A favourite place....

Sunday afternoons are definitely made for a walk at your favourite place.... here is one of mine....

What do you think?

Looking out to sea...

Freshly harvested...

The Daymark....

Looking up....

Dartmouth and Slapton Sands in the distance...

Time for home, a cuppa and some homemade scones and freshly made bramble jelly.. mmmmm!

Time to say 'Goodbye'

So the day finally came, the one that every mother dreads, when your first born flies the nest to discover the world for themselves.......

It was the hardest day ever on Sunday when we drove Josh to Uni near Liverpool. My mothers instinct to protect, make everything perfect, care for, nurture and provide was working overtime.. probably to the point of Josh wanting me to go home as soon as possible and let him just get on!!

I was pleasantly surprised on arrival... the uni and his room were so much better than expected ... my mothers mind was put to rest!!!

The time to leave came around far too quickly, but knowing that we had at least a five hour journey home we couldn't hang around any longer. I have never felt such a wrench in my heart, that final act of letting go was definitely the most difficult... nothing quite prepares you for the pain that you feel... it's horrid.

What a privilege to have shared his life with him thus far..... so many happy, treasured memories. I am proud to be his mum and so very proud to call him my son.

Time now to wipe away the tears and replace them with a smile..... new beginnings for us both, new opportunities to embrace and new memories to be made.

Go Ape.....!

So.... here we all are... me and my wonderful family about to 'Go Ape"!!!

This story starts back last Christmas when I decided that instead of buying 'things' for the children that they would use to clutter up their rooms and drive me to distraction, I would take them out on a family adventure! Surprisingly, they all thought this was a good idea. Now, I know that Christmas, last year, is a long way off, but to be honest I have found it difficult to find something that we could all do together.... that is until last week when I was walking on Haldon Hill near Exeter and was shocked to see people flying above me, screaming loudly and landing in a crumpled heap some distance away in fits of laughter! Well, that was it, I had to investigate... I wanted to have a go!

... so that is how we ended up here yesterday! I decided that it would be a great thing to do before we take Josh to Uni on Sunday... more memories for the journal and happy times to share together in the future..

Of course, plenty of cheeky comments passed our lips as we saw this chappie on arrival.... now, who does he remind you of??

Time to get kitted out in our harnesses by John.. ooo errr this is beginning to feel a little scary!

All togged up and ready to go......

..after a very clear safety briefing we were off into the forest to begin the adventure...

.... wobble wobble...... The main rule was... 'stay attached at all times'.. do you think we were going to let go at this height??

This might look easy, but I can assure you that at this height, with the platform waving about all over the place, you didn't always feel that comfortable!... much nervous laughter was to be heard!

... and she's OFF!!! This is the first of many really long zip wires that are strung through the tree tops.. get attached and then throw yourself into the air... WHEEEEEE! I can't tell you how much fun it was, the feeling was exhilarating, the views... if you opened your eyes... were stunning and the adrenalin was pumping... BUT it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!! ...

Josh getting ready for the off whilst rosie waits her turn...

This was hard work... suspended above the forest floor swinging about trying to place your feet into the rings and move along to the next platform.... really helps if you don't have big shoes on doesn't it Josh??? He managed to get his foot stuck whist swinging in mid-air... we all just laughed at him.. well, what else can you do?

... he did make it...

... and so did I...

I think the idea here was to cross this bridge without holding on...

I was there.... see!... this one was easy!

CRASH landing!!

... here comes Rosie.. she took to it like a natural.. I've always thought she'd be an adventurer!

.. and here's Harriet...

... and guess who?

Ok.... so I didn't get the landing quite right, but what I did get was wood chips in a very uncomfortable place.... Was fun anyway!

Apes or family??

This was probably the most scary part of it all... the tarzan jump! Bearing in mind I jumped out of a plane at 30,000 feet in January, you would have thought that I would take this in my stride.. well, it took a lot more courage to throw myself off of this than jump out of that plane I can tell you! You attach yourself to a rope that's suspended from a wire, then you launch yourself off the platform.. not just any platform, but the highest one of the circuit... free fall until the slack is taken up, open your eyes just in time to see a huge rope net looming towards you.... let go and grab the net, climb up to the safety of the next platform!

So here is Josh preparing to go..

.. made it! Believe me, I have many more photos with just the net in it as when he hit the net he was travelling at such speed they both disappeared out of the shot!

Looking back over some of the course... see how high up we are?

Final zip wire to the end of the course..... looking good!

... there she goes......

... last ride for Rosie...

... BYEEEEEEE........

We made it... Hurrah!

Can we go again????

This was such a brilliant morning..... we all felt we'd accomplished so much and pulled together as a family.. so many memories and so much laughter!

Smiles and certificates all round... by the chief gorilla himself!

I LOVED it and am looking forward to going again... who wants to come with me???

Happy Friday

So it was that I set off on a sunny Friday morning for my little trip to beautiful Sidmouth to see Mark and Kate with a view to running some jewellery making workshops at their bead shop. It was with some fear and trepidation that I dressed to impress (!!) loaded the car with my jewellery.. oh and a mower (!!! I'll tell you about that later! :o) ) and trundled through the lanes to the A38 and was off.. well, as fast a little PEAS would carry me ::: This is now the new car situation after the disastrous summer incident :o(

I really love Sidmouth, it holds so many happy memories for me, so it was a real treat to return, see the sea....

.... see how the churning of the waves has turned the sea orange?.. We also have orange sheep in this part of Devon too on account of the soil being so red!!!

... a walk along the prom...

.. aren't those red cliffs amazing?

... oh, and of course a visit to 'Bead Lagoon' to see Mark and Kate. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that at this time... to be honest I felt a bit awkward about asking to take some on my first visit, but, as they definitely want me back to run some workshops ( little jump for joy and a jig around the room... ahem!! ) and to sell my jewellery in the shop ( more jumping and jigging!!) I will have plenty of opportunities to take lots of pics for your perusal! It's a gorgeous shop, if you are ever in Sidmouth and fancy having a go at jewellery making, make sure you visit and say "Hi".

Then it was off, over the hill, through a beautiful place called Otterton... again you must visit, I will stop and take photos next time... to Pebbles at Budleigh Salterton for a spot of lunch...

.. in the garden, listening to the sea swishing up and over the pebbles

.. ooops, how did that one get in there??? Ice cream brought from the local dairy by one of Pebbles guests.... what a treat!

... and then just enough time to clean and sort out the jewellery cabinet in the conservatory at "Pebbles" ....

.. re-arrange and add to the existing items..

... ready for mum to sell to her visitors...

... what do you think? I am really pleased with how professional it looks....

... finally, the pink shelf...

Pebbles seems to attract all sorts of visitors; it was once visited by a homing pigeon, who had lost it's way and decided that the conservatory at Pebbles looked cosy and inviting so flew in to say hello! He was eventually released, by my brother, at Exmouth, never to be seen again. Well, this little fellow, who you can just make out, flew in for a visit just that morning, he is tagged and so we think he must belong in an aviary somewhere, but so far all the calls have turned up nothing. He is however, enjoying the 5* treatment at Pebbles and so may not want to leave after all!!

Just so that you know that it's not all been walks by the sea and lots of food... here are a couple of new pieces that are now in my etsy shop...

I can't decide which is my favourite as I love them both... what about you?

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend and made the most of this gorgeous sunshine. I took a lovely walk through the lanes with the smallest of my bunch and picked a huge harvest of the biggest juiciest blackberries I have ever seen... but more of that later!

ooh... I nearly forgot.. the mower! Well Dad has a habit of picking up mowers whenever he goes to the local recycling centre and bringing them home... Mum now has a panic attack every time he goes just in case he comes back with yet another forlorn looking specimen that he says he can revive.. and he does.. I think he had about 4 on the last count! Well, my mower was driving me to distraction.. just not picking up the grass cuttings and leaving lovely green sludge all over the garden... grrrr.. so I swapped it for another one of Dad's.. It works a treat, although by the time I got home I had the biggest headache ever from the petrol fumes that were seeping into Peas! Oh well, I am very thankful for an amazing Dad who does so many wonderful things for me... and the mower population!! Thanks pops xxxx