chaliepud

That's where my other half works, he spends very little time outside this time of year, he just goes between air conditioned buildings and the swimming pool!

I finished two books on holiday, Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah and The Confectioner's Tale by Laura Madeleine, both great reads. Now reading a non fiction book, the Life Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo, very interesting!

Thanks everyone!! :) Will pm you Noll x

Thanks all! Just back in the UK, we had a fab time, very hot though! Will update with some pics later.

Well, we are off on our hols in the early hours.. See you all in a week! :)

Thank you!

It's sad to hear you're feeling stressed and it is affecting your reading. Hopefully everything will be resolved soon and you will be able to relax a little and enjoy your achievements. What is your plan once you are settled? Are you still going to be studying or will you be looking for a job?

Thanks Noll! I love it! The wedding was lovely, a few rain showers but luckily not during the outdoor ceremony and when we gathered for photos. That's a strange M&S, I am intrigued!

This is my old bookcase, that I dismantled and rebuilt in the dining room.. excuse Obi photo bombing! This bookcase has my favourite read books and some of mine and the kids non-fiction. This is my new bookcase, I love it, the wood is so solid and the colour is deep and warm. The middle three shelves are my TBR's, the top shelf is Steves and the bottom is mainly made up of my dog books. These are the books that are on my holiday short list..I need to whittle it down to two, plus one to start now.

The guy with the truck would need to be big and strong too .. sounds like perfect boyfriend material to me! I wonder what your M&S will be like, you must report and let us know, it sounds like one of the mini food ones? They must sell Percy Pigs, jelly sweets shaped into pig heads, Maddie adores them and they have quite a following over here. Their fresh produce is lovely and in summer they sometimes sell the hugest strawberries, so sweet and juicy! I suppose I'll find out today about my boys.. if I can't drag them off the dance floor or their phones, I suspect it'll be the latter!

I finished The Snow Angel by Lulu Taylor in the early hours, a new author for me, a nice easy read, set in the 1960's and current day, both settings tied neatly together at the end even though I had pretty much guessed the outcome.

Wouldn't that be amazing?! I got it from good ol' Marks and Spencer's, a British institution.. Plus my Mum gets a 20% discount. Have taken a couple of pics, will put up later if I get a chance, we are off to a wedding this afternoon, the boys aren't looking forward to it at all!

Ok.. I bought a new bookcase and that is now as full of books as the other one! Time to stop buying books for a while as I am back to a 100+ on my TBR shelves, it used to be shelf! The only exception I will make is Vanessa Diffenbaugh's new book, We Never Asked for Wings which is due out in September. Surely it can't be any harder than giving up bread and sugar?!

Loved that book!

Hmm, that's a good suggestion Kay.. will hook it out, about time I read it! Thank you x I will post some pics on Facebook at some point, although they will probably look exactly the same as the ones three years ago, we'll all just look a bit older! I'm looking forward to being able to join in the activities this year though as I had an injured arm last time so couldn't rock climb etc. Thanks Gaia, I will miss them dreadfully, but I won't miss being woken up far too early with Jojo licking my face! Oh he does, I'm sure if he could speak he would ask if he could go and live with Nanny!

If I Stay - sentimental drivel but my daughter quite liked it.. For teen girls only I'd say!!

I did look at The Stand actually, as then I'd only have to take one book.. but may be a bit uncomfortable to hold and heavy to carry around.. The Ice Cream one is a good shout but Claire has said that it's the sequel to another book so I'm waiting to get that one. You'd be a great doggy sitter as you'd respect their likes and dislikes, not everyone does. Obi will be very happy as he is going to stay with my Mum and Dad, who he adores. Jojo is going to a doggy friend who has 2 Dalmatians and a little Jack Russell/ Chihuahua cross so she won't be bored!

Cattle dogs like to sleep upside down.. no idea why! This is Jojo as a pup, with her head in a bowl! ">http://

I always find it better to under dress slightly for all physical activities as its horrible feeling over heated and reduces energy output. I'm sure you soon warmed up? How lovely that you can run in woodland. I hope you watch out for tree roots! I knackered my knees running on concrete and track which wasn't the lovely bouncy stuff they have now.. Now if I run (which isn't often) I stick to grass or mud/sandy paths. Some running on paths won't do much harm as long as you wear cushioned running shoes, again something that was lacking in the 80's.. On my budget anyhow!

Thanks Janet I would imagine a city cruise away from the school holidays and intense heat would be wonderful, and definitely something Steve and I would like to do when the kids are able to be left at home. You'd be better with one of the smaller ships that can go into the smaller ports like Venice though, we are on one of the huge ones because it has the best activities for the kids, so it only stops at the major ports.

Yes I quite liked it too, gave it 4/5, it was a little unbelievable but in the nicest possible way. It's a short read too so nice to slot in between heavier reads.

Just a week till we go on our cruise, I need to decide what books to take! I suppose something not too heavy, in both a literal and literary sense, I'll probably only take two as we're only going for a week and there won't be huge amounts of lazing around time as we like to be active on holiday and try new things. I need to browse my TBR list (on my first page) and decide soon! There is a library onboard the ship so I'm sure I'll find something there if I manage to finish both. The only thing I hate about holidays is leaving my doggies behind.

Sounds lovely Claire, may get Maddie to bake something for the kids later. I've walked the dogs, showered and had a couple of boiled eggs with some coconut water. Now to get some chores done then I am taking the kids bowling then to Byrons Burgers for a treat..fingers crossed they do decent salads. Then home to do the ironing, this time next week we will be starting our holiday, plus Steve arrives home Thursday evening so I need to start getting organised!

Same here too Claire, on the plus side we had a lovely long quiet walk in the rain with the dogs.

Ive started The Snow Angel by Lulu Taylor, a family drama set in 1960's and present time.. Good so far.