A Taste of Summer

It's that time of year again. One moment I'm liberally applying sunscreen, then the next I'm trying to convince myself not to switch the central heating on. I've held off so far. It's still very warm, but it's raining heavily here, this afternoon. I'll probably just stay home and bake cookies :)

Recently, we celebrated a birthday in this house. Lily turned 11! I'm still in denial that she has reached this age, and that she will very soon be leaving primary school. I'll be honest in that I have very mixed emotions about this, but she seems to be looking forward to her transition to high school. We're on half term this week, but after that there will only be seven more weeks until she finishes. It will go by quickly, of that I have no doubt, then hopefully we can enjoy a relaxed summer break. 

Fortunately, Lily's mid-week birthday coincided with a whole class trip out, so it became a sort of mini celebration for her, which, for someone who dislikes being the centre of attention, worked out rather well. 

The following weekend, we marked the occasion in our own way. Having racked my brain for a suitable birthday gift, I finally decided on something I had been considering for several years now - an inflatable kayak. It wasn't the most exciting thing to unwrap on the morning of her birthday, as we couldn't exactly inflate it in our living room, but it proved to be one of the best things she could have received.

On the Sunday morning, and with big sister to lend a hand, we set off to one of our favourite parts of The Lakes, Ullswater. And we couldn't have chosen a nicer day for it.

 

It was beautifully quiet, and the views are spectacular. You can see why we love it there so much. 

Once the kayak was inflated, which was far quicker than I'd anticipated, the morning was spent gently floating along the lake. Paddling wasn't too difficult, as the water was so very calm. I even considered enjoying a quick swim while we were there, but after wading in until the water was up to my waist, I thought better of it. The water is still very cold at this time of year and I didn't relish the thought of the drive home while wearing a wet swimsuit. And I also need to buy some new water shoes - the stones can be rather painful, and they are slippery to stand on when getting in and out of the lake. Still, there will be other opportunities before long, I hope.

J. X

Restorative

I didn't sleep well on Friday night. I'd had another busy week at work, and for one reason or another, my mind simply refused to switch off. I do have a lot going on in the background just now I suppose, and there's also Lily's SATs coming up this week, which even though I am not too concerned about, I am worried that she might be. On top of all of that, I am thinking about all the activities going on at school, between now and the end of term. July will be here before we know it, and a lot of changes lay ahead for us both. Then there's also the small matter of Lily's birthday, this month, but I think that's all in hand now.

Even after a restless night, I still managed to wake early. The promise of  glorious sunny day usually has that affect on me. And I quite like to walk out into the garden first thing in a morning, and check on the plants. I don't really know why, as it isn't as if they've grown suddenly overnight, but it's something I've always enjoyed doing. When I got home from work on Friday, I'd weeded the raised bed, thinned out the beetroot seedlings and cut the grass, so it felt rather satisfying to see the results of my hard work. 

The potatoes look to be growing quickly, so I'll need to remove their protective netting very soon. The beetroot seedlings are coming along nicely, but I'm unsure as to what happened to the carrots. After showing signs of life, they simply disappeared. Not to worry, I've used the empty space to plant some pumpkins instead. The apple trees continue to thrive, so they might need repotting later in the year. And the lemon trees have finally been moved outdoors, where they will stay until the weather turns cooler once again. I've pruned them, just a little, as the branches had become a little overcrowded. They still haven't flowered, but I'm hopeful that they might next year.

Another r reason I wanted an early start to my day, was so that we could go for a walk. I have been so focused on running recently, that my walking boots have been, sadly, neglected. Seeing as we've been out of practice, and with Lily's tennis lesson starting at one o'clock, I knew we couldn't be out for very long, so I chose an old favourite, Silver How. This was one of Lily's very first ever fell walks, and it isn't very high, but has some lovely views.

I hadn't  realised just how much I'd missed being up on the fells. While I'm running, my mind works overtime, going over things I need to do, shopping lists, work, the mental load of running a home. But when I'm out walking, I'm more concerned about what I can see, which fells I am looking at, and more often than not, which is the best route around the bog :)

The weather was gorgeous, yesterday. Not too warm, no chance of rain and barely a breath of wind. We took the lane out of Grasmere, then turned up a small, steep track which led away from the lake, and very soon onto the fell side. It was incredibly quiet, then all at once we heard a cuckoo. It's always a delightful sound, but especially as it's the first I've heard this year. 

We went the long way round towards the summit, avoiding the steep climb and enjoying a more gentle approach. For a long time it was as though we had the fell to ourselves, but we soon got chatting to a lovely lady, who arrived at the summit shortly after we did. We only passed a group of three fell runners on our way up, but as we headed back down towards the village, it was quite obvious that it would be getting much busier as the day went on.

We  took the slightly indirect route back into the village, just so that we could cross the stepping stones over Easedale Beck. Then, of course, no visit to Grasmere would be complete without a visit to the Gingerbread Shop. I bought a pack of six slices, and a bag of coffee. 

Today isn't going to be quite as enjoyable. Ì have a list of chores to work through, I need to do the weekly shop, then it's back to work again tomorrow.

At least the forecast is looking good again for next weekend. 

J. X

In and Out the Dusty Bluebells

 

Does anyone else have that song going through their heads whenever they see bluebells? I am reminded of the game, which usually started off well, but nearly always ended in chaos, as children got tangled up, beneath the 'arches'.

Since returning from London, last week, I've hardly stopped. On the Monday after the marathon, my train pulled in at the station at 12.35, then I began work for the afternoon at 1.15. Perhaps it wasn't the best approach to my recovery, but it was an unavoidable one. Thankfully, having kept moving, it meant that my legs didn't have the opportunity to seize up or feel too achy. But I did experience moments during the week when I would feel extremely tired, although that was understandable under the circumstances. I did say, 'Never again', and yet for some unknown reason, I found myself entering the ballot for next year's marathon :)

By the time the weekend arrived I felt depleted, but there were still the usual household chores that needed my attention and some coursework which needed to be submitted. Once this was finally out of the way, I was able to take a little time to recharge, with a walk to the bluebell woods. Having previously thinking that I might have missed my opportunity this year, it was such a delight to leave the main pathway and walk up the steep track to be greeted with the now familiar, yet still breath taking sight before me. Beneath the trees, was a carpet of blue, and the dappled sunlight only highlighted how beautiful they were. 

I love that Lily will still indulge me by tagging along for these walks. Even if these days it comes with a side order of eye rolling. She soon perked up, however, when we discovered a rope swing tied to one of the tree branches; thankfully there are some things we never grow tired of. We spent just over an hour in the woods, and we were lucky enough to have them all to ourselves. Not many people are aware of the bluebells there, as they are not very easy to see from the main footpath. 

I don't wish to speak too soon, but this week there has been a great improvement in the weather. The grass is finally beginning to dry out, after what has been an incredibly wet winter, and the garden is looking so much better for having seen several days of sunshine. The vegetable seeds are beginning to sprout and the lemon trees might even need to be re-potted again soon. They are growing fast. 

I've replaced the solar lights on the shed, and it has been lovely to see them from the kitchen window after sunset. Then, after I decided that some other lights, which I placed in the flower bed, were a waste of money, as they weren't working. I actually discovered an on/off switch, hidden away beneath the bulbs. I will now have to wait and see if they come on tonight :)

J. X

A Morning in the Park

 

Last Sunday, I spent a morning in the park. The sky was blue, and it was lovely and sunny, but it was a fresh start to the day, and I felt cold. I was wearing several layers and an old beanie hat, but it wasn't enough to keep out the chill.  I wasn't alone. Everyone else was dressed in a similar way. In fact, thousands were. This was Greenwich Park, and I was waiting for my start wave for the London Marathon.

For years, I had hoped for this day, as it is notoriously difficult to be offered a ballot entry for The London Marathon. And just when I was getting ready to train for the event last year, I had my accident on the ice rink and needed to defer. It was a huge disappointment at the time, and since then, I've had some issues with my feet, which had me thinking that I might not even be able to run much farther than a few miles. So earlier in the year, my friend suggested we should run a half-marathon. Which was when I decided, if I could complete that without too much discomfort, then running the marathon could still be a possibility.

And that was how I found myself on a sunny April morning in London, stood in a park, surrounded by thousands of runners, all set to complete a distance of 26.2 miles around the streets of London. I dropped off my kit bag at the allocated truck and joined the ridiculously long line for the loo. I was incredibly nervous, as I'd never ran so far before, but I soon began chatting with some other runners who were feeling exactly the same. We were all anxious, but excited about what lay ahead. 

As soon as I heard my start wave being announced over the tannoy, I went to the numbered 'pen', and waited patiently for the approaching start time. Once the previous wave of runners had set off, we were herded, a little bit like cattle, towards the starting line. Then, before I knew it, we were off. 

To begin with, it didn't feel quite as I'd expected it would. The road ahead looked fairly quiet, but I had forgotten that there are, in fact, three starting lines for the marathon, blue, green and red, all of which merge together at approximately mile 3. That was when it all started to resemble the marathon I'd seen on the T.V. over the years. Thousands of supporters lined the streets, and the one thing I hadn't prepared myself for was the noise! It was quite overwhelming at times. The enthusiasm and support for those on the course was incredible. Thankfully, the miles passed surprisingly quickly, and I settled into a steady rhythm. However,  I did stop briefly to take a quick photograph at the iconic approach to Tower Bridge. I was still feeling quite strong at the halfway mark, but as I passed mile 20, I began to struggle, as the effort of running such a long distance began to take its toll. Spurred on by the crowds, somehow I managed to keep going, and it wasn't long before I found myself beside the  Palace of Westminster, then heading down Birdcage Walk towards Buckingham Palace. Then came the final straight stretch along the Mall and through the finishing line. It was here that I was greeted with a big, and most welcome hug from one of the amazing volunteers, then presented with my medal and, of course,  a foil blanket. Exhilarated, but exhausted, I had completed my first ever marathon.

J. X