Sea Breezes and Salty Air

Hello Lovelies, 

We live a long way from the coast so time spent there is usually restricted to our main holiday or a day trip....Most years,  at Easter, we make a journey to take in some coastal views and sea air, but this year the weather was so bitterly cold we didn't.

As soon as the weather improved though I started to long for a little seaside break. Happily Mr BM was also keen.

 I didn't really mind if it was cold , but I was really hoping for some sunshine.

On Friday evening we  travelled through pretty spring countryside , and admired the wonderful sky....... 

we were all impressed by the journey over the Humber Bridge .........

 Looking down on the estuary as the sun set........

I was keeping my fingers crossed for sunshine the next day.
 I just wanted to open the curtains to see blue sky........I was not disappointed :0)

This picture was taken about 9 am....our first sighting of the sea in 2013........ reflected sunlight and fluffy clouds.......lovely

This is the beach at Withernsea on the East Yorkshire coast, somewhere we had not visited before. It was windy and pretty chilly but that didn't matter to us.
 The boys and Mr BM enjoyed skimming stones , while I just soaked in the panoramic views........

We wandered along slowly, looking for interesting finds and amazingly my youngest soon spotted some sea glass.....

I say amazingly as we have never managed to find any before.

The beach was almost deserted and it was very pleasant to explore.

in the distance we could see a castle like structure.

This part of  the east coast is  subject to erosion there are some serious sea defences. ......

I liked the pretty attic windows, just visible over the sea wall.

Eventually we reached the "castle" which is actually the entrance to a long lost pier......

Isn't it lovely ....with it's wonderful warn stone it looked like a giant sandcastle.

We climbed the steps and decided to explore the town for a while.

The sunken gardens were deserted.

We wandered on and  found a local bakers where we  spent a happy few minutes choosing a treat each.........

Withernsea is a small unpretentious resort . I loved the old terraced houses, particularly this corner house with it's amazing....what would you call that? ....a turret ?...what ever it is, it's fun ........

We had travelled up this road in search of the thing that is casting a huge shadow in this picture.

Eeeek , how wonderful is that.....a beautiful white light house against a deep blue sky.

This lighthouse is no longer used and is now a museum , which sadly was closed went we visited. But thankfully you could still wander around the outside which we were very happy to do.

Around the back we found this super friendly cat, he or she gave us a lovely warm welcome.......

and the garden looked pretty in the sunshine...........

Here is the view of the lighthouse from the garden.

These days , when I'm planning a visit to somewhere new, I tend to search google images for inspiration and interesting links.....pictures of the pier gateway and lighthouse caught my imagination and I also loved THIS picture.......Awww , here it is that sweet little out building..........

We enjoyed exploring the town, but soon the beach was calling us again. This time there was dam building and even paddling for my boys..........

while I was happy to sit among the boulders and sketch............

I love the seaside in the summer , but there is also something special about the quiet you get out of season.......

When it looked like rain we headed back to our  static caravan for lunch , and afterwards the sun returned. Sitting on the caravan steps, out of the wind,  it was really quite warm....not warm enough for bare feet but warm enough for socks :0)

Revived by a simple lunch and yummy cakes we hopped in the car and headed out to explore further afield.
Again the beach was calling so we didn't see much of Hornsea apart from this.
I love that all my boys are so happy on the beach. This time they spent ages dodging the powerful waves

and they found me more sea glass.........

These cute little Sandpipers made us laugh, they too seemed to enjoy dodging the waves , running forward as each wave receded , then running back up the beach as the next one approached.........

until a big wave caught them out and they had to take flight.........

only to land a bit further along the beach and start their "game " again..........

It was very blustery on the beach , but the groynes made an excellent windbreak, here they even had seats :0)..........

On the way back  we stopped in a pretty village..........

I wonder what it must be like living so close to a constantly eroding coastline........

After blowing away all the cobwebs and feeling thoroughly tousled  it was lovely to return to our cosy hired caravan.

With the low rays of late  afternoon sun illuminating the interior it certainly reminded me of childhood caravan holidays.............

And that evening I coloured in my little beach sketch..........

For various reasons we don't feel able to book a summer holiday just yet so this sunny coastal break was a real treat that I will remember for a long time. Of course it's a great memory jogger to have a blog post to look at...and I hope you enjoyed sharing our mini adventure :0)
Jacquie x

♥ 52 weeks of Happy ♥ 17/52

 Hello Lovelies ,
I'm afraid this is very short and sweet. We have enjoyed another warm and mostly sunny week .
Here are my happy things for the 17th week of 2013

1. A pot of colourful Anemones on my patio
2. Marsh Marigolds flowering in the pond
3. The countryside turning green again
4. Walking into the kitchen and finding this combination of colour and pattern....love it :0)

Thank you for all your continued comments on my drawings....your encouraging words are such a happy thing in my week....♥♥♥

Jacquie x

This weeks drawing......Caravan love

Hello lovelies,
As I'm sure you will have noticed there is a lot of caravan love out there in blogland.  Lucy's caravan posts always make me nostalgic for childhood caravan holidays  and Sharon's caravan makeovers are very inspiring.

I have a couple of printed caravan images that  I love ( I have shared both of these here before ).........

This card is of Happy loves rosie's cute little 1950's caravan......

And this postcard reminds me of our family caravan from my childhood.

This is designed by Martin Wiscombe, there are more of his caravan images here

 I have very fond memories of the 1960's  Thomson caravan owned by my parents..... but sadly no photographs.
 I googled images of these caravans and found THIS page. This is the model we owned. It had orange curtains and orange carpet. I wished the pictures were in colour , the grainy black and white images look slightly depressing, but in my minds eye I can see it flooded with sunlight...all warm and cosy and colourful.

Ummmm, time for another drawing I think , don't you :0)

For my drawing I used my usual pencil, then pen to highlight the foreground

Then coloured pencils for colour. These Caran d'ache "prismalo"are my favourites

And here is the finished picture......

You can click on the image to make it larger

I used the black and white photos on the web page to remind me of the details like the wooden beading and the gas light.

Then I drew things I remember being our caravan when I was a child, some things  stayed in there permanently and it was always a simple joy to rediscover them when we were packing .

Things like games  and observers  books, a sewing kit, an alarm clock and a radio...........

My picture is set in the early morning on a sunny summer day, the table is set for breakfast and our whippet  is sleeping under the table...............

The orange curtains are fastened back to reveal a wonderful sea view and crochet cushions add to the homely interior.........

I'm so happy with how this picture has turned out, it really looks very much as I remember our caravan holidays in the 70's and was such fun to do........

Thank you for all your kind comments on my drawings..they are so wonderfully encouraging. I agree with many of you who have said they are like childrens book illustrations.....It's just how they turn out :0)

I draw a bit every day at the moment, in an attempt to get more proficient....lots of quick sketches of anything that takes my eye....many a pretty bad but hopefully they will all help me to improve.

Jacquie x

♥ 52 weeks of happy ♥ 16/52

Hello Lovelies,
What a difference a week makes....a week with lots of warm sun ...Spring is really progressing in leaps and bounds , new shoots appearing almost as you watch....it's wonderful to see.I'm really trying to slow down and absorb all the beauty around me.
Here are my small joys from such  a happy time of year.

1.The return of leaves........

 Unfolding Horse Chestnut leaves in the early morning sun

 The hawthorn hedges are clothed in zesty, bright new foliage.

along the roadside, feathery Cow Parsley leaves are springing upwards.

2. Breezy weather
Midweek it was really windy and I feared for my plastic greenhouse. We rushed about adding extra weight ...bags of compost...and tightening the guy lines, thankfully it survived.

But I still like a breezy day for.........

 Making the washing dance on the line.... with extra pegs for security ......I love the smell of line dried washing and on a windy day it's so soft and even fresher smelling.

 My little plastic windmill was just a blur of colour as it whizzed around...not easy to capture on camera ( this is the best I could get, using the  "sunset" setting on my little compact.

It was great to throw open the windows and give the house a good blast of fresh spring air.

3.Walking beside water......

On a calm and  sunny day at the weekend this was such a peaceful place to wander, enjoying  the reflections and stillness.

4. Healthy snacking.........

Always easier when the weather improves don't you think. I'm currently eating lots of  Kiwi fruit........simply cutting them in half and scooping out the flesh with a teaspoon...yummy.

Hope you all have a happy week

Jacquie x