Re-entry

It's that tricky post-holiday time.  Everyone is tired, no-one wants to get back to normal life, expectations have been raised, ice-cream is expected on an almost daily basis and I am missing having a bedroom with a balcony looking out over beautiful Cornish gardens with the tiniest glimpse of sea behind the trees.

Almost every time I walked into the room I was drawn outside.  I'd stand there just absorbing it all.  The wood was warm beneath my bare feet and there were birds singing in the big tree in the next garden.  It was good.  Very good.

I have photos and notes.  Could you stand it?  Too many photos, but, you know, it was that week.  The one  I look forward to all year.  The one by the sea with the people I love the most.  Together, all day every day.  So I can't stop myself, but do feel free to scroll through really fast all the way to the bottom.  Take a deep breath...

This one's for all of your yarn lovers out there.  Knitted cakes!  Clever, clever, clever.  

We found some really beautiful beaches.  The Lizard peninsula is a really lovely place, unspoilt for the most part, quiet and wild.

Just us and the jellies.  There were lots on this beach (Coverack), pink ones and purple ones.  Such striking creatures.

There were some very pretty villages and cottages.  Hard not to dream about what it would be like to live here.

On Wednesday I met up with Leanne.  She was an absolute delight, and it was such a pleasure to sit and chat with her.  She brought a crab line and bucket for the boys, as well as some artisan chocolate made in her home town.  Oh how well she knows what boys like.  They were thrilled and a little obsessed with crab catching.  I'd never tried it before (what with being a girl and everything).  The first one was HUGE and there was another one as well that we didn't manage to catch because it got away, scuttling sideways back to the sea.  The other one was so big and strong it climbed out of the net.  I ran up the harbour steps shrieking.  Somehow it was transferred to the bucket and I ventured a little closer.

I think I found my best ever beach.  How beautiful is this?

It's called Kynance Cove, and it is honestly paradise.  Owned and maintained by the National Trust, who have done it all beautifully and sustainably.  Everything blending in and eco-friendly.  That one beach alone made me want to join and support them, their work is so very worthwhile.

The eldest and OH went for a cliff top walk to look for Cornish choughs, rare birds that have been making a comeback here lately.  They're quite hard to spot.  The eldest thought he might possibly have seen one, but they look a bit like crows, so maybe he didn't.  He was very happy to have had the opportunity to spend some time looking for them though, and he did see some other birds that made it all worthwhile.

I stayed on the beach with the littles and we balanced piles of stones and ran away from waves and things.

I went for a swim and decided it was the best day of the holiday.  There's always a best day, right?

It occurred to me that it was nearing the end of the week and there wasn't a single photo of me.  Does that ever happen to you?  It's like I was never there.  The eldest pointed his camera in my face.  I haven't seen his shots, but he got quite close, I don't imagine it's a pretty sight.  But I found this one that the littlest boy took while scrambling over rocks with my little camera.  Look, I was there!

The last day was grey and a bit damp, so we went to Falmouth for a wander.

We tried to catch more crabs.  I couldn't look, there was such a drop to the water.  I honestly can't stand it when they stand near the edge.  I lie awake at night worrying about it.

It started raining after a while, but the biggest boy was desperate to catch one.  We had to drag him away.  The seagull's keeping a close eye on him, just in case.

So now we're home, with some happy memories and a bit of a suntan.  Re-entry is hard, it always takes me a couple of days to regain my equilibrium.  I'm happy to have found such a beautiful place.  One day I'll go there again.