Come for a walk with me and my dogs......

Please feel free to click on any of the photographs to enlarge, I have imported them as small pictures because there were so many. I apologise for the blurring and colour issues but it was quite difficult to take photographs with 3 naughty dogs in tow! So this is the start of our walk, coming out of Lavister Walks.

We enter onto Darland Lane. When we first moved to Lavister Walks almost 15 years ago, there were no houses on the left but now it is quite built up.

These are my walking companions. Left to right: Wilbur, Pickles and Poppy.

We pass lots of blackberry bushes on our walk, some blackberries have past their best but others are still waiting to ripen. I must pick some to make some blackberry brandy for Christmas, its really lovely and makes nice gifts for friends.

These are the out buildings of Gamford Farm, it used to be a pig farm but has stopped working for a long while now. There were animal abuse issues and the place was closed down thankfully. I used to be able to hear the pigs squealing from my house and it wasn't pleasant.

The old sign for the farm which is as decrepit as the building itself is becoming over the years.

We walk quite a way down the lane before we come to the first set of cottages which is called the area of Trevalyn. Very pretty cottages but I wouldn't like to live in one because alot of commuters use the lane as a short cut and I think they think it is a race track!

We leave Gamford Lane and re-enter Darland Lane. There are fields full of horses and ponies, this one whinnied at us and alarmed the dogs. At this point, Pickles is allowed off her lead because it is a very narrow and quiet lane and she is a good dog..... Wilbur and Poppy are not to be trusted!

Trevalyn Farm, a really old farm house which has recently been restored. They converted the barns and outbuildings into flats and houses presumably to raise money for the refurbishment. The development is sweet but I think it has robbed the old farm house of some of its character.

I could not pass this hedgrow without taking a picture because the berries were in abundance and so pretty.

Here are my PINK sheep! I think the farmer must have either been drunk when he marked these sheep or it was raining and the colour has run!

I found this freshly dug hole in the hedgrow. It kind of turns off to the right. Not sure what sort of animal it belongs to but probably a rabbit.

One of my favourite trees along Darland Lane. Ancient oaks. One could stare at this tree the entire day and still wonder at its beauty and find different patterns, textures and life.

Sloe Berries, great for making Sloe Gin. I usually pick lots of these, freeze them then use them for my gin, again, another nice Christmas gift for friends. These should be picked after the first frost but as the weather has changed here in recent years, I prefer to pick them and freeze them myself.

We are approaching Darland Woods now, Pickles is checking that we are going the right way. The woods are on the right.

Just what the dogs have waited for. This is the entrance to the woods where all of the dogs are allowed off their leads. I am climbing over the style at this point while they have bounced off to sniff some smells.

Poppy has been squirrel and duck hunting and is about to re-join her "pack".

Wilbur sporting his leather head collar because he pulls so badly, a headcollar is a great way to control him without pressing on his neck. He tends to cough easily so I am concerned about any restriction put around his neck.

As we passed the lake, the sun hit the leaves of this tree and it looked so pretty, I had to take a picture of it.

We leave Darland Woods at this point and enter the Golf Course. It is a "pay as you go" golf course and has been in existance for almost 10 years. I remember it when it was agricultural land and one would hardly meet anyone on this walk, now you bump into golfers and other dog walkers so it has lost some of its charm for me. At least the golf course are planting trees and enhancing the environment but they have culled all of the rabbits and I have found some disturbing mole traps.

The entrance of the golf course and the exit for us! This is where the dogs go back onto their leads for safety because the main road ahead has a tendancy to be extremely busy.

Here we are on the main Chester Road, about 5 minutes walk from home and the end of our walk. The dogs are tired and so am I! So, I treat myself to an iced latte (skinny of course) with a dash of vanilla essence..... blissful x

Friday Shoot Out - Incongruous

This weeks topic INCONGRUOUS has been a challenging one. It means "out of place" (I have learnt a new word this week!). I had lots of ideas but sorry fellow FSO's I just didnt have the energy this week to go and get them. My week has been filled with appointments and tasks so, phew! I am totally whacked!

We went shopping to Broughton Retail Park for school shoes for the boys and while I was there I captured pictures of a couple of trolleys out of place.

Isn't that supposed to be a CAR parking space!!!!

http://www.broughtonshoppingpark.com

This is my sons hamster "Blossom". I bought this dolls house in order to "do" it up but my project has been on hold for some time. My sons use it for their Dr Who games or their hamsters. I always remember the dolls house my mum made for me out of a cardboard box. It was amazing, it had windows, working doors, pictures of plants growing up the walls. A few years later she bought me a "real" dolls house and it didn't capture my imagination the way my cardboard box house did.

My mum lives in what used to be the stables. The old hall is sectioned into three houses now. The surrounding land is split up into sections and my mum owns what used to be the orchard. The land is walled in and I can't make out what it would have been once upon a time. Maybe a walled garden? Anyway, the orchard is like a field and when you look at the wall and find an old door hidden by the Fig tree - how suprising? It has no use now because the field beyond is very rough and only used by cows, pheasants and wild life.

Bumper harvest this year with huge plums, grapes, figs, pears, peaches and apples!

Good Results!

Mum, Me, Fudge and Al in Mums back garden (Harry took the photo)

I had good news from the hospital today. I had a check up with my Breast Surgeon, Mr Cochrane who is a complete teddy bear and everything is fine. He checked my bones, liver, lungs, breasts (obviously) and give me a clean bill of health. He also confirmed that because of my ample boobs he was able to remove a good clear margin which gives me a good prognosis. He was so sweet, took time to talk to me and was very reassuring. As you can imagine, I left the hospital with a big smile on my face. I will have a mammogram in January followed by a consultation with him in February.

In addition to this, I got chatting to some fab people at the unit. One goes to the support group, another was someone we just got talking too and we had a cup of tea and a chat. Next to those lovely painted windows seen in my earlier blog.

I was completely shattered so ended up spending a couple of hours catching up on sleep. The children were spending the day with mum - they had plans to pick some apples for me. Yesterday they collected apples and made apple pie, eating it fresh from the oven! It was lovely for the children and for me because they collected me some peaches too!

Joe wants me to make apple pancakes but I will have to dig out the recipe.

I had my new lower retainer fitted AND, I brought the mould of my lower teeth home for Harry to look at - he loves things like that, skeletons and stuff...

So, altogether a very successful day!

Friday Shoot Out - Food Outside

This was a challenging topic for me, living in Wet & Wild Wales! Food outside? Not really! Anyway, it forced me to go out and about and see the world around me in a different light. Thoroughly enjoyed myself! This shot is of a wild blackberry bush in Erddig. There is the first ripend one too, can you spot it?
This is a corn field again at Erddig

My town of Wrexham is a market town and has been for centuries. The beast market was closed around 20 years ago and the site of the old markets has been built on. The original location was also the place where public executions took place. Famously the martyr Richard Gwyn who was matyred for his Catholic faith during the reformation. The van above is selling meat.

The new location of the market is Queens Square. This lady is selling welsh cakes, scones and breads.

Shoppers enjoy a cup of tea and maybe a hot dog at the market.
This man was selling all sorts of fresh food

Fruit and Veg stall at the market. Can you see the man on the elevated chair in the background? He shouts out the fruit he has for sale and the prices, really reall fast and loud!

This is a green grocers shop in Wrexham town

Fig tree and herbs growing in Erddig Hall

Apples and bees in Erddig Hall kitchen gardens

Figs, not yet ripe at Erddig Hall

This is my front door and can you see the Hedgehog food and water left for my nocturnal visitors?

My hanging basket of cherry tomatoes

The orchard at Speke Hall, Liverpool

A bee collecting nectar from flowers at Speke Hall, Liverpool

Session 2: Dr Who

Wow! More good news! Someone is looking after me upstairs! A special NEW episode of Dr Who tonight! We are all excited at the Williams temporary home! So...... pizza and Dr Who - life doesn't get much better and isn't David Tenant just GORGEOUS?!

I cut my steroid dose in half as Gwen advised yesterday and yipee, I got a full nights sleep. Mind you, we did have a couple of glasses of red wine so that helped. I was woken at 7am by...... yes, you guessed....... Harry, telling me how much MORE hair I had lost. He then spent the next five minutes plucking it and pulling it and making it into a not so attractive pile on my pillow..... children!

We had a nice day yesterday but I was so tired. We drove to Morfa Nefyn and had a gorgeous cup of coffee in a wonderful local cafe just next to the national trust car park. Joe had a chocolate cookie and Harry had chocolate icecream with marshmallows and sprinklers. They had a selection of original paintings for sale, they were great but nearly £1000 per piece! Out of my league I am afraid!

While Jason took the boys onto the beach, I reclined the car seat and actually managed to fall asleep. They came back with wonderful tales of sand castles, rocks, horses on the beach. However, I didn't feel sad because I was too tired to have appreciated those things and the sleep did me good.

We stopped off at the chip shop in Pwllheli and took our bounty back to the caravan. I had fruit because I just couldn't face stodgy food. Apples, grapes, strawberries and sharon friut.... nice.

Once the kids were in bed we watched 3 episodes of SHAMELESS before bed and a wonderful nights sleep.

I must thank all of my friends for their prayers, reiki, messages and support. I log onto face book or Weigh Watchers NCU site and I am surrounded by care, friendship and support and I swear that is what is allowing me to cope with chemo so well. THANK YOU!"