Day trip to the Lake District

It seems to have been all doom and gloom recently, my friend with the pancreatic cancer passed away quietly this week.  My other friend with the spinal cancer has lost the use of his arms and legs and is now in a hospice.   We definitely needed cheering up so we set off yesterday for a day in Windermere.  Actually we've booked a cottage for a week at the end of April and we thought we'd try and find out where it was.  As usual we went via Ullswater and what a difference from the last time we traversed this road earlier this year.

This was February when the lake rose well above the retaining wall on the roadside and flooded the road.

You can see from this photo just how high the lake has risen.   Yesterday, despite a cold wind, it was sunny and the ducks were enjoying having their photos taken.

I love the view down Ullswater toward Skidaw and Patterdale.
We'd stopped at Rheged for morning coffee and a look round the boutiques.  Bought some bits and pieces in the Paper Shed and sweeties to keep us going until lunchtime.

We had lunch overlooking Winderemere, fed the ducks, walked along the lake shore.   The sun had gone in by this time so we headed up to Lakeland Plastics to see what they had new (I simply cannot go to the Lakes without calling into Lakeland Plastics).  Several pounds later we headed off to find our holiday cottage.   Its about a mile outside of Windermere but has a lovely view over the lake.   The cottage was occupied by holiday makers when we got there and we didn't like to intrude but we were quite pleased with where it was and how it looked.   Looking forward to going there on the 22nd.  

Got home to find that the two books I had ordered from D4Daisy had arrived and I'm wondering where I can get Keith to put me up another bookshelf.

Hmm might have to work on him a bit. 

I've made a start on my entry for Reticule's Summer Exhibition to raise money for breast cancer.   I was sent a pack of pink  Texere Yarns and I've used my embellisher to felt them to some wadding.   My next step is to make it into a small evening purse.  I hope to finish it off either tomorrow or Monday.  I need a shade of ribbon I don't have so may have to go into town to buy some.  I'll post pictures when I've finished.