Blobbing out on the beach

(This just looks weird and out of order now - it wasn't blogger's fault after all, it was Flock, the browser.)

Well, the holiday is starting to feel like a distant memory already - the tan's fading fast (factor 20 for the bod and 30 for the face this time round - what was I thinking in my younger days of coconut oil?) as are the mosquito bites. Poor old Skein King got stung by a jellyfish - and no, I didn't wee on it!

Speaking of fish, check out my sandfish - ok, so it needs a bit of work:
Skein King doesn't take a tan well being of the Irish skin variety - he sort of goes from blueish white to pinkish white - bless him - and this was after a three mile walk along the beach in the middle of the day in beating hot sun:
The kids enjoyed themselves:
And d'you know what they gave me for my birthday while we were out there? Domain names for skeinqueen.co.uk and skeinqueen.com. Guess that means I'll have to do something with them then... but perhaps not in the near future.

As for the reading, I finished How to Talk to a Widower - fantastic book, highly recommend it. The scenes between the main character and his father who had an Alzheimer's-type syndrome were so moving (I admit I cried) yet there were so many funny situations. I didn't see the twist coming - but then, I never do.

Got half way through Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - enjoying the story but not convinced of great writing style. Will definitely continue with it to see what happens.

And about a quarter way through The House at Riverton which I felt was more a book for winter evenings back home but am really enjoying this one too. Very Upstairs-Downstairs so far - not that I ever watched that tv series - too young, natch!

Thanks to the braw blog-blethers for schmoozing me - I'm highly honoured and very touched and glad I met you, missus. Just to explain:

Schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection. Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogsphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship".

In return, I would like to nominate Marian at Freshisle Fibers - I enjoy her blog, admire her approach to dyeing with natural materials and appreciate her comments here.

And I should also say a big thank you to Sarah Godwin at travelcounsellors who organised our fantastic holiday - thanks for a great holiday again this year, Oh Queen of Travel!