Given the amazing temperatures of the preceding few days, for Thursday, I had booked tickets for us to go to nearby National Trust house, Nunnington Hall. Typical then that on Thursday, the temperatures plummeted. The sun still shone though, and with some layers under the summer dress I’d opted to wear, it was manageable.

I met the chap at lunchtime, and armed with blankets, sandwiches and a Bakewell tart I’d bought at the bakery the previous day, we set ourselves up on the main lawn. There were very few other people there, and lots of space for little people to run off their energy.

Nunnington Hall is very beautiful, and the walled garden feels somewhat Idyllic with the rather tame peacocks wandering around, groomed lawns and pleasant 17th and 18th century architecture to gaze upon. Along with Castle Howard, this is definitely on my list of country houses to visit once we can go inside again.

We spent a good few hours here, after our picnic and a delicious coffee from the coffee shop we wandered around the organic kitchen garden, and spent some time in the playground. We admired the river Rye running along the edge of the grounds, and spent time running around on those beautiful manicured lawns.

After a full afternoon of fun and shenanigans, it was time to head home, no prizes for guessing that little Miss fell asleep in the car.

Friday rolled around and after a morning spent playing Buckaroo, it was time for, you guessed it, more decorating. I’d bought a pot of paint called ‘Retro Orange’ to cheer up my rather dull and dingy toilet. The blue was tired and boring, whilst the louvre cupboard doors were plain grim. I guess I hadn’t expected the orange to be quite so vibrant, but as the warm hue took over the room I liked it more and more. It’s not so much the burnt orange I was expecting it to be, but more the colour of 1970s camper vans. In a room this small though, it works.

Saturday turned out to be a day of rest, and play and watching cartoons and general laziness, although we did indulge in one of our favourite pastimes of making a cake, namely, an Easter cake. I’m really pleased with the way my cake decorating is coming along.

The sunshine made a welcome appearance on Sunday, and it was hard to believe that the temperatures would plummet again by Monday. On Sunday morning I was in shirt sleeves playing racing on the beach with little Miss. There’s no greater energy than That of a 2 year old on the beach.

In the afternoon it was time to put the second coat of paint on the loo. Thankfully it’s a very small room, so a couple of hours and it’s all painted. I took the beaded lampshade from one of my landings, recognising that it was the perfect addition to a retro orange room, and fitted a new loo seat more befitting of such a warm room and voila, my second decorating project of the week was finished.

I mean, mostly finished, I will want to paint the woodwork at some point, but for now it’s a truly amazing improvement on the room that was and another room to add to my ‘rooms I love in my home’ list.

Bank holiday Monday was pretty chilled and whilst the skies were blue and full of sunshine, the temperatures did not follow suit. I was glad just to have a relaxing day before heading back to my desk on Tuesday. So, I took my leave, and I didn’t ‘go’ on holiday. I still had a fantastic holiday and finally I’ve learned the value of actually taking time off work, irrespective of whether you have plans or not.