Six

I do so love the month of May. The air is warm and sweet with the scent of blossom, the countryside has turned a vibrant shade of green and those long, lazy days of summer are just around the corner. Bluebells are beginning to fade, the woodland pathways are drying out in the warm sunshine and, to my great joy, more and more of our time is being spent outdoors.

Another reason for my fondness of this particular month is Lily's birthday. My amazing girl is now six! I can hardly believe it. It is now six whole years since this wonderful, sweet, happy little girl entered the world one sunny May morning and turned my life completely upside down - for the better, of course! She is such a delight and never ceases to make me smile every single day. She is growing and changing so quickly that I'm frightened to blink just in case I miss any of it, so I'm determined to stretch out every precious moment of her childhood. I just adore her zest for life, her love of the outdoors and her ability to win over just about anyone with a flash of her smile.

Lily's actual birthday was midweek, so the day itself was fairly ordinary. There was, however, an early start so she could open her cards and presents before school. The excitement for the day ahead proved useful in getting us out of bed that morning as we were tired, having spent the previous evening enjoying some pond dipping. Once the school day was over we went for a lovely swim, which was quickly followed by pizza and some delicious chocolate birthday cake.

At the weekend we celebrated fully with two hours of fun and mayhem for Lily and a group of friends at a nearby play centre. I'm not a huge fan of these types of places but there's no denying they serve a purpose and the staff looked after us really well. The children all thoroughly enjoyed themselves and, although she received so many presents, I think Lily took most pleasure from handing out the party bags at the end. 

J. X

Early May

I don't know about you but I'm beginning to get quite used to the occasional three day weekend. One each month would be rather lovely and I've actually convinced myself that this is all it would take for me to become more organised, get on top of everything and have a little time left over simply for fun.

Just recently, I've found myself becoming overwhelmed once again. I feel like I'm being pulled in several different directions at once and I'm finding it difficult to focus, achieve anything remotely productive and then struggling to switch off, my sleep patterns being reflective of this. This is resulting in me feeling lethargic and sluggish, which is never good. I know that I always feel better for some fresh air and exercise, so last weekend I had made sure the house was clean, the supermarket shop had been done, I baked some sticky lemon cake and flapjack, then having spent the whole of the last week studying, the books and laptop were placed out of sight and we ventured outdoors.

I hadn't realised just how much I was in need of the break. We followed the sun to the coast and it felt wonderful to breathe in the sea air and leave any unnecessary stresses behind. We walked along the shoreline to where the pebbles meet the sand and enjoyed a picnic, sheltered from the cool, sea breeze. We had fun running up and down the sand dunes and simply relaxed, watching as the tide came in.

Having set off early in the day, there was plenty of time for a trip to the park and a walk up a hill, past the café with it's beautiful display of wisteria, to the monument at the top. With it being such a bright, sunny day we chose to climb up to the viewing platform, which is accessed via a very steep, narrow, spiral staircase of 112 steps. I felt fine going up, but coming back down my legs felt wobbly. I discovered muscles I never knew I had and they've been aching ever since!

At least, on returning home, I could enjoy a lovely slice of homemade lemon cake with my mug of tea. I felt so much better for some fresh air and exercise. The overwhelming sensation of physical exhaustion was most welcome and strangely refreshing from having felt mentally fatigued.  I now realise the importance of factoring in more time like this, so  if anyone has any ideas on finding the elusive balance between work and play, or tips on becoming more organised generally, then I would genuinely love to hear them. X

Bluebell Walk

On the final day of our holidays we chose to go for a walk close to home. It was a sensible decision, as we still had some preparations to make for the start of the new school term and just this once it felt satisfying to enjoy a leisurely early morning before leaving the house.

There is a lovely gentle walk through the fields, passing the edges of the village and out towards a small woodland which, at this time of year, is known locally for it's beautiful displays of bluebells. 

As has become our tradition at Easter time, we took a chocolate egg along with us to enjoy once we got there, although this was the first time I have needed to put it in a cool bag! It was a beautiful, warm and sunny morning, and I didn't want to chance it melting.

The spring flowers are out in abundance right now and I take great pleasure in helping Lily point out the ones she remembers easily, like wild garlic and violets, and some she needs a little prompting with, such as sunshines (celandines) and woodland enemies (woodland anemones). Although, I think I much prefer Lily's names for them.

Having been a while since our last visit,  I hadn't realised just what a treat we had in store for us once we reached the woods. I had been hopeful of a plentiful display and to my great delight I wasn't disappointed. There were bluebells in every direction and the air was filled with their delicate, sweet scent. The sun shining through the trees really showed them off at their very best as we followed the pathway further along through the trees, so that we ended up surrounded by a carpet of blue.

No matter how many photographs I took - and I took A LOT! - I still didn't manage to capture just how stunning the bluebells really were, but I hope you agree they were definitely worth a trip to the woods that day and a post of their very own.

J. X

Holiday Weekend

As is always the way, the holidays have been and gone in the blink of an eye and I feel like I'm playing catch up once again - but I'm not complaining, we've had such a wonderful time. The first week was spent mainly on Lily's daily swimming lessons, catching up with chores in the house and garden, and the occasional afternoon out. The second week was a little more relaxed but, as the weather continued to improve towards the weekend, we decided to really make the most of it before our return to work and school.

Last Friday we took a trip to Piel Island, which is just a short ferry ride from Roa Island, on the Furness Peninsula. It was a beautiful day and a little busier than usual with everyone out enjoying the sunshine, so we had to wait until the ferry's third run before we could reach the island - the ferry is a small boat which can only take a maximum of twelve passengers at a time. The water was lovely and calm so it was a gentle crossing and once on the island we found a peaceful spot where we could sit by the shore to enjoy a picnic lunch and collect some shells before exploring the castle ruins.

The following day, at Lily's request, we went to a 'real beach.' In other words, one with sand! Another gorgeous day filled with paddling, a picnic and sandcastles. It was delightfully warm and sunny. Looking out from the shore, the sea appeared to almost merge with the sky and, of course, Lily made some sand angels. In the evening we made chocolate egg nests, which were completely delicious and, funnily enough, didn't stay around for very long.

On Sunday morning, following an earlier than anticipated egg hunt in the garden - 6.45a.m.! - we set off for another visit to the nature reserve.  We arrived quite early so it was still lovely and quiet - just the sound of the sheep and the birds. Even the sound of the water from the beck wasn't as obvious as on our previous visit, due to a lack of recent rainfall. Another lovely day out and even better when there was my home made brocolli quiche to come home to. The warmer weather has seen a definite change to the food we are eating and it feels good to be preparing lighter, healthier meals.

Finally, on Monday we stayed close to home and took a walk through the fields to the nearby woods. I thought the Bluebells would be almost out, but as I hadn't been to these woods in a while, I wasn't sure. They are always so lovely, although I wasn't expecting them to be as stunning as this. I may have taken a few more photographs but I think these beautiful flowers deserve a post of their own.

J. X