Showing posts with label Longparish Riverdance Walk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Longparish Riverdance Walk. Show all posts

Friday, 7 October 2016

A mixed bag


Another week that has whizzed by and it is time for Five On Friday again. As usual I am linking with Amy from Love Made My Home.


This week has mainly consisted of me working - I swapped my work days around this week and worked on Monday instead of my usual Thursday. It is surprising how just doing that throws out my routine. 


1.  However the swap was for a good reason, it was to allow us to go to the theatre in Southampton yesterday to see Mamma Mia. What a fantastic time we had, the show is absolutely brilliant - this was such a feel good production and the music arrangements were spot on and so like the original Abba versions.
















2.  So, what has been happening on the crafting front this week?  Well the answer is not a lot. Some sock knitting and crocheting a jellyfish is about it.


Here is the progress on my sock:






I have just finished the gusset and am now starting on the foot. However I will have to put this on one side for a bit as I have a crochet cot blanket to complete in the next couple of weeks for a work colleague so I need to crack on with that. 


Unfortunately I didn't get to take a photo of the crochet jellyfish I made - also for a work colleague. It was the same design as the one shown below but in cloud blue and royal blue.







3.  I have started using a planner to try and be more organised and make the most of my days. These seem to be big at the moment and people seem to decorate them in the most elaborate ways. At the moment I just have a few stickers and some washi tape and my lovely fine liner pens to use and this is very early days on my planning journey. I really just want to keep track of what I am doing with my days, what books I have read, what craft projects I am working on/completed etc. We will see how this goes.










4.  Reading: I have just finished an excellent book this week. It is The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley. This is the second in the Seven Sister's series and I am eagerly awaiting the third which is due out in November. This was a long book but one where you really get swept along by the storytelling. This book was mainly set in Norway which is a country I have visited and somehow that seemed to give the book extra meaning for me. Below you will find an extract written by the author as to how she came to be inspired to write this series.







I was originally inspired to write the series in 2013, as I looked up at the Pleiades star cluster one night, at home here in North Norfolk. Known as the Seven Sisters, I was intrigued by the mythology behind the stars and decided to bring these sisters into our modern world. If you look up at the night sky, the Seven Sisters can be seen from virtually anywhere in the world; they shine from dusk until dawn and their stories have been told by countless different cultures for millennia. You’ll notice that you might only see six stars, as the seventh star is the famous lost Pleaid 

The series begins as Maia D’Aplièse and her five sisters gather in their childhood home of Atlantis – a beautiful castle on the shores of Lake Geneva – after the death of their adoptive father, the elusive billionaire they call Pa Salt. Discovering that he has mysteriously already been buried at sea, each sister is handed a tantalising clue about her true heritage. 

This clue takes Maia on a journey to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she begins to piece together the truth about her ancestry, and learns about the passionate Izabela Bonifacio, who lived during Rio’s Belle Epoque, 1927. 

The Seven Sisters continues with Ally’s story, ‘The Storm Sister’. Her journey will lead her to the magnificent fjords and stunning scenery of Norway, accompanied by the haunting music of Edvard Grieg


I have just moved on to read The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins. Early days yet but it looks promising.






5.  Walking: We don't seem to be fitting in as many walks as I would like, partly because when we have time the weather doesn't seem to co-operate and life seems to have been very busy just lately. We did manage to fit in a walk last Friday so I will show you a few photos from that. This was the Longparish Riverdance walk which we have done several times but the scenery does change with the seasons, there are signs of Autumn everywhere now and it won't be long before we get the glorious Autumn colours which I love. This walk criss-crosses the River Test and its tributaries many times and there is always something interesting to see - it was good to see the Red Admiral butterfly still around this late in the year. We also saw a Comma butterfly but he/she wasn't hanging around to have a camera lens pointed at it!


















Well that is my five for this week. I hope you have enjoyed them. Please do go and visit Amy's blog where you will find links to lots more 'five' posts.

                   
Love Made My Home




















































Sunday, 8 May 2016

Two days, two glorious walks!


We are having some glorious weather at the moment and what better way to spend it than walking in our wonderful countryside. Over the last two days we have really enjoyed two walks, one familiar and one new to us, although both walks were less than five miles from where we live.


Walk number one:  On Friday DH and I walked the Longparish Riverdance, those of you who are regular readers will recall that we have done this walk a few times over the last year but I will try and show you some different views this time around.




Some interested/nosy? cows came to investigate us!



These little black lambs were so cute but wouldn't co-operate by looking in my direction!



Beautiful view across the Hampshire countryside



Cherry blossom looking lovely against a perfect blue sky



I love the new growth on the trees (so green and fresh) before the canopy becomes too dense



A grey wagtail, we stood and watched him for ages as he flew backwards and forwards across the river catching bugs



The serene River Test



It was a perfect day for walking alongside the river



We usually see large rainbow trout from this bridge but there were only small ones in evidence today.



A view looking back towards the Upper Mill



Marsh marigolds (kingcups) growing by the side of the path



This walk takes us through lovely parkland



Time for a refreshing drink before continuing our walk!



My lovely DH ...



and yours truly!



Continuing our walk after our lunchtime stopover



Once more, walking through beautiful parkland ...



before making our way around the Lower Mill and trout farm



Wild garlic



I love to see flowers tumbling over the top of stone walls



Walk number two:  Yesterday No. 1 son accompanied us on a walk around part of Harewood Forest taking in the Deadman's Plack monument and some bluebells. Part of this walk was new to DH and me so we were relying on our son to lead the way.



The start of the walk took us across a field to enter the forest



Newly emerged oak leaves



We came across this lovely green clearing in the middle of the forest



Aircraft spotting!



The Deadman's Plack (click on link above to find out more about this intriguing monument in the middle of the forest)



Clumps of primroses growing in the forest - some still in bud



Fields of rape are very much part of the scene in this part of Hampshire at this time of year



A stand of beech trees with their new lime green growth, beautiful!



No apologies for boring you with more bluebell woods - I just cannot resist taking these beautiful flowers



but I will just limit it to two photos this time around although as you can imagine I did take rather a lot!



Yet another field of rape



I love the way the light is shining on this one.



Thank you to my son who treated us to a very welcome drink at the end of our walk.


I hope you have enjoyed sharing our two walks and thank you if you have made it this far from an overload of pictures! Until next time enjoy what remains of the weekend and the wonderful weather.



Monday, 14 March 2016

Greatest Loser!


As my regular readers will know I have been on a weight loss journey with Slimming World for almost a year now. It was time for the 'Greatest Loser' award last week (although my Slimming World consultant said it should be renamed 'Greatest Achiever' and I tend to agree with her)! I was lucky enough to win this award having the greatest weight loss of my group over the last year (4 st 6 lbs to date).









My Consultant then asked me to provide a before and after photo. Oh my goodness, I was shocked when I saw the difference. The left hand photo was taken just after my 60th birthday in October 2014 and even I didn't realise until I saw that photo just how much weight I have managed to lose.






However this last half stone has taken me forever and has been a struggle, I reached 4 stone just before Christmas and I still have 1 lb to go to get my next award. Winning the 'greatest loser' award has really spurred me on and I am very determined that I will meet this next target of 4.5 stone this week. To that end and with the aid of my trusty Fitbit I have been working hard to achieve 10,000+ steps a day since last Thursday as I know increasing my walking has really helped in the past. I also know that I haven't been walking as much during the Winter season so it is time to put my best foot forward and get those steps! 









I know that I won't be able to achieve 10,000 steps tomorrow as I am at work all day and my job is fairly sedentary so I am trying to do a bit extra today to make up for it - 14,705 and still counting. Wish me luck on Wednesday evening, I really hope I am going to achieve this next target. I still have a long way to go on my journey but winning the 'greatest loser' has really spurred me on again.


I will leave you with a four photo collages I have made from my walks over the past few days.


St. Mary Bourne 11.3.16

Hannington 12.3.16


Andover 13.3.16 - I didn't get a chance to go anywhere more interesting on Sunday so a walk round my home town had to suffice but although the walk is fairly boring you can still see things that delight the eye.


Longparish 14.3.16 - The Riverdance Walk

I will let you know next time if the increased walking activity has done the trick and helped me gain that longed for 4.5 stone award! Keep your fingers crossed for me.