Easter and the Lake District

We travelled up to Keswick on Easter Saturday, up at 6am and away at 7am, I love Keswick and if i ever win the lottery will live there.( note to self remember to buy lottery tickets!!!) The drive up was ok until just before Lancaster where there was an accident on the M6 and with that came miles long tailback, so, along with half the country was came off at Lancaster, it took nearly as long to the 50 or so miles as it did to get from Bristol!!!!!!!! but arrive we did safe and sound. 
We met the outlaws for lunch in the Skiddaw Hotel, arranged to meet for dinner, then on to our cottage-Primrose Cottage, just off the high street. It was ok, we always have the dog with us so we have a limited choice.................................
It was sufficient for our needs.                                                                                                                                               Though it did have a piece of glass above the door to the stairs

It looks like it was once a door panel or a light above the door(not sure what they are called) , what do you think? When the sun was shining through it was beautiful.  

We were soon unpacked, shopping list made and then off to Booths, the one supermarket i can get Bruce to go to of his own free will (apart from Waitrose). 

Even in the rain Keswick is wonderful, the high street and the market  are bustling, the people don't mind the rain and if they do they do a good job of hiding it!!!!!

Even when the weather is not as good as it could be Keswick is still a wonderful place.

There were a few days of rain, but we still walked, there were only low level walks until wednesday then the sun shone and up Skiddaw we went ;-)) Thursday canoe's on Derwentwater, it was while we were on the water that Bruce got the call about his flights and then the fact that he was going away hit home big style, i paddled away with tears in my eyes, Jake stayed with Bruce waiting for the call to finish. (the time of the flight was as ever at stupid o clock on the sunday night /monday morning. He would be picked up from our house at 1am monday morning.)
They caught up with me, and then we 'raced' round the island and then time to go ashore for the promised bacon roll and cup of tea (Jake's life is food orientated, and with hollow legs is never full!!!!). Then back to the cottage, shower and Jake stayed to veg out whilst Bruce and I went for a wander round the shops.

Every year we pop into George Fisher's for coffee and a date slice ( one to share).

If you are in Keswick and would like a very, very scrumptious raspberry bakewell and a cup of tea go to Temporary Measure the shop is an eclectic mix of art and wool.

Will post this now it's only taken me 2 weeks!!!  Must try harder to get my act together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, what a start to the New Year!!!!!!

Well, it was quite a hard start to the New Year, my mum was rushed into hospital with pneumonia and was not expected to last the night!! As ever Bruce was away and I had to wait for him to come home before i could go north (he had my car, i can't see over the bonnet in his) It was quite surreal driving up, it was like i was on the outside watching events happen, and there was all that snow!!! We arrived at the hospital in Halifax at midnight and parked by the main doors only to find that they were closed for the night and we had to go in via A&E a long walk round (couldn't drive a we couldn't get in to validate the parking ticket!!)

It was quite a shock to see mum in intensive care, there were so many lines going in and she was being ventilated!!! It wasn't mum, she was so thin and tiny and translucent. Being the eldest I had to make some decisions, not easy but knowing mum the best ones. Then on to Hebden Bridge, my sister was waiting for us with tea and toast, we spent a few days there and then we had to go home. For a few months we have been on a piece of elastic between Bristol, Hebden Bridge and Barnard Castle!!! Exhausting!! Worth it, mum is on the road to recovery, and is getting back to 'attilla' mode (one day i might explain!!!)

In the meantime, we have heard that Bruce is posted ( means another house move!! )

to Boulmer, a small village just outside Alnwick in Northumberland, (only 2 hours from school for Jake) this will be our 3rd time there so we know where all the essentials are. The downside is Bruce is going away for 4-5 months to sunny,sandy places, we have this coming week in the Lake District, Keswick is the only place to spend Easter, fantastic walks and the pencil museum what more can you ask for?!!

It is literally our last week together until september :-(( so i will be on my own down here :-(( with all the driving to do (though i usually do do all the driving, but i have no choice whilst Bruce is away)

There is also a chance that we could be allocated a quarter during this time and i could be moving house!!!!!!!!!!! But more likely we will move when Bruce comes home. I might actually get Jake's quilt made you never know miracles do happen;-))

Craft wise i have been knitting socks, socks and more socks, they are very portable.

I have been able to keep up on reading blogs with my iphone, and thank everyone for the escape they have given me, thank you esp to Jackie at Dog-Daisy Chains' puss for the latest post, and Helen at A Time to Dance for wonderful photos of Yorkshire.

Now must go and print off service duty for Church, not sure how i got that job....................

New Year

Well i hope you had a good Christmas and wish you a happy new year.

Christmas went well, all enjoyed the socks etc i made, extra appreciation due to the weather!!!!!

New Year was quiet, thankfully.

Jake was concerned about getting back to school, there was heavy snow here and we made the decision NOT to travel on the 6th jan as we should to get our boy back to school, as it happened it was a short delay and he was back in school for the 9th. Relief from all parties concerned!!!

Sadly my mum has been taken into hospital and is in intensive care with pneumonia, there are lots of tubes and machines and is very hard to deal with, she is not expected to survive, though there is still a bit of hope, and i will cling to that.

So much to do and so little time

Well our weekend was good we did nothing we had planned, weather was not good and neither boy or dog wanted to go out in the rain. So both my boys sat at the dining table and painted warhammer (Jake) and a Lancaster bomber (Bruce), mother-in-law would have had a fit if she had seen them!!! Me i sat in the conservatory and finished the granny squares for the blanket now i have to sew it together, and i am in denial where that is concerned.

I still have to sew Jake's quilt ( I know it has been going on for ages but i cannot get the motivation to get the machine out and get on with it).

Make another apron for my sister-in-law already made one so that could be crossed off the list,

write an article for the Church magazine for the WI

finish another pair of socks, (couldn't resist the wool!!)

CLEAN THE HOUSE !!!

plan Christmas menu's and shopping lists

CLEAN THE HOUSE..........................

Christmas cards

Clean the house,

make a birthday cake for Bruce,

oh and did i mention CLEAN THE HOUSE

and i have photographs to upload, so on the whole not a lot to do and not a lot of incentive to do it,once i get started i'll be fine i just have to get started!!!!!!!!!

What to do.........

What to do? I've finished all the socks, am almost done with the granny square blanket, and have become very disinterested in everything. I know i need to pull my socks up and get on but.............................

On the plus side we know we will be leaving here next year, ( hopefully in June) where are we going don't know yet, options are, or should i say where we would like to go are Waddington, Whitby, and Alnwick in no particular order, so we will probably end up in London.

We are going north this weekend, Jake has an exeat and it is a long weekend he doesn't go back to school until Monday evening so we will go to Durham ( maybe a service at the cathedral followed by lunch there ), to the wetlands trust at Washington ( more photographs of birds ) and weather permitting walk up to penshaw monument or the Angel of the North and maybe Beamish, though Beamish is expensive........

I need a project to take my mind of moving and packing, it's not going to happen until next year.

So, must get on and pack for the weekend, i've made the cake just the cinnamon bread to make now.

Oh and we will stop at my mum's on the way up tomorrow in Hebden Bridge ( used in the sainsburys Christmas advert) to drop off something we have for her and pick up some goodies.

See you next week have a good weekend

Scones, socks and swine flu

It's been a while..........................

I have been busy with,

a cream tea for church, this involoved me making 80 scones for the WI ( am a member) and helping to serve with the Mother's Union ( also a member) pictures below ( why won't blogger put them in the order i want?????)

Knitting a pair of socks for J to keep her toes warm in the new house, I ended up making 2 pairs as the house IS COLD!!!

I also made myself a new pinny, red dotty fabric I found in my stash when I tidied out my 'store' cupboard.

I have also made 2 pairs of socks for my father-in-law as part of his Christmas present, a red hat and scarf for Jake to have a school to keep warm.

My granny square blanket is coming along slowly.

So whilst all this is going on in my life we get a phone call from Jake at school, ( this is before half term) very croaky, sore throat, hot enough to make toast on, having played in a rugby match. Matron gave him something to gargle, and told him to go to bed, this he did but, was no better on the Monday morning or the next morning so off to the school doctor and was diagnosed with swine flu................. by now maternal instinct was in hyperdrive and i was going up and get him but he was not fit to travel until the thursday when Bruce went up to get him from school, expecting to see this waif in bed BUT he was fine, he had taken the tamiflu and a course of hard hitting steroids because as usual it had gone to his chest, they knocked him for six and the coughing was awful. So after a few days at home he was back to normal and the eternal words 'do we have anything to eat?', 'i'm hungry', 'are you making a pot of tea?' were being uttered.

We had a wonderful half term, Bruce was on leave, though he worked from home every morning except on thursday when we went to Weston-Super-Mare with a picnic, we walked on the sea front had a pound each to spend in the penny arcade, my boys spent theirs quickly, but i made £1.20 profit!!!.

So that's it for now, back soon.

last weekend

The first weekend we are on our own after Jake has gone back to school we try to go out and DO something. Sooooo we went to Tyntesfield a national trust property not far from us, it was amazing, they are in the middle of refurbishing and for a change they have kept the house open ,
Above is the scaffolding for the cover on the roof, this means they can carry on working even when the weather is bad. Not that i would fancy being up there when it's windy!!!!!

Below is the avery, looks like the perfect cottage to me, though in need of a little fixing up.
The detail on the roof is wonderful, i'm sure i can do something with this pattern.................
The bench below was very inviting, but, a little to hot to sit in the sun.............. a pity but i'm told it comes with age..............

We are heading north this weekend for exeat, YEAH!!! can't wait and Bruce has taken a days leave so there isn't the usual mad dash north on a friday. I'm hoping to go to the Bowes Museum Next door to school for a wander round, though that has to be weather dependent as we will have Jez (the dog) in the car and he cannot be left if it is too warm, alternate plan is a walk down by the river. Then pick Jake up and off to the out-laws for the weekend, we are also seeing No.1 son and his partner and their new cottage.

I have made my aprons off my list of things to do and will post pics when i upload off my camera, have also made the socks for j, again these pics are on the camera. I have cakes to make this week for the Macmillan coffee morning on friday.

I will get my act together and upload and post pics tomorrow.

P.S. don't know what blogger has done with some of photographs!!!!