A walk in the sunshine

Morning!

I chose to sit and watch these little ‘ducky duddles’ or goosey..goosey..ganders (I stand corrected Jan…lol!) whilst I had my picnic lunch yesterday but.. they gave me no peace.. so they ‘saw me off the premises’ just because I was loath to share my fresh salmon mayo’ and dill ‘sarnies’* with them.  Lol!        

*Sandwiches.

Look at them…pretending I’m not here…lol!

 

I ended up picnicking on my stone bench (above) whilst watching the sheep sleep in the shade of a tree, and watching the more energetic walkers climb the hill to the vantage point called Post Knott. This overlooks the whole of the lake and offers views, on clear days, of the vista clear down to Morcambe Bay thirty miles away.  I could do that once, and will do so again one day too.  The chemo’ has played havoc with the muscles in my legs and elsewhere. I get so sore and stiff if I sit just for a short while and find hill walking a wee bit painful. I take paracetamol now before I set off on any reasonable trundle I care to call a walk.    So that sorts that out! Lol!

It’s nice to sit below the Tor and watch others climb and use their energy instead of me.   I have taken many a photo in that direction, whilst I have rested, and the view always has a few distant bodies perched on the top admiring the spectacle for a while.  I sit relieved some days, thinking that I don’t have to do it …lol!

I have shrunk this one so I’m afraid you need to look closely for the people on the top.

I have also placed a few at normalsize in my album above, so you might want to peek in there if you have time to browse.

The marsh in front of my picnic bench hides wild fowl and wagtails amongst other birds. Much too well camouflaged to see from where I sit.  I sat and watch the swallows diving and swooping for insects on the wing.  They are too swift to catch on my camera but I did spot some on a telegraph wire further on as I got up to carry on my walk.

 

I wish I could translate the silence, of a sort, that lends background ‘music’to the scenes I see and sit amongst.  Especially when sitting on ‘my bench’.  Distant bleats of this years late lambs calling for their mother’s who are hiding from the sun in the shade, are heard intermittently. The shreek and high pitched whistle of the swallow can be heard as they swoop past. The caws of a murder of crows flying from distant trees and passing overhead. I can hear the crow of the cockerel I passed by at the little tarn I showed you below, in the distance.  His little ‘harem’ of hens were hiding in the shade of the trees behind the hen huts to stay cool.  He strutted about in the blazing sun looking quite resplendent with his plumed tail held high.

 

 

Harebells, thistles, buttercups and the ‘odd foxglove still standing’ were balm to my eyes as I passed them by.  I so love looking out for different hedgerow, and field, wildflowers.  I noticed the brambles are beginning to ripen too…huh!   A miracle after all the rain we have had this summer.

There was a breeze yesterday, much like today, that leant a rustle to the grasses and the leaves in the trees around me.  The undersides of the grasses and leaves shone silvery which from a distance made them glisten as though they had been touched by the silver of the moon.

Just before returning home I took a walk up to Biskey Howe which is another vantage point just behind our home. The views from there are stunning too.  See below and in my album.

I had it all to myself for a little while and then some foreign tourists appeared, excited by the view.  Excitement and amazement need no language translation.  Their utterances are universal and understood.

A lovely walk…and one I hope to repeat soon.

I was a bit wary, since my last walk with Bryan and the episode of the young man, if you remember that entry.  But…I refused to dwell on the what ifs and set off to enjoy myself.

I’m glad I did.

I hope you have enjoyed ‘walking’ with me too?

My Quote for the Day is below… 

We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.

— Charles Swind

 

 

Bye for now…have a lovely day.

Jeanie   xxxx

 

 

 

 

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Day to Day Life In The Lakes

Hello!

At last I have found time to make an entry since we travelled down to our grandaughter Amy’s christening at the weekend.

The motorway was busy!   At one stage near Blackpool we came to a halt, then we slowly crawled past a couple of junctions in the pouring rain. That was maybe a good thing as I hate motorways and spray off the other vehicles when its raining.  At least there were no speed merchants flying past at warp speed!  Just the usual ones who used all the lanes for overtaking, I’m sure you have all experienced those.  And passed them in the end wearing a smug smile at their vain attempts to pull a fast one on everybody.  

Well I must admit ….I did.   lol!  There are some idiots on the motorways these days.

There was a large Festival taking part in Weston Park, the Stately Home where my son and daughter-in-law got married. Some roads were closed, as were junctions, in order to help the flow and congestion of those attending the Festival   We avoided that by setting off later in the day arriving at teatime instead of lunch.   Thank goodness Martin mentioned that to us before we set off.

The motorway was just as busy even then!

Anyway…as for Amy Grace’s Baptism….it went wonderfully well.  She was so alert and awake, as well as so good, that the vicar attempted to hold her during part of the service when the parents and godparents left the alter to sit down.  He was enamoured with her.

She was a little angel! 

There wasn’t a peep out of her even when she was annointed with the water from the font.  As good as gold she was!   Bless her!

The church, if you look at the photos, has been adapted for modern use.  A floor has been put in mid way up the height of the church and now the actual church is upstairs with function rooms downstairs which serve the local church going community.

At least this church is being used well, although at the service the vicar was forced to ask local churchgoers to walk past of an evening to check on things, as the roof is being renovated and there are some bad people climbing up there onto the scaffolding, from time to time, stealing the lead off the roof!  What is the worlds coming too?  There is nothing sacred!

The hymns and service were relayed onto the screen above the altar.   Very high Tech!

There was a singer and keyboard player as well as a flautist backing up those of us who could reach the notes.   Am I alone when I say some of the hymns these days are sung a wee bit too high for my vocal chords?  I enjoyed joining in though when I could.

We all trooped back to Martin and Rachel’s for tea followed by a lovely buffet lunch.

Rachel’s mum made the fruit cake for Amy’s cake and a friend decorated it for them.  As you can see by the photos it was beautifully presented!

I can be seen eating a Raspberry Pavlova cake which again Rachel’s mum made.   That was to die for!   Yum!  (Even though I have diabetes type 2 it was worth it.) Wicked!

If Bea is reading this my hair is not as bad as she envisaged..bless her!   My bald spot can be camouflaged by backcombing it and ‘nailing’ it with hairspray….lol!

Some of Rachel’s nieces made chocolate fudge cake and chocolate brownies which went down a treat too.

In one of the photos of the christening cake is a view of Rachel’s Nan.  The christening gown was made or her 94 years ago.  It has now seen 19 Christenings since then.

So, there you are, we all grazed and chatted and grazed some more and learned a bit more about each other since last time.  I really enjoyed myself.  The thirteen children who came too were very well behaved, even though it rained and kept thm indoors most of the day.  Congrats to them!

Rachel’s Dad Paul told me he has volunteered to be a driver for CancerCare in his area and says that he enjoys helping in this way.  How very generous of him to do this for folks like myself who have/had cancer and need transport when they have none of their own or are too unwell to drive.   Since my Bryan doesn’t drive I needed this help sometimes throughout my treatment and it was a relief to know that help was there if needed.

Where would we be without volunteers I ask?  Thank you Paul and others like you!

 

Hmmmm!  As I sit here typing and looking out my window onto the garden I can smell the scent of fresias. Its too cold to be outside but I have them sitting in a vase beside me here at the kitchen table.  The smell is divine!

I can’t help but stop typing and inhale their intoxicating perfume.

Today, here in the Lakes, its cool but sunny.  There is a breeze which is sweeping the grass and leaves onto their shiny silvery sides which has created a wet look, to my eyes, although it’s really dry and hasn’t rained all day.

I’m told we are to be comforted for our lack of summer and sunshine by having an Indian Summer.   Please make that soon!

I had to put the heating on last night.  I was numb to my bones.

When I spoke of summer and how I don’t call it summer until my dragonfly has visited…I had no sooner written that in my journal when I went outside and there he was.  Sizing up his mating arena.

By the time I got back outdoors having found my camera, he had disappeared, again!  Fiddlesticks!  That same morning that I speak of, I saw a fox in the woodland behind us.  Strangely enough, although we have deer visiting and once had red squirrels too, (now only grey ones) it is unusual for us to see a fox during the day.  Suburban folks see more than we do here.  Even city folks do too.

I reckon it’s because the farmers shoot to kill in the countryside. 

Talking to my masseur the other day she said she keeps a smallholding.  She recently lost seven hens to a fox.  They don’t eat them all.  They just get a blood lust and kill as many as they can.  Beautiful creatures though they are they are murderers too.

                                                     *********

 

 

 

 

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Have you ever sat in a train and watched another train passing
you? You can look right on through its windows to the green fields
and pleasant vistas beyond. Or you can gaze at the partitions
between the windows and see nothing but their dingy drabness. So it
is with everything in life. You can look for the good, the joyful
and happy — and not merely see only these but manifest them in your
life. Or you can look for trouble, for sickness and sorrow — and
find them awaiting you around every corner."
    — Robert Collier

Bye for now.

God Bless

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

The Ark

 

MySpace Graphics at GlitterBell.com

This weekend we will be travelling down to celebrate the Christening of our fifth grandchild, Amy Grace.
Amy is four months old already. Before we know it she will be up and running around with her brothers. Time waits for no man.
We last saw her three weeks ago and already she had grown and smiled at me whenever I talked with her. She is a little gem.

Today I took myself off for an hour long massage through at Kendal. My daughter’s school friend Elsa is a partner in a beauty salon which offers all sorts of treatments. I noticed an Indian head massage on the list. I think I might have one of those soon to see what its like. Although I had a block of aromatherapy treatments at CancerCare during my chemo treatment, this woman who massaged me today was able to shut me up from talking and relaxed me. Unlike Rosalie at the CancerCare Unit. I lay ther in a semi drowse for the last fifteen minutes of my treatment. I didn’t want it to stop. But….I will go back.
My thanks to Elsa who gave me the massage voucher for my birthday last May. I still have a hairdressers voucher to use from another friend. I think I might have my hair cut very short. Its easier to look after. Now that I am on this anti cancer treatment, it causes thinning of the hair and my hair has lost all its body and life. It just looks thin and neglected all the time…. so short it will be….sooon!

After the massage, I had a slow trundle around the shops in town and I ended up buying myself a skirt and top outfit in black and gold and another black top which once was £40.00 reduced to £4.00 in the Evans (Fat Shop) shop. This one was a size 16 which fit me perfectly so I am chuffed with that.
Well…time to leave you but I hope to be back soon.

My dear friend Sybil sent me this ….I’m sure you will like it.

The ARk

In 2007, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in Tewskbury, England and said,
"Once again, the Earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see
the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every
living thing, along with a few good humans." He gave the CAD drawings,
saying, "You have six months to build the Ark before I start the unending
rain of forty days and forty nights."

Six months later, the Lord returned unto Noah and found him weeping in
his yard, but of the Ark, there was no sign. "Noah!" the Lord roared," I
am about to start the rain, Where is the Ark?"

"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah, "but things have changed. I needed
Building Regulations approval because the Ark was to be over 30metres.
I’ve been arguing with the Fire Brigade who insist that it is fitted with
a sprinkler system and fireproof doors and my neighbours claim that I
should have obtained planning permission prior to building the Ark in my
garden because it is a development of the site – even though in my view
it is a temporary structure, but the roof is too high. I had to appeal
to the Secretary of State for a decision.

The Local Area Access Group complained that my ramp was going to be too
steep and the inside of the Ark was not fully accessible to the disabled
and that there were not disabled toilets or the gangways were too narrow
for wheelchairs Then the Department of Transport demanded a bond to be
posted for the future costs of moving power lines and overhead
obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark’s move to the sea. – I
told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they wouldn’t listen to
me.

Getting the wood was another problem.. All of the decent trees have Tree
Preservation Orders upon them and we live in an area of Special
Scientific Interest, set up in order to preserve the spotted owl that
lives around here. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I
needed the wood to save the owls – but again, they wouldn’t listen. When
I started to gather the animals, the RSPCA threatened me with
prosecution. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against
their will. They argued that the accommodation was too restrictive, and
it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space. The
gay rights activists threatened to hold a demo in my garden as they
learned that I was planning on only taking on a female and male of each
species – they said that was homophobic and was against the Civil
Liberties Act.

Then the County Council, The Environment Agency and The Rivers Authority
ruled that I couldn’t build the Ark until they had conducted an
environmental impact study on your proposed flood.

I’m still trying to resolve a complaint with the Equal Opportunities
Commission on how many ethnic minorities I’m supposed to hire for the
building team.

The Trade Unions say that I cannot use my sons as they insist that I have
to hire only CSCS accredited workers with Ark-building experience. To
make matters worse, Customs & Excise have seized all of my assets,
claiming that I’m trying to leave the country illegally with endangered
species.

So forgive me, my Lord, but it would take me at least another ten years
to finish this Ark." Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine,
and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and
asked, "You mean you are not about to destroy the world, Lord?" "No,
Noah" said the Lord, "The Government has already beaten me to it."

Oh well….that’s the way of the world now.
Take care …Stay well…God Bless.
Hugs
Jeanie xx

Read Full Post »

Just two days in each week….

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came across this little poem which must have been in a newspaper at one time as the paper is going yellow with age.

Its looking a bit dog eared, so I thought I would place it here on my MSN journal for posterity.

 

I hope you enjoy it….

 

 

Just two days in each week

Are all that most will seek,

Tomorrow and Yesterday.

The latter barely done,

The former to be won……

Forgetting that the best is here today. 

So don’t put off the will

To do that job until

Tomorrow’s here with all it’s "oh’s and ums."

 

That phrase you’ve often heard

Is true in every word….

Tomorrow is a day that never comes.

Tomorrow is a day

Still a lifetime away,

And yesterday is part of history.

So do now all you would

You know you really should.

For today is always here, it has to be.

Fro today is always here, it has to be.

 

 

Its dry here in the Lakes….and it feels a bit warmer too.   We have been experiencing 11 degrees lately.

Hope you are warmer where you are.

Click on the picture below to enlarge it and read the words.

Read Full Post »

Scotland and our holidays..

Hello!

 

I though it was about time I entered into this journal  for a change.  My AOL one has been keeping me busy as I have more readers’s on that one than here.

Since my last entry I have been on holiday to Scotland….at last!    My breast cancer put paid to that over two years ago.  Time moved on and that long awaited event transpired at last!  

I dreamt of it all the time I was having my chemo and radiotherapy.  Even though I had to do all the driving as we toured the  West coast Highlands and Islands, I could have driven forever.

Scotland is so ‘Empty’!

There are hardly any people living there, altogether 5 million, that you almost have the whole of the place to yourselves. 

The scenery is spectacular and much grander than the English Lake District which is where I live now.

I have not got enough superlatives to describe the beauty of the West Coast of Scotland.  Every time a loch disappears on your right hand side another one appears on your left.   Most of the lochs we passed were sea lochs and were wide and long.   Definitley on a grander scale than the English Lakes.  They have now been relegated in my minds eye as romantic hills and Lakes. 

I have never felt so humbled and awed by the spectacularness of my own homeland.  

I was brought up in Glasgow and only knew tenement buildings and hardly any grass to talk of ; except in the municipal parks.  To think that all this beauty was so close when I was growing up a nd I never got the chance to see it is unimaginable.

I will certainly go exploring there again.

We visited at Bluebell time.   The wilds of Scotland are covered in these wild hyacinths.  Wherever you go in early June there is an abundance of them on the hills, fields, woodlands and roadside grass verges.   They are everywhere.   No wonder the song..The Bluebells of Scotland was penned.

I hope the photos I have placed here lend an air or a frisson of the grandeur of the scenery to be seen in Scotland.

Enjoy!

Jeanie xx

 

 

 

 

Read Full Post »