun comes out with a vengeance, so it's back upstairs to reinstate t-shirt and shorts, minus socks.

Late afternoon, it's getting a bit cloudy.  Not sure what to do and fed up with the whole up/down getting changed mallarkey.  Might just grab a throw from the sofa and hedge my bets.

Dinner time.... sun is shining but it's windy and cold.  Back upstairs to change into jeans and a jumper, socks optional as I'm definitely wearing fleece-lined slippers.

Bedtime..... suddenly sultry and muggy.  No air at all in the bedroom so have to throw the duvet on the floor and have both bedside fans going full blast.

2 am, temperature drops to 3 degrees above freezing.  Wake shivering with the cold, still damp from the tropical bedtime heat. Fumble for socks and duvet, both on the floor.  Small Dog is also enlisted to provide additional body heat.

In other words, it's all a thermostat nightmare.

This afternoon I was still feeling a bit wobbly, so PP suggested that as the sun was shining, she would light the charcoal BBQ and cook dinner.  Sitting in the sun it was quite pleasant, not too hot, not too cold.

Within 30 minutes of sitting outside, a huge black cloud came over, but undeterred, PP was adamant that she was cooking outside, come hell or high water.  Both of which were equally likely.

I had to succumb to putting on a jumper, jeans and socks (see above) and settled down on a chair on the patio to await the unfolding of events.

I didn't have to wait long.... Small Dog, ever alert to an unoccupied lap soon discovered me.

After 20 minutes of this, I lost all feeling in my legs, so Small Dog was relegated to her own chair....

Dinner was absolutely delishus.  Succulent beef burgers, squash, peppers, sweetcorn, tiger bread....

.... all accompanied by salad and chilled white wine.

Ditto pudding, which was also cooked on the BBQ.... baked bananas, plums and nectarines.

Eventually, sated but with the wind building and the temperature dropping, we pulled the BBQ up to the table......

 and huddled round it for warmth, like the three witches from Macbeth.....

Well.

Two fairly normal witches (although I must admit to having a wiry witches hair which grows sporadically from my chin, and had to be fiercely plucked out) and one small (all over hairy) witch.

I had to enter into the spirit of the thing, and after we'd all been staring vacantly into the shimmering embers for a while, asked....

"When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning or in rain?"

Upon which, one of the three, who shall remain nameless, piped up...

"wel mumm, i kan probabli doo neckst tewsdai."