Meadowhall with Chloe and Laura

At the very end of July I went to Meadowhall to meet up with Chloe and Laura. We hadn't been in ages! It wasn't too busy even though the kids had broken up. We had coffee first and then we did a bit of shopping. I had heard there was a Real Housewives range in Primark so I wanted to go and look at it. Chloe came with me, which I appreciated. The range isn't huge but I had to have one of the Salt Like City pyjama sets. The t shirt fits me fine but the shorts have got no chance, so I passed them on to Sarah who I knew would wear them. 

We didn't go into many shops although we did have a look in Yours which actually had quite a lot of colourful things in it. Then we headed to Pizza Express for lunch! I have been loving pizza recently which is unusual for me, and the others agreed. I had a fiorentina pizza with an egg in the middle which Chloe was very suspicious of!

We sat chatting for ages and didn't feel like the staff were keen to get rid of us. We got some money off with the Pizza Express app too, which was good. Then we of course headed off to Hotel Chocolat for drinks and cake. I think I had a mint iced chocolate but not sure if I had a cake as I was full of pizza! 

We sat there again for ages until it was time to say goodbye as Chloe had to get back to Ian. There was quite a bit of traffic to get home and I was knackered when I got home so laid down for a bit, but not before trying on my new t shirt! I haven't actually worn it yet but I really need to! It's ridiculous, I know. I love a lot of Real Housewives franchises though, I love trashy telly!

I had also received a bundle of books that I got on Vinted. I have read some of them before, but am happy to give away the duplicates that I have. They cost less than £10 all in and I need to get to some soon! 

A bundle of books I got on Vinted. I'm going to pass some on to my cousin

Fiorentina pizza, complete with egg

Here we are in Hotel Chocolat. You can see the dress I was wearing - it was SO hot and this is one of the thinnest things I own

And here's the Real Housewives t shirt. It's something Heather said when she found out fellt housewife Monica was really a blogger called Realite Von Teese. I KNOW! THE DRAMA! 

Meeting Katie in Leeds

At the very end of July I went to Leeds to meet up with my friend Katie. I decided to drive to Leeds because getting the train there really takes it out of me and I didn't want to have to walk a lot. I parked in Trinity car park and crossed over the road to meet Katie. 

We went into Trinity and went in a couple of shops - I got some birthday presents for Lee's upcoming birthday. We had a coffee in Costa. Then we went up to The Alchemist where Katie had booked a table. It wasn't very busy at all and we got nice comfy seats. 

We each ordered a mocktail as we weren't drinking. Katie had this ice cream bubble thing which was rhubarb flavoured, and I had a virgin pornstar which was delicious. For food I had smoked burnt ends tacos which were vegan and tasted so good! I miss beef burnt ends and these were a really good approximation. I think I had some kind of potato side with them, too. 

We decided to not get dessert but had a glass of prosecco each which we sipped slowly while chatting a mile a minute. I met Katie on my first day at uni because we lived in the same house. It turned out we were both from Wakefield and we were both doing Theology. Weird! We lived together all three years and she was one of my bridesmaids when I got married. She's one of my favourite people and I really like just chatting to her. 

We finally left The Alchemist and I mentioned I was going to go to Hotel Chocolat for a hot chocolate so Katie said she would come with me. I had a hot chocolate and a piece of brownie or something, I can't remember now. We kept ON chatting - we honestly could talk for days. We finally said goodbye and I think it was after 4pm by the time I got home. I went into the kitchen to find Kiki looking cute on the duvet that lives on the sofa in the kitchen, so I took a photo of her. She is a pretty little cat! 

I forgot to get a picture of us, and I didn't get a picture of my outfit either so I can't tell you about that. Oh well! I had a good day with my friend. 

I bought an eyeliner with a winged stamp thing on it, and this was my first time using it. It works pretty well, it looks cute! 

Virgin pornstar cocktail 

And Katie's bubble drink

Plant based burnt ends tacos which I would definitely eat again

And here's Kiki

Afternoon Tea with Roslyn

At the end of July Lee had a busy weekend - I think he played a gig one day and went to a festival the other - so I was left alone all weekend. Which was fine! But I decided to make plans and asked my friend Roslyn if she wanted to meet up for lunch. I went to school with Roslyn although she's older than me, but we've known each other for nearly thirty years now! As I didn't have the big car I didn't have the satnav so I suggested going to Wentworth Garden Centre for afternoon tea as I can drive there by myself. Roslyn had never been so that was nice too.

We met about 1pm I think. It was HOT. We walked through the centre into The Bothy. It's pretty new but I went there for lunch on my birthday and I've also had afternoon tea there before, with Philippa. We got seated and ordered our drinks, including tap water. The coffee and tea arrived and the afternoon tea arrived. The water did not. We ended up having to ask FOUR TIMES for water and that was only because the fourth time I actually walked over to the bar until they gave me a glass. I needed to take my meds! The crazy thing was that the receipt we were given had THREE jugs of water itemised on it (free, of course) and not ONE of them had arrived at our table. It was annoying but also just hilarious becaust WHAT HAPPENED to the water???

Ros and I are both vegetarian so we had asked for the vegetarian afternoon tea of course. It was delicious! The sandwiches were egg mayo, cheese, tomato and pesto, and vegetable and hummus I think. Then there was also a vegetable roll type thing - we reckoned it was butternut squash inside it. And a mini piece of quiche! It was good.

The scones were still warm and there was plenty of cream but not much jam - but still good. The cakes were brownie, salted caramel tart, a meringue type thing and a lemon and elderflower drizzle cake thing. Neither of us could eat all the cakes so we ended up bringing boxes home.

We paid and went for a wander round the shops. I got a present for someone and a couple of other bits. There was a fruit and veg van in the car park as there usually is, so I got some strawberries. We snapped this photo of us just before we said goodbye. It was HOT and I was melting by this point. I had been wearing the dress that my mother made for me out of a duvet cover.

I came home and definitely laid down in front of the air conditioner for a while and let myself rest! Fibromyalgia has absolutely kicked my ass this summer as it's been so hot. Usually I like the heat as it makes my joints feel better, but it was just SO hot which affected me more. I'm glad it's cooled down a bit now 

Our lovely afternoon tea trays. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, I just really don't know what happened with the water!

Ros and I. Yes she is a lot taller than me!

Day Out in Holmfirth

On the 18th of July Lee and I had a weekend free so we decided to go to Holmfirth. I love the place but parking is a pain, but since I got my blue badge I knew it would be easier as there are disabled spaces right in the middle. So I said we should go. We parked by the bus station to begin with and wandered into a few shops and charity shops. Holmfirth Pride was the weekend after so there were already lots of rainbow flags and so on up, so that was nice to see. We went in to the Fair Trade shop where I don't think I've ever been before, and I bought some bath salts as I find them really useful for my joints. I need to have more baths actually, I haven't had one in a while! 

We also went into the crystal shop where I have also never been. It is HUGE and has SO many HUGE crystals. You could literally spend thousands of pounds in there. I bought a piece of amethyst made into an incense holder as I lost my incense holder in the move and I haven't found it since. I could have bought more though! They also have jewellery making you can do there so next time I go I would really like to do that because it looked so cute. 

We weren't sure where to eat but settled on Bloc, which was near the crystal shop and which does brunch. We sat outside; it wasn't quite as hot as it had been in the weeks previous, but it was still pretty warm. I had smashed avocado and poached eggs on toast which were really good! I think Lee had beans on toast with a poached egg too. 

Then we walked to Dixon's Ice Cream. It's where Lick used to be so I am a bit sad that Lick had gone because that was all vegan which was amazing! But I guess it just didn't make that much money so Dixon's has come in instead. They have other branches in Huddersfield and Lockwood. They make milk ice which is not exactly ice cream but it is really sweet and delicious. They had different flavours but I went for the original with raspberry sauce which is exactly how it should be eaten. Lee had chocolate I think. 

We then went into a few more shops including the Oxfam bookshop where I bought a book, and the cheese shop where we bought butter and cheese, and the bakery, and the charity shop next to the bakery where I picked up some fabric for cross stitching. Then we went into a bar opposite the bakery, I can't remember what it was called. It obviously used to be a bank. I had an elderflower spritz. It was so nice to just sit for a bit together. 

Lee had had to move the car so we were parked just outside the bar, which was just as well as it was busy! So we came home. I had been wearing this Joe Browns dress which is heavy because it's lined, and it's lovely! I love the colour of it.

 

Pride bunting outside the library, I think

And on display in the Fair Trade shop. I could have spent a fortune in there, they had a lot of lovely gifts and a yarn shop upstairs!

My brunch. I bloody love brunch

And my ice cream! So yummy!

Elderflower spritz

And here's Lee and I

And my dress when we got home

What I bought, excluding the amthyst incense holder!

Family Holiday Day 5

On the Sunday of our trip to Kent we got up and went swimming again first thing. But the big pool was closed so we all just had to go in the baby pool - which was actually deep enough to sit in and float about so we had fun doing that and playing with T and stuff. I got showered when we got back to the caravan and then we all had some lunch before going our separate ways for the afternoon. 

Caroline, Neil and Rob went off somewhere where Caroline could collect sea glass on the beach, and Neil and Rob went to a World War Two museum I think. Me, Kensi, my mum, Beth, and T went off to the rare breeds farm. Lee, Peter and Norman stayed at the caravans and went to the bar to play pool and drink slushes. I offered to drive the five of us so we had T's car seat in the car! 

We got there and paid our admission and went in. It's a pretty big place and you could probably spend all day there and take a picnic and so on, but we went first of all to the petting area. There were rabbits and guinea pigs which we got to stroke and T was very gentle with them! We looked at the goats and the pigs and the horses. We got on a tractor trailer and went on a little ride on it. It was so hot though! 

We played on some tractors with T and then we went in the butterfly house but we did not see one single butterfly! I don't know if it was because of the heat or what. But we didn't! The farm was close to closing by this time so we went and got a drink and an ice cream each and ate them in the shade. We played in the sandpit with T for a bit too, but then we had to get back because Beth had hired a little go kart type thing. As we got back Peter had gone to pick it up so Beth and T went on it with Peter and then when they came back I had a go. It was really tiring on the thighs so I didn't go far but it was fun! 

We took the team photo because it's tradition and you have to. Beth took the kart back and Lee and I got busy cooking tea. We made tacos with an onion, tomato and coriander salad, and a sour cream based dip which were all delicious. We took it over to the main caravan for tea and then had pudding and stuff.

Peter had decided to leave about 9pm as he wanted to stay the night at his parents' to collect a bike, so a few people went for a walk before he left. I just sat and chilled though. We said goodbye to Peter just as the sun was setting. 

In the morning we just packed all the stuff and got going, but Lee and I did stop at the churchyard in Romney Marsh because that's where Derek Jarman is buried. It took us a while to find it but I was glad we had bothered because it was nice to see. We made good time driving home and were obviously happy to get home to see the cats!

It is such a nice tradition we've got going on here, and long may it continue. I'm really glad we took Kensi along with us too! 

Guinea pigs! My mum and I love guinea pigs! I had a few when I was little and then my mum had a couple after I left home

This shire horse was so big and so beautiful, I really liked stroking her

Baby T being so gentle with the rabbits

This rabbit was absolutely huge!

Oh T got to feed the goats too - you could put goat feed down the little pipes and then they all came to eat it! It was so cute!

These pigs were huge too. Some kind of rare breed, I dunno what exactly

Team photo! Taken by Neil

Derek Jarman's grave, where some people have left shells and stones for him

And the church where he is buried, which is very cute too

Family Holiday Day 4

On the Saturday of our family weekend we got up and went swimming, well most of us did anyway. The big pool was huge and really deep too so it was nice to do some proper swimming and play with T. Then Neil made pancakes and we all ate a ton of them with a bunch of toppings, which was nice. Or maybe we did these two things in the other order; I'm not sure and can't remember as it's weeks ago and I am so desperate to get caught up on blogging. I'm driving myself mad with it! Anyway. It was a nice morning. 

We then decided to go right down to Dungeness to look at the lighthouses and the beach there. Lee and I went in our car and met up with my mum, stepdad, and Kensi. We walked round a little bit and then went into the visitor centre and had a cold drink. Everyone else arrived not long after that and they all went up the lighthouse but it was too much for me. Then we all walked round and on to the beach and down a long duckboard. The beach there is all shingle so I was glad I didn't have to walk on that as I find it really strenuous and stressful. I sat at the end of the duckboard on a bench for a while cahtting to everyone else and it was lovely. Lee had taken off to go to the supermarket to get our supplies for what we were cooking the next day, so I went back to the caravan with my mum and co. 

We stopped at Prospect Cottage which belonged to Derek Jarman; you can look at it but can't go in as it's privately owned. It was nice to see though and the garden is lovely so I'm glad we bothered to stop. 

We got back to the caravans and chilled out for a bit. My mum and Kensi made tea. T stole the little stool that I have to use with my camping chair to sit on, and it was so cute. We played some games after tea and I took photos of the stars again. 

One of the Dungeness lighthouses

There was a tiny steam train that came past the holiday park too; we talked about going on it but it was quite expensive so we didn't bother, we just looked at it in the station instead

Looking towards the other lighthouse

This knitting collage was in the visitor centre cafe and I thought it was brilliant

Setting off along the duckboards. There were other people around but it really looks like I was alone in the world at this point!

Closer up towards the other lighthouse

Peter and I, what a cute photo of us! Behind us you can see the power station which is not at all picturesque but very necessary!

Some views of the beach, it was stunning

And towards the power station

Baby T walking along the beach. He isn't a baby anymore but he is a very sweet kid

Some more views of the beach

Derek Jarman's cottage. There were quite a lot of similar cottages on the coastline nearby and a few of them had artists in them selling their work. It was lovely to see!

Views of the garden

And the cottage from the other side

T having stolen my little stool in order to play with his farm models outside

And lastly, the stars