My Holidays!

We stayed in a gorgeous little barn conversion in North Wales.

 It was upside down - you went through the main door and straight into the bedroom.

 Then up a beautiful cast-iron staircase.

Upstairs was stunning.

I couldn't recommend it highly enough - not only was it sensitively and tastefully converted and beautifully decorated, it was equipped with everything you could possibly need.  All the basics were there, along with things we never expected - from shampoo, shower-gel and a hairdryer to washing-up liquid, pan-scourer and washing powder, from a full range of kitchen utensils, pots and pans and pyrex dishes to a tv, a rack of DVDs and a shelf of books, from tin-foil, cling-film and tupperware to a tea-pot and a cafetiere.  There was even a cat!

It was booked through Welsh Country Cottages, reference OH7.  It was very good value for money too.

When we weren't in the cottage we walked...

...and walked...

 ...and walked!

Two 20-milers and a hilly 10-miler.

It wasn't all sunshine and walks though, there was rain and there were post-walk treats!

We also visited a heritage centre in an old quarry - the houses are the remnants of the village built to house the workers and their families - and watched the sun set into the sea.

It was a really lovely holiday!

Food and Exercise Round-up (Week 31)

The Stats

Weight: 8st 10lb (55.5kg)
BMI: 20.9
BFP: 26.4%

The Food

Still 8st 10lbs this week, but I don't mind as I went to my lovely friend Em's on Tuesday evening and had the most amazing meal.  I ate until I felt like I was going to pop!  Em served chicken roasted with herbs and spices under the skin, home-made walnut and pistachio flatbreads and the most delicious salad made with griddled aubergines and carrots, olives and pomegrante seeds.  And probably a whole lot of other delicious things too, but she'd poured nearly a bottle of white wine down my throat by the time we sat down to dinner so it was all just a blur of gustatory gorgeousness.  One thing that I did notice - Em served the meal with a platter of houmous, tzatsiki, walnuts, feta cheese and olives, and houmous and walnuts are the most divine flavour combination.  It was a truly stunning meal, and we had a very fun tipsy walk home afterwards.

The Exercise

None!  Not a sausage!  Not running or strength training anyway - I felt quite tired all week and like I had a cold coming on, so I took it easy.  I just cycled to and from work and walked home from Em's.  And on Friday Autumn arrived, and I put my cycling jacket on for the first time in months.

It poured with rain all day and I got soaked both on the way to and the way back from work.  A hot shower and a sizeable whisky, honey and hot lemon when I got home kept the cold at bay though!

Harvest Festival

I love high Summer, but I love this time of year too.  My talented friend Fiona put it perfectly in her blog yesterday:

I love the imperceptible cooling of summer-turned-autumn air, slanting sunlight, Harvest Festival, cosier evenings, gradually auburning leaves, a hankering for red wine and roasted vegetables.

Most of all, I love going into the garden and digging up/picking veg for dinner.  I've just done that.

The blueberries are still cropping heavily, the autumn-fruiting raspberries are huge and delicious and we had our first apple harvest ever this week...it was a harvest of one but we were so excited!