August has disappeared in a flash. We’ve been camping, celebrated birthdays and best of all, finally booked our honeymoon in Iceland!! Poor Scott has listened to me say, “I’m so excited about our trip to Iceland!” in a crazed voice at least once a day. We are now in the process of planning our activities.
Eating
Lots of homegrown sweetcorn. Hands down my favourite crop at the allotment. So sweet and juicy, delicious even without butter. There are only a few cobs left but we will savour every one.
- Sweet potato mash with browned butter and maple syrup.
- Hestons Barbecue sauce
- Knekkebrod (I’m still addicted)
- Italian almond cookies
- Vegetarian stuffed marrow
Making
I discovered a project called the 100 Days Project. You repeat an activity every day for 100 days. Drawing is something I rarely do anymore so I have chosen to draw every day for the duration of the project.
A soil moisture sensor for our house plants. Scott bought the kit for my birthday. The red LED blinks when the soil is too dry which prevent me over watering. Last weekend we both had projects to solder so we had a bit of a making session.
Watching
August has been a great month for things to watch.
- Mr. Robot series 2 is a dramatised version of the Anonymous group.
- Brief Encounters is a series about a group of Ann Summer sales women.
- Robot Wars.
Growing
The only crops growing at the allotment now are sweetcorn, butternut squash and beans. Having harvested and eaten these borlotti beans earlier in the month I wish we’d grown more. Saying that, the reason we didn’t have more was because of the damn slugs. Grrrr.
Exploring
We went camping for a couple of nights earlier in the month and this was our view. Watching a meteor shower and eating a cooked breakfast in the sunshine were the highlights of the weekend.
Dreaming
I always dream a lot and normally each one is quite different. However this month, I keep dreaming about the same thing over and over again; being late for transport. I hate being late so it’s infuriating! Rushing to the bus station only to find the bus has gone or been cancelled. Arriving at the train station and realising I’m in the wrong place. Boarding on a plane without my luggage.
Feeling
Excited that Autumn is on its way. It’s my favourite season and I love everything it brings; knitwear, fruit crumble, comfort food and cold mornings. Cannot wait.
Less scarred, hooray! Do you remember I posted a photo of my scars in July? After a month of using the cream I bought (Dr. Organic Vitamin E Scar Serum) this is what they look like now. So pleased!
During an appointment about my arm pain, I asked my doctor if she could recommend anything to help reduce my hip scar. Apparently it’s keloid scarring which is why it’s itchy and sore. I was prescribed a Dermatix silicone sheet to wear over the top to help reduce the overgrown tissue (sexy I know). Now my clothes aren’t rubbing on it all the time I’m much more comfortable. I know this isn’t very glamorous news but I wanted to share it in case it helps someone else.
That’s all for August!
It sounds like you had such an amazing August! I’m so jealous of your sweetcorn! I tried last year and this year and they’ve failed both! I probably didn’t plant enough in the blocks to pollinate them.
I love that plant water monitor! It looks amazing – I’d be useless at making anything like that though (I don’t have the patience)! Totally up Shane’s street though haha!
Iceland is AMAZING! We were only there for 3.5 days so only did the typical touristy stuff, of the Golden Circle (hire a car – it’s way cheaper), and the Blue Lagoon (so overpriced and touristy, but you can’t go to Iceland and not go to it). I’d love to go back and explore more of the country though, like the black sand beaches and more of the other waterfalls!
xo April | April Everyday
Yes, rows definitely make a difference. I sowed a row last year and they didn’t do that well, we had about 5 cobs. This time I made a block and they’ve done much better. Warm weather has helped too. Thanks you for your Iceland recommendations! So far we have a tour booked (black sand beaches and waterfalls) but couldn’t decide whether to visit the Blue Lagoon or not. A few people have said the same as you so we might go afterall 🙂 I’m counting down the days!!
Ahhh so much goodness in this catch up Gemma – foodie heaven!
I love the 100 days project idea, I’m heading over to take a read more about it in a moment. I love that you have a separate site for me to stalk now.
That’s a big difference with the scars in just a few weeks 🙂
The Blue Lagoon wasn’t my bag I must admit. We hired a car and did the waterfalls and black sand beaches thing and it was great. Just before Vik is the Sodenhiemer plane wreck site (I might have spelt that wrong!) and that’s awesome. Ah you’ll have such a blast! What time of the year are you going? In May-July time there’s a mountain range that turns shades of purple, orange and yellows that you can walk, stopping overnight in bunkhouses – that sounded pretty darn special.
We have never managed to see the Northern Lights on trips, both organised and unorganised, but there’s a free app you can use that predicts how likely you’ll be to see them given the weather and date etc. Like a BBC weather app for the Norther Lights. That’s well worth downloading and using before booking a night tour to try to see them 🙂
Sorry Annie, been a bit slow to reply to comments on this post. Thanks for your verdict on the Blue Lagoon — we’re still undecided. I recently read it was very smelly (another thing added to our cons list)!! Walking and stopping in bunkhouses sounds like a good way to explore Iceland. We are going in October so hopefully the weather will allow us to get plenty of walks in.
I love how you’ve analysed and dissected August, all the different aspects of your summer laid out here. I enjoyed reading. For me, August slowed right down and rolled up collection of memories. Iceland is wonder! so excited for you.
Thanks Gemma 🙂 Can’t wait to go!