Castle and Trains

On Friday, Matt decided to have a half day, so Tom and I had a useful morning tidying up, cleaning etc and then we headed out.  We decided to explore Ambleside - there is a huge garden centre there which we got lost in.  Lots of toys for Tom to play with there and a massive, MASSIVE Christmas display, I'ld be quite interested to see what it is like out of Christmas season.  We then went to Grasmere - mainly to look around the Herdy Shop.  This is a new brand based on a local breed of Sheep - the Herdwick which are very cute, they have charming faces and overly baggy bodies.  We have always liked Herdwicks since we first saw them up here and are really pleased there is now a brand dedicated to them.  It is a quality brand too.  Have a look at their latest video and shop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28mB950rXLU Herdy Film - vey charming
http://www.herdy.co.uk The Herdy shop

Relaxing in the Big Hall

We then returned to Ambleside and had an Italian before heading home.

On Saturday Matt had a half day translator's meeting in Darlington.  We had a choice, let Matt take the car and us be stranded in Lupton for the day or go with Matt in the car and have a play whilst he was at his translator's do.  We opted for the second option.

It wasn't a very nice day - initially we thought it would be misty in the morning and then clear up, but the mist was too dense and the sun never got through which meant it was very cold, very damp and very dreary for the whole day.

We had discovered that there was a large Tesco in Catterick Garrison just outside of Richmond, on Tuesday I visited the local Tesco here, and whilst it was quite poor I did notice that they were doing a deal where you took your Tesco vouchers in and they doubled them up for you.  Matt had just received some vouchers in the post, so we took them in and managed a £100 shop where we paid just £30.  We came out feeling very pleased with ourselves.

Tom and a Castle

Matt subsequently got the bus to Darlington whilst Tom and I had lunch and then headed into Richmond - a nice Dales market town which has a castle right in the centre, so we decided to explore it.  Now, I'm not sure what was wrong with Tom today, as soon as we got to the castle he started to cry and kept saying he wanted to go back to the car.  He said that it was too steamy for him.  He wouldn't even consider chocolate as a bribe.  I had visions of a terrible afternoon as Matt wouldn't be back until 6pm and this was 1pm!  I took him inside to see an exhibition but he continued to cry - saying it was too steep (it was on the second floor).  He was happy enough looking round the shop and eventually when I asked if he wanted to see the castle he said yes.  Phew!  I then had to use the chocolate bribe to get him to walk round it. Eventually he relaxed and did enjoy it, in fact we spent over 2.5 hours there and I managed to get him to climb right to the top of the tower, so it was a success, but I still don't really know why he was so miserable at the beginning.

Banking

As a reward for good behaviour we stopped at a tea room for tea and a bun and then went for a look around the town.  It's the sort of place that has lots of interesting shops - ie no chain shops, and plenty of Aladdin's Cave type shops which gave us plenty of time to browse in the warmth.  We then had a hunt for a pub to have dinner in whilst waiting for Matt to return (he had pigged out at lunchtime in Darlington and didn't need proper feeding) This was quite problematic, as nearly every pub I looked at through the window seemed to be full of lads drinking - I understand why, cold Saturday afternoon but I couldn't really take Tom with me into an environment like that.  I was beginning to get desperate, but luckily the last pub I looked into (it would be the last one wouldn't it!) was empty, with a very friendly bar lady so we gratefully made ourselves at home and tucked into a huge plate of Cumberland sausage, mash, veg and Yorkshire pudding - yummmmmy.  During this time Matt arrived from Darlington so we finished up and headed home.  Tom slept for the whole journey and went straight to bed on arrival.

Tom and Daisy

Sunday we had thought about going to Keighly with our Dales pass and the steam train there, but Tom had had a long day on Saturday so we decided to stay closer to home.  Matt discovered in the morning that our local steam train - Lakeside and Haverthwaite railway were doing cheap trips for residents - only £4 return for the 3 of us, although it was a diesel day today.  Too good to miss so we went.  They also did a 2 course home cooked dinner for £5 so we had that as well - a bargain trip out.  We are really liking all these resident only prices for the Winter, means we will be out and about on every sunny day we get.

Good Swimmer

Today we went to a local caravan park for an offer I found in a local circular.  Swimming for a family of 4 plus pizzas afterwards for £10.  It was too good to miss even though we are a family of 3.  It took a while to get Tom going as the water was a little cold but after a while he started to attempt swimming and by the end of the session was doing lengths of the pool (about 20 meters). He improved significantly in his technique, he still tends to sink as he is swimming and sort of ends up swimming vertically rather than horizontally, but he is getting there.  We were very proud.

Only thing was this time he would not jump in, but last time we were in Kendal we couldn't stop him jumping in.  Oh well, the swimming was so good we couldn't complain.

Busy weekend

The Princess Elizabeth in Carlisle

Another busy weekend - they are the best after all.  We discovered two good things this week.  If you are a resident of the Dales (where we are isn't officially the Dales, but the postcode is good enough!) you can buy a special railcard so that you can travel anywhere on the Settle - Carlisle line for £7 in November to February.  This includes the line all the way to Leeds and also down to Morecambe.  Normally the fare to Carlisle is £22.50 so it is a great saving.  So Saturday saw us driving down to Settle and we got the train to Carlisle.  It is a very scenic journey, which includes 17 viaducts including the famous Ribblehead Viaduct which takes you across the Dales and the Eden Valley.  It was a 1.5 hr trip, but it went very quickly.  Tom was well behaved looking out the window. although we did have some ridiculous conversations about moving tunnels!  We got to Carlisle and saw countless spotters on one of the platforms.  Intrigued, we hung around and about 20 mins later a stream train arrived - The Princess Elizabeth which looked very beautiful and was full of more spotters (sorry enthusiasts).  It had come from Birmingham International and was due to go down to Settle on its return journey.  (Cost for a trip Settle to Carlisle on a steam train is around £65!)  Anyway a great bonus to see a steam train there.

We headed out to Carlisle, round the very good looking Citadel to the city centre.  It was HORRIBLE, full to bursting with Christmas shoppers (we had forgotten that we are well into the lead up to Christmas now).  Panic over took us and we quickly needed to get out of the crowds and find somewhere for lunch.  We found a Frankie and Benny's and dived in.  Matt managed to get a digital voucher on his phone so we had a pizza and a plate of pasta and drinks for not very much at all.  We then did some research and found that there was a park not far away and decided to go there, there was no way either of us would survive the shops.  So we found ourselves in Bitts Park which was really good - had a well thought out playground and a musical trail with lots of xylophones to play which kept all of us occupied for a while.

We then headed back towards the station where I found a very well stocked cake shop with all the bits and pieces I've been needing for the last couple of weeks - phew.  Next door to the cake shop was a cafe with a model railway in it (these are shops located in the railway arches).  Perfect somewhere for the boys to hang out whilst I shop.  Well, it would have been perfect if it hadn't been closing.  Oh well, next time we come to Carlisle we know what to do, head straight for the railway arches, the boys can eat and drink and watch the model railway and I can look round the cake shop in peace - everyone will be happy.

This was the only crocodile we could find

We got the train back to Settle and watched the sun set over the Eden Valley.  Tom had a quiet period where he snuggled into me, but he didn't fall asleep.  He was pretty well behaved though and kept us entertained.  A very good day out and ridiculously cheap - think we will do this a couple more times between now and February.

Sunday dawned clear but cold.  We decided we would go to South Lakes Wildlife Park - a zoo near to Ulverston where it is free, yes FREE to enter during winter months. How could we not visit?  We were expecting a small, average facility so were very pleasantly surprised to find it was a very well run zoo with nicely thought out enclosures. 

Riding a Rhino

It wasn't huge, but it had plenty to look at.  No elephants but pretty much everything else: tigers, lions, rhinos, hippos, about 6 giraffes (my favourite and they didn't disappoint - they were very tall), bears, penguins, kangaroos, lots of birds, monkeys etc.  We didn't find a reptile house, but you never know we may have missed it.  The bird enclosure was really good - had lots of ducks, swans, cranes etc, but also flamingos, and a couple of emus, all walking around with you.  The emus freaked out Tom - understandable though, they do look scary especially when they tower above you like they do to Tom.  The bird enclosure included an indoor area which housed some parrots, monkeys, kangaroos and a pond within which was a huge constrictor snake.  There was no fence between us and the pond, we only noticed the snake after we saw a notice saying 'beware of the snake' we thought it was a joke at first until I heard an exclamation from Matt when he saw a snake's head appearing from the pond!

We spent a good couple of hours in the zoo.  Apart from the Emus, Tom enjoyed it all.  There was even a little train for him to travel on - what more can a little boy need?

Lioness

We decided to leave when the heavens opened, and we had rumbling tummies (the food at the zoo looked very very average - however, we did find an indoor picnic area so next time we go we will take a picnic).

We headed to Ulverston and Booths where there was a cafe for lunch.  All in all a good day, can't believe it is free - we made a donation as we thought it was so good.  We will definitely return before they bring back the entrance fee again in March - when it costs £13.50 per person.

Another Sunny Day

Autumn colours

Sunday dawned beautiful - another deep blue cloudless sky.  We decided to head back to Barbondale and do the walk we discovered a couple of weeks ago.  We parked up in the usual place, had a game of football, threw some stones in the river, claimed Tom island for Tom with a flag and then headed off on our walk.

Tom did well and walked quite happily with us, with only one minor hiccough.  It took 1.5 hours to walk the 2.4 miles, so we won't break any records, but it was a lovely walk along the river, mostly downhill, to Barbon village, where there was a pub with a fire burning brightly in the grate making us feel very welcome.

Two-hat Tom

One glance at the menu and we decided to eat a proper dinner.  A sandwich was £8.00 and main course £9.00 - it was a no brainer.  Between the three of us, we shared a trio of sausages & mash, a big plate of Sunday roast (pork with crackling) and the inevitable portion of onion rings. Whilst consuming our dinners we realised that we probably wouldn't be able to coerce Tom back to the car on foot - the walk would be mainly uphill and away from a road, so if he played up there would be no choice other than to pick him up and carry him.  Matt therefore decided to walk back himself and drive the car back to us.  It took him 30 minutes to get there - which says a lot about the difference in speed between Tom and him.
I (Matt) should point out that while I marched at great speed back to the car (going shin-deep into a muddy puddle at one point), Nik & Tom killed time by polishing off a portion of apple crumble and custard.

We then headed to Sedbergh for a little walk round to familiarise ourselves. Good news: the butcher's hasn't closed, so I really need to go along one day to see if the display of meat is as good as we remember from 3 years ago.  I also found a hardware shop which looked like it might sell cake cards - it was closed so we will have to go back soon.

Barbon - typical Dales village

Tom fell asleep on the way home, but woke up as soon as we got back so we had a lazy afternoon before having a snack for dinner and bed.

My First Craft Fair

The Cake Table

I have been busy baking and inventing over the last couple of weeks as I had agreed to run a stall at the Smile Nursery Christmas Fair this weekend.  I didn't really want to do a fair as they are well known amongst the cake community as being very hard work for very little reward, however, I still haven't received one order so I am desperate to get myself known in the local community.  The nursery were running their own cake stall so there was no point me doing so, I therefore had to come up with ideas of different things to do to to showcase my skills.

First I made some cake toppers for Christmas cakes - I have found that most people make their own Christmas cakes these years but most hate decorating them so I made some decorations to go on top: Father Christmas, Snowmen, Rudolph, Penguins, Teddy Bear, Choir Boys etc.  Then I had what I thought was a good idea - making chocolate tiffin in the shape of a Christmas pudding.  I got in some silicone moulds and made 3 types: dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate ones.  They are very very naughty - but who doesn't love a piece of tiffin and most people hate Christmas pudding.

Biscuit Table

My next idea came my way during a trip to Booth's in Settle where I bought some walnut whips - I turned 3 of these into Christmas figures: Father Christmas, a Choir Boy and an Angel.  I have also been experimenting with Gingerbread and made a big house and a kit for making it which I took along with some gingerbread biscuits and a last minute thought - some miniature gingerbread houses.  I also made some stained glass biscuits - biscuits with a hole in the middle filled with a melted boiled sweet - very pretty.  I was sure girls would want these.

Collection of Cake Toppers

I also took a couple of Christmas cakes - proper size and miniature size just in case someone wanted to buy a Christmas cake.  I also made some cupcakes - chocolate ones with snowflakes on top and some apple streusel ones for those who don't like mega sweet things.

Gingerbread House

Last but by no means least I made some orange peel Christmas tree decorations - for those who like a natural Christmas.

I got to the nursery an hour before opening time to set up.  The nursery provided me with some tables and it took me a good hour to get the tables set up.  I had a problem in that I didn't know what size table  I was going to get, so therefore didn't know how much stuff to take but it fitted well.  The only problem was that the tables were very short so all my wares were at the right height for toddlers to be able to destroy.  I had to bite my tongue and smile sweetly every time a toddler came up and grabbed at something - there was nothing I could do - my fault for not bringing my own proper height table.

Stained glass window biscuit

This was the first Christmas fair that the nursery had held, so they didn't know what to expect.  They have a location problem, in that they are located in a hamlet - so not many locals to come along and they have limited parking for those wanting to visit.  I wasn't expecting many to come, but plenty did.  I wouldn't say it was mega busy, but there were people milling around the whole time it was open.  I didn't do great business, the most popular things were gingerbread men and women.

However, I did get an order for some more walnut whip decorations.  Most important though were the people who took my card and looked through my portfolio saying - "Oh, I've got a 50th birthday coming up" etc etc.  I did get lots of people complimenting my work which is always lovely to hear.

I did come home with a lot of stock though - can you believe it I only sold 1 tiffin????!!!!!  I'm now trying to find an outlet for them and no-one bought a stained glass window biscuit which really surprised me - I think they look very pretty - maybe I didn't present them well enough?  The spare cupcakes went to Playgroup with me on Monday - the rest won't go off.

Walnut Whip Decorations

I got 3 orders for the Gingerbread House kit from a mum who I know at playgroup on Tuesday who went to the fair on Saturday but was having to look after a toddler in destruction mode so didn't order anything on the day.  So all was not lost, all I need is one order for a birthday cake which is then seen and eaten by many at a party then hopefully I'll be on my way.  We will see...

Needless to say I was very tired and aching on Saturday night - sitting and standing at a miniature table did my legs and back in.

Chocolate enrobed tiffin Christmas Puddings

Ha-har

Oh, I totted up what I made - £72 which is better than I thought - that doesn't include the £30 order I got on Tuesday.

Notes for next time:
+ Use a proper height table - ie get a wall papering table
+ Work out how to display biscuits properly
+ Have a proper table cloth (blue/green/with frogs?)
+ Have portfolio showing work other than that on the table
+ Have lots of £5s to hand
+ Rudolph and Santa cookies in a jar
+ Gingerbread Sleighs

Beautiful Day

Monday was a very very beautiful day.  So much so that Matt decided to take the day off - fantastic.

First of all we went to Greenlands as Tom's Enjoy-a-Ball started up again today and I knew that Matt would enjoy watching him do it.  I was right and Tom did really well, only having one little clingy moment.  Unfortunately it was all football based today, so no tennis or rounders, but it was good fun - Matt got so absorbed that he forgot to take photos - rare for him.

Car boat 'Mallard' on Windermere

Me and Tom

We then headed down to Lakeside for a snack and got the boat on Windermere to Bowness.  We had found out at the weekend that local residents get 50% off the regular price out of season, so it cost £10 for all 3 of us for a 2 hour cruise, can't complain at that.

Solem (tired) boy

As I said, it was the most fabulous day - deep blue sky and great sunlight.  The mountains were covered in snow, "looks like sugar" there wasn't a whisper of a breeze it was glorious.  We wrapped up warm and sat outside drinking up the view and looking at the very lovely houses and hotels on the shore.  We docked at Bowness and had a little walk around - somehow we managed to do quite a bit of shopping - a new winter's coat for Matt and a new pair of lined trousers for me.  We then had tea and bun before catching the last boat back to Lakeside, once again opting to sit outside and admire the sunset and view (we were the only ones outside - not sure why)

We got home with a very tired Tom, so he had dinner and went to bed.  A glorious day - as you can see from the photos.

Sunset over Windermere

Busy Weekend

We had a very very busy weekend.  On Friday evening Grandpa and Grannie came to see us.  They were supposed to be in New York celebrating Pat's 70th birthday, but Hurricane Sandy had put paid to that - instead they were spending a couple of days in the North.  Tom was on very good form when they arrived and treated them to a game of shop.  We then headed out to The Strickland Arms, a gastro pub near to Sizergh Castle for dinner.  The food was really good, Tom ate from our plates and did really well.  He was in entertainment mode, he was making up stories, singing songs and generally in a very good mood.  When pudding came out, there was a lull in conversation during which Tom shouted at the top of his voice "BLOODY HELL!" no-one else had said it, we all looked at each other in disbelief and then all dissolved into laughter - his timing was fabulous.

We didn't get home until after 8pm - Tom went straight to bed.

The children have their second sleep over - in the lounge this time

On Saturday we went out for the day.  As it was a horrible rainy day we decided to go to the Lakeland Motor Museum.  It was a fantastic place, absolutely rammed full of vehicles of all kinds.  If we didn't have a 3 year old with us, we could have spent many hours there, but we were forced to go round it quickly.  Tom did enjoy it though, he just doesn't have the concentration span that we do.  There was also a exhibition about Donald Campbell with some replica Thunderbirds which was quite interesting.

Maggie, Tom and Jenny

Once we were done, we headed off to a pub for lunch and then headed back home as the Watsons were visiting today.  They arrived around 3.30.  Jenny who's almost 3 was snoozy and shy on arrival but Tamsin and Maggie made themselves at home and before too long there was some serious track building going on downstairs.  Tom made a beeline for Cameron who was on good form - Tom called him 'funny man'.  The children had a good time and then had dinner and bed so we could do the same.

We decided to try out a sleepover with Tom this time, so Maggie and Tamsin slept in Tom's room with Tom.  It worked and it didn't take as long for them to go to sleep as we thought - no stern words were needed to get them to sleep and they stayed asleep until 6.45 which in my book is a success.  

King of the Castle

Throwing stones from 'Tom Island'

Sunday dawned bright and sunny so after some bacon sarnies we headed off for the usual Kirkby Lonsdale circuit.  We were hoping for an apperance from Church Cat Bob, but no joy today again which was a shame.  We ended up at Emily's for tea and a bun before saying goodbye to the Watson's as Cameron needed to catch a flight down to London at 3.  We then headed off to Barbon for another play and then Dent for lunch before driving home.  Tom fell asleep in the car on the way home and stayed asleep for 1hr 20mins which is longer than he's done for quite a while.

Video taken in Barbondale: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1ZtIhS9YIQ&feature=plcp

At 6pm we had arranged to meet up with Pat and Bob again at The Plough.  They had been zooming around the region and seen quite a bit and found some good eateries which we've put on our list of places to visit.  Tom again was on good form, entertaining us and eating well.  We had a photo session in the pub got some good ones - especially of Bob and Tom - the photos speak for themselves!

Concentrating

Gurning boys!

My best friend comes to stay

Hugging in the park

On Thursday morning we had much excitement as Rachel, Mae and Lucy came up to stay for a night.  How cool is that?  Although they hadn't seen each other for 2 months, they were straight back into being best friends again.  I think there was about 2 seconds of shyness and then we lost Mae and Tom as Mae explored the house, and a game of hide and seek got underway.  Mae is a lot better at this than Tom, she actually hides and waits to be found, Tom still doesn't hide and finds you as soon as you say 'ready or not'.  This meant that Mae was much better and had to hide a long time before Tom could find her (with my help).

Playing on the horse

Lucy had grown amazing amounts as well - she's walking, her hair has got thicker, curlier and blonder, she has more teeth, is beginning to talk and after initially not wanting to be with me, accepted me and played quite nicely with me if Rachel wasn't around - she's a Mummy's girl.

Anyway they acted as if they last saw each other a couple of days ago and obviously still adore each other, it was really good to see both of them so happy to be in each other's company.  Unfortunately Mae wasn't in best health with a cough and cold, but it didn't seem to bother her at all.  After lunch at home we headed out for some fresh air and did our usual circuit of Kirkby Lonsdale - Tom and Mae ran with each other round by the river ending up at the park for a play.  They played for ages and ages in the park - much longer than if Tom and I were in the park together.

Rachel, Tom, Mae and Lucy

We got caught out by a hail storm and decided we should return home, which we did.  We had a quick dinner of sausages during which Mae became unwell with a stomach ache, she ended up going straight to bed - something we weren't expecting at all.  Infact all children were in bed by 7.30 meaning we had quite a nice evening.  This wasn't to last though as Rachel had a dreadful evening with Mae awake with a fever, and her waking up Lucy.  Poor Rachel didn't look very well at all in the morning.  Needless to say Rachel was keen to get home to try to get Mae back on track so they left in the morning after watching a bit of Totoro.  I was sad to see them go, we both re-made our resolutions to keep in touch and make sure Mae and Tom see each other as regularly as possible, their friendship is too good to break.