Glastonbury & Changing bad habits

With the busy lives we lead, it can be very easy to get absorbed by it all and forget about looking after our health. That is exactly what I have done for the past months or more like the past year....

My daily routine and way of life have changed since becoming busier with work and having to deal with various things that life throws at you. I have got into bad habits such as eating more sugary foods, convenient food to eat on the go and fewer healthy alternatives. I used to eat a lot more raw foods and not as many sweet things and felt great for it!
My daily 5 km walk stopped over a year ago. However busy I am, I realise that I cannot, must not compromise when it comes to my health, it must take more priority. The way I have been feeling lately has been a wake up call for me.

Time to take action!

I have made a list of the things I need to change or go back to:

1) Go back to walking (30 to 60 mins) at least 5 days a week
2) Try and go back to 50% of what I eat being raw.
3) Take up yoga
4) Learn how to meditate (I have tried before but found it hard switching off, my mind would keep wandering off to something I need to do)
4) Have an aromatherapy or Indian Head massage from time to time (My ultimate relaxation treat! It works wonders for body and soul)
5) Give myself quiet quality time to just relax - without feeling that I should be getting on with something around the house, garden or work related.
6) Catch up with my friends around the world, I am behind on writing letters to them and I don't like the feeling that I am neglecting them.
7) Try and accept more easily that sometimes I may not be able to get some things done by a deadline I set myself. I'm one of those people who when they have an idea in their mind they like to do it now and want it completed asap...

I'm sure I'll come up with more to add to the list but that is not a bad start for now.

Making this list may seem an obvious thing to do but it has helped motivate me in to doing something about the effects my busy life has had on me. I'd love to go back to being full of energy and putting a stop to the migraines.

Where best to go than Glastonbury! Home to alternative therapies, health food shops, crystal shops etc. I like Glastonbury, it's atmosphere, it's shops and the array of therapies available to all and guess what? We only live about 20 minutes away from there!


The High Street

One of my first stops was at one of my favourite health food stores
called Earthfare on the High Street. They have a fantastic selection
of health foods, organic fruit & vegetables, health magazines, supplements
and many more things.

















Nicholas Cage has a house in a nearby village and is sometimes seen shopping and walking around Glastonbury. We didn't spot him today though.





I like this little courtyard, pretty and magical looking



Whenever I go to Glastonbury, I always pop into Star Child,
it has a most wonderful selection or dried herbs,flowers,
spices, candles, essential oils and a lot more.









George & Pilgrims Hotel




Glastonbury just wouldn't be the same without these shops






Back home with some magazines to inspire me and healthy food to get me back on to the right track :-)

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Cotswolds Birthday Treat

It was my Birthday on Sunday. Alan and Miss P had a surprise lined up for me. A much needed break! A trip to Bibury in the Cotswolds. Home to the Arlington Row cottages owned by the National Trust. Bibury has a watermill, a couple of tea rooms, an antique shop, post office, a couple of gift shops, a trout farm and more...




















The Swan Hotel - Bibury


Alan capturing the next photo



Although Miss P did appreciate the beauty of this village,
the highlight for her had to be the wildlife.

It was lovely watching the young coots being fed




As coincidence would have it, one of my birthday cards looked like this:

My parents chose this card as they thought it was very "me"
and could picture me sitting in the garden. Neither they or
me knew that I would be going there on my birthday and
see the same house!


This cottage looked just perfect!

Filled with pretty flowers and...

...a vegetable plot




Another lovely house! You can't beat the Cotswold honey coloured stone and the stone roofs, the perfect combination.

I had a fantastic day! I love the Cotswold, I am always inspired by the stone walls, cottages & their beautiful gardens and how well kept the villages are.

Monday came around all too quickly, back to work. Speaking of work....

MY ABSENCE:
You may have noticed that I have been absent for a while. I have had a lot on lately as I am working on several projects at the same time including my website. It is all taking longer than planned.

I would like to be able to concentrate on one project at a time (the best way of doing things) but with the nature of it, I am having to deal with all of it at once. When you have an old property, some repairs and work just can't wait. With summer here, it is the time when they have to be done now rather than in the winter months. The garden is still giving us a lot of work too, we have recently discovered that our sewage pipes etc. need to be completely rerouted via our back garden. We have an underground well there which we need to take into consideration. Sadly, some of the work we have done over the past couple of years has been for nothing....a stone wall and steps that Alan built will have to be dismantled as the pipes will have to go through there.

One of the reasons that you have not heard from me much lately, is that I been having migraines...being on the computer for long periods of time is a trigger. It is also why I had to cut down on how much time I spent working on my website and blog. I really wanted it launched by now but at what cost? Looking back, I have been doing and expecting too much of myself over the past few months.

Over the past couple of weeks I have decided to postpone the launch of the website until the Autumn. July & August are not the best months to launch a website. I will however sell a few things on my Suzy Gaby and Maud blog until my website is ready to be launched.

That's it for now. I hope that you are looking forward to the holiday season whether you are staying at home or going away.

I'll try not to leave it as long until my next blog post :-)


A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Recipe - Natural elderflower cordial

Following on from my previous post, I strained the elderflower & lemon mixture and poured the cordial into 3 bottles.
As you can see, one of them has already gone down...

It is so fresh tasting, so much nicer than shop bought cordials. If you have elderflower shrubs within easy reach, I urge you to have a go at making some. The whole process is so rewarding, from picking the elderflowers to finally drinking this beautifully fragrant drink.

It is so simple and easy to make, just a little patience is required until you can sample it.

There are many recipes out there but this is how I made mine this time:

INGREDIENTS:
25 - 30 elderflower heads
1.5 Litres of boiling water
4 lemons (I used unwaxed organic)
1Kg of organic caster or granulated sugar
I did not use any citric acid this time

When picking the elderflowers, look for healthy looking shrubs away from the road side.
I do not wash the elderflower head as it is said that it can take away some of the flavour.

When you have collected the heads, shake them gently to get rid of any unwanted insects. There were quite a few thunder bugs on the ones we found so it took a while to shake them off but we got there in the end!

HOW I MADE IT:
Pour the sugar into a large saucepan or large (heat proof) glass bowl and add the boiling water. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Leave to cool down completely.
Grate the lemons to remove the zest then cut the lemons in to slices.
Add the lemon zest, slices and flowers heads into the sugary water, stir.
Place in a cool area with a tea towel or cling film on top and leave to infuse for 24 to 48 hours. Stir occasionally during that time.
When ready, strain through muslin into sterilised bottles. Store in the fridge.

Pour some in to a glass, top up with water, ice cube and a slice of lemon or lime and enjoy.....


It depends on which part of the country or the world you live in but hopefully, some of you should still be in with a chance of making some. You'll be glad you did!

A bientôt!

Isabelle X