A bit blah

My niece Liz and her boyfriend Andrew came up to visit me for a couple of days over the weekend and we went for a walk in the Upper Derwent Valley. Aint young love grand??


They're very sweet together.....takes me back.

Shelagh enjoying her dip.

Me and Liz. She looks so like my sister at her age.

It was a very steep hill, even the dogs were taking it steady.

But worth it for the views and the young 'uns were definitely not used to the hills, I was striding ahead!! Tee hee..

Minty Moo or whatever we're calling her these days.

Once on top, you feel as though you're on top of the world - not a sign of civilisation for miles.

And then back down to the reservoir via an unauthorised route. (We took a wrong turn and couldn't face hiking back up the hill to regain the path so snuck through a field feeling very guilty - but we weren't busted by the farmer so all was wel!!)

I've had a very quiet day today. Nothing planned and just the rain for company. I usually intend, on days such as these, to do LOADS of chores and gets through masses of my "to do" list. But today I decided just to set myself a couple of tasks and then to take it easy.

So, I managed to achieve my (admittedly low) goals but was still feeling somewhat uninspired by about 6 o'clock. Also, my chimp had been taking advantage of the peace and quiet to make her feelings known. She had a much more interesting agenda for the evening than mine which involved bread, ice cream, maybe even biscuits if I had given in to her in Sainsburys this afternoon!! She and I had a pleasant but meaningful chat and, apart from a couple of pears and a well timed cup of tea, we emerged unscathed and unfed.

By 6pm my choice was clear: settled into the sofa; feel crap and flat like I did last weekend. Or, get off my backside and move. Learning from experience, I chose the latter and went for a walk in the drizzle. At first it was cold and I fully intended to just charge round the block, especially as my trainers had let in the wet so my feet were cold. But then I started to enjoy myself and as I charged around lost myself in daydreams and little stories (not telling you what they were about though!!). So I added first one loop and then another to my route until I had walked for well over an hour and emerged into the light through the clouds of my fug.

When I got back I was up for more chores and even mopped the kitchen floor which is one of my least favourite tasks (and had not even been on my list!).

I've got training first thing tomorrow morning and then I'm not going into work as I'm being filmed at home for the first time. After filming I'll have to follow the crew across to Manchester for our next evening session so it'll be a busy day. I'm glad I've had a quiet day today and I'm glad I didn't listen to "her" and buy those biscuits!!

Hope you all had a great Bank Holiday and I'll check in tomorrow or Wednesday with my next report from the Velodrome.