Spring-Summer Update

It's already July, so it's time for my Spring-Summer update! I decided that this year I would do quarterly "season to season" update posts. You can see my Winter-Spring Update here (also a Beltane post): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/04/winter-spring-update-beltane-round-up.html

 

Easter was on 4th April this year. I didn't write a separate Easter post, but as I said in the Winter-Spring Update, I will cover it in this post. :)

This Easter I made an ice cream cake for a change. The recipe is from Apply To Face Blog and you can see it here: https://applytofaceblog.com/easy-ice-cream-birthday-cake/

This was a birthday cake for the blogger Jenny's son but it's good for any occasion. It's simple to make, although it does it have to be frozen overnight before decorating. It was quite nice. I wasn't sure about the cream on top because I'm not keen on it, but it does blend well with the ice cream! I put Cadbury Mini Eggs on top like I usually do with my Easter cakes. Here's a pic:

 

 

I think it looks similar to the James Martin frosted white chocolate Easter cake that I've made several times! Apart from making the cake, it was a usual Easter at home with a meal and a few chocolate eggs, lol.

At the beginning of May it was Beltane. You can read my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/05/beltane-2021.html

 

Also in early May, I went for a walk with a group from my local mental health resource centre. We walked down to Southwick Beach. It was quite a cold day but good to get some fresh air and socialise again! 

Then in early June I went to Five Guys in Brighton. It was the only the 2nd time I've been there, the first was last August! I hadn't been back due to the various lockdowns and also it's quite expensive, lol. Nice food and my favourite drink is the coffee milkshake! Here are a couple of photos I took at Brighton Marina:

View down to the Marina

Brighton Marina

 

I also celebrated Litha/the Summer Solstice in June. Read about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/06/litha-2021.html

Apart from that I've just been doing my weekly park walks, and going to the supermarket occasionally. I did also go shopping in Hove last month and got a coffee from Caffe Nero afterwards. I hadn't been round the shops for ages due to the pandemic, so it was nice to go again.

During the winter and spring, I made hot chocolate at home and then when we moved into summer and the weather got a (bit) warmer, I transitioned into making my own Vietnamese style iced coffees.

We had a "mini-heatwave" in late May and early June but it's been colder since then. I wrote in the Litha 2021 post that a heatwave was predicted for this month. No sign of it this weekend (when it was originally predicted), but the forecast is now hot weather for next weekend.

So that's about it! As I mentioned in the Winter-Spring Update, we went into our 3rd lockdown in England in January (due to the coronavirus). Restrictions have been gradually lifting since then and with the vaccination programme being rolled out, we're expected to open up fully on 19th July. I think it's similar throughout the UK. So hopefully this summer will be better than the last one.

The first half of the year seems to have gone quickly! Summer is my favourite season, so I'm looking forward to doing more "summer things". I hope it warms up soon. Lammas which is one of my favourite sabbats, is on 1st August (or 31st July depending on when you celebrate), so I'll probably do a round-up post later this month.

Hope you're having a good summer! (Or winter!) :)