A round up

It's been a busy few weeks since the start of February. And here we are already halfway through March. I wish I could tell you I had been immersed in some fabulous creative activities but alas for the most part it was a slog of redecorating, putting Ikea wardrobes together and other such exciting pursuits. 

There were some highlights.

Some welcome and wonderful early Spring Sunshine. As the sun gets higher it means my washing has a chance of actually drying instead of hanging lifeless in the shade. This makes me feel enormously happy. Probably more than I should admit in public.

I rediscovered my bread making mojo last week. Some simple white bread rolls along with bacon and cheese rolls courtesy of BBC Good Food and Paul Hollywood

There was a new line in silly hats.

A beautiful cake just for me made by my mum <3

To make myself feel less old I chose to go visit things that are significantly older than I am.

Old Wardour Castle where hubby pretended to be Robin of Loxley and I pretended to be Maid Marian and re-enact scenes from Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

You don't get much older than this in the UK. We didn't sadly visit the new exhibition (the pups had their fill of giant stones by this point) but I must say the timed ticketing worked well. Obviously we weren't the only ones there but it wasn't heaving. Even managed to bump into a foreign gentleman who seeing me in my rather charming hat (Pup2 and the man in the ticket office insisted I wear it everywhere) delighted in telling me it was also his 40th that day too. Clearly he did OK as he got a foreign holiday for his birthday whereas I got a ride in the car for an hour to Salisbury Plain.....

And finally KC aka Mia the Killer Cat sums up how I feel right now, tired enough to sleep on the bed using a laptop bag as a pillow. And I am sure turning 40 has nothing to do with it at all ;)

Looking forward to Easter and slowing down the pace of life a little. 

Winter Sunshine

Not the jetting off to a hot climate while the Northern hemisphere shivers under a cold snap sort of winter sunshine......I mean lovely, gorgeous sunshine in Winter.
It was that lull between Christmas and New Year and the post festive lethargy was getting on my nerves along with a smidge of cabin fever. There were some protests about going for a WALK but I promptly countered with the promise of a flask of hot chocolate to take with us. It would appear that hot chocolate can be a bit of a deal breaker in these situations.
I already had a destination in mind and it was the perfect day for it.

The Ridgeway. Supposedly Britain's oldest road.

We weren't the only people out taking advantage of the fine weather.

The recent cold spell meant lots of frozen puddles waiting to be smashed.

It stretches for miles over the downs.

The perfect spot to linger and drink in the views

Although the sun was out visibility was quite hazy. In the very far, far distance is the Lansdowne Monument at Cherhill.

The sky was an amazing shade of blue.

I felt positively rejuvinated. Perfect winter sunshine.

Some Enchanted Evening

Pre kids one of our Christmas traditions was to go to the Symphony Hall as a family and go to a Christmas concert. As with many things once kids were on the scene family traditions changed so this year we decided to mark the festive season by going to The Enchanted Trail at Westonbirt.

A tree. And its green ;)

Although most of the trees weren't decorated with actual fairy lights like you would expect the uplighting definitely added a nice dimension

Really no idea what this was but it looked pretty....

Ghostly looking Acer

A thousand pictures later and I finally captured the shot I wanted. How did we cope pre digital cameras?!

Yes. Giant balls of possibly polystyrene. They looked better in the flesh. 

New Year resolution no. 1: read camera instructions and learn how to do manual exposure

A fairy blowing smoke filled bubbles. Whats not to like?

Bolts of electricity. Which were handily powered by kids riding stationary mountain bikes. Wonder if I can get that set up for my home.....

I know these are not technically trees but they are my favourite type of lights. Multicoloured. Bright. Simple spiral shape. Magic.

At the end of the trail there were tables upon tables of oranges, cloves and ribbon with which to make your own pomander. Perfect end to a festive walk. 

Smooth Christmas is back on my DAB radio this year. Half the presents are wrapped. Cards have been written (although not technically posted yet). Turkey has been ordered. Christmas I am ready for you :)

365 Days

A year ago today my entire world upped sticks and moved 90 miles south. That day I stood in the kitchen of my old home and wept. I left behind family, friends, familiarity and I was excited and shit scared in equal measure.

So what has the last 12 months been like?
If I am honest it's been the best of times and the worst of times.
I feel like I've come home. Of course I don't live in a rural village (more's the pity) but compared to the 'Burbs in the West Midlands it sure feels like it. The scenery is stunning, the people so friendly and best of all no scrap metal men endlessly trawling the streets blaring their hideous wobbly tape recordings of an unintelligible call.
However the move has come at a price and it's been a bit of a rocky road for the pups; trying to break into established relationships at a new school and adjusting to complete new surroundings. It's been a steep learning curve for us with Pup1's autism and dealing with his behaviour but hoping a recent purchase of a kick dummy will give Pup1 a target for his frustrations.

 Life has recently thrown us a mahoosive curve ball (I know it's a baseball term but it's such a good analogy) which are we are picking ourselves off the floor from. So the roller coaster continues but I wouldn't have it anywhere else. Where else would I get the joy of sitting inside St Michaels Chapel ontop of Glastonbury Tor watching Luna's ears flap in the breeze :)

Here's to the next 365 days and whatever they will bring :)

I just love.....

....this time of year. I do. I really do.
Of course Spring and Summer have their own perfect moments but something about Autumn and Winter really fills my soul. The weather (some of it) and the celebrations, the dark nights....all have me in seventh heaven.

There's interesting home decorating using vegetables.

The are lots of opportunities to go stand in a crowd and watch legally purchased explosives.

However what seals the deal for me is the weather. I know it can be wet (which I agree is the pits) but it can also be fabuously foggy.

I have blogged before about being a fog aficionado. The picture above was taken one morning with clear blue skies, the moon still visible and the rising sun was burning off the fog. Then we have my other favourite sort....more of a pea souper.

The gateway to the bridleway I use. Mud and a yellow labrador don't mix.

I love the sight of the empty crop field with the stubby stalks remaining. Its a reminder that the harvest has been collected and Nature's thoughts turn to hibernation.

Familiar views are obliterated by thick fog. I confess I was childishly excited when I saw this weather.

In fog I feel as though my eyes are blurry as though I have woken up from a deep slumber. That hazy veil that shrouds everything,

This could go down as one of the most boring blog posts in history. I really hope not but what the hell.....as I get older I find myself apologising less and less for who I am. 

I love foggy days, dark days, rainy nights and all this time of year has to offer. While others are bemoaning the lack of sunlight I am breathing in the damp air and enjoying the turn of the seasons. 

"I see trees of green"

Half term holidays were a few weeks ago and I decided, seeing as how we are so close, a trip to Westonbirt Arboretum was in order. I haven't been since I was a child and I really wanted to go before the majority of the trees were bare.
Being of the thrifty nature I packed a picnic and a flask of hot chocolate (I love autumn picnics) and we headed off to Westonbirt. Judging by the queue of cars waiting to get in and the sheer hoards of people we weren't the only ones who had the bright idea of a visit. That was borne out of the fact that afterwards the play area was HEAVING and I even managed to bumped into two friends in the toilet facilities.

Large number of people aside it was worth going, albeit probably a week or two too late to see the acers in all their magnificent glory but there were still some fabulous trees to see.

We were blessed with some stunning Autumn sunshine

I have no idea what tree this was but in the sun the canopy was a brilliant green

Some stunningly tall trees.

This was like a sky of green stars :)

Flaming reds and orange hues

Some fun guy's. Geddit?

This made me think of the Rock Trolls from Frozen. I have seen that movie waaaay too much.

The mighty redwood. Ah-mazing.

Pup2 collecting leaves. Both kids were fascinated with reading the Latin names and the countries where the trees originate from.

We are heading back to Westonbirt in December for the Enchanted Christmas trail. I really hope the trees look as beautiful in the dark as they did in the gentle Autumn sunshine. Happy days :)