Starting the week by writing the Happy List is something I’ve been doing for the last few years. It’s my chance to sit down and reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of the adventures we have as a family.

Five Happy Things {Week 511}

With the kids away at Scout camp it was a very quiet week for us. The weather was a bit too warm so we went for long dog walks in the evening when it was cooler. The kids came back from camp with so much washing but they had a great time camping by the sea.

I finished Diary of a Provincial Lady by E M Delafield. I didn’t enjoy it the first time I tried to read it, but the second time I picked it up and couldn’t put it down. Written in 1930 it is both domestic and feminist, chronicling the daily life of a wife and mother living in the English countryside. It is very funny and amazing to read how life has changed so much for women over the last 90 years.

We have been obsessively picking blackberries in our local area. I’m not sure if they are out earlier than usual but we are going away for a few days and I didn’t want to miss them. They are all washed and frozen so we can enjoy them throughout autumn, although my son used a few to bake a blackberry and apple loaf.

I feel like I’ve been quite crafty in these long summer evenings. Last week I finished a Cotton Clara cross stitch bookmark, featuring 5 mugs of tea, as well as a sweet little Cotton Clara x Donna Wilson cat face.

We enjoyed a few meals out last week too. My husband and I went out for lunch to our favourite cafe, and we also went out with friends for a meal somewhere new. I really enjoyed cooking less as the weather was so warm!

Let me know what’s making you happy lately in the comments below.