July Notebook: A cool, refreshing dip

A very short newsletter from me today

Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash

Hello,

July is here! The peak of summer. The start of summer holiday season, alfresco dining, river paddling and all good things..

But also…

The sun is beating down relentlessly, my son has completely lost the ability to sleep, the heat is making me cross, and I’ve lost the ability to write in long sentences, or even to read much at all.

I don’t want to be the kind of person that gets irritable about the summer, but when the weather is this hot, trying to get anything done feels a bit like swimming through hot soup.

Add in small children who are exhausted but also completely wired and need activities all day long, plus all the usual life / work stuff and it can be a tricky month.

So in an attempt to cool us all down (actually just to cool myself down) I’ve scrapped my usual monthly notebook format today and put together a short list of refreshing links for us instead.

---

Dip in, click through and hopefully feel a little cooler and more refreshed by the end.

• Soothing music to listen to when tempers are frayed - a playlist for quiet summer evenings | Ophelia Wilde

• Frozen yoghurt lolly recipe - we make these on repeat and usually without the raspberry coulis; just freeze the lemon curd yoghurt, it’s tasty enough on its own and much quicker - Raspberry Lemon Lollies | Yeo Valley

• Watch this gently flowing river video if you can’t get to a real river - Forest River Nature Sounds - Gentle Stream with Birdsong | Naturescapes: Relax with Nature

• This herbal fruit water involves minimal prep (I googled lemonade recipes but most involved boiling up lemon rind with sugar and it’s too hot for all that) Sparkling grapefruit, lime and rosemary water recipe | Tesco

• For a dessert that doesn’t require you to put the oven on… make this: Lemon cheesecake (no bake) | Good Food

• And if you have small children then just remember the golden rule for soothing frayed tempers in hot weather…. If in doubt, add water.* This is the month for freezing things in ice cube trays then watching them melt (herbs, flowers, small toys), washing toys outdoors in a bucket of water, exploring streams, making leaf boats, making ice lollies and water play tables. And if it’s just too hot to go outside, run them a shallow, cool daytime bath and let them splash.

  *This rule works for adults too.

• Which leads on to the final point… don’t forget to thank the water gods and protect your local wild-water sources this month. We need them more than ever right now: How to give and receive a water blessing

Photo by Karim Sakhibgareev on Unsplash

---

Ok, that’s all for now. I’ll see you next month for our August newsletter where I’ll be very happy as we’ll be celebrating the harvest festival of Lammas. One of my favourites!

Until then,

Stay cool and take care,

Vicky x

---