Road trip to Derbyshire

Half term is properly under way for me at last!!  Hooray!!!!

So my bestest friend Sue my darling daughter and I have had a lovely day out in Derbyshire.

So many lovely flowers and blossom everywhere. ..

 

 

the May (Hawthorn) blossom was at it's very best...

 



Adorable animals...

Bakewell was quite busy...

 



Lots of padlocks on the bridge, this seems to be such a growing trend...

It drives my husband absolutely mad, he can moan about this trend for ages...

Love this shop selling hand made baskets of all types...

Reminds me of Domestic Science lessons, when we would carry our ingredients to school in baskets like the one below, covered by a freshly laundered tea towel...

Old police station complete with blue lamp...

We trawled the charity shops, which are usually very good indeed, but only managed to get a few bits and pieces as I think they had been pretty much picked over during the bank holiday weekend.  By this time we really needed coffee and lunch so went to our favourite café.  I love the pattern on my latte - wonder how they do that?

 

The café is within a Thornton's chocolate shop, so they give you a chocolate smile...

 

 

 

Sue was the driver so on the way home I managed to snap a few more photos en route.  The Peacock Hotel in Rowsley, dates back to Elizabethan times...

Big old Victorian Mill in Belper...

Matlock Bath, with the Horsechestnut blossom at it's best...

Tunnel of trees between Matlock Bath and Whatstandswell...

 

A wonderful day out with a lovely friend and DD, just what was needed after what has been a very hectic few weeks. 

 

Helenxx









Autumnal April

Hello everyone, April is flying by!  A very busy time at home and work, but all good.

Last week the UK was affected by a rather unusual weather pattern, which resulted in a lot of pollution finding it's way here from the continent.  This meant that instead of having warm spring sunshine and blue skies we ended up with grey days, mist and fog.  As Autumn is my most favourite season, I have to confess that I rather enjoyed this (apologies to anyone out there whose health was affected by the weather).  A little bit of Autumn in the Spring...

In my job I have to travel around quite a bit, and one morning had to make a phone call to one of my centres.  Now, I can answer calls on the hands-free, but seem incapable of dialing out.  So, I pulled over, switched off the car, and made the call.  After finishing the call, I took a few seconds to really look around me.  And decided to take these photos...

 Dark and grey...

Skeletal trees...

Old iron railings...

Looking across the lake....

A little bit of spring peeking through the autumn mists...

 Of course all this autumnal weather meant that crocheting more squares for my blanket challenge (weeks 14 and 15) was the order of the day...

 Now at this point, dear readers, I do have a teeny little confession to make...this                                  yarn is not from my stash...I was in a tiny little yarn store in one of our local villages, and noticed that they were selling Stylecraft DK.  Now I have read lots and lots of favourable comments on a lot of your blogs, but I have never used this brand before.  I loved this colour, and thought it would add a touch of lightness to the colours I already have for my blanket challenge.  So I bought 2 100g balls.  And I am loving this yarn, it is a dream to work with, no splitting, and it is so snuggly soft and smooth.

 It cost 60p more than my usual acrylic brand I buy from our local market, but I have to say it is worth that little bit extra.  I can get 10 squares from a 100g ball so that is quite reasonable.  The shop had a decent selection of colours, so I think I might pop back there next week and get three more balls so that I can make some potholders - I need to make some little gifts to send to relatives overseas, something small and light.  Potholders will fit the bill nicely, and make a nice little project for the Easter weekend methinks.

Well, must away, quite a few errands to run today.  But hopefully there will be some hooky time later.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Helenxx

Reasons to be cheerful - part 2

Hi everyone!

Thought I would share a few things that have made me feel cheerful recently:

 A walk through the park on my way from one appointment to another.  A great chance to grab a bit of fresh air and appreciate some very welcome sunshine.

A bit of window shopping - I love this craft materials shop, the staff are very helpful and friendly, I have attended a couple of their evening workshops too, always a lovely treat.

I love the skies at this time of year just before dusk.  And I also love the skeletal outlines of the trees against the sky.

And finally, how could this little chap not bring a smile to my face?

One of the training providers I visit regularly has a small holding, where some of our more challenging students find working with animals and the land really rewarding and calming.  This little chap always comes along to say hello to me, and his face was just so cute I couldn't resist taking a quick snap!

What is making you feel cheerful this week?

Helenxx

Winter Walking

Hello everyone, hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Yesterday DH and I had an early start, dropping eldest son and his friend off at the train station - off on a jolly to see their favourite football team (who drew 1-1!) so we took the opportunity to get the supermarket run finished early so we could head off into the local countryside for a brisk 8 mile walk. 

The weather was suitably chilly and breezy for the time of year, and of course I had my trusty camera with me. So here are a few of the photos I snapped as we walked along:

Local council education centre - oh what we teachers will do to attend a meeting at this place, it is absolutely beautiful, and the lunches are superb!

Church in one of the villages we walked through, made from our local stone and slate.

 They had a little Christmas Tree, but I was taken by the old gravestones - I have to confess to really enjoying walking around old church yards, the memorials tell so much about people from times gone by.

Winter views across the fields, all the crops have been gathered in and now the fields are sleeping in readiness for the spring.

And finally, some seasonal colour!

Well, must away as several seasonal jobs need doing!

Helenxx

Day tripper

Hello everyone, hope your week is going well so far.

A couple of weekends ago, when we were enjoying glorious weather, DH and the 2 youngest Moonstruck team members and I went to visit Woolsthorpe Manor, the home of Sir Isaac Newton

This picture was taken from underneath the famous apple tree:

I have to say that it is one of the most enjoyable National Trust properties I have visited.  It had such a lovely, homely feel and the staff were very friendly and knowledgeable, but not at all stuffy or precious.  They even allowed a cat to sleep on the very rare and expensive bed in the main bedroom!  No pics of the interior as they dont allow flash photography (fair enough as the artefacts are very old and precious).  However, there is this lovely ancient orchard to walk around....

 I love ancient trees and thinking about all the things they have witnessed...

The outbuildings house a very interesting collection of interactive scientific activities

A great place to visit, my 12 and 14 year olds loved it but younger and older folks would enjoy it as well.

We have annual membership of the NT and find it an economic way to visit lots of interesting places (there are 6 of us after all!!)

What has been your favourite summer day trip so far?

Helenxx