By Stephie, on Thursday 4th March, 2010 at 00:55 am
 Tuesday's sensible running clothes were a bit of a boon! All this running, it’s a great distraction. Maybe its just a distraction. Whatever, Tuesday’s run was different. On Sunday there were a good number of steep hills, on Tuesday it was relatively flat which meant I could easily keep up a regular pace and an even, normal-coloured, facial skin tone. This was a blessing because I was road running early in the morning. It meant I could flash a smile at cute drivers, as they waited for me to pass on the single track road, without looking like I was waving them down for a medical emergency I might be having. Hmmm *slips into daydream*. Note to self: remember particularly cute passenger who gave a full on smile, and run along same road at same time tomorrow 
I ran down the long the road until I came to a footpath that crosses the fields to Chacewater, where I couldn’t help but slow down to take in the view. I mean you have to, it’s obligatory. What’s the point in running otherwise? Take a look for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.
 I love this view, but I don't know why - I just keep going back to it!  Daffodil fields fall away into the misty distance
 An old water trough and wonderful morning colours
 with plenty of time to run around the grass, being a plane!  When I got home I felt so energised I even had enough beans to bounce around the kitchen to The Supremes! Then I had a shower. Yes. A shower.
By Stephie, on Friday 8th January, 2010 at 21:53 pm
Venturing out
Like half the country, I’ve been iced in for several days. I think the last time I left the house was on Tuesday when I walked down the lane to post a letter. I can’t remember when I managed to get out before that. Unsurprisingly I’ve been running low on supplies and today I finally ran out of bread and milk completely. I ran out of electricity yesterday. I can’t get to a shop to recharge my electricity ‘key’ (the nearest is 3 miles away) so I’m having to survive on the ‘emergency rate’, which costs a fortune (and when being on ‘pay as you go’ is more expensive in the first place, this is not good!). Still, I can manage. What I can’t manage without is a cup of coffee. Milk was needed. This would entail a walk to the end of the lane to the petrol station where they sell a few bits and pieces, usually. Needless to say they’d run out. So I went to another garage next door where they had milk and only 2 loaves of bread left – apparently they were almost out of coal too. Good job I didn’t need that then. I came away with the goods I did need, but more importantly I also came away with a bar of chocolate!
 Stephie has left the building! The walk down the lane was more of a very cautious stroll; there’s lots of ice compacted under the snow and I’m a wee bit on the clumsy side to say the least! But it was so worth it, it looked beautiful in the low winter sun -
 The lane out of The Old Chapel  The view on the way back home Stephie’s snow quiz
I took my time on the way back down the lane. I stopped to look at the wonderful array of tracks I could see in the snow. I wonder if you can guess what made them? Hover over the image for the anwer!
 Let's start with a really easy one!  I won't lead you on, but this one could be a bit trickier  Yes, there's a lot of welly gone into this one!  This one might leave you all in a flutter...  And this one is as beautiful as any flower  But finally, can you guess who this one belongs to?  Well if I haven't driven you hopping mad already, here's your final clue! How many did you get? 6/6? Oh very good, well done! That last one was tricky though wasn’t it? Hope you enjoyed playing along. I wonder what you’ll see next time you go for a walk in the snow. Hope it’s something exciting!
Righto folks, I’m off for the rest of the evening – going to watch Silent Witness (I like a bit of autopsying you know!). Back tomorrow x
By Stephie, on Wednesday 30th December, 2009 at 02:57 am
I love The Eden Project; even at this time of year there are some fantastic things to see in the plant world. On the grey, mizzly day that we visited I couldn’t stop myself being drawn to the bright exotic colours of the Tropical Biome. Oh, no I couldn’t. Here for your delight is a selection of the sensation grabbing eye candy that woke me up from my winter slumber. Enjoy!
 Vibrant, variegated leaf  Large ribbed leaves in bronzes and yellow  No, you're not going bananas!  Pom poms with zing!  Wow, wow, WOW! That's all I've got to say.  Ahem, who put those there? I thought this was meant to be an arid desert...  Kim takes a rest on a goat. Well, his jumper's quite colourful!
By Stephie, on Friday 6th November, 2009 at 00:51 am
 Sheltering from the rain, in a cave! Hello all. Had a lovely day? I have! I’ve been over to the other side of the county. Not quite out of it (the Cornish are often derided for not crossing the Tamar river, that marks the boundary into the heathen lands of Devon and England!), but definitely off my beaten track. I drove about an hour from home to the south east Cornish coast to meet up with my oldest and dearest friend. She’s dog sitting in Devon, and Polperro was pinpointed as the halfway point between us. It was a great choice.
Polperro is one of those quaint old fishing villages that’s picture perfect, the stuff of postcards, chocolate boxes and calendars. We only had three hours together so we decided on a mooch on the beach, a local lunch and a wander round the tiny streets. Cars are prohibited in the village, unless you’re a resident, so it was pleasantly quiet and relatively tourist free. Though the evidence of the busy summer months was all around: tourist shops and cafes closed for the winter, signs for coaches and boat trips. I was so glad we were here at this time of year. It gave us the time and space to notice things: the camouflaged skin of a washed up shark on the sand, the beautiful purple and greens of the wet rocks, the bright sunlight casting strong shadows between the heavy showers. And of course we talked. And talked. And drank coffee with lunch in a 16 century cafe/pub – nachos in this environment seemed a bit incongruous, but tasted oh so good!
It was sad that it was such a short get together, but any time with your closest friends is a good time, is it not?! (Trite but true!)
I’ve put together a gallery of some of the pictures I took there, what do you think of the format – do you like it? I’m undecided, but I like the fact that it cuts out all that scrolling. Just creates a lot of clicking instead! (As ever, just click on any of the images to see a larger version.) I’d really love to know whether you’d like me to use a gallery again or not, so please leave a comment. I love to get comments, it’s nice to know you’re there. Nice ones of course. But I can cope with the other sort. I’m all grown up you know. I think!
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Sheltering from the rain
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Polperro beach
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Harbour
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Inner harbour
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Rock formations
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Washed up shark
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Jaws!
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Quaint streets
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16thC lunch venue
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Beautiful!
By Stephie, on Sunday 25th October, 2009 at 22:35 pm
The trouble with making stuff is that you sit on your backside a lot. In fact I spent the whole of Saturday on mine. Tempting as it was to finish another project today, I decided I really needed to get outside and raise my heart rate a bit, before it decides to give up all together. Motivation wasn’t high and it was a struggle to get myself up and changed, let alone out the door; it’s been cloudy today and looked like rain, the last thing I wanted was a soaking. I spent a while muttering under my breath, listening to the voices in my head – the lazy arse one versus the virtuous one. The virtuous one won out (for a change) and I dragged myself outside, for what I decided would be a short ride down to the coast. About 8 miles in total, I thought. What I didn’t expect though, was to want to go for a three mile walk along the cliffs when I got there. Damn the beauty of the place; I blame that for my aching limbs.
 The road down to Chapel Porth, with a National Trust cafe at the bottom. Once I’d got down to Chapel Porth, I thought I deserved a cup of hot chocolate before I braved the wind on top of the cliffs, so joined the queue at the little National Trust cafe nestled in the valley. I stood there for a few seconds and then…ello, I thought, I recognise that there lady in the queue in front of me. My lovely friends Sue and Francis were out for the afternoon with their niece and nephew (back from a tour of Europe. I’m not jealous, really I’m not. No not at all.) and the fools were buying ICE CREAM. I tell you, the end of October on the north coast of Cornwall is not a warm place. Think gale force winds and icy water. Ice cream? Mad as hatters.
For a change I decided not to walk up the east cliffs and take a chance on the west (the ones on the left of the picture above!). Good choice. It’s a mere mile and a half to the next beach at Porthtowan. Three miles there and back seemed ok, considering that the 4 mile ride back home would be mostly up hill. It was so worth it, just take at look at these pictures.
 Looking down at Chapel Porth beach. Wow!  Stunning light, no?  I even took time to make a couple of scribbles  in a small, portable sketchbook  Then there were more rugged rocks at Wheal Charlotte, along the coastal path  and I was just in time to see the sunset at Porthtowan. Sometimes my virtuous voice really does know best. It was dusk when I got back to Chapel Porth and I stood in a shelter from the wind to put the lights on my bike and some dubious flashing armbands on my arms, before I started off up the hill. As it got darker I thought that the armbands and my flashing rear end probably made me look like a cycling christmas tree. And I think I felt almost cheerful.
By Stephie, on Tuesday 13th October, 2009 at 09:16 am
 Chapel Porth, near St Agnes, Cornwall, UK Morning everyone! Remember I said I was trying to think of a way of photographing my hearty nine-patch for you? Well, it was such a glorious day yesterday I decided to take it on a walk with me. I drove the 3 miles or so to Chapel Porth, then went for a clamber over the rocks with the quilt stuffed in my rucksack. The scenery and colours here are like nowhere else I know, and this view (left) takes my breath away every time I come around the sharp bend and down the steep hill of the valley towards it.
After I’d sat and watched the waves for a while, I made a start on up the high cliffs looking for what I hoped would be the perfect spot for a little photography. And a cup of tea and a snooze. I would surely need it after all that climbing and photography, deserve it even, don’t you think?
 Ochres and pinks, a fabulous combination I think.  I could sleep on here for hours, daydreaming  A patchwork carpet up to Wheal Coates? Now that would be something.  You could count the hand stitched hearts  and wonder at the not so perfect ones!
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Narrative Self in pictures
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I'm running a 28 mile marathon in memory of Josie this February. Come and find out why.
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Daffodil fields fall away into the misty distance
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