When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

Well, not a lot of any great importance going on round here but I still thought I'd put fingers to keyboard and report anyway.

An assortment of stuff here to say the least.  Starting top left and moving on clockwise. 

• Last weekend my lovely sister in law, Brenda, gave me a sweet little Wedgewood bud vase which matches the little vase she gave me some time ago.  Also, showing are my two winter cyclamen, aren't they lovely?  They were just £1 each from Morrisons.  Good value don't you think?
• William, busy repositioning pictures and my Portmeirion plates on the kitchen walls for me.
• A little reminder of what's just around the corner.
• I spotted this little Father Christmas night light in Costco yesterday and had to bring him home with me.
• I paid a visit to Housing Units and rather liked this leather sofa. I think we'll be buying a new 3 piece suite in the New Year.
• This afternoon my girls came round with their boys to visit.  The boys turned my dining room into a zoo.  I play the zookeeper, George and Charlie are monkeys and Nicholas is always a guard dog!
• Gary came round a little later with their little dog. 
• It's a mad house here at times.
• I wouldn't have it any other way.
• The little Father Christmas and the Wedgewood vase are my Simple Pleasures this week.

Yesterday afternoon I snagged a couple of bargains.  The frame was £5, you'd pay a lot more than that in somewhere like John Lewis.  I found this one in a curtain factory shop.  I had no idea they sold things like that.  The book was 40p in a local charity shop and the Guinness As Usual mug was in the same shop.

Guinness is a favourite tipple of mine and that's why this little cup caught my eye.  When I discovered it was actually made in Ireland and was only 30p I brought it home with me.

So, why the title?  Well, I bought the purple fleece you see in the picture yesterday.  When I came home I changed out of my "good" clothes into some more comfortable clothes.  I reached into my drawer and chose a purple sweater to wear and what was I taking off? - yep, a purple sweater! 

The poem Warning, When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple by Jenny Joseph immediately came to mind.   Click on the link to read the poem, - I'm sure it'll bring a smile to your face.

Kathleen.

Llandudno and Betws Y Coed

Friday night when William got home from work we loaded up the car with all the paraphernalia needed for a weekend away and drove down to north Wales for the weekend to visit with William's sister and her husband.  They live only an hour and a half away so it's a very comfortable drive after a day at the grindstone.

Here we are, Saturday morning, on Llandudno beach.

And here's William with his sister and brother in law tucking into pie and chips from the chippy.  Brenda is just about to crack open a flask of hot coffee.  That was our lunch on Saturday and boy did it taste good in the bracing sea air after we had done a fair bit of traipsing around Llandudno's shopping streets!  Traipsing which included a Craft Market and an Antiques Fair.

We had a full day Saturday.  After taking in Llandudno, at my request, we made a visit to Jackson's Garden Centre at Dysserth for afternoon tea.  I have mentioned this Jackson's in a previous post.  Not only is it in a beautiful countryside setting, they have a lovely restaurant and sell all sorts of gorgeous interior decor stuff and of course just now it's jam packed full of Christmas goodies.

By the time we were leaving Dysserth the sun was setting and putting on a spectacular show.  Shame about the overhead cables, I know, but the sunset was so beautiful I had to include it.

Sunday, Brenda and Arthur took us inland to breathtakingly beautiful Betws Y Coed, a little town and a magnet for tourists, in Snowdonia National Park.  We have been here several times over the years but never in autumn.  It was a sight to behold for sure.

Brenda and Arthur beside the rocky River Conway which flows right through the centre of Betws Y Coed.

My pictures don't do it justice.

 

If you are ever in north Wales take the time to visit Betws Y Coed, you won't be sorry you did.

As our visit drew to a close a look inside St. Mary's Church seemed a good way to finish the day off.  Our car was parked in the church car park.  Quite properly, it's a pay and display one.   Anyway, William and I had just completed our tour of the church when we heard a magical sound.  A male voice choir was practising in the church hall!  I dashed to the car to get Brenda so that she could have a listen too.  Wales is renowned the world over for its history of singing and male voice choirs.  Shivers went up and down my spine as I stood and listened.  It was one of those moments I'll always remember.

Kathleen.

I've Been Digi-Scrapping Again.

I've managed to finish a few digital scrapbook pages recently.  I'm good at starting these things but not always as good at finishing them!

The page above features photos from last Saturday morning of my son in law and grandson.   I have been wanting to do a layout around this poem for this father and son duo for ages.  I made one a few years ago for my other son in law and I know that Trev liked that one.  I hope he likes this one too when he sees it.

 

This layout features photos of my two little grandsons taken on a recent Sunday morning walk through Cragg Vale.

And lastly this layout will keep the memories alive from our autumn holiday in Devon.

And that's what I love about photographs and digital scrapbooking -  they both keep memories alive.   Without photographs like these, the everyday little things that aren't really important would be forgotten, or at best a hazy recollection.  But in years to come with photographs and digi-scrapped pages to look over, those everyday things (and out of the ordinary things) will be clear as a bell treasured memories.

Credits for the kits used in these pages can be found over on My Digi-scrapping World blog.

Kathleen.

 

A Little Bit More...

...on our autumn holiday in Devon.

A late afternoon stroll down toward the Donkey Sanctuary.

Caroline and Charlie found a sandy patch on pebbly West Bay beach for Charlie to dig in.

One afternoon William and I embarked on a hilly hike up Peak Hill which is on the outskirts of Sidmouth.

Part way up I stopped to capture the view looking back to Sidmouth with Jacob's Ladder in the near distance.  That's the white structure climbing up the cliff face to Connaught Gardens.  Those steps are high and steep and not for anyone suffering in the slightest from vertigo.

William takes a breather on the way up. 

It really was quite a steep climb up Peak Hill but the views were worth it.

Another view taken on the way back down into Sidmouth.  As we got further down the hill we could hear the intermittent sound of a brass band being carried on the wind.

We followed the sound into Connaught Gardens.  There we found a local brass band playing their hearts out to a small but appreciative Sunday afternoon audience.  I was thrilled to bits, I love a brass band.  Our younger daughter, Caroline, was in the school band all the way through senior school.

And what do you know!  Here she is, looking very lovely, relaxed and happy on Sidmouth front.

And finally, William checking in with the folks back home on his mobile.

That's the last of our October week in Devon photographs.  I've enjoyed going through them again to post on here too.

Until the next time.

Kathleen.

Where does the time go?

No, really, where does the time go?  I just don't seem to have enough of it lately.  I haven't been near this blog in almost a week and I really don't want to get behind with it if I can help it, 'cause this I know - catching up is far harder than keeping up.

Anyway here's some of the fun stuff I've been doing this past week.

Friday afternoon I got the train into Manchester to meet my lovely cousin, Sylvia.  We had lunch and a good old chinwag.  We mooched in and out of the shops, all the time having a good old chinwag.  Stopped for a coffee break and had a good old chinwag.  I think it's safe to say there was a lot of chinwaggin' going on!

As you can see Manchester is definitely gearing up for Christmas.  Kendal's Christmas window displays were gorgeous.   The Christmas Markets were just in the process of being set up.  All the Christmas street lights were up and glittering.  They were very pretty, as usual.  And as usual Sylvia and I had a lovely time together and I'm hoping we can do it again before Christmas.

The two photos above were taken with my iPhone.  (Have you ordered yours yet, Syl?) 

Now, then, for something completely different.  Guess who that is in the riding gear?  Yep, it's me!  My son in law Trev got a new motorbike recently and had promised to take me for a spin on it. 

True to his word, Saturday morning he took me for that spin.

Trev managed to borrow a helmet and biker jacket for me from a friend.  I'll tell you something,  those helmets are not the most comfortable hats in the world.  They're heavy and have to be a very snug fit.  Very snug.  I didn't think I'd get my head inside this one, but I did - just!

Here we are ready for the off.  Uppermill was our destination, not too far but far enough.  Caroline followed behind in the car with Charlie.  It was exciting, exhilarating and extremely draughty round the ankles.  Thanks for the experience, Trev!

Coffee and cakes were on the agenda too.  (An Instagram picture)

River Tame runs alongside the park in Uppermill.

Charlie had a great time crossing back and forth on the stepping stones with his daddy.

Looking back, I'm happy to say, it wasn't that bad a week after all.  It was just all the hassle with my internet provider, wi-fi, my iPhone connection to it and the interminable amount of time I had to spend on the phone with the people at Orange to solve the problems. 

Kathleen.

Dove Stone Reservoir

Autumn.  What's not to love about autumn I ask you?  Sunday was an absolutely glorious autumn day.  Blue skies, crisp, dry and not too cold.  Perfect in fact for a walk in the country.

William and I did just that.  We took a ride over to Dove Stone Res Sunday afternoon and joined tons of other people with the same idea. 

Stunning scenery at every turn.

A babbling brook, perfect to sit beside with a picnic.  I'm going to do that next time.

I got a new toy on Friday, an iPhone.  One of the first things I did on it was download Instagram.  I used it to take this picture of William walking ahead of me.  I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of this little app.

Not a particularly good photo of the two of us but the background is so lovely I couldn't not include it.

Toward the end of the walk William decided we should take a shortcut down this hill.  It doesn't look it for some reason in this picture but that was one steep hill.  One of those where it's best to zigzag as you go.  We made it though. There's life in the old dogs yet!

Another picture taken with my new toy.  After our walk a little bit of sustenance was called for. Therefore we called in at the garden centre just outside Uppermill and look what I had.  Yes, a mince pie!  A reminder that Christmas is less than seven weeks away!!

And before I go wanted to include this picture of my First Born's First Born playing footie.  He's only recently taken up football and is now goalie on the team.   That's him in the white shirt.  William and I went to watch him play before going to Dove Stone's.  Football isn't my thing, I'd rather watch paint dry than watch a game of football.  But when your 8 year old grandson is one of the players it's a whole different ball game.

Kathleen.

Saturday afternoon...

...I needed some fresh air and wanted to go for a walk.  Not wanting to go on my own I asked if the boys wanted to come with me.  I asked their mother too but she was busy ironing.  Charlie was asleep at his house so it was me, George and Nicholas.  Oh, and my little dog, Muffin.

We didn't go far, just  up the road to Ealees.  We all like it there and of course, winter or summer, the water is a big attraction for the boys.  We played Follow My Leader along the way until I nearly fell over with all the twizzes we were doing!

George and Nicholas both had their wellies on but it was inevitable that one of them would go too deep.  George's right foot got a good old soaking of icy cold water.

Nicholas just got filthy.  He's really good at that.  Bless his little cotton socks!

I'm including this snap of the cottages we pass en route because of the beautiful autumn colours in the background.

Saturday was Bonfire Night and for the first time in a long time we didn't have a bonfire party in our garden.  The ground was far too wet so we'll just have to have one another weekend when the weather and grass are both dry. 

However, we did drive up and park on Blackstone Edge, one of the highest points in this hilly area of ours with panoramic views for miles around.  Victoria, Caroline and I took a flask each and they brought goodies to eat while we all watched the fireworks from our vantage point.  In theory it was a great idea but in actual fact we saw very few fireworks.  With hindsight we should've gone an hour later at 7 o'clock-ish for a better show.  So after the no-show we finished the night off back at our house with a hot drink and of course there's always next year.  It was still an experience though for the boys to be out after dark.

Kathleen.

 

Stepping It Out

My first born daughter, Victoria, and I have been stepping it out this week.  Three times we've walked round this lake and chances are we'll be doing it again tomorrow.  The distance is just about 2.5 miles.  Not a great distance I don't suppose but my thighs are telling me it's far enough!

See you in the morning first born.

Kathleen.

Our Autumn Holiday...

...in Devon seems to have receded into the distance very quickly even though we only got back last Wednesday.  So here are a few pictures to help keep it alive just a little bit longer.

We really had a good holiday.  The weather was mixed but that was to be expected in late October.  As you can see though we still managed to eat breakfast al fresco on Beer beach.  The sun was shining and a mist still hung over the sea, very atmospheric.   We ate breakfast at Ducky's beach cafe and the owner, a very friendly sort of fellow, was telling us that surprisingly his busiest week of the year had been in October.   I imagine the Indian summer we had a taste of had a lot to do with it.

The fishing boat photo was taken on a different day to the breakfast on the beach day.  I love their happy colours.

In the top right hand picture Caroline and her little boy are sitting on the pebbles at Sidmouth watching the waves roll in. 

The skies were beautiful no matter what the weather was doing.  The bottom left picture is one of my favourites from the week.  I wish I could get a picture of the sky at night from our campsite, what a sight to behold that is!

Last but not least is William with a slightly amused look on his face.

And below a view of Beer beach with barely a soul on it!

That's it, short and sweet.  More to come over the next couple of days.

Kathleen.