Friday Sept. 25 Gilsland to Walton ONLY 7 miles!!

 Another short hike today – woot woot! And look at that blue sky! The weather gods did turn on the tap for a brief time but otherwise it was a lovely day. This picture shows the front of our B&B.

 After a breakfast of oatmeal with whiskey and cream, oh my, we headed back into the village of Gilsland to pick up the trail which will take us to an even smaller village called Walton.

 
Annie made a friend!

 

Today’s journey takes us from Gilsland to to Banks to Walton with detours to visit Birdoswald Roman Fort and Lanercost Priory.  But first we explored a milecastle just on the outskirts of Gilsland. No, Miss Kitty didn’t come with us but she sure was friendly!

I would have had so much fun living here as a kid – I used to rake the leaves from our huge maple tree into a floor plan of a large house and then run from room to room pretending someone was chasing me! That’s what these walls remind me of…

And off we go!

Stinging nettle is EVERYWHERE!!

We saw a few fixer uppers along the way…

 …next up is a turret outside of Gilsland…

Look how tall we are!! I wish… (except it looks like I have a pin head!)

I remember descending this hill – it felt safer than the previous hills due to the fencing and flat, even stone steps.

 The River Irthing used to flow here and there are ruins of a Roman bridge; the river’s course has moved north of this site.

Now there’s a newer bridge over the Irthing…

 Next stop – Birdoswald Fort built from 125AD to 138AD.

 …the “farmhouse” was built starting in the 17th c with additions and changes made until the 20th c. It is now used as a hostel.

Dancing tree roots!

 We’re supposed to be able to see Scotland today but it’s difficult to see where one country ends and the other begins. (oh, and this is the wrong direction anyways….!)

 …a brief walk in the forest…a very magical looking forest!! Full of ferns, bright green moss and interesting tree trunks…

 

I love these paths the most!

…and when we emerged from the forest we were greeted by an honour box full of cold drinks and chocolate bars. Thank you Matthew!

 I had a REALLY COLD coke – I don’t usually drink pop but on this occasion it was just what I needed! We had a short rest, yelled THANK YOU a few times and then continued our journey.

I could stay here forever! So beautiful!

We had to purchase a packed lunch from our B&B as there was nowhere to purchase lunch along the way. It was a bit milder today and we found the perfect spot to eat…

…and the view from our picnic spot was incredible!!

Our path took us through the tiny village of Banks.

 

 …but not for long… here’s another crazy tree…

It seems to have swallowed up a number of people as it grew!!

We’re getting close to Walton, our destination for today.  But first we’re going to take another side trip to visit Lanercost Priory.

Since this post is already very photo heavy  I think I’ll save the Priory until tomorrow!

 Here’s just a wee glimpse of the Priory through the crumbling but very picturesque front gate 🙂

 

The Lawn from Hell

This is how my living room looked after unloading Dougie. It was so much fun getting things out of the back of the truck and then hauling them through the long grass. (not) I think I was being “tested”!! I think I failed the “language” part of the test $@4%^#)!;o**!!

The first few days being at Crofters Lane were LONG LONG days (and nights) as I unpacked and tried to find room for way too much stuff and no storage or closets to put things in.

My first morning – I started an amazingly good book, ate my oatmeal like a good scotswoman and watched the ripples in my coffee as the wind blew and blew strong!!

However, the FIELDS had to be faced. Thankfully I didn’t have to face them alone!

My helpful lawn guy, Ian, came over with with his tractor and cutting attachment. We harvested many bales of hay I’m sure. I’ll have to take a picture of the “hay mow”! I raked an average of 6 hours a day for 3 days running. Wearing gloves really does prevent blisters but there was nothing I could do for my back other than get right back at it each day.

My hay fields were doing a whole lot better than the clover field to the south of me which had many barren patches. Not so my fields. Also shown in this picture is my wonderful heirloom rocking chair made by my uncle Richard. Very rustic, very sturdy, very comfortable!

 Too bad I didn’t have a herd of something, like 20 cows, who could have enjoyed this harvest.

 In addition to “baling hay” I also got busy with the gas push mower – yes – I figured out how to start it myself – and did hours and hours of mowing around trees and bushes and re-mowing areas that had been missed by Ian’s tractor and then his riding lawn mower. I felt ready to give up a time or ten but stuck with it. I think all the physical exercise was both challenging but needed to help me over the hurdle of being there on my own.

Sigh…it’s a good thing I’m not allergic to grass!! Or hard work! It took a good two weeks of mowing and raking before it was all under control. Not exactly the way I had planned to spend the first 2 weeks of July. And wouldn’t you know that the lawn turned yellow after 2 weeks without rain??  Thankfully though we had an all day downpour a couple of days ago and all is green once again.

AND GROWING!!

Homey Oatmeal Recipe & Halloween 2011

A couple of you requested my oatmeal recipe so here it is. I just cannot say enough good things about oatmeal. With the addition of milk or yogurt it is a complete protein. It is low on the glucose index therefore it breaks down slowly keeping you full longer. It also helps lower your bad cholesterol AND provides much needed iron.  Depending on what you add to your morning oatmeal it can be a near perfect “superfood”!


Homey Oatmeal: (I especially like this recipe because the oatmeal is cooked in skim milk as well as water adding calcium and protein but few calories! AND this recipe makes enough for six days, at least for me.)


2 cups skim milk
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt (optional – I only add a dash of salt)
1 1/3 cups large-flake oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup chopped almonds
3 tbsp. sugar substitute (optional – I don’t add this, I get my sweetness from adding dried fruit and/or non-fat vanilla-flavored yogurt)


In a large pot, bring milk, water, cinnamon and salt to boil.  (Watch it closely so your milk doesn’t boil over – yes, I learned the hard way!) Stir in oats and wheat germ and return to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, for about 8 minutes or until thickened. (DON’T overcook!) Stir in almonds and sugar substitute, (if desired).


Makes 4 servings. (I pour it into a tupperware container, let it cool, then slice it into 6 servings – I find 1/6th of this recipe PLENTY but then I add other stuff to it.) Store in fridge.


There is such a variety of stuff you can add to oatmeal to mix it up a little. Some of the things I add are: dried cranberries, raisins, blueberries, pomegranate arils, chopped fresh apple or applesauce, any kind of nut, flax seeds or ground flax, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, plain or flavored yogurt, you are limited only by your imagination – it can be different every day!


Your body will thank YOU!


Also by popular request – last night’s Halloween costumes! I was going for a 70’s vibe – long dress, long black hair, pale lipstick…Michael was the Man in Black (Johnny Cash) but wigs/hats got traded during the evening…

 This is pretty much how I looked circa 1974! (minus a few wrinkles!)

 My cowboy!

 Cowboy and friend (our “friend” turned out to be the life of the party!!

 Having TOO much fun!!

 That blonde wig made the rounds – it originated on the hostess who was dressed as Alice in Wonderland.  Now I’m wearing the cowboy hat!

 Michael rocking the “Carol Channing” look!

Taking a break from dancing to enjoy a REALLY good single malt.


Happy weekend everybody!

The Hunt for Red October

 Oh, there it is…I guess the “hunt” is over:) I’m ready for October to be OVER actually as my wallet just has a few pennies in it and some Canadian Tire money. We are doing REALLY well on our “NOT shopping for groceries challenge” (well, the grocery store doesn’t take Canadian Tire money now does it?!!), though I noticed we are on our last bag of milk. So I will be buying milk, bread and salad greens this week – nothing else. Dinner tonight? Succulent ribs and bean stew – yum yum! The fridge and freezer still look pretty full so I’m going to see how long we can go before I break down and do some shopping!

Yesterday was such a gorgeous fall day so of course we went hiking (in my new boots!)! Perhaps these luscious looking berries would go well on my morning oatmeal??  Yes, being of Scots origin I lurve my oatmeal and make a big batch every Sunday to get me through the week. It’s a complete meal in a bowl as I boil it in skim milk and cinnamon along with some wheat germ, then add dried cranberries, ground flax seed, almonds and sesame seeds or whatever else is hanging around. It’s also really good mixed with apple sauce or a small container of yogurt.  Very thrifty and if you know us Scots we love to be thrifty!!

My favourite pic from yesterday’s hike. Isn’t she just so precious in her yellow boots, they’re almost as nice as mine! Those two geese at the top of the picture don’t look real, they look like a pair of bookends but they’re real, I swear! The little dumpling was crumbling up a bun and dropping it in the water for the ducks and the geese…she was really popular:) I love her nonchalant pose and mop of curls – so cute!

Almost as nice as mine, but not quite!

I had this post ready to go last night but then lost my internet connection so here goes today, hope it works! Made it through another day without spending – I’m going to try for 5 no spend days in a row. Saturday I’ll have to part with a little cash as its our annual Halloween bash – I have no idea what I’ll dress up as yet but “biker chick” comes to mind….


Do YOU dress up for Halloween?? What about that “Witch” out in PEI???