Spurn Point

I'm not sure where last weekend went to - in a haze of wedding preparations I think, and now it's Saturday already. Despite the 'manicness' of the last few weeks David and I did get away in the caravan a couple of weekends ago. I felt the need to be by the sea so found us a little 'location site' ( only 5 vans ) at Kilnsea near Spurn Point.

As we walked out of the site to the right we were on the Humber Estuary

and turning left we very quickly reached the North Sea

The Wikipedia link gives you a brief history of Spurn Point or Spurn Head as it's also known, and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust the nature reserve.

We walked from the site (top leftish corner) to the point and back setting off in the sun and returning in the rain, making sure the tides were right as the point gets cut off at high tide.

there is a hut to shelter in if you do get cut off

The lighthouse is being restored through grants from the Heritage lottery fund and will be a wonderful place when finished.

The lifeboat station is at the end of the point and the crew are full time, living there with their families - rather isolated but spectacular.

Our other day was spent around Withernsea - a once thriving seaside destination but now much quieter, although they do run events at the weekends throughout the summer. There was a steam rally there when we were there.

The 'castle-like' pier towers were the entrance to the pier, which was built in 1877. Due to collisions with a number of local ships it no longer exists!
We found a delightful coffee shop where we were the only customers - such a shame as the coffee was good and the cakes delicious.

All in all a very good weekend to relax and have time to do some 'wedding work' They are from Kate of Just Pootling and you can find the pattern here

We are now very much into wedding countdown mode with it now being just 7 days. I hope to share next week with you very soon but I will tell you that the box my hat is in takes up half the back seat and comes half way up the back seat!! xx

1st wedding countdown

The wedding countdown has begun and with only 4 weeks to go as I write this, preparations are well underway. Obviously I can not divulge too many details but I can give you a flavour of what's been happening @ number 6.
Last weekend if you remember was gorgeous and I reminded David that he had a wedding arch to build out of old wooden ladders. I was starting to get a little worried about how this was going to work in term of 'trimming it up' and was very keen to get it sorted. He started on Friday, dismantling the extending ladder we had got on ebay and rummaging behind our shed for an old one we had there, laying them out on the garden to get height and width.

The end result was brilliant ( you'll have to wait for pictures!) It was everything and more that I had hoped for. Becky was really taken back when she saw it half finished on Saturday and when she and Tom called in on Sunday they were able to see it in all it's glory and give their input into how it was to be trimmed up.
My galvanised buckets that I bought a month ago and planted up with bedding plants are really looking lovely - I just hope they'll be as good in 4 weeks! I wasn't sure where we would use them when I planted them up but have a couple of ideas now.

As Becky had asked me to make her bouquet and those of the bridesmaids plus all the button holes I thought it might be useful to start to practice as I have never made a bouquet in my life. We went down to Morrisons and bought some flowers.

All I can say is I'm glad I have time for a couple more practices, it wasn't bad for a first try but not good enough for 'the day'. It was amazing how far those few flowers went, we put some together that would go on the register signing table and some in pots and tins to see what they would look like, so all in all about 50% of the way the flowers will be is now sorted. 

I must just finish by telling you about the advice we had on how to clean the wedding dress which is a little grubby round the bottom. We had gone to the dressmaker to see about the alterations and were asking about getting it cleaned. Pauline (the dressmaker) had a look at it and the labels and said 'Wash it'. Well you can imagine our faces - 'Wash it' 'Yes' she said 'The under slip could go in the washer and you can wash the dress by putting it in the bath. Just put lukewarm water in and some washing liquid, swish the dress around, rinse and hang out' She suggested we took the under slip home and wash it whilst she altered the wedding dress and then we could take the dress and wash it whilst she altered the slip. So we did, I put the slip in a pillowcase, fastening it with nappy pins ( do you remember those?) and washed it. The result - a perfectly clean and fresh smelling slip!! Will let you know how the dress wash goes, so till the next time have a lovely weekend xx

Elderflower cordial

The other week I noticed how the trees were full of elderflowers,so time to get cracking to make cordial. I made it last year but by the time I got going the flowers were getting passed their best so this year I wanted to get on top of it. I got obsessed looking for the best place to collect from which had easy parking and in the end chose a layby about 2-3 minutes drive away which had a tree in it and with more across the road. Having parked it became obvious I wouldn't need to go across the road and within 5 minutes I had collected 50 flower heads to use in this recipe. I follow it apart from not putting in limes, mainly because I didn't have any the first time I made it. It is soooo easy to make, below are the ingredients

and here is the process, dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to the boil

and the elderflowers

 add the sliced fruit and citric acid

stir and leave covered for 24 hours ( I don't worry if it's a day longer) and then bottle in sterilised bottles

It keeps in the fridge for a couple of months (if it lasts that long) and will freeze. We like it let down with sparkling water or even better prosecco! 

The elderflowers are getting passed their best but I have made another batch over the weekend which tasted just as delicious - give it a go whilst you have chance. L Anne xx

Manic 4 weeks - but oh so nice!

Well here I am VERY early Sunday morning, sun streaming in through one window and black clouds through another. I am enjoying a weekend for ME ME ME and loving every moment. I had a number of things planned (a new blog post being one of them) but mainly doing what I wan, when I want. David is away walking in the Dales so the house is peaceful and fairly tidy. I can listen to John Denver's greatest hits without comments, stretch out in a bed all to myself and sew till 9pm at night. Today apart from getting you all up to date with the manic few weeks at number 6, I am going to finish to cushion covers I started for Charlotte's new sofa, pack my case ready to go back down to Cornwall to see my gorgeous grandaughter, do a bit of meal planning which in turn might mean a quick trip to the shops and maybe bottle the elderflower cordial that I started yesterday.
But first a quick look back (with pictures) on what seems to have been a very busy 4 weeks.Nina's early birth being the start. She's out of hospital, weighing in at a heavy 5lb 12oz - not bad to say she was 4lb 6oz only 4 weeks ago. The tube is out, so no feeding through that any more, which meant she could be taken for a night away in Dartmouth and to the Hidden Hut feast night on Thursday. Below is my favourite picture of her taken at about 8 days. I am so looking forward to seeing her again in a couple of days.

In between the hospital visits at Spring Bank we had lots of fun with family and friends down in Cornwall. Packing this year seem to be a mammoth task as it included taking this rather large box of alcohol down for Becky and Tom who had a static van on the site

our hallway looked like this at one point

and the car and caravan loaded with not just our stuff but things for Charlotte and Angus and camping gear for Jonathan and Fran

But we made it, and our usual pitch was waiting for us although the sea fret/fog was so bad you couldn't see over the hedge 15 meters away.

We had our usual 'French Sunday lunch on a Saturday' catering for 14 this year. The last car to arrive were Jonathan, Fran, Becky and Tom who had been on the road for 9 hours having driven down from Stafford and getting caught in some of the worse traffic for a long time.

We all made a very good job of 'wetting the baby's head' drinking sparkling wine out of cut glass champagne glasses belonging to my Dad (hidden away in a locker when David wasn't around - more weight!)

 The sun came out eventually to make it another memorable day

 We still managed all our usual activities, going on the beach

A bbq

watching the sun set over Trevose Head

Breakfast at Jamie Oliver's 15, Watergate Bay

More picnics on the beach and swimming in the sea

Coffee and cake at Scott and Babs at Retorrick Mill, St Mawgan

 An evening walk on Constantine beach with Charlotte who had come home for the night.

and a couple of hours in Padstow before we left

Looking back at all the pictures we did managed to pack a lot in.

On returning, life didn't slow down as I was now chief 'final preparation person' for Becky's hen weekend at Garden Cottage Appleton Roebuck near York. It had been Charlotte's task to organised Becky's hen weekend which she had done, but of course could now not go to. 4 x A4 sheets of notes were passed on to me which included food and drink list, contact numbers for activities, money for various payments and a full itinerary complete with times for the weekend. Our hall again was full of stuff to take and the car loaded nearly to the roof for the second time in two weeks, and yes there did seem rather a lot of alcohol as the cool box was full too!

 It all ran very smoothly. The cottage slept 13 and was lovely especially after being trimmed up

the bride arrived

so almost a full team

 there was more than enough food and drink ( over a dozen empty bottles of prosecco went in the re-cycling box).

a photo booth was set up providing much hilarity

 the belly dancing class was greeted with enthusiasm.

afternoon tea at the Cedar Court Grand Hotel in York was - well take a look for yourselves

It was after that, that I left them to it, returning later on Sunday with David, his brother and sister in law where we took over the house for the final night after they had all gone and enjoyed a very pleasant evening. 

Life still remained busy even after all that as we were on duty again at the sailing club so more food needed preparing for that. I've been working extra at the clinic covering for colleagues away on holiday. Becky and Tom's wedding is now getting closer so I am getting my head round all that needs to be done for that. This was this weeks job - planting buckets up so they'll be in full bloom and look lovely outside at the venue.

So there you are, all up to date - well apart from my elderflower cordial making but that will keep for another day as by now you're probably loosing the will to live!! 

Till the next time xxx