Little Critters - caching in the sun

Alice and Chris decided they fancied a walk in the countryside today.  As I was planning on doing some caching I asked if they would like to join me, which they did.  It is always nice to have some company on my walks, although I am equally happy to go on my own.

So after our lie in this morning we headed off on the 20 minute drive to the start.  We took Millie with us as she is very easy to walk. Diesel is just hard work especially when you don't know what you are walking into.
We found most of the caches okay; just two that we did not find.  A few muggles made the logging a bit tricky at times.  The sun was shining and it was a nice 16 degrees.  The rape was in full bloom which when close to it can make your eyes sting a bit. Thankfully we didn't have too much of that to walk through.

The caches were mostly little insect toys with a very small log book. We couldn't find two easy ones but found the difficult hide very quickly.  Millie behaved herself, although she did manage to dip into two ditches.  I think Chris and Alice enjoyed the stroll. It did take us quite a while to walk the three miles though. I am so slow and the ground was very uneven.

Chris and Alice decided they fancied a barbecue and offered to buy the meat.  Alice phoned Andy. He had already bought a leg of lamb for a roast but was able to change the plans and got the gas BBQ, garden and chairs organised whilst we went shopping.  Whilst Andy was cooking Chris Alice and I sat outside and chatted.  Sev was still playing a game on his PC which was starting to wind Andy up.  Sev eventually came out after his game had finished and after we had already started to eat.  It was a lovely BBQ; loads of food.   Andy gave the dogs a bone each and they merrily munched on those for a little while.  Sev took a video of Diesel chomping on his bone.  If I can I'll load the video up on here, but it is on youtube. "Diesel enjoying a bone".  Turn the volume on; it is quite funny.  We then had a lovely raspberry roulade for dessert.

After eating we were all a bit stuffed and sat int he living room for a while.  All the time Alice wanted to play a board game but Chris and Andy are not too keen on board games.  It's difficult to play a game with three people.  After about an hour we managed to persuade Chris to play Monopoly.  Now Sev ALWAYS wins at Monopoly.  So I already knew the outcome before we started. But then I nearly always end up drunk when playing, but didn't this time.  After Chris and Alice merged, Sev and I merged.  Then of course the inevitable - Sev won. 

After that we all chilled out in the living room again before I went up to have my bath and get ready for bed.  Altogether an enjoyable day.   Back to work on Monday and Wednesday and then I am off all over Easter and back on the following Wednesday.  Hooray.  two weeks with two days of work and then at the end of April a whole week off.  Yippee.

Life. What have we got to show for all those years at the end of it?

Recently a very old and dear friend of Andy's died.  We visited her husband and daughter to offer our condolences and any support we could give.  Whilst talking we considered the thirty years that Andy had known her for.  Her husband struggled to remember what they did during a period of time in their life.  After chatting and putting pieces together we surmised that they did what most couples do before the children come along.  Potter about, enjoy lie ins at the weekend and mostly just go to work Monday to Friday.    We talked about keeping diaries to remember the little day to day things. One remembers and takes photos of the big events in our lives. You know the ones.  Christmas, Easter, summer holidays, birthdays and any other significant event.  But we forget to note the little daily things in our lives.

What did our bathroom look like way back then?  What did I do most weekends during a particular decade.  Since I've started geocaching I guess most of my weekends have included a caching trip somewhere. But before then?  Probably taking the kids somewhere - the beach or the park.

So after some contemplation since our chat yesterday I thought I might start up a little diary of my daily life.  It probably wont be terribly inspiring, but at least it will note the small day to day things that occur.  The summer is just starting so at least it might be a little bit more interesting than during the winter as at least I can get outside after a day at work.

So begin my little diary.  Yesterday we drove up to see Andy's friend's husband and daughter. It was a lovely sunny day but we spent most of it in the car or in the house. We went to Costa for lunch and I told them about a cache nearby  but we all agreed it was too far (1000feet) to bother with today.  Before we drove back home Andy and I stopped near a river so he could collect himself before driving home.  I suggested a short walk - to pick up a cache. I know - I'm shameless.  But we both enjoyed the walk through the meadow.  There were sheep with their lambs. It was a delight to see the lambs basking in the sun.  Found the cache quickly.  It was a church micro so I was pleased to find it.  We went back to the bridge looking over the river and just enjoyed the view and the peace and quiet for a few minutes before the long drive home.  Sev and Alice were home and we ordered pizza as no-one felt like cooking. After stuffing our faces with a pizza each I shared out some sweets - revels and starmix.

Earth Hour

What are YOU doing at 8.30pm on Saturday 26th March? Millions of people from around the globe will be switching off their lights in a silent campaign to reduce global warming.

Check out the WWF site for more information - http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk

Earth Hour

SNOW

It's been snowing for three days and the temperatur hasn't risen above zero so we have loads of snow still. I can't believe how deep it is. I don't think it has snowed this much for a very long time. Cars are just about getting around now and Andy and I went shopping yesterday and today. But otherwise we have all stayed in - fortunately no-one has had to travel in to work; although Andy is working in his office in the garden. Andy's route to work-

We took the dogs for a quick run over the green. Millie loves the snow and had a fantastic time chasing snowballs. Diesel was just a bit bemused by it all.

Millie getting completely covered in snow -

Both Millie and Diesel waiting for a snowball to catch.Millie having fun in the snow.

Frosty morning

When I woke up this morning I noticed the heavy frost and when I was drinking my tea the sun started shining. Remembering that today was my last chance to get some photos done for the Facebook's Photography Trading Card Group, I leapt up and went outside with my camera. I left the dogs behind as I wanted to concentrate on the photo shoot. The car needed defrosting first!
There were some really cool frost patterns on the car windows.

Going straight to the woods, I started snapping; here are some of the photos taken today. It was a lovely morning and I was really surprised at how many golfers and dog walkers there were out at 9am on a very cold Sunday morning. I like these two the most. The posts lead the eye along the path to the man walking his dog right at the end. And this one is of a hedge covered in frost.

Then, I came back and collected the dogs and took them for a long walk. It was hard work trying to get some good photos of them both in the same shot!!

Early start

Bleurgh. It is 7am and Andy has already dropped me off at work. However, I can't get into the office until 7.30am so am sitting in the cold 24 hour computer room waiting for the receptionist to arrive so I can get to my desk and start work. When Andy dropped me off early last time I actually started doing some work, but I wont get paid for it, so I'm not doing it this time.

So where were we with the films? Argh, no I haven't got my list, it is on my laptop at home. I will just have to continue this tonight.