Two blue bottles......

When Phil goes to Spain he always manages to bring us back some lovely presents; even though the only shops he gets to visit are in the airport! We have had nice pens and writing paper, bags with "Madrid" on them, last visit I got a beautiful bull keyring. He has also brought me these beautiful bottles. The water served at the villa comes in these and Phil thought I would like them as he knows how much I love blue! He has promised to bring me another one on his last trip in July, as I think a group of three will look even better!

I love Wednesdays. Wednesdays are like a mini-weekend in the middle of the week. I get a morning to myself and in the afternoon I have RDA. Bliss.

This Wednesday I also have the Race for Life at Chester Zoo in the evening.

My Christmas cactus is flowering - a bit early, it's true! This is just a snap to show its pretty colour.

I was supposed to be on a course today; when I got there it had been cancelled. So that was a 50 mile round trip for nothing. I wasn't too pleased as apparently the decision had been made to cancel it LAST FRIDAY!

RDA was good today although we were short of helpers for the middle ride and had to have two groups. One little boy has been gradually building up his confidence and we got him on a pony for the first time last week. This week he tried his first trot and his delighted giggles made us helpers all grin as they echoed round the indoor school.

Now it's cold and many of the ponies have been clipped they need their rugs on after the rides. Some of the rugs seem to have very complicated straps and some ponies are very "ticklish" so far an amateur like me it can be tricky. But I managed quite well and Daz was very patient as I fiddled about his nether regions.

A visit to "The Deep"

I haven't blogged since Sunday because I went over to Leeds to visit Talj. One of the things we did was go to Hull and visit the big aquarium there called "The Deep". Although I don't think it's quite as good as our own local place "The Blue Planet" I really enjoyed our trip. Except for lunch. Lunch was disgusting. Soggy butties, cold chips and a really nasty "healthy" cereal bar...The picture above shows a statue at the entrance.

We had fun trying to take photos through the glass. Most of them were pretty useless but a couple turned out ok. I liked this little yellow fish.


I wasn't so keen on this shark! Look at those mean little eyes. This photo can't convey the real sense of menace in his look. We were very glad to have a thick sheet of glass between us and him!

We found Nemo...well, several Nemos anyway. They are very attractive little fish and I liked the sea anenome too.

I had a really nice time in Leeds with T. On the Tuesday we went to a sushi bar for lunch (sheer absolute BLISS!!!) and also made fairy cakes. I know it's been an emotional time for T but we still managed to enjoy each others company and have a few laughs.

Today I went for a long walk with M and J in the morning and in the afternoon it was RDA. On the last ride we had a new rider called Liz who was very nervous but really enjoyed herself. I was leading Daz and when Ruth was adjusting his girth he bit me on the forearm. OUCH!!!

Two different shots of the iron men on Crosby Beach, a large scale art installation from Angel of the North creator Antony Gormley called "Another Place"
I really enjoyed my windblown evening here with the Wildcat; although her photos are more impressive than mine! I never get tired of this beach and the wonderful statues. Many of them are developing interesting growths of marine life.
The Corner monthly competition results were announced last night; the subject was HUMOUR and I got second, third and joint fifth places!! I can't say my most successful photo was of any technical merit - just something I happened to see!! click HERE if you want to see my photos and the winner; which IS a good photo!!
This morning I'm off for my training walk - it's less than a month now until my Race for Life. I have RDA this afternoon. My back and right hip are really hurting today despite liberal dosages of painkillers - I think it's the rain. Hope it holds off while I'm out walking.

Welcome to the first part of my "Build your own lion" series...



The top picture got POTD yesterday on the Photographers Corner; I was really pleased with that. This picture turned out just about exactly how I wanted it too and you can't ask for more than that!

Until now, if you'd asked me what my favourite big cat was, I wouldn't have said "lion". Now it is. I got such a huge thrill out of being so close to them and to looking into their eyes.

Another glorious sunny day here; and P's birthday. I'm off for my long walk soon, then finishing off P's birthday cake (victoria sandwich with raspberries and whipped cream filling!) and then in the afternoon it's my RDA session.

Todays photo was inspired by a post from Carmi about small details. This is a tealight holder I found once and had to buy...I love the shape of it and it was very, very cheap!! It was a bit dusty though....I pulled off the worst of the cobwebs before I took the photo!

Another training walk this morning that went well. A came along as well; it was non-stop exercise for our voices as well as our legs and an absolutely glorious morning. In the afternoon I went to Riding for the Disabled - first time after the Easter break. I loved it - last ride I was leading Albert, an Irish pony who must be part mule judging by the size of his ears and his stubborn disposition!! But i like the horses with character. The entire ride he was either sneezing all over me OR trying to nudge me into the ditch - bless.

Am off to visit a friend tonight - and her new coffee machine! I'm promised a cappucino and we are going to watch "The Apprentice" together.

Just a happy day....

I have really enjoyed today! First thing I met up with J and M, two of my Helsby friends for a Race for Life training walk. I took this photo of the tree branches against the blue sky after we'd walked up the first big hill! As you can see the weather was perfect!


A bit further on we passed one of the local pubs. It's quite a nice place to have lunch both in summer and winter - T and I have had a few lunches here. You feel you've earned your drink if you walk here - whichever way you approach it it's up steep hills!


This last pic is the view up Towers Lane. We walked down it today but we often walk UP instead! It's a longish pull and at first J and I couldn't walk it and talk at the same time (M actually RUNS up it, the fit minx that she is!!) but now we can walk up it chattering away and barely notice the incline. We saw coal tits, long-tailed tits, a green finch and heard a woodpecker. Lots of coltsfoot is out in the hedgerows.

After lunch I went off to RDA. I actually remembered to wear my purple riding gloves today which was lucky as i was helping to lead Theo. The lady who usually takes Theo had hurt her wrist when he knocked her over last week making a dash for a patch pf grass at the end of a ride! So she wanted me to help her. Theo has his "little ways" - he kicks out with a sort of "pawing the ground" motion and also a tendency to nibble people, as well as his habit of trying to snatch any bit of greenery he passses. On the whole he was very good today. All three rides turned up and all of Theo's riders enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air. For such a contrary beast, he is a total lamb in the stable, very docile and gentle. Go figure!

Sorry for rambling on but once again I'm on a bit of a post-horse "high"!

By the fireside...
It has been a long, busy and productive day at work - but I really enjoyed it! Yesterday I was feeling a bit downhearted but today was so much better! We had our time briefing after work and I brought in bread rolls and got chips from the chippy - just a little snack but it made the meeting seem less like a chore. The trusty slow cooker had done it's work so there was pork in plum and ginger sauce ready when i got home. I snapped this pic from where I lay on the floor in front of the fire - it's been chilly today and by the fire is a nice place to end the day.

My IBS has been terrible this week for some reason and right now my tummy feels as if one of Lori's frisky horses has been dancing all over it so I'm off to bed with a hot water bottle. I have a Race for Life training walk in the morning and RDA in the afternoon!