Far from the madding crowd....

They say in Britain "If you don't like the weather, then wait 5 minutes!" Today there was glorious sunshine. I rushed work in order to escape to the water before the weather reverted to its usual English autumn gloom.

I love my kayak, it's my way of keeping sane. A little bit of exercise far from the madding crowd.

The days are getting so short now, you feel the need to cram everything in before nightfall.

Weekdays out on the canals are gloriously quiet. This time of year most of the recreational longboats are moored up until warmer days and the residential barges are huddled together for company, so I have long stretches of waterway to myself.

It's been a good year for rose hips and I collected loads ready to made into rose hip syrup later on.

After three or more miles of paddling it was time for a break. I can't get over how good this tiny titanium meths stove is. It packs away inside my mug and on a still day like today will bring water to boil in no time at all. A nice warming hot chocolate.

Refreshed, I was on my way. The water was like glass, the only ripples extended from the bow of the boat. It was lovely to be able to paddle looking downwards watching the reflection of the clouds and the illuminated traces of overhead jets.

Soon the light began to yellow. The sun sank low, silhouetting the trees. I turned for home. The curious horses in the canal side fields paced me to the extent of their enclosures offering pleasant companionship.

It was such a peaceful day, I didn't want to leave as I paddled through my own personal oil painting....

Two become one.....

It was the tiny twins 1st birthday on Saturday ( see them hatch and grow at http://russandmax.blogspot.com/ ) and we were all invited to a party.....
We've had rain for days and days, but Maxine ordered some sunshine and it arrived an hour early!

There were plenty of helium balloons, but not quite enough to achieve 'zero gravity' for a small child...shame!

The twins received loads of presents. Shiny paper, twinkly ribbons, brightly coloured bows....all their favourite things! Some of them had stuff inside.

All children had to be 'spun' regularly, it was the rule. Or so they told me. Safety was paramount, all hands were applied with sticky chocolate cake to avoid slipping.

I was glad when Jon and my brother Russell arrived to take over the fairground duties as my war wounds were beginning to play up.

The paparazzi were out in force. The twins lapped up the attention, playing to the cameras.

Although I set the shutter speed to 'Max', she proved difficult to capture on film. Trays of yummy food magically appeared, spillages were wiped and all by the blur known as Maxine!!

I had an informative crawl around the garden with the twins. The stone steps were a bit hard on the knees, but we found some bad plants we shouldn't eat and some good plants we could. The Rosemary smelt odd, but we rubbed it on our noses anyway.

Sometimes when it all gets too much, Daddy makes it alright again. "I'll hit him with this brick, then he'll know that I care."

The peaceful game of garden Jenga inevitably descended into civil war. Wooden blocks were violently exchanged as tiredness and 'e' numbers distorted young minds perception of fair play. A peacekeeping force was brought in and an uneasy ceasefire was maintained.

Chris loved playing the 'slam the door shut' game, honing his skills for his teenage years.

A great tiny tots teatime toy time time was had by all!