It feels like electricity.....

We’re so very proud of our daughter who has just begun her electrician’s training course.  It’s something she has been determined to pursue since she and Alex concluded their world travels and re-thought their longer term plans.  I suspect she was nervous as she walked off purposefully to her first workshop session in her remarkably non-clumpy safety CAT boots (we bought the women’s style so they were a good fit) but to my eyes, she looked like a poised, confident, assured young woman who had made clear plans with achievable outcomes and aspirations  and was happy with those life decisions

Pulling off the paper!

I’ve started stripping the wallpaper off the sitting room walls.  That the chimney breast has been bare plaster since we had our log burning stove fitted  2 years ago precipitated the uncharacteristic burst of activity as I’ve finally reached the point where  we’ve lived with the “unfinished look” for long enough.  As neither Andy nor I are bothered about style or design in our house, it’s very easy for us to ignore situations that would drive other people crazy. But, both of us would like to have a moderately comfortable home for our friends to visit so action was needed!

 

Holiday Blues

I’m desperately trying to cling to the last few “granitey” grains of holiday wellbeing but sadly and somewhat predictably, they’re slipping through my fingers at an alarming rate.  I’m maintaining the feelings of positivity generated by our PCT adventures and remembering the many “wow” moments but it’s all too easy to allow the detritus of the daily grind (no one should underestimate the extent and scope of dramas that are generated out of absolutely nothing in some areas of my life) to distract me from my well-intentioned efforts.  I must get back out in the hills and recapture that joy!

 

Remembering the sheer joy!

Fire Creek Pass

As we walked along the PCT, there were three distinct topographical landscapes; rocky peaks, ridges and cirques of volcanic and glacial activity, dense, old growth forest with majestic Douglas Fir and Hemlock giants and fragrant, high mountain meadows wreathed in flowers.  All were beautiful but of them, the most awe inspiring were the huge, ice and rock strewn basins of twisted and scoured boulders, formed and shaped over millions of years by intense forces of heat and ice. Our first view of the valley below Fire Creek Pass, cloaked in ethereal, swirling mist was unforgettable; ageless, brutal but overwhelmingly beautiful. 

 

 

42; the meaning of life, the Universe and everything

In my busy life, I tend not to think too much about 42, and the meaning of life, the universe and everything.  But, venturing out of our tent for a nocturnal loo break when we were in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, the absence of any artificial light enabled me to see more stars in the night sky than I’ve ever seen before.  There were so many, it was breathtaking and despite the chill of the air, I felt compelled to stand and look into the endless heavens and genuinely wonder about our significance, or lack of it, in the Universe

When a bear went over the mountain......

To see a black bear grazing on huckleberries in the wild must be one of the most amazing sights I have ever been privileged to witness.  When we first embarked on our “Wilderness” adventure, we had dared to hope that we would see a bear but knowing of their innate shyness, and the vastness of the area in which they range, knew it was always going to be a lucky chance. So when we awoke one morning to see not one, but two bears ambling about the mountain meadow above Lake Sally Ann, it was a moment of supreme delight

In the wilderness

We had no idea when we agreed to join our two inspirational American friends just what an amazing experience our trek in the Glacier Peak Wilderness would prove to be. We feel hugely privileged to have walked through this remote landscape enjoying the company of the many interesting people we met along the way. "Thank you for sharing your campfire" isn't something that has ever been said to us before so it was such a joy to hear and those that did sit with us, gazing into the flames, sharing stories, made our adventure so much the richer for that