A Relaxing Week

If ever we needed reminding that spring is still a little while off, then the weather today has done just that. It's been dark and windy, and the rain has been lashing against the windows all day. Thoroughly miserable. We've been hunkered down indoors, which hasn't been a bad thing, as I've had lots to be getting on with. I start back at work again tomorrow, so it's been good to get on top of all things house and admin related. I've made a big batch of soup, finally finished the painting in the kitchen, and I've been planning another couple of short trips for later in the year. There has also been much juggling of finances, as I'm looking at getting a new (to me) car. I'll be taking Lily to see it tomorrow before I make a final decision. Exciting!

And it has been really lovely spending this last week at home. Most of my friends had acted surprised when I'd told them I hadn't got any plans for my week off. But just as I'd thought, it has been exactly what I needed. Having nothing in the diary meant that we could take advantage of any sunnier days, and we've enjoyed some very pleasant walks. We've been down by the lake, enjoyed a quiet early morning ramble along the canal, and last night, we watched the most beautiful sunset over the sea. A perfect prescription for wellbeing. 

I've made plans for the garden. I had initially hoped that I'd be able to dig over the raised bed and have a general tidy around this week, but I think that will need to wait for some drier weather. I've already sowed some sweet peas, peppers and strawberries indoors, and I've  bought several packets of seeds, which will be sowed directly outdoors sometime in early spring.

Another activity Lily and I have enjoyed this week, has been watching the first series of All Creatures Great and Small, on iPlayer. It's been so good. We've tucked ourselves up, nice and cosy under a blanket each evening, and been transported back in time to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. It's encouraged us both in wanting to explore the area a little more, and is the main reason I've been making plans for another trip. 

Back soon.

J. X

Life Lately

 

The golden shades of autumn are gently disappearing, and the landscape is being transformed once again. Stark, bare trees and dull grey skies. Dark mornings and even darker evenings. This really isn't my favourite time of year.

I'm feeling weary. I've been kept busy at work all this week and my hours are still uncertain. Days are hurried, once again, and brief moments of calm are few and far between. It sometimes feel like I'm on a treadmill wishing, just occasionally, that I could press the pause button and step off for a while.

Last week I managed to do exactly that, and it was lovely. A much longed for trip over to the North East finally came to fruition. Our visit was originally planned several years ago now, but for one reason or another, it simply never happened. We were only away for two nights, but it felt as though it was much longer, and we enjoyed some beautiful sunny weather while we were there. 

We stayed in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, but managed to visit much of the surrounding area, including Bamburgh, Seahouses and Alnwick. The coastline there is just beautiful, and I hope we might get chance to return and explore some more. I'd especially love to visit The Farne Islands, which you can just about see, if you zoom in on the middle photograph above. Boat trips there can be booked from one of the many tour operators in Seahouses, which looked to be very popular on the day we visited, as there were some rather long queues. Another time, I would also quite like to cross the causeway over to Lindisfarne. During our stay, the tide times would have only allowed for an incredibly short visit, so we decided it wouldn't have been worthwhile.

We enjoyed some lovely walks along the sand. The beaches appeared to go on for miles, and I lost count of the amount of times I warned Lily not to get wet feet. She could have easily taken her boots off, but instead she insisted on chancing her luck with the waves. I shouldn't be surprised, just like me, she feels  happy by the water. The sea air and sunshine felt wonderful and restorative, and for just a short time I could feel at ease. 

All the castles were magnificent. We sat and ate our lunch here, enjoying the view.

We never did make it to the pumpkin patch this year, so back at home, we carved our very own home grown pumpkins ready for Hallowe'en. I love how they all vary in shape and size. Of course, I toasted the seeds for a delicious snack, and the flesh was roasted, along with some leftover squash, and quickly turned into curried pumpkin soup.

This year, as well as the usual cobwebs and spiders, we also had a cauldron of bats in our porch. Thankfully, our spookily dressed trick-or-treaters didn't appear to mind them. 

At the weekend, we wrapped up nice and warm, and met up with some friends at our local bonfire.

To stick with tradition, I also took along some of my home made treacle toffee.

Looking ahead, I feel more optimistic. Plans are being put in place, which should hopefully help to make things a little less stressful for me. I'm continuing to keep my main focus on home and family, and I'm really starting to get excited for Christmas now. Chatting with Lily earlier in the week, we have decided to spend our December weekends much closer to home this year, and I am very much looking forward to it. 

J. X

Catch-Up

Despite the very best of intentions, I've been a bit rubbish about posting here lately, although I'm hopeful that will change, just as soon as autumn term begins and I'm back into some sort of routine once again. I can't think that by this time next week, Lily will have already completed three full days at secondary school. She seems ready for the challenge, even if I am not :)  She tried her uniform on earlier, and I'm happy to say it all still fits. She has, of course tried all the items on as we've bought them, just not everything at once. It's quite scary how grown up she looks.

I commented on Billie Jo's blog, earlier, that I am feeling a little mournful at summer's impending end, but this year it feels even more poignant. Changing seasons in every sense. I never particularly enjoy the slow transition between summer and autumn, waking up each morning never quite knowing what the weather will have in store. Summer has felt all too short here, this year. The evenings are becoming dark much earlier now and the morning air feels cool and fresh. 

Having said that, we've actually had a really lovely summer break.  Lake days have been fewer than in previous years, but the kayak has been a really great investment. Lily absolutely loves it. Our old camping stove still serves us well for boiling the water for our hot chocolate. 

I finally managed to make good on a promised walk up Red Screes. It was a beautiful evening, and the views were spectacular. 

In between days of decluttering and decorating the kitchen, we've enjoyed walking through the fields and seeing the sunflowers.

This year, my birthday was spent taking part in The Lakeland Festival of Light. 

We enjoyed a visit to Settle, to enjoy the Flowerpot Festival.

A lovely couple of days were spent in Hebden Bridge, staying in a beautiful apartment, right on the edge of the town. 

We spent a pleasant morning walking along the river at Hardcastle Crags.

And an afternoon walking along the canal. We loved seeing the narrowboats and imagined what it would be like to live on one. After much discussion, we decided against the idea :)

We called in at Howarth on the way home. Then stopped off at Skipton, for our lunch. Chips, eaten by the canal. 

We've foraged the first ripened blackberries. They've been washed, weighed and now stored in the freezer. Some of them will be used to make Blackberry Vodka, and the rest  will be used for compote, just as soon as I've got my hands on some elderberries.

This afternoon, I've spent some time in the garden. I've pulled weeds, cut the grass and washed out the bird box. This will be allowed to dry, then I will paint it again, before next spring. The pumpkins are still growing well, and there are plenty of potatoes and beetroot left for us to enjoy. It won't be long before I'm tidying it all, in time for the winter months. 

J. X

A Week in The Lakes

Last week, the weather was nice and sunny, so we enjoyed a lovely week in and around The Lakes. 

Our first visit was to Buttermere, more specifically, Rannerdale Knotts. In order to avoid the crowds, and the heat, we went late afternoon. This turned out to be a good plan, as we didn't have any issues with parking and we only passed a handful of people up on the fell. I imagine it would have been a different story had we been there earlier in the day. It was a lovely walk, and the views over Buttermere were spectacular. The one thing that I hadn't planned for, however, was just how hungry we would be afterwards. We are far more used to walking in a morning, taking lunch with us. So on this occasion, and as a special treat, we enjoyed dinner at the hotel in the village. It was a really lovely evening, and another Wainwright ticked off. 

The following day we went to Ullswater. This was actually where we were meant to go on the previous evening, until I had a last minute change of mind :) Again, it was another late afternoon visit, but this meant that I could get on with some jobs during the day. Lily had great fun in the kayak, while I tried my best to relax and rest my foot, which unfortunately, is still causing me a great deal of discomfort. 

Midweek, I had an appointment at the hospital (about my foot), then met up with a friend, who I haven't seen in a while. We enjoyed a walk by the river, a drink and a good natter. We didn't exactly put the world to rights, but we gave it our best shot. 

The next day, we were back at the lake, and this time we were much better prepared. We went out in the kayak, and we also swam for a while, before cooking sausages on the camping stove. Delicious!

Towards the end of the week, and with another fine day forecast, I thought it would be nice to fit in another walk. This time we went from the village of Mungrisdale, taking in Bowscale Fell and Bannerdale Crags. It was a steep climb up through the bracken, and it was tricky to negotiate the path in some parts, but once we'd reached the other side, it was fairly straightforward. The heather is in flower now, which is always lovely to see. It was a great day for walking, but very chilly on the summits, and even on this summer's day, we were very glad of our down jackets. Back in the valley, we quickly became much warmer, but we were able to cool off in the beck, before making our way back to the car. 

J. X

London

 

Well, I didn't really have long before the planning and preparation began again, as last weekend saw us back in London again. This was my first visit since running the marathon, and I'm happy to say that the weather was much warmer this time, no need for my hat and gloves :)

After dropping off our bags, the first stop was Richmond. By this time, we were feeling really hungry, so after a much needed lunch stop (a lovely picnic on Richmond Green) we walked along by the river, and up the hill towards Richmond Park. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we had hoped we might see the deer, but it didn't look too promising. There were plenty of butterflies and bees, but we didn't notice any deer, not even in the distance.

We made our way a little farther along the track, weaving our way past the ponds, and returning through the trees, when I suddenly spotted a deer among the bracken. Just one. Whether there were any more close by, I couldn't tell, but you're not supposed to get too close to them, so we stayed where we were.

Having given our legs a good stretch on the walk (It had been a long train journey), we headed along the river again, back to Richmond Green, where we enjoyed an ice cream and watched some of the cricket. It was quite busy there, as you might expect on a Saturday afternoon, but everyone was happy and  relaxed, and making the most of the sunny day.

Dinner that evening, was a McDonald's, eaten on Clapham Common :) I think half of Clapham was there, and why not, it was a lovely evening for it. After a quick drink at a nearby pub, we went back to our hotel for the night, where we both slept incredibly well, unsurprisingly after all that walking. 

For ages now, Lily has been wanting to experience H22, the city's highest free viewing platform, but you usually have to book tickets in advance for this. I kept checking for cancellations, but I wasn't having much luck, until last Sunday, while we were eating breakfast. I refreshed the web page, and it appeared that there were just a handful of tickets available for 11.00 that morning. Cue much excitement, then a quick dash to get into central London, to make our time slot. We had been incredibly lucky to get these tickets, and it was the perfect morning for it.  

Once we had reached our destination, in sharp contrast to the heat and noise of the city, we stepped into a quiet, cool entrance lobby, where we were directed through security and into the lift. 58 floors later, we were greeted by the most amazing views. Previously, we have visited the Sky Garden, which feels high enough, but on this occasion, we were actually looking down on it. We had a wonderful time up there, searching for the landmarks down below. The Tower of London, especially, looking as though it was part of a model village. It was amazing, and I would definitely recommend a visit there, if you are ever in the city. 

From H22, we walked down towards the river, passing The Monument to The Great Fire of London, then caught the tube to Hyde Park, where we enjoyed another picnic lunch, before spending the afternoon by The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. 

Then, all too soon, it was time for us to return home. Although, I was quite relieved, as the temperature rose even higher the following day. And I must admit, the city is not my favourite place to be when the weather is so hot.

J. X