Thursday, September 20, 2007

Back To Reality!

With a bump! A huge laundry shaped bump at that!

I love holidays. All that relaxation, sunshine, eating good food cooked by someone else, the odd glass of wine................fantastic!

But then you come home, empty the suitcases, and the laundering marathon begins.
I wouldn't have thought that so many loads of washing could fit into two suitcases! My carbon footprint went up a few sizes as I ploughed through it all.
And then just as I thought the end was in sight, dear daughter decided to clean her room and hey presto, the washing basket was overflowing again. Nice to be home!

We had a fab holiday in Zakynthos. It was lovely to go away as a family again after a few years just me and Ian. I would like to think they came because they wanted to spend some time with their parents, but I strongly suspect that the offer of a free holiday was the motivation!

We stayed in a quiet resort called Alikanas on the East of the island. Our hotel was beautiful, right on the beach but not too far to the restaurants and tavernas.



Apart from stuffing our faces, we had some lovely walks on the beach and even ventured into the sea for some snorkelling. Some of the fish were amazing, and I was surprised how big some of them were so close to the shore.

I took loads of photos, which I won't bore you with, but at one end of the bay was a small harbour and when we walked there, I saw this old deckchair under a rusting parasol that was covered in netting and I couldn't resist taking a picture.


I could just imagine an old fisherman sitting here, after the days catch had been brought ashore.


On holiday,I really enjoyed watching Tom and Kate in the pool, relaxed and laughing and just enjoying themselves generally.


Kate took a shine to an inflatable turtle, and was determined to sit on it. The resulting 20 mins was hilarious, she wouldn't give in and finally succeeded!



I managed to read a few books while I was there, some were from the Richard and Judy Book club list, which I enjoy trying, just to read books by authors I wouldn't otherwise choose. Some were better than others, but it was nice to read a book in big chunks rather than just a few pages at bedtime!

I did take some knitting on holiday, but didn't do too much. I'm knitting one of those string type bags, hopefully to reduce the number of plastic carrier bags I use. The name of the pattern escapes me but it's a simple 4 line pattern. I'm using some DK cotton from the stash that I'd forgotton about.



Since getting back, I've also done a bit more spinning of the Gotland I bought at Woolfest. It's the first longer stapled fleece I've spun and I'm enjoying the challenge! I'm still tending to spin too finely and seem to have to really concentrate to make a thicker yarn. But it's nice to get back to the wheel!



I'm also looking forward to catching up on everyones blogs! Is it just me who feels that the days are just too short? So much to do, too little time! Back to reality!!




17 comments:

Ambermoggie, a fragrant soul said...

yeah welcome back and glad you had a good holiday:)

Claire said...

Welcome back - love the photographs - especially the one of the chair and parasol - it's very atmospheric.
I like the idea of the net bag, too (I feel a moment of being enabled coming on here). I think I saw a pattern for a similar one in a magazine I have (scurries off to dig in the pile)...

kathryn said...

Sounds like a lovely holiday - Richard and Judy books are great for holidays! And I really love the photo with the parasol. It reminds me of that artist whose name escapes me but who is famous for his sea pictures and who lives on the Scillys (I think).

Looking forward to seeing your string bag and if you can remember the pattern name....

kathryn said...

PS Just remembered..John Miller

SueJ said...

Great pictures, sounds like a super holiday! Net bag..... hmm, send for 'Ravelry' there is bound to be a pattern in there!

Artis-Anne said...

Aw :) welcome back and so glad you had a great time away and fantastic photos of the 'young adults' too and that parasol one, just HAD to be taken didn't it ?
Our hols seem so far away now and I ready for another which will be in October for us .
Great bit of spinning you have done there and I do love Gotland; Tony has just gone back to spinning his after a long absence and I keep having a go !!

Artis-Anne said...

Ooops just realized that you have posted on my blog !! Thanks for the compliments hun especially the 'slim' one LOL You are a friend for life ;-)

Sarah said...

Welcome home, sounds like a lovely time :) Great photos and glad you squeezed some knitting in.

Piglottie said...

Welcome back - looks like you had a wonderful holiday. And the nights are drawing in very quickly now.

blog-blethers said...

Beautiful pictures of sunny climes! I know what you mean about laundry when you get home:( I'm not going to focus on that though as I'm just about to start packing for us heading off to Greek isles too!

dreamcatcher said...

Welcome back, looks like a fab holiday!

I intend to make at least one of those string bags too, they look great and definitely save on the dreaded plastic basg!

Curly Cable said...

Welcome back, sounds like the perfect family holiday. Sunshine, good food, wine and lots of laughter, what more can anyone ask for ;) I love your holiday photo's, the parasol and deckchair looks so tranquil, wish I was there. Your Net bag sounds like a great idea, perfect for using odd balls from stash.

RoxyK said...

Oh yes, the downside to holidays lol!

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I really enjoyed Kefalonia this year. The greeks are wonderful aren't they?

Love the string bag. Added that to my ever growing Ravelry queue!

Kath said...

Welcome Back! Sounds like you had a great time - no wonder the days seem short to you after coming back from sunny Greece to gloomy Britain with the nights drawing in! Sensible idea those string bags - might actually tru rooting out some string to make one with -will it be stronger?!

Hellbelle said...

Holiday sounds great. Am very jealous!

The bag is a pretty colour.

Ang said...

oooh, sounds like you had a fantastic holiday. I love that photo with the parasol too. Nice and serene.
I know what you mean about the days are too short...definitely!

I love the bag idea, might have to jump onto that wagon! Oh and thanks for the comment on my blog.

Glenda Waterworth said...

I too have that large laundry mountain after my trip away and there's only two of us! I saw an American laundry room on a blog recently - two washing machines and two dryers! Now why didn't I think of that!

Looks like you all had a lovely relaxing holiday - hope the batteries are fully recharged and looking forward to seeing you soon.