Waking Up From Hibernation and Returning to Normality

Well, my thirteen days of Panic, Preparation, Enjoyment, Pain and then Laziness are now at an end. Yes the holidays have brought all emotions into this house.  Our home has been well used this season, and dare I say it... not one argument!  There's been some bickering with my two teens but that's normal and if I grunt back they give up!  I think that other than my slippy slidy fall, everything went ok and now we have to step outside and go back to our normal day to day living.  School, college and work days will be interrupted by the usual routine of alarm calls and then being met with cold dark mornings followed by travelling back in the cold dark evenings - which I have to say I love, but it is nice to see the house in the daylight for some of the time during the winter months (as long as the windows are clean - my word when the sun shines on them at the moment!!).

The last free day before we started 2015 for real was incredibly cold, a freezing fog was making its way across the Fens so the sun was only out for a short while.   I thought I'd make the most of this last free day and look at the sugar coated garden.  My previous post had a windy wintry blast but this was a oppressive cold weight that hung around you, coating you in a coldness that you felt you had to run away from.  The remnants from the garden last year were victims of this year's frost, suffocating them with its icy grip.

Incredible beauty is formed as these little strings of ice gather together and become one.  The rain water that had puddled on top of our hammock was pulled off and collected.  The lines of ice were fascinating to look at.

Our usually bright and sunny arbour was sugar coated and would have been perfect for a wintry bridal setting.  The Christmas tree that has graciously decorated the front of the house for the past month will be wheeled back into this area until next year.  I love the fact that our Christmas tree is rooted in a large pot and is kept safe and fed throughout the year, and it really cheers me when it is moved to the front and decorated in payment.

The decay from last year was given a new layer of life with these ice crystals.  I'm so glad we didn't clear them all away in Autumn.

Very slowly and gradually the ice started to melt bringing the beautiful lush green back into full view.  No slips and slides around these emeralds.

And so, here we are, waking up from hibernation after Christmas and New Year and now returning to normality.  Back to the beautiful medieval buildings that surround me in work - yes work resumes again!  Best get on with it...

I am sharing this post on a new Linky Party called Roses of Inspiration that the lovely Stephanie from The Enchanting Rose has set up.  Don't be shy, come and link up with some wonderful bloggers!! The link to this lovely place is here:

I hope you are back into the usual routines and your week is going well.

Take care.

      

Blowing Away the Cobwebs

For my first post of 2015 I am sweeping you away on a very windy walk.  This is a local walk near Cowbit that myself and Mr Teen regularly frequent and due to the fact that I had a fall on the ice last week, I just needed to be local.  With me just beginning to feel a little more human again (the fact that the ice has also melted has helped enormously!), with bruises beginning to heal and a headache finally beginning to subside, off we went to brave the elements and blow those cobwebs away.

Getting out of the car was a triumph in itself!  Let me explain, the place where we park is up on a bank which stretches a few miles.  This bank is one of many flood defenses in the Fens and stops the flooded areas reaching others (the bank is to the right of the shot below).  The wind whips up a storm on these wintry days so when we opened my car's doors the air practically popped our ears!

"It will be better when we get down the bank", I shouted to Mr Teen, bless him, he believed me!  Yes,it was slightly better but as we came away from the bank wall the incessant cold icy blast dug dip into our ears and stung our cheeks.  However, this was our first walk of 2015 and we battled on.

The camera was held up on a few occasions only to be knocked back or to the side, however that's half the fun isn't it?  Unfortunately the gloves weren't on as they were hanging on the washing line to dry (an unfortunate incident with cleaning up after Coco (my dog) last night when going for a short walk!), so my hands were blue with cold.

I wondered if these dog walkers on the opposite bank had the same problem?!

Now, here in the flat landscape of the Fens in Lincolnshire, we have thousands of acres of sky, and to witness this ever changing canvas is always wonderful and breathtaking.

The silhouetted landscape against the enormous sky was a joy to capture and my fingers were ready to fall off, but it was worth it.

 I couldn't take my eyes off it.

The wind was so strong that even after a couple of seconds, the whole sky changed.  On the ground the grasses all danced madly with the sunlight making their fluffy tails glisten.

Then another gust of wind and the grass that usually stands so tall and proud were practically laying horizontal.

The howling wind sang tunes to us while we stood on the bridge and watched briefly the river below us creating large ripples in the water.  Dog walkers and cyclists passed us by, all looking as frozen as us today.  No idle chit chat that we usually have during the summer months.  

So many different directions we could have taken, but we needed warmth, we needed to be away from this icy blast.

Only one thing for it, to get back to the car and walk past fences with no real purpose.

So, home to a very welcome hot cup of coffee and a slow thaw.  No doubt we will be back here again soon, but it will probably be a little warmer!

The wind settled down when it was time for Coco's walk this evening (which passed without 'incident') and the gloves are beautifully clean.

Wishing you all a wonderful first weekend of 2015!

Take care.

      

This week I am sharing with:

Skywatch Friday

A Review of 2014 at Sweetbriar Dreams

2014

Winter has just blown through with an icy blast and the dark nights are tinged with a whitish glow from the snow settling to give an untouched carpet of glistening threads.  The cosy evenings have been spent curled up in my favourite chair looking back at 2014 and the smiles that it gave me. The photographic bounty that myself and Mumsy have collected over the year is worth more to me than any piece of jewelry.  Those memories that can instantly take you back to the places that have filled you with emotion and joy, the excitement of showing my two teens places that I have known and loved all my life, the discovery of going to places with them for the first time and then sharing these with you.  Yes, 2014 has been a good year, and in a way, one where I have learned much more about myself than previous years.

 Twelve months ago I chose 'Change' as my word for 2014, but what word could I choose for 2015?  Words have floated around my head for days now but three came to me and they filled my heart, 'Inspiration', 'Time' and 'Patience'.  I love to write but noticed in my recent blog writing that this wasn't coming through as I wanted it to.  Maybe because I am in such a rush so often with a full time job and the trials and tribulations of guiding two teenagers into adult life.  Sometimes as I write a blog post or thoughts in general, I am interrupted to the point of distraction, I need time and inspiration to create and my patience is tested.  At the end of a trying day, it is nice to have those moments to yourself where you can be, well, you.  How I would love to sit in a book lined study at a circular table filled with papers, notepads and pens, overlooking the garden and letting my creativity run onto pages, but sadly this is not my reality.  So, one of my goals for 2015 will be to create a little area just for me where I can shut myself away for just an hour per day to gather my thoughts, and plan our days out.

My main aim for 2014 was to keep teaching Miss Teen about the delights of London, letting her get the feel of the place.  My heart has obviously always belonged to Greenwich and the Isle of Dogs, however Miss Teen certainly felt more at home in Camden Town and the South Bank.  Mr Teen only came on one trip due to his start at College but with his visit to St Pauls he certainly made me climb further than I had before - to the very top!

There have been four outstanding moments though for me in 2014, things that will not be repeated and were real memory makers.

♥ Lunch and attending an installation into the House of Lords.  How I would have loved to have taken photo after photo in there, but there were security restrictions.  Memories of that day will always remain with me and my thoughts of my Grandad walking those very same corridors during the War, but not as a Lord of course! (memories of the day can be read here)

♥ Visiting the Archbishop of York's Palace, Bishopsthorpe, back in July (my post on this day is here).

♥ Visiting the Tower's poppy installation, hearing my ancestor's name being read at sunset and then receiving a poppy. (My posts were here and here on this truly once in a lifetime event)

♥ And then of course one of my happy days in work where I climbed the scaffolding on Peterborough Cathedral! (my dizzy heights were written about here)

This year I took many many photos!!  However my favourite photo of the year?  Well it had to be these two sharing a joke outside Buckingham Palace!

Crafting has taken a back seat this year unfortunately, I really must make more time for this!

 However the writing continues for my Grandad's book, there is a lot more to do and maybe to spur me along, I need to include this more in my blog writing.

So, to my lovely Readers, a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all.  Thank you so much for following me along my journey this year and joining me on my days out.  Your support and comments have been so special to me along with the friendships built up as we follow each other along the way.  Here's to a fantastic 2015!

Oh, and my word for 2015, encompassing 'Inspiration, Time and Patience'... "BALANCE"... 2015 will be my see saw year where I try to balance those three words.

Take care.

      

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Our World Tuesday