So much to say...

Where to start?  I've got a bigger-than-ever backlog of photos which are supposed to be going on this (and the other) blog(s).  I'll start with these ones:

It's yet another trip to the ever-delightful Calke Abbey.  (We're saving a fortune by being National Trust members!)  In fact, I think there might even be pictures of this stump elsewhere on this blog - I know it's a favourite.
This time, however...

 We went for the humour...

 Pretty deep, this hole ... going ...

 ... going ...

 ... gone ... (well, almost!)

Then Joshua took a couple of pics.  I think this is my fave:

Me and my lovely lady wife.  Ok, so the picture's not exactly straight, but it's a nice corner of the gardens that we'd never been to before.   And there aren't many such corners left, given our frequent trips!
More pics and news later...

Fun weekend.

Well, I say fun, but it would have been funner if it had involved more sleep.
First, Joshua and I decided to pop to Cambridge (well, I decided - he didn't get much say in the matter!) to see our niece/cousin. Sadly, boy fell asleep on the journey down and thus refused to go to sleep properly at bedtime. Then, didn't sleep properly, woke me more than once, and generally deprived me of my human right to sleep. (I should speak with a UN representative - isn't there some sort of law about not torturing people by depriving them of sleep?) Then, on the journey back up, he was so tired, having not slept properly the night before, that he (you've probably guessed already) fell asleep in the car. That led to another night of not going to sleep 'til about 10.30, and another night of daddy ending up somewhat grumpy.
Thankfully, tonight he was out at about 7.00.
BUT that's a distraction anyway, Cambridge was fab (although I didn't get much sleep, but perhaps I'd mentioned that...) and it was a delight to see the gorgeous addition to the family. (No pics without parents' permission!).
We even went to Wimpole for a quick look around the gardens. Lovely time, and a very impressive pumpkin and squash display. (Photos on camera, not phone, and camera's downstairs, so you'll have to wait...)
Then today was a 'day off' and we went to Calke. Again :) It was Fine Food Fair day today (Fine was a description of the food, not the weather, which was, on the contrary, anything but fine!)
Lovely time, and we saw some of their pumpkins too.
Now, you're probably thinking that their pumpkins are somewhat more impressive than mine. And you'd be right. In fact, some of my pumpkins haven't even exceeded the size of your average apple yet... But, when you take into account the amount of bed space they have there, and the number of volunteers tending the gardens, then it's a whole different league. (That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!)
In fact, this second picture gives you a good idea of the bed space. I just can't compete with that... Well, not without a lot of back-breaking digging, anyway!
Anyhow, it was nice to get out for a bit. We watched UP when we got home. Nice film, if a bit sad at the start...
And now I'm ready to go to bed. Maybe I'll leave it until after 8.30. Just seems a little more ... uh ... grown up.

A little trip out.

Bit of a random post, but hey.
We went to Calke Abbey a while back. It's ten minutes down the road and our regular visits make our National Trust membership worthwhile! Anyways, we took Granny and Pops, and had a nice wander around the gardens and a picnic. This time, for the first time, we went to see the ice house. Basically the oldy worldy version of a freezer, though you didn't plug it in, you collected ice in the winter to fill it with, and kept it nice a chilly for as long as the ice lasted! Pretty natty. Here are a couple of pics:
This first one is looking into the ice house from above (there were kinda skylight holes)

The second one is obviously looking up from inside! (I put the camera phone through the bars to take the first one, if you're wondering!)
Pretty cool.

Not only did we 'find' the ice house on this trip (it's a little way beyond the gardens and we'd never bothered going that far - lazy, I know!) we also came across a hide! Some bloke built it with donated materials and you can watch birdies from it (and deer, if you open the side window).
Here are some deer (though not seen from the hide) and a small boy who seemed quite happen to frighten them off!
Perhaps I should just point out that he's wearing 'short-trousers' it's not just that we haven't bought him any clothes for months...

But perhaps the most exciting thing was this:
Joshua was allowed to ride on the buggy with Granny and Pops AND he got the front seat AND the lovely man who was driving let him press the button on the remote to open the gate at the end of the drive! What a lucky boy! He doesn't look thrilled in this picture, but he was really :) Daddy did still manage to beat them up the hill, but felt a little worse for wear afterwards...

And here are my fave photos from the day: