Tarnmonath Fell

Walking over moorland really makes my heart sing. Today, after dropping Andy at the station for another leg of his UK tour, I decided to make the most of the improving weather and take Molly and Monnty up to Geltsdale and Tarnmonath Fell.  After I parked at Jockey Shield, we headed up to The Gairs and then onto the fellside.  It was a steep pull up following the old fence line but we were soon at the top with stunning views stretching for miles around. The wind was blowing, the curlews were singing and I was glad to be there

2015 remembered in 100 ways

Curry, Stramash, Modern Family, ski-ing, flagstones, mist, lime and soda, chutney, midget gems, Carlisle, mountains, Andy, Hebrides, reading, rivers, Nerea, work, weather, Molly, garden, Dolomites, beaches, Alex, walking boots, Kiya, cooking, rain, sparky apprenticeship, Bryn Dowsi, Scotland, cake, Monty, cycling, work, Robin and Cathryn, camping, Lake District, poetry, cheese, Misty, geocaching, Tom Jones, St Kilda, Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Wales, flooding, friends, snow, laughter, blogging, roses, family, blue skies, London, wind, baking, Edinburgh, dog training, Grandma, walking, The Angel of the North, Lewis, sadness, oranges, 21 today, Hadrian’s Wall, rugby, joy, heritage, paper bridge, nest box, Ice-cream, trig-points, Christmas, Newcastle, marmalade, The Archers, birthdays, Spectre, Richard and Mavis, iPad, Orkney, Dr Who, wellies, smiles, cricket, crumpets, woodland, Great-niece, train journeys, Birmingham, log burner, wine, Barra, ISS, Strictly, snowdrops, feet-tickling, Kitchenaid, school-friends.

Don't forget to celebrate the small things

Current challenges at work mean that the minute anyone is back at their desk, any holiday benefits are almost immediately forgotten.  Factor in bad weather, dark nights and some sad news from a couple of friends and mid-November has suddenly felt very gloomy. So, it was a much appreciated moment yesterday, when, as I was wheeling my bike out of the shed, I was tapped on the helmet by a rose in bloom. Just taking a moment to stop and admire the fragile flower that had withstood all the recent storms was a timely reminder to celebrate the small things.

Caching Comforts

With Mr Glis working away AGAIN, the busy schedule I adopted some weeks ago continues! With extra early starts to take Molly for her morning constitutional and drives across to Newcastle office several times a week to work long days, there have been times when I’ve felt exhausted.  However, every cloud has a silver lining as on my way home, I’ve tried to find a geocache in some of the delightful villages along the Military Road.  Stopping the car, taking a short walk and finding a cache may only take ten minutes but is hugely therapeutic and lightens the day!

A snowy reminder...

Caught up in the round of endless work meetings, sometimes it’s easy to forget that the opportunity to visit interesting places is actually a real privilege. Yesterday, I posted pictures on Facebook of snowy landscapes taken from the train during a routine journey on the Carlisle-Settle line on my way to Leeds. Immediately, several of my friends said how much they wanted to travel on that line too but the opportunity hadn’t arisen.  I try not to take the beauty and history of where I live and work for granted but their comments reminded me of how lucky I am.