New camera

Just been out for a quick walk with Lily trying out the new camera. Not read the manual yet but I already like it more than the old one which I've been moaning about for the year I've had it. This one is apparently good at film which will mean we'll get a lot of use out of it for covering William's many sports!

Italy holiday!

Fortunately we decided to drive to Italy for Easter which meant we could take Lily with us! We also missed the chaos to do with the volcanic ash! We had 5 days of summer sunshine and woke up on the sixth day to winter!

Despite the somewhat mixed weather we had a great time and some of the highlights included William doing the kick-off for a local rugby match, Lily learning to swim, spening time with friends, delicious food and wine and some gentle walking in the hills when the weather permitted!

Ordinary day

Mamma gone now and she summarised her stay nicely on her blog. No stress and plenty of walks! She won't be unhappy having left as the next massive snow storm is on its way, just dusty flakes at the moment but much more forcast for the night!



Doesn't seem like the winter weather is harming the moles, just look at the size of the mole hill!




Made some nice cakes with Will while he was off school!

Getting out on the bike!

Sometimes I realized that despite having so much "free" time I haven't been out for a ride on my own in a long time. Of course I go out on my bike a lot but most of the time it is for work, and while I enjoy it, it isn't the same as going out for pleasure. So yesterday the sun was shining and despite having a million things I should be doing I got changed in the morning, took William to school on the way, went on a quick spin to tire Lily out and after dropping her off a home I cycled for most of the morning enjoying the sunshine, the rocky descent and pedalling while listening to my favorite music. It was great! Especially wonderful to come home and feel like I haven't just wasted such a beautiful day on washing bed linnen and catching up on paper work!

Even more snow!

Well now it is proper chaos! School are shut and most people are home from work, including John! He tried to get the Landrover out but just slid down diagonally nearly hitting the gatepost. About 15 centimeters of snow fell over night and since most councils have nearly run out of grit and salt the roads remain untreated and barely drivable, unless you got a FIAT Panda 4X4!!!I've renamed my car "the snowmobile" as it is fantastic in the snow, just floats over the surface with hardly any sliding about and can climb even the iciest of slopes!

Lily met her friend Harley the great dane on the morning walk. He is so big he can put his head throught the Landrover window without even stretching...and then drool over the seats... Lovely natured dog though and Lily loves him!

More snow!

The snow has come back and it has got very cold for English standards. -8 C this morning! Yesterday I walked up to Kinder scout, the highest peak in the Peak District (only 633 meters!). It felt like climbing Mount Everest at times as the snow made it much more exciting! Kinder Scot is a plateau but has very steep edges. At one point is Kinder downfall which freezes during winter and attracts ice climbers (you can see them on the picture if you look closely). It was a glorious day!

Happy New Year!

Best Wishes for a good and happy 2010 to everyone!

From Emmy, John, William, Lily, Tikka and Keema

The pictures are from todays afternoon walk with Lily. It is still freezing cold here!