Resting and Reflecting

I have been a little absent from here in the past few months, my sporadic posting in some part due to my busyness.  My life has been much quieter and slower over the past couple of weeks.  I read blogs and write posts in the evening, it is the time of day that is mine. When the evening arrives at the end of each day I have been reading blogs but the words have not been forming together in ways that I needed them to to bring a post together.  My evenings have been full of knitting, of watching, of pausing, of rest.  My head has been so full during my busy time now that that life has slowed the capacity to arrange words has taken a while to return. 

The summer is a time of energy, the world around us is at is peak, nature is bursting with life where I live. We have not had the drought that other parts of my country is experiencing, it is green and lush where I live, the occasional rain that has fallen nourishing the earth and all that grows.  It is a time of being busy, of making the most of the warm temperatures, of being outside soaking up the valuable vitamin D that the sun provides us with, before the temperatures turn cooler and we hibernate inside around our fires or whatever provides us with warmth during the colder months.  As an introvert who loves quiet I find summer a difficult time of year.

The weather has been really warm, it is lovely to not have to wrap myself up in endless layers each time I leave the house.  We have not had such a reliably warm summer for a few years here.  There is so much to love about the summer but it is not a time of year that I can completely embrace just yet.  It is not that I feel like a fish out of water it is more akin to that feeling when you are wearing an item of clothing which doesn't quite fit and despite your best efforts you cannot seem to make the adjustments so that it is a completely comfortable.  All that said we have had some wonderful adventures.  

Way back in July we went away camping during a very hot period, a large tree next to our tent bought some welcome shade and coolness to our living quarters.  We are so lucky to have such beautiful countryside on our doorstep, we travelled a couple of hours from home along winding slow roads to reach this wonderful spot.  We walked miles.  In an effort to reduce our driving whilst away we took our bikes with us and used them to reach the areas we wanted to walk in, a good move as there were few parking spots which were always full as we cycled, somewhat smugly, passed them.  We found places to lock our bikes up before heading into the hills or round lakes for long walks, interspersed with swims to cool ourselves down in the heat.  It was good to spend this time just the four of us, chatting and enjoying each others company.  As the children get older these times feel so much more precious, moments to treasure as we all spend more and more time doing our own things.

We were home for one day from that adventure before heading out to the next one, this time it was to drop Cameron for his D of E Expedition whilst Alice and I were supervising remotely.  I usually assess D of E expeditions but am, quite rightly, not allowed to do this when my own child is in the group.  I swopped roles and supervised his group, which involved us being in the area should we be needed if a problem arose.  We camped too although it was cooler and wetter for these four days.  It was a pottering time, with shorter walks which were no less interesting.  It was lovely to spend so much time with Alice, we spent lots of time in our tent chatting, playing games and reading many words from the chapter book I am reading to her at the moment.  We got ourselves into a lovely rhythm.

The next adventure, a couple of weeks later, was for Alice and Cameron. They headed out for an  international scout camp which was held a few miles down the road from us.  The,y along with 4,000 other Scouts and Explorers, enjoyed a week of activities both on and off site from the venue they were using.  I was hoping to have a relaxing week at home mostly by myself as my husband was also away for three days that week too.  Sadly one of the leaders did not leave me with much confidence in her ability to care for my children and those in the rest of the group, so it was not relaxing experience I had hoped for.  They enjoyed themselves in the main, Cameron felt that he was treated like a ten year old and as he is nearly eighteen this was somewhat waring for him.  The lack of trust and respect by the adults of the young people in their care has been reported back to those who can implement further training.  

We have enjoyed time with both sets of grandparents, time, which now that Cameron is at college, is restricted to college holiday time so it added to an already busy summer.  Time with them has always been arranged throughout the year, college holidays being new to us we need to get better at using this time more wisely so we don't end up filling the days up completely.  I have lost my ability to see the bigger picture too, a skill I had honed very well before lockdowns came to our shores.  I have already blocked out a few weekends in the coming months to ensure that we do not get ourselves too busy in the coming months which are already looking rather full.  They will be our pausing time, quiet time at home pottering and resting which is so important to us.

Whilst my parents were staying with us Cameron got his results from his course and exams.  He was delighted with them, his hard work over the year paid off, he passed them all including a Distinction in his Art Diploma (Film and Photography) which was higher than he had been predicted.  He had been working at upper merit all year and did not think he would gain this level of mark, we are so proud of him.  This means that he has easily gained a place on the next level Art Diploma which he starts next week, he is both nervous and excited.  I was really nervous when he went into college to get his results, it has felt like I have been examined as well as him, my support of his education over twelve years he was home educated under the microscope.  He has just applied for a part time job, having given up his village paper round of four years back in April so that he could focus on his final course project and his exams.  I hope he can find something to give him a small income whilst he is at college.  It was strange supporting him through the application process, it is years since I have written a CV or applied for a job.  Although I do have two very part time jobs, both of which I have started in the last couple of years,  I did not need to apply for either of them.

Over the past week I have felt things shifting, as the nights draw in, the temperatures steadily dropping especially at the beginning and end of the day we are heading slowly towards the start of Autumn, my favourite season.  After the busyness of the summer I am ready to head into a period of transition to hibernation over the Winter.  I wanted to have a summer which was full of wonderful adventures after what has felt like a long period of not being able to do that, I have had that this summer but I don't think I would do quite so much again.  It has felt a little too busy for me with not quite enough pausing in between for rest before the next thing.  This past week has seen that shift too of having a long enough pause that has enabled me to feel rested and ready for the next thing which is another four days of camping from Saturday.  A D of E Expedition again, this time I am assessing.  When we return Cameron will have started his new course and it will be time to start planning a rhythm for Alice as all her groups start up again.  I feel ready for that now.

Connecting

We had a really busy summer.  August, which feels like ages ago now, was almost filled to the brim with camping or getting ready for it.  We had more nights under canvas than at home.  But rather than feeling like it was an out of control frenzy it was all rather relaxed and immensely enjoyable.

In the depths of winter it is really difficult to say no to opportunities that will take us camping.  Despite my best intentions I have often ended up with a really full diary for the six weeks that the UK schools are on holiday in the summer months.  In past years the weeks we were at home would be business as usual, going out to our groups, meet ups and other activities, and in between shoehorning, not very successfully, preparation for going away.  It was all rather stress inducing.

I remember, when I had not long entered the world of work, many colleagues moaning about how they hated their jobs.  My naive twenty something self often wondered why they didn't just look for another one.  But there is something reassuring and comforting about the familiar even if we don't really like it.

I know that I have always had in the back of my mind a time when I was at home so much it became overwhelming.  A very young baby and giving up work to enter our new venture into officially home edding my eldest, I had yet to find my way around the home edding community, it was really isolating.  But tipping the balance the other didn't work for us either.

So when I realised that we had nothing in the diary for the weeks in August we were to be at home I didn't, for once, try and pro-actively fill them.  I went with the flow choosing whatever came up that would work for us all.  That relaxed planning meant that I was able to get ready really slowly and steadily and that when I got to where we were going I was relaxed.  Many a time I have been away on 'holiday' only to feel like I need another one when I get back!

We have visited some beautiful parts of our country.  We spent time walking, talking and admiring the views.  We had one day of rain the whole time, now don't get me wrong I don't dislike rain but when you are camping it can be really hard work.  It didn't matter how long anything took to do, well most of the time, there were a few occasions we had to be somewhere at a certain time.  When we got completely soaked one evening cycling to meet with a group I managed to turn it into an adventure, one which we laughed about later.  We lived in the moment, connected to each other and our surroundings.

Now that is all over I am also glad to be at home.  For the first week I didn't look for activities to fill the diary.  I did worry that the 'we are staying at home today' answer to 'what are we doing today' would be met with frowns but not a bit of it, not even this far down the line.  We were far too busy in our rhythm by end of July, one group has finished completely and another has yet to start yet, this feels so much better, for now.  I am sure it will change as it always does but I do need to gently remind myself to keep space in that rhythm for nothing planned.  It is no good keeping your head above the water if you not able to swim gently but are struggling to remain afloat.

Community

Last week we were camping with a group of families who come together every year to celebrate midsummer, we have joined them for the last three years.  Each time I come home and ponder over this wonderful community that I immerse myself in for a few days each year.

Whenever I watch or read about communities or tribes who live simple lives with lots of other families, sharing the tasks required to raise their families and sustain their lives I wish I had been born into their lives.  I cannot fathom why my society feels that this way of life is somehow backward, primitive and worthy of the label second or third world.  Looking at this way of life from our own is to do so through the wrong kind of eyes.

We have water on tap, we don't have to walk for an hour to fetch it but to think that this is arduous and time consuming is to misunderstand a completely different way of life.  This time gives those that walk to fetch it a chance to take a break from what ever else they have been doing, they can talk and chat as they walk, putting to bed their troubles and worries, sharing ideas, perhaps noticing sources of food if they live a hunter and gather way of life.  The water tap when camping was a long walk away my storage container small I had to make the trip often but it never seemed a chore.  We are slaves to time, something I have written about before.  But if you don't live by your clock, but by the sun does it matter how long something takes?  How wonderful to not be ruled by time or the clock.  Whilst I was camping I rarely looked at my watch.  I  didn't need to know what the time was, we ate when we were hungry and went to bed when we were tired.

But the most significant and wonderful aspect of the camping was the community.  We came together to celebrate the midsummer and we shared.  We shared food coming together for some of the meals, we shared crafts and most importantly we shared the care of our children.  Without ever having to discuss it the children always had a adult nearby either at the tents or at the beach (where we all felt it appropriate for an adult to be if the children were there).  We weren't watching over them like a hawk but were there in the background keeping an eye out and able to help out if there was a problem or a hurt.  Most of the time I had no idea where my children were but as I knew that they would always be with someone (another 'rule' we had, don't go off alone). I never worried about them and I always knew that if I had to go off for water, washing up or whatever, that there would be someone else to care for them in my absence should they return to find me gone.  The way we live our lives is so artificial.  As isolated family units with the parents responsible for all the childcare, usually the mother for most of the day.  This is incredibly hard work.  The village I live in is a link back to the past in our own society with extended families remaining in the village and all of the individual families taking responsibility for each others children.  This is not without its own local pitfalls but as a premise it seems far better than the way most of us find ourselves living.  The community doesn't need to be based on family, for me I would want to be part of a community of like minded individuals whose vision of the community values are similar to my own.  I had a taste of that last week and boy would I love it to continue as I return to the madness of clock watching and my isolated family unit.

What about you?  Have you experienced community living?  Are you part of a community or want to be or would it be your worst nightmare?

Gems

The last two weeks have been wonderful and busy.  We have packed in so much and finally returned home, I had thought about going away later this month but I think it would be best if we didn't for everyone's sanity.

We discovered lots of wonderful new music at the festival we attended over the bank holiday weekend.  We were really looking forward to seeing one of our favourite bands play, Afro Celt Sound System, they did not disappoint.  The children managed to stay awake for the whole set and loved hearing live versions of the tracks that they dance around the living room to, it was a great start to the weekend.

I spent an evening laughing out loud to the bizarre and funny, Colvin Quarmby who played beautiful music with haunting lyrics with mad chatter in between.  We were introduced to new musicians such as Tim O'Brien, Barnstar! playing their UK debut and  the wonderful Be Good Tanyas.  We listened to old favourites such as Heidi Talbot, Luke Jackson and Capercaillie.

Alongside all the music was dancing, ceilidhs, workshops and more.  The children made lanterns in a workshop and on the last evening joined hundreds of others, at dusk, for a parade headed up by a wonderful drumming and percussion band Sambassadors of Groove.

We were not sure if we wanted to attend this festival again as we were disappointed last year but after this year I think this will be a permanent fixture on our calendar.  It is the one time of the year when I do what I want, I love live music and stay up late and listen to it all, my husband takes the children to bed!

We sandwiched the festival between a few days of visiting friends who live nearby this meant we were away for a week.  We arrived home late on a Tuesday and had two days to sort out the camping stuff, which thankfully was dry, do a mountain of shopping, get clothes washed and more kit out before heading away again.  Thankfully I did not have any cooking to do in preparation this time, before heading to the music festival I precooked all our lunches and suppers!

This time we headed to Northumberland with a group of eighteen teenagers and three other adults for a summer camp.  We stayed in a delightful village, Ford from which we headed out to activities.  We had two groups completing their D of E expedition at Silver and Gold level which I was assessing.  We had a third group who did an overnight expedition, a days canoeing on the Rivet Tweed and a day climbing on a local crag.  We finished the camp with an extended lunch on Bamburgh beach a beautiful long sandy and mostly empty beach.

It is always a pleasure to be in the company of these teenagers, this is the fifth summer camp we have helped out with and we love doing it.  It is immensely hard work but such fun, which is why we do it.  Our children always come with us and have great fun spending time with some older children.  On the last evening after we had eaten we were sat round a campfire celebrating the achievements of the camp with the owls hooting around us and the sky black and full of stars it was a fitting end.

I spent a great deal of time driving around whilst on camp to meet the d of e groups I was assessing.  I listened to the radio on these journeys and it was a real treat to listen to an entire programme without any interruptions.  One in particular is worthy of a listen, Frys English Delight a very interesting look at the evolution of our quirky and bizarre spelling.

I have returned home now and we are mostly unpacked.  I have a mountain of laundry and it is raining.... I have a garden bursting with veg, yum yum.  I have two happy children who have played together all day and who have been asking if we can stay at home for a while and do you know I think we will, as much as I love to go away, home is good for me and no pictures again I was too busy having a good time!

Romans

We love to read books in our house, they are often the first thing we reach for if we want to find something out.  When my eldest shows a real interest in a particular topic that usually means we have a large amount of books related to it strewn around the house, books that we own and ones borrowed for the library.  If I can find a suitable place to visit I will organise a trip out to consolidate the learning.  One of the recent topics has been Romans and we have visited various local Musuems which have small displays of Romans artefacts which have been found locally.  The place that we really wanted to visit tho was Hadrian's Wall a defensive fortification built at the edge of the Roman Empire.  It is thought that building started in around AD122 at the behest of the Emperor Hadrian, no surprises there, and stretches from the Solway estuary in the West to the Tyne river in the East a distance of 73 miles and crosses some wild, rugged and beautiful terrain.  We recently spent four days near a section of the wall, camping a short distance from the wall and near to the places that we wanted to visit.

We spent an afternoon at one of the forts on the wall, Housesteads, which would have housed a considerable number of soldiers and civilians in its time.  It is hard to imagine that many people living there.  The site itself has been extensively excavated giving you a good impression of the size of the buildings contained within the fort and the overall size of the fort itself.  We took a short walk from the fort along the wall itself, which is intact to height of about 3ft in this area, to a mile castle.  These were built at every Roman mile (approx 1500m) along the wall.

We also visited the fort, Chesters, which was a cavalry fort.  This had been less excavated than Housesteads but was no less impressive.  There was a wonderful bath house situated just outside the fort which showed what fantastic engineers the Romans were and how important sanitation was to them.  When you have a large number of people living in close proximity, as life would have been in the forts themselves, it would have been easy for disease to spread, I have no doubt that the bathhouses served to ensure that this risk was minimised.

On a day that was forecast to be wetter we headed indoors for the morning to the Roman Army Museum a interesting museum which had exhibits on the soldiers who are likely to have built the wall, on Emperor Hadrian and the wall itself.  It is run by a trust who also run Vindolanda a fort situated on Stanegate a roman road.  This fort and surrounding buildings, which we spent the afternoon exploring, was huge and has been extensively excavated by the trust.  There are regular excavations taking place each year you can read about them too!  The museum on the site was full of artefacts that had been dug up on the site which were a wonderful collection of items that would have been part of everyday life for those that once lived there.  There was also an exhibition on an amazing find, writing tablets, that had been perfectly preserved in the soil.  Despite the cold damp weather (cold enough to need hats, gloves, coats and scarves!) this was the best of all the sites for me and one that I will definitely return to in the future as it is likely to be different.

On our journey home we visited Birdoswold fort.  This was the least excavated of all the forts we visited but the site has been continuously lived on since the fort was built.  The old farm building is now a holiday cottage for groups.  We walked a section of the wall from here to an old bridge abutment which now stands in the middle of a field some distance from the river!  We had a long play by the river and found many fossils in the shale on the river bank to diversify our learning.

It was a wonderful place to spend a few days, we had a great time and learnt loads.  If you want to learn more about the Romans or add to what you have learnt its a great place to do that.

Outdoors

I love to spend time outside, whatever the weather. It's a good job really as living in the UK we have great weather, it is completely unpredictable and means that you might have to wear hats and gloves in July.  I have spent the beginning of this week camping with my children on my own, perhaps I am mad, but no I don't think so.  I am happy being outside and confident in that environment so naturally I want to ensure that my children feel the same.

I had been looking at the weather forecast daily in the week leading up to us going away, not because I was considering backing out of our trip but to ensure that I had the right clothing with us.  When I was planning this trip a few months ago I invited another family to join us, they ended up booking a holiday elsewhere but I am pretty confident that they would have pulled out anyway.  The forecast was for cool temperatures, around 12°C, windy, light rain showers and full cloud cover everyday.  So I packed warm clothes, hats, gloves, scarves, waterproofs, thick socks and I also put in sandals, sun hats and light clothing we wore them all.  We had a day of sunshine and 18°C and another with strong winds, showers and temperatures around 10°C.  When it rained we covered up, moved inside if we could and enjoyed the weather.  When it was sunny we headed outside, basked in the heat and enjoyed the weather.  One evening it was really sunny and clear so after tea we headed out for an evening walk which the children loved.  We could see for miles, we were warm and happy and having a great time.

I noticed that the children were happy, really happy in a contented way there were no arguments, no disagreements, they talked things through in a way that made my heart melt.  After one day back at home it has all gone the arguments and disagreements are back.  I know there is a big drive to get people reconnecting with nature at the moment the National Trust published a report Natural Childhood last year, a movement called Project Wild Thing was launched recently,  the BBC has a Summer of Wildlife website packed with information and downloads to encourage us to reconnect with nature, the Woodland Trust has a wealth of information, ideas and downloads do free on its Nature Detectives website, and I know why.  When I spend more time outside than in I am a happier person and the last few days has proved to me that my children definitely are too so whatever the weather I am spending more time outside!

Weekending

It has been a very different, but busy week for us.  We started with our usual trip into town on Monday morning for food shopping and a visit to the library.  In the afternoon I packed the car and headed off to York with the children.  We had three nights there staying in a camping pod to the east of the city.

We spent three days exploring the city, which I will post about another day.  It was bitterly cold but, thankfully, dry and we arrived home utterly exhausted.  On Friday we had intended to go swimming but none of us wanted to leave the house, especially me!  We stayed at home and played, read and sat still.

Over the weekend I visited a local famers market to stock up on local food, sadly the veg stall was not there this time maybe the snow stopped them coming.  But I did get some cheese, eggs and a chicken.  The rest of the day was spent with friends to catch up with them before they go on holiday for six weeks, we did it want to make it any longer as we had been away this week.  We went and had a run around in the grounds of a local castle.

Sunday was spent at home, playing with cuisenaire rods, setting up traffic jams, talking about castles, knights, armour and medieval food, completing jigsaws, reading stories and watching the final part of the BBC series, Africa which we have all really enjoyed watching.

Glamping?

Well not really as it is February but Glamping to me.  Glamping is glamorous camping, for those who  do not want forego their luxuries.  Camping and February in the UK are probably not two words that many would put together.  Staying in a tent with children at this time of year is not something I am ready to contemplate at the moment ( I lived in a tent for ten months starting at the beginning of February with snow on the ground).  I was looking for self catered accommodation and stumbled on a rather lovely looking camping pod, a wooden tent, that was open in February.  So for three nights this  week this is where we were staying.

It was not really Glamping as you had to go outside to cook, but when the sun is shining and you are protected by the wind it was really warm.  OK I was wearing a hat and coat, but it is winter!  I did eat my breakfast outside on two mornings when the sun was warm on my face it was wonderful.

So if you want a cheap self catered accommodation near York, this is your place.  It is cosy if you are two adults and one child or one adult and two children you will be fine anymore and I think you would find it too small.

I will post about our adventures and trips out in York another day.

Weekending

I haven't done a catch up of the week post for ages.  It has been neglected due to holidays.

So, this week started with my birthday.  We were at a friends house in the morning making our way back home from our hol's.  We stopped by for the night to pick up some stuff we left from the previous week.  We journeyed home and then had the delightful task of unpacking, never my favourite job.  Our house is not particularly big and is very easy to feel overwhelmed by all the stuff that comes in from the car.  It was a lovely sunny day which made it easier to get dry the wet things we had such as the tent.  My lovely husband cooked tea which was my own request for the day!

We ventured in to town on Tuesday for our weekly trip to the library and to do a much needed food shop.  We usually go on a Monday as it is quieter, it is not really that busy on a Tuesday compared to some places but I do like quiet.  The afternoon was spent putting stuff away and generally pottering around and enjoying being at home.  That evening whilst enjoying a quiet night by the fire a mouse ran across the floor in front of me, it didn't get far before a shouted and it ran off.  A closer examination of the house the next morning revealed that they had most likely taken up residence whilst we had been away.

So the next morning we spent cleaning and looking for evidence, they had visited every room in the house it seemed.  The pantry were we keep the food is shelves with wicker baskets, no door in sight keeping them out is a nightmare and they had been in.  We had to throw a fair amount of food out, actually we put it on the bird table.  I don't think the house has had such a thorough clean in ages.  My husband set about sealing various places that they could have got in and we set several humane traps. Later than usual, we set off to join our friends who who we usually meet on a Wednesday, after lunch.  It was good to catch up with them for a play and chat.

On Thursday we had friends join us for lunch.  They bought me some beautiful flowers as a birthday present.  The children played all afternoon, the adults sat and chatted to catch up.  It was good to see the little ones reconnect after a few weeks apart.

Friday saw us popping into a local town to pick up a few bits such as more mouse traps!  The rest of the day was remarkably productive which was unexpectedly fulfilling, not that I don't enjoy my days at home with the children!

The weekend continued with more productivity.  The weather was dry so we ventured into the garden for a much needed tidy up, there'll be more on the garden next week, weeding, pruning and dead heading.  We filled two green wheelie bins with stuff plus our own compost bin and womery are looking pretty full.  The garden looks much better but there is still more work to do.  I managed to get the sewing machine out to make a Christmas present, a bag for a friends son I will share pictures on that tomorrow.

Throughout the week my eldest has been continuing to expand his knowledge with all things World War II, he has drawn many pictures of battles at sea and on land, read books on rationing, the blitz, tanks and planes, watched programmes on HMS Hood and Bismarck and episodes of Wartime Farm, set up battles with coloured bricks to represent armies of each country moving them about as if on a battlefield and built tanks and planes out of Lego.  He has also been asking me and my husband if we ever met anyone who was alive during the war.  He is looking forward to talking to my parents when we visit in a few weeks time as although they were both born at the end of the war their parents all played an active role during the war.

Hope you have had a fruitful week too?

Camping

I love camping.  I love it enough to camp in the autumn as we are now in.  We had a frost shortly before we went away but that was not enough to deter me.  We have good, warm sleeping bags and room to pack plenty of clothes so the cold would not be enough to stop me.

We camped for eight nights in total. The first night was bitterly cold, one of the coldest we had.  It was a glorious night, almost a full moon and completely clear, hence the cold.  We were camping at a special place, for one night.  The place where I worked for a while and where I met my husband.  We were there to celebrate their thirtieth year of operation.  It was great to meet up with old friends and acquaintances, to see how much the place had changed over the years.  We had a lovely twenty four hours there.

Our next campsite was further south, at Corfe Castle in Dorset.  It was very quiet, as you would expect during term time in Autumn.  The bare earth on each pitch should really have served as a warning to us when the rain poured down for the whole of the first night.  As the days went on the inside the tent became more and more like a swamp.

We were camping on clay which did not drain at all and remained sodden despite the sunshine.  There was plenty to do in the area so we didn't need to spend much time in the tent!

The next campsite could not have been more different in every way we were the only tent on the site and the only facilities were a toilet and a tap.  It felt like we were camping in a slightly wild Victorian  garden!

For me camping is about reconnecting with nature.  I am so aware of the skills that we have lost as we have moved into our warm, snug houses.  It is much more difficult to be in tune with the seasons and nature when you cannot feel, see and hear them around you all the time.  We came to know when sunset would be in a few short days due to the birds, mostly starlings 'singing' at dusk as they were looking for somewhere to roost.  It never felt that cold, partly because as we had travelled south the temperatures were slightly warmer, but also because I am sure that you adapt.  I always eat more when I camp as I am sure I am using the energy to keep myself warm but at no time did I feel remotely cold.

It is good to be home but I am already missing the connection with the environment I love in.

Home

We have been away from home for the last two weeks.  Visiting friends and new places.  We had some great weather. We visited some interesting and beautiful places.  We camped in all weathers in two completely different campsites.  We had rain, wind and sun.  There is something rather wonderful about living with a few possessions, with having all you need fit in the boot of the car.

I will catch up and blog about where we have been and what we have been doing but for now it is good to be home but my bed is calling, the day needs to be put to rest.

We have been mainly.......

crazy busy this week, well I have.  I have been meeting myself coming back!

The week started with the end of a folk festival which for me, sadly, fizzled out rather than finishing with a bang.  The headline act had had to pull out due to a bereavement in her family.  Whilst this was disappointing what was more so is the way to was handled by the festival organisers.  We went to the festival with another family.  Both of us have fairly young children and were not staying up until the end of the music each night.  By chance one of us did on Sunday night, so found out through an announcement at the end of the music that there was a change to the programme on the following night.  During the Monday we could not find any information anywhere about what was going on, if we had not heard the announcement the night before we would have been none the wiser until the final concert started at 1pm.  Part of me really wanted to stay to listened to the other bands playing that afternoon, and the other part just wanted to get home knowing that I had a busy week ahead that needed organising.  I have never felt like that at the end of a festival and it has really marred my whole experience of it.  The tickets were not cheap, I will be thinking long and hard about returning for another year.

After a lovely sleep in my own bed the next day was very full.  I had to plan a food menu for the week, write a shopping list, unpack, start packing again, hang up wet camping gear, and go food shopping.  I got in the car and started to drive up the village before I realised that I had a flat tyre, humpf.  I phoned my dh to ask him to come and car swop, it was already quite late in the day and I still had a million and one things that needed doing and there was not room on my list to fit in changing a tyre.  Luckily for me he obliged and we were our way.  Shopping done I started on packing and unpacking at the same time before cooking tea and then driving North to talk to a group who I would be assessing on a d of e gold expedition for four days.  I fell into bed exhausted.

I woke on Wednesday and packed the car and drove North, with my youngest, to meet the group out on the fell.  We found a spot to park the car, packed up a bite to eat and wandered to a good vantage point and waited for them to walk towards us.  We waited and waited and waited, their supervisor arrived and we waited.  Eventually, running very late, they did arrive, very wet and tired the ground it seemed was very hard going with a lot of bogs.  They walked off to their campsite and we drove off to find ours.  We pitched the tent, cooked tea and then drove off to meet the group at their campsite and check they had made it ok, all being well we headed back and fell into bed.

Thursday was a beautiful day, the sun was shining but it was bitterly cold in the wind.  We met with group a couple of times and spent the day, walking a little, eating a picnic, enjoying the views, playing wonderful imaginative games with my youngest, knitting, brewing tea on our little stove and eating cake.  It was an oasis of wonderfulness amongst all the busyness which was filling my head.  The coldness carried on into the night, it was very clear not a cloud in the sky and the moon so large and bright it was like a torch shining into the tent.  We woke the next morning to ice in the tent!

We met with the group once again on Friday morning, another bright sunny but cold day.  Whilst waiting I played the most wonderful game at the instigation of my youngest.  With absolutely no props she announced that I had to come and get in the car as we were going shopping for food for tea.    Shopping done we then went home and cooked tea, ate it at the table and then we washed up the dishes.  This lasted for about ten minutes, we were sat on the edge of a grassy field.  The group arrived soon after and we chatted for a short time before heading on our way, the, to continue their expedition, us to home.  After unpacking yet again and cooking tea I fell into bed really early for a very long sleep.

The weekend marked two days at home with no need to pack up and go anywhere for the first time in days.  I did some washing, took the car to the garage for a service, packed up a tent from the festival which was now dry and hung up another wet one from the last few days.   The best thing was a phonecall from a friend inviting us over to a BBQ, no cooking hurrah!  We said goodbye to daddy who is off overseas until the end of the week and then had to wait in for the d of e group as they were calling at our house for a debrief.  This is to bring the expedition to an end, a review of what they have achieved and for me hand back their signed books.  All done we headed to our friends for a lovely evening.  Sunday I 'celebrated' my
wedding anniversary or perhap I should say I observed the day as my husband was not with me to celebrate. I have a quieter week ahead, I hope!

Home

Today has been my first day at home when I have not been organising to go away somewhere for over two weeks.  Admittedly I have been away for most of that time but each time I have come home from one thing I have had a day or two to repack and cook to go away again.  This has been part of my spectacularly bad planning.  I was supposed to be camping, again, with friends this week but I have cancelled those plans I just could not face it.  It is not the actual camping that I could not face but the getting ready.  If I could be teleported to a campsite with a ready packed car I would be off.  I love camping but not the getting ready bit.  So I am going to spend some time at home.

I am going to do some better planning to make sure that I do not have week after week of getting ready to go away.  I am going to get on top of my very over grown garden, there are plants in my poly tunnel that are trying to grow out of the door, you can hardly shut it.  I am going to finish knitting some socks, well maybe one, that I started a while ago as my husband is away this week. But mostly I am going to enjoy being at home for a while and catching up with friends who I don't feel like I have seen for ages.

Assessing

I am off, yet again, today to do an assessment for the d of e award.  I have a small group to assess on a gold expedition this is the highest level of the award.  They have to walk for four days, camping for three with a minimum of eight hours walking each day.  They are required to be self sufficient carrying all their food and equipment as they journey.  The only thing they can pick up or be given is water.  This group have opted to wild camp for two of the nights, they have never done this before and are looking forward to it.

So I am packing up once again to camp for two nights myself to be nearer where they are walking.  It will just be me and my youngest.  I am looking forward to visiting this area as I have not really explored it much yet.  The weather forecast is pretty dreadful so I may be wet for most of the time!  So I will be away for a few days will update on my return.

We have been mainly.......

really busy again this week.

After returning from a weekend climbing and camping late on Sunday afternoon, we unloaded the car to get everything dry for a other trip this week.

We went into the local town for food shopping and a visit to the library as we usually do.  We were also looking for some bowls for camping, we managed to break one over the weekend and needed to replace it.  They were cheap and cheerful so I am surprised that they have lasted as long as they have.  We were not able to find anything suitable.  Looks like one of us will be eating out of the pan!  I spent the rest of the day cooking food to take with us.  The children amused themselves outside playing with a child who lives a few doors down.

The next day we had to forego our play date as we were packing up.  All the wet kit from the weekend was now dry, so it was packed up and put in the car.  We collected stuff from our list from the loft and cupboards all over the house.  For the first time the children helped as they thought it was great fun.  They liked being able to to and find items and put them into the correct box and then tick them off on the list.  We were so efficient that we managed to clean all the downstairs windows and dig up all the potatoes in the garden as well.  I feel sure that if we had asked them to help they would have said no, they just wanted to be part of what we were doing.

On Wednesday.we packed up the clothes and the last few bits of food and headed to stay with friends for a couple of nights.  It was good to catch up with them again.  I visited their local yarn shop and bought three skeins to knit into scarves.  We popped into a local town the following day and had a lovely day exploring it, we found a great park for a picnic which had an amazing playground in it the children loved it.

We headed to a music festival for the weekend on Friday.  We bought our tickets months ago, in April I think.  It certainly feels like months.  We were meeting friends there.  We sat in a very long queue to get to the site, which was due to some traffic lights that allowed about one or two cars to turn right at a time, the same lights caused massive queues for people leaving too at the end of the festival.  Apparently the council will not change the priorities on the lights, perhaps a letter is in order.  We did make it on site in the end, found our friends and pitched our tent.  The site was huge much bigger than any festival site we had been to as a family before.  We were looking forward to a weekend filled with great live music.  We were not disappointed that is until Monday morning.  We woke to find that the headline act who we had been really looking forward to seeing had pulled out.  After that the day seem really flat.  We packed up the tent in the rain and it seemed like the whole festival vibe had changed perhaps it was also the rain which, up and until then had been the odd shower, was more relentless and it was cold.   We journeyed home part way through the last set, it felt like a big anti climax after the previous days.  I am still mulling over why I felt so flat.  Perhaps it is because due to my spectacularly bad planning I am really busy again this week!

We have been mainly.....

this week we have been doing a variety of things and keeping busy as always.

We started the week with our usual trip into the local town for food shopping and a visit to the library.  I picked up a ball of yarn this week too, to knit a scarf for a Christmas present.  I needed a small knitting project to take camping over the weekend.  One of my current projects is from a 1kg cone which is not very portable!  We picked up a great story sack from the library on caterpillars.  It had some lovely books in it and a great game that my youngest and I played many times during the course of the week.

On Tuesday we joined our friends for our regular playdate.  My youngest once again spent most of our time there on the trampoline.  I did not see my eldest much during the day until he asked me late on if one of his friends could come home with us for supper.  We returned home with an extra child for a few hours they played upstairs with Lego coming down only to eat supper before returning to their play.

We joined friends again the next day at their house for shared lunch and play.  The afternoon disappeared really quickly and the house looked like a whirlwind had been through it.  We helped to tidy up before we left as we had helped to create the mess. After a really early start to the day, my youngest woke me at 5.30am and I could not get back to sleep, I was hoping to get to bed early.  It was not to be, I needed to get to grips with a route card that I had been sent for a Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition.  I had suspected at first glance a few days ago that it would not meet the requirements and it did not, it took me a long time to go through it all and make notes to explain to the group what they needed to do.

We spent most of the next two days at home preparing for a weekend away.  We had to go out and food shop again to pick up extra food.  I baked two big cakes, made 36 bread rolls and some mini pizzas in the afternoon!  I also had to make a phone call regarding the route card.  I ended up having to write an email, as I did not want to leave along and garbled message.  A busy day lightened by my wonderful youngest child.

On Friday afternoon we all headed south in a minibus with two friends and eight explorer scouts for a weekend climbing.  We stopped for supper on the way, by the time we got to the campsite it was getting dark.  We have never put our tent up in the dark it was a interesting experience but we managed it.  Over the weekend we spent the whole of Saturday and part of Sunday at Stanage a popular gritstone climbing crag near Sheffield.  I spent two years as a student in Sheffield nearly twenty years ago, it was weird to be back there again after so long.   I did not manage to climb over the weekend which was a shame but I am sure there will be time for this at some point.  I spent the days assisting at the bottom and taking the children on walks nearby.  There is a lot to see and explore  around these crags including gritstone grinding wheels for mills that have been made, but abandoned near the crag.  We had lovely weather over the weekend warm, but not too hot, as we got into the minibus to come home the rain poured, great timing.  Climbing in the rain on gritstone is no fun at all!

We have been mainly........

busy this week, making the most of the warmer weather as we were not convinced it was going to last, and it has been positively autumnal this summer for us.

We started the week with our usual visit to the local town for food shopping and a visit to the library to get some new books.  We found a cool book Wild Child by Jeanne Willis, I think I have read this at least five times every day this week, she loves it.  We spent the afternoon looming at our library books and drawing pictures.

The next day we joined our friends for our regular play date.  My eldest was not sure of he wanted to go this week.  He had not had so much fun last week as there were different children there.  He needed to knowm if they would be there again before he decided.  He needs time to get to know new people and prefers to do this one on one rather than in a group.  He struggled to join in last week.  I established that they were not going to be there so we headed down.  He had a great play for the afternoon, running around, playing with lego and building a den.  My youngest spent most of the day on their trampoline, she is getting quite competent.  Despite getting home late we contact our friends who were meeting the next day to plan a day out.  We have so few warm sunny days we wanted to make plans rather than leaving until mid morning and not ending up doing much.

We opted for a day out to a local Buddhist Temple and Retreat Centre it was a beautiful place, really serene and peaceful.  The children spent a long time in the temple sitting still and looking around, it was a really calming place.  We had a lovely long picnic on their beach, whilst the children played in the sand and shallow waters.  It was a long but wonderful day.

On Thursday we took our canoe out for a day paddle on a local lake.  We took dinner and tea which we cooked on our Kelly Kettle.  I was really tired by the end of the day, but I do love days out like this, being outdoors recharges my batteries.  My eldest is never keen at the thought but when we are out always tells me he is having a great time, so it is usually worth that extra hassle.

The next day we were joined for dinner by our friends from the south.  Like me they have to eat a particular diet and are unable to eat gluten, together with my long list of foods I cannot eat it makes for intersting meals.  I enjoy cooking and managed to put together a meal for eight without using any.  I served up (all homemade) coleslaw, rice salad with dill and peas, a green leaf salad from the garden, onion bhajis and deep fried cheddar balls.  The children were off playing together for pretty much the whole time. It was lovely to see and hear the girls so well together, they are still young but seem to be finding each others company enjoyable now which is wonderful to observe.  It meant the adults had a catch up which was great as what with one thing and another we have not been able to meet up much of late.

Continuuing the busy theme we spent a large proportion of the weekend on a canoe trip.  This time we took the kit to camp out under a bivi sheet.  The children had a whale of a time, it was lovely to have the time to just sit and watch what they were doing, running around in the water, in the trees, looking at things, asking questions or just sitting and being.  It is important to slow down sometimes and live simply.  Camping is a great opportunity to do this, I am looking forward to our many camping trips we have planned over the next few weeks.

Bivi

We set off yesterday afternoon for another adventure with our canoe.  This time we packed up stuff to stay out the night so we needed more food.  After all the cooking I did on Friday (dinner and tea) I was struggling to come up with a meal that we could take to cook in the evening and in the end decided to leave it until the morning, I was cooked out.  I got up in the morning and looked in the fridge, broad beans, a small amount of ricotta and feta left over from another meal where jumping at me to go together.  I cooked some potatoes, chucked in the broad beans at the end mashed them together with the cheeses and some chopped mint added some rice flour to bind it all a bit, hey presto small patties.  I sorted out some lunch, wraps and salad (left overs from day before), snacks and breakfast fruity porridge and we were ready for the off.

We went to another lake a bit further from us, we arrived in time for lunch which we ate before packing the canoe and setting off.  The wind was fairly strong and heading down the lake, the direction we ultimately wanted to travel we decided to head up the lake against the wind for a bit of an explore first.  When we turned to head in the other direction the wind changed to (that was to become a bit of theme for the rest of the day).  We stopped at a small beach for a drink and a snack, we boiled water with the Kelly Kettle, the children had great fun playing in a stream, building a dam and redirecting the flow.

We headed on down the lake pass the beach we were planning to camp on to a wonderful little island.  Those of you familiar with Swallow and Amazons may recognise this part of the island, from chapter four of the book.  The picture is titled feeling their way in.  

The island was really busy so we just had a shorter explore before heading back up the lake.  

As we were heading down towards the island we were having to paddle hard against the wind we were looking forward to a speedy sail back up the lake. No, the wind had other ideas, it had dropped and changed direction.  We managed to get a bit of assistance as it was vaguely in the right direction. My eldest asked the question on the way back, why is the island there?  We told him it was due to the ice age.  He immediately realised that it was harder rock that the glacier could not wear away.  We have talked about the ice age before when out and about and watched a few DVDs on the subject. The island is a roche moutonnée.

We made it to the beach and started to get a big pile of sticks together to cook tea.  

 
We had used the kelly kettle to reheat tea when out canoeing earlier in the week, this time we had food that needed cooking. We ended up eating in stages, first we cooked and my husband and children ate meat burgers with tabbouleh, we had started cooking potatoes first and left them sitting in hot water which were cooking very slowly they went back on the heat until eventually they were ready to eat.  Then we cooked the patties I had made in the morning.  It was a bit slow but all very tasty and we had not had to bring any fuel with us.

The children had great fun during all this time running here and there, in the lake, in the woods nearby and playing in a stream that flowed down one side of the beach.  They created channels and pool and dams.  We boiled some water for a cup of tea after eating, I took the Kelly kettle off the heat  once it had boiled and felt my hand get hot but thought nothing of it.  Within a minute I realised I had burned it so put my hand in the stream.  I spent most of the next hour with it in the stream, whilst assisting with the hydrology engineering with my children, it hurt a lot.  It was great to listen to them talking about the effect of their engineering on the flow of the stream geography in the field, bit of theme going here no prior planning of course!

My husband built the bivi with a tarp and the canoe and used the embers from the Kelly kettle to build a fire. 

 We sat by the fire until it was dark and went to bed.  I was woken at 5am as my youngest had migrated, she had managed to get past her brother to her daddy!  It was very windy, as I went back to sleep I hoped it would calm down as we would have fun getting back to the car against it.

By 8am the wind had dropped and the sun come out.

My husband was up and had the fire going for a brew.

What more could you ask for?  We had our porridge, packed up and headed back to the car.  We were once again paddling against the wind.   A wonderful twenty four hours.

We have been mainly.....

camping and catching up with an old friend this week. The weather forecast was for a lot of rain this week so I expected us to be wet and cold camping. Luckily for us the forecast was incorrect and the weather was wet and warm a much better combination.

We started our week with our usual trip into the local town, for food shopping and a library visit. The rest of the day I spent getting bits and pieces out of cupboards in readiness for camping and cooking food to take with us. In the evening my eldest was meant to be attending an end of term party with Beaver Scouts at the open air swimming pool in the village, it was too cold and wet for him to want to go so we gave it a miss. Instead, we welcomed an old friend who we had not seen for a few years. We met whilst working together, around fifteen years ago and have stayed in touch since. He moved to the far east twelve years ago for what he thought would be a couple of years and has not moved back. We have not been over to visit yet, but he comes over once every couple of years. My husband and he stayed up talking, catching up and drinking whisky until the small hours.

The next day we were to all go camping together for a few days, we hoped to be able to stay out for three nights, but it was dependent on the weather. If it was really cold and wet we may only manage two. The day dawned sunny, which is more than can be said of my husband who languished in bed nursing a hangover. You can read more about our trip in this post.

The camping was great. I always expect the worse of the weather and on some trips recently it has upheld my expectations, but not this time. It is a simpler life, as a family it means that we spend more time in one another's company rather than in separate rooms in the house as often happens at home.

We returned home on Friday in the pouring rain, unpacked the car and started to put stuff away. It was a busy day of sorting, tidying and hanging stuff to dry. I fell into bed, always so comfy after a thin blow up mat, and slept for hours.

Over the weekend we had a cooked lunch before saying goodbye to our dear friend on Saturday. The rest of the afternoon we spent playing and chilling out after our busy week. Sunday was pretty similar, I think after so much activity during the week and then a quieter day the day before I was feeling really lethargic, I often find when I do slow down after a lot of activity and busyness I feel this way. So I took it easy, hanging out with the children on the sofa taking and reading books and when they were off doing their own thing, knitting. A perfect end to a great week, I hope yours was a good one too.

Camping

We have been camping this week with another home edding family and despite the weather forecast had both wonderful weather and time.

Our trip got off to an auspicious start. We were to be joined by an old friend who was visiting from the far east, living so far away we do not see him that often, every two to three years. He and my husband sat up late into the night, in fact into the small hours, catching up and drinking whisky. The next day, nursing a hangover my husband was struggling to get out of bed. I got up, had breakfast, finished the last bits of packing, started to load the car, had lunch, he still had not got up. Finally at half past two I gave him an ultimatum I was going to leave by half three at the latest. He suggested sleeping some more and coming over later in a separate car, not a good idea I felt as he may be still over the limit for driving. In the end we did manage to leave at half three and arrived at the campsite just after five, better late than never I guess. I ended up putting most of the tent up myself and cooking tea, I fell into bed exhausted, hoping the next day would be better. At least the weather had been good, warm and sunny with no rain.

The next day dawned dry and warm, with some cloud. We were going to spend the day on a steam railway riding up and down. The campsite had its own stop on the line. It seemed to take ages to get ready, after the previous day I didn't feel I was firing on all cylinders. The railway was great fun as always, we had several trips up and down the line, and spent some time at one end exploring a museum of the history of the line and the village. The morning was dry but as the day wore on it got wetter and wetter. It did not spoil our enjoyment of the journey.

We were undecided about spending another night under canvas as the weather was forecast to get worse as the week went on. The day dawned bright and sunny, so we stayed and the warmth stayed with us all day. The children and their friends played and played and played on the campsite and were having such a good time that we did not make any plans. As the day wore on and it got hotter and hotter we walked to the nearest village for ice creams. We did not take any waterproofs with us and the rain came down, really hard, we sheltered under a tree, well the adults did the children ran around in the pouring rain! Whilst we were cooking tea the rain poured again and we had a thunderstorm which was exciting, well I thought so the children were not convinced. The rain came down so hard that it created huge pond like puddles on the campsite in various places, thankfully not near our tent. The children thought these looked great fun to play in so they stripped off and jumped in, spending abut half an hour running, jumping, splashing and falling into then. They fell into bed tired and happy.

I took plenty of clothes for the children, as the forecast has been for rain every day I was sure they would get wet. Luckily the very dry day ensured that most of the clothing and shoes that had got wet dried out, they did wear everything that I took at some point. It rained hard as we packed up and for the journey home, it cleared to allow us to unpack the car, but not long enough to start hanging stuff up to dry, that is for another day.