Cath Kidston inspired cushion

While camping I treated myself to a lovely Cath Kidston mug. From the lovely Poppy Reds in Hawkshead.

It inspired me to make a crochet cushion as I like the colours so much.

Joined the squares as I went along using and made the back stripey.

Found some pretty pink buttons to fasten it and ta da! Very pleased with how it turned out. It has already been taken over by daughter the younger who is fond of chilling out on it!

Long Time.. no blog

Hello there! It's been quite a while since I last wittered away.  Been pinned down by black clouds these last couple of months.  I'm pleased to report that I'm beginning feel a lot more normal so time for a catch up.

Well, there was another birthday and another pamper party.

 

Lots of lovely body shop smells filled the room and the girls had a whale of a time.

Progress has been made in the cycling department with the girls both now riding confidently. More of this in a later post.

Here we are saying hello to some cows on a little cycling trip just outside Padiham. Traffic free route and lovely countryside. Brilliant.

There was also camping - need a separate post for that too.

The school hols are almost over. Back to work and school on Monday. Can't believe that it will be September tomorrow.  Where did August go?  

Cardigan Crazy

Yes I've been a bit cardigan crazy of late. I suppose it makes a change from socks.  And, you will be very impressed to learn that I've actually finished them too.

Cardigan 1.  Cabled cardie for elder daughter in dusky pink aran (DWW - Dead Woman's Wool). DONE!

Cardigan 2. Lacy cardie for younger daughter in cheap purple Aldi wool. Just needs a button sewing on - otherwise DONE!

Cardigan 3. Shawl collared baby cardi for baby O in sirdar snuggly DK Honey colourway.  DONE!

Hills and Fells and Herdy Sheep

Couple of walks to tell you about.

We had a trip up Pendle the day after Windy Whernside with my parents. Quite blustery up there but nothing like the hurricane of the previous day

Here we are at the summit.  Not quite the elaborate troll hairdos of windy Whernside!

It's just been half term and we had the rare treat of a full 24 hours child-free time. Well 2 nights and a whole glorious day to suit ourselves.  So it was back to Crinkle Crags to revisit in somewhat nicer conditions than last time (see this post) The clouds came down, visibility was terrible and I sat down on a rock in tears demanding to go home immediately! Also ended up with very dodgy knees for some time afterwards.  It was definitely time to return and conquer this beast.

As you can see, not a cloud in sight! Hooray! Had my decent boots on and managed to get up and down with no knee issues at all.  What a good do.  Could see around and it was altogether much nicer than last time.

Here's a gratuitous sheep shot. It's a Herdwick sheep with her lamb in their natural habitat on the fells. Love em. Pity the wool is like wire! Stickle pike in the background.

Blooming Lovely

It'

So far, it's been a great year for flowers.  My peonies were so gorgeous this year and the rain held off for once so I was able to actually enjoy their vibrancy for a day or two before they fell apart and sprinkled all of the vivid pink petals around the place.  Mother's Day roses are now out and very pretty and peachy they are too.  Also been lots of white blossoms this spring.  Next door's clematis was an explosion of white loveliness and there was an abundance of hawthorne this year. Bluebells were pretty good too and it's still a bit garlicy around here.

Windy Whernside

Glorious sunshine, got to take advantage. Packed a picnic and set off to walk up Whernside - walk 23 from the Walks in Limestone Country book by Wainwright if you are interested. Started out from the Station Inn at Ribblehead and walked past the famous viaduct. We counted the arches and there are 24 of them if you are interested in that kind of stuff.

Ribblehead Viaduct is impressive. Built in the late 1800s by hundreds of men who lived in a sort of shanty town there. There's nothing much there now apart from the pub and a few farms dotted about. 2 trains crossed it while we were walking past, one in each direction. Then a bit further up a third train passed and we waved at the passengers like some kind of refugees from the Railway Children! I am pleased to tell you that most of the people on board waved back too! Life is good and simple pleasures are hard to beat.

As you see from the photos, it was a fine and sunny day. Really lovely in fact. Brilliant blue sky, not a cloud to be seen and really sharp and clear. We are in for spectacular views today we felt. It was a bit windy but hey, that's ok, kept us nice and cool. Could have got a bit hot otherwise.

Did I tell you that it was windy? Really windy. Really, really, really, really windy. I mean, it was seriously blustery. We're talking Marcel Marceau walking into the wind blustery.

I'm having a sort of Yorkshire Dales facial exfoliation by means of wind and grit in the above photo. Just check out the hair!

 Younger daughter looks like a troll doll!

Sally looking a bit windswept.

Nick doing a Marcel Marceau.

It was SOOOOOOOO WINDY. I have never experienced anything like it. It was so funny,  a bit scary, exhilarating and a bit bonkers all at the same time. We were laughing our heads off. As was everyone else out walking.

And it was seriously busy up there. So many people out walking. Lots of them taking advantage of the fine weather and lots of them doing the Three Peaks walks (Whernside, Pen-y-Ghent and Ingleborough).  It was so crowded when we reached the summit and took the traditional trig point pic. It was heaving in fact, so I'm glad we'd taken advantage of a sheltered spot slightly earlier on for our sarnies and pies.

It was too windy to take lots of pictures of the views up there which is a shame because it was fabulous. Just impossible to keep the camera steady enough in the gale force winds. Did get a shot of the viaduct from near the summit though. How small it looks from this height...

...but how impressive when we got back there again!

As it was now afternoon, there was an impressive shadow to be seen at our starting point.

Called in at the Station Inn for a well deserved sit down and refreshments.  Noticed the following advanced weather forecasting system kindly provided by said establishment.

Please note that the stone is, in fact, swinging!

I want to ride my bicycle...

In a slight moment of madness, I bought myself a bicycle. I thought as I've done so well with giving up smoking I deserved a treat. Also I think it is probably wise to get a bit more active as giving up the fags often goes hand in hand with an expanding waistline. Sigh...

The initial idea was to look out for something cheap and cheerful. Nick got a bike for £50 from our next door neighbour and has been using it to get to work. I was hoping to greet something similar.. However, it looks like Nick got a bit of a mega-bargain. The nice man at the local bike shop had nothing in second hand that was suitable for me and then it happened. One of those almost heavenly moments. There at the back of the shop was my dream bike, the definite one for me, and I had to have it.

May I proudly present to you, the Duchess.

 Isn't she lovely? Like something out of  Miss Marple. I love the vintage looks.  I love the large, comfortable saddle and handle grips. I love the covered chain (means I can cycle in any gear and not get caught in the oily chain!) and I especially love the basket on the front.  It's great!

 As the weather has been so great lately, I've been out and about quite a lot on my bike.  We live quite close to the Leeds Liverpool canal and there are lots of cycling routes around and about here. There's the Padiham Greenway which is a section of disused railway that has been revamped and resurfed. It's now a fab place to walk or cycle.  It runs from the local park up to rosegrove.  At the end of the track you can get onto the canal and head towards Burnley or Blackburn.  Really great.  Nick has a virtually road free ride to work.  Sadly cycling to work isn't really a possibility for me.  Too far (22 miles unlike Nick's 4). Oh well.... Just have to keep nipping out when I can.

Took the camera with me last night and took some pics

Blossom in the park is stunning at the moment. It has been a particulary good year for the blossom so far. Perhaps because it hasn't been too windy or rainy lately.  It's all so sumptuous and lovely.

Swing bridge on the canal. Somewhere between Altham and Huncoat.

These two gave me a cheery wave as they passed.  Must confess they were probably travelling along faster that me at that point!!

The Padiham turnoff near the farm shop.  Carried on a bit further though to get onto the Padiham greenway.

Disused building in the middle of nowhere by the canal.

A sheep wondering what I was up to!

And another derelict building.

Just loving the cycling at the moment.  Lots of interesting things to see, people to chat to and a different view of familar landscapes. It's great.  I have a big smile on my face when I'm out and about.

Wisdom of the day.  In the evenings, try not to cycle with your mouth open.  You will end up eating a whole ecosystem if you do! This is the voice of recent experience!!!

A Dreaded Sunny Day....

... so I'll meet you at the cemetery gates
Keats and Yeats are on your side
While Wilde is on mine

Some lovely pink blossom

 I've been out walking the dog every morning for the last couple of weeks. It's to help stave off those first thing in the morning cigarette craves, to stop too much weight gain and the dog likes it too.  I've been able to get up at 6am with no problems - despite the broken sleep - must be better quality sleep or something.

Anyway, last week was rather chilly early on - even frosty some morning. Fortunately, I am rather well supplied with a choice of woolly hats, scarves, socks and mittens for just such occasions. This week though things have really changed.  It's been a lot warmer and it truly feels like the seasons have shifted. It has been a long and cold winter and the signs of spring are popping out quick and fast now.

There are lots of lambs and the birds are loud and flirty. There are crocuses, daffodils, forsythia and even some early blossom in the trees.  There is a hint of green in the hedgerows and small trees and buds getting bigger on the larger trees. It's just sooooo exciting. Every day there is something new to spot. I adore spring.

I have even managed to get out for a stroll at lunchtime at work and got some lovely pics from my stroll around the graveyard in Leyland today. I like walking round graveyards. It's probably an 80s goth throwback thing

Cheery yellow forsythia - always the herald of spring

Who doesn't love daffodils.

Yellow is such a spring colour. There's forsythia, daffodils, crocuses, primroses and lots more I'm sure.  Just so bright and cheery.

Bench Shot

Took a stroll around Spring Wood. Far too early for bluebells but decided to take a bench shot while we were there in any case so here it is!

Big Sky

Pendle Hill under a big sky

Saturday was lovely weather. A big sky kind of day. A decision was therefore taken to go to Pendle Hill and truly revel under the big sky.  It was fabulous.  Sunny and blue with lots of big clouds. The kind that you can sit and watch and look for interesting shapes in.

Girls cloud watching

Sally checking out the clouds too!

It was such a pleasant day. It really felt like spring. And lots of people were out too. Had to pick our moments to take pictures as it was so busy on Pendle. We took our little camera with us so that the girls could take some pictures and some of them were pretty good. As you can see below.

 Group Shot

Sky shot

Cold Turkey

Nick and I have given up smoking.  A spur of the moment decision and cold turkey the selected method.


Day 1 -  Ok. Knew what to expect and the excitement of it all and the positive mindset got me through.

Day 2 - Hmm... pretty spaced out day. Fortunately a weekend day. Lost track of time a bit and was a bit "foggy".  Intermittent sleep too. A few irrational psycho rage outbursts.

Day 3 - Still a bit foggy.  Sleep still intermittent and disturbed.

Milestone 1 - 72 Hours At this point all nicotine is out of your body and the physical withdrawal is over. It's all recovery and psychological stuff from now on in!

Day 4 - 7 A full week at work without smoking. Not as bad as I thought.  Cravings under control and fogginess going.  Sleep still not right.

Day 8-9 Second weekend.  Time back to normal now. Finally sleeping properly. Going great.

Conclusions.  I think this will be the successful attempt because of a few things. We both want to stop so that's a big help. It's just too hard when you live with someone still smoking. Times have changed. It's getting increasingly difficult to be a smoker and the temptations aren't there in the same way these days. It's sooooo expensive.

On the whole it hasn't been that difficult so far. The cravings aren't so much "I want a cigarette so badly" but more of a case of thinking that I'm going to have one and then remembering that I've stopped... just for a moment I'm a bit sad about it. Daft but there you go. It's all over in a minute or two.

The question we all want to ask

Baby Boy Blankie

A work colleague has just had a baby boy. Missed the collection so decided to make something for the baby.  Decided against knitting something to wear as I still have the cardigan I made for another colleague's baby (in need of buttons). Said baby is now 2 so that didn't go quite as I planned.

Decided on a crochet blanket. Quick and easy and something to do over the half term break.

3 balls of Hayfield Bonus DK in three shades of blue. Just a big granny square with a wide border of trebles. More importantly, finished and gifted before the baby starts school!!!

Vroom Vroom

It was my dad's birthday on Saturday. So we decided to take him on a mystery day out.  We arranged to meet my mum and dad in a layby at the Kendal turnoff of the M6, told them to wear outdoor gear, leave the dog at home and all would be revealed!

They followed us to Grizedale where the Malcolm Wilson Rally was taking place. We took a picnic and what a great day we had. Weather was ok - no rain which is always a good thing in the lakes.  I didn't really know what to expect as I've never been to a rally before but it was quite exciting.

Me and the girls picnicking and watching the cars whizz by

Nick found a good spot for photos and got a little bit carried away with the continuous shoot mode. We ended up with over 800 pics of the passing cars..... iPhoto is running a tad slowly now!

Subaru Impreza zooming past

The Winner - A Peugeot Cosworth

The noise was great too. Lots of backfiring and roaring engines - even saw flames coming out of the back of some of the cars.  Despite a few wobbles no-one swerved off this corner although we heard that a couple of the cars rolled over in a different part of the course.

Bit of a christening do

There was a christening.  H & O (stepson's boys) were christened at the end of half term.  Naturally, a bit of a do followed the ceremony.

We had four generations of men there and here they are all together. One great grandad, one grandad, two dads and three sons. And a fine looking bunch they are too.

The girls had better things to do.

Ooh... cakes!