Reasons to be Cheerful: Home Sweet Home #R2BC

Its a miracle I am ready in time to host Reasons to be Cheerful this week! No need for Michelle to dash to the rescue - thanks for last week. I look forward to seeing what is making everyone smile this week: grab the badge, link up and share the love.
1) Holiday memories
After a fortnight in Wales I have so many happy memories to look back on:

It is however wonderful to back home and close to my family again.

2) Bejewelled

How could the sight of a rose like this not make you smile:

3) Happy Cat

Reasons to be Cheerful: Family & Friends #R2BC

I do need to cheer myself up after a stressful morning so here are the many reasons that made me cheerful this week. 

1) Fun with family

We had a lovely few hours in London with my sister and brother in law at the RAF Museum. All of us had smiles from seeing these wonderful machines:

2) Fun with friends

There were 17 of us for Sunday lunch at my friends' house in Berkshire. Plenty of smiles and laughs to be had:

3) Duvet day

Reasons to be Cheerful: Fixes, Family and Fun #R2BC

The linky is still being hosted by Michelle so please pop over to her blog! I have got plenty of reasons to be cheerful this week but here are just a few:

1) Bargain

We don't have a sofa and our armchairs are the wrong shape to curl up on. So I grabbed a bargain off our local Sell and Seek of another armchair plus footrest that we can share when watching TV or a movie:

2) Girl time

This weekend I had lots of time with my daughter both country dancing, then with a movie marathon with pizza on Saturday and finally the bridge tournament on Sunday. We were supervised by this handsome chap:

3) Proud Mum

#CountryKids Yet another Pokemon Go walk around Kendal

Yesterday turned out to be a lot better weather than during Storm Brian so we decided it was a perfect chance to get out and hunt for the new generation 3 Pokemon! We are less than a mile from the castle so set off in that direction to add both distance and Pokestops: 

This little pathway is known as dodging death on Strava as it runs between two parts of the graveyard. I have to say I wouldn't fancy it after dark on my own:

The path comes out at the foot of the hill on which the castle is built. Its not the easiest route up to the castle but its rather beautiful through the trees:

Pokemon Go: Mewtoo and Suicune Raids

My son and I have decided we need to work on our YouTube channel and hone both our videoing skills and my video editing skills! Yesterday we took part in the first Mewtoo Raid in Kendal and as my son was using my phone I filmed the action. After the raid I learned that the new iOS 11 enabled video capture of the screen so we tried that for another new Pokemon to us Suicune. I had problems getting voiceover so its pretty quiet:

I had a better voice over go: 

Reasons to be Cheerful: Up and Back #R2BC

As it is September the blog hop is back in the hands of the lovely Michelle and I will be back in October. Gives me a chance to relax a bit! Apart from our trail run to Easedale Tarn here are my simple reasons to be cheerful this week:
1) Butterfly
In the wet summer I haven't see too many butterflies so it was lovely to see this beauty whilst walking into town: 

2) Levelling Up
As you move up the levels of Pokemon Go it takes longer to progress to the next one as the number of points needs keeps on increasing. We were very happy to finally get to level 30 thanks to plenty of raids:

3) House Organisation

This week I tackled the clothes in our bedrooms. I did the Kondo trick of getting them all out and being ruthless. Then I had a lot more space to get the remaining clothes away much more neatly and organised:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Friends and Home #R2BC

It's Thursday so it is time to celebrate our reasons to be cheerful! I have now recovered from a fun but tiring week co-ordinating a Single with Kids holiday in Pembrokeshire and have had plenty of reasons to smile as we are now midway through our summer holidays. Here are a few of them:
1) Old friends
We managed to come back from Pembrokeshire via Buckinghamshire to spend time with my High School friends and their families. Great to catch up in good company and in good weather! We have been friends since 1983 and spending time together is still fantastic:

2) Back to Kendal
As much as I loved Pembrokeshire I did miss Kendal so its great to be back with more time to soak up our local sights. This is Stramongate Bridge one of several old bridges across the River Kent:

3) Kindness & Support

Reasons to be Cheerful: All Sorts #R2BC

This is the kind of week that reasons to be cheerful is made for when lots of things have gone wrong so you need to focus on the positives to lift your spirits! So its good to be back hosting the linky so I can post these reasons to be cheerful:
1) Pokemon Go Raiding
Thanks to a chance conversation in a shop we joined in with 2 group raids capturing our first legendary Pokemon! Looks like this will keep us out of mischief for a while:

2) House Sorting

I am enjoying having time to catch up on housework and get the house better organised. Quite a bit of decluttering and I am selling some now redundant bits of furniture. Hopefully end up before September with a house I can be a lot more proud of:

3) Orchid

This beautiful orchid was a leaving present from school and its looking gorgeous on my window sill:

Reasons to be Cheerful: February is Here! #R2BC

A belated host post for this week! Its been a manic few days for me so only just able to sit down and write my own happy post for this week. Just because its been manic doesn't mean I haven't had a few reasons to be cheerful:

1) Pokemon Go

Yes we are still playing though not getting in quite as many long walks now its winter! Happy days to hatch one of the last baby Pokemon we needed for our Pokedex:

2) Simple foods

There is something to be said for going back to really basic and simple foods. I am doing my best to hit healthily and a supper of dippy eggs was a hit as well as being good for me:

3) Shiny Sink

Reasons to be Cheerful: Fresh Air and the Mad Hatter #R2BC

Thanks again to Michelle for being this week's hostess with the mostest! We welcomed old friends and new to the linky last week and we would love to share the cheerfulness far and wide. Here are the main reasons I am smiling this week (not all fitness related this time...):

1) Mad Hatter

As a teacher when you find something that hooks your children you have to use to motivate them in other areas. They all loved the Mad Hatter's Tea Party on Cbeebies so I decided to base this half term's English around the story. This morning I therefore donned this hat to get into character as we planned a Mad Hatter's Menu:

2) Exploring the Lakes

We had a super time on a hike on Sunday with the Wonderful Wild Women. Even in the wind and rain being up in a beautiful part of the country in good company put a huge smile on my face:

3) Pokemon Go

We are still doing our best to fill our Pokedex and my son was very happy to hatch a Snorlax this week. I love how a computerised game gets us out and about and clocking up long walks:

4) Proud Mum

My son got a new PB in the chest push at athletics training on Monday and he is really hoping to pass this new 6 m effort soon! My daughter also clocked up her longest ever non stop run of 2 km and wants to run a Fell Race this weekend for the first time. 

Please do join in and share your happy posts this week.

Reasons to be Cheerful: parkrun, Pokemon and roses #R2BC

So glad that Michelle is hosting again this month so we can all share the happy! Here are my reasons to be cheerful this week:

1) Back to Fell Foot parkrun:

It was far too long since we ran around the park. Such a fun and friendly parkrun even in the rain:

2) Remembrance Day

My school observed a super 2 minute whole school silence on the Friday and then on the Sunday I thought about my ancestors who served and fortunately survived the First World War like my grandfather:

3) Weekend stroll

Love my weekend walks with my children hunting Pokemon. This is my son chilling under the underpass whilst collecting from a Pokestop:

4) Still going

My neighbour's roses are still holding on:

What is making you smile this week?

Reasons to be Cheerful: Half Term fun #R2BC

Not quite as late as last week! Finding time amid the fun to write my post.... Here are my reasons to be cheerful this week:

1) Safe arrival

My daughter flew to the USA with my mum and I was so happy to know they had arrived safely and to hear from her what an amazing time she is having! Hard to let your children spread their wings but reassuring with modern technology to know she is safe and happy.

2) New boots

I spent my birthday money on a new pair of boots for the Autumn/Winter. These will keep me nice and cosy until the weather warms up again:

3) Cosy evenings

With big sister away my son and I made a temporary sofa with camping mats, rugs and cushions to snuggle up watching movies on:

#CountryKids More Pokemon Go fun in Kendal #WhateverTheWeather

After our first attempt at a Pokemon Go YouTube video:

... we have stuck to taking long walks at the weekends but haven't done any more videoing yet. We are working towards a virtual runner Pokemon medal by walking for several hours each time and hatching lots of eggs. Our favourite route takes us through the cemetery:

and up to the castle:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Its my birthday! #R2BC

Yep I am one year older today but still smiling! Not an important one this year but still my biggest reason to smile today. Here are my other reasons this week:

1) A free National Health Service

My daughter gave us a scare on Saturday and had a ride in this ambulance to hospital:

Fabulous care from the friendly ambulance crew, an extremely busy A&E and a hard working children's ward. It was a relief to get her home!

2) Pokemon Go fun

My son and I managed a couple of long Pokemon Go walks this weekend. We both enjoy being out and about hunting for the sneaky beasts!

We even made our first YouTube video about it:

3) Beautiful evenings

Being out doing runs and walks at the end of the day means that I get treated to sights like this on the River Kent:

4) Nature

I managed to snap this beauty whilst out at the weekend:

Please join in and share the happiness this week!

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Reasons to be Cheerful: Welcome to October #R2BC

Now the baton has been handed back to me from Michelle I need to get more organised! Hopefully folks will be joining in this month to help keep us all cheerful. Here are my reasons this week:

1) A month of teaching

I have completed my first month as a classroom teacher. It isn't always easy but it is so rewarding. I treated myself to some flowers to celebrate:

2) Back running

October means the run every day challenge. Perfect way to kick my up the bottom to get back running! I have even managed to re-visit some old running haunts which look gorgeous during an Autumn twilight:

3) Au revoir to the Helm

It was the last night of fell running on the Helm this week. We will be doing more boring street running until the spring now... The sky gave us a final hurrah with amazing colours:

4) Pokemon Go fun

I have already blogged about the fabulous afternoon my son and I had roaming Kendal hunting Pokemon. Have to say its hard to top Kendal for incredible views in the middle of town:

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