What I'm looking forward to this summer

I'm so glad that the weather is finally turning warmer! After a wonderful weekend spent outdoors I'm really hoping that there will be many more.

Some of the things that I'm looking forward to this summer:

Being able to go out for a run and not having to wrap up in long leggings and a thick jumper. I do warm up when I'm running, but I hate that first step out of the door into a freezing world. I feel self-conscious wearing my shorts, but I remind myself that people aren't really paying me any attention, and I think I run faster in shorts as my legs can move more easily!

Plenty of outdoor pizza and barbecues. We love our pizza oven, and even though this year we've made a switch to a new indoor Ooni Volt rather than the Ooni Koda that we've been using for years, we've still been making the pizza and bringing it outside to eat. For some reason it's only pizza and barbecue food that we eat outside, I need to make more of an effort to take our usual meals to eat in the garden too!

Enjoying an occasional fire pit. It's so nice to sit by the firepit in the early evening with the family, we usually use a fire log which takes about an hour to burn and it's the perfect amount of time for a drink or a singalong with a child playing the ukulele.

Being able to hang the washing outside. I love our tumble dryer but I much prefer hanging out the washing. I quite enjoy the process of hanging it out and then watching it blow in the breeze. 

Going for long evening walks. On a dry summer evening my husband and I go out for a walk after dinner, sometimes our regular route around the houses, sometimes we drive down to the seafront and walk that way. It's a nice opportunity to catch up rather than just sitting about on phones, and the exercise helps the dinner go down.

Photo credit Lawrence Hookham via Unsplas

The longest day of the year - this year it's the 20th June. It always feels like a magical day to me. Last year my husband was away and I sat out alone in the garden for the evening while it got dark, reading and writing in my journal, it was really peaceful. 

Getting away - in July we have a short break booked to a fantastic Airbnb in Devon that we have stayed in before. Our previous holidays have been in December and February, so I'm looking forward to seeing what it is like in the summer. There is a lovely garden and an area with bifold doors so I'm hoping for good weather so that we can make the most of it!

Glastonbury! I love watching Glastonbury on the television and reminiscing about my festival days. We put a little pop up tent in the living room and I decorate with flower garlands and flags. Then I print out the schedule and highlight the acts that I want to watch. I've not had a proper look at the line up yet but I do know that Coldplay are performing and I can always find something that I want to see.

Enjoying having the children around. Now that they are older they are usually found in their rooms, but they will come down if persuaded. I'm hoping that they will spend some time with me, maybe playing in the garden, going for walks, or just sitting together as we work on our own projects.

What are you looking forward to this summer?