Starting afresh after Christmas

Sorry for my prolonged absence - post operation I haven't felt up to much at all; the cocktail of medications has meant a semi-drugged state of mind with no energy, appetite or will to do anything.  No-one had cards from me, presents were given to those who visited, but no posting was done.  I am so grateful for the family's help with shopping, cooking and general care of me and the house - I have been pretty useless!
Now I feel that day by day, things are improving, though my son's return to far-flung places is now imminent and my daughter-in-law also has travel plans; youngest son is still housebound and unable to ride his motorbike after his leg re-building operation 2 months ago after falling from the loading bay at work.  I will hopefully be able to return to driving around my birthday in February so at least we will have transport between us.  In the meantime, I shall be making the most of grocery deliveries and maybe Wiltshire Farm Foods for a supply of frozen meals to keep body and soul together. (They have a huge comprehensive catalogue of tasty offerings which I look forward to sampling!)
So - a few photos, rather random, but I haven't been out and about very much.
First of all, this little feller was very badly missed with his habit of tearing open presents -

But I had a beautiful and unexpected Christmas present that brought me to tears (again!) when I opened it - a dear friend had sent a snap he took on Perranporth Beach in August, just a week before Zac died, to an artist friend who painted this canvas, 14" x 30" in acrylics.  It is so accurate - he captured Zac's beautiful eyes and expression, his markings, everything.

Apologies that it is sideways on - this seems to happen whenever someone takes a photo on their phone then emails it to my laptop; no amount of editing, turning, etc makes a difference. 

Another sideways-on photo, taken by my son when he bundled me into the car and took me to the beach cafe - a lovely sunrise over a very calm sea.  On a previous visit, it was blowing a hooley and large waves were crashing on to the beach.  When I came out of the cafe, the wind was at my back and as I gathered speed on my crutches, I feared I would end up in the river Seaton!!!

On a grey but dry day I drove down to Newquay airport to collect my son, who had flown down from London on the final leg of his journey from Kabul to spend his Christmas break with me. Youngest son came with me and as the flights were delayed, twice, we went on to Padstow to find something to eat.  Fish and chips were the order of the day - but not at Rick Stein's prices; a smaller establishment satisfied our hunger at a reasonable price and we sat on a harbour seat enjoying the view along with the meal, guarding against the seagulls!

We had a little drama when Caspar the cat took ill, starting by going off his food, but getting worse over a few days; he then suffered a stroke and was rushed to the vet. Poor thing had blood tests, urine tests and was off his feet for several days but has now made a good recovery, thank goodness. He has a few bald patches where he had injections and a drip - this was taken when he came home from the vet, with his little bandage on his paw.  

 I've had some lovely flowers from friends, this basket arrangement from Helena who belongs to a forum that I participate in; we have met several times when she and her family have come down to Cornwall on holiday

Finally some seasonal food - some delicious sausage rolls made by my son which were soooooo tasty, containing chopped apricots, herbs and crushed pine nuts as well as the best pork sausage meat.  I shall miss his cooking!

May I wish everyone all the very best for 2017, hoping for a happy, healthy and possibly prosperous New Year. 😊😊

Climbing up to The Cheesewring

Eleven years ago, I was told that I needed a replacement knee, after complaining of lots of pain in my right knee when walking - and afterwards. 

My name eventually came to the top of the surgeon's list and I was told that I would have my operation within a few months.  However . . . it was to be at a hospital where MRSA was a huge problem: wards had been closed and patients were being infected and leaving hospital in a much worse state than when they went in. In some cases, MRSA proved fatal. 

So guess what?  I cancelled my operation. 

A few months ago, I decided that the time had come to investigate the possibility of having this replacement knee, before the Government decided that anyone over a certain age would no longer be eligible for such operations and before my symptoms got so bad that I could no longer walk.

But I needed to have one last fling with the knees I already have! 

So from Minions village I set out along the old railway track that was used in the 19th century to transport granite from the Cheesewring Quarry and eventually down to the port of Looe where it was sent all over the British Isles and further afield. Did you know that Tower Bridge in London, completed in 1894, is constructed of Cheesewring granite? 

 The views from up there are far-reaching and on a clear day the sea can be seen in St.Austell bay.

Nearing the summit, I left the track and took a narrow path which circles around the Cheesewring pile of rocks; at this point it has the deep quarry on one side and a steep drop on the other with plenty of boulders to clamber over.

 

A small detour led to Daniel Gumb's Cave; Daniel Gumb was a stone-cutter and mathematician who lived the life of a hermit in this cave with his wife, to avoid paying taxes.  They had a large family here but sadly many of the children died young. A son and a grandson of Daniel were coppersmiths in a nearby village in the mid-eighties.

Looking down into the quarry - the railway track can be seen leading in between walls of granite to eventually end at the quarry face. 

 Almost there!

The Cheesewring wasn't man-made; it was caused by erosion of the soil around these rocks leaving them exposed.

The lower rocks can't be seen in this photo, but the astonishing thing is that they are all smaller than the huge, heavy ones above and it seems impossible that the whole structure hasn't collapsed long ago.  At one time, the blasting in the quarry threatened to topple it, but it was saved by locals protesting and insisting that blasting close to it was stopped. 

 Of course, the local wildlife has to appear in my photos; I was intrigued by the black ears on this creamy-coloured cow, then she looked up and . . . .

 . . . . I found that she has a black nose as well! 

A long-horned cow caught my attention and I waited patiently to get a good shot, but she didn't look too friendly as she started to walk towards me, so I scarpered! 

I felt quite chuffed that I had managed this walk without too much bother, although I was glad to reach the car park at the end and even gladder to reach home. 

Now I have a date for my Replacement Knee operation; feeling a bit nervous but it will be good to be able to walk without pain.  I also need to get much better organised than usual in the matter of buying Christmas presents, writing and posting cards and any other Christmas arrangements. There are December birthdays due as well.

Roll on 13th December! 

An Autumn Ramble by the River Lerryn

October has been such a wonderful month regarding the weather - sunshine and blue skies almost every day and with little or no rain; I can't remember when I last had to water my garden containers regularly throughout this autumn month.  And even now, in November, I'm still having to mow the lawns!

On one such day, I visited Lerryn, a picturesque village with its stepping stones across the river and beautiful woodland walks on both sides; this time my walk was along the nearside bank and up through the woods. It's a shame the tide was low, revealing the mud-flats, because the best views of Lerryn are probably when the tidal river is running high, but all the beautiful Autumn colours are definitely looking good right now.

This huge hedge intrigued me - so high and thick, it must take real dedication to keep it so closely trimmed.

Just one of the pretty cottages with a small but equally pretty garden. 

Zooming in on the trees on the opposite bank.

The exposed mud at low tide offers tasty titbits for the wading birds; here a gull and a Little Egret forage for food.

 Just as the entrance to a private property appears, a sharp turn left takes us up through the woods.

At the end of a rather steep climb, the path split - one way curved enticingly round and upwards to the left but I had no idea where it led, or to the right the path started dropping slowly towards the riverside again. Hmmmmm . . I chose to take the easier path downwards - until the gentle slope changed to a steep descent which I decided would be too much of a challenge for my knees!

So I retraced my steps and walked back into the heart of the village where the famous stepping stones were exposed by the low state of the river. However, I resisted the somewhat childish urge to skip gaily across to the other bank, because I just knew that I would slip on the wet mud and end up on my backside in the water!

 And so on to the adjoining little hamlet of Couch's Mill - what a very pretty place it is, too.

 And finally - Caspar, my son and daughter-in-law's cat, who has settled very well into retirement in Cornwall! They are moving from Warwickshire to Cornwall and he is here with me while their new home is found.

This little patch of garden, in the sunlight, is his current snoozing spot!

If he looks a bit cross in this last photo, it's because he was sleeping peacefully until I called him for his photo-shoot.  Sorry, Caspar!

The Rambler Returns.

I'm afraid that losing my wonderful companion, Zac, shook me a lot and my blogging mojo just disappeared.  Walks seemed pointless without him by my side so I became quite reclusive, keeping to my home and garden, even ordering groceries online because I couldn't face meeting people.

However, a few weeks after he died, my son, daughter-in-law and grandson came to stay with me for several days; we went out and about and just having their company was the best antidote to my depression and they pulled me up from the doldrums. The best news was that they had decided to move to Cornwall permanently; they love this county and it will be good for us all to live closer together (my youngest son lives just a few miles away too.)

If anyone is still out there to read my blog, I ask forgiveness for my absence and promise to 'try harder' in future, get out there and take photos.

In September, I booked a small apartment in St Agnes parish, on the north coast of Cornwall, in a little hamlet called Skinner's Bottom - Cornwall has some fantastic place names, doesn't it? During my time there, I discovered some lovely beaches that I'd never visited before despite several previous holidays in St Agnes (probably because they didn't allow dogs . . . ) 

The view of rural serenity from my holiday home; just the sound of birds and occasional clip clop of a horse being ridden along the lane. Just what I needed!

This is Portreath, a lovely sandy beach in a steep valley; the granite wall on the right is to protect the little harbour.  In the storms of 2014, the small white pepperpot building was destroyed but has since been rebuilt. 

Looking down from the steep cliffs above the village and car park

I also went to Godrevy beach and lighthouse - made famous by Virginia Woolfe's book "To The Lighthouse" -  another outpost of the north coast that bears the brunt of fierce storms lashing in from the Atlantic.  But on a quiet September afternoon it can seem deceptively peaceful - don't be fooled; the small stretch of low tide sand connecting it to Gwithian beach disappears in a flash when the tide comes back in. 

An old stone gate on the coastal path

 and a beautiful, wildflower-covered stone wall

 Admiring the view

Hope you enjoyed some of the views of my short break - there are more to come, I promise.