Pool and prizes - Days 35 & 36

As we are going to be stuck at home for the foreseeable future I bought us a replacement pool which arrived in the morning. I set it up in the garden and my neighbour let me fill it up with her hose. Whilst the water was warming in the sun we walked up the Helm:

This time we went all the way along the ridge and met friends on the way. When we got back I was so hot I tested out the still freezing cold pool:

I had to let the water out whilst in it as the pool was on too much of a slope! My son brought me tea whilst I was there:

Being healthy - #R2BC

It was lovely to have so many folks joining in last week, it's great you are finding things that make you smile at this time. Please carry on making others smile by joining in!
What do you have to do? Simple:

1. Link up a post about something that is making you happy or grateful. It can be a list, photos or any way you fancy

2. Add the #R2BC badge (at the end of this post) onto your post or blog so that people can easily find the linky and join in too if they want to

3. Share the love. This is the really important bit. Please don't just link and run, comment on at least a couple of posts and why not share with #R2BC too?

I'll stop by all linked up posts to comment and I'll share on social media too. Meanwhile here are my reasons to be cheerful for this week:

1) Daily exercise

We are very lucky to be living in Kendal with so many options for our daily allowed exercise. Walking up our nearest hill certainly lifted my mood:

2) Healthy food

We are both hitting our 5 a day targets on fruit and veg. The warmer weather is making it salad time for lunch too:

3) Return to fitness

After a couple of week's housebound I've loved being back outside running. My speed is picking up again too. Not sure when I will be doing my marathon but I am loving local runs and this week's rainbow theme with a colour a day:

4) Making people smile

I have been going out in all sorts of costumes this week. Its funny how some people react when presented with something like this:

The running fairy does seem to be the most popular one though:

Now it is over to you...

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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PJs and Synchronised Swimming - Day 23

As you may have noticed I have had a few manic days, so I decided to make sure today was a bit more relaxed! I started by experimenting with the water effect to create a synchronised swimming TikTok. Then I ran a shortened gardenrun in my PJs:

I had kept the run short partly because my son had asked to walk up our nearest hill the Helm:

Whilst up there I actually created a singing TikTok! All of the shenanigans are on my YouTube channel:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Back to School #R2BC

The host for this month is the lovely Michelle who started this linky so many years ago! She is in charge for the rest of the month so please do pop over to her blog. I look forward to reading and sharing your posts but meanwhile here are my reasons to be cheerful this week:
1) Weekend away with my daughter
It has been such a manic summer with various family members going in different combinations for a range of breaks. With my daughter now working part time it took until this last weekend for her and I to get away for her bridge weekend. We had 5 hours each way in the car together to sing and chat, watch out we are going to be doing a mum/daughter YouTube channel! We also caught up with her half sister on the way back as she is at Coventry University.

2) Back to School Memories

My Timehop threw up some ancient photos of my brother and I heading off for new schools. Sharing photos on social media may be a new thing but my mum was good at capturing the moment on film back in the 1970s. How can our knobbly knees not raise a smile:

3) Off to Secondary

My son has had his first few days at Secondary school and so far so good! This is his third day and he finally remembered his new spectacles so he can read from the back of the classroom. Someone has commented that he looks like a young Michael Caine:

#CountryKids Fell Running Challenge no 3: The Helm in Snow

When snow fell yesterday we took the chance to do our first snowy fell running film. It was also a chance to try out my new Action Camera. I had discovered the day before that if it was clipped to a bum bag it only really recorded the ground in front of you! So my mum suggested clipping it to a head torch band instead. We discovered this worked alright so set off to a snow coated Helm:

My 11 year old had a quick lesson in starting and stopping filming before stripping down to his running kit and making the film. It turned out that in the cold with gloves he didn't always get the switch so we had a few sections of film that weren't of running (but you really don't want to watch my rear view walking up a hill!). There was an occasion when he had pushed the band back up and forgotten to push it down again so we had a few sky shots too! Luckily a couple of the head cam films were OK enough to put into this film alongside the ones shot on the main camera:

Film number 4 will probably be the first Kendal Winter League at Scout Scar next weekend... Here are the links to the series so far:

Challenge 1: The Helm

Challenge 2: Kendal Castle

Reasons to be Cheerful: School, Views, Sofa and more! #R2BC

It's December so that means I am back to hosting the linky to give Michelle a well earned rest! Please join in to share your happy moments from the last week. Then visit the other linkers and comment on their blogs. Let us all share the love!

1) Forest Fun

I had a great first day teaching forest school and its a real mood boost to be out in the great outdoors with enthusiastic children:

2) Filming on the Helm

We had a fabulous afternoon up on this hill to create our first Fell Running film. How could this view not make you smile:

3) Free Sofa

We were very lucky to be given a free preloved sofa that fits in our limited space. I have had to rearrange a lot of furniture but its worth it to have a place that we can be cosy whilst watching TV:

Fell Running Challenge #1 Helm

My son has been inspired by Kendal Mountain Festival to make some fell running films and then create a short film to enter into the competition next year! Today we headed up onto the Helm which is the home of his fell running club. Under his direction I filmed him running along this beautiful hill and performing many drills:

We are looking forward to making more films and including some other club members to make them more interesting. If anyone can suggest a great location for making another episode we would love to hear from you!

I am also open to suggestions on how to improve our videos...

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 - Torchlight #R2BC

Some weeks the therapeutic benefits of this blog hop are more needed than ever! Two weeks into school and I really have to focus on the positives to give me a boost... So here I go:

1) Torchlight

Since we moved to Kendal we have either watched or taken part in the local Torchlight parade which takes place every September. This year we had a monsoon but it didn't stop the parade and how could you not smile at a pink tractor being driven by a lady holding an umbrella:

2) Torchlight celebration

This year for the first time we had a street party the day after Torchlight in the town centre. There was entertainment and hands on activities. My daughter and her BFF had a lot of fun painting the cardboard castle and trying to unicycle:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Siblings, Cumbria and Roses #R2BC

Thank you again Michelle for hosting the linky its great to be able to share the happy things with our little community. Here are my reasons to be cheerful this week:

1) Proud Mum

My son took place in his school's fell race morning this week. Over 200 children took part in both competitive and non competitive races around the Castle hill. In a tough race he was 5th in his category and oh so close to 4th. Good lad:

2) Sibling Love

As any parent of more than one child knows, siblings argue a lot! However mine do actually care for each other very much and sometimes they even do this:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Sunshine and Showers #R2BC

I am really pleased that the original founder of Reasons to be Cheerful is back to co-host with me again. Welcome back Michelle! Here my reasons for this week:
1) Little victories
My children both had friends over this weekend to camp out in the garden to test out the tent before our first camping trip later this month. Afterwards for the first time since I bought the tent 2 years ago I got ALL yes ALL of it back in the bag from which it came. It was a good feeling!

2) The route less travelled

In memory of a friend's daughter who tragically died as a baby I am attempting to walk a mile every day this month. My friend is raising money for the Lullaby Trust in her daughter's name. We are trying to mix up where we walk and at the weekend took the other side of the river route home after a trip to the cinema. Its great to have time to chat and contemplate as well as discover new things such as the T'crack in Kirkland.

3) Running away

Reasons to be Cheerful: Running Away! #R2BC

I am day late joining in with the lovely hostess Ojo's World as its been so busy! So many reasons to be cheerful so here they are:

1) Kendal Torchlight

I was road marshalling so didn't really see the parade this year but both my children were in it. My daughter was with her Girl Guide district and they won the award for the best foot troop with their scooters all lit up:

2) Hodder Valley Show

My son was fell racing in Yorkshire on Saturday (a full post to come!) and despite the rain we had a fab day out. The fact he won his age category helped:

3) Family Fun

I introduced my son to Boggle, a game that I haven't played for nearly 20 years! Good fun and educational too:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Back to School #R2BC

The lovely Jo is still hosting the linky this month so please go and say hello on her blog! I have a few reasons to be cheerful now school is back:

1) Teaching

I have been enjoying my first week on my final teaching practice. Teaching the life cycle of butterflies with pasta:

Lots of fun with English too re-enacting the Bad-Tempered Ladybird and being inventive with sentence openers.

2) Fell Running

My son's running training restarted this week and its now up on The Helm near Oxenholme. It was a glorious evening up there and I was glad to be a parent helper. In fact I enjoyed it so much I have now signed up myself so I can alternate between running and helping:

3) Migration

My daughter was involved in a Migration arts project with her school. They made dolls who all had migration stories. Tonight the project was put on display with other parts from schools in Kendal at the Brewery Arts Centre. My daughter and I went to the special preview with other families. She was so proud of her work and was very good at explaining it to people there:

#CountryKids Boxing Day Run on The Helm

Both my children got new sports kit for Christmas and were keen to try it out today! My son got on his running hat and trousers and my daughter her new cycling kit this morning to drag the adults outside:

He and I headed up the hill to The Helm which runs behind Oxenholme. It's quite a steep ascent at first and was very muddy:

 My son was far more sure footed than me and sped up to the top:

#CountryKids Mini Ramble on The Helm

We had another Mini Ramble with our local Ramblers on Sunday. This time we were joined by another family with 3 children to go up the Helm which is behind Oxenholme. There turned out to be plenty to do to make a 3 mile walk take 2.5 hours! First up we met the local hill ponies being taken for a ride:

Then we picked blackberries:

Spotted fungi:

Played hide and seek in the bracken:

And eventually reached the trig point on the top:

My daughter enjoyed helping to lead the walk:

Everyone tried to spot their house from the top:

Having younger children around to mother made my daughter's day. I think their parents enjoyed the break too:

It was lovely and peaceful along the top:

We stood and watched a skein of pink footed geese flying over head:

Before passing through a gate to go down the far side:

Plenty more fungi to spot on this side: