Spring weekend in London

On Friday we headed to the big smoke on the train, where we met up with JJ and CJ's parents. The weather continued to be summer hot and in the capital was sultry.
After refueling with nachos and cheesy wedges, we headed to the British museum.

'Australia'

I just love this guy!

I'm not a huge fan of cheesecake...but JJ loves it...this piece, however....was just the worst, cheesiest, most inedible piece ever!

After the British museum, we went back to the hotel for a snooze before getting ready for dinner at a fab Italian called Ciao Bella http://www.ciaobellarestaurant.co.uk/

It was a lovely way to, belatedly, celebrate Granpa's 70th and JJ's 18th birthdays. Followed by a nightcap in the hotel.

Saturday, after breakfast in Giraffe http://www.giraffe.net/restaurants at the Brunswick centre http://www.brunswick.co.uk/, we headed down to the South bank which was buzzing with vibrant life under the warm sun.

We strolled along beside the river, stopping here and there for coffee, waffles, iced lemonade and mango smoothie.

If I had been asked what I expected to see down by the Thames....sand sculptures would probably not have been high on the list!

The Globe theatre.

We had a delicious lunch in the restaurant at The Tate modern  http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/  before Granma and Granpa set off for home.

The rest of us continued to wander along by the Thames, stopping to sup ice cold cider before a visit to the London film museum. http://www.londonfilmmuseum.com/

I think there is a passing resemblance...

Having fun on the Star Wars set.

As we came out of the museum it started to rain...quite heavily! But thankfully not for long!

We enjoyed We Will Rock You in the evening. http://www.wewillrockyou.co.uk/

Sunday morning was bright and warm again. We headed off to Camden. http://www.camdenlock.net/

'Breakfast'

A churro with caramel filling and pineapple and strawberry, with melted milk and dark Belgian chocolate with almonds and hazelnuts washed down with fresh lemonade...yum!



Josh's hog roast sandwich



Heathers chips



http://www.501places.com/2010/07/camden-lock-and-londons-first-nitro-ice-cream-parlour/

 

Then back to the train and home, tired but happy.

Friends and shopping

We had a lovely day yesterday with friends from Sheffield....with two years worth of christmas and birthday presents to swap it was a long over due visit!

Jo and the girls enjoying the sun...

H's daisy crown...

The daisy decorated table...if we had said 'go pick all the daisys from the lawn and put them through the holes in the table' they would have laughed at us!!!!!

The weather continues to be beautiful...I have to keep reminding myself that it's only April! With so many bank holidays coming up, let's hope it continues!

The fruit trees are full of blossom...

We (finally!) found a suite we like.....I'm being VERY strict with a no food or drink (even water!) policy whilst it is still new!! I love the way it looks kind of old and feels very at home...it's also really comfy too.

I also had a big spring clean....a friend has had one of those outdoor office/sheds built. It is really cool and I was thinking maybe we would have one built....
but then I thought about it....the room in the loft is mostly unused until H gets in from school. So I spent all of last Friday clearing out unused stuff, cleaning, tidying and finally moving all my stuff out of the dining room into the space. It's a great place to work and the bonus is we get the dining room back and all without spending a penny (apart from a new blind and a few storage bits! oh and need to replace the Velux blinds which aren't cheap...but still a lot less than a new office!) I was on a bit of a roll and C took two car loads of stuff to the tip from the loft too! (ok so there is still at least ten more car loads...but it's a start!)
I need to crack on with my diploma work...however shopping with my girl called today...so the work will have to wait a while longer!

sunny days and birthdays

The weather at the weekend was unreal for the time of year. Bright cerulean skies and June warmth.

Chris catching the rays......

....the consequences!

Josh turns 18.....

ready for his first 'official' night on the town....

Back to the Black Swan

We have been married for 20 years this year and to celebrate we went back for the fourth year running to The Black Swan at Helmsley http://www.blackswan-helmsley.co.uk/

The weather was bright, sunny and warm! Just look at that blue sky!
We enjoyed  a complimentary cream tea when we arrived, a half bottle of champagne in our room.

And the food was absolutely superb as always.

On Monday we took a trip to Scarborough.

I have to say the donkeys looked pretty depressed...perhaps all donkeys are just naturally down in the dumps like Eeeyore!

The Richard the Third cafe bar...we sat outside here and enjoyed a cold drink.

We ate chips on the beach and then walked up to the castle (incidentally, despite many trips to Scarborough over the years, this was the first time I even noticed that there was a castle!)

We enjoyed another cream tea when we got back before getting ready for another yummy dinner.



We enjoyed a lovely drive over the moors before going home.

This is the panoramic view that my laptop produced!

The art of simply being...

A couple of my dearest friends and I often explore the idea of just being, living in the moment. I think I have done this successfully for much of my adult life, never planning too far ahead, seizing chances to splash in puddles, walk in the sunshine, do whatever feels right in the moment.

When the youngest of my three children started school (over ten years ago!) I decided that it was time to be more proactive and began a journey to discover who I was and what my role beyond motherhood was.

These days the journey continues, I mix planning, learning, growing and discovering with as much just being as I can manage. During my homeopathy training one of the valuable lessons that I learned was to let go of the end result and enjoy the journey.

I still have to work at letting my mind settle, there is a lot of 'monkey chatter' goes on inside my head (I often think others must be able to hear it, it's so loud sometimes!).

Life isn't a rehearsal, so I feel it's important to enjoy it as much as possible.

Spring is in the air!

At the weekend the sky was cerulean blue and there was warmth in the sun, spring was definitely in the air! (though still a sharp nip in the air too!)

Dear hubby and I went off to visit the gardens at Harlow Carr. http://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr

What do you see? (I see an old crone bent and pointing to the distance!)

The smells in this little green house brought a rush of memories flooding back, I was reminded of my grandads' potting shed right at the top of his garden.

I loved this statue of a boy sitting contemplatively by a pond.



So there it is, spring is most definitely on the way! (Tea at Bettys tea room http://www.bettys.co.uk/bettys_harlow_carr.aspx was the perfect finish to the trip, by the way!)

I am enjoying this leg of my life journey,  I am more settled than I can remember being for a long while. There are still up's and downs, but I guess that is life!
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of facilitating my first antenatal course. There was much to learn from, but it felt really good. Wednesday evenings will seem empty!

I often struggle to put into words what I am thinking, feeling or believe. This can be frustrating to say the least! I am often left feeling woefully inadequate and that I have left others with the opinion that I don't know what I am talking about/speaking rubbish/have blind faith in all sorts of quackery! None of which is usually the truth! I have spent a lifetime learning, listening and developing ideas and beliefs. I am constantly reviewing these ideas. And yet in arguments, discussions etc I usually just don't know how to express those things in  a coherent, intelligent way....I will continue to work on it! However, in the meantime I will borrow other peoples ways of expressing, that beautifully illustrate some of my thoughts! One such person, whose blog I recently discovered, is Kedi. I was going to post a link to a recent post, however, on reading through several of her posts I thought I would just add a link to her blog!! http://keditalksbirth.wordpress.com/