Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - September, 11-30

Hi there everyone 😀
We are just back from the loveliest three weeks spent on the Isle of Wight. It was a bit of an experiment as we've never been away for that long before, but it definitely all worked out well.

We had a week of absolutely glorious weather, sunshine, blue skies, picnics on the beach and definitely short wearing weather, followed by two weeks that were a bit mixed, but we managed to dodge the rain and still got to spend plenty of time out and about.

We spent our first week exploring more off the beaten track places, a lot of which were new to us. The second week mum and dad joined us and we did all the popular sites and we spent the third week just bitting and bobbing about, looking for good places to sit and do the crossword over lunch.

We are now pretty much back down to earth with a bang as Martin was back at work this morning and I have lots of catching up to do ... with everything 🙈

Autumn is always a busy one for us ... lots of birthdays, another week away, a few days out planned, trying to finish off all that needs doing in the garden, a couple of craft fairs to prepare for and then the festive season will be upon us and that will be another year over.

I've loads to share with you about our time on the Isle of Wight, I will probably bore you to tears, but for now ... here is the rest of our September ...

Day 11 - After a very busy day in the garden yesterday we had a nice slow day today. It was a lovely afternoon and I am really chuffed with how the honesty, that I planted from seed ready for next year, is doing.

Day 12 - I actually got round to giving my houseplants a bit of a spruce up today and they are actually all looking pretty healthy at the moment.

Day 13 - We were feeling so organised ... ready for heading off for three weeks to the Isle of Wight tomorrow ... a takeaway for tea and the first of the new series Temple on the TV ... hard to think of anything other than Kingsman when watching Mark Strong though. Finally got round to photographing my latest taggy blankets.

Day 14 - Our first view of The Needles on the most glorious of days on our trip back over to the Isle of Wight, where we would be spending the next three weeks 😀

Day 15 - The first full day of our holiday and just look at that sky ... just perfect 🌞

Day 16 - Another full day out and about exploring the coast of West Wight ... I loved the old pier at Totland Bay.

Day 17 - Yet another glorious day. I loved this wooden archway which I spotted from the road. We just had to park up and take a closer look. This photo also ended up being features on the 'Visit Isle of Wight' Facebook page in their weekly top 10 photos ... that was pretty cool 😎

Day 18 - We were both so proud of ourselves today ... we walked up to the Tennyson Monument on the top of the downs. It was a grueller, but it was most definitely worth it ... the views were amazing.

Day 19 - Today we stopped in the little village of Brighstone, which we had driven through a few times. It was a real treat ... pretty thatched cottages, a weekly craft sale in the village hall, a lovely little church, the 'dragon' tree and lots of very friendly people.

Day 20 - Today we headed east and explored Culver Down, somewhere Martin had found on the OS map. It was fascinating, with old batteries, monuments and fantastic views of the mainland and along the coast to Sandown.

Day 21 - We found the most perfect lunch spot on our wanderings along the coast at Ryde, where we had our first lunch out of the holiday.

Day 22 - We had the first bit of rain today, but it brightened up enough for us to get out to explore Haven Street station this afternoon. It was a real treat with a cheese and cider festival in full swing and plenty of other things to look at. 

Day 23 - I just love this view of the Bembridge life boat station from the beach ... I love the colours and the moody skies.

Day 24 - Mum and dad arrived today ... in pouring rain. We met them at the ferry and fortunately the sun did put in an appearance later on for their first afternoon on the island.

Day 25 - A real pop of colour at the Ventnor Botanical Gardens

Day 26 - Mum and dad headed off to Osborne House for the day and Martin and I had a gentle potter about before spending the afternoon just chilling out back at the cottage where I managed to get just a little bit closer to finishing my crocheted blanket, which has been two years in the making so far.

Day 27 - We saw the most perfect end to end rainbow over the sea on our drive along the coast today ... sadly, it was a bit tricky to photograph because of where we were but even if the photo isn't perfect, the rainbow certainly was 🌈

Day 28 - There were 50mph winds up on top today, but I can never imagine tiring of this view.

Day 29 - It was a bit of a wet and grey one today but it was national get outside day today so we did. We took a ride to Quarr Abbey for a bit of a wander.

Day 30 - Mum and dad's last full day and we couldn't let their visit pass without a visit to Mottistone Gardens, which have plenty of colour, even on the greyest of days.

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