About me

1. I'm a gemini. Think this gives me leave to be a bit 'Jekyll and Hyde'! I have a serious side - which is probably the bit the world gets to see most of the time - but I love to do things that challenge me and can be quite impulsive at times. 
2. My three sons are my greatest joy and the people I would do anything for - but they do not define 'me'; and I think this blog is about rediscovering me.
3. I live in Norfolk - beautiful with its wide skies and long beaches but probably not my 'spiritual' home. I have lived here since just before my 7th birthday but my family are variously from Scotland, Lancashire and London and those are all places I love. I find cities stimulating and fascinating and exhausting and then need to run to the country to 'breathe'. I think my favourite places are the tops of mountains - I love the sense of space and peace. 
4. My guilty pleasure is crafty stuff. I don't really have time and it absorbs huge amounts of that if I'm not careful. I blame my mother - and thank her in equal measure! I was brought up with home knitting and sewing as part of the norm, out of necessity at the time I think. So I learnt to knit, sew and embroider at an early age. Crochet eluded me properly until much more recently! I'm not sure as a child I always appreciated the time and skill involved - as I stuffed my homemade tanktop (circa 1977) into my bag rather than be seen in it at school! - but now I'm very glad I have those skills tucked away and find them satisfying and therapeutic.
5. Home cooking is a way of life - again largely down to my mother who always cooked and baked. I can honestly say we never had shop-bought cakes (oh except Tate & Lyles Ginger or Syrup cakes - special treat for pudding with custard!) and I really don't like the taste of cakes that aren't 'real'! I hope my boys would feel they can say the same - I have always made birthday cakes, jam, marmalade, Christmas mincemeat, etc etc and cannot think of any other way to be.
6. Life has thrown some rubbish along the way. The worst by a long way being the length of time it took to get a diagnosis of Coeliac's Disease for my eldest son who, at the age of 2, had to be hospitalised with severe pneumonia before anyone would take his 'neurotic nurse mother' seriously. But I have learnt over the years, that however bad it gets, there are good people around who will help and support you - my friends have been my lifeline at times. And son 1 is now a strapping 6 ft 3 in, who gets on with life and has never allowed the diet to get in the way!
7. I still have lots of dreams! There are so many places I'd like to go and things I'd like to do!
• I want to ride bareback across a sandy beach - this is a lifelong fantasy! I've never even learnt to ride! But have always wanted to do this
• I want to do a long distance walk - I'd love to do the Coast to Coast, and Hadrian's Wall, and the Pennine Way or some of the many lovely walks elswhere in the world.
• I'd like to visit India and China, South America, the Grand Canyon, New Zealand, Australia...in fact so many places I probably can't list them all!
• I'd like to be fluent in another language - my ancient 'O' level French & German just doesn't get me far!
• I'd like to walk hand in hand with someone who shares some of my dreams - just because...
8. I sometimes need reminding of the good things and the happy times - and that's what this blog is really for; somewhere to store the memories and little things that have happened and make me happy!