Showing posts with label Seaside. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seaside. Show all posts

Monday, 16 July 2012

Sun, Sand and Sea in Norfolk

We went to the seaside over the weekend.  My parents have a static caravan by the beach in North Norfolk and we had booked it a while ago.  It was tempting to call the whole thing off given the weather here on Friday but I am fed up of the rain putting the mockers on my summer so decided that we would proceed with our mini break and just ensure that we had the right clothes with us in case of rainstorms.

When we picked J up en route on Friday night the rain was coming down in bucket-loads and I was mildly alarmed (but not surprised) to see that he wasn't wearing a coat.  (He's a teenager and I don't think they 'do' coats.)  He was also wearing a pair of brand spanking new - very white - trainers.  I quelled my natural instinct to insist on him grabbing a jacket and a pair of more practical [older, less cool] shoes and thanked the Lord that we had packed a shedload of DVDs in case we were stuck indoors.

Saturday, however, dawned bright and breezy.  I was up ages before Andrew and J so made myself a big mug of coffee and sneaked into the living room, put the little fire on and spent a few hours stitching before the menfolk got up.  It was bliss!  

  


Andrew was first to surface so we dressed quickly and took the dog for a walk to the bakery to fetch supplies for brunch.  We sat around the caravan watching TV for a while and then drove across to Holt for cake and a poke around some of the antique shops.  I have found a new favourite shop and spent a bit too long lusting after vintage factory baskets (bought two, yay!), vintage-style ribbon and wire bread baskets.  I also found a ladybird book in an antique shop that I had LOVED as a child and completely forgotten about.  Wish I had bought it now, I keep thinking about it:  The Elves and the Shoemaker.  Remember that one?  I loved the little pink boots the elves had made.


When we got back to the caravan it was warm and sunny so we took a long walk along the beach - J and Andrew played catch all the way along the promenade.


Walking along the sea front with my little dog in the sunshine, watching my two best boys running around, laughing and yelling to each other makes me so happy, really properly heart-squeezingly happy.  Such simple pleasures.  Nice to spend the weekend remembering what's important - it's been a bit stressful round here lately.

We rounded up the day with an early dinner at the pub, a quick turn around the little amusement arcade and walked back to the caravan with an ice cream before settling down to watch a film together.

Sunday was more of the same - walks in the sunshine, sewing and reading.  The weather was beautiful so we chose to make the most of it and stay a bit later than we ordinarily would.  It was quiet, relaxed and nice to have some proper quality time together.  

♥♥♥♥♥

Today has been a different story altogether.  We discovered that our debit card has been cloned and the fraudsters (love that word) have spent £1,500 on gambling websites.  (I am ashamed to admit that I was a teeny bit relieved at the fact it was a genuine fraudster this time.  Andrew phoned me, just a few weeks ago, in a huge panic about a potential fraud on our account where the fraudsters had spent ridiculous amounts of money at Amazon and Space:nk, all in the space of a few days.  Erm, no darling, that was me.  Not popular.)

We will get the money back but not before our holiday on Thursday and I had big plans for that cash, largely involving the French flea markets and haberdasheries.  :-)

Have a good week everyone.  Thanks for popping over here and a big thanks to my new followers for clicking the follow button!  *waves* 

I'm planning a giveaway to celebrate 300 followers so we're getting closer! 

Nicki 

x

Monday, 18 April 2011

Spring in my step

We're back from Norfolk a little bit sunburned - wasn't the weather gorgeous!  Saturday started with an early downpour but by the time we'd eaten a leisurely breakfast the clouds had cleared and it was just beautiful.

Our weekends in Norfolk seem to be dominated by traditions and rituals from start to finish, I love it. We always arrive early evening on a Friday and the first thing we do is dump our bags and walk over to the fish and chip shop to pick up our supper.  This weekend we did plenty of walking, ate lots of ice cream and enjoyed a bottle or two of wine.  I also managed to fit in some crochet and a bit of reading. 

We left the house in a bit of a rush on Friday evening and I forgot my camera - was so annoyed with myself.   I always forget my camera when we go on little holidays.  So I'm sorry for the lack of seaside pics - I'll take a few next time.


We got home and had a cup of tea in the garden and I noticed there is a little more colour than there was on Friday.  

The clematis along the side of the house is starting to flower up:


I love it; it looks so wild and pretty to me.


You don't notice it this clearly 'in real life' but in the photo above you can see that the area near the window used to be a door.  There are a few doorways in our house that have been bricked over - it was two very small cottages once that have been knocked into one.  I think it's kind of quirky.

We've got another clematis which grows over this pergola into the back garden but that seems to flower much later - late August/early September.  Here's a photo of it right now; not at all pretty but starting to green up.  It looks beautiful in full bloom; the flowers are white.



And this little tree.  Is it a lilac? I have no idea but it wasn't in flower on Friday:


Starting to get very excited about the summer now!

What did you get up to at the weekend?  Is your garden plumping up nicely?  If you can tell me what type of tree it is above, I'd love to hear from you.

Nicki xx