May Half Term Catch Up

A crazy 3 whole weeks have passed since the children had a week long holiday from school - and the Hubby had some well deserved holiday from work.  Time is currently flying by - maybe it's the weather raising the spirits or enabling us to live each day fully?  But we certainly managed to pack a lot into that week.





The Hubby, kids and Grandpa took a trip to Wembley to watch the Queens Park Rangers (QPR) v Derby Play off Finals.  This was a huge deal for the men as avid QPR fans and the kids really enjoyed the pre-match excitement of getting dressed, kitted up and the journey.  I painted their faces to add to the sense of occasion.

Gladly they won - which made the experience for the children.  Free QPR flags were on each seat and so the children were delighted to wave them and chant!  Their first trip on the underground too.

After a short rest and repack at home, we then journeyed on to Cornwall to stay with my Mum and visit my siblings / cousins and those truly fantastic beaches.  This was a lovely relaxed time - the weather was very kind which always helps.

We went to Gyllanvese again - a popular choice for our family and my sister's - a good all rounder; shells, surf, sand, volley ball and great rock pools!  We arrived at 11 and didn't leave until 6!  It was a fantastic day with so much activity out at sea to watch.  We found out later this was due to the Fal River Festival - but we simply enjoyed watching the numerous, stunning yachts, sail boats and trawlers moving across the waves.

We're always a little reluctant to leave my childhood home.  The children adore my mum's village park and are very close to her partly because we see her quite often despite the miles between us - and partly because my Mum played such a huge part in their care whilst I was recovering post accident.  I love their relationship and it brings me great joy to see them spending quality time together.

There are four weeks left now until the children break up for the school summer holidays in our area.  I literally cannot wait - I do so love the summer hols.  I have to take time to restore my health in the meantime so that I can manage over those weeks but it is so worth it!  Little Man celebrates his seventh birthday this week so I'll pop in next week to share his birthday cake requests!!

Hope you have a happy weekend,
J9 x

Country Coastal Cornwall

As regular readers of this blog you may well be aware that I am a Cornish lassie who at 17, moved out of county to go to University.  By the time I had completed my degree I was priced out of the housing market and couldn't afford to return to the county.  We make regular trips back and I'm so grateful to my Mum for having an open home to welcome us to return to.

We're happily settled in Somerset now (still in the SW 'leg' of England) - but the beaches just don't match that of the Cornish coast.  All of my side of the family still live in Cornwall - and we were fortunate to stay with my mum for a whole week of the summer holidays.

Hubby had a fortnight off and we headed on down to make the most of the summer sunshine that we've been enjoying in the UK in recent weeks (how lush has it been to have consecutive days of sunshine?!)  Such a simple JoY!

Each day, we took a leisurely approach to breakfast (my pain management is so much more effective if I give the medicine time to work before tackling anything!).  Then we'd pack a big picnic and choose the part of the coastline we were headed for whilst supping our morning coffee.  We have the inside scoop as 'locals' - we know to avoid the big touristy sites - they're best out of season!! 



My favourite place St Ives is home to swarms of visitors at this time of year and it so detracts from the natural beauty you can enjoy out of season.  I also love the sometimes rolling often crashing waves of the north coast but due to the whole Rick Stein additional tourist effect on Padstow (and the local area) and the Boardmasters Surfing contest happening at Newquay, we avoided the North Coast on this visit. 

In my opinion, Cornwall is at it's best when you have an expanse of clean sand and bluey, turquoise sea - like here at Mevagissey:



So, amongst our various desires were rock-pooling ambitions, body boarding needs, a family meet with cousins to accommodate plus some all important beach combing (me and Ru) and skimming (Ben and little man).  I do think it's such a man thing to throw rocks into the sea for hours...

all the longer for us girlies to hunt for seaside treasures I guess!



On each day we were rewarded handsomely in our efforts.

Gyllnyvese near Falmouth is the best beach for rock pooling in my experience.  The sheer variety and abundance of sea life is amazing.  Little man absolutely loved fishing and after catching fish, crabs and shrimps he exclaimed "I'm a good little fisherman mummy aren't I?!'  As a little boy that needs lots of reassurance to boost his confidence this was quite a breakthrough and added immensely to my enjoyment.  When it comes to rockpooling, I revert to an excited childlike state.  My degree covered a good amount of marine biology and I do so enjoy the thrill of finding life in these little rock pools.  We often show other children our finds before returning them to the sea - they are often incredulous to see the star fish and feel them on their hands.  My littlies love to catch little crabs - the smallest nicknamed 'pea crabs' as they scuttle across their palms.


A small sea urchin and cushion star fish were amongst our haul.

We had 3 large buckets of crabs caught with a line and net off a local harbour wall - next time we'll take a normal bucket as they looked tightly packed by the end of our crabbing time!  Bacon is our bait of choice for crabs, and boy - do they love it!! 


We had over 17 after 2 hours of crabbing - each of us was successful in landing crabs of various sizes so all were happy. 

These again were returned to the sea - probably to be caught again by the growing crowd of tourists that had gathered after lunch!



On a misty, wet day we drove to St. Mawes and enjoyed fish and chips by the sea.  There was lots going on in the water and the photo doesn't do it justice - that's the mist for you, although it was still pleasant to be out in!  We pootled around the independent shops and watched the world go by.

And this beach had the most sea glass that I have seen at one time.  Such lovely worn, tactile pieces of days gone by...  I'll post about that another time (when I've got a decent photo!)

This plus swimming, visits to local parks, a Vintage Country Fayre...

...and meeting my gorgeous new niece Kaja (Cornish for Daisy) meant for a wonderful holiday.

What a fabulous break we had.  Relaxing days, long and happy. 

The worst part is always leaving to drive back up the motorway... it's always nice to be home but I do so wish we could make our home in Cornwall.  However, work opportunities and cost of housing eliminate that option.  So good to visit though - I'm proud of my Cornish heritage and it's so fab to see many posts across blog-land here and here writing of their enjoyment of their own holidays in Cornwall during August!!

Happy Days,

J9 x

Today I'm partying with:

 Today I'm joining in with these lovely blog parties!

Share your Cup Thursday

Simple & Sweet Friday

Pink Saturday

From the Farm Blog Hop Friday

Anything Blue Friday

Happy Holidays: Part II

The following day saw us meeting up with my sister and her family at Gyllnyvese Beach near Falmouth. 

I've loved this beach since childhood.  It's not a wonderful beach for sand but it's unmatched for rock pooling potential!!  I did my GCSE coursework based on the biodiversity within the differing zones of the reef so am a tad passionate about it.







It was a day where time passes without noticing - when you're in complete 'flow'.  Happy.

That rocky reef was the start of my journey to study conservation management at uni.  It was the kick start of recognising the magnificent wonder of the world God created.  Yes, those rock pools hold much wonder to me!

Each year, I've tried to share this simple joy with my babes - and this year, was the year I was rewarded with excitement, wonder, squeals of delight and much hopping on rocks.  Yep, a joyous moment.  Little B especially enjoyed it proclaiming "I'm a great fisherman I am.  I caught that fast fish!"

 

We found an amazing abundance of marine life - 5 cushion star fish, multiple brittle star fish, a small sea urchin, a large blenny, plenty of crabs and shrimps and a few differing types of fish I didn't know the names of!!

Beyond the rock pools my littlies joined their big cousins in play on the beach.  They wore their hand me down wetsuits and R tried body boarding for the first time.  Simple joys...

My fondest memory from this day though was laying head to head in a funny splayed triangle sieving the fine shingle looking for 'treasures'.  An hour of complete focus.  We found sea glass, shells worn like sharks teeth, tiny shells and a cowlrie.  I smiled as R found it - they're hard to find, quite rare really.  As children we camped a lot with my parents and if we harassed them, they'd send us to the beach to find a 'meal ticket' for that night's tea.  A meal ticket was always a cowlrie, and we'd search for hours til we found one.  Tricks of the parenthood trade ;o)  It's so funny how these little things stay with you.

It' funny that my most memorable moment of the day doesn't need a photograph to prompt it.  We were all fully present and in the moment.  But we still have their treasure.  R & B created a beautiful display with it once we returned to Granny's house.

 

We made the most of this day - beach volleyball, rock pooling, wave jumping, beach sieving and ended with a BBQ.

 

Great Fun.

 

J9 x