What I did in the holidays!

I've been having a bit of an unscheduled blog holiday.  I volunteered to child mind my two youngest grandchildren over Easter, as my daughter had work commitments that couldn't be altered. Then some of my other children and grandchildren turned up to join the fun. It's been a very lively couple of weeks, but even writers have to have time off!

Family outing on a wet, cold Easter Sunday - note the cake and hot chocolate!

When I remember that I used to work freelance with young children underfoot (it involved burning a lot of midnight oil) I wonder how I ever managed to write a word or get enough sleep to function.

Making a bid for freedom on a rare sunny day

Days have been filled by painting (paper, selves, floor and furniture!), story-telling and trips out, chocolate egg hunts, quite a bit of cuddling and rather a lot of television.  The weather was typical of Cumbria in March - wet, windy and cold, so many planned outdoor activities had to be postponed.

The Mill still looking damp and rather sorry for itself.

We did manage some gardening though - I'm desperately trying to salvage the flood-ravaged garden at the Mill.  The water swept away the fence and uprooted shrubs and mature roses - even rolling up the grass and stripping it off leaving big bare patches.  I planted the garden more than 20 years ago and love every inch of it.  Starting again is hard.  But it was great fun digging with two little monsters in tow and they thoroughly enjoyed the wheelbarrow rides along the river bank!

It's been a very happy time and I'm completely exhausted. And now back to work on a backlog of emails and some imminent deadlines.