Oh to be in England, now that April's there.....

Well it's bluebell time again. I'm sure we all have somewhere we call "bluebell woods" nearby but ours is actually called Spring Wood near Whalley and it's a bit of an annual ritual. (2008 & 2007 if you are interested!)

You have to time it just right to catch the bluebells at their best and today was just perfect. A gorgeous sunny morning and nice and early to ensure a spot on the carpark.



It was a sea of blue and there was the lovely mixed smell of bluebells and wild garlic. Heavenly. The girls are really into the Faraway Tree at the moment so we spent ages looking round trying to find it. This was a strong contender;



Until we found a tree that seemed to have a "Slippery Slip". Despite exhaustive searching, no trap door was found but the girls had fun trying it out anyway....



We made our way to the top of the hill and sat on the bench to admire the view... another ritual of the bluebell woods trip is to have this photo taken every time!



On the way back down the hill you pass some open fields full of sheep with their lambs. This group stayed still long enough for a good pic but then we realised it was because the lamb at the front was busy having a long wee!



Finally back on the carpark we all had a 99 ice-cream (need a second mortgage to buy them mind..... the man in the icecream van did have a stripey sweater on and a bag with "swag" written on it!!!)

Charity Bike Ride and Some Crochet

Well what a fantastic day it's been today. Met up on the carpark at Giggleswick and then joined in the ride back to Burnley. Hundreds of bikers out. Check out my pics taken whilst riding on the back (getting some practice in for the hols)

Bikes and trikes arriving at the finish in Burnley. What fantastic weather. Blooming cloudy and cold at the start of the ride but glorious here.


Who says it's grim up North??


I couldn't believe it bikes and knitwear all in the same place! Just check out the fabulous Wazoo Wacky jumpers!!

There was a police escort due to the large number of bikes. Plus there was an organised road closure to allow us to ride together on the last stretch. Loads of kids were posing for pics on their bikes and I just couldn't help myself...



DH much cooler than me in his Union Jack open face helmet!



The kids had a fab time at the grandparents and we were all back home by 2.00pm. Even managed to do some crochet! Here's the beginning of a Seraphina Shawl



Well that's the Easter holidays done with back to stinky work and school tomorrow. It's been a fantastic fortnight and an excellent break from the usual routine.

The Joys of Spring

Sigh... this is the last day of the Easter Holidays. Back to stinky work tomorrow. It's been so lovely this past fortnight. The weather has been great for once too. It's my favourite time of year when all the trees and plants are bursting back to life and it's light for long enough to do stuff after 4 o'clock.

Off on a charity bike ride today. Should be great. Lots of bikers riding in from Giggleswick to Burnley. Will post some pics later.

All's Well!

Long time no blog .... again!

Been a bit preoccupied of late really. Had a bit of a funny turn a few weeks ago. Chest pain. Not nice. Thought it was a heart issue. Have family history of this and let's face it I'm 40, carrying a few extra pounds and a smoker too. Got in a bit of a state so went to see the doc. He was great and I have been fully MOT-ed and given a clean bill of health. Hooray!! Feeling so much better about things.

Went to the cardio clinic this morning for a stress test. It's all a bit undignified for us ladies though as they have to have access to your chest to attach all the necessary probes and stuff. This means you are wired up, topless and using a treadmill. Not a pretty sight. I asked them to stop when it got to running speed (no way was I going to do that with my bosoms bouncing around all over the place! Got to draw the line somewhere!!!) Anyhow, all is well. No heart issues, blood pressure normal, cholesterol low. Left with the number of the smoking cessation team.

So what else is new? Well I am now term-time at work. This is fantastic and relieves a lot of the stress and military-style planning that has to go on to sort out childcare during the school hols. There's a pay cut of course but it's worth it I think. Just had a lovely fortnight pottering about at home with the girls and getting out and about.

We've been to Hardcastle Craggs

What a glorious day it was too! Lovely spot with the mill and the craggs to walk around.

We went up to the Lake District to visit my parents who were caravanning near Kendal. The girls had great fun building a den just behind the caravan


We left them with my parents and went for a drive round. Another glorious spring day that really blew us away



We also went for some walks locally including the Coppice - a hill that overlooks the neighbouring town of Accrington. Bit of a blustery day but still good fun. Unfortunately, you can't see the annoyed gothic couple who were rudely interrupted in their canoodling by our arrival!! They are sulking at the other side of the stonework!



My mum took the girls out for the day so we nipped out on the bike for a run out. This was an excellent opportunity to visit the Wensleydale Longwool Sheepshop and have a bit of a splurge! Also managed to track down some of the sheep in a field across the road. Gorgeous chocolate coloured ones too. According to the woolshop lady the white ones are indoors at the moment as they are about to lamb. Ahhh....


Aren't they cute!

In between all of this I've also done some knitting!

Socks


And a jumper for me