Making the most of the sunshine!

We've enjoyed some glorious days recently and have taken advantage of the sunshine at every opportunity.  One of my favourite places to go is the beach, no matter what time of year - you may remember our visit to the beach in November, where we wrapped up against the chill and enjoyed the fresh air regardless!

As soon as it shows signs of being a lovely day, the children always ask to go to the beach.  On our latest visit, there was barely a cloud in the sky and the temperature had reached 20 degrees - now that's warm for us here is Scotland!  We are so lucky to have lovely beaches like this within a short drive of our home - we can decide last-minute that we're off to spend the day there, and once we are packed up we can set off and be there in next to no time!  None of the "are we there yet?" questions from the back seat of the car!

On this occasion we'd packed a picnic and spent the day making sandcastles, digging in the sand, collecting buckets of water and just generally enjoying the fresh sea air and the sun's rays.  A healthy dose of vitamin D and family time together - you can't go wrong with that!  Lizzie even braved a dip in the sea (and let me tell you, the water was freezing!!) and didn't blink an eyelid.

Of course we ended up with sand all over the car, in all our bags and shoes, covering the picnic blankets and lining the bath at bathtime - but it was all worth the clean-up operation to have the chance to soak up some time outside together!

I hope you've been enjoying some sunshine wherever you are!

Best wishes
Debbie

Refreshed and recharged!

Every now and again we all need some time out, some time to reflect and re-focus.  I for one have been taking that time recently to re-charge my batteries, take stock, and spend time with my friends and family in the run-up to our baby's upcoming birth.

I've been spending a lot of time in peaceful places.  How lucky are we to have views like this almost on our doorstep?  The kingdom of Fife is a beautiful place indeed and there are so many wonderful places to spend time.  I've been to the beach a lot, enjoying the sound of the water and breathing the fresh air.

Spending time in my garden has also made me happy.  Now I'm no gardener by any means, but I like to look at pretty things and seeing all the beautiful spring flowers bloom over the last few months has certainly lifted my spirits no end.  First came the crocuses, and they brought a welcome splash of purple to the garden after the long months of winter.  Next the daffodils appeared, and their cheery yellow heads bobbing up and down made me smile from the kitchen window as I washed dishes.  Finally my tulips made an appearance and their lovely colours brought brightness around the edge of the patio.  I'm so glad I thought to plant bulbs last autumn and I was delighted to see all the colour in the garden.

For the first year since moving into our house, we have daisies growing in our grass.  Every time I see one I smile and think of our darling Daisy.  It will be her birthday soon - where did the last year go?

It hasn't been all peace and tranquillity!  There's been trampolines and picnics, trips out and visits to the park, school activities, after school activities, camping, creativity and mess - in general just a huge old dose of real life.

There's also been an extreme amount of DIY going on at home, with the PC buried under a pile of dust sheets for what seems like weeks!  It's finally been uncovered and we're now back up and running online.

And I'm back to blogging.  I enjoy writing; it's good for me to have an outlet to write and share.  And of course I get to interact with lots of lovely readers, which pleases me no end.

Thanks for all your continued good wishes and kind messages - it's always so nice to hear from you!

Best wishes
Debbie

Half term is over!

Well it's been a fun-packed few days whilst Lizzie and I have been off for half term and we've managed to squeeze loads of things in since finishing up on Tuesday.

We started off with pancakes on Tuesday evening - homemade and gluten-free.  No matter how many different recipes I try, I always come back to my Mum's tried-and-tested recipe for scotch pancakes, which works well as a gluten-free version with the addition of a little baking powder.  Here is Lizzie enjoying hers with lemon juice and caster sugar - no sooner were they out the pan than on her plate, being demolished!  She asked, "Why do we only eat pancakes once a year?! They're so good!" and I didn't have an answer for her!  So we've resolved to make pancakes more often in future.  I personally prefer mine cold spread with butter - maybe that's just me!

Wednesday morning we woke up to a blanket of snow - despite the forecast, I hadn't really expected it and was surprised when I opened my curtains in the morning!  We had an unplanned day outside, wrapped up, playing in the snow.  Lizzie was delighted - she's been waiting all winter for this!

I enjoyed Lizzie's company whilst I carried out all the little errands and visits here and there.  She made everyone in the queue at the bank laugh with her antics through the window - she loves a captive audience!

By today we enjoyed glorious sunshine and managed to take a trip round the park!  Here's the learner driver trying her best to stay upright!  She just can't seem to get the hang of riding a bike but she is a determined young lady and I'm confident that she'll master it soon!

In between there's been plasticine, board games, trampoline, movies to name but a few... and a "spring clean" of Lizzie's playhouse - her idea, not mine!  Like mother, like daughter, indeed!!

Finally thanks so much to all of you who have voted for me in the MAD blog awards.  I really appreciate it - I tend to write about this, that, and everything in between so it's nice to have so much support from strangers who follow me and my Family Life - my blog and the people I get the chance to speak to have given me a lot of comfort, especially over the past few months.  If you haven't voted yet and you would like to, you can do so by completing the nominations form here: http://www.the-mads.com/vote/.  Voting closes tomorrow (Monday) at midnight.  I'd love for my blog to make it through to the next round of the competition but there are hundreds of fantastic blogs taking part this year, so even to have been nominated is a fantastic feeling.  Thank you everyone!

Best Wishes
Debbie

The beach in November

I love spending time at the beach, particularly out of season when it's quiet.  There's hardly anyone about, and I find listening to the waves and breathing in the fresh sea air very therapeutic.  We're lucky in that we have lots of lovely beaches on our doorstep in our part of the world and this is one of my favourites - Silver Sands in Aberdour.

In the summertime - which usually lasts a matter of days in Scotland! - this beach is always bustling, with loads of families making the most of the sunshine and the warmer weather.  Some days you'll struggle to find a spot on the sand.  After the temperature drops though, it's possible to spend time on the beach without seeing a single other person.  It's idyllic, looking out over the water, watching boats go by, and taking in the view.

An early start, wrapped up warmly, not a breath of wind and we had the beach to ourselves.

Not another soul on the beach.  The children could run around and enjoy the fresh air.

I thought of my darling baby girl who should have been with us.  I wrote her name in the sand.

Unfortunately the stillness was not a great help when it came to kite-flying.  We'll need to go back another time!

Great fun, fresh air and total cost = free!

Thanks for reading.

Best Wishes
Debbie

Fireworks Display

Last night we took Lizzie to her first fireworks display.  She was so excited about going - she bounced around in the car all the way there, she didn't complain at all about the walk to the Glen from where we managed to park, and she danced about in the half hour we waited on the fireworks starting.  I captured this photograph shortly before the display started - I took this picture with my mobile phone, and although the picture is blurry and too bright, I love Lizzie's grin and obvious excitement!

The local radio station were on hand to provide music and entertainment to the waiting crowds in the run-up to the display, so although we had quite a bit to wait after finding our "spot", the time passed quickly.  We were so lucky with the weather this year, too; although it was really cold, it was a beautiful, still night and there wasn't a cloud in sight.  Perfect for fireworks!

We enjoyed twenty minutes or so of spectacular fireworks that illuminated the sky above us.  Lizzie managed to squeeze right to the front next to the fence, beside some other girls around her age, and she had a perfect view.  She ooh-ed and aah-ed all through the display and beamed from ear to ear!  Needless to say she chirped all the way back to the car about what a great time she'd had - it didn't take us too long to get back to the car, although there were thousands of people so progress was slow!  We made it home via a back road and avoided the traffic through the centre of town, so we were home and had hot drinks on the go in no time at all.

Hot chocolate and marshmallows = one happy little lady!

It was such a lovely evening out and the fact that Lizzie was still raving about the display this morning made it all worthwhile!

Thanks for reading!

Best Wishes
Debbie

The changing of the seasons...

It has well and truly shifted into Autumn in our part of the world.

The temperature has dropped, and along with it the leaves have turned from green to gold to brown, and fallen gently all around us.  The branches and twigs on the trees are bare now; everything is shutting down, dying back, hibernating until it is time to re-emerge next spring.

We're embracing the change of seasons.  The garden has been tidied and the shed has been re-organised.  The barbeque has been stashed at the far back corner - we won't be needing that again for some time!  The spring bulbs have been planted, tucked away underground to emerge in all their glory next year - tulips, daffodils and crocuses, all being well.  I look forward to that blaze of colour appearing in my garden when I've almost forgotten about the bulbs I've planted.

Halloween is almost upon us and the children love carving pumpkins and making spooky-themed cupcakes and treats.  Our meals change to comforting stews and warming soups, we eat more hot puddings than normal, and hot chocolate is always on the go.  The gloves and scarves have been brought back out from the suitcase on top of the wardrobe, and they've all been freshly laundered, ready, waiting, for it to get colder.

The car maintenance has been carried out, de-icer spray and scrapers are handy and at the ready (I've already used de-icer once this month, on a particularly frosty morning!).  The mornings and nights are getting darker, and after this weekend when the clocks go back, the darkness seems to hit by mid afternoon.  The quilts have been changed, we've all upped togs - and the blankets are washed and to hand when an extra cover is needed on the beds.

All this preparation and readiness for the cold ahead has left me feeling calm and able to enjoy the now.

The fresh, crisp air outdoors calls for one thing - wrap up warm and head to the park!

Thanks for reading - hope you're keeping cosy too.

Best Wishes
Debbie

If in doubt, bake a cake...

One of my followers on Twitter saw this picture and thought of me.

How very appropriate - my sentiments exactly!

Now, baking cakes isn't going to solve all of life's problems, by any means.  But in our family, a cake brings us together - we create cakes and bakes with the children, getting them involved in the preparation, selecting of ingredients and the mixing.  We share cakes with our family and friends - we invite them over for a cuppa and a catch up over a slice of homemade cake.  Every birthday is marked with a homemade birthday cake - the variety is made as per the specifications of the person celebrating their birthday.  My husband and the children make a cake for me on my birthday each year! 

I have fond memories of baking with my mum as a child.  Standing on a chair, wearing my apron, helping my mum with the baking of cakes, biscuits, traybakes and other sweet delights.  Getting involved, cracking the eggs, mixing, breaking up the chocolate - and always, always licking the bowl, spoons and any other utensils afterwards!

I'm in my thirties now and I'm creating these types of memories for Lizzie.  She helps me in the kitchen, too - we put on our aprons, wash our hands, and bake.  Very little has changed in the way I bake to the way my mum taught me - even the equipment I use and the techniques I opt for, as well as the recipes I favour, are all very similar to the way my mum and I baked in the 80s.

Lizzie loves to be involved and hands on.  And I love to see the pride on her face when she's made something in the kitchen.  Here she is getting to grips with a piping bag.

If in doubt, bake a cake.

Best wishes
Debbie