Blea Tarn

Sometimes you just need to get out and breathe. This was very much the case today, after a tough week that had left us emotionally wrung out and rather uncertain about what happens next. The thing about going out walking is that once you're there, with sandwiches and fruit for lunch in your rucksack, it doesn't actually matter how much money you have (or don't have). The heavens will open on anyone's head, prince or pauper. In actual fact, while the rain was almost horizontal as we toiled up to Blea Tarn (hoorah for our new-old veg-oil powered Jeep! Potholes? Who cares?) and lashed at the windscreen as we ate lunch in the car, it actually more or less held off as we walked, played hide and seek and in some cases paddled round the tarn and back. Wind swirled around the Langdale Valley, threatening to bring the slate-grey cloud down onto us, but for some reason the sun decided it would keep smiling for just the right amount of time. With tired babies and soothed souls, we headed for home.

If this is Autumn, then bring it on!

The sun was literally winking at us from across the rooftops this morning, reflected off windows across town. It made us even more sure that today was the day for a Lakes walk.
Writing (or rather freeform drawing) on Pop's birthday card inspired a post-breakfast painting session. Maybe P should have his own Folksy shop.
We made our very winding way up past Coniston and Little Langdale to Blea Tarn and were greeted by so many gob-smacking views that you're lucky there aren't more pics here. The path looks really smooth in these images, but actually we fully tested the off-road potential of the buggies (and the mummies, we will have biceps like Fatima Whitbread at this rate) and got a flat tyre to show for it!
Brocolli soup al fresco was even better than at home last night (and no, I hadn't licked the mug clean, I used bread to mop up the last tasty dregs), especially as we insist on bringing proper mugs for soup and separate ones for redbush tea. Outdoors does not have to mean uncivilised ,although P's open air nappy change perhaps challenged that somewhat. Still, talk about a nappy change with a view, through the Scots Pines to the tarn and sunny fells beyond.
Welcome to October!

Soup!

Hooray! Finally managed to achieve pictures on the blog. Okay, so an interesting first choice maybe, but this Soule Mama Soup is yummy and will hopefully fuel another walk tomorrow, this time at Blea Tarn. P and I are entertaining our new pals from up the road for lunch before we set out for a buggy run. He decided to help with the cooking...
Fingers crossed the weather will be reasonably kind and the footpaths less overgrown than the one we took to Furness Abbey the other day- machetes would have been useful!
As for the last picture- well it's a bit of a teaser, as it could be part of the 'To-Do list' post I'm working on, or even the 'Wedding Preparations' one I have in mind. Suffice to say it's harvest-y and autumnal and much as I'm a knit-nut at heart I am enjoying the calming rhythm of hand stitching. I've learned that doing a decent job with sewing means s-l-o-w-i-n-g down and working methodically, which is definitely good for me and my usual whirlwind ways.