Midweek Musings - Springtime Fun

 

This weekend we took some time off to spend with some of Gareth's family in a holiday park in Torquay. Spending quality time off together is rare, but when the sun is shining and we've got the English Riveria almost on our doorstep, it seems criminal to not make the most of it.

We leisurely walked around Torquay, Paignton and Brixham harbours, finding gluten free cream teas and whale sized fish and chips to scoff out of paper on e pier. In the evenings, we played slightly tipsy games of crazy golf and Gareth taught me a couple of card games. The long and the short of it is, especially as I'm recovering from wisdom teeth removable, we did sweet FA and it felt amazing.

 

Often we take what's on our doorstep for granted, instead preferring to fly out of the country to discover wild adventures and must see sites. Sometimes I get scared that if I don't fill my days with challenging, meaningful tasks I'll wake up and wonder if I've wasted my life. But lying on the grass on Saturday afternoon, with the sun on my face and a cold bottle of Brothers cider in my hand, we really could've been anywhere, but wouldn't choose another place in the world. Taking time to enjoy the mundanities of life is a rare but real treat.

Have you embarked on a recent staycation?

 

Crown and Glory Reads - Danny Wallace

I admit, reading for pleasure is a scarce activity these days. In fact, the last time I just sat down and read a book was last August. As a teenage bookworm, that's pretty terrifying. I think the problem started shortly after I got a kindle - whilst I love the idea of having hundreds of books in one portable device, it also makes picking (and finishing one) almost impossible. That and the working 16 hour day thing...

 

But one of the books I read last summer, that stuck in my mind, was Awkward Situations for Men, by Danny Wallace. You may know Wallace from 'Yes Man' fame (infinitely better than the film, btw, and that's coming from a huge Jim Carrey fan) and Awkward Situations for Men is just as hilarious, irreverent and charming all in one. We follow a year in Wallace's life, in which he finds himself in the most toe curlingly awkward of situations - insulting a friends baby, accidentally following a woman down a dark alley, being caught in pyjamas by his wife. Prepare to be snorting in laughter in front of complete strangers on a train (or maybe that's just the awkward situations of my life)

Also worth checking out, is his acclaimed hit 'Join Me' - in which Wallace inadvertently starts a cult by asking people to send a passport photo to a PO Box address.

 

Midweek Musings - Repetitive Monotony

My first job was printing from film at the local photo development centre. For 8 hours on a Sunday, I'd feed 35mm film into a machine and press some buttons to ensure the correct sizes were printed for the order. Rack after rack of film would come through to me from the development centre and roll after roll of peoples' treasured memories would blur into one monotonous muddle of middleclass suburbia.

Recourse would be found from the mundane task in the occasional classified medical film, we'd clamber around the proud finders' machine while a supervisor looked on in distaste. Once, a film in my order queue contained such indecent images we were required to hand them over to the police. Often, the weekends' personal antics would be sneakily printed while the powers that be were out on break; there's huge boxes of prints in my loft that serve for reminders of now forgotten teenage years.

I often walk past the now derelict factory and wonder how many other industries will disappear so quickly. There's something magical about waiting to get a roll of film back from the developers, making a cup of tea and laughing at the shots that didn't work so well, and the joy found when you managed to capture a corker.

While it's certainly not the most hated of jobs I had in my short time before self-employment, it certainly taught me one thing: I loathe and thrive on juggling tasks, and fear repetitive monotony. I for one am going to make more of an effort to document my life through photographs as I once obsessively did - and actually give these memories the importance of physical presence that they deserve, too.

Image by Devlin Photos

BEDM - Pets

 

Introducing...Rolo!

He's my parents' 9 week old Chocolate Labrador puppy, and boy we've had fun and games with him so far. He's almost toilet trained, we've taught him how to sit, and he sinks his teeth into everything he comes across. Keeping him entertained with a huge array of toys and safe things for him to cut his teeth on really is akin to having a small child, and he sleeps like one too. He's been hanging out at our place during the evenings or when my folks need to run errands and biting aside, he's brought so much laughter to us already.

Do you have any pets?

 

Blog Every Day in May - My Bank Holiday

I decided it might be a nice idea to accept the lovely Elizabeth at Rosalilium's challenge to Blog Every Day in May! You can check out the whole shebang here. Today's topic is 'Bank Holiday'

One of my favourite things to do with a day off and the sun is shining is to take our bike's down the Camel Trail, one of Britain's best cycle and bridal paths from Bodmin to Padstow.

So much so, in fact, that we've completed the 32 mile round trip twice in two weekends; the first, a race to the finish to earn ourselves fish and chips and beer with my brother, and the second a more leisurely pace with my favourite little person Lucy and her mum, my sister in law Beth.

We earnt ourselves a gluttonous weekend of ice creams in Padstow and cream teas in Polperro. I love having people down to stay as often we take for granted our beautiful surroundings and it gives us the opportunity to view what lies on our doorstep with fresh eyes.

With our visitors sadly on their way back to Wales, my Monday evening will be spent finishing up a sewing project in the garden and when it gets too chilly, getting out my summer wardrobe; like shopping but for free! It's nice to take pleasure in the mundane in life sometimes.

Were you able to make the most of the beautiful sunshine this long weekend?