Project 365 – May 2026

I was in America for most of the month of May! I do not visit my family as often as I should, really, but whenever I go back I do spend a good chunk of time there. This was the first time I had visited my part of America with Dann, but he had headed back after a week. It was lovely hearing how home was going while I was gone. Dann is such a capable parent and it’s lovely to be able to go away for so long and know he has it all under control. When I got back, we got back to our busy life and even went on a family holiday! I wrote about each of my days as a part of Project 365 – where you share a picture and dairy-style entry about your life. There are a bunch of other blogs that have participated (either on a weekly, monthly, or daily bases) at the bottom of this post if you want to check them out.

May 1st – Town Wide Garage Sale

Today my dad needed to get up early to help my sister with some stuff. I went along under the vague promise of breakfast out! It was actually the start of our town’s town wide garage sale, so we stopped a bunch of garage sales on the way to and from helping her and got some breakfast out at a local diner. It was pretty good! I then spent some of the day inside working, having some walks here and there to play Pokemon Go and to check out the garage sales. There was a BBQ happening at my dad’s church, so I had some food there for lunch, before doing some more PC stuff. In the evening, my dad got Chinese food – American Chinese is so different from British Chinese – and it was so good. I then relaxed in the evening. The days here are much slower than at home!

May 2nd – Pokemon x Target haul

I woke up and got a ride from my dad to Target today, for the Pokemon x Target release. There was lots of reports online about being acting very badly, but we didn’t go right at opening and there was plenty left. I guess it’s because it’s such a small town! Afterwards, I hung out at home until after lunchtime, then I went to my grandmothers. I had a really lovely time there hanging out with her, chatting, and making cider donuts. My grandmother grows her own apples, presses her own juice, creates the cider, then boils it down to make the donuts. They were delicious. I stayed there until after supper then came home and hung out with my sister and her partner until it was time to sleep.

May 3rd – Walking Around

Today was a work and chilling day. My Dad was home for a lot of it. We spent a lot of time hanging out together between work stuff. I did go for an evening walk, taking pictures, and called Dann quite a bit as we were both free for a lot of the day. It just was a relaxing day.

May 4th – Dinner with my Cousins

Today, I spent a lot of time working! Which was good. The website Dann started 10 years ago turns 10 on the 25th of this month, so he has been upgrading a lot of it. I took up a news shift in the morning, which was very good, and then spent a lot of the day organising and doing meetings. It was just a lot of work that needed to be done. I also leveled up in Pokemon GO! In the evening, my cousins took me out to Sunnyside Par 3 for dinner, which was very good! We then hung out at my house playing board games until the evening, and I headed off to bed.

May 5th – New Lens

You are likely going to see a lot of bird pictures for the rest of my America trip, as I got a new lens! After a lot of back and forth and thinking on it, a friend of mine convinced me to get a new lens. I went over to my grandmothers today to pick it up! We got soft serve on the way, which was great, and then I hung out there for dinner chatting and visiting with my grandmother. I also spent some time in the garden taking pictures with my very big, 400mm lens.

May 6th – Antique Shop and Dinner

Today I woke up and went for a walk between meetings, enjoying some of the sunshine. It was a lot of fun! We did do a lot of work, which was a whole thing. In the afternoon, my cousins picked me up to go to an antique shop that was super cool. It was four floors, 32 different rooms, and each were curated by a different curator. It was so well organised and interesting! In the evening, we went out to dinner at The Harvest before returning to there’s. Myself, along with my two cousins and my aunt, spent a lot of the evening playing Ramen Fury and Monopoly, until I was tired and headed home to sleep.

May 7th – Movie Night

Today, like yesterday, I had a lot of work to get done and spent a lot of time focusing. In the afternoon, I took a walk around the town, before heading to the movies in the late afternoon with my brother. We saw Sheep Detective, which was a really touching film, as Dann had taken our kids to see it in England I am trying to match him. Dann also saw a horror that wasn’t playing in my local theatre, but I went and watched Mortal Combat 2, which was a decent movie, after with my dad and brother. Dann is planning on watching it next week, so I was getting ahead while maximising the unlimited refills on drinks and popcorn. In between movies, my brother and I went to an arcade and I won a SpongeBob for Robin, which was exciting!

May 8th – Pizza at my grandmothers

My grandmother has been asking my dad to make pizza, and today was the day! I did some work in the morning, as usual, and spoke to Kai as he had an appointment that resulted in fantastic news. I am so proud that he is doing so well at home now. It’s amazing how getting out of toxic places can really improve your entire outlook! My dad and I headed to my grandmothers for dinner, grabbing some ice cream on the way. He made pizza there and I hung out, taking pictures on the back porch and talking to her and my grandfather. It was lovely! I came home, spoke with Dann and went to bed.

May 9th – Pokemon Go and Birds

Today was a Pokemon Go community day. I started off by doing some bits of work and chatting with Dann, Robin and Amelia, before going out for Pokemon in the late afternoon. I got lucky and ended up with 17 Shinies, two of which with backgrounds. I then went out for a little camera walk in the late evening, getting pictures of some interesting birds, including the American Robin. I am really happy with this lens!

May 10th – Family

Today was a very challenging day to pick just one picture of. I considered showing another bird, but went with my grandfather, cousin and I getting ice cream. I spent the morning doing some work before heading off to my grandmothers along with my cousin. We got ice cream on the way, of course, with our grandfather. At my grandmothers, I took lots of pictures in her garden and made some raspberry rhubarb filled donuts. This was a big project as the donuts need to rest 3 times. We made them, filled them, and made stuffed cabbage for dinner. In the evening, my cousin and I headed home.

May 11th – A Bird Sanctuary

Today, I had a lot of meetings as it was a Monday. My meetings are still on UK time, so my first one was at 5AM! Once work was done, I got picked up by my cousin and taken to the Alfred Z. Solomon Grassland Bird Trail – a suggestion from my cousin. This was an amazing place, I got literally dozens of fantastic pictures of birds. I really do love this new lens! After we had walked 2 miles through the trail, we went out for hot dogs at his favorite hot dog place. I also got a banana cream pie, which was very delicious. I then headed home, showed Dann the pictures, and took a shower – where I found I had a TICK. Extremely concerning, I do hate bugs, but that’s always a risk in this part of the state. I then headed to bed.

May 12th – Visiting my Grandmother

Today was very much a work day. I woke up, I spoke to Dann, and then I did some work. Dann went with Robin on a school trip, which was very exciting, and after all of my meetings were done I went to my grandmothers with my brother. My grandfather picked me up, we got some ice cream on the way, and then I hung out at her house. I am working on adding in a bunch of designs to a hoodie, very slowly. I also took a bunch of pictures walking around town. It was a slow day of visiting.

May 13th – Log Jam

Today I woke up and powered through a lot of early morning work. There was actually quite a bit going on! I did a little walk around taking pictures before lunch, and then my sister took me to a restaurant that she works at, called Log Jam, for dinner. Her partner joined us too – his dad is the head chef. It was a very lovely dinner! Afterwards, we drove around for a bit before heading home and going to sleep.

May 14th – Bit of a Nothing Day

Today I didn’t have very many plans as my dad had a medical surgery. I went with him then came home with him after his appointment. We set up in the living room and binged movies for a while, then I went on a little walk around to get out of the house, taking photos, before returning home to watch more random movies from Netflix. It was nice hanging out with him so much, but he was pretty exhausted from the surgery.

May 15th – Breakfast Out

My dad slept a lot of today, but was feeling better than we all expected, which was good. My sister came over to hang out with him and I got to go to a local diner for breakfast with her. It was a very good breakfast at a place called Scrappy’s Diner! This was my main outing, along with an evening walk, and otherwise I did a lot of work. We picked up Chinese food for dinner, which was good too.

May 16th – Pokemon Day

Today was a Pokemon day! I woke up, did some stuff around the house for my dad, and then I headed out to my grandmother’s for lunch and dinner. I worked on my hoodie some more and spent some time hanging out with her and my grandfather (of course we got soft serve!). I walked around the town during Pokemon Go community day, getting plenty of shinies, before returning back to my dads. There, I went on a little walk and got a picture of a woodpecker! Then I went to bed shortly after.

May 17th – Breakfast with the Cousins

Today was Sunday, my dad was feeling pretty well, so my cousins took us all out to breakfast. It was at this big place called The Silo that had a bunch of stuff for sale, like a county store, then a bunch of samples. We walked around for quite some time before heading home after a very delicious meal. I did a big walk in the evening, taking some more photos as well.

May 18th – It’s Monday

Monday was an extremely busy day for me, as I had a lot of actual work that needed to be done. My dad had a follow-up appointment that went very well, so we started planning for me to head back home. I started getting my stuff together and had a little walk around in the evening that my dad joined me on. We saw lots of birds and even a wild turtle.

May 19th – A Little Visit

Today I woke up, had some work to do, then headed to my grandmothers for dinner. My grandfather and I got ice cream, of course. I finished my hoodie, which was a very fun project, before having dinner and just hanging out. I then went to my cousins to say goodbye to them, before heading home and finishing packing, then going to bed.

May 20th – Travel Day… sort of

Today I woke up early and got on with work, before packing up the last of my stuff. I then went to my old school, visiting with the teachers and giving them a copy of my book. This was such a lovely experience and I am glad to have gotten to walk around and see everyone. So many people I knew as kids work there now too. Dann had a conference to go to for Robin’s school trip later this year. Her other parent didn’t attend, which isn’t surprising in the slightest, so I am glad he was on top of it while I was away. I was ready to travel by afternoon and got ready to go, before finding out that my flight was cancelled, and I needed to get up at 2AM tomorrow to start a much longer journey. My dad, brother and I went out for tacos instead, as we were already on the way, and then I went home to rest before needing to get up so early.

May 21 – Still traveling

I was exhausted. Going from one state in the US, to another state in the US, and then to Bermuda. It’s a long travel time. It was a hectic one too. At the same time, I am very excited to be going home. I do not visit home enough, and when I do, I visit for so long. It’s just such a different world to my own and I am incredibly grateful that I get to live such a fantastic life.

May 22nd – Friday in England

Today I woke up on an airplane, landed at 6am, and went straight home to shower. Robin had the day off of school, so Dann and I took her to Comicon for the morning! She dressed up and everything – it was a lot of fun. Before her and Dann went to go pick up Amelia and Kai from school, I headed off to see the new Star Wars movie, which was such a fun little event! I then went straight to Robin’s Preform showcase, where I got to see a sneak peak into her show later this year. Amelia had a friend over after school too, so when I got home, Dann plated dinner, everyone hung out, and then I swiftly went to sleep.

May 23rd – Taste of Eataly

I did a lot of catching up on chores today – getting my suitcase unpacked, getting things together, and hanging out in the morning. Robin and I did a Crystal Art kit, as we both got up super early, and then she and Amelia headed to their other home. Dann and I went into London to meet up with some friends for Taste of Eataly, which was such a lovely way to experience a load of Italian food. I was also really glad to have some alone time with Dann. It was lovely.

May 24th – Back to Comicon

Kai had asked if he could go to Comicon this year, so we decided to take him on the Sunday. We spent a lot of time in the gaming section, but also did a lot of shopping. It’s so neat having Kai around all the time, he’s really, just in the last few weeks, grown so much and become such a better person. It’s amazing what a better support system and environment can do for you! After Comicon I came home in the evening and went to bed quite early.

May 25th – Potter Street Fete

Last year, we helped with the Potter Street Fete, and we did the same this year! This fete is very local, and we very much enjoyed the run-up to it. Dann, Kai and I got up very early in the morning and did set up, before Kai went home to hang out. The fete was a very, very warm one! Everything went smoothly, Kai came back for pack down, and then we all returned home where I made dinner for the DnD people and they came over for DnD. I went right to bed once it was done!

May 26th – Tabletop

Today was a very work focused day during the day. I had a lot to do and not a lot of time to play around with. The weather has been fantastic lately, which is great, but it also is too warm to focus. It’s one of those things! Kai had a taster day at one of the schools he is trying to decide if he wants to go to for college, which was an interesting experience. This one is the furthest away, so there is a lot of considerations for him. I spent some time in the back garden, where we have blossoms on our fruit buses, a few roses in bloom, and our vegetable garden in full swing. In the evening, our friends came around for tabletop – I made pasta salad (Kai’s idea) and our friend Wendy made tiramisu. Claire brought me a playsuit that she didn’t want anymore, that is absolutely lovely. We played a trivia game called TUG!, which was fun, before going to bed.

May 27th – A Busy Day

Today was a day of errands. We woke up, picked up a new pool for Amelia and Robin, one of those ten-foot ones. We had one last year, but when setting it up, found that it would just be best to get a new one due to not storing it well (and it being too close to some bikes). So, we grabbed and new one and got it set up before taking Kai to Costco. He had all the samples and picked out tons of food. After dinner, Dann and I grabbed Amelia and headed to Raid Hour. Amelia explained she had been having a hard week over the phone each day, especially with the heat, as her air conditioner at her other home had been taken from her room and moved into the adult’s room. Dann and I brought her an ice pop for Raid Hour, along with her favorite drink, and got her a milkshake. She got to hang out with her friend too, which cheered her up! She comes back tomorrow morning and was very, very excited. After Raid Hour, we headed home for dinner, then went out to the movies with Kai. We saw Passenger, which was extremely scary for a 15!! I went home and went right to bed.

May 28th – Pokemon Trail

Today we got Amelia and Robin early, though we were told Robin was at a sleepover. Turns out, the parents were extremely strict at the sleepover so Robin ended up going back to her other house early, and we didn’t get an email or anything! Robin came over and had not eaten, as there was “no plan for food for me” as she was meant to eat at her friends. All of this was a bit of an unexpected start to the day, but once we had things sorted, we got on with our day. All of us went to a National Trust site to check out the Pokemon Trail, which was very fun, before getting home in time for lunch. Amelia and Robin (along with Dann and I) had a splash about in the pool while Kai met up with some of his friends at the gym. We had a pretty simple dinner, played some video games, and headed to bed as tomorrow we are on holiday!

May 29th – To Butlins Early

We went to Butlins Skegness early this morning, as we wanted to see a show and get some swimming in. The whole drive was very easy, and we arrived in time to get some food at the pub venue before checking in and settling. Once we had claimed our rooms, we changed into swim gear and headed to the pool. This was under construction last time, so it was fun to see it all done up. In the evening, we saw Electric City, which is a very fun lazer light show and we had buffet dinner. Butlins is always a good time.

May 30th – Mask Singer and a Panto

It is actually our family anniversary – the date when we all got together as a family 7 years ago. We did a lot of reflecting as so much has changed in that time. Amelia, Robin and Kai all talked about their favorite stories and how much love they have for their family, which is always such a lovely time. We do spend time reflecting and being together as a family, and I am so happy and so full of love and joy at the family I have. At Butlins, we also spent a lot of the day swimming, eating buffet breakfast (and dinner) along with seeing the Masked Singer Live. This is Robin’s favorite show at Butlins each time. Kai wanted to see a Panto, so we also saw Butlin’s Jack and the Beanstalk – which was very good. Everyone slept well though!

May 31st – Last Day at Butlins

Everyone was a bit tired today, so we all slept in. Only Amelia has school tomorrow, with Kai starting at noon and Robin having a free day, so we are going back home but not too early. We did see a giant puppet show about animals in the morning, before doing a ton of swimming in the afternoon. Then we had an early buffet dinner before starting the drive home. After we got home, it was a lot of showering, doing laundry, and getting things ready for the start of the week. I really do love the fact that Dann and I both work from home – it makes living such a fun life so much easier.