The Boog-Matts!

Advetures in Austen!

With Melissa at Jane Austen's Home in Chawton,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

My good college friend Melissa visited us from Washington DC this past weekend and it was great to catch up! We always have so much to talk about on our now nearly annual visits and it's such a treat.

Yesterday we headed down to Chawton to visit Jane Austen's home. This is where she edited manuscripts for Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice as well as writing Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion. For any Austen fan it's a must and Melissa was tickled pink to visit the house! It just reopened this weekend after a massive renovation and is such a charming quaint place to visit. I have long enjoyed visiting the house, so much so that I signed up to volunteer here as a steward once a month from August!

After our visit we headed to Farnham for a cream tea (bad I know), a stroll by Frensham Ponds and then home and to make up on missing out on the theatre, we settled down to enjoy an evening of 'Lost in Austen!' Thanks for visiting Melissa! Can't wait to catch up again soon!

Fun with The Griffin's!

Griffin Family - christened new pool!,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

The Griffin family - Liz, Ben, Josh, Luke and Hannah - popped in for lunch en route from France on Saturday....just in time to christen the new pool! We had just about finished filling it when everyone arrived!
The children were itching to get in after something to eat and once they'd all finished, Mum and Dad (Liz and Ben) went for abit of a paddle...more like a wade, through the water. It was great to see everyone and catch up on news. Life in France seems to be going well. Loved Hannah's cute new glasses too!

At the end of the afternoon, Matt and I got in the pool to cool off too. The pool is much deeper than the last one and I think alot of fun will be had over the summer months! The Paver's arrive next weekend so we're sure it's going to be put to good use!

Field of Stars Book Signing

Launching balloons at book signing!,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

This last weekend a bunch of us gathered in Chiswick for a Field of Stars book signing with Mum. It was a very relaxed afternoon with friends popping in and out - as well as 'jo public' snapping up copies of the book. It was particularly lovely to see several old family friends I had not seen in over 20 years! Congratulations Mum!

Weight loss update

strawberries!,
originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

It's another 2.5lb loss this week which brings me up to 41lbs in total so far AND I got Slimmer of the Week! My prize was a HUGE bag of fresh fruit and veg - YUM!

I've decided that my favourite food is fresh strawberries - with nothing added! And they are considered a SUPER super food meaning that the natural properties in the fruit actually speeds up weight loss. In fact I would just love to have a whole bath of fresh strawbs all to myself!

Best mates!

Best mates!,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

Its been a great weekend - very full as usual and yet relaxing too! Yesterday after abit of gardening and cleaning, we headed out to do some strawberry picking at Secretts only to find just about all the current crop was gone! So we ended up buying a huge box of freshly picked ones and proceeded to scoff an entire punnet between us - so fresh, sweet and delicious! Fortunately strawberries are considered a 'super super food' on SW so I can scoff away to my hearts content!

In the evening we headed over to the gorgeous Thameside town of Marlow for a BBQ with our good friends Tony and Sarah and several of their church friends and neighbours. It was a very relaxed and chilled evening and lovely to be in the company of such kind and interesting folks.

Today has been fun filled with my oldest bestest mate Liv, partner Andy and kiddos Daisy and Angus over for a BBQ. We spent the afternoon running around the garden, chasing the kids in and out of the sprinkler, hanging in the hammock and generally having a laugh - always the way when Liv is about. Matt and Andy sampled some of the local nectars as well - critically appraised the beer in other words!
It is summer afternoons like these that help us appreciate our garden and makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Street Arts Picnic at Box Hill

Street Arts Picnic at Box Hill,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

Yesterday we packed up the car with a picnic and headed to Box Hill with the Street Arts Group. It's the first time we've had a proper trip in so long and everyone was very excited. Box Hill has one of the best views in all of the South of England and it seemed everyone was out taking advantage of the hot weather and fine view!

We had planned to have a picnic at Box Hill and then head over to a sculpture garden in the afternoon. However, in the end, everyone was so chilled and relaxed after lunch that the group consensus was to continue hanging out of the hill, playing abit of ultimate frisbee and enjoying each other's company.

We all caught the sun and had a fun and relaxing time together. Good times.

Weight Loss corner here!

Around the same time that I started Slimming World my colleague Vicky started a new regime. Our desks are next to each other in the office so we've been able to spur ourselves on and share ideas. While Vic has achieved all her weight loss on her own without going to a group, I go to weekly weigh-in's and meetings.

Anyway, today we worked out that we've lost 62.5 pounds between us this year! Wow! Cool stuff

Travel ideas

Matt has a milestone birthday coming up early next year and we decided that we'd like to get away somewhere hot for 2-3 weeks - escape the winter blues and celebrate our birthdays somewhere warm for once. We've got some ideas - Cuba, Central Americas, Peru, Equador, South Africa, Caribeean, India. Who knows! Any ideas folks? Somewhere with abit of beach, peace and quiet, bit quirky perhaps and lots to see and do on the cultural side of things - open to getting our backpacks out and having abit of an adventure!

Invasion!

One month today the Paver clan are coming home for the summer and we're very excited! We'll probably be raring to get to the airport on the Saturday to pick everyone up! Rebecca, Helena, Darcey, Rom and Sebbie are arriving first and then James and Alice a couple of weeks later.

We can't wait to see you all guys! By the way...who's up for a Harry Potter outing on opening night - 15th July - we'd love to see the new film before we head off to France early the next morning. Counting the days too Helena

Lots of Love

Auntie Manda and Uncle Mattsy!

More progress

Ash family supporters!,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

Last night I joined a new local gym with a great ethos and outlook - and very cheap! I have my first session on my own tonight and can't wait to get going! In the past I've had a fear of cross trainer's because I've fallen off them in quite a spectacular fashion - guess I couldn't get my head around the co-ordination bit! Anyway, the one I tried out last night was great fun so I look forward to mastering this over the coming weeks!

In other news - 5.5 pounds lost this week which brings me up to 37.5 total so far! Yey!

Race For Life 2009

Slimming update

IMG_0539-60,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

Things have really turned around with the weight loss this last week. When I hopped on the scales at the weigh in last night I hoped that I would have lost a pound and be somewhere along the way to clawing back the 5 pounds I gained the week before. So you can imagine my utter jaw dropping delight as I saw the weight count down and realised that I lost 7.5 pounds this last week! Yes just over half a stone! That's my biggest single weight loss in a week....ever! I was amazed and SO proud of myself. I don't really know how it happened except that I've done more exercise this last week and have cut down further down on a lot of things. With all this lovely warm weather we've been having, we seem to be eating alot in the way of salads that I try to bulk out with grilled chicken or bacon, and abit of mozzarella or goats cheese. I also pretty much cut out bread last week and have gone down another dress size! Yipheeeeeee!

Getting ready for the Race for Life this weekend - which I feel like I did today with all the walking around London between work meetings!

Veggie Patch progress

May Bank holiday at home (4),
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

Well the patch is just about rammed now - full of plants growing! Hopefully this will yield enough nice stuff for us to eat later on in the summer/autumn. In fact it's so full that I've had to plant the potatoes, squash, courgettes and pumpkins in bags at the end of the garden. Me thinks we might have to double the size of the patch next year - lots of cultivating, earth shifting and composting to be done before that happens. Watch this space for more updates over the coming months.

Beach Day

Climping Beach, Sussex 023,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

The weather has been simply magnificent lately so we decided to take advantage of this and head to the coast today. We packed up a picnic and headed south to Climping beach near Littlehampton in West Sussex. It's a beautiful drive down to the coast through green fields, quaint sussex villages and over the South Downs - we love this part of the world!

Years ago my friends and I would visit this beach during the summer holidays - we'd just pitch up with the car, tent and light a fire and spend the night by the beach. Today you have to pay to park the car and can't camp overnight, but it's still got that quirky feel and is a small enough stretch of land so that you don't feel swamped by people.

The quirky factor kicked in when we got to the parking gate and were greeted by an old geezer with a toothless grin, ripped jean shorts and a his little scottie dog to keep him company. He was clearly an eccentric! We then spent the rest of the day sunbathing, reading, listening to our ipods and nibbling on salad and chicken. We also had a long chat about our forthcoming trips to France and Canada for two weddings this summer - can't wait! I'm now a greater shade of pink! It was a lovely end to a very relaxing weekend. I hope this is a sign of the good times to come this summer!

The delights of home

Evening walk along the Wey canal, Farncombe 061-2,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

We have a new favourite evening walk - along the river Wey/canal at the bottom of the valley near our home. It's simply beautiful along here at this time of year - and so tranquil. I've gone for a brisk walk or two along here lately in preparation for the Race for Life next weekend (yikes!) but last night Matt joined me. We didn't set off until just before dusk and had a lovely walk along the towpath past the canal boats in all their beautiful colours and folk art, past the field of cows, past the back of gorgeous little cottages with elegant gardens and past the pub (were tempted to stop for a drink but didn't this time). Eventually you come to open fields and feel as if you're really in the heart of the countryside. It's just so beautiful around here.

One of our finds last night was a WWII bunker. They are scattered along the North Downs as this area was considered the second line of defence in the event of an invasion. In the end that never happened but the bunkers still remain and we often find them in seeminly the most remote places!

It's days like this that make me grateful for where we live. There are still so many hidden charms to discover here and this summer we intend to do more to get out and have a few adventures in the local area. Good times!

Beach day tomorrow me thinks!

Hmmn - not happy!

Not happy- I put on weight this week - rather alot and just when I had increased my walking/jogging! I'm aannoyed with myself for not making healthier choices at all the bbq's and picnic this weekend. So this week it's no bread, dairy or sweets etc. Hopefully that will help bring it back down again. I'm going off to sulk now!

Weight loss milestone

Reached another weight loss milestone at SW last night - 2 stone 1lb lost (29 pounds so far). I've set a new goal to go for my Club 10 and am also gearing up for the Race for Life 5k in a few weeks. It's taken me a while to get my head around this weight loss plan, but on the whole I look forward to our weekly meetings and weigh ins. The support I am receiving in this group really really is wonderful and I've been making great friends, sharing ideas, and growing alot. There are weeks when it's not possible for me to get to the group because of work commitments etc and I do miss the group when that happens.

I will be participating in the Race for Life 5K on 6th June so if you have some spare pennies - please please sponsor me - it's a very worthwhile cause. Click on the link for further details and to sponsor me online. I'm really really grateful for all the support!

Longsleddale

Longsleddale,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

One of the highlights of our holiday in the Lakes earlier this month was a much much longed for hike up my favorite valley - Longsleddale. This place is off the beaten track and is therefore fairly quiet and peaceful. As a child we used to spend many holidays hiking up the valley, pitching the tent and camping for a week - away from civilisation. Near there the top are a series of waterfalls and deep pools which where hugely entertaining for a child - I loved swimming here.

We had torrential rain for most of our holiday but on the Thursday the skies cleared for abit and we were able to get up to the valley for an afternoon hike. It was lovely to share this place with Matt - it's always been a very special place to everyone in our family and some of our happiest childhood memories were created here.

It was also VERY cold and windy. In fact as we neared the top, we were struggling to stay on our feet as the wind was so strong and bracing. We didn't exactly bring enough warm clothing but nevertheless we had fun and a good hike together.

Hanging with friends!

Lazy Sunday evening with Annabel & Martha (visiting from Boston),
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

This last weekend has been just the tonic we needed - quality time spent at home! After a number of weekends with lots going on it was nice to just potter around locally, clean, stock up on essentials etc.

We had a date night on Friday and went to see 'Angels & Demons.' Good film - though not as thrilling as the book, it was well made and had a good amount of action, suspense and intrigue! On Saturday evening we spent a quiet evening at home and I cooked up a new risotto recipe and we sat down to watch 'The Duchess.'

One of the things we love to do is potter around the local market - a rare treat. So on Sunday morning we headed off to the local Farmer's market and picked up goodies for dinner - yum! It rained most of the day so we still haven't been able to get out into the garden to weed, strim, mow and plant! Hopefully this next weekend will be brighter.

And in the late afternoon our good friends Annabel and Martha graced us with their presence for dinner, and a night in. Martha has been visiting from Boston and it was great to see her and catch up on college memories before heading back stateside today. Come back again soon Martha!

Jess & Rob's Big Lakeland Wedding

Jess and Robs Wedding 010509 232,
originally uploaded by Miranda Ash2006.

A couple of weeks ago we headed up to the Lake District for my cousin Jess's long awaited marriage to her dashing groom - Rob.

The wedding day was beautiful - the sun shone, the bride looked simply stunning and it was wonderful to see so many of the Wolstenholme clan all together for the first time in many years. It was also the first time all but one of the cousin's (there are 15 of us) were together! We had a great time celebrating the wedding at a stunning hotel near Ambleside overlooking Lake Windermere. And it all ended far to quickly and we were on our way home again.

Matt and I decided to take the opportunity for abit of a holiday so we rented a cottage on an idyllis farm for a week and had made plans to do quite abit of light hiking in the fells. Sadly, we had torrential rain all but one day. I make like a little walking but not in the rain!

So we abandoned our plans and took out National Trust membership instead and explored several properties in the region including Beatrix Potter's home at Hill Top, Hawkshead. I grew up on her books so it was lovely to see her stories come to life in her modest cottage and beautiful garden.

At the end of the holiday we headed down to Harrogate for a couple of nights with our good friend Kim and explored Fountains Abbey near Ripon. Stunning wedding location and we'll be heading back here in September for our cousin Tash's big day. Finally we headed to Huddersfield to catch up with my cousin Ed, wife Jen and four little sprogs as well as sister Tash. The break ended in a whirlwind and we loved every minute!