Tuesday 28 August 2012

Ta-dah! Tuesday - Hi honey, I'm home!


I've just got back from the Lake District. It was a serious family affair. Fourteen of us from 6 months to 87 years, celebrating my parents' Ruby wedding anniversary and my aunt and uncle's Silver. We stayed at Hardcragg Hall - a stunning manor house dating back to the 16th Century and purportedly used by Oliver Cromwell between military campaigns. Beatrix Potter stayed there too, and wrote Pigling Bland while she was at it. [It's not one of her best. Her illustrations were lovely, but I do think writing for small children is something that's improved in recent years. Something unpleasant is always happening to Beatrix's characters - what kind of mother sells her superfluous children at market? The Japanese tourists can't get enough of her though. Kawaii!]. There's some pics of Hardcragg Hall here, if you're nosy interested.

Mrs Pig sporting the Lolita streetstyle

The wifi wasn't working, but the snooker table and BAR - rah! - in the house managed to prevent me from falling into a decline of an evening. And you know, family and stuff. Despite the age of the house there were no ghosts to be seen - aside from a creepy ragdoll which I moved around periodically to freak the Mr out - but I did make the interesting discovery that my uncle once encountered 'a small Edwardian boy' in the middle of the night years ago whilst staying at my parents' house in Wales. They still live there! I lived there til I was 18. Zip. Nada. Nothing. It is pretty much the least spooky house you can imagine, and was built in the 70s, although it is built on the grounds of next door, which is a lot older. When I was very small and we lived in our previous (and older) house I apparently used to ask who the 'old lady who comes into my bedroom' was, but I don't remember that. [It was just me and my parents at the time. No old ladies. Possibly I was just insulting my mother as small children are wont to do].

My highlights from the holiday include seeing ospreys - no red squirrels though, elusive little buggers - going to the Cartmel Races where the jockeys compete for a bottle of champagne and a sticky toffee pudding, eating several kilos of Grasmere gingerbread, and of course discovering the world's worst crazy golf course. American readers, look away now. You get the KISS indoor 18 hole mini golf in Las Vegas, where you can putt your ball up Gene Simmons' tongue. At Grange-over-sands you get to navigate past some rocks, a brick - and my personal favourite - 'the hospice'. Rock and roll.

Freak

Bleak

Anyway, the result of all this is that I haven't read anyone's blog for a couple of weeks, checked my email or been on Facebook. It's very refreshing. I have however been glued to my kindle, as thanks to Margaret I've got newly addicted to the Stephanie Plum books. They're totally daft, but they're upping my GoodReads yearly reading challenge total nicely, and I have settled on a new career as a junk food addicted bounty hunter in New Jersey. I'm not sure I should be allowed to read or watch films. I'm very suggestible.

Oh, and I do have a small ta-dah. Here's my uncle, aunt and folks with the anniversary cake I made them. It tasted pretty amazing, but it's probably a good thing that the photo isn't a close up. My skills with an icing bag are fairly non-existent. Also I lovingly transported it several hundred miles in the boot of the car, only for my uncle to put his laptop on top of the box when we arrived. I'm not sure it made a massively discernible difference, aside from hammering the 'Congratulations' sign into the top. And it's so enormous that I won't have to make a Christmas cake this year. Result! 

Aw, young love

So, what else has been going on? Sian got surprise married as her ta-dah! last time - can you beat that?

Lakota x

27 comments:

  1. Welcome back! It must have been a lovely break away from all thing online. Personally, I can't think of anything more stressful than a holiday with extended family, but then you probably have a lovely family.

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  2. Sounds like a great family occasion. I've stopped buying vintage story books for my Little Bee, she is reading herself now and really takes them to heart. Single and step parents were nothing short of cruel.
    Will use the pics for decoupage!!

    Well done for staying pretty techno free for your trip. Kindle doesn't count because its not interactive.

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  3. Lovely to have you back m'dear!! What a brilliant time you had up North. The Lake District is gorgeous and the moment you mentioned Grassmere Gingerbread my stomach did hungry-flips. It is divine stuff!! Congratulations to you folks on such a milestone :-)

    Jem xXx

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  4. yay you are back! and you mentioned me! hurray!xxxxx

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  5. Welcome back! The cake is amazing. I made bread and butter today... ta da! I know, what a domestic frickin goddess, right?!

    Sarah xxx

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  6. good to see you back!! That Hardcragg Hall looks lovely, I bet it's lots of $$ spent on it.

    There's no way I could tell there was *anything* wrong with that cake, it looks completely scrumptious you little vixen you!!

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  7. Good to have you back.
    That's one gorgeous cake and one tragic crazy golf course. I'd be tempted to give it a 'revamp' during the night after a few shandies. I'm surprised you didn't!xxxx

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  8. Welcome back! That cake looks very impressive, you clever sausage.
    Did you warn The lake District that Krista and I are on the way? I haven't been since I was 18 and can't wait to get back there! xxx

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  9. Welcome back! What a great family holiday. I have yet to make it to the lakes; one day.... The cake looks amazing, lovely neat icing!! Lol at your comment about Mrs PIg! When I was a student living in an old house I often used to feel someone sitting on the end of my bed. Weird but strangely not scary, never saw them, only felt.

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  10. I have missed you girl! What a lovely time it sounds like you had, too bad no ghost sightings, am I going to see ghosts in the UK :) I think Vix has one at her place too.

    That cake is so beautiful I wish I could have had me a slice or two or three! Great to have you back!
    XXOO
    Krista

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  11. Sounds like a great relaxing holiday! And that cake looks fantastic! I am always disappointed by crazy golf courses! xx

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  12. Welcome back sounds like a great trip ;-)) Your cake looks brilliant don't knock yourself ;-) dee xx

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  13. Welcome back! The scenery in the first photo looks stunning. How nice to be in such a beautiful setting and without gadgets. You cake is quite impressive and doesn't look smushed at all. Well done!

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  14. I'm never playing mini-golf again. I'll be telling the children that unless there's a Gene Simmons tongue to aim for, I'm going to lay on the grass and watch the clouds. You're a fecking awesome cake decorator and the family totally deserves to benefit from your skills considering they've had to put up with each other for an eternity. Happy anniversary Mum and Dad, Uncle and Aunty:)) xo

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  15. Welcome back! Sounds like you had a great time! Congrats on that cake, looks great xxx

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  16. Sounds like such a lovely break away, welcome back Lakota, I have really missed you these past few weeks (I did a bit of a vanishing act too). You know I do love my Beatrix Potter and I’ve often wondered what it would be like to visit the places Beatrix lived/stayed at. You are quite right about all of the books being full of some kind of unpleasant event though, my heart has always gone out to poor Jeremy Fisher and quite a fair few others too. Glad you and your family had a brilliant time to mark such a special and precious occasion xxx

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  17. The mini golf looks like something from Craggy Island! Glad you had a good time. I'm reading a Stephanie Plum too at the moment (I think it's 17 but I lose count) - they always make me want doughnuts

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  19. Welcome back - it looks like you had a lovely time. That cake looks delicious too.

    Nikki x

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  20. Gorgeous scenery and the cake looks scrumptious!!

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  21. missed you last tuesday! Welcome back!

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  22. Glad you had a nice break, your cake is pretty good Lakota! I'm impressed. Equally as impressed as Sian getting married and sharing on ta-dah Tuesday!

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  23. So nice to have you back! Enjoyed reading about your trip -- ghosts (or lack thereof) and all -- and hearing that you survived life without wifi. We probably all need such a break!

    xoxo
    Lynn

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  24. Oh I'm definitely nosy, especially when it comes to country houses. That looks amazing!! You must have had a fab time.

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  25. wonderful to have you back, though when you wrote this it was my turn to be off on holiday. Hmm I wonder if my love of Beatrix Potter has initiated my love of Kawaii or vice versa? I want to try that gingerbread but I notice you DIDN'T visit the pencil museum OR eat any Kendall Mint Cake? Are you MAD? xxxx

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  26. Hey welcome home love! We were in the Lakes too last week for my mum's 70th so ours was quite a family affair too with me and my sister's combined broods and my parents all in the same hotel.

    We hotfooted it to Grassmere for some gingerbread one day too - can't beat it!

    Glad you had a good break x

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