Lake District - 2011

A narrow girdle of rough stones and crags,
A rude and natural causeway, interposed
Between the water and a winding slope
Of copse and thicket, leaves the eastern shore
Of Grasmere safe in its own privacy

William Wordsworth

Our very first outing with our new tent, sited at Grange-Over-Sands, Lake District.

An unseasonably beautiful and balmy April, idyllic ice-cream moments.

On top of the world.

Another fine mess ! Lauren and Hardy at the Coronation Hall - Ulverston

Also appearing at the Coronation Hall Ulverston - The SawDoctors

A well earned rest.

It was a holiday of firsts, the first time any of our little family had ever ventured to the Lake District, the first time any of us had enjoyed a walking holiday and the first time our tent had been used.

There were so many opportunities for the holiday to be dampened by inexperience, circumstances or indeed the infamous Lake District rain.

But dampened it was not, in fact we enjoyed the most glorious sunshine, more befitting of a summer on the south coast rather than an Easter in the West. The tent went up like a dream (and more importantly stayed up !)

The children were fantastic, no moaning or dramas, in fact they were perfect, they loved the area and the walking and they even all got on with one another and were happy to help around camp( still trying to work out how that happened so we can achieve it again next time)

I have never been so relaxed and forgot all the concerns I had at home with the shop refit etc. We didn't do any planning as such, we acted on our whim and fancy, took whichever direction captured our interest, enjoyed the picture postcard scenery as we breathed deeply the fresh air, in essence we stopped and smelled the roses ( well more often than not it was sheep poo - but you get the drift !)

I took a little notebook with me on this trip and at the end of each day, snuggled under canvas beneath the glow of a lantern, wrote a few words by which to remember the days and the moments that all too easily escape memory when it comes to journalling in my scrapbook.

The photos have all been loaded to my Mac and I will be creating an album over the coming weeks, I look forward to reading my notes and leafing through my photos as I create another family keepsake.

I will be back later in the week with crafty endeavours to share with you and news of the shop too ( and maybe a few photos of the progress there also !)

Please note, the shop is open for business as of tuesday, classes will NOT be resuming for a couple of weeks as some of the work is still in progress ( I will be back with class details and dates very soon) but we are open for you to stock up on your essentials, new stock is being added on a daily basis and there are lots of bargains as we are making room for all the new papers and embellishments.

Copics have been restocked and we have all the new colours, all at the offer price of £1.99, this is a limited time offer, so now is a good time to add to your collection.