In the garden

This is the 2nd lot of peas we have harvested this summer and they are delicious...

Joe's apple tree we have 2 small apple trees planted in large pots when the Boy's were 3 years old and 8 years later Joe's tree has finally bore some fruit 9 apples in fact, almost ready to harvest....

Plums on our plum tree, planted 2 years ago ,we had 3 plums last year that wilted and died before picking, this year we have lots and lots, and they are so sweet and delicious already had fruit crumble with our own plums, pears from the pear tree and blackberries....

Pears ,plums,and peas all very nice added to the potatoes , strawberries and carrots and the wonderful selection of herbs including rosemary, bay leaf, thyme, and mint, we have had a great harvest this summer, and we still have blueberries and courgettes to look forward to in the coming weeks.........x

HURTS - Wonderful Life

Camping in Anglesey North Wales

What a wonderful time my family and I have had this Bank Holiday weekend, we have been enjoying the delights of camping on the Island of Anglesey in North Wales at Newborough and the hospitality of Awelfryn Camp site. Above is the view from the campsite overlooking the mountains of Snowdonia....

Llanddwyn Island is a very magical place located at the far side of Newborough Beach, it is not quite an island but at high tide it is cut off from the mainland. The name Llanddwyn means 'The church of Dwynwen' and she is the Welsh patron Saint of Lovers.

The ruins of Llanddwyn Chapel, it is said as her dying wish Dwynwen asked to be lifted up to this window to see the sun set.

At the entrance to the island are these magnificent rocks, they are pillow lavas formed by undersea volcanic eruptions, as the hot molten rock met the cold seawater a balloon like skin formed which then filled with more lava forming the pillow shape, they extend down the length of the island.

Newborough forest runs alongside the beach, it looks really beautiful and the beach has amazing sand dunes for the children (and adults) to play in all day long..

Magnificent views of Snowdonia from Newborough beach...

Forest, beach and magnificent mountain views, what could be better...

A tour of the island on my Birthday took us to Red Wharf Bay on the west side of the island, another beautiful place to visit, a lovely beach with fantastic views out to sea. A visit to The Boathouse Restaurant for lunch is highly recommended, great food...

Our last stop on the island tour was Bull Bay to the North of the island, another lovely bay to sit and watch the ocean and feel the ocean breeze, although I think my husband was here just to check out the golf course (which did look amazing) as he is here next week on his lads annual Anglesey golf weekend played here at Bull Bay.

We had a wonderful 4 nights camping and have had my intake of theraputic sea air which will hopefully last a while until our next visit to the seaside. I need an intake of sea air, I am sure it has medicinal properties and I envy anyone that lives near to the sea.............x

Andy and Nicola Portrait

This portrait was commisioned by my husband for our friends Engagement present he chose the style of the painting from an illustration he had seen in a magazine, I wasn't sure they would like it as they are not really very creative people, but they loved it.....Thankfully.....x

Pati Portrait

My friend Patrycja is Polish and has her Name Day on August 28th, so this portrait was a present for her. In Poland Name Day is a special time for family and friends to gather, friends and family simply stop by to wish the person celebrating their Name Day 'Wszystkiego najlepszego' ( All the best) usually guests bring flowers and chocolates and maybe a drink of vodka .

Imieniny 'Name Day' is the feast day of the Saint for whom you are named, people over the age of thirteen usually celebrate their Imieniny rather than their Birthdays.....x

Jon Portrait

I have been busy these last few weeks painting portraits for friends, I began my career in painting as a Textile Designer which has taken me off into a few different routes artistically, from designing party invitations to children's personalised canvass, and also to my favourite painting portraits this one is of a friend of the family Jon.....x

Camelot Theme Park, Chorley

My family and I had a fun day out at Camelot Theme Park lots of rides including the Nightmare a rollercoaster which has more G force than any other ride in the UK theme parks pulling 5 G's at some points, the highest point is 87 feet and it reaches speeds in excess of 40 miles per hour, thankfully my husband went on this ride with our son, I opted for the Galleon a swinging sea farer quite a good ride but not for those with motion sickness. Other rides included the Dragon Flyer a roller coaster that takes you around the theme park some sharp turns though, The Log Flume gets you very wet , The Dungeon of Doom a ghost train ride and a Go Kart track (extra charge for this , and a few other activities) lots of places to eat and drink.

There is also a Medieval show with dashing knights on horseback. Led out by King Arthur is the Black Knight Mordred and the ever loyal Sir Lancelot, they performed Jousting at the tilt, Lancing of the rings and foot combat using swords and maces.

A good day out even though it was raining, for which we were given a voucher to return for half price as it rained for more than 2 hours on and off.......x

Manchester City FC Family Fun Day

Yes my family support the Blue side of Manchester and on Friday 6th August Manchester City Football Club held a Family Fun Day at their ground The City Of Manchester Stadium known as 'Eastlands' .

This was also the day the new Manchester City Home kit went on sale and we headed of down there to watch the players training on the pitch, the boy's loved it we got some good pictures and saw a few of the new players just signed up including David Silva and Yaya Toure...the team looked good and we went to see them the next day play Valencia in a friendly it was a good game, City looked good the players played well together, the final score City winning 2-0.......x

Ways of Seeing

I finished reading Love by Design by Nora Roberts and I wasn't impressed, I have though, just read Vision in White by Nora Roberts, book one in the bride quartet series, which was free from Iceland Food Store, and thought it was great.

I am now reading Ways of Seeing by John Berger it consists of seven numbered essays. It raises questions about hidden ideologies in visual images.

My husband a photographer for over 20 years is studying for a degree in Photography and this is one off the recommended reading list. Hopefully it won't be too hard going, as I myself have a background in Art and Design I am hoping it will be very interesting....x