Human Lifestyle

Gill woke me by coming and turning the radio on in the bedroom as our friend Anneliese Emmans-Dean was on Woman's Hour, with some of her wonderful poetry (hear it here from about 14 mins 20 seconds in) so after that I got up and before breakfast, went to buy bread at Thomas's. 

A bit later I did a round trip to Hazel Court, disposing of wet carpet, some electrical equipment I found in a skip and I put it in the WEEE skip for recycling, some metal in the metals skip, and 3 sacks of drinks cartons.  I had no hassle whatsoever from anyone... in fact I had 2 nice conversations, one with a pet-fancier (rabbits?) who gave me his old straw bedding and another chap called Jeff whom I had a 10 or 15 minute chat with!  From here I went on to Country Fresh to see Richard and pick up some veg for us and for Debbie, and quite a lot of compostables.

Delivered Debbie's veg, home to deal with ours and before the light went, loaded some gubbins into the Compostumbler and then helped Gill prepare some sprouts for tea.  The sprouts were a bit bitter, (and we'd stir-fried them) so we added a tiny bit of sugar, some bouillon, herbs and sesame seeds... this made them delicious!  I had this with the second half of the rice/stuffing mix, and a bit of celery soup on top.  It was a good meal.

I'd been invited to Andy D'Agorne and Denise Craghill's New Year's Eve party, so I set off at about 8 and delivered Anna's TENS machine back to her... which wasn't really any use to Gill as TENS is good at localised pain, not the all-over type.  But good to know that Anna hires them out.  She was just setting off to the party, with her neighbour Pauline.  I cycled along to Broadway and was pleased to find quite a few people already partying, including a photo quiz which was fun.

I especially enjoyed talking to Will whom I know from the Green Party and his 12 year old son who was very bright and politically opinionated!  My friend Tracy, from York Green Festival days, was there with one of her friends. Guy was there, and Catherine who's voice I like, and Dave Taylor...although I didn't have a chance to speak to his partner Chris who people speak highly of, but I've never really got to know her.  There were others too... a buzzing party.  I left at about 11and cycled home via a collectible waste wooden structure which only just fitted on my bike trailer, but will make excellent kindling.

Saw the New Year in with Gill and the boys, which was really nice, lots of hugs all round. 

Up early... woke up having a dream that my eldest son was pulling my duvet off me telling me to get up.  He wasn't, but I did.

And had a good day.... did some tidying by taking compostables down the garden, and decided to dig out the Compostumbler, as I had a bit of cooked food to put in which I didn't want to put in an open heap.... as it attracts rodents.  So, I decanted about half of the Compostumbler contents into a dalek, and was delighted to find the centre was full of live compost worms.... not moving much, as some of the rest of the tumbler contents was frozen solid, but the middle had a healthy population of living but slow-moving worms.  Oh joy!  Anyway, I added the 2 bags of paper plates and party food from the home schoolers party, which has been sitting quite happily in the studio... some of the time at sub-zero temperatures. I also had a 20kg sack of chapati flour which had got wet with the studio pipe-burst, so I put quite a bit of that in the tumbler as well.

Anyway, we'd been invited to Jane's Scrabble Tournament, but Gill had said that she couldn't imagine our boys enjoying it and so she wanted to stay at home and I could go and play Scrabble.  So at about 3pm i cycled down to town with the cheque which arrived yesterday, for the 5 days of Santa in Kirklees.  I was glad to get that into my account!

Then onto Fishergate for an afternoon of Scrabble.  I arrived at the same time as Andy D'Agorne and the house was already full of a whole load of Jane's Mum's friends (Jane inherited the house when her Mum died) and our other Green councillor, Dave Taylor.  I was pleased to meet Jane's partner Dave, who's from Hull.  Later, Jennifer and Jamie arrived, and Peter, who lives less than a minute's walk away.

After a bit of chat, including talking sculptures with Jane's Dave, I had the first of two games... the first was against Jane's Dave, who won, Jamie and Tracey, and the second was against Dave Taylor (the winner), Peter and Jennifer.  I came third in both games.  Not my usual standard... but I really enjoyed the games.

There was one other Scrabble game going on, plus something similar called Upwords which I'd love to have a go with.  Looks really good!

Jane had done a load of lovely baking... apparently a new skill, or art, as actually she's an artist, and so we all got fed, and there was plenty to drink, and stimulating conversation.  A really good event.

I left at 9ish, not sure exactly, and cycled home, collecting nothing at all.  Gill and the boys were happy, they hadn't done anything, but were fine.

Out with the old and in with the new?  The past year has been full of many things that I plan on editing, and also cultivating.  Not just in the home, but in every facet of my life.  But, in my home right now, I crave fresh and green things at this time of year, don't you? Changes don't have to be big.  Maybe it's a  new color for the bathroom walls, a new set of drinking glasses to replace the mismatched glassware, or a new morning ritual that gives you a better kick start to your day. 

Life will always have problems that have yet to be solved, rooms that have yet to be finished, and finances to continually try to figure out, but I plan on making tiny gradual makeovers on those tired and worn out things in the New Year.  I'm going to start with my bedroom. New sheets?  Cotton...yes. And Pillows...yes!  One thing I'm a firm believer in though, is that these mini-me's do not have to break the bank.  Even some simple flower arrangements from the grocery store.

We are busy designing our own line of pillows that will be sure to bring freshness into your lives. I can't wait to show you, come January! I'm also busy planning an equestrian themed birthday party for 417 Magazine Home.

Goodbye to 2010 and Hello to New Beginnings and A Life that Cultivates Your Soul!

{images via fromtherightbank.com/}

Thanks for always reading.

xo
sharon

A stylized shot of a recent snowshoe at the Bemrose Ski Circus near the Breckenridge Ski Resort. For more great pictures of the sky, visit Skywatch Friday. Are those of you in Europe or the east coast of the US over winter yet?

Another late start.  Another fairly nothingy day.... although I started it by making up my muesli. As we've had a Suma delivery recently, I put in some chocolate raisins and yoghurt raisins, as well as my home-made raisins, dried pears, dried pineapple, foraged almonds and home-grown walnuts. Delicious!

Also I made a really nice fruit leather.  Richard had given me 2 bags of cranberries so I sorted those... there were lots of mushy ones, so I just kept the firm ones, washed and drained.  Then I got 3 bunches of frosted bananas, all black and soft, but the banana flesh inside was still pale, although looked cooked.  I put these in the liquidiser with the juice of 3 or 4 limes, and then put the resultant pink semisolid into a sieve and spent a good long time wiping it through with what we call a 'last lick', a soft spatula used to scrape stuff out of bowls and pans.

So, this puree was poured into a shallow tray, lined with a plastic bag, one from two rolls I got for free from somewhere, and balanced this precariously on the lid of a saucepan on the stove.  Too precariously as it slipped and tipped, but I got to it in time to stop more than a few spoonfuls falling out and onto the hearth.

I had another 'use it up' tea.  I found a little box of sage and onion stuffing in the back of a cupboard whilst sorting things out, with a best before date of 2004.  But as it was in a sealed packet, so I decided to mix it with some assorted veg, some rice left over from yesterday, and mixed it with hot water, as per instructions, and then microwaved the lot in a sort of nutloaf style.  The kids had left half a tin of pasta hoops in tomato sauce, so I heated this on the stove and poured this over the portion of stuffing loaf.  Not too bad.

Used a big can of wood-heated water for a bath for one of the boys, and then enjoyed watching the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture with my other son, although he said he felt patronised as 'everyone already knew about how Velcro works'. 

Later, I peeled and sliced a load of frosted kiwis to dry, and a few pears.

The building is supposed to be finished in a little over two weeks.  In the mean time, I'm busy figuring out what to do with everything...shuffling, and scuffling my feet on things, furniture, and becoming a more organized business girl, which shocks me every now and then, because it won't be long 'til I have a legitimate space. 

I've been picking up furniture to take to the upholsterer, cleaning up messes, and rearranging my house with all the fun, new stuff.  We did a photo shoot of my freshly painted white living room that was stylized with some of the things I'll be carrying in the store.   Hopefully I'll be able to share the pictures soon. 

The first picture above is a piece of furniture before I took hold of it. Pressed wood.  I know.  It's really ugly as is, but I promise you, it's s.i.c.k. how good it turned out after a visit with some lacquer paint.  It's a wet bar cabinet with ambient lighting and an inset mirrored back.  I'll reveal it once I get her in her sweet place.

One thing I'm trying to decide for the store, is what to do with the floor.  It's been stripped down to the concrete, and I originally wanted to leave it all natural concrete and glaze it over with a polish.  Unfortunately, the concrete is not leveled in a lot of places, so it will have to be patched with quick crete, sanded, and most likely painted.  What color though?  The walls will probably be white.  Should I also do a white floor with a black geometric pattern, possibly?  The patterning would most likely be expensive.  So, what would you do?  What color?  I'm all ears.  If you have any inspiration pictures, I'd love to see them, too!

Good day to you all!

xo
sharon

Another late lie in... I'm going nocturnal, as is usual when I'm not forced to get up at a sensible time.  However, I had a busy day.  I went to the Co-op to get cereal and marmalade... Gill cannot live without Seville marmalade, apparently!  But the Tang Hall Lane Co-op didn't have the crunchy cereal that I like, so I went to the Hull Road Co-op, which did.  I popped in on Debbie, who was not yet a Grandma.

A bit later Gill said she was going to go to Marks and Spencer in town to spend her £40 voucher given to her by her sister Linda; yesterday she'd spotted that they had a DAB radio which would enable her to get Radio 7 which has various things on which she'd like to listen to. I said that instead of her buying yet another bus ticket, I'd cycle down and get it.   BUT I wanted to see if there was an energy efficient digital radio, as I'm aware they use quite a bit more power than analogue radios.  So I found this page about DAB radios, and this list of energy efficient DAB radios. Fortunately it had one of the models Gill had seen yesterday in M+S, a PURE ONE Mini, for £45. This only uses 2w when in use, and 0.8w when just left plugged in.  Obviously when unplugged or switched off at the wall, it uses no power!

So I cycled down to Country Fresh and bought a bit of fruit and veg, and picked up a small box of compostables. From here I went on to town, handed over Gill's voucher card and a fiver and within 30 minutes was back home.  Gill was delighted.  Now all she needs to do is to learn how to use it!

At about tea time we got a text message from Debbie; her son had become a father to a little boy, so Debbie's a Granny!  She'll be over the moon!

Gill was putting a load of washing on in the washing machine in the conservatory, and said she could hear running water in there.  But nothing was obvious.  Later, she heard it again and suggested I go and check the studio, which has a flush toilet and my compost toilet.  I found that a pipe had burst in the freeze and was now flowing freely into the little room which has both the (unused) flush loo and my commode which is the 'business end' of my compost toilet set-up.  I switched off the stop tap which is in there and spent an hour clearing up, pulling up the carpet, moving stuff, and by 11pm had put the dehumidifyer in there to start it drying out.  What a bummer.  However, this will force us to declutter in there, which it desperately needs. I know we're not the only people with burst pipes, and we're lucky it's in an outbuilding.

Another nothingy day... I slept in late, not surprising as I went to bed at about 3am.

Gill took the boys into town on the bus mid afternoon to go and buy books with the book tokens they got for Christmas, and I did a short bit of chainsawing and splitting.  I now have no more logs which need cutting and very few rounds which need splitting.  But now there's a big pile of stackable stuff which I need to attend to...

Before the family got back I hopped onto my bike to go down to Country Fresh, but they'd closed at 4pm and I'd arrived at 4,20.  I popped in to my friend Debbie as her daughter in law is due to have a baby, which will make her a grandma. So, the news was that she'd been induced, so baby will arrive... well, sometime in the next 24 hours...  I'm looking forward to the excited text message, although Debbie says I'll hear her shout from here when she hears the news!

So, tea was a pastie which Gill got from town, plus a mix of parsnip (phew, now finished!) pasta and tomato sauce.  I had a nice Skype chat with Laura after tea, to catch up with what she'd been doing over Christmas.

So, a fairly nondescript day, nothing particularly exciting.

Sometimes I must be reminded of my blessings. During this pause at the end of the year I have had time to reflect, read, watch, and question what goes on in this world and what also goes on in my children's worlds...as we've all encountered hardships, indifference and hatred. What has touched me more than anything this year, is this Alice: one woman's life testimony {a video clip that was introduced to me on facebook of all places, through a fellow interior designer, Irene Turner}. Alice is a shining beacon of Hope. Optimism. Love.

While I leave you with this inspiring story, that had me completely moved and choked up, I must also share a few other things that will hopefully move you and move all of us to LOVE life and all others more fully.

1. A memoir called "I Will plant You a Lilac Tree." by Laura Hillman. This book was recommended to me by my daughter and is an account of a Schindler's List survivor.

2. Did anyone watch "The Sound of Music" on t.v. last night? Even though I've seen it a thousand times, I see something new in it everytime.

3. Every year on Christmas Eve, my mom would read to all of us kids, the tale of "The Little Match Girl". Never once, did mom finish the story without tearing up or weeping a little. It's a moving danish story of a struggling homeless girl at Christmas.

4. "Life is Beautiful".

5. One of my mom's quotes: "Never criticize, condemn, or complain."

Happy Holidays and may we all find the music.

With Love,
Sharon

Thanks for all the nice little messages I received. And I would want to say Merry Christmas to everybody but then it will take me three weeks. So everybody who reads my blog or all the blog I read and thats a lot ;-) MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! I hope you all enjoyed Christmas with family and friends like I did.

A really nothingy day... woken by fighting so went downstairs to see what was happening and got a thank you from Gill as the boys know that I don't stand for any nonsense.

But that was just about the highlight of the day... I did a lot of chatting on the computer, Scrabble, watching TV, and mid afternoon spent a couple of hours piling frozen veg on top of more frozen veg, and then stacking logs.  Nothing unusual.

My tea was almost the same as yesterday... parsnips and the last of the bhajis, (hurrah!) but this time I cooked the lot on the woodstove (hurrah again!).

Did a few jobs around the house, washed up, some tidying, bringing wood in, dealing with a wasp which came in on the wood, making toast (the boys supper), in front of the stove, that sort of thing.

I did some networking too, putting my real friend Ali, and new facebook friend Jody McIntyre in touch with  another new facebook friend, Dave Lupton, who does 'Crippen' cartoons. I like the way that Dave, who also does Sox cartoons, provides a written description of his cartoon so that visually impaired people can have the cartoon explained by someone reading the text.  I like this Green Party cartoon by Sox.. I also shared the link to a really good wildlife film called The Bear (shortened version, long version part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, and finally, part 9,)  sent to me by one of my friends.  So, much online stuff today.

I had a bit of a lie-in as the boys were happy with the few presents they had in their 'Santa's sack' which Gill and I quietly slipped into their room last night.

When I came down, they didn't want to dive into their presents immediately, so I had my usual bran flakes and muesli and did my emails and had a few goes on facebook Scrabble.

Them before lunch we all gathered in the front room and the boys had their presents... lots of books mainly.  I gave Gill and the boys a York Monopoly as Gill's been mentioning it for ages, and I got mine from Our Celebration, which is mentioned in the game (I think in 'Community Chest') as they were offering a limited number for £20, cheaper than the advertised £25.  I hope they got them given as a fundraiser.   I was very happy to get 6 pairs of good quality socks and 3 handkerchiefs.  Excellent presents!

Because one present required batteries, I suggested that I walk down to Freshways (which is open, as it's run by people who don't celebrate Christmas) and as the boys don't get enough exercise, I said that one or both of them had to come with me.  Eventually, both of them AND Gill came down with me, a nice family walk, just 20 minutes or so, but it was nice.

I went out after a sandwich lunch and stacked logs... the very cold weather means we are racing through the supplies but there is still enough for several weeks more of the same.  I had offered to make a nutloaf for Christmas tea but the boys wanted pasta... so that's what they had, and I didn't need to cook.

I popped round to see Debbie, and had a pear cider there whilst chatting and she showed me some family photos from when her children were little.

When I got back, one of the children had walked past the back room telly with the magnetic darts board that someone gave them, and the red colour had disappeared from the screen, leaving it very greeny blue.  Apparently the darts had not been put onto the screen, but they contain super strong neodymium magnets and they only need to get near a sensitive object to affect it.  I wonder if the full colour will come back?

My Christmas tea was interesting: a few more onion bhajis thrown away by my friends at the greengrocer's, a couple of waste parsnips, some new potatoes left over form a couple of days ago... these all roasted for 20 minutes in the gas oven, with a small pile of pasta and a tomato sauce Gill made from some tomatoes which had become frozen whilst on display, thrown away, and rescued by me.  An incredibly cheap meal, with the only major ingredient purchased being the pasta, plus 20 minutes in the gas cooker.  But an unusual Christmas meal... or not, as I don't really celebrate Christmas.  If I didn't have children, I wouldn't bother. Not sure why they like to celebrate it, really.  It's mainly Gill who likes the tradition.

Anyway, the family watched telly in the front room, stuff I didn't want to watch, so I chatted with friends, played Scrabble, peeled and sliced melons for drying and had a quiet few hours.  I sent a few e-cards by Anita Sancha to friends, wishing people a 'Happy Winterlude'!  Later, I had a bath, with both big bathwater cans heated on the back room stove and it was a luxurious bath, very deep, very hot, and I must have spent a good half hour in it.  Lovely! I needed it as I've slept in the same clothes for a couple of nights and was feeling a bit grubby. 

Distance: 3.3 miles round trip
Elevation: 9, 160 ft
Elevation Gain: nominal
Dogs: On leash on the bike path, off leash thereafter


Rainbow Lake near Frisco Colorado is pleasant winter jaunt to a frozen lake. The trail starts out at the parking area for the Frisco bike path, which consists of the first part of the route.


Along the bike path you pass nice homes, some with unique decorations. At 0.41 miles is the trailhead for Mt. Royal and Masontown. At 0.75 miles is a large parking area with a sign for Zach's Stop. Turn in here and look for the brown Rainbow Lakes trail sign.




From this point, the trail wanders through willows and Aspens until it reaches the lake after a short rise.


On this trip, the weather was brutal with high winds, blowing snow, and overcast skies. Our motivation was to get the dogs out and anything above treeline on such a day would have been most unpleasant. I need to return and try this trail again on a nicer day.

I enjoyed waking up this morning, a long slow drift into conciousness.  A peaceful morning too... lovely.

I did a bit of kitchen work, some stuff in the garden, a trip to see Richard to get a few parsnips and spuds, and to give him a non-Xmas present of some dried fruit and a little jar of sweet red pepper paprika, to aid his cooking adventures.  In return, he gave me some onion bhajis which he'd been given (from the nearby Indian takeaway, I think) which made my evening meal.

I sorted out a lot of fruit today... made a banana and lime and tamarind leather, was in the middle of this when Maria came round.

Later, Nick popped in to deliver a card, he had a cuppa and some tamarind, and some of the banana and lime leather I made last week.  I think he was impressed.

Gill and I had a leisurely evening dealing with the presents, watching rubbish on the box and keeping warm.

Sweet Dreams.  Merry Christmas.  PEACE.  Joy.  LOVE.

xo
sharon & Family

A late start, but woken by someone screaming as if there was a murder happening.  In fact, it was just a lego piece going missing.  Ah, the joys of parenthood!

The main thing I did today was to go to Sainsbury's with a shopping list from Gill and her Nectar Card which had accumulated about £30 worth of 'points'.  So I did a £24 shop which therefore cost me nothing... pasta, baked beans, tinned tomatoes, bread, cereals, goats milk... I got myself a treat too, a bottle of Irish Cream stuff which is like Baileys but cheaper.

On the way home I picked up a load of stuff from Freshways and then spent a bit of time loading a compost heap with some of the accumulated and mostly frozen fruit and vegetables.

Oh, I made tea too... a nutloaf made with waste bread and tomatoes, plus some broccoli and new potatoes.

Enjoyed a science programme with my eldest son.

Got an early night as tired and headachey.

I am up in Summit County for the holidays and took these sunrise shots on Solstice morn. It has been snowing so heavily the last two days that our internet and cell connectivity has been affected.



For other great pictures of the sky, visit Skywatch Friday

My final day working for Kirklees Council on their market as Father Christmas.  I once again got the 9am train to Dewsbury, and was pleased to see my old Credit Union colleague Simon Brereton and headed towards the market and it's little building with the office upstairs and the grotto downstairs.  The temperature sign on the nearby building said -8 C when I arrived, but during the day it got the sun on it and slowly went up, to -6, -3, -1, then -0 which surprised me, and then 0 and for a short time, up to 8 C, but it soon fell again when the sun went away, and by 3.30 pm it was below zero again.  In reality, where we were, it never rose above freezing.

However, despite it being cold, I enjoyed my day... it was quiet enough to be almost boring, but the occasional visitor made it just worthwhile.  I got on well with my 'Santa's Little Helper' or 'Mrs. Claus', Trish, and we had some good conversations.  At the end of the day, at 3.30, I gave her some pea beans I happened to have with me.

An uneventful ride home, had to change trains in Leeds though.  I cycled home as quickly as possible.

Gill had made tomato soup for tea and this was delicious, really delicious!

A quiet evening.

Entertaining?  Well, here's what I have in mind for entertaining Mr. & Mrs. Claus should they happen to be guests stopping in at my house over the weekend.


1.  Chairs to have a nibble in: I think those two chairs up there would be only fitting for Santy to take a rest in.  {They are from my jellybeans project}.  Oh, and I'm setting out Eleanor's famous cookies for him too.  {Call us if you'd like to place an order for your special guests too.}

2.  A Monogrammed Package:
  
3.  French Music: French Musician Coeur de Pirate...she's dreamy.

4.  Berry, Berry Bubbly: 
Ingredients:
4 raspberries
2 blackberries
2 teaspoons sugar syrup
splash of vanilla flavored vodka
1/3 cup of champagne

*Make a simple sugar syrup by combining equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar has completely dissolved.

Recipe

Makes one cocktail.
Muddle the raspberries and blackberries in a large glass.
Add the sugar syrup and vanilla vodka.
Turn a smaller cup upside down and fix over the large glass to form a shaker. Shake until mixed.

Pour into serving glass and top with champagne. 

images by nathaliebearden.com/ 
image of coeur de pirate {unknown, and would really love to know who photographed this!}
marthastewart.com
justataste.com/


Cheers and Bottoms UP!


xo
sharon

It's the countdown!  Now, even if you've crossed off everyone off your list, isn't there always a need for new, sharp prisma colors somewhere in the house?  I bought me some for my Christmas gift yesterday and treated myself to an hour of hot tea and an upcoming client project.  A sketch for a second floor family room.  Can you tell I'm loving color and my new colored pencils?   I think I'll go color some more happy into my life now.  Want to join me? 

Happy Countdown!

Gill always wakes earlier than me and woke me up at about 7 to see the eclipse of the moon.  It was quite a while before totality and it was less than impressive.  I went back to bed and slept through the potentially more impressive total eclipse, but Gill saw it at about dawn and she wasn't impressed, as it wasn't that visible as it had become too light.

So I slept til nearly 9am and then got up to make best use of the little daylight there is today.  As we're going through logs quickly, I did a load more stacking, and some chainsawing and splitting... and even persuaded my eldest son to help with some easy stacking, of chopped up pallets.  Gill went into town on the bus and came back with a good pair of shoes, plus some bits and bobs for Christmas presents for the boys.

I visited Country Fresh late afternoon and bought a bag of fruit and veg plus brought 2 half sacks of compostables home.  Was good to see Richard, we nearly always have a laugh.

In this blog I don't do a lot of comment and analysis about politics and the science of climate change, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested.  The primary purpose of this is a diary, replacing my daily handwritten journal which I kept for 20 years or so before I started writing this.  I write it to show how someone can live a fulfilling and interesting life without emitting much fossil carbon.  However, today something happened which I'd like to write about.

A few days ago I saw a link on facebook to a video so I watched it and thought that it was mostly crap. It linked the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to the current cold snap because the author thinks that the oil spill has shut down the Gulf Stream..  I put a short concise comment which the author, someone labelling themselves MrGlasgowtruther, replied to.  We had a bit of messaging ping pong. 

Today I saw an excellent blog post by George Monbiot which explains the current weather really well, and has links to good sound science publishing.  I tried to post this link to the YouTube comments section of the video, but I wasn't able to, and thought I'd been blocked, but this evening I posed a comment and was able to... it was just the URL link that wasn't able to be posted.  So the gist of this is that the current bitterly cold weather is actually due at least partly due to 'global warming', or as it should be more accurately termed, 'climate change', or even more accurately anthropogenic climate change, ie caused by the actions of humans.

So, a good day... cold, but productive and relaxing.  Work tomorrow... the last day of paid work this year.

Another early start as had to be in Huddersfield by about 10am, so I got the 9am train, and had a fairly quiet journey. I did chat initially to the people sitting opposite me but they were what I used to call 'plastic people', as they were sad fashion victims going from Sunderland to Manchester to go shopping... ugh.  They had nothing to say, empty lives.

Anyway, I got to Huddersfield and briskly walked to the market hall where I had first been sent a few weeks back and as I approached the office, a market official sped out clutching the Santa sacks, recognised me and said to go with him to the other market hall where I'd be working today.  We got in his car and had a 5 minute drive to the market very close to the railway station, which is covered but not enclosed, so it was bitterly cold.

I had a walk round with the head of the market and then went to get changed and get walking round with my sack of tiny chocolate footballs and mini chocolate Santas.  I enjoyed this a lot... banter and humour and fun, but I was glad to get back to the office at midday and have my sandwiches.  I got going again at 12.30 and worked til 1.45 when i had a quick coffee before going to the reindeer enclosure, this time the two reindeer were from Reindeer For Christmas, and they had a sleigh (on casters) which I sat in, and the reindeer pulled it around to different areas of the market.  This was quite memorable!  When the sleigh came to a halt, various children were placed in the sleigh with me for photo opportunities, and I met a nice lass called Joanne who was really keen on the reindeer and very extrovert.

I did another half hour giving out chocolate balls after this and finished at 3.35, and was soon walking up to the station dressed as John, with no-one taking any notice of me.

There was a train soon after 4pm, and I dozed all the way to York.  I took the Cycle Heaven bike down to the shop on Bishopthorpe Road where my mended bike was waiting.  However, I was a little shocked at the bill... I'd had my chain de-kinked and lubed, a new mudguard put on, a new pannier rack and new rear tyre... the cost was £113.  I had just £115 in notes on me, so I had just enough to pay them.  But it was lovely to have my bike back, and on the way back I popped in to Freshways and picked up a sack of tropical veg which was too limp or otherwise unsaleable.

It was good to get home, as I was frozen.  I cannot remember being so cold, ever!  I'd had a text from Sue asking if she could come round and collect some dried fruit before travelling South for her Christmas break, so she appeared after tea and was really quite entertaining with her stories and recounting of incidents from her past.  She stayed til nearly 10pm. 

I got on with washing up and a few other bits but generally relaxed.  The boys slept downstairs in the front room as it was the warmest place.  I wondered whether I'd be able to get up early enough to see the eclipse of the moon in the morning...

It's a grey day, here.  This song by Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles fits my day perfectly. The only thing that make it more perfect is...SNOW.  This video is darling and just too sweet for words.  You just may want to add it to your holiday mix and curl up with your lovies, as well.  Wishing you love this season and all the way through 'til Spring.


Happy Listening.  And Happy Nesting. 

xo
sharon

Not too bad a start this morning, as I didn't have to be on the train til 10.13 to go to Northallerton.  However this still meant leaving the house soon after 9.30, as I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get my stuff to the station on the Cycle Heaven bike, which only had a pannier rack.  I'd left my trailer at Cycle Heaven, and will pick it up tomorrow.

So I didn't take my one-wheeled unicycles... partly as there's no space at the Black Sheep Brewery to ride the unicycle, so they are there mainly for show, to provide a backdrop for the show and workshop.  I managed my sticks, balls and diabolo bag on the pannier rack, and my costume, balloons and 4-wheel and 2-wheel unicycles on my back, in a rucksack. 

So, I got the train and chatted to a nice Occupational Therapist from West Yorkshire, whom I'd be really happy to have more conversations with, but Northallerton is only 20 minutes North of York, so our chat was truncated.

I'd booked a taxi last night so Keith was waiting for me, and he drove me all the way to the Black Sheep Brewery in Masham. I got there at about 11am, and was due to be available from 11.30, as people start arriving then. I had a coffee and got changed into Fiddlesticks gear, much preferred to the Father Christmas garb. 

Quite a few people are regular Black Sheep Brewery Christmas Lunch attendees, and so some of them have seen me just about every year for I don't know how long... best part of a decade I think.  This event attracts lots of families with children, and many of them know what to expect from me.  My 'dog's dinner' balloon  was the most requested.  I did some welcoming whilst devilsticking, then table hopping with balloons and humour, then a circus show and workshop, and worked continuously from 11.30 til 3.30, with no time for my sandwiches. 

At 3.30 I quickly got changed and was given an envelope with my payment in it, and I signed for that. The taxi was waiting and I was taken back to Northallerton, paid the taxi driver the £50 for both journeys, and had my sandwiches whilst waiting for the train back to York.  The people sitting opposite me on the train were supposed to have caught a flight from Newcastle to London, but due to the snow, Heathrow is shut so they had to catch a train.  But this train, supposed to go to Kings Cross, was stopping at Doncaster as there was a problem with the overhead wires near Peterborough and no trains were getting through.  So they got off at York as they had the chance of having their tickets refunded, or to resume the journey tomorrow. 

I was lucky to be able to get on the bike and cycle home.  I didn't need any evening meal as I'd only just eaten lunch at 4.15pm.  But I hoovered up a half-plateful left by one of the boys when I was a bit hungry at 8pm.  I made up a load of muesli and kept the stove going.  Also enjoyed a programme about the origins and history of Father Christmas, appropriate, as in just a few hours I'll be 'doing' him in the streets of Huddersfield.

Distance: 6.4 mile loop
Elevation: 6,631 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,191 ft (cumulative)
Dogs: On leash only (State Park)
Critters: Rattlesnakes (warm weather obviously)


Many locals never realize that eastern Colorado is filled with mysterious canyons cut into the soft rock by long forgotten rivers. Filled with interesting rock formations, petroglyphs, or dinosaur tracks, these canyons make for interesting hiking, particularly in the shoulder seasons. Castlewood Canyon State Park, southeast of Denver, is one such canyon that is relatively close to the metro area.

The particular features of Castlewood Canyon include cool rock formations, remnants from a devastating 1933 flood that flooded downtown Denver, and several distinct ecosystems.

There are really two canyons in the park that form a slightly stretched bow tie. On this trip we walked a little over 6 miles in a figure eight around the bow tie. The route also went up and down with half our trip being on the rim and half along the creek.


Our route began on the Lake Gulch trail just past the Canyon Point Parking Area. We walked along the top of the rim to a view of the valley that was once Lake Louise. Ranch land today, the valley looked lovely with a light dusting of snow glistening in the sun.


The route descended to the valley floor and then crossed Cherry Creek on a series of boulders. Now on the Rimrock trail, we passed the remains (at 1.18 miles) of the dam built in 1890. The dam broke in 1930 and flooded downtown Denver. The destruction of the water made as it gouged it way forward is still visible today.

Just past the ruins, the Rimrock Trail quickly ascends (at 1.35 miles) to the top of canyon. This area is a flat plateau filled with smooth rocks and coniferous trees. There are several places where the hiker can get a glimpse of the rocks as they are splitting away from the canyon sides. In the summer, this area bakes in the sun and Rattlesnakes rule.


Our decent near the end of the canyon (at 2.72 miles) was precipitous because ice from the recent snowfall had melted into the nooks and carnies, making the entire route slippery. From this point we traveled across a bridge (at 3.23 miles) and along the Creek Bottom (G) Trail to a small waterfall (at 4.26 miles) and then back to the dam (at 5.11 miles).

We stayed low as we switched to the other side of the bow tie and the Inner Canyon (K) Trail. This route followed the sunny side of canyon, which is filled with sun-loving Gambel Oaks (Quercus gambelii). The Gambel Oak loves thin, rocky, and alkaline soils. You find them all over Mesa Verde National Park and the four corners region of Colorado.


In stark ecological contrast, the other side of the Inner Canyon was covered in shade and moisture-loving Douglas Firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and snow, snow, snow. While we basked in the "heat", we marveled at winter on the other side


Near the end of the Inner Canyon is a bridge where we finally crossed over to the snowy side. We crossed a bridge and stepped through the looking glass into a different world. Was this Narnia or Never Never Land? Every branch was coated with huge clumps of snow that looked more like a movie set than reality. From the bridge, it is a quick jaunt up the side of the canyon to our starting point (at 6.4 miles).


Castlwood Canyon State Park is a local gem that you need to try. It can be dry and stark in the winter, brutally hot in the summer, and stunning in the spring and fall. On this trip, Denver had received it first light snowfall, and the contrasts made the area very appealing.