A new book....

 ...and not one I EVER thought would prompt me to put pen to paper!

It all started when a friend gave me a bag of books to take to the charity shop for her and said that I could take a look and if there was anything I wanted, to take it.  OK.  Thanks very much!

I had a look through, there were some gardening books, a beautiful Concordance Bible and....a huge book of women's stories that I thought I would take a better look at.  And I am so thankful I did!

Inside were 5 stories, re-written in a more contemporary way about 5 strong women of the Bible, and one of them was my favourite Ruth.

Knowing the 'Love Story' of Ruth, a sort of Cinderella story, I was looking forward to the other 4 stories too.

Well, I read them all.  How wonderful they were.  Well written and thought provoking.  Each section ended with a set of questions, a bit like a Book Club might ask, you know....what did you think of this character, did what happen surprise you, how could it have ended differently.... you know what I mean!

Well, in essence, this book was a book of Bible stories and the review questions were Bible studies.

It was so good I ordered the book of 5 stories about men in the Bible!

And this is what I'm reading at the moment.

Reading that first book was a pinnacle moment.

It lead me to watch a sermon on TV which got me searching for a book to help with my anxiety called 'Be Anxious for Nothing' and this was linked to another called 'Battlefield of the Mind'.

And these in turn got me thinking about my bookshelf and some books I had that I could revisit.  When I was studying for my health sciences degree I was recommended a book by Lee Strobel, all scientific studies...all faith based.  In fact he has written at least 3 in the same format, all undertaken to disprove the person of Jesus, disprove Creation over Evolution and to question faith.  Science and Faith?  Well, I challenge anyone to read these and not think more deeply about the scientific findings within.

So began my journey to rekindle a belief that took root as a child, but had never been developed because I didn't know how.  Now I know more, I am excited. In this hurting world, it calms and thrills me that, irrespective of faith, we can read a book that gives us good advice and live a better, more considerate, more loving life that not only makes us happier but can be used to bring happiness to others too.

Until next time, 

Toodle-ooo!

Nora xxx

It's been a while....

 .....since we visited 'down south' and also updated the blog!

We have been busy moving, settling in, Christmas, New Year, visitors, lcoal 'stuff' and settling in, more visitors.....we will go back and fill in the last few months....so this post won't make much sense when we've caught up again...BUT....

...for now, we'll jump straight in where we are and say that earlier this week we visited friends & family.....it was nice to see so many people and our only photo of our 4 days away is this one....

When we arrived at Horsham Playpark, Little Woo went straight to the sand pit, always has been her favourite, so I couldn't resist a photo.

We are now back home....what a joy to return.

Funny how you can live somewhere all your life and yet feel so alien, you move somewhere where you've holidayed a few weeks whilst house-hunting and yet feel so at ease and relaxed like you have always belonged there.

I can't promise to fill in the gaps of the last few months....or to keep up with the blog in the next few either, but I'll do my best to share some beauty, recipes and fun as and when I can.

In the meantime, take care

Toodle-ooo!

The 3 Adventurers 😊

High Force, Low Force

 Today we decided to play the tourist with my lovely God-father and his wife.

We took a trip in to Teesdale and visited two popular attractions here in the North Pennines.  The first was High Force....

There it is in all its glory....the noise was phenomenal!

There is a super path all the way down from the road to the Force which means that it is wheelchair accessible (but be warned you'll need muscles for the last bit upwards on the return journey...and, of course, you can't get down to the 'beach'.)

From the path you get the wonderful view in the first photo, but also this.....

High Force stole my heart.

Whilst you might think, golly, it's so grey, brown and dull.  If you stop for a moment and take in the smallest details you will begin to see the most wonderful colours, like this wee plant in the rock.....

And for my memory bank, a great shot of my God-father and his wife.  We had a lovely few days with them and can't wait for them to come back.

Anyway, that wasn't the end of our day.  From here we drove to Bowlees visitor centre (we went there before for our Christmas Reindeer Hunt) and from there we walked through the woods........

To the beautiful Low Force......

I actually prefer Low Force.  It isn't as spectacular in drop, but the scale of it is still breathtaking.

And its situation in a little wooded area......

....with another set of falls which pass under the simple but impressive piece of engineering which is the Winch Bridge...... 

 

You can only pass over it one at a time, and despite auntie waiting to cross, you still have to stop and admire the raw beauty of the place!

And....there's ALWAYS time for a wet play.....

We left here to go to our 'local' in Holwick, The Strathmore Arms, for yet another delicious home-cooked meal from Anthony's kitchen.....such a lovely day.

See you soon for the next instalment...xx

Doing the tourist thing...Long Meg & her Daughter and Little Salkeld Mill

 Having got an order to collect from the mill AND wanting to see Long Meg......AND having visitors this week meant that the planets aligned and we were able to do ALL of these things...YAY!

So first up are some photos of Long Meg (she's the tall single stone) & her daughters (which are the 50 or so stones which make up the stone circle)....

And these are photos of  Little Salkeld watermill.  

The mill sells stoneground products and it also has a wonderful little tea room which offers light lunches and delicious homemade bread and cakes.  If I'm honest the website leaves much to be desired, BUT, I would urge you to put this on your bucket list for a visit, it's a great place to park and walk to Long Meg and you can treat yourself to a delicious lunch or tea and cake after your exertions!  Enough said 😉

See you again tomorrow!

The 3 Adventurers 😊

Pinch, punch first of the frost.....

 Isn't it beautiful?

The first frost of the year on the first of the month.  I was amazed how my little point and press camera caught the scene with the sun so well.

This slope was our best sledging slope when we visited back in February and at Easter.

And here is the contrast between the hill that had been in the sun with the frosty grass in the shade.....

Beautiful.

See you soon

Nora

xxx

Our furry friend....

 Delight of delights....one of our furry friends needed a walk and wanting a walk ourselves, we were delighted to oblige!

It's another chance to discover some of the area and get some furry practice in for when our new arrival joins us.

We decided to walk through Nenthead mines as far towards the quarry as we could get in an hour....all climb!

These are some of the scenes along the way.....

 

Didn't it turn out to be a lovely day?

We can feel the Autumn is in full swing and getting cooler, we are looking forward to some snow this winter!

Toodle-ooo

Nora

xxx

Proud Mummy & Daddy moment...

 ...yes, lump in the throat stuff....that moment when you realise that your little one understands the world a little better than you thought.

Today is the day Little Woo has her hair cut in order to donate it to The Little Princess Trust who make real hair wigs for children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment or other illness.

Here she is before.....

...and the moment when her beautiful locks were cut.....

...and there it is.....an amazing length of beautiful hair to be donated to a little one who has none.  And from the warm heart of a little girl who understands how lucky she is to have it, but how much better it is to share ....

So here she is with her new (slightly windswept) haircut......

And that is why we are the proudest parents.

With a warm and fuzzy bye-bye

Nora

xxx