Frosty Mornings and A Fractured Mind

I love my city best in early mornings, the peaceful nature of it all just waking up to start the day. Sunlight glinting from the old buildings windows, and catching the newer installations.

 However I feel Winter has gone on long enough, my body is crying out for real sunshine, warmth and vitamin D. We'll all full of colds in our house, and Lucas does not deal well with illness(I feel sorry for his future partner) which means 1am wake up calls and exhaustion in the household.

 

 It leaves me with my usually over filled brain feeling feeling fractured and unconnected, hazy and without merit(a bit like these pictures). 

Forgetting dinner money, and meal planning; homework and cleaning;birthdays and gifts; and all the other Mum things that fill my head

 I find the half hour to myself before work most peaceful and yet most head filling, sitting in a favourite spot(anyone from Carlisle should know it) where you can hear the whole city and nature next to one another. I go through my day trying to put it in order but simply remembering more that I have planned or have forgotten.

 I feel we still have a long road ahead before we feel true Spring, and lucky for me I have a sunny holiday planned in the next few weeks. I hope to return from it restored and whole, mind working to it's true capacity.; instead of the hibernating lump it is now. 

First days of A New Year

Happy New Year to all.

 I know lots of people usually spend today nursing a hangover or reflecting on their resolutions for the year ahead, I just needed some family time. 

As my main job is in retail, Christmas is a fast paced money focused experience, brought to a head with my daughter asking me if I worked so much because I didn't love them anymore(quietly weeps into my Baileys)

So today, the first day of a new year, it was lovely to do this...

and walk here...

and be here and now.

This was Lucas' first outing on his big boy bike and he was brilliant,
Maisie choose to find the deepest mud puddles to go through.
I love them so much I could burst.

The day was wet and overcast(picture taken at 12.30pm) up my heart was lifted. I spent the rest of the afternoon dozing on the sofa watching films with Lucas(nursing a bad head from having an eye ulcer-ouch), while Maisie made a Gingerbread House with Daddy(yes we're that behind)

I hope your start to the New Year was good.

Best wishes for future days to come.

Amanda.x.

Blessed Autumn

Not been by in awhile as I've actually been too busy, doing stuff and things and dancing; but more about that another day for this evening I just want to say Blessed be Samhain.

The slightly blurry freak cat adored our pumpkin, a nice meal eaten and scary(Fright Night-not really scary) film watched. Maisie and Lucas dressed up as a Sugar skull girl and fireman, and enjoyed a party at sister in laws, and tricker treaters visited. 

A cool day for them, but for me it signals true the end of Summer, and the start of Autumn and colder Winter days.  Samhain is the pagan celebration of the veil coming down between worlds giving us the opportunity to remember those on the other side and celebrate their lives. Giving people the time to reflect on the circle of life before having to prepare themselves for no doubt tough Winters(no hot water bottles for them). 

I'm off to snuggle on the sofa with Buffy cat (yes her real name not just for Halloween) and think about the Autumn days to come. I think I better get knitting.

Amanda.x.

Watchtree - Winter

Watchtree is a local nature reserve, but one of those places that although I knew were it was I'd never actually been there.

It's always the way that you forget the beauty that's just on your doorstep.

During the Foot and Mouth crisis in 2001 Watchtree became the final resting place of many infected cattle, the site was chosen due to it's proximity to many infected farms, but also for its bedrock geology that would prevent further contamination from the buried cattle.

It's story could have just ended there, leaving the site a barren wasteland, however the ecological consultants assigned to the restoration of lands after the outbreak choose to turn the space into a community asset and a positive feature to local wildlife.

In 2003 Watchtree became a nature reserve, water areas were created with wildlife in mind, huge areas reseeded, 80,000 trees planted to enhance local woodland and create extra habitats.

They have educational programs for  school visits and run Watchtree Wheelers and cycle group for people with learning or physical disabilities. 
This amazing site is free to visit but has a donations box.

When we visited the site it was a cold frosty but clear Winters day, most of the ponds still had ice skimming the top of them. 

Maisie and Lucas enjoyed running around the wide open pathways of the site, trying to spot any wildlife which was unfortunately in hiding for us most the time. Maisie took to hiding in the wooded area while Lucas and I looked out for the Guffalo, of which we didn't see any.

We did however find this awesome wooden spider in the wooded area.

These insect holes are all over the site providing homes for little beasties, quite a lot had spiders in them when we were looking, and I think we may make some of these for our next garden project.

Maisie was map holder while we were there, she has her no one is listening to my command face on here, and took around the site to find the hides which look out onto various wetlands and feeding areas for birds. We saw a few sparrows, a finch and some ducks. The hides are very comfortable, with carpeted seating and one has a telescope too much to the children's delight. They all had posters inside to say which animals and birds were in that location.

The area is also the site for several wind turbines, I know that they get a lot of stick for being ugly and a blot on the landscape but I'll admit I find them hauntingly beautiful. Stood underneath one listening to it slow thrum thrum sound was a simple kind of peace and meditation.

I think will be regular visitors to this wonderful site, and hope to do another Spring time update. You can find out more about Watchtree Nature Reserve here.

Amanda.x.

Photographs courtesy of Stuart Ryan. 

Maisie's Bread and Butter Pudding

Maisie and I have had a few conversations of late on food my Mum used to make me when I was growing up, Maisie thought Bread and Butter Pudding sounded really funny and not real pudding at all, I was shocked that it was something we'd never made together so set to put that right.

You'll need:

85g of butter

6-8(depending on dish size) slices of thick bread, we used wholemeal which gives a nutty flavour. 

55g of sultanas 

3 large eggs

300ml of milk

150ml of Double cream

55g of Caster Sugar

Some mixed spice

Handful of soft brown sugar.

 Pre heat oven to gas mark 4(about 180c) and get your helper to grease a oven proof dish. 

Cut away crusts from bread and cut into triangles, butter both sides, then lay out the bread in the dish while hiding fruit in-between each layer.

In whisking jug, add eggs, milk, cream, heaped spoonful of mixed spice and caster sugar. Whisk well, and pour over the bread in dish, leave mixture for about 20minutes so the bread can soak up the mixture. 

Poke down any sultanas not hidden well so they don't burn in the oven.

The joys of having a kitchen helper like Maisie is how proud they look when they've made something and know they'll to eat it themselves late on.

Sprinkle over handful of soft brown sugar, and and a little more mixed spice.

Place on a baking tray and into oven for about half an hour, or until golden brown on top.

 Opps, ours got a little overdone on sticky out parts but tasted delicious. Maisie was very impressed and asked what it would taste like if we put Nutella on the bread. 

People I have a genius living with me, why have I never thought of that? 

We'll keep you updated on the Nutella pudding. 

Please enjoy, and if you try our recipe and enjoy it please let me know.

Love Amanda.x.

Wordless Wednesday - Luna Moona

I'm a little obsessed with...

..Fungi.

I see growth everywhere, spring into light tucked away in corners, growing on logs, in tree, popping up from the dewy grass.

Life, nature, growth. 

Circles, rhythms, patterns.

Amanda.x.

Blowing Off The Cobwebs

 Stuart and I had the chance to go for a long walk to Wreay Woods, without the children, we had a lovely morning meandering along the river bank and seeing all the signs that Spring is not far away.

 Stu got a great camera for Christmas, a Canon EOS 550D which means we got some beautiful shots of the new growth.  I especially loved the Fungi pictures the one below being my favourite.

He managed to sneak a couple of me too, but this one is not too bad.

Take some time out this week to look around, the world around you is waking up from it's Winter snooze a little early, let's hope the mild weather stays.
Amanda.x.

The One Where Amanda Gets Her Groove Back

So there was a time when I was a vibrant, bubbly, unstoppable lady full of ideas & smiles but then the never ending Winter arrived & that person vanished into her fluffy pompom slippers & PJs(but not a slanket, you have to draw the line somewhere). Smiles were by-passed for mumbles, aches, pains and really bad skin & hair.I believe I have the SAD disorder where your bady copes badly with a lack of Vitamin D & shuts down, the feeling of letharghy is horrid. 
The evidence below is plain to see, sad, old, grey mummy. 

Yucky Mummy.

But then something beautiful happened & on my birthday no less, THE SUN CAME OUT, & it stayed out I felt its warm glowing energy fill me up. Refeuled have I begun work again on building my own website for Maisielu, Spring cleaning the house to sell and generally doing some great stuff with my lovely family & friends.

Enjoying the park with Maisie & Lucas, I think Hubby 

was having more fun on this swing than they were.

Me(still looking haggered but joyful) at The Brickyard(local club) Homecoming gig, pictured with Little Stu who I've known for years & is quite talented but I wouldn't tell him that as his head wouldn't fit on a photo if I did.
He played as half of The Dementers, the other half being the another Stu who is very clever and amazing on guitar, they are based in Manchester now so its great to see them play & catch up. You can see footage of the gig here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9eJhvU6Pik sorry I wasn't that steady with the camera.

Maisie having a jog roung Hardwick Circus fountain in Carlisle,she's an adventure girl for sure, & tried to climb in a couple of times, those flowers smell devine.


Enjoy the tunes, & hopefully where ever you are some beautiful sunshine to remind you that life does go on.


Amanda.x.