I finally took the plunge and started a Yoga class today. It is the same lovely teacher Anita that I had a few years ago and she now does a class in my own village – so within walking distance if I choose to walk. I went in the car today as it was quite drizzly and I don’t have anything large enough to carry my Yoga mat in to keep it dry (well that is my excuse).
Spending time to listen to and notice how my body feels and moves felt rather strange at first – it takes practice to be still and calm and breathe.  It all went quite well but there is a limit to the amount of arm lifting I can do on my left side – which is partly the reason I am going to try to retain flexibility. Doing Yoga certainly highlights any problem areas – I never knew that anyone could bend and twist that far!!! I came away a little more creaky but things had loosened up here and there and I felt all the better for it and I must make an effort to practice at home between sessions.
Yesterday was spent dodging around the house doing a bit of this and that interspersed with phone calls – why does everyone call on a Monday?…I shouldn’t complain, and I am not really, it is always lovely to hear from people. Both my daughters can chat away easily for a couple of hours – even when I am about to see them in person and I would never cut them short unless I had some good reason like an appointment to attend – after all what are mums for but to hear the ups and downs of their lives and either rejoice or commiserate with them and offer advice if it is wanted, though I am pleased to say they are both very good problem solvers which makes me quite redundant.
I was a bit frustrated yesterday that I could only put the washing out on the line for brief periods between the almost constant drizzle – didn’t the weather man know it was Monday either and I needed to get my washing dry! The reason for the rush is we are heading up to the cottage in a day or two for a few days and I realised that when we came back from Scotland a couple of weeks ago I never quite finished washing all our gardening clothes – they get so grubby I always pre-soak them in a bucket but I had mum visiting at the time so pushed the washing basket in the ‘soon to be Pantry’, old cloakroom out-of-the-way and then promptly forgot about them.
I managed to fit in some baking too – an apple cake to take to Scotland made with the last 2 eggs and the leftover portion of cooked apple we took from the freezer to accompany our Nut loaf on Sunday so by the time we went shopping yesterday afternoon the cupboard really was bare as we had worked our way through the very last of the food. I spent £58 on groceries for this week taking advantage of the offer on Oatabix and Lurpak butter. We will be making some meals to take with us to Scotland – Tomato soup and Shepherd’s pie. I also bought some Higgedy Cheese and Onion rolls for the journey – unfortunately they were not on offer but still cheaper than buying food on or off the motorway. We will get a free drink at Booths cafe if we take our own cups. I do take a bit of food up with us as it is almost impossible to buy Cheshire or Wensleydale cheese up there and I like a crumbly cheese. I do like to buy from the local shops in Stranraer to support them where I can.
Whilst we were out shopping yesterday afternoon we had other bits and pieces to attend to……the bits being an urgent need to look for decent loppers for the garden yet again. We need extra strong Anvil loppers, preferably geared and preferably telescopic and definitely light to handle. We had recently bought what we thought were the perfect pair made by Spear and Jackson but when we used them in the cottage garden on our last visit, although they cut through old branches brilliantly, by the 2nd day we noticed the handle on one side had bent inwards preventing the telescopic handle from working. So back to Argos they went for a full refund but we are now on the search for some that cut just as well but won’t bend out of shape.
I made a quick visit to The Range to check out those ready printed messages for some cards I made (this will be another post). I was not impressed by the price but reluctantly bought a couple of sheets and a packet of assorted messages as I intend to do more of these basic cards using up my stock of decorated papers – cost £3. The silver and gold typeface and borders on these pre-printed labels does make a difference and I cannot print these metallic colours on my printer or I would have made my own. A silvery grey is the best I can do.
I also returned my four pillows to Sainsbury’s for the full refund – so I am now on the hunt to replace these. Whilst in Sainsbury’s I decided to buy two more long-sleeved T-shirts, they had a black one and a white one – so now I have four all together with the previous two grey ones I have. I am thinking that might be my total spend on clothes for the year this year and then I remembered I would need a ‘posher’ outfit for the Christening(s). I noticed in passing that Roman have some nice inexpensive spring dresses in at the moment. The drawback with this shop is you cannot return for a refund – they only give a gift card so you are then committed to buying something from them. Trying on in the changing room is not the same as doing it at home with all the right accessories to hand.
Well I have chattered on enough it is time to do some more packing. Hopefully we will have internet connection at the cottage so there will be no long intermission here.
A day of sorting out contortions – me after the Yoga class and the loppers.
……Oh and before I go welcome to my new followers – enjoy the journey – not sure where we might end up! For those who have their own blogs I will be over to your place for a read soon.
Now look behind me – not so quiet and untouched as this is the busy M62 cutting through across the Pennines at its highest point.
Now look again – every verge as far as the eye can see littered with rubbish. 
We drove 250 miles in all, mainly on motorway and a major ‘A’ road, and every verge revealed so much litter – even this lay by near Dumfries in bonnie Scotland! Not so bonnie at the moment.
Dumfries and Galloway Council in their wisdom have removed many of their litter bins from the lay-bys on the A75 down to Stranraer – a decision they may live to regret.
The catkins on the corkscrew Hazel are just coming into flower.
The big surprise was our family Rhododendron growing in the lower wood (named after DH’s grandfather who grew it for the Castle Kennedy estate, he was head gardener). We grew this from a cutting, it is an early flowering variety but even this is quite early and the one at home in our garden is only just in bud.
And some even more unexpected news – coming home late yesterday evening we left the M62 at Milnrow as usual and drove through New Hey, Denshaw and Delph towards Marsden and to our surprise came across about 8 fire engines and a few police cars parked on the verge side with flashing lights. At first we thought there had been a bad collision on the road but as our view opened up we saw the mass of fire on the moorland (this is looking from the other side of the moor you see in the top photo). It was quite bizarre as the fire raged in straight lines across the open moorland – some of the burning lines zig zagged across the moors way into the distance.
We stopped on the side of the road with many other passers-by to take pictures and spoke to some of the fire beaters who were having a break. They told us it may have started in the nearby lay-by and could have been just a cigarette. Although quite spectacular it is sad for all the wildlife that will have been harmed by this.
Firstly welcome to my new followers and apologies for the longer than intended absence – I hadn’t actually intended an absence at all…of any kind, but there you are… it happened…and even though I have tried a few times to sit and write this post I have been unsuccessful each time in finishing it. I seem to have been busy – a kind of business that involves a lot of this and that and not a lot of anything I would call really productive.
There are some delightful projects to make inside – I particularly like the embroidered peg bag.
We had tea with my daughter and then set off for the panto with Libbie (Little L) who if you remember was ‘super’ excited – unfortunately the snow became very bad on the way through Bedale and we didn’t know whether to turn back or press on. In the end we kept going and made it to the village hall to the north of Northallerton just in time for the start.
The next morning we woke to brilliant sunshine and the snow had started to melt. The roads were clear once again and it was hard to believe it was the same place we had struggled to drive through in the early hours. DH and Libbie went out to make snow castles and then we headed home stopping here and there to admire the beautiful views as we drove past the resevoir and back into Masham.
Since then I have been busy helping with little Freddie – his mum, my elder daughter, had to go back again to hospital with her problem but hopefully all will be well now.
We didn’t really celebrate Valentine’s day other than exchange cards. I have had my Valentine card for a while now – I must have bought it a couple of years ago and then forgotten about it. I often make my own but when I found it during a recent clear out I thought it would save me the job of making one and it is quite cute – I love the fact it has a little flask on the end of the bench – very appropriate for us now – I have no doubt this is what DH and I will look like in a few years time!
The meal planning continues and for some reason we have had a few pastry dishes. The Carrot and Leek pasties were a hit and great for picnics – I will make them again – and this week I made a cheese and tomato Quiche.
Tonight it is curry and it would have helped if I had known we didn’t have any curry paste in the cupboards. We had to have a mad dash to the local supermarket but their range is limited so I had to buy a jar. I am wondering if it will freeze – anyone tried this?
wherethejourneytakesme2.blog 