One of the rooms in the amazing Hall…

I have had the most lovely Easter holiday with Rachael in the Lake District. It was amazing to spend time in the massive, dark, rambling hall that has passed down through generations of Rachael’s ancestors, to live without The Internet or much central heating for a few days, to be warmed by fires and exercise and to get some good walking done. We had a lot of adventures including rustic tea on an island on Windermere Lake that we’d rowed out to, the discovery of wild goose eggs in a nest on the same island, an ancient book featuring lovely illustrations of eggs, the acquisition of some buttons with skiing people on them, gorgeous views from the tops of mountains, a visit to an old bobbin mill, a visit with Cecelia who is one of the organisers of Woolfest, and a trip to The Threlkeld Mining Museum, where we got to try out a sexy new hard-hat look for this season. I can scarcely believe how much experience we managed to pack into our few days away and I have nearly finished my Impatient Knitter’s Sweater, so it was highly productive as well as extremely inspiring.

The Bobbin Mill.

The amazing, rustic-tea-making Volcano Kettle.

Rustic tea (that is soya milk and cow’s milk in the jars; don’t worry, we didn’t put mustard in the tea.)

Goose eggs on the island.

Vintage egg illustrations.

Good buttons…

Rachael says that going to the Lake District is a bit like drinking a large glass of water when you’re really thirsty and she’s right; it is.

Good views.

But now I’m home after many hours in the car and it’s time to stomp all over the ‘hood, to check on familiar sights and birds and things and to get my feet firmly back on the ground, so I’m going running to check on the extremely mysterious shop, the swan that doesn’t want to swim anymore, the permanently present hoard of busy pigeons and the black swan of the nearby canal.

The swan who has given up swimming.

The nearby black swan.

A Very Mysterious Shoppe…

I love the coming home after the going away, especially when I’ve been somewhere so rich in ideas, history, and landscapes of joy.

Doesn’t Rachael look good in a hard hat?