It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? Easter this year fell during a couple of family birthdays and between all the chocolate and the sunshine making an appearance and E working all-hours on a massive change at work, we felt we needed a little break from writing. Now we are back.
I’ve found April to be a real tonic so far. Those dark January and February evenings and never-ending March seem a life time ago. I can’t put my finger on any specific reason why but I suspect it’s because there’s been so many little things that have sparked my joy over the past few weeks. And in true de-la-Haye Girls fashion, there’s no better way to share these musings with you that via a list!
So here we go. These are the little things that have made my heart sing:-
- Iggy Box subscription – this was a celebratory gift that E kindly purchased for me and I’ve been so impressed! For a very modest fee, each month the company posts a hand-poured candle from a small independent business, as well as some other treats too. The aromas and burn-time have been great and I have a nice little stockpile growing that can be used as re-gifts if I’m ever caught short, and if I can bear to be parted with these gorgeous candles. If you’re searching for a thoughtful gift, I can’t recommend Iggy Box enough. Get a subscription for yourself too, it’s a lovely midweek pick-me-up.
- Chip’s daily adventures – our rescue tom cat tabby, Chip, has been with us for about a month now and it’s been so lovely to watch him becoming braver – and naughtier – each day. Chip had previously been an indoor cat so we had no idea if he would want to explore our garden but he’s fallen in love with the great outdoors. I could spend all day watching him chasing butterflies and wading through the grass like a tiger. He did give me a mild heartache two nights ago when he ventured out and didn’t come back once it was dark, but hey, cats are gonna cat.
- BBQ weather – Vince’s Mum and Dad very kindly gifted us an unused barbeque right in time for that spot of sun over the Easter bank holiday weekend and we’ve gotten such good use out of it. The smoky flavour you get from the grill is so good, it just tastes like summer to me. It’s also encouraging us to make proper use of our garden which has been pretty unloved up until now. Oh, and our latest obsession is fajitas but with the veggies and proteins flame-grilled on the BBQ – thank me later.
- Line of Duty – anyone else hooked? I’ve had to go back to the beginning as I’d totally forgotten how everything unfolded and now Vince is re-watching it with me. We love a series to dive into and follow along and we haven’t had anything this gripping since Game of Thrones.
- Turning our walks into runs – the sun just makes everything that little bit easier, doesn’t it? I’ve really been enjoying transitioning our daily walk into a run. Stick on a banging playlist and let those endorphins run riot.
E’s list:
- My new phone is bringing me much joy. It is midnight blue and has the snazziest set of cameras. Oh, I shall be a happy snapper all summer long and will post lots of photos to TdlHG Insta grid!
- Seeing my beautiful Mum, who I’ve not seen in person since December. I cannot wait. Mum turned 80 earlier this month and we have a belated little celebration planned for a weekend very soon.
- 3 July. After not being able to see my gang of besties from school since Christmas 2019, we have a July date in diaries for shopping, a late lunch/early dinner (depending on your point of view) and drinks. I cannot wait. We’ve managed several, rowdy Zoom catch-ups over the past year, but I’ve missed the Famous Five (our very tongue-in-cheek name for ourselves) so much.
- Raw Love’s white chocolate and cream wafer bars. They are sublime – think Kinder Bueno for vegans. We buy them by the case.
- This one’s going to sound massively pretentious, but honestly, it’s not meant to. For A-levels many, many years ago, one of my English literature set texts was the poetry of W B Yeats, which I adored. I’ve recently finished reading a biography of his life and am part of the way through re-reading his collected poems. They are even better than I remembered and, be still my beating heart, I found a recording online of Cillian Murphy reading one my favourites, When You Are Old, in his native Dublin accent. Swoon. I am planning a road trip to Ireland to visit all the places that were so important to Yeats: Dublin, Rosses Point and Ben Bulben in Sligo and his beloved Thoor Ballylee in Galway. Oh yes, great plans are emerging.
What little things have lifted your spirits this Springtime? ~ the de-la-Haye Girls