From cold to cosy and loving every minute

My legs ache.  My bum aches.  But it was worth it.

We're just back from a long weekend in the Peak District.  We stayed in an uber-comfortable cottage with a couple of friends of ours and had the most lovely time.  We did a huge walk every day, up hill and down dale, making sure we were back by dusk for showers and snoozes, wine and music (Madeleine Peyroux, Roberta Flack, Hafdis Huld... just gorgeous) before heading to the pub - next door! - for dinner.  It was A Perfect Weekend.  Exhausting but relaxing all at the same time.  

 

There is a lot I love about walking and I particularly like being out in the cold.  What I like most is the way that a long walk enhances everything for me: a flask of coffee by a frosty stream seems such a treat and a ham salad baguette tastes delicious when it's eaten at the top of a huge hill I've just huffed, puffed and grumbled my way up!  When I get back, a hot shower feels like actual hydro-therapy and a 5pm snooze is the very height of luxury.  

We have made a pact to walk more.  The dog was particularly interested in this news.

To top off our perfect weekend, we came home to the two wood-burning stoves we had fitted on Monday and hadn't been able to use yet.   We were dying to get home and light those babies! 

So here I am, sitting in my living room beside my new best friend.  I look over at her dreamily every twenty minutes or so and want to cover my husband with kisses for splashing out on this most fabulous thing for us. Our lovely little freezing-cold stone cottage is finally, properly, warm!

I'm going to top up my bucket of tea and start a flat crochet circle again, for extra practice.