18th October, 2020...A new normal for us all.

So......we've hit a second wave of the pandemic. Most countries are having to take precautions, though in our country these are not as strict as they were in March. I think we will all have to learn to live with this virus for the foreseeable future sadly. Living in this restricted way is becoming the norm.

Some things don't change though.......

...and Autumn is well and truly here again!

Here's my intended front cover picture! That cottage!!

Had a wonderful socially distanced visit to one of my old comrades earlier this month...and his field...

Stunning views from up there.....

...and The Nance is languishing there, under cover!

It was a breath of fresh air, meeting up again. We slipped back into our old ways so easily...

...lots of conker talk!

Back to my old self again! Submitting course work seems so retro, but I'm loving it in a way I don't remember back when I ploughed through my B.Ed with a new baby! Finally got some people interested in my writing too! Sometimes, it's what you don't say that counts....

27th August 2020...No back to school for me!!

It feels really strange not to be getting ready for September-I've been doing that since 1981, if I include the university years, and I now know what my very dear friend and former boss meant about moving on finally from teaching. Not getting any sympathy from any ex-colleagues though, who have taken to running past me or blanking me completely. Perhaps that's just the way it goes....

Anyhow...Furness Abbey has stood through many generations of humans angst and I'm sure it will stand through many more after all those people have gone, realising that they were nothing more than a drop in the vast ocean of time, as we all will be, in the end....or maybe Furness Abbey won't still be standing...

...because it's having work done!

Still looking lovely though!

But very quiet this morning at seven thirty!

Hair's a bit wild at the moment- haven't use straighteners since lockdown.

The boy was eighteen on Tuesday...thanks to Lucie for this wonderful cake...(and the words of wisdom)

...and to all the people who turned out for his birthday, despite the pandemic (none of his godparents there though, sadly.)

The upside of that for us is that, like a lot of other people, we've discovered some new and wonderful local places to walk....

...channel side being our most favourite one...

...if you don't include the moon!

Very autumnal chill in the air at the moment....

....but I'm expecting an incredibly poignant September!

6th August, 2020...The New Normal!

Some things don't change! Furness Abbey has remained stable and beautiful throughout this pandemic, but when I've just switched BLOGGER back on to resume the documentation of our walks, even that has a new system in place...and I can't get rid of the underlining! 

We've walked down here three or four times a week since the pandemic began, but only now is it starting to feel normal again- Jackie has opened her doors again and we are able to stop and chat to people without them jumping into the hedgerow to avoid you or giving you furtive looks because you've had more than you allotted time for exercising!

There was a little bit of sea mist when we first got down here at seven thirty this morning, but it had cleared by eight, leaving everything drippy and dank.

Lots of fruits and seeds round too, considering its only early August. The boy is eighteen in a few weeks time and has been turned down for every apprenticeship or job he's applied for since college closed. This is going to be the terrifyingly new normal, I suspect. No weddings since March, either, though I am now writing book number four!

We had a rainy walk up to Kendal Castle earlier in the week- that's a nice walk if you like wandering, old ruins and good views, and we do!

We're hoping that by the end of this week, things will become a little more normal for our family, although some things won't ever be the same again. Thank goodness for the enduring romance of Furness Abbey and the surrounding countryside!

I am totally obsessed with all things literary at the moment-if you know me, you'll know why- but if you haven't picked up a copy of this year's Booker Prize winner, you need to....it's scorchingly realistic, and transports you instantly. Hope I can write like that one day...