A Beautiful Day

What a lovely surprise to wake up with the sun shining, the sky blue and just a light breeze rustling the leaves of the large beech tree that stands in our garden. A perfect autumn day to cheer the soul and warm the heart, but it was even better, because today some of the people I love were together. Lucy was coming to Langham to be with us again for the day.

Nothing could spoil a day like this. Emily and Catherine got up and made their pack lunches, had breakfast and were soon on their way to school. The drive in to Oakham with Emily was lovely and the roads were not to busy. When I got back Catherine was just walking down the walk so I gave her a cuddle and a kiss and wished her well for the day. It was just one of those mornings that makes you feel good about life.

After a coffee and shave and shower it was off to get little Lucy from her mummies and bring her back to Oakham. It was a pleasant pick up, for me at least, I said how lovely the day was and wish her mummy well, but I'm not sure it went down well, unfortunately. Lucy was in top form as always and we chatted all the way to the car and all the way home. 

When we got back to Langham we played out in garden for a while before we decided that we would take George for a short walk around the village. It wasn't a long walk we just went to the church and back but we took our time and spent some time with George in the Church yard. While we were there we saw a pair of squirrels that soon ran away when they got the scent of George. Lucy and I waited for a bit and did spot them again but we couldn't get near with the dog in tow. Lucy seemed to love their bushy tails and was completely taken with them. With the squirrels gone I let Lucy have a go at walking George. She did really well and walked him all around the church yard. Back at the road I took over George again and we made tour way slowly home via the Baptist Church. Lucy and George both seemed to have a grand time and so did I.

By lunchtime the morning sunshine had caused some clouds to bubble up from drew on the ground, but that didn't stop us as we headed out to Stamford to have lunch and have some more fun. 

When we got to Stamford we head to McDonald's for a bite to eat before heading to the recreation ground. We were going to Rascals but given how warm it was and the fact the sun had broken through the clouds it seemed a shame to go indoors when Lucy could play in the fresh air. She had a great time playing on the large and small slides, the swings, the roundabout and the bouncy toys. We even played shops for a bit with Lucy seving me all kinds of food from her café and at one point she pretended she was on the television. It was lovely to  be out in the fresh air and I hope we have more sunny days at the park before the bad weather sets in for the winter.

After we had finished at the park we popped into Waitrose on our way back to Langham. I must say that I think it is one of the best supermarkets as far as the quality of food goes and I love going there now and again to pick up a treat for dinner. Lucy, as always, charmed everyone and was really well behaved and helpful. She is a delight to take shopping.

When we got home we picked up Catherine from school with the usual big welcome from Lucy before heading off to Oakham. Emily was going to Toot's Sweets, a old fashioned sweet shop, with her friends after school and we picked her up from near the Church. Lucy was so pleased to see her and it was lovely to have them all together again. Of course there was another reason Lucy was pleased to see Emily she had some sweets left which she shared.

As soon as we arrived back home Emily and Catherine went upstairs to change with Lucy following them into the bedroom. Soon all that could be heard was the sound of playing children, laughing and having fun both inside and outside the house.

While they were playing I switched on the oven and got all the ingredients ready to make cakes as I cooked the dinner. Soon I was calling them all down to the kitchen to help me with the mixing and the pouring of the mixture into the fairy cake cases. They all had a great time doing the mixing and the pouring accept for Lucy who decided to cover her ears from the noise, but she waited for the best bit. Licking out the bowl which she later decided she could use as a hat! What a mess she made of her hair. It wasn't long before the cakes were in the oven so they could be iced and eaten after dinner.

Originally for dinner I was going to do a roast, but given how good the weather was it would have been a shame to waste the day cooking so we had a simple dinner in the end that maximized the playing and cake making time for all three of them. As they ate I got the cakes from the oven and set them down to cool. they were a lovely golden brown colour and they had risen to perfection. They were probably the best I have cooked yet with thier help. 

With dinner out the way and all the plates scraped and ready to be washed, including Lucy's who is now scrapping her own plate, it was down to the last phase of the cake making. The decoration stage. Emily was soon carefully making the icing adding a bit of water to the icing sugar until she just got the right mix. She is really getting good at this now and doesn't need to add extra sugar because she got the mix to wet. Soon the icing was on the cakes and they were drawing on them with a small tube of black icing and making all kinds of crazy patterns and faces. They really seemed to have fun. As soon as the first one was finished it was in Lucy's hands and off she went to eat it. The first of two she had before she left. 

Soon it was time to get Lucy changed and back to her mummies house. She didn't want to go at first, but she had some sweets to take back with her and with them as the incentive to get changed she was soon ready. After cuddles and kisses from Emily and Catherine we walked down the walk hand in hand to the car and after the short drive she was back with her mummies. As always she gave a super cuddle and she told me she loved me, and I told her I love her too and to be good for her mummy, which I'm sure she is.

With Lucy gone, Emily and Catherine set about their home work. With Catherine now in year 6 she is starting to get a lot of homework in preparation for her STAT's test at the end of the year. I know now she not looking forward to them but I know the school will prepare her the best they can and she will get a lot of support from me. After the homework they relaxed in the family room until bedtime and off they went to sleep. It's an early start in the morning for both of them, so they had an early night. 

It has been a super day and the weather couldn't have been better. I wasn't going to let anything spoil it and nothing really did. There was a minor hiccup but that didn't change a thing. Something, I have had to learn is nothing or nobody can change how you feel, you feel what you feel and their is no use denying it. After all, everyday has it's ups and downs, so try and look at the bigger picture and see each day for what it is, and this was a super day.