Let the summer begin

Wow - nearly two months and no post and it feels good to be back in the land of the living and the world of blogging. After two months of manic working the summer holidays are finally here. Yet again, just like every other year, I have limped towards the summer holidays, 'just a few weeks/days/hours to go,' I would tell myself. I now have six weeks to get on with my 'normal' life before starting another year of madness in September. My plans for this summer are as follows:

1. Clean the house - the house is like something out of the programme 'Life of Grim'. I actually saw my house for the first time in daylight yesterday (slightly exaggerated but not much) and realised the squalor that JB and I have been living in . In the grand scheme of things it's probably not that bad, I am not talking rats but simply a build up of dust behind the u bend of the sink but it's still disgusting. So, on the second day of my holiday, I donned the gloves and got cracking on the house and boy it feels good to be in a clean house again.

2. Visit all the people I never have time to see - I've managed to meet up with one of my best girlfriends last weekend and finally got to meet her 9 month old daughter who is just yummy. I also need to see Mrs. HB and Teach as well as family.

3. Go on holiday - we are, as a family, going to Scotland in August to stay in a Lochside cottage. I plan to do very little except eat well, catch up with JB's family and most importantly, not think about work.

4. Get a head start on my Master's work - I will start my second and final year in September so want to get a couple of thousand words ready to go as I anticipate a very busy year next year.

5. Start sending my writing out in an attempt to get published - I'm not talking big-time publishing just an article in a journal or something. I have about 8000 words to play around with and am hoping to adapt some of my assignments from my MA into something remotely publishable. It is my goal to get published before I'm 30 so not long to go!



6. Got Port Eliot Festival - for the second year running JB has managed to get us free tickets (usually costing £260) thanks to his literary connections! It is a fantastic way to start your summer and totally chilled. It's not like other festivals, it's small(ish) scale, random and hippyish set in the ancient grounds of Port Eliot House. It used to be a Literary festival so it's right up our street - last year JB went to the poet's tent and wrote a poem for me off the top of his head - he makes it look so easy. They have music, drinking, art, fashion, food (lots of it's veggie for a change) people sleeping in teepees and all this is scattered across the hills and woodland of Port Eliot. Pictures and tales of our adventures at the festival will follow.

7. Spend some time with JB and our home - our best days are those when you wake up and realise that you don't have to get up for anything, but we always do as we cherish our time at home and it seems a wast to spend it sleeping. One of us will eventually get up (it's usually me and JB would agree) and make some fresh coffee and muffins. We will eat them in bed where I will probably moan about the crumbs in the bed, or if the weather's nice we will sit in the garden on the decking watching and laughing at our rabbits, Honey and Hartley, going about their business. After several more cups of coffee we will get ready - perhaps for a picnic, a walk or maybe a return to one of our places, usually deep in the countryside, where we spent much of the summer when we first met.


This is what I look forward to most; those lazy days when September seems so far away, just me and him.