I haven't blogged for ages; things have been quite frenetic here! This photo is by way of a tribute to Kerri who is one of my blog friends and the most wonderful nature and wildlife photographer. While we were in Kent this summer I spent ages trying to capture some butterflies, inspired by Kerri, who is a genius at this type of photography. In this dark, damp November, it's nice to look back on the summer sunshine we enjoyed in August!

My lovely mother in law has had her first chemo; it seemed to go ok and so far the side-effects have not been too bad. Please, keep her in your thoughts and prayers, as well as my sister in law in New Zealand who is at home recovering from a major operation.

We have had some good news this week; how nice it is to write that! Our niece Steph (daughter of sister in law in NZ) is expecting her first baby in May. We are all so excited for her.

You may have seen news coverage of the floods in Cumbria a couple of days ago. Our friends D and J live in Keswick and their home was flooded in 2005. Afterwards they had to live in a small caravan (trailer) on their drive for 8 months while their house was repaired. They run an animal rescue charity from their home and somehow they managed to keep this going.

Anyway, we heard on Friday that their home is flooded AGAIN. I am gutted for them. They have had a lot to deal with over the past few years and now this happens again. They are both in their sixties and not in the best of health. It all seems so unfair!

I'm trying to get my head around the approach of Christmas and we've done some shopping! Not surprisingly, we don't feel madly festive this year! I always miss mum and dad so much at Christmas; even after all these years it still hurts. However, with all that's happened lately I'm doing my best to be positive and count the many blessings we still have.

I have barely touched my new camera; isn't that shocking? I have been feeling so anxious I just haven't felt inspired to pick it up. I'm determined that's going to change over the next few days: besides I really need to get to grips with it before our next wedding in January.

Time for bed...

This week has been another roller-coaster of emotional ups and downs: I honestly don't really know how I'm feeling from one minute to the next! The photo shows Kate & Sian paddling in a river near Watendlath proving that even big girls of 16 & 14 can enjoy the pleasures of wading in wellies!

I bought a new camera this week. We have four wedding bookings already for next year and I don't think my little D40, which is really an entry-level DSLR, is up to some of the challenging lighting situations every wedding seems to throw up. As I have arthritis in my hands and shoulders, I have to be wary of how much a camera weighs, especially when my beloved (but heavy!) Sigma lens is attached to it. So I went for the D90, the updated version of the other camera I own, the D80.

We went into Chester on Saturday afternoon; it was frantically busy and I was amazed to see that Christmas shopping seems well underway already! I loathe the shops when it's busy and could feel myself getting crosser and crosser every time someone bashed me with their parcels! However, it did bring home to me that we haven't got long to buy stuff and so we did actually buy a few presents like perfume for the girls and a few stocking fillers. i have such mixed feelings about Christmas this year!

Colours of autumn

Sometimes tiny landscapes can be just as evocative as larger ones (if not more so!) To be honest I don't think my heart is in landscape photography. Phil is so much better than I am and he has the right sort of vision as well as patience! I prefer photographing people and I also enjoy cityscapes and detail shots as well as the quirky and the unusual. The photo above was taken in the garden of the cafe in Watendlath, a hamlet near Keswick.

Ullswater

Although our holiday was not a stress-free time we did enjoy a lot of happy hours together. This view of Ullwater was taken on the Monday, when we took the steamer to Howtown and then walked back along the lakeside. The walk was full of memories of my dog Charlie: I always felt it was one of his favourite walks. At times I could almost imagine him trotting ahead of me. I miss him so much, especially so in the Lakes, a place he adored. It was full of water and walks for him, absolute paradise! His ashes are scattered on the banks of Derwentwater; one day Phil & I will join him there.

Open-air ablutions?

Here's my quirky photo of the holiday, which was also taken in Watendlath. The walk from Surprise View is another favourite of mine, partly as it can incorporate a stop at the little cafe in the hamlet. We had very nice gingerbread this visit! The garden where you sit to enjoy your coffees and snacks is full of very bold chaffinches who demand crumbs with menaces! Phil called me over to show me this imaginative corner; I was only disappointed that they hadn't included a toilet!

It has been quite a busy week so far; on Monday I was in the middle of a major cleaning/tidying session at home when I was called into work as there was a staffing crisis! Tuesday wasn't much better as I had three staff off sick and one on leave! Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Today I did more of the cleaning/tidying (I am a bit obsessive about that right now!!!!) as well as Riding for the Disabled which as usual was fab and really lifted my spirits.

We went away for half-term to Keswick in the Lake District. It was not a perfect holiday by any means! Oh, there were good things about it (I always love us being together away from the Internet and satellite TV LOL!)like long walks and games of Scrabble and seeing our friends David & Joyce. Despite appalling weather forecasts every night, most days were dry and very mild.

However, there was one major problem that I simply can't blog about it; maybe one day it will become one of those family legends you all laugh about but right now it's just NOT FUNNY AT ALL!

Life feels so weird at the moment; all sorts of little things are going wrong, household appliances are breaking, things are just STRANGE. Underlying it all is the fact that three very close family members are ill, two of them very seriously. Compared to that everything else is just white noise; but the white noise seems to be a reflection of how things around us seem to be completely out of kilter....

Bateman's - Home of Rudyard Kipling

This is a view of the above; one of the loveliest homes we saw during our summer holiday. We all agreed we would feel right at home there!

Yesterday we went to see some potential wedding clients. They had attended Chris & Katy's wedding in September and we were recomended. That was so kind of Chris & Katy! We really enjoyed meeting B & S again and S's parents at their beautiful farm house. Today I heard that they are booking us, which is lovely.

On the way home, we stopped the car to look at a map. Suddenly we heard a HUGE bang and looked up to see a car buried in a tree across the road! I rushed over to see if I could help the driver whilst phoning for the police and ambulance. To my huge relief the driver was ok, just very shocked and a bit sore in places. Phil was busy comforting the other driver. I have no idea who was to blame; they both seemed like really nice, genuine people and I'm just thankful no-one was seriously injured!

I've spent most of today with my mum in law. I love her SO MUCH. It hurts so much to see her frightened. I just want to "fix her", make everything go away and I know I can't.

I was lucky enough to see & hear the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, when she appeared at Wirral libraries' BookFest last Monday. I was taking the photos on the night and here is one of Carol Ann with three incredibly talented young Wirral poets. Carol Ann is not only a great poet but a very friendly and down to earth lady with a great sense of humour!

We found an old manor house on one of days out in Kent; it was very small and felt very peaceful in the heat of an August day. I liked the misty glass in the leaded windows and the glimpse of red amongst the green foliage.The summer seems so far away now but we are having a beautiful autumn so far.

WHAT a week; it was Wirral Libraries' BookFest and I worked a lot of extra hours. Every event seemed to go pretty well, though. I got to take quite a lot of photos which I haven't had a chance to process yet. The week was full of challenges but I really enjoyed most of it; it was fun! i have been very short of time: i have been visiting blogs and reading all your posts even though I may not always have commented.

Phil's mum is recovering after her big operation but prayers and positive thoughts are still needed. She is being really brave. When I see her smile I know I would not be so cheerful under the same circumstances.

Oh dear, I had a nasty shock today. There was an AWFUL photo of me in the local paper! A couple of weeks ago RDA held the world's biggest riding lessoon to celebrate its 40th anniversary and our group at Foxes took part. Well, there was a reporter there and she got a photo of me leading Candy and I look terrible; tatty hair, baggy t-shirt billowing over the coat tied round my hips, double chins, the LOT! The sort of photo that people stick on the fridge to put them off eating! I was mortified! But at least our rider, ally , looks fab. Ally could hardly sit up when she started last term and now she has great balance. It's so encouraging to see her enjoying her riding and getting better each week. RDA is one of the best parts of my week - my life! I'm so lucky to get to do it!

We have had three enquiries for weddings in the past week. It's funny how you can have nothing for ages and then three come along at once!