Daily December :: the 16th

Hello Lovelies,

yesterday was a long work day and I failed to take any photos..

Today I was very happy to get out and see some daylight again. It was cloudy at the country park, but still pretty in a wintry sort of way........

It was certainly not cold despite how these pictures look.........

I rather like the burnt orange tones of the reeds...........

and their feathery seed heads.......

Hello Mrs Mallard.........

and hello different ducks I'm not familiar with :0)

More brown.......

and some yellow......

 that was a surprise.

 This afternoon the sun came out for a brief spell.......

And this evening the Mr and I enjoyed a "Christmas Social" at our weekly dancing lesson.......

We still have so far to go with our Ballroom and Latin skills. But apparently it gets easier...after a few years :0)

I have THIS tune in my head tonight.

How I love the waltz.
Jacquie x

Daily December :: the 14th

Hello Lovelies,
if you have been reading my blog for a long time you will know I used to be a runner....never a fast runner, but I had stamina. I've done three half marathons, one of which was the Great North run back in 2012...........



Marshaling the local run yesterday inspired me. I have done hardly any running at all this year but I guess I decided it's not time to hang up my trainers just yet.
 If I could only walk I would be happy with that. I do love walking, but while I can still consider running I want to give it another try.

My eldest is  now 15 and  told me last week he wants to run a marathon one day. He has the sort of determination needed to do it too, bless him. I never want to run 26 miles...but I would like to run with him while he's starting out. You never know, other members of the family may get the bug too if we are lucky :0)



I don't think I ever chatted properly about why I stopped running back in 2013. Well, it was a stressful year and I foolishly decided to try and train up for a half marathon in just a few weeks...after not doing any serious running that year.



I over did things. The physical exertion added to mental stress led to me getting Ventricular ectopics. It's an extra heart beat, that means you get a long gap after it and then the sensation of a jolt or a flutter in the chest as the next beat occurs. When it's happening a lot it's quiet alarming...and that probably makes it happen more...a vicious circle.

My GP was lovely and did tests...mostly to reassure me I'm sure. In the end I was told to carry on as normal and not to worry. But it did still concern me.




Thankfully since then it's got a lot better. Though not gone away entirely. It do know I want to avoid making it worse again so I need to build up slowly. Oh so slowly.
When you have been good at a thing it's easy to imagine you can still go for it like before. But I know I can't...yet.

What I need is a gentle reintroduction to running Something to stop me getting carried away and running before I can walk...so to speak :0)

And here it is ....the brilliant Couch to 5k...as in, it will take you from being a couch potato to being able to run for 30 minutes without a break ( which might or might not be five kilometres...depends on how fast you run...but that's hardly the point....running is running, even if it's just the gentlest of jogs )

Eldest helped me upload the podcast to my phone...but you don't even need that...any old MP3 will do.

Laura ( the friendly voice that chats to you and tells you when to run and when to walk) is like a running buddy.
There's music with the correct beat to motivate you too.

Today was day one, week one........

I turn fifty in June next year and what I would like is to be able to run a decent distance again by then. I'm not going to aim for a half marathon....it seems like a heck of a long way at the moment and I can do without the pressure. 10k would be brilliant....I'll try, but what will be will be. I'm certainly not going to rush anything. If I have to stick to 5k that will be fine as well.

I've mentioned this programme and the re-start to my running adventures on instagram today. It seems lots of you lovelies have had success with it.

Obviously I've only experienced the first podcast but it certainly impressed me. My only issue was it's quiet hilly where I live so when Laura told me to run sometimes it was uphill. Not great for a beginner. I'll look for a flatter route next time :0)

Jacquie x

Daily December :: the 13th

Hello Lovelies,

this morning I wrapped up in multiple layers ( and a fetching yellow hi-viz vest) to marshal for our local running race.

This picture was taken before the runners started to arrive........ 

 Super fast and very serious runners at the start. No reply from them to my clapping and encouragement...they were in the zone.
 Then the " peloton" jogged by. Runners of all ages and sizes, many dressed in fancy dress to add to the difficulty. Santa's, elves,  super heroes, and even a Christmas turkey ...they made me smile.

After almost an hour of constant clapping and numerous"well done's"  the runners thinned out. I loved the stragglers the best and clapped them the loudest. 

The ladies chatting so much they can hardly of noticed the miles and didn't even seem to care about their pace amused me.  Pained faces who would be spending a long time on the course and take a long time to recover got my sympathy. So many folk running for charity and stepping well out of their comfort zones to raise funds for a cause close to their hearts got my admiration too.

In the afternoon we went to our local garden centre where this mass of pretty cyclamen delighted me.....

It was a wet afternoon, but after dark the rain stopped and I went for a little walk around the block.....I still need to walk another 38 miles before the end of the month to reach 1000 for the year.
I even jogged a bit ....oh yes the morning runners had inspired me :0)

I liked this pair of bungalows that I passed....it made me smile to see they had obviously co-operated and shared the lights that twinkled prettily on the front of the two homes.......

 Good neighbours are a wonderful thing.

Back indoors I was smiling again. This time at our tree. This little fairy teddy is years old...but I think it will always be a favourite of mine........

Predictably my Hyacinths have started to flop...so the kebab sticks and gingham ribbon are needed.........

This is what we bought at the garden centre..........

It's actually exactly the same as the candle bridge we had previously....after that one broke I tried hard to get it working again...changing the fuse and the bulbs...all to no avail.
I loved it so much I was very happy to find the same design today...my festive village is back....yay.
Jacquie x

Tuesday Moments

Hello Lovelies,
oh I'm so enjoying this at home week. There's a lovely relaxed atmosphere and time to photograph the simple things we are enjoying.

Yesterday morning we woke early, to sunshine. I left the boys in their P.J.'s and went for a little run.
Past the post box, and the sunrise caught my eye........

I had to stop and climb the stile, into the sunlit field..............

The whole space was bathed in a beautiful light and the grass glistened with dew.........

I blinked and stretched and really felt awake...........

It's uncommonly mild here for the time of year and I didn't feel even slightly chilly in my running vest at 7.45am............

Carrying on I noticed loads of berries in the Hawthorn hedges.........

and the suns rays just beginning to reach the allotments ..........

along the roadside I was amazed by the masses of Holly berries............

and loved the russet tones of these leaves.............

I am really enjoying Autumn so far and don't feel at all sad about the passing of Summer.
It's nice to see small reminders of those special seaside days though ...........this is on the bathroom windowsill........

A little hut on driftwood ....made in Charmouth, that I bought with some of my birthday money. And shells from Llanbedrog beach.

We were so fortunate to have two wonderful coastal holidays this year.

There's a sort of coastal theme on the landing too.....I've been having a change round and hanging more pictures.

 Mum kindly framed one of youngest's primary school paintings for me....I LOVE his cheerful fish picture and I'm loving orange at the moment ...........

the seaside flower print came from a charity shop in Criccieth and it too has a gorgeous pop of orange.

Back downstairs I decided to try this bread mix in the bread maker..........

Very cheaty home made bread :0)

Then we all went out on bikes once again. This time we headed for the garden centre in search of a birthday present for the boys Nanna ( my mum in law).
She's a keen gardener and somehow eldest managed to carry a new border fork, that  he chose for her, home on his bike....strapped to the frame.

I was tempted by so many things there..........some days nothing seems nice, others almost everything is a wanty.

On this occasion I could have bought loads, but I resisted everything except these wonderful Chinese lanterns..............

They are just to Autumny, and Orange :0)

Back home the bread maker had finished and the house smelled wonderful........

We all enjoyed this warm with some home made Leek and Potato soup that  I had in the freezer.

After lunch I enjoyed arranging my orange blooms in a vase...........

They are just silk, but my not adverse to silk flowers occasionally.............

and they make me smile..............

Tidying the mantle I remembered this little knitted witch I bought at a local craft fair last year. It was nice to search her out again, and add a very un-scary Halloween touch to the display.............

This week has been wonderful for slowing down and showing our home some love. I changed some of the blankets around too............

so nice to see my kaleidoscope blanket again.

And finally, there was time for some crochet.

Thank you lovelies for all your replies  to my border question. I'm still undecided, but in the mean time I'll just keep making circles...........

Yesterday I made 14.........so the running total is now 184....getting there :0)
Jacquie x

Simple Sunday

Hello Lovelies,

Sunday continued in the same simple way as Saturday.

The boys requested Dropped Scones for breakfast and I was happy to oblige.

I'm getting better at making these little batter scones, also know as scotch pancakes............

I kept them warm in the oven as I made them .

The recipe I used was from my old Be-Ro baking book..........

I doubled this amount for the five of us, and just used a large frying pan as I don't have a griddle.

Later that morning we all headed out to the country park. It was another grey day but the lake still looked beautiful..............

And anything is better than that horrible air pollution we had a few days ago

While the boys went off with their Dad to play cricket I had a run around the quiet paths.......

Suddenly everything is looking very green.

I'm currently enduring enjoying regular 30 minute runs. It's not easy at the moment and I'm constantly trying to distract myself .......oh, look the Daffodils are fading but there's lots of blossom......

Oh, look lots of Magpies, what do eight Magpies mean?

Phew, nearly done now, past the concrete ladybird :0)

And back to my boys who are still enjoying their game of cricket. I sit and listen to their happy banter. Their Dad is great with them and they are having so much fun. I'm just happy I'm not required as I'm useless at ball sports.........

It's a while since we have visited the park and there is always something new to see. I loved this wooden cycle "sculpture".......

especially the bike at the back with it's two baskets 

Oh look, you can sit on the middle one, shall I, yes nobody is looking.......

Ooooch, what a very uncomfortable saddle........

The cricketers are still busy ........

So I wander off to sit on something more comfortable........

There are loads of pretty Cowslips around the lake........

And as I sit quietly a Coot pecks the ground..........

Have you ever seen their feet....very strange.......

I wander back to the cricketers, to the only member of the family who's feet are still smaller than mine........

They are still busy so I decide to take a look at the tree trail.......

I notice the ash leaves are opening up.......

Then youngest does a good job of sneaking up behind me....... they have finally finished playing and we head off for some refreshment..........

It may have been a grey day, but it certainly wasn't cold and the first ice-cream van purchase this year tasted very yummy...........

I hope your weekend went well lovelies.
The boys are on school holidays for the next two weeks, but I have one more week at work before I can enjoy a week off  with them. I always feel fortunate they have grandmothers and extended family who live locally and who are happy to help out at times like this.
Jacquie x