Summer and Books

It has been a strange summer, the weather has been pretty good but with the absence of any caravan travel it has not seemed complete somehow. The bathroom was finished, well there is just the blind I need to make but I have the fabric for that and it will be a quick job, just need to find the staple gun out.
Plans for the pond changed as my husband decided he wanted fish again, he made some repairs, built a new filter set up and refilled it.  Then he went out and bought 20 very small koy carp that someone was selling really cheap as they had too many and I have to say they have really grown in a few weeks.

This was a few weeks ago they have grown a lot since but they are so friendly up near the surface when you come to the pond, that I'm a bit worried the heron is going to spot them and steal this lot as well. Hiding caves have been made and there is talk of a pergola to go over it to disrupt the bird from swooping straight down.

It is nice to go out and watch them again and I suppose the idea of a seating area would have only been used occasionally, how many seating areas does one garden need.

The lilies were also relieved to be moved back into the big pond as they gave this gorgeous display.

The time at home has given me lots of opportunity to read while it has been quiet and enjoy being outside.

Reading on the tablet is not so easy in full sun!

We complain about the weather in England but on a good day you can't beat it.

I have read few books while I have been off work, this one The Anchoress I just picked up at the library in a rush and it was so good!  A strange subject matter a young girl being locked in a cell to live her life as a living death to serve God and the village where she is contained. However wow! really gets you thinking ( mainly about why would you do such a thing!) and the characters are so believable.

This week I have been reading Forgive me, Leonard Peacock.

I read this one over a few days after initially thinking after the first few pages it was depressing and I wouldn't continue.  I did continue and I was really glad I did, I wanted good things for Leonard.  This is one to check out and don't be put off by the beginning. ( If you are like me you might think it's too dark at first)

Currently I am making my way through Fluent Forever by Gabriel Wyner, I have been trying to learn Spanish for years and although I know loads of words and phrases as soon as I hear someone speaking it all goes out the window as my brain can't keep up with trying to make sense of it all!  Spanish speakers appear to talk very fast but then I'm sure that is how English speakers sound to others.  So I bought this book and I'm trying out the tips, but to be honest as I never get the opportunity to try out the actual talking part I'm not fooling myself to think I will have anything more than a knowledge of the language.  I will continue (forever probably) because I can only improve no matter what the pace. I think you really need to live somewhere where the language is spoken daily and you are forced to respond, that is the way to become fluent, but it doesn't hurt to learn as much as we can in our own environment does it?