Our Holiday

Just before Christmas we had our last couples holiday. It seems like an age ago now but just remembering it makes me smile.  It was cosy, relaxing and very lovely.


















It was October when I first suggested to Neil that we might want to go away while we can, i.e whilst we have the time, money and lack of screaming baby.

It started out as an open book; should we go to the spa we've been to twice before and love (http://www.ardencote.com/) or perhaps fly away somewhere.  The German Christmas Markets seemed alluring as I've always wanted to go to Germany as I've heard so much about it, but I soon realised this would be a bit impracticle (heavily pregnant woman flying) and by the looks of it also mighty expensive.  Time passed, we still hadn't made a decision.

A few weeks later, after visiting the Southbank and stumbling upon a small food festival with my dear friend Nicola, I picked up some guide books on luxurious places to stay in Wales where fine food in on the menu.  I wasn't sold at first, but having seen how gorgeous the places looked, how reasonable they were and also the added thought that we are quite settled on naming our son after a famous Welsh politician, it all fit together.  Soon after I started to ponder this idea and managed to convince Neil, I realised that my Godparents actually run a bed and breakfast with amazing reviews just on the Welsh border (http://www.steepmeadow.co.uk/).  So I emailed them to ask about availability and the rest, as they say is history. All the pieces of the jigsaw fit with the added benefit was that we could also bring our dog with us.

So Friday arrived and I booked a day off work so that we could head off as soon as Neil finished work for Christmas.  Unfortunately I forgot to pack the night before so I couldn't pack our stuff in the car before Neil headed off to work, so I ended up taking the train to Plumstead with enormous rucksack and little dog in tow.  It felt like something of an adventure, and became even more of on when we looked at the weather forecast for Wales... naturally it was snow.

The traffic was a pain and poor Neil, after a full day teaching, had to drive all the way there.  We arrived at what felt like the dead of night.  In reality it was about 6pm but the hair raising drive through the hills and valleys as sheets and sheets of snow flew towards us was somewhat terrifying.  When we finally got there and it occurred to us that we were about to stay somewhere called 'Steep Meadow' it also dawned on us that in the snow this could be interesting...  And as we got closer the cars going in the opposite directly had gradually increasing amounts of snow sitting on top of their roofs.  All we could do was laugh and persevere!

My wonderful Godparents were good enough to feed us soon after we arrived as they were already cooking for another couple who were also staying with them, (for what turned out to be the last weekend of business as my Godparents have now sold the house and are in the process of moving).

Our weekend family outing

As a reward last weekend Neil, Gemma and I went off for an adventure to Greenwich.

We don't often get the chance to take day trips as Neil is hard at work revising for his exams at the moment.  The dog had been somewhat neglected and loves running around so it seemed like the perfect excuse.

Gemma is ready to go!

As we drove over the sun shone brightly as we zoomed around looking for parking spaces (clearly we weren't the only ones with the idea of going to Greenwich for the day.)  Then, just as we parked up and opened the car doors, the heavens opened and sheets of thick heavy rain descended on us.  I quickly jumped into the back of the car with the dog whilst Neil ran back from the pay and display machine to take cover.  Neil announced that it was merely a passing shower and I hoped it was as otherwise I had vision of us packing and heading home before we'd even arrived!  Miraculously he was right and once the initial shower subdued we were left with a bright fresh sky and a lovely day.

We first headed down to the shops to get a milkshake, it's one of our fondest memories of Greenwich and funnily enough is also one of the things Jess and Sean mentioned to us about Greenwich when we stayed with them for our honeymoon.  I decided to go for a Dime bar one and Neil had Peanut butter and Oreo one! I have to admit Neil's was delicious, I'd definitely have it again.

Whilst we consumed our milkshakes with glee we headed over to Greenwich market for a bit of a browse, there were a lot of distractions and amazingly Gemma remained very well behaved and received a few admiring glances and pats from some fellow shoppers.  We then decided to grab a bite of eat before walking back to the park to let the dog roam free.  I had a delicious hickory smoked hot dog whilst Neil grabbed some chips from the chip show, naturally we shared them both in the end!

Garden Upkeep

As I disclosed earlier in the week, our garden looked a bit like a bramble hedge row when we first bought the house.  But, as previous occupants of a damp 2 bed basement flat we were pretty chuffed to have even a tiny bit of grass that we glossed over it for some time, dreaming of one day having a cute little courtyard garden.

Since last June we've gradually we've tended to it's needs, with Neil and I both learning that gardening is a joy. I think we've now realised just how rewarding it is, if a little time consuming.  But, it happy makes us both so happy.  I have to admit, even weeding seems like escapism these days!

I should add that the kitchen unit and the front loader are of our own fly tipping, we've since taken the excess junk to the tip and moved the loader to the side (we're still in need of a 1/2 shed).  So anyway, since the beginning I cut back and bagged up the brambles, then Neil removed the wood bark and laid some grass seed.  In a way, because the garden is so small it makes the jobs smaller and more manageable.

Here I am reclining stage 1, it still looks a bit rough and ready,  but I remember being very impressed with myself for clearing all those pesky weeds. Please ignore the poor photos, it was a grim day and these were the best available from my iphone!

So anyway, after that was done and the weather was a bit less grim the grass grew rather promisingly and it actually started to look like a garden.  As you can see we even purchased a table and some chairs courtesy of B&Q, naturally we bought them in winter in the sale. (This is actually a picture from this April but it shows that we now have grass where there once was brown rubbish!)  As the weather has remained dry, it's getting a bit patchy so we'll need to attend to that in the next few weeks.

The other issue we've had to tackle is the flower bed that runs along the whole side of the house as we are fortunate to live in a light and airy end terrace.  The bed itself has been full of god knows what, some of it seems to have been planted deliberately, there was a rose bush and we've had a few daffodils appear.  I say 'was' in the case of the rose because according to Neil thorny plants with flowers are 'weeds' and it died a quick death.  Please note, he did buy we a replacement so don't feel *too* sorry for me!

But, I am pleased to say that this weekend and last weekend I have made a concerted effort to tidy up the side of the house as a lot of it was just in need of a good sweep.  It has been strimmed on numerous occasions but it always regrows back in no time and really needed some time spent on it.  I've thrown in some pictures of our lovely veg for good measure.  I took the pictures last weekend and looking back the beds seem like they need a good weed. (Which it has had since).  Anyway, looking back I'm pleased with the transformation none the less!

Neil's Brocolli finally replanted in the ground

The random pea

BEAUTIFUL garlic

Slightly too fertile carrots

Pound lands finest shallots

And finally here's my little helper being cute. This is her spot on the top of the arm chair so she can keep an eye on me from the comfort of the house.