Bye bye September

I can't believe it's the end of September already. Autumn is well and truly on its way. The leaves are turning beautiful shades of orange and gold, and just for a few days the sun has been shining too. Its been quite mild here this week too - very unusual considering the weather we had over summer. 

DD has been travelling quite a bit this week - off on the motorway to Manchester Monday and Tuesday, and then today on the train to Stafford for her first managers meeting. Then back to Manchester tomorrow. I think she's just looking forward to next week when she can go back to working in her local store which takes only 15 minutes to get to! 

I was off work Monday and Tuesday. I went to a funeral on Monday, then took my car to the garage yesterday for a service and MOT, which thankfully it passed. While I was waiting for my car I had time to browse the shops nearby and have a proper look at what they have. Quite a novelty for me as I don't normally enjoy browsing. I bought some clothes and some craft things (no surprises there). 

Talking of crafts (which is quite often with me), I've been busy making jewellery this week for a change, as I said I'd take a few more pieces in to my hairdressers this week. So this is what I came up with yesterday.....

I've made a few pairs of earrings tonight too. And I'm also waiting for some more clay shapes to dry thoroughly so that I can sand and paint them. 

It's all go here you know! 

What a weekend!

What a fabulous weekend we've had. While DD went to see her boyfriend, we had a lovely night away in a country pub near Ashbourne on the edge of the Peak District. 

DD had had a fabulous time training on the Isle of Wight. We picked her up from the airport on Friday night, complete with all her freebies she'd been given during the week. I'm so pleased she enjoyed it and hope she enjoys her new role. 

So, after arriving home Friday night, and unpacking her suitcase, DD repacked and left for Leicester yesterday morning. We'd booked a room at a country pub for us for last night as a last minute getaway for our Wedding Anniversary. Today we have been married 19 years! 

We arrived at the pub too early to check in, so we had some lunch and set off on a walk. The weather was glorious - blue sky and sunshine, and although we started out with our fleeces on, we quickly opted to go down to just t-shirts as it was so warm. 

The scenery was beautiful - a part of the country we don't often visit as we usually head north. 

And although we made it to a village with a pub that was open, we just did a quick geocache find then started heading back and had a snack overlooking Okeover Hall. 

We walked further than we thought we were going to, so we were ready for our evening meal back at the pub! 

And then we had this sight in the morning.........

Chickens everywhere!!! Strange but also lovely to see. 

Then after breakfast we headed off to Thorpe and pretty Dovedale. And once again the sun was shining. We have been so lucky with the weather this weekend.  

We were doing ok with the walk until we reached the 'popular' bit, where there was so many other people, and dogs off their leads, that it was starting to upset Oscar and starting to make things less enjoyable for us. So we turned round and headed back. 

It was very pretty, just too busy for us. So time for a brew back at the van. 

After that we headed home, making it back before DD.  

And look what DH got me for our anniversary .......

Aren't they beautiful?