Sticky Toffee Pudding and Alice!

Cartmel Priory

Door from Alice in Wonderland!

• Sitting in the sun shine watching the ducklings as they bob down Cartmel beck on the current.
• Eating delicious warmed chocolate brownie and ice cream in the home to famous Sticky Toffee pudding as we gaze out the window into the village square and to Cartmel Priory beyond.
• We walk past a small door hidden in a dry stone wall, too small to get through .which reminded me of Alice in Wonderland.

After the Rain!

The grass verge in the village today.

Toffee drizzle cupcakes

• All the pear blossom has blown off the tree following the wind and rain in the night. Blossoms lay like confetti on the grass.
• The countryside looks clean and new in the sunshine,after the rain, like an oil painting newly restored.
• I get to make toffee drizzle cakes in the kitchen as the steam rises from the grass in the sunshine.
• 
  

Keeping up Traditions!

Traditional Egg rolling in the rain!

• Rolling pasche eggs down Hoad hill in the pouring rain, a tradition which has continued in Ulverston for as long as I can remember.
• Warming up with a cup of coffee and a Ploughman's lunch in the peace and tranquility of our local Hospice cafe.
• Watching the young children on a treasure hunt in the Hospice grounds and chuckling when their Grandma came in to collect their prizes because they were too cold and wet to get out the car! 
• View from Hoad on a good day! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpjJiS7jMWo

Easter Celebrations

Hunting for Easter Eggs

• The lilac tree overhanging the gate post is just coming into bloom.
• We see the stork again flying over the dual carriageway on our way to the station.
• The cockerel crows three times and I'm reminded of the Easter story.
• Children running round the orchard looking for Easter eggs followed by hens in hot pursuit!

Open the Windows and let the sun shine in!

Sports relief 2012

Things to be Thankful for!

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And Heaven in a wild Flower

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.

William Blake , "Auguries of Innocence"

Pussy Willows in Spring!

• It was a day of firsts today. I saw my first pussy willows in bloom, watched as a flock of geese flew over towards the estuary and saw my first dandelion of the year. Small things but a sign of new birth!
• The builder sitting in his upturned wheel barrow in the sun drinking a cup of tea!
• Sitting under the pear tree amongst the daffodils with my son, drinking chocolate milk shake and munching a chocolate muffin!

Making the Most of the Weather!

• Chaffinches sit like sentinels along the bare hedge as I walk along the track.On closer inspection I realise I'm wrong.On the south side of the track beyond the beck the hawthorn hedge is starting to sprout whilst on my side the buds are barely noticeable.
• A magpie flies across the garden with a twig in its beak and lands in a conifer in the corner of the garden where it is obviously building its nest
• My son comments that the spring weather has brought out all the cyclists and dog walkers this morning.

Take time to stop and stare!

What is this life if, full of care, 

 We have no time to stand and stare. 

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

From the poem "Leisure' by R.H.Davies 

.

Sheep and lamb 

•  I stood for a while and watched today as a sheep struggled to give birth in the field by the beck and breathed sympathetically with her as each contraction came!
• A heron rose from the stream in front of me as I was walking the dog. I didn't realise  that they could fly but they circle in an ungainly fashion above your head like large seagulls.
• I understand that the dog violets in the Church yard are out and make a pretty picture amongst the wild daffodils. I make a note to walk up and take a photograph.

Refresh the Family!

As the family have grown up we have seen routines come and go as jobs changed, after school clubs came and went and commitments altered. What did become apparent however was that as the children grew so did the number of commitments and the time we were able to spend together as a family became less and less as my husband took the boys to go-carting whilst I went in the other direction with my daughter to her music lesson. Tea times became a snatched pre-cooked meal from the freezer so that we could get out to the next group or club in time. What we were seeing was a demise in our quality time together. I was suffering burn out and the children weren't enjoying the constant journeys from place to place to ferry each of them to the next club. At the point of crisis I decided that things would have to change.We all needed time to unwind. I was at work during the week then trying to cram in emergency shopping on Saturdays, followed by Church and often children's birthday parties on Sundays. Before we knew it it was Monday again and we didn't feel we'd had a rest. Change happened gradually. The first thing I noticed was how much we enjoyed a roast dinner in the winter when the afternoons were dark and the weather inhospitable.It was the one meal we all enjoyed, no making three different things for a change ,and my husband seemed happy to peel the vegetables whilst watching a rugby match on the television so we introduced the weekly roast and it continued into the summer months, albeit at a later time. We began to review our commitments at the beginning of each new term in order to decide which we wanted to contunue and which we needed a break from. The rule was, no more than one club a night, and if you weren't enjoying it you could give it up no questions asked, at the end of term but you had to follow it through until then. The new regime worked well. We began to see which clubs the children really wanted to do. For my son the priority was drums and Explorer scouts, and for my daughter she gave up guides and started scouts instead and we looked for a dance class when her gymnastics came to a natural conclusion at the end of primary school.There were obviously occasional days when there was a clash because of a one off event but as I couldn't be in two places at once the children learned that if they couldn't arrange a lift with a friend they couldn't go. The change in our well-being was amazing. As friends tied themselves in knots flying from one place to the next, I breathed a sigh of relief that I'd stepped off the treadmill.I set aside Sunday as being the best day in our house for doing nothing. It needn't have been Sunday, any day would have done, but as my husband was now working 9-5 then it fitted round both work and school. Having the freedom to wake up in the morning and decide whether we wanted to go out or just chill in the garden was fantastic. It meant that we sometimes had to say 'no' to invitations when we felt tired or stressed but we discovered that conversely often the most special things happened spontaneously .If the children were invited to the beach with friends or to play soccer on the astro turf they can go but if they preferred to lie in bed until late reading- it's was their choice, no pressure! The side effects were unexpected too! We ate better quality meals as I had time to bake if I wanted,cook in bulk and plan ahead.The garden started to get some attention and we had more fresh air and exercise because we weren't constantly driving from place to place. I also had time to help with homework if needed or look things up because we weren't going anywhere. The benefits have been immense to us all so stop rushing, start resting and I'm sure like me you'll reap the benefits!

Technology- Time saver or waster?

Coincidentally I have read two articles in the last couple of days about the cost of technology in our lives. With only a pay as you go mobile and a laptop to my name I count myself as fairly naive in a world where to have a kindle of ipad seems to be the norm and where nobody is anybody without a smart phone. Despite my lack of gadgets I have become increasingly concerned at the amount of time I find myself at my laptop, checking emails and surfing the net, often at the expense of housework, gardening or walking the dog.Whilst ownership of my computer is obviously essential in my job as a writer I am fast coming to the conclusion that there is a lot to be said for going on a technology diet, cutting back on it's usage and monitoring the effects.
When I gave up work our dishwasher broke down. Previously , as a working mother I had used the dishwasher to store our unwashed plates out of sight and away from kitchen surfaces. I regarded it as an 'essential' as it gave me the freedom to concentrate on other things whilst the dishes washed themselves. We replaced our broken dishwasher with a new human model- me and I now spend a therapeutic half an hour away from the tv washing the pots and appreciating the time for contemplation.
I'm not sure I would enjoy a kindle. I love the feel and smell of books and enjoy curling up on the bed on these dark winter nights with a book and a glass of wine- somehow a kindle seems sterile and businesslike.
I have set myself a goal - only to check my emails twice a day.The freedom it has given me is amazing, no longer tied to the computer I fill my time making cakes, gardening, reading and walking and have even taken up sewing again!
I am beginning to see the overuse of technology as sapping my creativity. It has its uses but it also has its dangers . It can become obsessive.What started as a promising new age of technology has crept up on us without us noticing and is beginning to destroy our ability to communicate with each other. We are in danger of living virtual lives. I have never been on Face book, I wish to retain the small circle of friends that I have nurtured over the 48 years of my life rather than acquire sudden celebrity status within days. What is wrong with meeting my friends for lunch, dropping them a note or speaking to them on the phone. They don't want to hear the minute details of my life! Having said all that I suppose I'd better switch off my computer and get ready to do some decorating with my new found free time!