escaping...

I am not a last minute person. I have planning hang ups and just the teeniest bit of control freakish-ness (ok, I'll confess to a teeny bit...). But about 3 weeks ago, with a blank canvas week off work, a birthday looming and a rather desperate urge to see some sunshine, I had a brief character transplant and rather rashly booked a last minute holiday in the sun.

It was a bit rash. I was kind of kidding myself I could afford it (my credit card bill now reminds me that wasn't really the case!), I definitely should have used that time to try to get my life in order and I hadn't really thought through the timing in terms of work commitments (away for work for two days, back for a very long day at work on the Friday, home at 10pm, leaving for Luton airport at 3am!!! Lousy planning!).

But...I packed in the quickest time imaginable, turned off the phone and the work email, picked up a book, my just acquired kindle (hand me down from lovely friend) and some sunscreen and walked away from the madness for a week.

It was probably a major case of running away, putting my head in the sand, whatever... And in our case its certainly true to say that if you book cheap, last minute you get what you pay for! But it was a break, a bit of enforced down time. And although I am paying for it in trying to catch up with myself again this week, actually I think I have come back with renewed energy and a bit more drive. For now in any case...

Just a few of my snaps of escape to Fuerteventura...

The point at which I properly believe I am really going on holiday...!

Beautiful blue, blue sea...

Honestly, it really was this colour!

Evening walks with the sun low in the sky and still warm enough to be comfortable...

Beautiful beaches (before most of the resort woke) ...

And if you walked beyond the end of the general walkway...

Deserted lava rock coastline...

cheeky little barbary squirrels...

Ice cold beer at a fab little restaurant serving delicious simple Spanish dishes...

Black sand...not everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it was rather beautiful...

Pretty flowers...

Stunning, if somewhat barren, landscapes...

Pretty villages...

And more glorious coastline...

We drank bracing coffee...

played scrabble (on an app!) by the pool...

and spent lots of time just watching (and trying to capture!) the waves crashing onto the rocks...

We spent my birthday (47!!! how can that be possible?!!) on the southernmost tip of the island where the beaches are long stretches of golden sand, with gently lapping clear aqua water...

A bit of dressing up to go out to eat meant a rare switch, with me the 'wrong' side of the camera...!

Fuerteventura was seriously touristy and tacky in places, but it was very easy to escape to beautiful, peaceful spots...

I don't think I can describe how restorative it was to sit in this deserted bay feeling the warmth of the sun...

And although the wind can certainly blow on this island...

...it was absolutely like a breath of fresh air that I needed way more than I realised.

I think I can safely recommend escaping for a bit.

Now, how many dishes can I make with lentils this month while the finances recover...?!

Sx

Taking time to 'smell the roses'...

Is it me, or does life seem to just fly by? I can't decide if its because the weather is being so fickle and it doesn't really feel like early summer yet or if its an 'age thing'...?! Every now and then I have an irrational sense of panic that my life is like the contents of one of those sand filled egg timers, running away with no way to slow it down. When you begin to think how many years you've already been here (and yes, I'm racing towards another birthday - surely it can't be that time of year again?!!) and do the maths about what's likely to be left... Time to start doing those things on the list of 'really want to...' methinks!

Anyway, in the brief interlude when we had something that resembled summer weather we did take time to enjoy a bit of British seaside bliss. This was the second May bank holiday weekend and Tom and I decided to savour the sunshine with a trip to Southwold. I do tend to think of this as the 'posh' beach town, a bit... it has an air of middle class respectability with its selection of high street arty/crafty shops, artisan bakeries and tea shops. But it does have a nice atmosphere and you can get a lush icecream!

Doesn't this look just a classic British seaside scene???

I love the coloured beach huts and the rolling waves...

I know the sea is always a bit murky coloured and the surf hardly impressive but this is the seaside of my childhood and makes me think of buckets and spades, coloured windmills to stick in sandcastles and gritty sandwiches.

I love the colours in this rusty old bollard in the sunshine...

It was just lovely to sit and eat ice cream and absorb a bit of warmth...

I'd like to distill these moments to savour when everything is cold and grey!

The weather lasted just long enough for me to take another day in the garden at my old house and although the main purpose was to try to keep things looking neat and tidy, it would have been crazy not to take a bit of time to appreciate it too. This is always when the garden looks at its best with lush colourful borders.

Everything seems to have gone mad in the last couple of weeks since I went out there. And things I thought I'd lost have appeared, including these alliums - which I planted ages ago and never really came to much. This year they are flowering really well...

The lilac smells heady...

...and the aquilegias, as always, look pretty, nodding in the breeze...

The peony is excelling itself this year too - I don't think I have ever seen it with so many blooms. Oddly, it doesn't photograph very well. It is actually a really rich deep red but somehow seems to bleach out a bit in a photo, maybe because it has such shiny petals? 

I do love it though, its such a blowsy, brash number! You can even see it shouting out from the far side of the garden!

In the foreground here you can see something else I got a bit over excited about - the dark purple iris buds you can see are flowering for the first time! I think I planted them about 15 years ago and they have never done more than had lovely architectural leaves. Ironic that these things are doing so well this year now that I am not living there! Although...it looks as though the next step in this protracted 'division of assets' process (all feels very clinical when you start getting into the legal language) might result in me moving back there in the sort term to get on with getting it on the market... Not necessarily my preferred option but can't see it ever happening otherwise...

 And it would be nice to do more than just unpaid gardening!

Though I did take 5 minutes to just admire the blue sky before driving home...

Given that today, I resorted to putting the heating back on (for goodness sake, weather! Its June!!!) I am glad of a reminder of a sunny day!

Now, must stop daydreaming and get back to jobs in hand...lets see if my car has made it through its MOT?!!

Sx