Healthy Habits: WALKING

In one of my recent posts I talked about the need to go back to healthier habits, walking being one of them. I used to walk 5km a day 5 mornings a week and that stopped some time ago as a busier life took over. I am pleased to say that I have started walking again. When Alan returns from work, we now all go on a family walk or cycle ride in Miss P's case.

Although I have only just recently started doing this, I am already beginning to feel the benefits! Not only am I giving my body some exercise but I am giving my soul some time to switch off and take in the beauty around me. That is so important, it's all too easy to get absorbed with the more serious side of life and forget to allow yourself time to relax and take in the beauty of what surrounds us.

Tonight I went on such a walk and these pictures are some of the things I saw on the way.














The good thing about having a family walk is that you get to spend some quality time together and talk about each others day. Miss P has learnt so much from walks like these such as plant names, birds and other little creatures...

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Walking to work

Although we live in the countryside, Alan is lucky enough not to have a long commute to work. He does not work in a town or a city. In fact it takes just over 10 minutes to drive to his workplace through the country lanes but most days Alan likes to walk or cycle there (6km).

This morning, Alan took his camera with him, so I thought I would share some of his photos with you.


When Alan set out at 7.30am, the skies were grey with the feeling of possible rain in the air. It didn't stop the sun from trying to make an appearance through the clouds.

Just before it began pouring down with rain, Alan managed to capture this beautiful shot of the dark menacing sky and the rainbow just below it.
This type of light is my favourite! A very dark sky, a ray of sunshine, it makes the the plants and trees look to very striking the shades of green look so much brighter. Very atmospheric!


The rain subsided and Alan continued on his walk until he reached the office he works in.





In the afternoon the sky had cleared and the sun was out so time to take more photos

A reservoir next to Alan's workplace












We are very lucky to be be surrounded by such beautiful countryside, there is an abundance of wild flowers and wildlife which we see pretty much every day.








Almost home...

Larry waiting to welcome Alan back home :-)

I will be sharing pictures of the school run which I do most days. Once again, all in the country lanes, not a single town in sight. I promise you some stunning scenery and views! That post will follow in the next week or so.

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Playful cats & An evening stroll

Sunset in Somerset

At the end of a lovely sunny day, we all spent some time outside. We watched Larry and the farm cat play together

Farm cat (Left) and Larry (right)




Larry feeling brave...

My 2 cats gets on quite well with the farm cat and it's fun to watch them interacting. The farm cat has found a way of letting himself in to our house to get food... He headbutts the cat flap and manages to force it open even when it's locked! Strong cat...
My two cats are OK with him being in their garden but look rather put out when he finds his way in to our house and eats their food!

After the two cats got bored of playing together, Miss P suggested that we go off for a walk.


Scooter ride in Miss P's case. Alan and I took our cameras with us, we rarely go out without them..


We headed towards the woods










Daffodils that Miss P picked for me on the way.








The sun setting over the fields and village in the distance.

I really like the photos below which Alan took of the Somerset sky.
The floral photos were taken by him too.






It was the perfect end to a lovely day.

I wish you all a lovely weekend!

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

BOUNTIFUL NATURE - Part 2 & THE TOUR OF BRITAIN 2009 IN 3D

Hello, I hope that you are all having a good week, it's been a very busy one for me so far! Following Sunday's berry picking with Miss P, I decided that we still needed more. So, on Tuesday evening, Alan, Miss P and I went berry picking. Unfortunately, the weather was not as nice as on Sunday. It was grey, cold and windy but I was out on a mission and the weather was not going to deter me.


Saved from the bed of stinging nettles. It was my turn next, Miss P and Alan insisted on it! Sorry, no photo!...thankfully ;-))


Miss P got stuck in to it and did a fantastic job


There were plenty of lovely looking hawthorn berries


The best elderberries were high up so a step ladder was required to pick the very juicy looking ones


Removing the berries from the stems (Fiddly job!)


The first thing that I made is ELDERBERRY LIQUEUR
1/2lb (450g) Elderberries
1 pint (600ml) vodka (Alternatives are Gin, white rum or brandy) needs to be a minimum of 40% alcohol
4oz (115g) Sugar
Put the the elderberries in a jar, add the vodka & sugar, seal the jar tightly and place in a cool dark place for 2 to 3 months. During that time shake the jar gently to mix the contents.
Strain the berries away and pour the liqueur in to a bottle.
Just multiply the amounts above if you want to make more.
Elderberry (Also known as Sambucol) has antiviral properties.



Next on my list was a ELDERBERRY THROAT GEL
Elderberries
Vegetable gelatin
Fill a small kilner jar with ripe elderberries, then cover with diluted vegetable gelatin.
Leave in a warm place for 2 weeks. Strain through muslin, squeezing well. Pour into a sterilized bottle.
Adults: Take 2 tsp, 3 times a day for coughs and sore throats.
I didn't have a kilner jar left at that time so had to put it an ordinary jar, will shortly be transferring to a kilner jar.

This recipe is from the book GROW YOUR OWN DRUGS by James Wong. Some of you may have seen the series on the BBC. Being in to natural remedies, I found the series and the book really interesting and full of great recipes for health remedies and beauty treatments.


I also made and blackberry & Strawberry compote made using Vanilla sugar. I will be having some with granola, yogurt, ice cream and in a sponge cake.

My next post will include what I made with the hawthorn berries. We did not manage to pick enough decent sloe berries so have frozen what we have and will try and find more at the weekend.

I went out for a walk this morning...


I had hoped to see the cyclists from THE TOUR OF BRITAIN go by but I missed them by a few minutes. By the time I had reached the top of the lane, they had just gone by. All that was left was a long queue of traffic trailing behind them.
Alan got up very early this morning to get a good spot in Frome (Somerset), the starting point of STAGE 6 - FROME to BIDEFORD. He has been taking 3d photos of the start and finish.

(See below for a link to some of the photos!)


So nice to see so many butterflies in the garden this morning.

It is a beautiful day today, I do hope your day is a good one too.

A bientôt!


Isabelle x

UPDATE: Here are some 3d photos of the event taken in FROME yesterday. Don't forget that you will need a pair of 3d glasses (red & cyan) to obtain the 3d effect when viewing them. More photos will be added to the website soon including ones taken in BIDEFORD.