Wine and Alchemy

http://wineandalchemy.com/


Yes, they do have a website. They were my favourite performers at the Faire this year. I LOVED them. The dancer was fantastic. She looked so free and colourful while twirling scarves and fans. It was extremely hot, but when she danced she looked...wild and free. I was thinking ah such freedom and wishing I could feel that comfortable with myself and be so free.

Ren Faire visit (Saturday)

We went to the Ren Faire in our area yesterday. It was a beautiful day but very hot. We all ended up with some colour (some of us more red than others!). It was a family trip for us. We don't seem to do many of those anymore. The 'kids' are no longer kids - #1 son is 21, #2 son is 19 and #3 daughter is 17. My oldest is working out of town for the summer coming home for weekends - at least until Uni starts again. So it was nice for us all to get out together.

I love the Ren Faire. We try to go every year. There are some great performers and lots to see. My hubby and the 3 'kids' ended up in the gaol. Really funny. They had to hock Beer, Lemonade, Root Beer and food (Hubby) to be 'released'. I did take pics. After this post I'm going to post my favourite perfomance. It's worth a post of its own :)

My DD and Son#1 in gaol.



Son #2 brought before the 'court'



Son #1 and Hubby in gaol.

Interesting Blog.

On my travels around the Blogisphere (is that a word??) I came across an interesting blog. http://meanqueen-lifeaftermoney.blogspot.com/ I haven't been reading it long but currently the writer is walking from Blackpool to Hull. From what I can gather it's over 100 miles. She's sixty-two years young and has a great spirit. She is taking the scenic route and is posting pictures and stories of her adventures each day.

I think I would like to be like her. She has just decided to take off and do it! She is staying in pubs or B&Bs and doing exactly as she wants. Her blog is worth a read. It has certainly inspired me! A few years ago she cut back on work (exactly what I'd like to do!) and decided to enjoy life! She paid off her mortgage early and lives frugally on a small income.

In some ways she reminds me of my Mum. My Dad left when I was young and wasn't around at all (either physically or in monetry terms) and Mum was left a single woman raising 3 kids (my older sister had just got married and had a baby). She always went without but worked hard at jobs she hated just so we could have food on the table and a roof over our heads. She paid off her house before retirement and now lives on a small state pension. Since retiring and us all leaving home she has come into her own. There are things I discovered about my Mum that I never knew - she enjoys singing and is now in a choir that performs at events and churches. She enjoys keep fit, crafts and she enjoys traveling. She is a lot more social than I ever thought!

Perhaps it isn't that she's changed just that I see her as a woman rather than just my Mum. It makes me wonder what my kids think of me or how they see me. I admit to not being as selfless as my Mum. I enjoy doing my own thing and enjoy my own time. There are times when I (especially now my 'kids' are older) when I run a bath, shut the door and lock them all out.

SUNDAY POST 2

Darn internet... just when you think it might be working it conks out again.

I'm just going to post a couple of pics taken from my hols - something to tickle the tastebuds. I'll post more later. Have to say that my DD had a thing about animal pictures - there are lots of squirrels and ducks, whereas I had a building thing going on. Oh and a sea thing - lots of beach and wave pics.

Below are a couple of the food pics we took (there are more of these too lol).

Yum! My scone filled with fresh cream. A decadence indeed but one I really get to eat

My daughter's choice. Fresh cream and strawberries. We sat out in the Abbey grounds at Bury St. Edmunds - one of my favourite places to visit.

Sunday...

Ug. I did not miss working on Sundays while I was on my hols!

It's been as hot as ever at work. I was hoping they would have got some sort of air conditioning in my office while I was away, but no such luck! It was almost 100F in there most of the week. Apparently they are 'working on it' - I think that means I might have it by winter! It's a really small office with lots of computer equiptment in it and I can't have the door open as it is the cash office and has the safe in it.

BLOGS - I always feel like we spend loads of money unnecessarily. It seemed that when I wasn't working (or working part-time) we - or perhaps I - was a lot more frugal. I was careful about food buying, careful about spending money and how much bills are. But now it seems that it's not such a concern. I'm not saying we're rich, or my job pays a lot, but we are better off than we have been in the past. Anyway, the point of this rant (yes, there is a point)is that once in a while I like to look for inspiration.

There are so many blogs out there about frugality. I'm not looking to become the next Extreme Couponer but I would like to see how other people save and how they enjoy it. I started off reading one of my favourite blogs http://makinggooduse.typepad.co.uk/making_good_use/ and hitting her favourite blogs. There are lots to pick from! Happily this is an English blogger so makes me feel a little more at home :)

WILL POST MORE LATER - internet is really slow! It's been acting up the last few days.

I'm baaaaccckkk!

It's been a while and I've been...on my hols! I went home to England for three weeks and am now back at work and starting to get in the swing of things. It is definitely NOT fun going back to work - I would have quite happily stayed away. It also wasn't nice to come back to this heat!

Things I loved about my holiday!

* I got to see my Mum. Miss her terribly and treasure the time I have with her.

* GREAT to spend time with my DD. She came with me this year. She will be a senior once school begins. Next year she will be going to college. She's hoping to go to a Uni out of town so we probably won't spend as much time together.

* LOVED being on a regular schedule. By nature I'm a night person and it was lovely to be able to stay up late and get up late in the morning.

I have pics to share and hope to get them up soon.