Seaside Holiday :: Part 1

Hello Lovelies,
I'm back from Devon and it's two weeks since my last post !
Heck, I didn't think I would be so busy in the lead up to our holidays that I wouldn't even have time to pop in and say bye. We had a wonderful time and I want to document it here before the daily routine gets a grip and it slips into a distant memory.
The washing machine is working overtime and I'm back at work already so time is limited but I've loads of images I would love to share with you  . I will  spread them over a few posts , squeezed in when I can.

We booked our holiday back in January , when August seemed like a distant dream. After all the anticipation the the hassle of the packing it was bliss to finally hit the motorway , the sun was shining and the boys were singing in the back of the car......

I'm not too keen on motorway driving so on long journeys I'm the navigator. Living a long way from the sea I love it when the map page includes some blue :0) and not driving means I can crochet. Actually the journey was not all plain sailing.Heavy traffic and roadworks at Bristol caused some frustration..........

But eventually we arrived at Croyde.None of us had visited this idyllic part of North Devon before.

 First impressions, with it's rolling hills and quaint villages were certainly good. But what about the beach....Yessss...Look it's gorgeous and the sand is so soft..........

We dumped our bags .The boys put on their wet suits and grabbed their body boards and , along with their cousins , had their first dip in the sea this year. I was happy to paddle till I got used to the chilly temperature.......

It was wonderful to stand in the water and watch the youngsters play  whilst surrounded by such gorgeous views.......

There are dunes behind the beach, great to climb to get a better view, this is the other side of the bay with the cute lifeguards hut in the foreground.........

From the top of the dunes the people in the water look like little black specks . On this first day there were some mutterings ( from my boys ) about the lack of waves and looking at this picture I can see the sea was pretty flat........

This picture of our faithful old beach tent was taken on day 2. I love these shelters for stopping the wind and providing some privacy and shade.......

They make a great spot to sit and look at the ocean whilst hooking a few ripples....

This second day was one of those long beach days , time in the waves ( which were a bit bigger today ) and lots of sandy play along with some rock pooling.....

We stayed on the beach quite late and I loved the low sunlight reflected on the sea........

Ummmmmmmm, blue skys, golden sand, turquoise sea and pretty countryside. Perfect.........

made all the more relaxing by the excellent work of the RNLI

The end of a wonderful day.........

Right, I'm off to peg out another load of washing.Back soon with part two :0)

Jacquie x

Local Camping

Hello Lovelies ,back in 2010 we bought a tent and that summer we had a little break in Norfolk. Last year the tent never came out of the loft and the boys have been asking to go camping again. Looking at the calender midweek it became clear that if we were to actually use the tent this year it had to be soon .So  we booked a couple of nights at a local campsite over the weekend. Staying local meant we could invite the boys two cousins to join us . The weather forcast was pretty bad , I watched with dismay as the warning triangle appeared on the telly ...HEAVY RAIN !! noooo, please not this weekend.

 I'm happy camping when the weather is good but not when it's cold or wet. Still this was not for me , it was for the youngsters and they were beyond excited.

When we arrived on Friday afternoon the rain began to fall, but thankfully it did not last and by the time we had set up camp the sun was shining........

Yay , blue skys and colourful stripes.........

The campsite was really nice and we got an excellent spot with plenty of space and some small trees to tie our washing line to.......

I loved the reflections in the shiny whistling  kettle.......

The youngsters were in their element and when they weren't off exploring on their bikes they were fetching water, making tea and washing up. All so exciting in the outdoors :0)

I was happy to sit in the shade with my crochet............

The dry weather held out into the evening and we enjoyed a simple BBQ followed by toasted marshmallows........

It rained in the night and when we got up it was pretty cloudy , but we set off for a bit of exploration on bikes ( children ) and foot (Mr BM and I ). 

This simple wildflower really takes me back to the long summer holidays of my own childhood. And it has such a pretty name......

Rose Bay Willow Herb 

We were walking/riding  along the side of a disused canal. It's a long time since any boats have travelled this way but it's still oh so pretty don't you think. The house in this picture the was derelict   for a number of years but has now been lovingly restored..imagine living there ...sigh

This wonderfully lush summer scene , with the sky reflected in the water makes me very happy.....

Looking in the other direction you can see the bridge I stood on to take the previous photo. There was so much wildlife here and we spent a long time watching dragonflys and butterflys darting about. There were loads of fish too and the boys and their cousins  saw what they called a "water snake " ...this caused much excitement , but it had slithered off before I got there........

All those things proved hard to photograph so I settled for a stationary subject......

Bulrushes.

As you can see it was very sunny by this time ...........

We had set out in warn clothes and were getting a bit hot and bothered

so  we headed back to the campsite to seek out some shade and cool down a bit.......

Yes , we really were lucky with the weather and the children seemed to enjoy their mini adventure .

Though I think we were all glad to get back into our  own beds on Sunday night .

Jacquie x

Morning Light

Morning Lovelies, I woke extra early today and decided to go for a little run before Mr BM left for work. I took my camera as I love the light at this time of day,when the suns rays light up the layers of the landscape......

And there is still dew on the tall Summer grasses......

Such a pretty golden glow......

The moon was still visible over the field of  Rape seed .........

 ♥ I love Summer ♥

And I love seeing the morning sunlight on my Seashore ripples when I get home :0)

I'm enjoying this little project sooo much.

Have a great weekend 

Jacquie x

Time to Run :: Part 2

Hello Lovelies, I'm struggling to write this post....I guess I'm not used to reading running blogs ....I've tried but they can be pretty boring to be honest and I want to avoid that.

 I also have a bit of a love /hate relationship with running magazines . At the moment I have this one on subscription as there was a good offer so it doesn't cost me any where near the cover price..........

I love the inspiring personal stories about people who have found a love of running and what it means to them........there are some good tips too. But all the equipment reviews and " beat your personal best "(PB ), got to get faster/ spend more on gadgets leaves me cold.

I like to keep my running simple and try to keep in mind that I do it for myself. I'm not really bothered how long it takes me to complete a distance. I'm never going to be the fastest. I just want to keep fit and avoid injury. 

Naturally I feel a great sense of achievement when I do improve . 

At the moment I'm increasing my running to prepare for my next half marathon. Of course you don't have to take part in organised events but , no matter what distance, they are such a wonderful incentive to get off your backside and put it the training. It's a bit daunting to begin with but the atmosphere is great and I would certainly recommend it. 

Getting ill or injured at this point would be  a problem ....that's my biggest concern when signing up for an organised event.........will I be well on the day?  I try to improve my diet when I'm training , you know, more fresh food and protein ( as well as some chocolate and cake :0)   ) . I also take a couple of supplements. Glucosamine ( to protect my knees ...hopefully) and vitamin C to help ward off the dreaded  cold (a nighmare when you run )........

These may or may not be doing me any good but they make me feel proactive. For this, my third half marathon ,I've also invested in some new shoes.......Asics again , mainly because my running friend recommended them.......

I've gone up half a size to try and avoid the runners toe I've suffered in the past but  it feels like I'm still going to get it ...sigh. 

Running for thirteen miles non stop is quite tough , you can't just do a few short runs then go for it....well I can't . I have to have a proper plan to train to. There are many different programs you can follow,available on line or in magazines . In my opinion lots of these are way too complicated. I look at THIS and think WHAT ? 

Mine is much simpler ....I run thirteen miles a week in the eight weeks leading to to a half marathon. You can see as my weekly long run gets longer my short runs decrease in distance and frequency. That's because I've found running more than 13 miles in a week gives me sore knees . I followed this plan earlier in the year for my first solo half marathon and the only thing I've changed is that last time I did a 12 mile training run . It was not a good experience as I rushed it and felt pretty dreadful afterwards so this time I'm giving it a miss as it's not essential to run  12 miles in training.

The other thing built into this plan is a "taper period" ...that's doing less miles in the week or two before a race. The theory is that it gives your body chance to recover and you go into the race well rested but still physically ready. 

I've ticked off the runs in the first two weeks of this plan now and yesterday evening I did this weeks long run (7 miles) .

I ran with my MP3 and it certainly helped to motivate me through the boring bits and towards the end when I was struggling a bit despite the cool damp conditions . I looked like a beetroot at the end ! I think it would be easy to loose faith at this stage if I hadn't been through this before.  It was a hard run and it's a long way short of this distance I need to achieve. I know I wouldn't have entered my first half marathon without a running friend to guide and reassure me. Now  when I  find the long runs tough  I have the experience to know that's how it's goes some days .

I've been running for two years now and a good tip is to keep a record of your runs. It helps you to look back and see how you have progressed. 

It also means you can't kid yourself you have been out running more than you really have  .

                         this scrawl on the calender says "2 1/2  ( miles ) after work...hot !  "

Yes running is hard and lonely sometimes but I know on race day it will all be worth the effort and I love being able to do it. I'm in my late forties now but I can achieve something I think is a tough physical challenge. It's wonderful to set yourself a goal and achieve it through your own determination. 

If you would like to start out in running but this all sounds like crazy distances then remember I didn't start out running so far. It's been built up gradually and there are lots of resources to get people into running including one by the NHS.  Do take a look at the couch to 5k program if you  would like to start .

Hope this didn't turn into a boring running post , back to crochet next time :0)

Jacquie x

Evening Light

Hello Lovelies,
yesterday evening we popped out , the five of us. Mr BM has to work this week so it was nice for us to spend some time with him. It was a beautiful evening ,making our stroll/skate board around a local lake very pleasant......

These pictures  were taken just before Nine and the light was already fading but the sunset made beautiful pink reflections on the water........

I think there is something quite magical about the light at dusk ( and dawn ) on a beautiful day..........

I love the moon reflecting in the water and the interesting seed heads........

Just a wonderful end to the day.....

Jacquie x

Seaside Dreams

Hello lovelies, I'm feeling very lucky to have a relaxing week at home stretching out in front of me. No alarms need to be set. Some housework is calling but apart from that my boys and I are just relaxing  seeing what the day brings.

 I'm enjoying the flowers in our garden.The weather is still holding out and the sunshine has encouraged my geraniums into flower at last. 

The only trouble is all this good weather is making me wish this was our Holiday week. I've still got a few more weeks to wait till I get to see the sea again and I do wish it was sooner. 

Still , half the enjoyment of a holiday is the anticipation , don't you think ? So I'm thinking lots about the sea and hoping the weather is kind to us when we get our turn on the beach. And what better way for a crochet nut to channel all her seasidy thoughts but into some beachy ripples..........

I love these cool, fresh colours and I was inspired to use them after admiring Lucy's latest project........

This will be another baby blanket for my shop and I'm using Lucy's Neat ripple pattern again.

All the time I'm rippling up and down the crochet waves I'm thinking of last years holiday in Cornwall with it's rugged rocks and turquoise seas.......

Wonderful golden sandy beaches, blue skys and exciting waves........

Colourful fishing boats and sandy play.......

It's wonderful to have a family holiday to look forward to ( North Devon this year....somewhere we haven't been before ) and wonderful to channel my excitement into something creative......

Thank you all so much for the super kind comments on my Daisy blanket....you know how to make me smile :0)

Jacquie x

Daisy Blanket Ta-dah

Hello Lovelies ,
 some of you may remember I'm trying to open a little Etsy shop this year. Well it's taking me a rather long to to get organised and build up some stock. Nevermind this is my hobby and I do have a busy life so I guess it's to be expected. This latest blanket has been a slow project , mainly due to my recent patchwork  , but I'm really pleased with how it's turned out in the end.

 Oooooh , I pile of colourful baby blankets in the evening sun , such a lovely sight......

I love these solid colour squares with their cute daisy centres. It's my own pattern and there is a tutorial in my side bar if you fancy giving them a try......

The squares are joined using the join as you go method . It really is easy once you get the hang of it . 

For the border I did four rows of granny clusters then a red picot edge. All three baby blankets have the same red edge because I love it so.......

The yarn is all all Stylecraft special DK. the colours are Lemon,Pale Rose,Spring Green, Turquoise,Fondant,Lavender, Shrimp,Wisteria,Meadow, Apricot,Sherbert,Raspberry,Cloud Blue and Grape ( oh and the flower centres areWhite and Saffron)........

Look at the blue,blue sky !!! Wonderful :0)

Here are all three blankets together.........

Happy , colouful and fun . You can read about the other two here and here. I've really enjoyed making them all and hopefully I will finally get round to opening my shop soon.....Hopefully !

Jacquie x