“Summers had a logic all their own and they always brought something out in me. Summer was supposed to be about freedom and youth and no school and possibilities and adventure and exploration. Summer was a book of hope. That’s why I loved and hated summers. Because they made me want to believe.”

―Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

If you have no idea what 80 days of summer is all about, then where have you been!? Don’t worry you can catch up here. But basically for 80 days, I am going to make sure I do something every single day that makes the most of summer, some things will be new some won’t. This challenge is to show that life is really made for living, no excuses, no wasting days! Just happiness every single day!

So day ten was a couple of Fridays ago and I day where I was feeling utterly rubbish, in fact, I left work crying, I was exhausted and generally felt like I was struggling to find my way with a lot of things. My life is wonderful and I am a really happy, positive person but I am not a robot, there are days when I am sad and feeling low. My magic is that I can get myself out of those feelings and let stuff go pretty damn fast, which now I am older I realise is a bloody big talent. I was meant to be going out on a works night out which I had been looking forward to but realised that actually I wasn’t in the right mindset for it and there is nothing worse than going drinking when you really don’t want to.

So I took my butt and funny mood over to Lymn Dam, which is about 20 minutes away from my work. One thing I have learnt from this challenge is always keep a blanket, book and towel in the boot of your car because you never know where you might end up. Since day 10 I have also learnt to keep a full change of clothes in there too, you will find out how I learnt that lesson in a couple of days.

I think when you work or live in a city you forget how many beautiful spaces there are around, Manchester is bursting with stunning green spaces and lakes on the city edges. I am pretty lucky in the fact that I do drive and have no problems just jumping in my car and going on a little adventure. I am now seriously looking at getting a van to convert, I don’t think I would ever be home again!

I found a little fishing spot at the far end of the lake (far away from all the kids playing) and hidden by trees and bushes, after years of dating a fisherman, you learn where pegs are hidden. I lay on the blanket, put my feet in the water to cool off and enjoyed reading a few chapters of my book. Reading is something I absolutely adore but something I don’t do half as much as I actually want to do. Mainly because at home I feel slight guilt about reading when there is so many things I actually need to do!

I felt like an actual cat just rolling around on the floor soaking up the sunshine! At that moment everything was all good again, its amazing how some time alone in the sunshine can improve your mood! I could have stayed there all night, from where I laid the only sounds that could be heard were the birds singing in the trees and every now and again a fish would come to the surface and make a ploop sound.