Making the most of the sunny weather - Lifestyle Monday
Hello everybody and welcome back to another blog post,
This week was probably the hottest week it's been so far this year. We've been blessed with really nice weather for the most part of lockdown, which meant that me and my family could go on nice walks frequently and make the most of all the extra free time we had. However, on Wednesday and Thursday especially, the temperatures reached around 30°C, which could only mean that we had to bring the pool out again. By pool, I mean the classic British paddling pool that is probably just under a metre high but is great if you want to cool down in the summer. The weather was definitely abnormal and probably due to climate change but in this sweltering heat, we were thankful for the cold water that took me and my sister a while to get into but was really refreshing afterwards.
For once, the weather forecast was right. It seems to be right mostly when the weather's nice and not when it's bad and you actually want to know if you can go outside or not but you know. 🤷♀️
Anyway, on Tuesday, we knew that the weather would probably be hot the next day so we got out our spider encircled pool, placed it on a flat section of terrain, and pumped it up. Our pool is one of those pools where you only have to pump up the ring at the top and when you fill it with water, the ring rises and lifts up the sides. It does mean that you have to flatten out all the creases before you put the water in or else you won't be able to do anything about it once the pool's filled up with water. However, it's really nice because there's little to do and once you put the hose pipe in it then all you have to do is wait until it's finished.
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| The paddling pool |
After a few hours, the pool was all set up and on Wednesday I got into my yellow swimsuit, brought down a book to read and got ready to go into the pool. I put on a bit of suncream on my face, neck, and shoulders but since we were going to go into the pool for a bit I didn't bother covering my arms and legs. We had to also fish out some of the bugs that flew into the pool as well by using the lense of our sunglasses as the net that my mum ordered hadn't arrived yet but after that, we got in.
I guess you could say that me and my sister are a bit pathetic when it comes to cold water. I remember me, my sister, and my mum, screaming when we tried to swim in the Atlantic Ocean in Portugal because it was so cold but that was the Atlantic Ocean. We're still pathetic trying to get our shoulders under in a paddling pool, spending around 5 or 10 minutes just pondering about for a bit.
However, once we were in, we sort of reverted to a child-like state, making whirl pools and trying to quickly swim in the other direction, doing tricks with half our actual body weight, and just calmly floating on the water for a bit. We hadn't gotten the pool out in years and I'm happy that we got it out again because it was really fun!
After about 20 minutes, we got out of the pool and sat out on our new foldable deck chairs that we placed in the shade, under a plum tree. That plum tree brings back so many memories because although it is a plum tree, it probably produces around 2 plums every year. Although my mum is avidly against deforestation, as soon as she heard that the tree wasn't producing she said she was going to cut it down. I think she meant to give it a trim but it still sounded funny at the time. 😂
Under the tree, I read my book, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. I've nearly finished reading it so I should have a book review coming soon but for now there's still some pages I have to read. I've never really learnt about the Spanish Civil War in history so I've had to do a bit of research about it whilst I was reading the book, so that I could get a full understanding of what happened. However, I'm getting to grips with it and I'm really enjoying reading it and learning more about this important moment in history. I cant wait to share my review of the book with you!
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| Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell |
My sister decided to sit more in the sunshine because she wanted to do some sunbathing and I thought that I might join her. I put on some suncream and put on my sunglasses but as soon as I was in the sun, i was struggling to read my hook properly so I ended up sitting back in the shade again. I'm not as keen about getting a tan as my sister is!😂
On Thursday, although it was ever so slightly cooler than Wednesday, we got in the pool again. I'm glad that we finally got the net for the pool on Friday. My mum's friend came round with some chlorine tablets to put in the pool but we were missing that much needed net! When we got it at first, we were a bit worried at first because it was a kiddy fishing net and the handle seemed a bit short. However, we then we realised it was extendable and it cleaned out the pool pretty good so we were happy about it. My dad put it on his head as a joke and pretended he was a Dalek because of the way the handle stuck out. 😂
This week, the weather doesn't look as good but I'm still glad that we made the most of the sunny weather because it was really nice. Although I've got given some additional A-level and IB preparation work, it was optional and I basically came to the self-made decision that I've done enough work over the past 4 months and I would have finished school by now so I decided not to go further. It was therefore nice to sit down and relax. Sometimes taking breaks are good for your soul too!💜
How did you spend the hot, sunny weather? Was the weather nice where you were? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to reply to them. I ♡ hearing from you!
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See you next time,
Bye,
XOX, Juliette
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Glad you were able to cool off in the pool. We have one in our backyard and it is nice, but we have been having thunderstorms for a few days so I haven't been able to swim. Maybe I can get a few laps in today.
ReplyDeleteCool! I really hope you can use your pool as well! 💜
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