A Solstice to Remember

Hello Lovelies,
I do like those calendar dates that mark the significant points in our yearly journey around the sun, and the longest day seems a particularly great reason to celebrate. It fell on a Saturday this year...Hurray.

I'm also blessed with having my birthday at this special time of year....yet another  reason to try and do something memorable.

My day started at 6.30am, by seven I was hanging out the washing and noticing how wonderful by roses look in the early morning light............

These are William Morris ....a previous Birthday present from Mum.

By 8.15am we had picked up my Mum in law and were on the road. I enjoyed a little crochet in the car.......

No Sat Nav for us yet.....I do like a bit of Map reading and often wonder about the places with interesting and amusing names that we notice on the map...........

Crimplesham....brilliant name :0)

It was quite a long journey on Saturday. When we neared our destination we had the usual game of who could spot it first. This time Mr BM won........yes we were headed for the seaside!...........

We live in the middle of the country and so it's always quite a long trip to the beach. This beach is not the closest to us in the East Midlands........but it's pretty special, so I think it's worth the extra time in the car.
We passed through increasingly pretty north Norfolk countryside and then saw a sign for the beach.........

The car park is just near the sand. There are some nice toilets and a cute cabin that sells all manner of goodies and refreshments........

But this is what we had come for .........the wonderful sand...........

We are at BRANCASTER

Happily my sister in law and her family had joined us on this outing. I loved it when she said "there's something rather delicious about sand between your toes"....yes that's how I feel, but it's got to be a warm sunny day and the soft golden sort of sand, like this.

After we had put up our tent and windbreak eldest and I made a dash for the sea.....I held my  breath as I first touched the cold north sea water....but it's only cold for a few seconds and we soon acclimatise.......

It's wonderful to go for a paddle after so many months.....the last time was last August....

I pick up a few shells and enjoy the glittering light and the sound of the ocean............

Then I look at my watch and realise it's 12 midday on the longest day of the year. The sun must be as high in the sky as it will get this year....it makes me happy to be here at this moment.............

Of course the sun is still not directly overhead......your would have to be a lot  FURTHER SOUTH for that. 

Soon the boys are keen to get really wet.They change and inflate our little dingy. That speck in the waves is the boys, their cousins and ( crucially for my own peace of mind ) Mr BM who has the dingy on a rope so they don't stray into deep water by accident................

There is a clear notice at the entrance to this beach warning visitors of undercurrents and fast tides. There is NO lifeguard service so you need to have your wits about you.

I stand in the waves but it's rather too chilly to tempt me to get wet above the knees. Instead I love noticing the pretty sailing boats coming out of the harbour...............

Soon the sea air and bracing waters have made the children hungry. Luckily we brought supplies :0)

This is my eldest and his Nanna cooking sausages ....turning them with wooden chip folks as that's something I didn't remember........

They were used to make hot dogs and eaten with gusto.

After we had eaten my niece produced a big box of cup cakes she had made especially for my birthday.....they all had a gorgeous bunny like this.....aren't they brilliant...........

I was touched at her thoughtfulness and impressed by her skill.

Of course my crochet came on the beach too....in Julie's BAG...........

After a while spent playing bat and ball, and building sandcastles the children headed into the waves with Hubby again....body boarding this time.............

We squeezed a lot of stuff in the car :0)

The tide was quickly receding, exposing a great area to exercise your dog.............

and go shell hunting....this won the prize for the largest.............

I love the little Cockle shells, I usually bring these home , but they soon loose all their lovely colours, so this time I played around arranging them instead..............

Yay, it's the first day of SUMMER..............

How I love the beach.............

The children  were busily gathering shells for me ..............

and my niece added the final touch.
Yes, WE LOVE SUMMER...........

I hope our design made a few folk smile before it was washed away by the tide.

Another thing I love about the beach is the sight and sound of the gulls.....here they were the rather lovely Black-headed Gulls..........tricky to capture in flight.............

Easier at rest...................

not great...........but I like the sky............

Oh, a little Sparrow............

By now it's early evening and the beach is pretty empty......that's our camp on the right..........

I notice another gull and finally get the shot I was hoping for..............

You can just see THIS wreck in the distance....but don't be tempted to walk to it as it's easy to get cut off.

It's time to start packing up. I do several trips to the car with various bags and am rewarded with gorgeous views across the marsh........the evening light is glorious...........

to my left I can see the enticing sight of many masts..........

maybe we could pop to the HARBOUR to explore?

It's very tempting, but maybe not this time. Tummies are rumbling again.....time to drive a few miles along the cost to Sunny Hunny...............

It's a traditional seaside resort and was looking extra lovely in the evening sun................

There were military vehicles on the green. The boys loved the tanks.....I loved this wonderful wagon. It was like a caravan inside ....all lined with pine and with a cute kitchen and comfy seating.....I wasn't brave enough to ask for a photo...........

Mr BM likes his seaside rock ( he gives most of it to work colleagues ) so we stopped here.........

Thompson's Old Fashioned Sweetie Shoppe

I bought a post card :0)..........

Then we got some fish and chips. Sadly they were rather disappointing....greasy and tasteless...shudder. Never mind, it's was such a perfect sunny evening that my happy  mood wasn't spoilt.

I love the scent of Lavender and this patch smelt wonderful as we walked past...........

We sat for a while on a pretty bench overlooking the sea.............

and marvelled at the wonderful cloud formations..........

Hubby bought me a yummy ice cream and that made up for the horrible supper..........

Then mum in law treated the children to some time in the amusements. The penny falls are still a favourite and eldest won one of these strange star things.............

Though it's on the east side of the country Hunstanton faces West as it looks out over The Wash.....which means gorgeous sunsets over the sea........

This beach may not have the soft sand of Brancaster........

But it has this..........wow............

This photo was taken at eight thirty. 

The journey home was special.......watching the sun go down on the longest day.
How I loved my birthday trip.
Jacquie x

Snippets from my Week

Hello Lovelies,

I'm back again with some more snippets to share this week. 

1. After my walk on Wednesday Mum and I stopped at a small local garden centre. It's an inspiring place that looked particularly lovely on this visit...........

All the plants are so neatly and prettily displayed.............

We had come to choose a Rose for my Birthday present. There was so much choice. I loved this one.....

And how about this climber............

Influenced by all the open flowered "old fashioned" Roses I had seen at that lovely open garden last weekend I was looking for something similar.

This delicate flower was tempting............

But this bright pink version with a beautifully traditional scent was the one I went for in the end..........

Wild Edric

Thank You Mum......Now I've just got the choose where to plant it.

2. before work on Tuesday I did a short but sunny walk along my favourite local paths. I love that the changing seasons mean there is always something different to see, even on routes that are very familiar........

Knapweed

lots of different grasses..........

Roses around the church door..........

and an interesting type of Buddlia growing close to the church that I have never noticed before..........

Buddleja Globosa

3. Indoors I've been working on a banner for youngests primary school leavers party......done on a roll of plain wallpaper......there's a long way to go and I can only do three letters at a time as that fills the table ....this is the start of "CONGRATULATIONS"...........

I'm going for a rainbow of colours and I'm really enjoying playing with poster paint.

4. My first Nasturtium has flowered and I couldn't resist picking it ....I just love that intense orange colour contrasted with  the fresh green leaves............

5. Making the tiniest "join-as-you-go" one round squares for a little project I'm enjoying right now......

 Dirty gardening crocs for scale.

I love the look of the back of these colourful bits of crochet too...........

What am I making ?...........well it's not a wrist cuff....though I do rather like the idea of this use :0)......

It's only about half the size I need at the moment. I'll be sure to share it's real purpose as soon as it's finished.

Yesterday we all had a lovely "away day" .....I've got loads of photos and I need to write about it while it's still fresh in my memory. 

Be back soon.

Jacquie x