Third CWW walk today: 5.5 miles

So there I was with lots of chores and housework to catch up on not to mention the dreaded ''commentary'' writing for the Portfolio Development in Public Health when I spotted that Pippa was sunbathing!  And then the dogs went all ''pleading'' on me.
Such a lovely dry and sunny day so what WAS I doing all cooped up inside?
JJ and the girls had gone to North Wales to visit granny, but I couldn't face the 6- 8 hours sitting in a car that this would entail and I have so very much TO DO....
ACTION!I got myself lunch, packed a backpack, multimapped the directions and walked Pippa.
I texted the walk organiser to see if I could bring Lucy and I could so I packed extra water, treats , 2 leads and a small bowl.
Very soon it was time to go as I needed to allow at least an hour to get there.

The walk started from a high street car park which I failed to find at first as my multimap directions took me to the cricket club car park. However after 15 minutes I found the group setting off and joined them, the first fields were of rapeseed and they were shoulder high, on this third photo you can just see Lucy burrowing a path underneath.

It was a lovely walk through many fields and Lucy- bless her- behaved impeccably.
She trotted along trying to be the lead and sometimes checking that I was following her. She loved the muddy puddles, the fields- though not the nettles or the thistles- and even in residential areas did not bark once, not even when we walked right past a black and white cat.
She didn't like the noise of the M25 and when we crossed it on a bridge she was hesitant.

Then there were more fields with lovely grasses, wheat and such.

It was quite a large group walking today but there was very little talking, not sure whether that was because of the fast pace or the dog, perhaps?

it remained dry throughout though it was rather cloudy and walking at such a rate kept us warm, with most of us walking in short sleeves, I was in my pink linen to keep cool, the back pack does make your back feel very hot, but the water was welcome. There wasn't really time to take photos I took them while walking or if I reached the front so I could afford to stop and then catch up again from the very rear of the group. At 18:30 we arrived back at the car park and while most went for a curry which had been pre-booked, Lucy and I headed on home down the A41 to Aylesbury and then A 418, home to cook dinner at 19:30. A very tiring and satisfying day.

Green fields in summer

Gales and GREY weather

What do you do when the weather in a half term is so wet or grey? How about some crochet?

The above is crochet INSPIRATION , it's some pieces I saw in Oxford while window shopping.

It's verywhere in the shops at the moment: Monsoon, Gap, M&S, TopShop, East, Next etc...

So I also found some lovely patterns in magazines: There's a CROCHET VOGUE out this summer- which is a very RARE event as they usua;ly only do knitting patterns and there are some great wearable ones, here are a few I quite fancy:

 For this one I actually LOVE LOVE LOVE the black tape lace waistcoat LOL, then I realised it's the necklace that's the pattern, oh shame.

I love this blue one but it's Tunisian, which puts me off a bit.

OK so while I am pondering what to crochet next and whilst my pink cashmere jacket and the white cotton Salice jacket are both in their final FINISHING stages , my other activities in this dismal weather are : BAKING and DANCING!  

I drove to Cheltenham yesterday to dance all afternoon at a TARTAN TEA PARTY in the Pitville Pumproom . A lovely venue although not as grand as expected and quite similar if not more delapidated than the Oxford Town Hall Ballroom. The dancing however was spectacular, energetic and advanced Scottish and I apologise for the out of focus shots, nobody stayed still for a moment.

The GREAT thing was the afternoon flew by in enjoyment, one didn't notice the torrential rain and I walked back to my car at the end with glowing cheeks and a song in my heart, I had had such a lovely energetic and sociable time!

And here is the banana loaf ( WW recipe) that I made to cheer us all up today what with all the rain and the gales, even the dogs got blown about so much they ran all the way home.