It's been a while, and I hadn't intended to leave this long between posting, but I've been caught up with work, studying and attempting to manage the work being completed on the house. I am very happy to report that he dripping tap is now fixed, I have a radiator in the downstairs bathroom, and the bedroom window has been replaced. Yay!
As I type, there are men busily working on the roof and chimney, so I should actually be watertight come next winter. Now, I just need to find an electrician to replace the extractor fans, a joiner to box in the new boiler, and then arrange to have some new flooring fitted, none of which are urgent, thankfully. Then, once all of those have been completed, I can hopefully get on and decorate.
In amongst the chaos, there has at least been time for more pleasurable activities. A few days after our walk up Blencathra, we visited the lovely little village of Downham. From there we walked up Pendle Hill, which has been on my list of things to do for ages. It is somewhere I have often driven past over the years but never actually had the opportunity to climb, until now. It was another bright and sunny day, and being a bank holiday weekend the summit was exceptionally busy. Fortunately for us, the way up from Downham was very much the less frequented path, we even spotted a deer on our way back to village. Downham itself is delightfully quaint and after a quick look around, we treated ourselves to some ice cream and sat down by the stream for a short while, before driving home again.
That afternoon we made some Easter nests. I always enjoy making these, although they never seem to last very long in this house :)
The following day, we left the car at home and went to Bowness-on-Windermere. Now, this isn't somewhere I would usually visit, especially on a bank holiday weekend, as it is often so busy with the many tourists who are naturally attracted to the area. Although, on this occasion, it didn't seem overly crowded. As always, we took our lunch with us and there were plenty of available benches where we could sit and eat, as well as enjoy the views. The pier and boats looked to be very busy however, so perhaps most of the visitors were out on the water.
The weather on Easter weekend had been rather glorious, so it came as no surprise that the temperatures dropped again during the week, and although overcast, it did remain fine for our trip to London. This time we visited the Sky Garden, which gave us a birds eye view of the city; Horse Guard's Parade, where they appeared to be making preparations for The Coronation; and to Chinatown, where we bought the most delicious cake from the bakery there, except it didnt make it home with us. Though Lily's favourite place would have to have been M&M's London, which is the world's largest sweet store, selling over 100 different types of M&M's in every colour of the rainbow. We did remember to bring those home :)
This last week I have been out running twice, and I am thrilled to report that my back was completely fine. And it is also reassuring to know that my legs still work :) Now that I have a little more time on my hands I hope to be going out more regularly, as it is the one exercise I really enjoy.
Back soon.
J. X
