Bye bye July.

      I just can't believe we're at the end of July already. And the school holidays are upon us. Though this year my services have  not been required so far! Big Grandson, being now all of fourteen, has his own ideas of how he wants to spend his days and it's not exactly with his Nana doing nana-ish sort of things. He is going off with his (adopted) Dad for a week next week - they are going to be camping in France, just him and his Father's Father, which I'm sure will be fun. He will be doing French for one of his GCSE subjects, so hopefully they will be speaking a bit of French while they are there. When he comes back I'm planning a day in London at the V&A, including a look at the Frida Kahlo exhibition. He surprised me when I suggested it, thinking that he wouldn't know who she was, but he did and was delighted at the prospect of going. Art is another of his GCSE choices, and he has a pretty enlightened young Art Teacher whom we call Mr. Cool (mainly because he wears a cool leather jacket and rides a cool motorbike to school). I'm pretty sure that Frida Kahlo will be his cup of tea, and he will be interested in her life story. Anyway, that's a plan which meets with his approval so I need to book tickets. Otherwise he seems to be into "chillin" and meeting up with his friends, little Alfie, who comes up to his elbow, and big Kai who is the same huge size as Grandson and with whom he goes to Boxing  on Thursdays - so far so normal.
      Yesterday evening I went to look at a bicycle which was for sale, and  made the mistake of trying to ride it when I could see it was too big and too heavy for me. Haha, I promptly fell over, with the bike on top of me. I screamed and the sweet lady who was selling the bike looked very alarmed and
tried to help me up. I slowly felt around and discovered that I wasn't badly hurt. My chest was painful and I had a job getting up, but no bones broken and only a few bruises. That'll teach me - I really need to acknowledge that I am not as sprightly as I once was.
      Oops I seem to have slipped into August and that's typical of me - I start something and then wander off and forget about it. Ah well, happy August...

Stalled again..

      I don't know why but I can't seem to move in any direction at the mo! The possibility of selling this house came and went very quickly - though it was a positive experience because all the people who came to view were very impressed with what I have done. At least that's what they said after the Agent had shown them round (should that be shewn?), and there were 6 viewings in 2 weeks with one cash offer very close to the asking price. I felt that was a good result and though I definitely felt I couldn't move in a hurry, it did reassure me about the value of my house. After all I spent a great deal of money on refurbishing it, and in the current climate (what with Brexit etc) I wasn't sure about property values, even here in the South East, close to Brighton, which is usually a "hot spot". So a positive response, and I look around and feel that it was worth spending the money to make the house "perfect". Instead of spending a fortune on moving, I'm planning to spend it on nice trips and fun!!
      Big Grandson will be pleased anyway,  because although he would like me to be living next door  to Daughter and Co, he doesn't want me to sell this house - not surprising I guess because when he stays with me he has his own bedroom and bathroom, and I simply let him be which is important for teenagers I think. Yes he plays on his XBox a lot, but we always balance that with stuff we do together, like eating supper and watching a movie :)) - sometimes even playing Scrabble -  and his Mum does limit his game time, which is good. I was listening this morning to a programme on Radio 4 about children with addiction problems related to their phones, screens and social media in general. It's difficult to deal with and obviously something to be aware of and guard against..
      The first trip I'm planning is another Barcelona jolly with the very same Big Grandson. I'm just looking at flights and we are going for a week at the end of August, the week before he goes back to school. We are planning to stay with Son and family in Barcelona and will do some lovely things I'm sure. They are five minutes from the beach and the weather should still be hot. One thing we won't be doing is taking his X Box!
      P.S. I have been watching and listening to the golf over the weekend, as it sort of helps me through my football withdrawal symptoms! One of the commentators happened to mention that "Harry Kane, England Captain" was among the spectators. I felt immensely cheered by that - there he was, apparently wearing sunglasses, enjoying some time off watching the Open. What Larks!