On what could be the nearly naked office

This evening marks the beginning of a four day weekend for me and to say I'm looking forward to this break is a considerable understatement. 

My office is ridiculously hot with little to zero air circulation.  The fans that are constantly on only offer a minimal respite.  I wear flip flops in the office and the bare minimum of clothes.  Not always easy when you work in an office environment but 3/4 length trousers and light cotton tops are my outfit of choice these days. Even light summer dresses can prove too uncomfortable.  Oh, and although there may be a written rule somewhere that bans sleeveless tops (I wouldn't know because I hardly wear sleeveless clothes outside of work because of the 'relationship' I have with my arms, never mind while at work) I've probably broken that rule and  I don't care.  I don't care because: 

1) I don't think many would question what I have on while it's this suffocating 

and 

2)I'm a bit of rule breaker anyway (and luckily always seem to get away with whatever rule I happen to be ignoring at any given time).  

The other day a woman on another team made a 'light' comment about my 3/4 length pink cargo pants, almost sheer black blouse and flip flops. My answering response was to brightly smile and say 'you are lucky I'm wearing any clothes today'.

Besides I have the kind of boss who wouldn't really notice if I'm inappropriately dressed unless it was my birthday suit that I was wearing.  She's a bit of a rule breaker herself. 

I'm looking forward to the weekend for so many reasons and hopefully will find the time to post about the various planned activities.  What I'm looking forward to most of all though is going here with Robert, Dawn & Carter.  

Andy and I went a few years ago and loved it.  The accommodation is great, the surrounding walks are beautiful and the food is stunning (although I'm disappointed to see that Foie Gras is on the menu this month - I know some people think it's a sign of a classy place but fair warning to any future dining companions: I couldn't sit at the table with you should you ever decide to order this when dining with me. Google it if you are unclear as to why). 

Sorry, I got a bit off track there yet in this world of free range chicken and organically bred food, I cannot understand why anyone who cares about this stuff could eat that. Ok, ok... my rant is over for real this time.  

It truly is a brilliant place to stay and eat in.  It's like almost stepping back into an historical English setting and everything is lovely including the rooms that are situated in the converted stables.  Even better is the deal they offer on Sundays - as long as you reserve a table in the restaurant, you can stop for the night for only £10.  How can you beat that deal?

Bring on the four day weekend. I'm so ready for it. 

July Talk

We usually kick July off round these parts with our annual Canada Day BBQ, however as the weather has been so unpredictable this year we decided to give it a miss.  Other contributing factors included our considerable lack of half decent garden furniture, (the gazebo has ended up in the bin after the wind nearly tore the canvas in half) and because Andy has been spending a lot of hours working away we just decided it was time for a break.  Stay tuned next year for our regularly scheduled event. 

Not much else has been going on other than I'm trying to keep focused on staying healthy and spending time with Molly and the kids. 

Jayden had another sleep over last night:

 (He is growing way to fast... he talks non stop but as yet it's still mostly indecipherable)

As the days have finally gotten a bit warmer we tend to wait till later in the evening to take the dogs on a long walk;  This is one of my favourite walks however Molly spends most of it with her tail between her legs and shaking in anticipation of the next big gun shot.  I'm trying to get her used to the fact that the farmer's 'canon' has been removed now that his crops have finally come through and the birds are no longer pinching all the seeds.  I sometimes wonder if that thing is half as effective at scaring off birds as it is at nearly giving my so called gun dog a heart-attack.  

Last weekend was glorious, which worked out well as we had our gorgeously garrulous niece Daisy come to stay:

Not only is she incredibly beautiful, she's a quirky and amusing child to have around.

The first time she tried to pretend she couldn't hear me and and I asked the question 'Daisy, who is the boss around here?' her answer was a resounding 'not me!'  Too right little miss, but it's worth a try.  It's certainly easy for Aunty Jojo to forget it sometimes when she smiles that cheeky grin.

Our course we had to visit Grandma and Grandad Allenby:

Ice-cream with Grandma 

On Sunday morning we met up with Andy's brother and his family for a row on the boating lake.  Archie was in his glory watching his dad and Uncle try to row in sync. 

 And because it was actually sunny and warm the little ones had lots of time in the garden splashing in Blue Fish

Later when I was hanging up the wet clothes Daisy asked me if I was her Granny too;  Indeed I'm not I said with a smile, I'm your Aunty Jojo; she laughed and said that was good because she like that better.  

Oh, if only everything else was as simple as the view from a 2 year old's perspective.

At the request of my husband and presumably number one fan, I will endeavour to get a little bit better at posting again.

Happy Friday everyone - hope you have a fantastic weekend.