A 'first' at 36

For a while now, 'A' has been driving me mad to go horse riding.  I have to say this is something I've wanted to do myself for as long as I can remember but I did wonder if at the age of 36 I was a little too old to be potentially 'falling off' a horse.  After a little discussion I finally decided to do a bit of searching online to see if I could find a suitable place for us to experience our first pony ride.  I came across a site called horsetreks.co.uk part of livetheadventure and after a few emails back and forth we booked a 45 minute hack.

The Ginny Hole centre was located in Stottesdon which was nearly an hours drive from home.  Far too much time, I have to say, to weigh up the pros and cons of why I'd finally decided to do this.  'A' was seriously looking forward to it though so I figured it was now or never.  When we arrived the staff that greeted us were so friendly they immediately put us at ease.  We discovered that I would be riding 'Apache' and 'A' would be on 'Thunder'.  We laughed when we heard the name of 'A's horse as I had mental pictures of a huge black stallion, rearing up and neighing!  It turned out that both Apache and Thunder were very lovely black and white cob horses that were extremely well behaved and calm and nothing like the the image their names conjured up.

As it turned it, 'A' and I were the only riders on this particular hack and as we'd never so much as sat on a horse before they decided it would be a good idea for us to each have our own member of staff to accompany us on the ride.  This was great as it filled us with a lot more confidence.  We were given directions on how to 'steer' the horse and get him to move and then off we went for our 45 minute walk.

We were told that the horses are extremely clever and that usually within 5 to 10 minutes they have a notion of what type of rider is 'onboard' and if they feel it's a novice then they decide to 'try it on'!  Apache tried this a couple of times by eating the hedge as we walked along and then doing some serious head shaking.  I never realised that it could be quite so difficult to control a horse.  You watch others doing it and it looks so simple, but even managing to keep your balance at such a height can be tricky if the horse decides to have a wobbly moment.  We did attempt a little trot on the way back up the lane which was fun but blimey was it knackering and we only did it for a couple of minutes!

I'm very pleased to say that neither of us fell off and both returned with our limbs all intact.  After seeing how high you are on the horse's back falling off would definitely be the last thing I'd aim to do.  We both had a fabulous time at Country Treks.  I can't see myself competing in the 2016 games but it's really something I'd like to try again at some point and 'A' has said the same.  Horses are such beautiful and intelligent creatures, it was a real honour to be so close to them even if it has taken me 36 years to get around to it.


'A' and I with 'Thunder'

Lazy days of Summer

After returning from holiday to 'not so great' British weather imagine our joy when the forecast was for the temperature to reach the dizzy heights of 24c!  Woo hoo!  As we still had a few free days from work we decided to make the most of the dry spell and headed off to Bidford-on-avon for a picnic and afternoon by the river.

A walk along the Avon

Arnold having a lazy afternoon

Frisbee!

Arnold gets his own ice-cream

We arrived around lunchtime and tootled off for a stroll along the river to let Arnold stretch his little Border legs.  We ate lunch and then spent a lovely, lazy afternoon playing games, reading and doing the crossword.  And what trip to Bidford would be complete without a trip to the chip shop for tea.  By the time we left for home it was around 8.30pm which meant we were treated to the most beautiful sunset throughout our journey.

The following night, although cloudy, we enjoyed a smashing barbecue in the garden followed by an evening around the chiminea.  Many, many games of pictionary and uno followed then lo and behold the cloud shifted and we were left with an evening of star gazing.

'A' & 'P' enjoying a night in the garden

Saturday saw us taking a drive out to Mom and Dad's caravan as they'd decided on a short break near Enville.  Another leisurely afternoon ensued with an attempt at our 2nd barbecue of the week.  Unfortunately the wind had other ideas leaving us to use the small caravan oven to cook for 7!

I've only just realised that I've not yet told you of my new addition, so now seemed a perfect opportunity.  Her name is Glinda (as in 'Wicked'/'The Wizard of Oz') and she's a beautiful Ice Blue Mini Convertible.  She arrived just before our holiday so I'd not had much chance to test drive her.  However, Saturday's sunny trip to Enville was a superb opportunity even if it did mean we had to take two cars to enable us to transport all of our junk!  It was worth it though, nothing more exhilarating than powering down the country lanes with the wind in your hair.

'Glinda'

May Day in Cowdale

Although it's been a while now, we spent May Day Bank Holiday weekend in a lovely little cottage in Cowdale, in the Peak District.  We found the cottage through Sykes Cottages but it really was a super 'find'.  'The Loft' was the top floor of a converted farm building in the grounds of Cowdale Hall which is home to the Morten family.  We were made to feel very welcome when we arrived and the cottage had been prepared with tea, coffee, milk and biscuits and all the lights and fire switched on to make us immediately feel comfortable and at home.


Double bedroom at The Loft


Twin bedroom at The Loft

The cottage had two bedrooms (a twin and a double) and was decorated in light neutral colours.  The lovely L-shaped sofa and footstool has to be about the most comfortable thing I've ever sat on and was wonderful to chill out on after walking the Derbyshire dales.  The kitchen was well equipped with everything we could possibly need and although it was May the weather was particularly cold, but this we didn't notice inside the cottage as the mini heaters and electric stove more than kept us warm.

Lovely comfy sofa at The Loft

Onsite there is also a small caravan area (5 van site) and there are also stable facilities where locals keep their horses.  At night we enjoyed the short 20 - 30 minute walk around the outskirts of the farm, talking to the horses and just being one with nature.  On a couple of occasions we stood and watched the rabbits hopping across the fields.  You only have to cross the road from Cowdale Hall to also reach one of the many local public footpaths.  We ventured a short distance on this walk but the weather wasn't great and being a little ill, we returned to the comfort of the cottage.

Horses at Cowdale Hall

Circular walk around the farm


Midshires Way - nr Cowdale

Midshires Way, nr Cowdale

Midshires Way, nr Cowdale

On Sunday we headed of to Buxton Country Park and then later along the Monsal Trail.  Can you believe that it even began to snow while we were at Buxton, but hey, that's British weather for you!  However, by the afternoon the sun came out and it warmed up a little.  The Monsal Trail runs from Buxton to Bakewell and is popular with walkers and cyclists.  We entered the trail at King Sterndale and walked a fair way, taking in the scenery, stopping for photographs and walking through many of the long tunnels that line the route.  We even stopped to watch some rather brave souls who were abseiling off the bridge at Millers Dale.

Me and 'S' at Buxton Country Park

The Monsal Trail

King Sterndale Cottages along The Monsal Trail


One of the tunnels along the Monsal Trail

Arnold having a dip in the river along the Monsal Trail

Monday we'd planned to stop off at Bakewell before heading home but as we got closer the traffic was so horrendous we decided to give it a miss.  Our next port of call was to be Dovedale.  We made a slight detour to our usual journey home but it was certainly worth it.  Despite the fact that the rain at some points was torrential, we zipped up our waterproofs and headed off to find the 'Stepping Stones'.  Even on a day like this the area was still very busy and I'd love to return maybe on a week day to see it a little quieter.  However, it didn't detract though from the beautiful surroundings.

Stepping Stones at Dovedale

Dovedale

We decided to make our way across the Stepping Stones which all seemed fine in theory until we realised that 'P' had absolutely no chance of walking Arnold across them!  The kids and myself precariously made our way across the rather wet and slippery stones and waited on the other side while 'P' struggled across carrying Arnold in a rather ungraceful fashion.  We later watched another potential stone walker give up on the idea after his German Shepherd refused to budge and I'm thinking the carrying idea was not exactly feasible :).


'P' and Arnold at Dovedale

We walked some way following the river and then eventually decided to do a u-turn and head back as we thought that the route we were on would take too long to come full circle and we needed to get home.  We decided to give the stones a miss on the way back and headed straight for the bridge.  On the last stretch we were dive bombed by swallows, obviously flying low looking for insects after the heavy rain.

All in all another very relaxing weekend that we all enjoyed.  Cowdale was just so quiet and away from it all we can't wait to return.

A sunny morning surprise

'A' dashed upstairs this morning while she was getting ready for school.  "Where's your phone.....quick...I need it....quick".  I asked her what she wanted it for and she replied, "There's a fox in next door's garden and he's playing with Arnold's yellow bone toy".  She dashed off downstairs to snap it with my phone and shouted to me to come look.  I got to the kitchen just in time to see him tossing the toy in the air, when next thing another rather pointed nose appeared from under the shrubbery.  There were two of them!  They were quite small so I'm assuming they were only cubs.  The first visitor seemed to be aware that we were watching him and kept glancing towards us in the window.  Visitor number two also decided that Arnold's toy looked enticing, picked it up and they both ran off over the other side of the garden.  What a fabulous start to a sunny (yes, for once, sunny) morning :).

Not the greatest pics I'm afraid as they were with my phone but 'A' shot a bit of video too which I may upload later if it's clear.

A sunny but wet day out in Wales

A couple of weeks ago 'P' finally managed to book his White Water Rafting experience at Canolfan Tryweryn that I bought him for his 40th birthday last year.  As luck would have it, his choice of weekend was superb as the weather was far better than most we'd seen so far this year.  The location of Canolfan Tryweryn couldn't have been more perfect.  Situated in Bala, North Wales the surrounding countryside was just lovely, made even better by the fact it was warm and the sun was shining.



After a talk on rafting instructions and safety, 'P' was then bussed up to the start point to begin his rafting session.  The children and I sat at the centre, where there were picnic benches and cafe facilities, awaiting 'P's first run down the river.  A few of the participants in 'P's raft had missed their slot which meant that rather than having a full raft, there were just two others and the instructor.  This unfortunately meant that some of the tricks that are carried out on the river weren't successful as the raft simply wasn't heavy enough.  This didn't stop 'P' having a fabulous time though.  He had 4 runs down the river in total which I thought was extremely good value for money.





The children and I walked Arnold along the trail that follows the river.  This allowed us to take up different vantage points for snapping pictures as 'P' whizzed past!  By the time he was finished he was completely knackered, but he did say he'd love to go back at some point and give the kayaking a try.





I'd really recommend Canolfan Tryweryn to anyway who'd love to give rafting a go.  The venue was smashing and all the staff extremely pleasant and helpful.  We've already said we'll go back and have even talked about the prospect of group rafting.  I have to say though, it's one occasion when I'm more than happy to 'walk the dog'.  Water and I don't mix and the thought of being drenched from head to toe does not appeal in the slightest.

June already?

Yes, it's June already and the longest day today too!  Hard to believe really looking out the window.  Today we have a mix of rain, cloud and yet more rain.  Beginning to wonder if we will actually have a Summer this year.

The last few months have been full on with work, in fact, for our little business year 5 has been our busiest to date (not that we're complaining!).

The lovely ladies choir that I belong to finally put on their concert back in April after 9 months of busy rehearsal.  We raised around £1600 in total half of which went to Short Cross Methodist Church and the other half toward research into Lupus.  Since then we've taken the concert out to a couple of other venues and we'll be performing again on Saturday night but this time in aid of Birmingham St Mary's Hospice who do invaluable work offering help and support to people with terminal illness.  This should then be our last performance of 'Film Fantasia' and then we'll have a short break before starting up again later in the Summer.

 

The school choir will be performing their Summer concert next Tuesday after rehearsing since January.  During the last few weeks we've taken a small group from the choir to sing at the Salvation Army's Birmingham Citadel and also at the 'Time Out' group's Jubilee Party.  We were made to feel very welcome on both occasions and children sang their hearts out.  They're more than ready now to perform their final concert and I think we're all a little sick of the songs if I'm completely honest!

My running has recently come to a bit of a standstill unfortunately due to some health worries.  Everything now looks to be clear so I'm hoping to get out for a run at the weekend.  This will be my first in 2 months so as you can imagine I think I'll struggle to get to the end of the street rather than manage the 7 miles level I'd finally reached.  It's a bit disappointing really as I felt I was doing so well, but I'm determined to get back to it and build it up gradually again as I did before.

The family are all well.  The school year seems to have whizzed by so fast, can't believe 'A' is nearly at the end of her first year of high school.  It doesn't seem 5 minutes since we were stressing about how she'd settle in.  'S' has had a good first year of study for his GCSE's and has done some marvellous things in Music in particular.

'P' celebrated his birthday at the start of the month so thought it was about time he booked in his birthday present from LAST year.....White Water Rafting.  See my next post for all the fun and photos!  He's still running and his performance has come on no end since he's been regularly running with the club.  He has another race tomorrow in Blakedown and during March managed to win 1st place in the competition on RunBritain for most improved running handicap..

Arnold celebrated his 2nd birthday on Tuesday.  Hard to believe he's been part of our family now for 2 years.  I can still remember when he first came home with us, I had to wear my knee length boots around the house in the peak of Summer to fend off his feisty puppy needle teeth!  Well worth the pain though, we wouldn't be without him :).

Happy 9th Anniversary

Last month saw mine and lovely Hubby's 9th wedding anniversary.  I decided to make a card with something that had a meaning to both of us so went with a selection of the lyrics from 'our song' - Oh, Baby I by Eternal.

I used a torn effect on the verse and had a go (for the first time!) with my Tim Holtz distress ink and blending tool.  I was really pleased with the result :).

The heart was from my stash but I think was originally purchased from Hobbycraft.  The letters were from a local hardware store.  The green card was from The Range and is by Papermania and I believe the spotty paper was from a selection of My Mind Eye bought from Ebay.

Thanks for stopping by! x

A late start to 2012......Get Well Dad

Oh my.....it's been a while!
Card making and all things crafty have taken a back seat unfortunately since Christmas due to work commitments, but none the less I thought it was time to at least post.... something.  Although, I've not had the time to sit and craft for endless hours, I've been making the odd creation here and there for family and friends so here goes......my first post of 2012!

Dad was admitted to hospital earlier in the year for a heart valve replacement and this is the card I made him.  Being an avid ornithologist (or bird-watcher to the rest of us) I thought it was very appropriate.

The paper and card was from a random selection purchased on Ebay a while back.  The digi-stamp was from Meljen Designs and is called Garden Bird House.  I coloured this using Promarkers and then added a decoupage effect by creating a second layer for the birds, bird house roof and two of the flowers.  The ribbon and buttons were from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by! x

A piece of heaven in the Peak District

Last weekend 'P' and I took a trip to Hartington in the Peak District for a little weekend break.  The kids and dog were unceremoniously dropped off at Mom-in-laws and we headed off for a weekend of walking and relaxation.  Although we only live 90 minutes away this was the first time either 'P' or myself had visited the Peak District, but now we've been we can't wait to go back.

We arrived in the small village of Hartington around 7.30pm on the Friday evening.  The Charles Cotton Hotel where we'd chosen to stay looked very welcoming and we thought the lanterns that had been lit and scattered on the outdoor tables was a lovely touch.  The reception staff were very friendly and we were shown to our room which was small but clean and comfortable.

We ate in the bistro, just off the bar area, on both nights and the food was to die for, both times served promptly and by friendly service staff.  We were also surprised that there was entertainment on both evenings which we didn't expect in a small village hotel.  Friday nights entertainment far outweighed Saturday's though, it has to be said.  After an hour of Alan 'Shakin' Dakin (aka Vic Reeves 'in the style of a club singer') we almost gave up the will to live and retired to our bedroom :).  The bar area is very 'country' and has a super open fire to sit by.  We found that not only were the hotel staff extremely pleasant but also the locals who would pass the time of day whilst propping up the bar.

"'P' and I in the Charles Cotton bar

Breakfast on both mornings was served in 'The Cotton Room' which had a beautiful hand painted mural around the top of the walls depicting a countryside scene.  Once again the food was delish and the lady that served us on both mornings was a treasure.



Saturday unfortunately started off foggy so we had a short stroll around the village and then back to the hotel for cappuccino's and read of the paper.  The village itself is very small with just a couple of general stores, an antique shop, cheese shop (?) and another inn.  Luckily by lunchtime the fog cleared, the sun appeared and we headed off on a circular walk using a map purchased from the hotel.



The walk took us out of the village and onwards to Wolfcote and Beresford Dale which was very scenic and great for photographs.  Lots of little bridges over the River Dove and many unusual rock formations jutting out from the landscape.  Being fairly early in the season it wasn't too busy either so all in all we had a lovely peaceful 5 mile walk.



Circular Walk from HartingtonBridge of the River Dove

Both 'P' and I returned thoroughly relaxed from our weekend in Hartington and have already enquired as to their availability for May so that we can visit again for our wedding anniversary.

A steady six

Another good month following the training plan although the last couple of days have seen a slight hiccup by way of a sore and achey knee.

Each weekend has seen me increase my 'long run' by 5 or 10 minutes and on Monday I finally reached the 6 mile mark with my longest run to date of 70 minutes.  The run itself felt great on the whole apart from a sudden niggly pain in my right knee that started around the 4 mile point.  This actually got a lot worse whilst running downhill so I decided to take it easy at this point and walk for a short spell.  I managed to carry on running again after but my knee has not been too good since.  I decided to give today's training run a miss which was a bit disappointing as I'm really enjoying the new club runs with Cobra on Wednesday nights, but I did go for a half hour dog walk instead which freed things up a little bit.

I think that perhaps my new hill work on Wednesday nights plus the increased distance is not agreeing with my joints so I guess I just need to take it steady for a while.  I've entered the DK10K on the 2nd May so I have plenty of time yet.  I'm pleased that my breathing and stamina seem so much better so that's a start a least.  My aim is to be able to run a steady 8 miles by the time my race comes around, that way, 10K should feel at least comfortable.....I hope :-/

Here's this months results:

February 2012

Runs to date: 11
Walks to date: 11
Hikes to date: 0
Miles during Feb: 54.3 miles
Workout time during Feb: 12 hrs 30 mins
Calories burnt during Feb: 4892

Sister Act......Simply Fabulous, baby!

Last night the ladies choir went on a super trip to The Grand theatre in Wolverhampton to see the musical 'Sister Act'.  Being a massive fan of the films I couldn't wait to see what the live show would be like.  Although, the musical possesses none of the songs from the original films (which I initially found a little disappointing) the new soundtrack written by Alan Menken more than makes up for this.  There are some great show-stopping and emotive songs and very witty lyrics written by Glenn Slater.

The show follows much of the story of the original first film with just some slight alterations to the Las Vegas ending.  I personally found that the show had even more humorous lines delivered with great timing not only by the lead characters but the entire cast.  One of my favourites for this being Jacqueline Clarke who played Sister Mary Lazarus, the grouchy and cynical nun within the order.

All praise has to be given to Cynthia Erivo who played Deloris Van Cartier who, unlike her character in the film, has the majority of the musical performances within the show.  She had a real mix of songs and seemed to be able to adapt her voice accordingly between the rich soul diva and the sweet angelic style.  Along with Julie Atherton who plays Sister Mary Robert, these girls made my hairs stand on end.

The cast as a whole delivered the show with such energy and enthusiasm, my one regret is not taking 'A' with me as I think she would have loved it!  Sister Act is such an upbeat, feel good, family show I defy anyone to leave the theatre without a smile on their face, I know I did :).

And the running continues

Went for my first run last night with Cobra Running and Triathlon Club and had a great time.  'P' already runs with them 2 or 3 times a week but I'm not quite up to his level.......yet. So when I heard they were starting up their beginners group again on Wednesday evenings I thought this was my chance to give it a try.

Although a little nervous, I was made to feel very welcome when I arrived.  The run started out from the local leisure centre where we headed out for about half a mile before doing some rather nasty hill sprints.  Hill sprints were a new thing to me and get this.....I actually quite enjoyed them, although my legs were quite jellified after!  (Yes I know that's not a word, but I know what it means).  From here we continued our run, stopping every now and then for the slower ones, ie. me, to catch up.  In total we did just over 4 miles which included a pretty horrific incline for about a mile.  I was quite surprised how far we'd run and when I got back and checked my pace on Runkeeper I'd actually run quicker than normal too.

It makes such a difference running in a group environment.  Everyone was so encouraging and friendly and the mix of stops and starts, hills and sprints made it all the more  interesting.  It felt so much better than my long Sunday plods that just seem to go on forever and never end.

Really disappointed that I won't be able to be there next week as I'm off to the theatre but can't wait to take part again the week after.  I holding out high hopes that training with Cobra will bring my running on no end and help me to achieve better times for 5 and 10k along with increasing my stamina to allow me to run even greater distances.

The rest of my training is going well.  Still running with Jane twice a week and my weekend run this Sunday will hopefully be up to 60 - 65 mins.  My breathing and stamina seems to have improved a bit although due to a cough I've struggled a bit over the last week.  Things should be back to normal though soon.

The Gallery - Me Right Now

The Gallery theme this week is 'Me Right Now' so here I am, erm........right now, courtesy of 'A' snapping away on my HTC. (Yes, she's off school with the lurgy along with lovely son).  Sorry, picture quality's not good!

Just been for a run, a rather crap one at that and analysing the results online with Runkeeper.  Now freezing cold, can't get warm and trying to absorb the last bit of heat from my mug of tea. (Also, trying to stay as far away from the kids as possible to avoid contagion, don't think I'll be able to hold out much longer though!)

A cold canal stroll

Last Saturday, as part of our new weekend regime, we headed over to Stourbridge.  Not very exciting you might think but we set off on the canal tow path from the Bonded Warehouse to the Red House Cone Museum at Wordsley.  It was a lovely, cold and frosty January afternoon and once on the tow path we were away from all the hustle and bustle of Stourbridge and could have almost been in countryside.

[caption id="attachment_1193" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Stourbridge Canal"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1194" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="'P' & 'A' on the canal walk"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1198" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Canada Geese on the Stourbridge canal"][/caption]

We stopped off at the Red House Cone Museum and 'A' and I had a quick look round while 'P' waited outside with Arnold.  There were some fab studios inside including a pottery workshop where you could actually 'have a go' but due to the fact 'P' was sitting outside on terrier duty we thought we'd leave it for another day.  We headed on through to the main cone section and watched a glass demonstration where the man made long thin pieces of glass that looked like spaghetti and then a demonstration of how the glass can be twisted with different colours.

[caption id="attachment_1197" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Red House Cone Museum"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1196" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="'A' at the Red House Cone Museum"][/caption]

Arnold was so good on the trip out, passing lots of strange dogs, swans and geese and not getting drawn into a barking contest.  But unfortunately, on the trip back he'd obviously decided, no more Mr polite dog, and barked and growled at every passing canine (especially a poor border collie who jumped out of her skin!).

[caption id="attachment_1192" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="No more Mr Nice Dog!"][/caption]