It's DIY season again! '“ Verity Lush

 More that you can go home this evening, sit there, and not find one thing that you need to do or update.

Perhaps the phenomenally rich live in such a state. Do they even notice their coving?

The Lush family are currently in a state of summer redecoration. Last year we tackled all three bedrooms and the dining room.

Given that we swapped two bedrooms around, this was no mean feat. The aforementioned dining room was filled with the contents of said bedrooms and I find it extremely difficult to live surrounded by disarray.

The kids, of course, adore it. This year, we are redecorating the kitchen and the utility room, before we progress to the hallway and stairs.

My money is on Daddy Lush having been so Farrow and Balled out  by then that the paint tins will sit, unopened, until next spring.

The entirety of the kitchen has been transported to the living room and the offspring have taken this to mean that their usual slobby standards of housekeeping (think wrappers tucked down the arms of sofas) are simply de rigueur for DIYers.

Mummy Lush does not. 

In fact, Mummy Lush is now walking around wild-haired, gimlet-eyed, clutching sandpaper, and sporting her DIY-wear (this includes a 22 year old pair of shorts once purchased in Next for a single-girls' holibobs in Greece. Different times, different times!), while  trying not to question why she still owns shorts that are older than the combined age of her children anyway.

The other highlight for the kids is the lack of proper cooking. The littlest Lush is thrilled, for example, because the cooker is out of use. '˜Oooh. No squishy peppers or onions for me then!' was the cry of success. 

If she could have her way, we'd do away with the oven entirely, along with Mummy's sanity.

 

We're locking in memories of really super summer holidays

We have been living in strange weather times this year. 

Snow in March, super sunshine throughout June and July (known as a '˜heatwave' in the UK but '˜summer' to the rest of the world), and who knows what autumn will bring.

It's an acknowledged fact that most adults, filled with nostalgia for youth, recall endless summers from when they were young.

But perhaps all it takes is one such summer, 2018 for example, to seal that memory in and lock it away ready to pull out for your children or grandkids one day.

My girls have never spent so much time in the sea and I am hoping the memories of the rockpooling, the jellyfish, and the starfish, will remain.

 

From preening beach teen to sun cream sergeant major 

We visit the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall each year and it never disappoints.  

Crystal turquoise water with white sand and hidden coves. No crowds, no litter, no disposable barbecues and no fag smoke. Nobody swigging booze or snogging each other into a state of oxygen deprivation, while you and your little ones build sandcastles galore.

Different stages of life bring different priorities, and I was once the teen on the beach with mates.

Fast forward a couple of decades and you no longer care much how you look in a bikini, you become a sun cream sergeant major and you willingly sport a hat while imploring those around you to do likewise.