The Seasonal Weekender #25

It’s been another hot, dry, sunny week: a fitting start to August and the ‘dog days’ of summer.

The moon was so brilliant the other night that the bright silver light woke me up, streaming in through my open windows. Although we’ve ordered and paid for the fabric, our roman blinds and curtains can’t be fitted until September, so we’re making do until then. One advantage to the delay is being able to admire the beautiful night skies and sunrises from the comfort of bed!

Otherwise, Mum and I have continued to unpack. At the start of the week, I carried upstairs the remaining 22 boxes of books (which will be unpacked when more bookshelves arrive for my bedroom) that were taking up space in the living room. My neck and shoulder are still very sore; they just can’t recover from the whiplash whilst I’m still doing so much and lifting heavy things. I slowed the pace for the rest of the week, and I hope to be in less pain next week.

There are two videos for Seasons of Story members to watch from this week:

• Mum and I celebrated the arrival of our much anticipated new sofa by filming a Mother & Daughter Book Chat as we sat on it.

• Lots of Seasons of Story friends joined us last Saturday for a live bookish chat over zoom. The video recording of this gathering is now ready to watch.

I hope you enjoy the latest Seasonal Weekender post: keep scrolling down for 3 recommendations from the week; 2 seasonal quotes and 1 journal prompt.

I’m very much looking forward to the release of Eleven Days by Laura Thompson ( @laura thompson) later this month. In this book, Thompson reenacts Agatha Christie’s movements during her infamous 11 day disappearance. Part of the action takes place in Harrogate, so I’m particularly keen on learning more about the Yorkshire angle.

As a life-long ballet lover, I was keen to watched this episode of Our Lives on BBC One, which features Royal Ballet Principal Ballerina, Melissa Hamilton. At 36, Hamilton became the oldest ballerina to be made Principal in Royal Ballet history. Her story, told through this 30 minute program, is inspiring for anyone who’s ever been told they couldn’t achieve a goal that mattered to them.

If I lived closer, I would love to visit the exhibition of British Landscapes: a Sense of Place at Pallant House Gallery, which is on until the start of November. Click here to find out more about the exhibition and watch the video trailer. For those, like me, who live too far away, the exhibition catalogue looks fabulous.

1/

The French windows of his dining-room stood wide open. The August morning, shining and scented, lured him outside. He passed from the green lawn through a tunnel of rose-trees to his kitchen garden. The flagged walks were warm and golden. Already on the southward wall the peaches gave out a sweet, hot smell. He liked to gather peaches straight from the wall, with the warmth of the sun on them…

— May Sinclair

2/

The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are the strange and breathless days, the dog days…

— Natalie Babbitt

What do you want to make the most of in this last month of summer? Spending time in your garden or outdoors? Long nights? Plenty of excuses for BBQs or picnics with friends? Time to read and relax? Write your answers in your journal.

Have a lovely week ahead everyone!