W stands for Wales.

The babbling brook running through the garden and woodland, complete with a bridge and a little Waterfall!

 

Cymru am byth ....  Wales forever ! 

We have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Wales. I adore this country, it is virtually on our doorstep and takes about two hours from our home in Liverpool to reach one of our favourite haunts, the delightful Isle of Anglesey.
This time we stayed in a beautiful old lodge house which is situated at the gate of Llynon Hall in the pretty little village of Llanddeusant. 

Wonderful aspect of the rear of The Lodge

Wonderful !

 

 

 

This is the front of the Lodge. It is built as a split level, in fact, there are really three levels, from the entrance hall, go up four steps into the beautiful bedroom complete with a balcony overlooking the verdant country side.

Then, going down eight steps brings you to the comfortable sitting room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was our holiday home for one week and what fun we had, we dined on delicious local fare including fresh fish , delivered to our door every morning if we wanted!

The large spotted flat fish in the centre is a Turbot which we enjoyed for supper one evening, absolutely delicious.... simply roasted whole in melted butter, white wine, wild garlic and parsley. Served with Anglesey new potatoes and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto..WHAT a feast.
We also enjoyed the most succulent WELSH shoulder of lamb, cooked in the Greek style of Kleftika..... baked in foil with herbs, onions, garlic, carrots and Cyprus potatoes.....
Another Wonderful Welsh Feast.....
My thanks to the  witty Denise for devising abcWednesday and the wondrous Roger for his administrative wiles!  

U stands for UP

When I was a child I was often asked 'What are you UP to Miss Moss?

 Not that my name was Miss Moss it was a pet name my grandpa called me, when I was UP to mischief! On one particular occasion I was tying my Grandma's pinafore ties to a door handle whilst she was gossiping to her next door neighbour, keeping her UPDATED with the latest activities of another neighbour, referred to as 'that Trollop', who's husband was away at sea in the Merchant Navy.

 Apparently she'd been UP to no good with the Insurance Man from The Prudential  who collected the  premiums on a weekly basis, as they did in those days, sic 1950

 There was no such thing as direct debits then.

 It seemed that 'The Man from the Pru', had been collecting more than the  premiums from said 'Trollop', who  according to Grandma, was 'no better than she ought to be'!

 'What's a trollop Grandma, and what does 'UP' to no good mean,' I enquired innocently? .......Go UPSTAIRS and wash your hands, ready for tea', retorted Grandma. It always seemed that when I asked a question about matters that didn't concern me, I was sent UPSTAIRS to wash my hands........ I must have had the cleanest hands in the road !

 UPWARDS AND ONWARDS!

I have, at last, started using my new Panasonic Lumix TZ40 Camera and have UPLOADED, some
pictures of our grandchildren UP to mischief and generally having fun.  

   

Olivia Molly and Freddie

playing on the garden swing. Freddie UP to mischief teasing the girls! 

 

Christian the youngest looking UPWARD at the camera, he was UP late and rather tired.

 

UPLOADS
 
Picture of the parents togged UP and ready for a night on the town.

Kirsten and Dean at our house.

 

Ingrid and Kirsten round at Ingrid's home ready to go UPTOWN and party. .

 

Mike and Ingrid, Kirsten and Dean

all togged UP and ready  for a knees UP !

 

 

Time's UP folks!

U stands for UP

My thanks to the UBIQUITOUS Mrs Nesbitt for devising the ILLUSTRIOUS AbcW and the UNIQUE Roger for his UNSWERVING administrative skills!

 

T stands for my Theatre of Dreams.

The coastline along North West Scotland.

It is my mission in life now to travel around the British Isles.

 We've had several holidays in Scotland and have thoroughly

enjoyed the  wonderful Scottish hospitality.

 

The pictures below are taken in The Trossachs National Park

and the stunningly beautiful Loch Lomond.

 

 

On this particular trip we travelled further north to a lovely hotel called

 The Bridge of Orchy.

which is at the southern tip of Glencoe.

 

 

 

 

 It was a wickedly cold evening so we were glad to settle

in for our overnight stay.

 We were welcomed with a tot of Whisky and buttery

 shortbread biscuits.

 

This is Loch Lomond,

 we drove along the edge of it to reach Glencoe

 

When supper was ready a Scottish Piper, in full regalia, piped the

guests into the beautiful oak panelled dining room.

 

 

 

Dinner was tantalisingly  tasty,

 as was the handsome Scots Piper pictured above ! 

Starting with Loch Fyne Scallops on a bed of delicious Haggis.

 

The Main course was......

A huge rib of succulent Beef, carved at the table.

We had roasted Tatties and roasted white Turnips.

Yorkshire Pudding,

  an assortment of tasty seasonal vegetables and

my favourite part of any hearty roast dinner is the gravy...

one of the finest gravy I have ever tasted!

 

No room for pudding, just a Drambuie liqueur

and petit fours then we tootled off to bed.

 

A peat fire welcomed us,  burning in the old stone fire place.

I soon snoozed off  to sleep,

 watching the pretty little purple and red flames dancing

around the fire place.

Next morning, there was a freezing  Hoare Frost

 encrusting the huge Scots Pine Trees,

standing rigid in the freezing terrain outside.

 

 A  hearty breakfast awaited us, porridge and kippers for me

 and bacon, sausage, black pudding and eggs.

for himself .

Suitably repleted,  we bade our farewells to the most hospitable staff

and moved on to our next destination, Strontian, which is a tiny hamlet

on the edge of Loch Sunart.

 

  Loch Sunart is on The Ardnamurchan Peninsula.

.

This is a copy of a painting which depicts a rutting Stag, baying for his ladies to follow him to the glen.

 We had a similar view from our bedroom to this part of the loch. 

 

 Our hotel was The Kilcamb Lodge,

 The room was just perfect, about 50 yards from the edge of the loch,

we could hear the water lapping gently over the sandy shore.

  

 

Below is the stunning beach, just over the peninsula from the hotel,

it is breathtakingly beautiful.

 We managed to sit in the sunshine for a couple of hours

just taking in the beauteous sight before us.

 

 

Here lies part of my Theatre of dreams.

I must tell you all that all the above pics are not taken by me but I have been to each place..

on my holiday... particularly the above beach .. Di..xxx

 

Many thanks to the terrifically talented Denise Nesbitt for devising  'abcWednesday'

 and the thoughtful Roger for being such a tenacious administrator. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Trossachs and Loch Lomond

The Sea and the Seaside.

Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside
I do like to be beside the sea!
I do like to stroll along the prom prom  prom:
Where the brass bands  play
'Tiddly-om pom pom.


This little ditty is a popular  old music hall song which was written in 1930.
It  reminds me of my childhood, holidays spent on the Isle of Anglesey
North Wales.
There would be a local brass band playing on the promenade, always starting with the ' Seaside' ditty,  along with other popular music of the day. 

The parents would sit snoozing in deck chairs whilst my brother and I entertained ourselves by building sandcastles, we created moats around them and dashed back and forth,
filling our buckets with the in coming sea.

Big brother devised a plan by building a channel to divert the sea into the moat. however he didn't take into account the speed of the tide, which was great because the moat was soon full, but not so great because dear Mama, who was wearing her prized white kid sandals, was soon to be swamped and surrounded by the merciless tide, thus soaking her favourite footwear,

To say, she was not amused was an understatement !
The white kid sandals did not appear again during the holiday!

 Dear father saved the day and took her to a local shoe store and treated her to another pair of white  sandals, although the were not  made of kid skin ...
.Good old Pa sure saved the day. 

We are about to set off again for another holiday on the island , it's about a  2hour drive from our home, which suits us just fine now
.
There are so many gorgeous beaches around and lots of seafood eateries.
 We usually take a picnic to the beach, (as pictured above).

 Often we buy  Dressed Crab  from a local fisherman's wife, she has a Shack down by the beach, where she lovingly prepares his daily catch.


 Sometimes we splash out and buy a Large Dressed Lobster for our picnic,
 I prepare a large bowl of crunchy salad and coleslaw, along with a freshly baked Welsh loaf, from the nearby working Mill,
 (I shall write more about the Mill when we return from our holiday)! 
   
 I am not able to swim anymore, but, I sure can SPLASH !

 Fortunately the  Sea is shallow, so Dearest will hold my arms so that I can exercise my failing legs and feel the benefit of the Sea water, which is considered to be of great benefit to people with Rheumatic disorders.

I love the Seaside.......Simple sandy salty........ SUPERB!

                                          
The delicious Dressed Crab........ SENSATIONAL...

 
My thanks to  the Scintillating Denise for devising ABCW and the Socratic Roger for being such a Sound Administrator..... 

http://abc-wednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co/

R stands for my fascination for Rivers.

Whilst we were on holiday in Northumberland in the borderlands between England and Scotland we encountered this majestic sight of the River Tweed, ambling it's way around the borderlands of Scotland and England.
We were on our way into Coldstream  the home town of the famous  Coldstream  Guards.
 These are the soldiers, when not on active duty, serve in the Household Cavalry protecting our Monarch at the various Palaces, whenever The Queen is in residence.
Apart from their magnificent battle history , they are also renown for  wearing the famous ceremonial Bearskin as their headwear as well as their splendid scarlet jackets.
I am such a Royalist, my heart really swells with pride whenever I see them on parade.
As we were strolling along the riverside, there were rather a lot of ripples in the water,
 Then, suddenly, the most fluorescent  display of salmon leaping appeared, it was as if they were forming little Rainbows, as they weaved their way up stream, to their spawning ground,
We watched in fascination as the a fisherman cast his line to hook a salmon.
, Apparently, it is quite easy to catch them at this part of the River because they become quite tired after such a long swim from the sea.
We were so enraptured by this resplendent display that we stood in awe, just revering  the moment.  
A lady, walking her dog, stopped to watch and said she had be walking her dog daily for ten years, yet had never witnessed the sight of Salmon leaping in that part of the River
.
As we walked over, one of the many River Tweed  bridges, from the English side into  Coldstream
 on the Scottish side, it was noticable that the dialect changed considerably, from a lovely 'Geordie lilt into a light Scottish refrain.

Perhaps my  fascination for Rivers stems from the fact that I have spent a lifetime living on either side of The River Mersey.
 It must be an inherent thing, my great grandfather was as Sea Captain in the Merchant Navy,
 my maternal grandfather was a Coppersmith and worked on some of the finest ships ever built on Merseyside........
There lies another tale which would take too long to write but I will when the  right 
letter of the alphabet appears on ABCWednesday, 

My sincere thanks to the rapturous Denise for devising ABCW and to the radiant Rodger for being such a realistic  Adminstrator .  

Q is for Quill

Let me introduce you to Chico our beautiful Cockatiel, he will be seventeen next month and has kept us suitably entertained over the years.
You may be wondering where the letter Q  enters my little anecdote, then,  I shall tell!

Chico has a lovely tufty feathery adornment on the top of his head, which was christened,  Chico's  Quill by  Ingrid, our daughter.
Ian was away on a golfing trip, his first since he retired, so he knew nothing about the new arrival.
I may have mentioned, there was a lovely 'chicky' cockatiel in the local pet shop that needed a new home but too this day he swears I hadn't mentioned it.
Moving forward...... Bird in situ... He stood bolt upright on his perch not making a sound, staring at us, this went on for two days,. by this time I was rather concerned so I telephoned the pet shop owner, Steve, who reassured me that he was probably just settling in and not to worry.
'Hi girls', I'm home called the errant golfer, slinging his muddy golf bags in the porch.
 With that, Chico let out the most piercing shriek, enough, almost, to pierce one's ear drums!
'Good God', what was that, said husband?
'This' is Chico, I said, we rescued him from the pet shop, he was very lonely as all the other birds have been re-homed', 'I hope that racket is not going to be a daily occurrence', said himself, I couldn't stand that',
Chico quickly settled in.

 Soon we were able to let him out of his cage to fly around the Orangery at the rear of the house, he was very much at home in there because it is nearly always very warm and sunny and overlooks the garden.
Chico developed a deep bond with Ian and whenever he arrives home from wherever, Chico will let out his shriek and go crazy around his cage by flapping his wings until Ian pays him some  attention by tickling his tummy and tweaking his Quill.
 A grand performance often follows, consisting of Chico bashing his hanging bell with his Quill and doing wolf whistles after Ian.
He ends the quirky performance by hanging upside down on one leg and flapping his wings vigorously,  You can imagine the amount of feathers he sheds after this carry on, enough to fill a Quilt!
He spends a lot more time sleeping, as he's quite an 'old boy' now.... Ha, that applies to husband too,
 Often, when all is quiet in the Orangery, husband and bird can be found snoozing harmoniously in the lovely relaxing environment, this is known as having a quick nap,
 I must mention that Chico will be safely perched in his enormous cage and Ian in his favourite armchair. At this time, well, you all know where I shall be,,, yes you've got it... tapping away at my
keyboard, complete with snoozing Chloe cat on my lap,
At around four pm, all awakens for the quintessentially  British ritual, afternoon tea
.
 I enjoy Yorkshire Tea and some cake, the Yorkshire tea is most thirst quenching.

There!  Quest accomplished... I have run out of  Q's......

My thanks to the  Queen of ABCWednesdayhttp://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co/, Denise Nesbitt for devising such a quirky quest, and
to Roger who is, without question, a most qualified administrator.



    
 
  

P stands for Paella

O is for Out and about

I live in a leafy suburb of Liverpool England  UK.
We are lucky to live in such an  outstanding  area of learning excellence.
 There are several faith schools which always achieve good results  through the national curriculum and also some private schools which are now grant maintained.
 Thanks to Government funding, this gives all children an equal chance to go to a school that will suit their needs.
We also have the Hope University Campus,( part of Liverpool University). just around the corner from our home.
This a lovely place to just to walk through with our grandchildren on the way to school.
One of our favourite places to go is Calderstones Park , it is in open parkland with a beautiful  secret walled garden.
 There is a large lake with swans and ducks paddling around, eagerly awaiting  little chubby 'kiddy hands.' proffering chunks of bread and cake.
 Also there is a café, serving delicious home made cakes, hot and cold drinks and an assortment of ice creams and ice lollies.
Across the road from our home is Childwall Woods, also a lovely place to walk after a hearty Sunday lunch.
 We can walk across the woods to our local church, Childwall Priory Parish Church, it is dated back to the fourteenth century when it was a Priory for an order of monks.
 Eventually it was extended and remains as the wonderful building it is now.
Just across the road is the  Old World Pub  called The Abbey, good place to meet the Parish priest for a pre dinner pint!

The local school two of our grandchildren attend is called Bishop Eton and is affiliated to the the Bishop Eton Monastery next door. This is a Roman Catholic faith School and the children have a fine education, as I can see, when I do homework and reading  with Olivia aged 8 and Christian age 5, Grandpa takes them to school 4 days out of the week and they  sometimes come home here for tea, which is always a riotous occasion as they let off steam after all the lessons and oral exercises in which they participate.
We have lived here for 27 years and although we really should downsize it would be such an awesome operation,  I don't think we could orchestrate it without heartache........
So, Perhaps we are destined stay here ! 

My thanks to the outstandingly   clever Denise Nesbitt for devising ABC Wednesday and the observant Roger  for his objective administration.        

N is for Neighbours

Neighbours

 Everybody needs good neighbours

 with a little understanding

 you can find the perfect blend

 Neighbours should be there for one and other

 That's when good neighbours become good friends.

These are the lyrics to the world renown soap opera
  'Neighbours' 
  It is based in Ramsey Street Australia,
The tales evolve round the comings and goings of the
neighbours, all very interesting and heart warming too!
Several of the character sprang to fame in the music industry
 including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.

We have wonderful neighbours and have shared many joyous occasions
 including special birthdays, Christmas and New Year parties and so on,

The most special neighbours are the family who live next door,

 'The Nygaards'
There are the two boys aged 22 and 17,
 then Mum and Dad Karl and Anna.

We've been friends for 21 years from the day they moved in when the elder son was just
 eighteen months old. Within a short space of time we would be invited around for meals,
 Anna is a lovely cook, she is half Italian and creates some stunning Mediterranean dishes.
When they visit us I often make one of my special Lamb Curries which they love,
 or even a good old British roast.

The Nicest time is the Summertime, then all kinds of Nocturnal events occur,  ladies rustling up delicious salads, bowls of steaming hot buttered New Potatoes with perhaps some marinated chicken or beef and king prawns.
 The menfolk stand around the Barbie having a beer and a good Natter and offering tips to the Notable  Chef de Barbie of that Night.
Naturally  the ladies will enjoy a few glasses of a Naughty little Napa Valley Rose.` 
    
We have a great little café called The Neighbourhood which serves all  sorts of delicious meals and snacks, people often meet there to discuss local issues too, which is important too my thriving Neighbourhood.........I really can't think  of a  Nicer place to live .  

.
My thanks to the Nurturing Mrs Nesbitt for making ABC Wednesday happen and the Noble Roger for Negotiating his way around and keeping us all Neat and tidy in our literary endeavours.
   












                              

M is for Mother love,

I cannot describe the joy I felt when my first daughter Kirsten was born, there was this tiny little being humming quietly, taking in her first breaths of humanity.

How did her daddy and I manage to create  such a model of perfection,  she had an auburn cast to her curly hair and the brightest blue eyes I ever did see.

My GP, (Doctor) was a Scotsman called  Murdoch McLeod,  he looked after me all through the pregnancy, His appearance was a bit scary, he  had a shock of red hair and huge bushy eye brows. 
Despite his scary appearance he was a marvellous Medical Practitioner.
For the first two weeks of Kirsten's life he would call round to make sure Mother  and Baby were making  good progress, I also had a Midwife looking after me,
 this was  during  the  70's  when there was such excellent  Care  in the Community,
 How things have changed ! 

My dear mother Margaret came to stay with us and she cooked marvellous meals,  to sustain the new Mum and Dad, whilst getting to know this tiny little miracle of birth.

There was a lovely song around then by Elton John and the first line was
  
'Blue eyes, baby's got blue eyes, like a deep blue sea watching over me'

I used to nurse my little miracle and sing this song  whilst feeding her, and she stared at me intently, with her beautiful blue eyes.

Moving Moments and Marvellous Memories

In the following years I gave birth to two  more little miracles, Ingrid and Astrid, thus making the family complete . 

Now we have our three Marvellous Daughters, who have produced four Mischievous grandchildren, two Pugs and five cats...thus, the........

. Making of our Marvellous Family.

My  thanks  to the  marvellous Mrs Nesbitt for creating  ABC Wednesday and the  merited  Roger for his administrative skills.

Love

I dedicate the lyrics of this lovely song to Leslie and Lorne   to celebrate their forthcoming marriage.

Love is lovelier the second time around 
Just as wonderful with both feet on the ground
It's that second time you hear your love song sung
Makes you think perhaps love,  like youth is wasted on the young

Love's more  comfortable the second time you fall 
Like a friendly home the second time you call
Who can say what brought us to this miracle we've found?
There are those who'll bet love  comes but once, and yet
I'm so glad we met the second time around.

Leslie and Lorne's  forthcoming marriage  brings to mind when my first marriage collapsed,

 
I found myself  alone with three adorable little girls  to raise, I didn't think I would fall in love again, yet I did,  just a year later....
We didn't marry for a few years as we wanted to go slowly so that the 'girls' would get used to Ian and him to them, We both maintained our own homes but spent weekends together until, one daughter asked Ian when he was going to marry 'our Mum' ? 
Whoosh ! It all happened then, engagement ring on finger and 10 months later we were married....27 years  on and still happy,

So, all best wishes dear  Leslie and Lorne for a long and loving marriage.


  My thanks to the Lovely Mrs Nesbitt for compiling  ABCWednesday and the lexical  Roger for being such a long suffering administrator        

Kitten Cat, Kippers and Knapsacks.

This is my beloved Kitten Cat Princess Chloe. She is a most wonderful pet, companion and a very clever, 'Lap Top Kitten Cat'.
As many of you may know, I am a very keen Scrabble player, as soon as I'm tapping away at the keyboard,she appears from nowhere, sits on my lap and stares at the screen.
Whilst I am trying to knit together my latest set of letters, hoping to form a killer word, that'll knock out my opponent.
Nearly each time I win a game she'll be sitting on my lap, I guess she's my lucky charm!
 Sometimes she bops the keyboard with her huge white mittens (paws), as if she's putting a crucial letter in.
  She is nearing her twelfth birthday, yet still plays like a Kitten Cat,

Kippers

I love kippers,
As I live in Liverpool. which is just a short ferry trip across the Irish Sea to The Isle of Man, we had many childhood  holidays there with our parents,
. Apart from the most endearing times  spent there, I can always remember  the delicious aroma of grilled Kippers,  at breakfast time,  wafting around the cosy boarding house, where we stayed for our annual two weeks idyll,
Before the Kippers   were served we had the choice of, a huge bowl of steaming hot porridge or Kellogg's Cornflakes, also, there was a choice of the ubiquitous Great British Breakfast, consisting of juicy rashers of bacon, sausages, black pudding, potato cakes and fried eggs, Lots of warm toast was served with this King sized feast.

Kippers are,  as most will know, simply, smoked  Herrings, a great delicacy in The British Isles.
At the end of our holiday we always took home with us a large box of them which we shared with friends and family.
Lots of places in the UK produce Kippers, not surprising  as we are an Island surrounded  by  seas,
rich in sea food, including shoals and shoals of silvery Herrings,

 The Kippers  from Craister, a lovely little seaside town in Northumberland  produce the most delicious Kippers too, when ordering them on-line I vary between the two, as I really can't make up my mind which are the most tasty!

. The Craister  Kippers are bigger than the Manx (Isle of Man) but equally as mouth watering, Therefore, the only way to find out is, order some !

Knapsack

As a youngster I was very much involved in church activities, being in The Brownies, attending Sunday School and so on, These activities including a trip to camp and the annual Sunday School outing,
 As I got older I joined the Church Choir, The Girl Guides and then became a Sunday School teacher, also I played Badminton in the Church Hall.
All these activities required my trusty  Knapsack in which I could pack the necessary equipment to  help me  in the particular pursuit of the day, 
Kudos  ruled the day as we all competed to have the most fashionable bag.
Mine was made of fawn canvas and had blue piping around the various pockets.
The greatest fun my lovely Knapsack and I  had, was when we went up to the
 Lake District for walking trips, we always sang as we walked along, this  is what we sang...

I love to go a' wandering
Along a country path
And as I go I love to sing
my Knapsack on my back.....

Val-deri val-dera 
Val-deri
 val- de  ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

My Knapsack on my back,

My thanks to the kindly Mrs  Nesbitt for making ABC Wednesday happen and to Roger the administrator, for Keeping the close KNIT family of ABCW's together.
http://abcwednesdays

Isaacs Byre

For my ABC Wednesday offering I would like to tell you about a most 'interesting' holiday cottage we stayed in at the end of January 2014. I have written about it previously but felt I should tell you more about 'Isaacs Byre', it really was a most 'intriguing' place to stay. Most of the ground floor, apart from a large double bedroom and separate bathroom, was in open plan style which flowed from the front door to an 'integral' fitted kitchen a dining area and a sitting area with large comfy sofas. All this looked through a complete wall of double glazed windows that opened onto a small patio and the most 'inimitable' view of the rugged countryside. The most 'interesting' feature of the place was an 'immense' log burner, the heat that emanated from it could only be likened to Dante's 'Inferno'! 'Isaacs Byre' is 'immersed' in the middle of a tiny hamlet called Garrigill, North East Cumbria. 'Irksomely' we drove past the place four time before we found it! We settled in quickly and enjoyed the 'intimacy' of our warm and cosy dwelling. The cottage is Eco friendly and the water for the place is drawn from the ground and heated via an electric boiler. There are six hens that will provide the most delicious new laid eggs for breakfast, unfortunately, they were not laying during our visit but maybe better luck next time we visit. We did however, manage to get some from the local deli, in the nearby village. During the second evening, there was a blizzard but we weren't bothered, it was 'infinitely' more pleasing to sit in front of the blazing log burner, watching the farmer with his dog rounding up the sheep to put them 'inside' the adjoining bar for the night. Whilst I imbibed a large Brandy and Soda, dearest husband 'Ian' cooked supper, a delicious 'Italian' styled Vognole.... Linguine with clams in white wine, chopped shallots, garlic, parsley and finished with some fresh cream...... 'Indulgent' and 'intoxicating' but who cares, we were on vacation ! My thanks to the 'intelligent' and witty Denise for creating ABC Wednesday, and to Roger the 'infallible' Administrator.

H IS FOR HEARTHSIDE HOMILIES

,

Home is where the   Hearth is...

This is one of the most favourite places in our home, it's where we all gather on family occasions before and after dinner or indeed, most evenings at present, whilst the weather is so cold and damp.
 Many Happy Hours have been spent sitting together regaling tales of yester year, recalling funny little anecdotes of the mischief our three girls used to get up to when they were hormonal teenagers, to save further blushes I shall say no more! 
The Hearth is as old as the house, approximately 62 years old, and the brickwork is typical of that era in the fifties, Many people have removed the fireplaces but I just love it. 
We do have a lovely cream coloured French Limestone Fireplace with more a more contemporary finish but it still has a  Hearth .

This my first attempt at ABC Wednesday so I hope you are all happy with my  humble attempt,
Many thanks to the most humerous   Mrs Nesbitt  and the Honourable Roger Green  for making ABC Happen,,,, 

   

 

Snow and a Spooky Occurance

 

 

Here are the snow pictures just before it went dark, they're not really very good, taken with the Blackberry,  slightly out of focus, but I wanted to show the colour of the sky,  hopefully there will be an improvement  when I get my new camera in action,

  One afternoon we decided drive out to view the scenery from Cross Fell, on the top of The Pennines, which I believe is quite stunning, As we were tootling along I noticed a strange looking  white cloud which seemed to be furled across the top of the fen......

.One moment were driving along in bright daylight then, suddenly we were enveloped in a swirling cloud of huge white snowflakes....Ian managed to turn the car around drove us gingerly back to the cottage.

There was an eerie howling wind to accompany the enormous snowflakes, now splattering against the windscreen, in a menacing manner.
 Ian parked the car and  got out to open the front door and put the lights on in the cottage.

 Whilst I was sitting waiting for him to help me out the car, a weird feeling overcame me, as if  someone or something was watching me..... I turned my head slowly and there was a huge black woolly face with enormous amber eyes, staring at me.  It was a sheep, an exceedingly large sheep!...
'That's strange', I thought because the sheep were in the field surrounded by a stone wall, at the rear of the cottage....
 It had it's chin resting on the wall and stared and stared and stared...
 Just then the lady who lives in the cottage next door, came over to the car and explained that the sheep was a pet, called Lamb lamb, she'd rescued her as an orphaned lamb...an d had bottle fed her and raised her indoors, with her sheepdog  Jess.
 Jess treated her like her own puppy, however, as Lamb Lamb grew and grew, she was given a large out building to live in, but she still insisted upon muscling her way indoors, whenever she could, to sit by the fire with the dog.
After this encounter with Lamb Lamb,, each time we went out or returned home, we had welcome committee of said sheep and her adoptive mother Jess the sheepdog.....
 You could here her hooves clip clopping across the yard to greet us and to have her head tickled and of course a stroke for Jess, who spoke to me by woofing gently and standing on her hind legs.
 I don't know what the sheep in the field must have thought of this cossetted beast... or do sheep think ? Or did Lamb Lamb want to join the flock who knows ?
 I should think if she had any sense she would rather stay with Jess and the family or end up as some ones Sunday lunch...
.Oh! and did I tell you about the the three little Piggies that shared the barn with her, but then, there lies another tale!

Holiday in North Cumbria at the top of the Pennines

Recently we had a delightful holiday in a tiny hamlet called Garrigill near the highest market town of Alston, reckoned to be 1500 feet above sea level.
The cottage that we stayed in was called Isaacs Byre, which is a converted cow shed, if you care to take a peek, or those who haven't already, here is the link...www.isaacsbyre.co.uk
It was the most quirky little cottage, In a corner, in the centre of the sitting room was the biggest wood burning caste iron stove I have ever seen, I swear it would create enough energy to fuel The flying Scotsman (train) from Penzance to John O'Groats
. It had two large comfy sofas and a decent sized TV, one thing I hate is a fiddling little TV in a holiday let.
The cottage had been lovingly restored by the present owners, who lived in a larger cottage next door.
We were welcomed by Judith-ann (owner), bearing a large pot of hot tea and some delicious home made biscuits, very welcome after feeling the lowering change of temperature.....
I shall not be typically British and  complain about the weather, because it was mid winter in January, in one of the coldest parts of England, so what would one expect?
Well, it all lived up to my expectations, a cosy little cottage in the middle of nowhere, a well stocked fridge and wine rack, a few good books to read in front of a roaring log fire, and then ..........

'The wind was blowing , the snow was snowing...what did I care, I'd got my love to keep me warm'

  Oh boy! did it snow.....
.huge snow flakes twirling around in a fluttery routine then dashing against the panoramic double glazed windows.
 The poor sheep, huddled together, against the ancient hand built stone walls, being typically British sheep and baahing in unison about the weather  Ha ha !

 Himself laughed at me when I expressed my concern for the sheep being cold.. 'Good grief' said he, 'Maybe we should invite them in for a cup of tea and a warm, in front of the fire'.
Eyes raised to heaven, I retorted,' I thought the farmer would put them away in the barn at the top of the field' Mr funny face !

Then, just as if  by magic, the farmer, in his tractor and his trusty sheepdog Jennie, appeared, leaping alongside him, in gay abandon, yapping at the snowflakes....rounded up my little woolly friends and locked them in the warm dry barn.
The farmer gave us a cheery wave as he and Jennie, trundled back to the Farmhouse..

.Oh I do love country living...., I'm sure I wasn't mean't to be a Townie!
 Di..(more to follow)

 This the first time I have actually managed to publish some pictures, I tried to put one of the snow, at the end  but it didn't appear, I'll try again when I write part two....where are you Anne when I need you ?..xxx

Return of Ms Trubes

As I have 'cleverly' managed to link myself up with my face book site, I thought I had better explain to my FB friends that this is my blog site, 'Trubes'..... for those of you not familiar with blogging, it is an application where people write about anything and everything, as long as it not offensive. Also you can publish pictures etc along with your writing.
For varying reasons I stopped blogging for a couple of years , primarily because of health issues making me semi house bound, therefore giving me little inspiration to put pen to paper.....however, after a couple of good holidays and family fun, plus a few request from some of my Blogging friends, I'm at the starters blocks again..... sooooh........

Watch out, Watch out, Trubie's about !!

My husband Ian, whom I used to refer to as DT...(Darling Trubes,)and  as most of you  know is DT  I may as well use his proper name, I digress..
.Anyway, he gave me a fab camera for my recent birthday, it's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 so, now I really need to learn how to transfer my pictures on to my PC then put them wherever I wish, usually FB or this site (Trubes).
 I do have a friend (where are you Angus?), who is brilliant at all the 'techie' stuff so I shall be picking his brains to get me 'up and running' again.... No good hiding Angus, I know where you live..ha ha ! Look out for the e-mail..x
I can transfer pictures from my blackberry mobile to my FB but not sure how I can publish pics from the Blackberry to my blog site....

All tips will be very welcome, particularly as I have so very much to tell !

Di..xx