Marshes

Today, Finn and I have had a lovely walk over the marshes - even though we went mid morning on a Monday, there were still plenty of other dogs for Finn to run around and swim with, and lots of lovely dog owners for me to chat with.  I do get a bit anxious sometimes with Finn - he can be so unpredictable so I have to always be on my guard around other people.  Although that's no bad thing - I'd rather be a control freak around him than let him run riot and for me to have no control whatsoever. 

Before heading over the marshes, I spent a couple of hours sewing things up to take to the shop - including this beautiful zingy wave blanket.  I'm always unsure whether Bryony will love our things - usually with no substance to back that up, as she loves everything! - but I had some fab news today - apparently we are in her top five best sellers at the Craft Room - considering that there are currently fifty-plus sellers in the craft cooperative, I am delighted!

Domesticity

My weekends are generally so full of me dashing around completing chores and visiting people, that I really treasure the ones where not much happens. Andy's been up for the weekend and we haven't done an awful lot because we've been Sid-sitting and I'm still nervous about leaving Finn and Sid alone together - I'm sure they would be fine, but they have been known to scrap before now.  Mainly because Sid just wants to be with Finn all the time and Finn needs his own space. 

So, we've been catching up on TV that we've missed, chatting loads, cooking together, eating, drinking and sitting in the garden - when it's warmed up sufficiently to do so.  I've also been busy trying to decrease the wool stash, thinking up creative ways with scrap wools, etc. 

We've also spent some time planning some us-time together - including camping and fishing trips for the summer.  And, when dropping Sid over at Mum and Dad's this morning, Dad's offered me all his old kitchen cupboards - they're having a new kitchen fitted - so we dashed home (after a trip to some local fishing lakes) to plan where to put them in the outhouse.  I think there will soon be quite a lot of upheaval in my little house!

Norfolk

I'm really very lucky to live where I do - it's only through a string of coincidences and not by design.  Until I settled in Norfolk seven years ago, I'd lived all over the place - born in Greater London, lived in East Sussex, Hampshire and Middlesex, interspersed with six months in Cardiff and another six months in Spain, not far from Barcelona.  If it hadn't been for Mum and Dad moving to Norfolk all those years ago from Surrey, I'm not sure where I'd be right now.  I'm jolly glad I'm here though. 

I'm very lucky to live less than half an hour's drive to the Norfolk Broads, but only half an hour's walk into the city of Norwich.  Within five minutes' walk of my house, Finn and I can be lost on the marshes enjoying lovely walks and countryside.  We really are very lucky.

On Mondays - which I don't work - I like to venture a bit further afield with Finn - and of course the kids are at school and everyone's back at work, so we very rarely see any other souls - except in the school holidays or in high summer.  Today we've driven down to Rockland St Mary, a small village perched on the River Yare, and have walked a bit of the Wherryman's Way.

The Wherryman's Way runs for thirty-five miles from Great Yarmouth into Norwich - a walk I've done in its entirety as part of a training programme a few years back.  When you do these major walks, you don't really look at very much as you're just concentrating on getting the miles under your belt. I much prefer dipping in and out of the walk and today's four mile stretch - two there, two back - is much more enjoyable.  We saw a few dog walkers today and a couple of yachtsmen but that was it.  Lovely to get out into the fresh air - despite the freshness today - and spend some thinking time.   Heaven.

Flowers

I always feel a sense of relief in the spring - not just because the days are getting longer, it's warming up a bit and there's generally more hope in the air - but because everything in the garden starts growing again, despite my best efforts to kill it all.  I always fret over when I should start pruning back?  How much should I prune?  Should I cover things to protect them?  Bring them in for the winter maybe?  It's all fraught with so much anxiety.  But, every year, it all works its own way out.  Nature's a wonderful thing.

The sun has been out a lot this week and, in the city today, there was rather a bit too much flesh on show for my liking, but you've got to admire people's courage and stoicism!   (I still had a long sleeve tee shirt on and my waterproofs, just in case .... you never know when the weather can change!)

Amanda stayed over last night and we had a very creative evening - Amanda has been making beautiful little hanging hearts - photo to follow in a later blog.  And I've been trying to salvage what I can of the shawl-that-was-too-small, and have become obsessed again with wave blankets.  I have made two in the last fortnight - they are so rewarding to make.  I love the colour of this seasidey one - blues and greens, all tied together with the cream.  The possibilities of colour ways in these blankets is endless.  (I'm even thinking black, white and grey - colours that usually never see the light of day in this house!)

Holiday

I'm just back today from a mixed week away.  That's not to say I didn't love it - it was just not as I had planned it - as usual!  My plan was to walk eighty ish miles over six days along the Thames.  Lots of things put paid to that though - including weather, shockingly bad admin skills and, ultimately, food poisoning. 

Finn and I started off very well - we walked fifteen miles from Wallingford in Oxfordshire to Tilehurst in Berkshire - on our first Sunday.  (We only drove down on the Saturday, so we were on top form already!)  The weather was perfect for walking - cool but sunny and dry.  We saw some lovely houses and pubs and I have already lined up my next house, although Andy thinks it's a bit grand for us!

There were plenty of walkers about which was nice to see - on some of the long distance paths that Finn and I walk, we don't see people from one day to the next.  I guess the Thames Path is very achieveable though - it's all flat for a start, which is a bonus.  And also, most of it is covered by public transport - except for the very early bit by the source of the Thames - which is actually a pile of stones in a cow field in the middle of Gloucestershire.  When we walked our first day, I think we had to get three buses to the start of the walk before we could actually get going.  (We always park at the end of the day's walk, get public transport back to the start point and then walk towards our car.  For two reasons mainly.  The security of getting back to my car and not having to worry about buses at the end of the day and being stuck half a county away from my transport home.  And the fact that Finn likes to roll in as much fox sh*t as he can amass on our walks and there will eventually come a day when a bus driver won't let us on his bus and so we'll be stuffed.  Far easier to drive home with a vile smelling dog and give him a bath when we get home.)

The shockingly bad organisation skills came to the fore on Monday - I know that we had to park at Shiplake, get two buses back to Tilehurst, and then walk ten miles in four hours to get me back to the Baskerville Arms in Shiplake to meet my friends Ed and Ruth and their daughters Katherine (my god-daughter) and Jessica.  Not to mention Jakey, their enormous Gordon Setter.  However, what I had not previously worked out was that the pub was at Lower Shiplake and the bus was going from Shiplake.  Once I'd worked this all out, I was in the wrong village for the bus!   If we hadn't been meeting Ed and Ruth for lunch, then it would have been fine.  But having that timescale threw me into a panic and I decided we'd have a day off.  It was only half an hour back to Heathrow - where we were staying - from Shiplake, so it meant I could do some housewifely chores instead - food shopping, tidying the caravan, etc - before heading back to Shiplake to meet the gang.

Rain stopped play on Tuesday, so I spent the day knitting and reading my book, drinking coffee, eating chocolate hobnobs and listening to the radio, with the sound of rain thundering off the caravan roof.  There is no nicer sound for me.

On Wednesday, we were back in action.  Finn and I walked ten miles from Tilehurst to Shiplake.  It was a beautiful day - really sunny and warm and Finn spent rather a lot of time in the water to cool down.  A lovely day, I really enjoyed it.  We saw our first violets today - I always know that spring is well and truly on the way when we see wild primroses, violets and wild garlic. 

On Thursday, we had a scheduled day off to go and visit Auntie Ann in Surrey - it's so handy to go back visiting old friends and relatives while I'm staying at Andy's.  I love living in Norfolk - it's definitely home and I'm more settled here than I have been anywhere else - but I do tend to become a bit of a hermit and not leave the county very often.  So it's lovely to not have the excuse of distance, etc. 

On Friday, we were rained off again.  Saturday was never going to be a walking day as we were spending the day with Andy. Sunday was our last scheduled walking day, but, in the meantime, I had gone down with food poisoning which meant I didn't leave my bed for thirty-six hours.  (On the plus side, I'm hoping this augurs well for Weight Watchers on Wednesday!)

So, all in all, a fab week.  Just need to work out when I'm going back to do the next stage!

Knitters with Attitude

This week, we have had the inaugural meeting of our little knitting group.  We are a select little band - twelve of us, although only seven made it to the first meeting.  I'm hopeful that we will grow and become a force to be reckoned with!   I'm not entirely sure that an awful lot of knitting was achieved, because food was also involved.  I spent Tuesday evening and Wednesday afternoon prepping, baking, cooking and whipping cream into a frenzy.  This was my table before actual proper food was ready - I do like to work to a plan!

I hope that the ladies in our group won't mind me mentioning them here - and I'm fairly sure I won't need to change their names to protect the innocent. 

So, in no particular order, Shirley brought a rather beautiful purple boucle yarn and a garment which apparently hasn't seen the light of day for two years - there was a grand unveiling as it was revealed to us!  I can't wait to see the progress that is made and the finished article.  I did start to get a bit worried when Shirley suggested dropping off her knitting mistakes through my letterbox on her way home from work for me to sort out.  But I am supremely confident this won't be needed! 

Shannon was busy sewing up some of my hexipuffs.  While I'm very happy to knit away with my bits of scrap wool, my colour coordination leaves a lot to be desired.  Shannon has a much better eye for colour, so she has been making up dining seat pads which are rather less lary than if I had finished them.

Michele is a natural at knitting.  When we last had a girls' night jolly a few weeks back, Michele declared that she could not knit, but would like to start by learning how to make mobile 'phone socks.  So imagine our surprise to find that so much progress had been made with these accessories, that a waistcoat had been attempted.  Not only attempted, but finished and sewn up beautifully.   I think Michele may be outstripping us all soon with her projects.  We had an impromptu cable knitting lesson during the evening and Michele eventually decided to have a go at my favourite feather and fan pattern - starting with a few stitches to have a practice on.  I fully expect to see a king size bedspread at our next meeting.

Mo had brought some gorgeous greeny/ blue yarn and was making a hat and scarf combination as a present.  Not only that, but she had also brought some lovely toy patterns with her that we all ooh'ed and aah'ed over.  I can see an evening spent making fairies soon.  Oh, and Mo's biscuits are to die for - thank you for bringing them, Mo.  Recipe please!

I don't recall seeing Amanda with any knitting or crochet, but she can be forgiven as she helped out with all the catering beforehand.  Oh, and she was also instrumental in passing round patterns for us all and enticing us with new projects. 

Marti brought some beautiful red and pink yarns and was busy making flowers to decorate a black bag she had made.  Marti is the felting queen and has made some beautiful bags before now.  Marti has also been knitting zombies which I think might be an acquired taste.  I'm hoping that photos will follow soon.

As for me, I made one single hexipuff all evening.  I was having an evening off though, enjoying sharing what, for me, is usually a solitary occupation, except when Amanda and I have an evening together. 

I really enjoyed our first meeting and am looking forward to our next in May.  The catering has been taken out of my hands for the next time, so I may spend a bit more time being creative.