Saturday Morning Bike Ride

Today I'm up early to get away early, but just as I'm about to leave I notice a big bulge and a hole in my back tyre. The tyre is kindly replaced by hubby (he's much more adept at such repairs than I!) and I'm on my way at 8am. The plan is to venture further into Ayrshire today but as I need to be back by midday I don't have too much time to waste.

Off up the big hill at the back of Howwood. I'm pleased that despite it being a fortnight since my last decent cycle and the fact that I have eaten a huge amount of cake in that time, I manage up the hill without too much trouble at all. Spring has finally arrived here today - the day is balmy, blue and beautiful! Ben Lomond can be seen faintly in the background of the above photo.

Past Barcraigs. Daffodils are nodding in the forground, trees are reflected perfectly in the still water.

I do like the gate at this entrance to Barcraigs, here's yet another photo of it!

Barcraigs again.

Lambs! They're still a little too far away for a decent photograph though.

Now heading west towards Beith. I like this little clump of daffodils at the side of the road.

Up and over a landrover track heading south into Ayrshire. At this point the view takes me by surprise. Not only can I see Arran but also the Aisla Craig. Unfortunately they're both just a little too distant to photograph well.

It's a much more open landscape here - much flatter, which for me makes for slightly less interesting cycling. Still a great network of quiet roads to explore though.

More daffodils. Two birds on the telegraphs wires. The mountains of Arran in the far distance.

As this area is new to me I need to check the map often. I'm also very conscious of the time and don't linger for many photos. I basically make my way around some of the unclassified roads heading towards Dalry then veer off towards Kilbirnie where I join the cycle-path and zoom home. I'm back for 11:30 so did have time to spare, never mind, there's always next time.

Moo.

Home for a spot of gardening while hubby is out for his boozy lunch date. It actually gets too hot for me! As the leaves aren't yet out on the trees there's not a shady spot to work in. A & I retire to the deckchairs and eat ice lollies while N finishes his nap. A superior effort at tidying the garden will be made tomorrow morning...

Way Out West.

No rain today, hurray!

This morning we went on a little trip to the coast, just for a change of scene and a chance of some fine views. Of course I take my camera with me...

A & N enjoyed a play in a tiny play-park along the front. This little boat detail is from the play-park gate.

I eventually manage to persuade them to go for a walk with me along the front but we soon realise there are steps directly across from the play-park giving access down to a little shingle beach. We go down for a closer look.

The pebbles on the beach are mainly large and irregularly shaped but of a beautiful mixture of muted colours, shown here enhanced by the wetness of the sea.

Little pools in rocks filled with tiny pebbles.

Blue skies are moving in from the south-west, a little patch can be seen here over Gourock on the left. It was actually quite a sparkly day despite the abundance of grey clouds. My photos looked nice and bright on my camera screen but don't seem to have translated well on to the computer screen.

After a very pleasant guddle about on the little beach collecting shells and throwing stones in the water we make our way back to the car. The sun dapples the hills to the north.

We decamp to another, much bigger play-park further east. This one has a sandy "floor", whenever we've visited it's always been scrupulously clean, thankfully! A paces the deck of the pirate ship.

A self portrait of A in the sand.

Looking back at the play-park as we return to the car. It is in a such a lovely setting, something I never take for granted.

We have to stop off at a supermarket on the way home as I need to get a tin of caramel to make yet another chocolate cake (more visitors are expected tomorrow and it's a quick an easy cake to make and no I don't work for Nestle!). The most convenient one is Morrisons. N is not happy to visit Morrisons, he screams so loudly from the trolley that we get looks from old people. I've noticed before that lots of old people (by which I mean people older than me!) seem to favour Morrisons over the other supermarkets we have here. We get several glares but the cashier is very sympathetic. N then enjoys a much needed nap in the car on the way home.

We pass fields full of lambs on our journey home and the daffodils in the garden are finally in flower. My two "signs of Spring" that I look for have therefore now happened. The afternoon is full of sunshine but the wind is cold. A spell of balmy weather would be nice, just to confirm that Spring is here to stay.

Soon please!

A little bit of treasure hunting and cake baking...

Hello! It's been a busy week though with nothing terribly exciting to report (as usual!).

I did manage to make a tour of the charity shops and was lucky in my treasure hunt. First up was the white jug (rather pricey at £1.99) in the above photo containing the remains of the Mother's Day flowers. Note also our extensive Easter decorations - two little egg candles, well at least we remembered to light them!

This is a detail from a lovely linen table runner decorated with wool embroidery in an art deco style. 75p for all that hard work!

Here it is again with a bundle of children's books(10p - 60p each) to keep A & N amused and a little appliqued tray cloth (40p). I also bought a large pure wool throw (not photographed) which I proceeded to wash at 30C which unfortunately has resulted in it felting. It's now on the sofa in the living room and doesn't drape as well as it should, still, at least it's clean. Next time I'll be more careful and less hasty.

Much baking has been done this week. This is the last slice from the first chocolate cake of the week, made for the ladies attending a craft night. It's made using my favourite chocolate fudge cake recipe (very quick and easy but still delicious) which is listed under the recipe section in my sidebar.

I did make an attempt at decorating some eggs for Easter. These are just eggshells stuck back together then covered with tissue paper and glue. A was then going to jazz them up but we ran out of time for this Easter. We will finish them over the next few days then put them by for next year.

And here's some of the other baking I've been doing...

I finally hosted a birthday party on Saturday for hubby. He had a big birthday earlier this year (ummm, back in Feb to be exact - I get round to things eventually!), I made a huge chilli, rice, chicken fajitas, salsa, guacamole, key lime pie, another chocolate fudge cake, birthday cake (with lots of yummy butter icing!), chocolate caramel shortbread and fresh fruit salad. Family members also brought along other dishes. We've all got healthy appetites, just as well! Fortunately the weather was nice so the younger ones were all out in the garden playing football which meant the grown-ups weren't too squashed in the living room!

Much cleaning and tidying also had to happen before this big event, so that's pretty much what I've been up to this last week. No time even for a Saturday morning cycle. On Sunday though we did make a little family cycle along the cycle-path to the loch. The children have recently discovered the otter sculpture there which they enjoy playing on, here's a detail...

This morning I thought A had a birthday party to go to. She got all dressed up (I even remembered to brush her hair!), she made a card, I wrapped the present, we ventured out into the wind and rain, then discovered we were a day early! At least we weren't a day late. This afternoon weather is still not great - the perfect excuse to get out the Nanny Mc Phee DVD I bought recently (it's the first one, we've still not seen it yet), dig out what's left of the Easter eggs and make ourselves comfy on the sofa...

Saturday Morning Bike Ride

Off for about 8am, wishing I'd left earlier. We were woken as usual by N at 6:30 but I felt tired and wasted time (and sunshiney time it was too!) trying unsuccessfully to get back to sleep.

Unlike last week though it's cold so the gloves are back on.

The sun was still shining by the time I get to the top of the hill.

Lots of clouds around though. I head downhill onto the cyclepath.

I take a little detour off the cyclepath to have a wander round the medieval church (built in 1504).

I like the posing birds - one on top of the tree and one on top of the tower.

The view inside.

Some lovely stonework.

Back onto the cycle path and past the loch.

Further along there is a castle dating from the 15th century.

I wander over for a nosey round this too but there's no access to the inside.

Another posing bird on a bare branched tree. On some trees the leaf buds are noticeably swollen and green.

The view from the castle looking towards the loch.

Off the cyclepath now and back onto unclassified roads. I know from the map that there is another ruined castle just to right of the above scene . However, it's up a dead end farm track which has a big gate across it's entrance, I chicken out of going to see it.

If you look closely there's a rainbow over the hills between the tree trunks. Shortly after taking this photo the rain starts, just little showers, nothing too heavy.

Passing this field I hear lambs bleating. LAMBS! The first ones I've seen out in the fields this year. They were away over the other side of the field, also it was still raining at this point so it's not a terrible good photo I'm afraid.

Nice hut.

It's a bit of a climb up to here and I stop for some chocolate. Once I reach the farm a very unfriendly dog chases after me, growling fiercely and showing me all his sharp pointy teeth. I zoom off safely down the other side of the hill.

I realise I've not taken a bike shot. Here you are - beside my favourite gate and tree mound on my favourite little stretch of road. It's the first time I've cycled down rather than up this road and it's definitely less interesting going in this direction

Up past the big stone towards home.

I indulge in some more crocus photos in the garden before going inside.

And here's what was in the Cath Kidston package from my last post.

A messenger bag from the sale. I wanted a big cross-body bag for carrying nappies and stuff now that N is walking more so we don't always have the pram for carrying things. I've not had occasion to use it yet though and I'm a little concerned that when I do I'll feel as though I'm wandering about with a cushion strapped to my hip. Ah well.

To completely change the subject again, and not in a good way, I was very saddened to find out this morning that Elspeth Thompson has died. I have several of her books, my favourite being Urban Gardener - she writes more knowledgeably in her later books which somehow makes them slightly less interesting for me though still beautifully written and enjoyable. I had looked forward to more from her, but sadly that's not to be. Someone who'll be missed by many.