Heaven is a Pile of Twigs..

…if you’re a little boy that is. 

Last weekend was cold and damp but not too cold that we couldn’t spend some time out in the fresh air.  Actually in my opinion it’s never too cold!  So Saturday afternoon the girls and I met up at the Lake Visitor Centre and that’s where the boys found their heaven. 

Each found themselves a stick.  Boys need sticks when they’re out in the country.

Charlie found himself a “machine gun” I think.  Nicholas in the background looks like he found himself an honest to goodness good old-fashioned walking stick.

George sees his Mum and aunty safely down the hill through treacherous terrain.

Charlie standing guard with his rifle.

Looks like he’s spotted the enemy here!

This is one of those photos that I just really like and not sure why.  Perhaps its because the three boys are all together, still carrying their sticks, dogs running round their heels, out in the fresh air and having a great time.  Yeah, I think that’s what it is.

Nicholas is poking his stick down into the brook here.  Another inch nearer the edge and he would’ve been right in it!  How he didn’t fall in I do not know.

More sticks but this time they’re whoppers!

Pioneer Woman’s Seventies Action Coffee Shop Creamy Chocolate B&W Action

Of course no outing is complete without an ice cream.  Call me crazy but I prefer a hot drink myself when I’m outside in cold weather!

Until next time,

Little Things…

… mean a lot. 

Little things like my sweet daughter Victoria popping round with a scented candle she’d bought for me because she knows I like the fragrance.  Spiced Apple and Cinnamon by the way.  A Christmas fragrance and I love it.

Another day it was these hand towels in Christmas colours.  Beautiful and soft and festive.

And a couple of days ago when she was doing her grocery shopping Victoria saw the poinsettias and popped one in her shopping trolley for me.  She knows I like them.

Or when my lovely younger daughter, Caroline, came back just recently from her holiday in Orlando, Florida with an armful of goodies.  Little things, like the Milk Duds and Graham Crackers which she knows I love.  The OPI nail varnish (the only thing I had actually asked her to bring back) and an Oprah magazine she knew I’d like to read.  Hershey chocolate, her dad’s favourite.

And this.  A scissor cut paper silhouette of Charlie.  The artist cut out two, one for Caroline and the other she gave to me.  Caroline said the artist cut this likeness of Charlie out in perhaps a minute, minute and a half tops!  Can you imagine being able to do that?  No, me neither.  What a talent!  And it is a perfect likeness too!  I absolutely love it and now need to find a frame to do it justice.

 

Amongst the goodies was this Bath & Body fragrance mist.  Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin.  Perhaps the cinnamon is what appeals to me but I look forward to spraying myself with this fine mist every time I step out of the shower or whenever it just happens to catch my eye throughout the day.   I can’t get enough of it!

I thank my lucky stars for my girls and I love them to bits.  I think they both know me very well too judging by these thoughtful gifts.  Every one of them brought a smile to my face.  It’s true.  Little things really do mean a lot.

Talking of little things.  Happy little elves hard at work.  Which can only mean one thing.  Christmas is just around the corner!  Better get a move on with that shopping.

Cows Are Big Aren’t They?

It being Wednesday yesterday meant that George and Nicholas stayed with me for an hour or so after school while their mother went to college.  We played cards as usual which is fun for us all especially now that I’ve introduced money into the mix for the game of Chase The Lady.  Things are a lot more exciting when the stakes are high!  Actually it’s not even real money. We were using American quarters last night.  We play for matchsticks sometimes – it’s amazing the difference a prize of any kind makes to the game.

Anyway, I learned from George that he would be going to Ealees this morning with his school class on a little field trip.  I’m not sure exactly what they were studying but the thought of being out of school was thrilling him.  I told him that I might just find myself in Ealees too.  He was pleased about it but told me not to embarrass him by kissing and hugging him!  I made no promises.

As luck would have it it was a lovely day today. Rain had bucketed down overnight but this morning it was blue skies.

Hence all the puddles.  They just added to the beauty of the day though.  The reflections of trees and sky in them were so pretty.

Walking on along the public footpath I rounded a bend and was faced with a different kind of public on the footpath.

I’ve often seen the evidence the cows leave behind them on this part of the footpath but I’ve never actually come across the cows themselves.  They’re usually way off in the fields behind the fences.  I took a couple of pictures and carried on, keeping an eye out for George and his classmates. 

Finally as I came up to the visitors centre I spotted them all.  That’s George in the blue coat on the right-hand side.  He saw me and grinned from ear to ear.  I knew he was expecting me to turn up and I’m glad that I did.  His two friends noticed me too and seemed to think it very funny that I was there.

I stood and watched as they set off down into the woods.  George turned and waved with a broad smile on his face.   So, of course while I was there I toddled inside the visitor centre cafe for a warming cup of coffee.   They do quite a decent latte in there, I always enjoy it and the staff are always so pleasant.  A quick walk up to the lake then I retraced my steps back down through Ealees.

I knew I’d come across George again and sure enough I did.  I walked right passed him, asked him if he was having a good time and restrained myself from hugging and kissing him!  He doesn’t know how hard it was for me to restrain myself!  I’ll bet he heaved a sigh of relief when I walked past without grabbing  him!

 

Then there were the cows again.  This time right up against the gate I had to open and pass through.  Cows are big aren’t they?  Much bigger than I am.  So I waited patiently for this lady to move over and let me through.

Once through her mate gave me the evil eye or maybe it was a friendly inquisitive look?  I wasn’t really sure.  I quickly snapped a picture and left her in peace.

I turned around for one last look at the school group and thought how fortunate they are to live in an area where the countryside is on their doorstep for little field trips like this.

More puddles along the way.  We really did have plenty of rain last night.

Almost back at the car now and one final click of the shutter.  I’d love to see inside this quaint little old cottage with its stone outbuildings and neatly clipped hedge.  Hardly likely though.

I completely enjoyed myself this morning.   Cows and all.   Who could ask for anything more?

The Weekend

Had the weather been a little less wet on Saturday night I would have been at The Illuminations, Blackpool Illuminations that is, with Caroline, Trev and Charlie but the weather was very wet and none of us found the idea of getting wet through very appealing so Plan B was executed.

Plan B involved hitting a few balls at the golf range near the Trafford Centre for Trev and Charlie.  Charlie was very excited about this.

He can hit those balls too.  He even has his own little set of proper golf clubs.  Trev is a good golfer and I’m sure he’d like nothing better than for Charlie to be a good one too.  Caroline quite likes to have a go at golf too and practised her swing a couple of times.  Me, I just watched.  It was for the best.

Balls all used and clubs stowed back in the boot we all headed over to the Trafford Centre for something to eat and a look around the shops at all the Christmas stuff now filling the shelves.  The centre was soo busy – it would seem that folks are doing their Christmas shopping early this year.

Onto Sunday morning.  A much better day weather wise.  Cold?  Yes,very.  But blue skies made it so much more bearable.  Hebden Bridge Square for breakfast with Victoria and her men.   William stayed at home nursing a frozen shoulder and Caroline and her men were attending the Remembrance Day Service in our hometown then going swimming.

Something funny going on with hats here!  The caps are from Florida.  Caroline brought the boys one each back from their recent holiday at Disney World and they love them.  Nicholas wore his with the peak to the side all the time.  Have to say it suited him that way to a t!  Gary is wearing his own hat and George’s cap.  Mmmm, I know.

I have no words for this one.

The boys whizzed around on their scooters and didn’t feel the cold one little bit.

Max was very cold.  He wanted somebody to either pick him up or take him home.

After the boys had one last blast going as fast as they could on the scooters home was on the horizon.

Talking about horizons, with our backs to the skate park this was the view we had.   Blue skies and autumn colours.  Very pretty.

Later on in the afternoon William and I drove round to Victoria’s house and together with her and the boys we walked up the road to attend the Remembrance Day Service being held at the War Memorial in that neighbourhood.

All in all it was a good weekend packed full of simple pleasures.

I Love Buttermere

Saturday last William and I returned from our last stay of 2013 in our little holiday home on wheels.  One of the places I’d particularly wanted to visit this year was Buttermere in The Lakes.  We have been a couple of times over the years and marvelled at its beauty but we were well and truly overdue for another visit.  Checking the weather forecast for the week showed that Thursday was going to be our best day and it was. Not a completely cloudless sky but there was no rain and that was what we wanted.

Midmorning we set off along roads pleasantly free from too much traffic.  This roadside lay-by was full of empty cars.  I can guarantee every person who had parked there was now out walking through this beautiful countryside.

And that was our intention too.  First we had lunch sat outside a busy cafe.  Feathered friends watched and waited for leftovers to come their way.

St. James Church in Buttermere.  William Wordsworth said ‘A man must be very unsensible who would not be touched at the sight of the chapel of Buttermere’.  

It’s not just the land I love, I love the old buildings too.  Strong, sturdy and full of character.

I do love the land though.  Look at it, it’s magnificent!

And so, fed and watered we set off to circumnavigate the lake.

Plenty of woolly wanderers along the way.

Lots of them in this neck of the woods.

The water now in sight and here began 4.5 miles of fun.

The path is rugged to say the least but it didn’t deter this elderly couple.  She needed her walking stick and to lean on the arm of her husband.  I bet they’ve been walking terrain like this for years and their advancing years were not going to stop them now.

Dry stone walls don’t make comfy seats but this one came in handy for William to take a breather on while I took a few photos.

 

Don’t you just love this scenery?

We had to pass through this farm to follow the footpath along the bottom edge of the lake.

Then up the western side.

I was in my element.  Fresh air, fantastic scenery and not a drop of rain. 

It took a good two hours to walk round the lake and at the end of it it felt good to take our boots off, put our regular shoes back on and let our feet and legs rest.  After all we’re not as young as we used to be you know!

One last sheep picture before I go.  A happy little sheep he was too.

As daylight faded and twilight fell we made our way home over narrow little country roads.  I was glad we had a full tank of petrol and a reliable car.  I would not like to have been stranded in the dark on these roads at all!

Close to home and hungry again we stopped at the little chippy in Milnthorpe and bought our supper.  It was the best chippy supper we’d had for a long time too.

Yep, I definitely love Buttermere and that’s the truth.