Sunday Sevens Rebooted

July 4-10, 2020

It's strange doing my Sunday Sevens again... on a Friday (but there's no rules baby, I'm running amok!). This week I've been chasing marbles across laminate, smiling like a crazy bitch in Waitrose, standing in David Hockney paintings, trying to not drink and then having my first pub-pint (no will power, but I like it), experiencing what a cherry glut is and feeling smug, and laughing (and I mean proper laughing)!

This is my round-up of the week...

I don't know whether it's because crime on Netflix is so freaking amazing, or simply the fact that I don't usually do the supermarket shopping, but I just haven't been out that much on my own since lock-down. But this week I got let loose in Waitrose in Canterbury! Masked up and hyper, I queued up patiently before being released into the world of "oh my god, grab everything that looks delicious!". Beer, deli stuff, pizza, all of aisle 2 and even some squid got piled in the trolley, and then I got to the magazine aisle (the real reason I was there). There was only ONE copy of Vogue with the David Hockney cover and fuck... that was enough to send me over the edge of excitement. I took a fricking photo, I was so pleased*.

During lock-down I've been doing a lot of walking. Not a new thing for me, but I've enjoyed it more, and my walks have been getting longer and longer (no, I don't need some peace and sodding quiet away from people, honest). I say I'll be back in an hour but sometimes I get lost. I like following unknown, overgrown footpaths, getting stung by nettles and plopping out in strange fields sometimes face-to-face with alpacas and other weird-looking Disney creatures. But this week, I realised that I was standing in a real-life David Hockney painting and it made me tear up! The cornfields of the Vogue cover just all around me - bloody marvellous!

I used to love watching Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall when he had cute chubby cheeks and talked about his fruit 'glut' at River Cottage. I always wanted to have a glut of something. Who knew at 47 I was to have my first cherry glut! I feel so smug and like a 'Mrs Woman'. The cherry tree I planted ten years ago has finally (finally sweet Jesus thank you) managed to (I can't say 'produce' as that sounds like this tree knows what it's doing) shit out a hefty amount of cherries. This tree does not know what it's doing. For years it has squirted out horrible-looking red things that the birds laugh at!

Hey there cats and kittens! So this happened - a Tiger King t'shirt! Are you jealous? Shut up, yes you are! My adorable friend, Rach, got me this for my birthday and gave it to me yesterday. We've both been obsessed with Netflix's incredible Tiger King documentary, and she can do a fantastic Carole Baskin impression which cracks me up. This t'shirt has just made me so happy! I won't wear anything else now. Joe Exotic is just the most hilarious proper criminal I can think of. Please please please can the mullet come back into fashion! 

I went for a walk with friends and ended up at the Duck Inn where I had my first pub-pint since March! It tasted so you're-the-only-thing-I'll-ever-drink-again good! Best pint I've ever had. Thank you Krombacher, sorry Guinness I'll chose you next time I promise. 

Before I danced into the pub and cooed over my first pint, I was thinking that I've been boozing like it's Christmas since March, and maybe I needed to slow down. I've been on party ah-fuck-it mode for a bit too long, and so I have been trying to drink just at weekends. I have no will power, it's not really worked. I like wine with my lunch, shoot me! But I have discovered that not drinking everyday makes me appreciate the times I do. Like waiting for that pub-pint made it taste so much better. So I'm going to try. As Mr V said "It's Tuesday! Tuesday! What's so good about Tuesday that you gotta drink a full bottle of wine?" (actually, I was celebrating the three-hour nap I had today! That's a reason! Yes it is!).

A joy-filled theme throughout lock-down has been home-schooling. If it was up to me, I'd home-school my Girlie all the time, but thankfully it's not or she'd be even more eccentric (happy but bat-shit crazy). It's never good to be pleased when your child cries, but yesterday she cried because she loves home-school so much and doesn't want to go back to normal school in September (yes I know, this is going to bite me in the arse). But we have had so much fun and this week we did Anton Gaudi-inspired collages (I've been finding sea-glass and marbles everywhere ever since). Doing creative stuff with Girlie has taught me a lot. 

It doesn't matter if what you are creating is not perfect, the fact you're doing something, is better than doing nothing.

You are your biggest critic, so ignore those who try to chip in.

Perfectionism is a crock of shit. Beauty is imperfect - get over it. 

Having fun is what life is all about, so just get stuck in. 

Dropped marbles can scatter faster than the speed of light on a laminate floor. 

If you've had a similar week to mine let me know!

XXXXX

*As I was adding the link to British Vogue and the David Hockney cover, I saw someone has put that issue on ebay for £59.99! Galloping Guinea Pigs!!