Gardening is Good for Your Health I Keep Telling the Husband

When the green of Spring started showing its first shoots I was over the moon not alarmed. I immediately did my annual purchase of £1 closed daffodils and applauded with glee as they duly opened, taking pics of my kids stood in front of them outdoors at every opportunity. The below pic all of the focus is on Aaron as I was celebrating that he got his reading passport that day - Friday 24th March.

Luckily, despite me no longer buying daffodils - the novelty eventually wore off - Mother's Day yet again means I have a windowsill full of flowers :-)

Daddy may have got up 4 hours later than me. I may have thrown my toys out of the pram sulked, but wow that was a day and a half once it got started (blog post to follow soon). It seems it is way better to have a well rested husband than a grumpy one who got up early to make you breakfast in bed, or.... not!

Alas the hubby isn't half as keen on our floral and green partners in life, as where I see the great outdoors and all its potential for long sunny evenings, all he sees is gardening and that for him is a time sucker.  But what he doesn't take account of are the benefits to his health.

See I watch him when he gardens and he does it like a dance, albeit it a very methodical one. He moves the exterior lights, he moves Aaron's football goal and balls. He moves the swing. He gets his extension lead ready and the gloves and the outdoor refuse sacks and it's like watching a conductor get his orchestra ready and the finale is always a garden that looks the business, even my Dad said so! I can tell he breathes more when he gardens. I can tell he thinks more when he gardens. I can tell his blood pressure goes down when he gardens. He plays music on loud speaker (sorry neighbours) when he gardens. He is in his element. I don't feel sorry for him when he gardens as it's like watcher a painter paint or a musician play. Yeah he reckons he doesn't enjoy it but I beg to disagree. I think he just resents the time he spends out there - well I know he does. But that's because we are time poor. 

Anyway Daddy you now have 2 kids to enjoy your handiwork and they really really do. If you look closely you can see them in the pic above, last Summer. Lottie will enjoy it even more this year now that she's walking. 

Aaron's played footie in the garden every day after school this week. Last week we were in the playground after school every day, but this week rain kept sending us home, but then the evening would brighten up and out Aaron would go. Tonight Lottie and I joined him, after dinner and I swear the fresh air meant they were both asleep earlier than normal. So the garden is good for our health too :-) and you know there is a real issue with vitamin D deficiency in this country and I like to think we get enough time in the sun to prevent it, well at least for one half of the year.

The trouble with our garden is we have two, one front and one back. What didn't help was they both had hedges and they were time consuming, so Daddy exchanged the front hedge for a fence much to my disdain but at least this Summer I'll have a happier Daddy who just has the back hedge and lawn to focus on. 

We haven't actually done our first lawn mow of 2017 yet. The grass is long but not THAT long... it needs a trim rather than a cut. I keep meaning to do it myself as a surprise for Daddy but as we have a patio that I am worried Lottie will climb on and off, haphazardly, I am yet to find a way of doing it unless I put the buggy outside for her afternoon nap one day. Hhhhmmmm decisions decisions....This time last year she was far from walking or crawling for that matter!

I don't envy you though, as the patio needs power washing and sealing again, so maybe I should make sure I do that lawn mowing after all...

I'm looking forward to 7 months of the great outdoors as the good weather is already here and last year we were still spending time in the garden in October:

But really the garden is for the hubby - he loves the shed - and the kids. There isn't anything for me out there, even though I adore hanging out washing and the thrill of bringing it in dry. I am yet to do that in 2017. To be honest I am not as excited as usual as I am worried about Lottie falling off the edge of the patio, so I won't be able to turn my back on her to hang washing out, unless she gets even more steady on her feet than she already is, and gets a sense of danger, a bit less fearless!

What I'd really love is one of those she-sheds or whatever they are called. You know the ones where you can wallpaper them and have a kettle, books and an armchair.  For me though I wouldn't just want a conversion of our shed I'd want a proper Summerhouse and I know just the spot. In the pic above you can see our shed and to the right of it there is just a neglected vegetable patch. That is where my outdoor home could live. My lil nook to get away from it all! I could serve the family chilled drinks from there while I read a book and put my feet up as they play - in my dreams. I'd love to choose one of the summerhouses from GBC. Ah wouldn't that just be bliss. Do you have one? It's good to have a dream of what one's chillout space could look like. All winter I've been planning where I would love to have a desk, inside, now it's time for outdoor dreams.

Going on a Walking Adventure Ends up a Hiking Adventure

Now the sun is out to play, Aaron and I are back in the great outdoors. I don't drive, so when Daddy is at work, it means A LOT of time on my feet. We walk for miles sometimes and have done since he was born - I don't know HOW my buggy lasted through all the many long adventures it went on. All the walking keeps him slim. He has bucket loads of energy and stamina. I'm really not sure where my *coughs* healthy figure comes from, given the miles I walk. Clearly I need to change my diet, but I know this...

I've had what I thought was gout for the past year, and I have now had it confirmed by about 4 different people that it is definitely plantar fasciitis. I got flip flops the other day, the German cork soled ones... you know the ones that begin with B. They are great and don't seem to aggravate my bad foot at all. BUT they have given me a blister on my bunion.

But when Aaron goes off the beaten path (i.e. hiking) as he did just yesterday in the picture you see above, Mummy can't really follow him in these (below)... and given we have an upcoming trip to Wales, it is time to look for the correct walking attire. Looks like I can stay "in the pink" AND these are affordable:

I don't want to miss out on great views just because my footwear isn't safe enough or practical enough to get to great heights. Views like this are worth hiking for. Another pic from yesterday:

Yesterday, he had as much fun climbing on the rocks as he did playing in the playground adjacent to it. Would have loved to follow him up here but I am not really steady on my feet, even more so in incorrect footwear so I watched. But watching him happy and free range is a complete joy!

The thing I love about hiking boots is the ankle support that they provide, which I am really lacking at the moment. Having plantar fasciitis and walking cautiously and tentatively for a year has made my ankles really really weak! The above Jack Wolfskin ones seem good and high too - just what I need, and they stop just before my fat calves start ha ha!

Great thing about ordering these hiking boots from Cotswold Outdoor is:

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If money was no object though, I would get these Salomon Women's Comet 3D Hiking Boots. Having worked in footwear for 6 years, I know firsthand how necessary it is to have Gore-tex when walking in the British climate! Breathable but guaranteed to keep you dry!

And of course you CAN go trekking in sandals - such as these Jack Wolfskins - as long as you have the right support - the sort of sandal that can be adjusted in three places: heel, ankle and toes. That means you can jog along, without any slippage. Great security for 360 degree movements.

Hopefully, with the right footwear I can keep up with Aaron and he won't be a dot in the distance like this:

Do you go on long walks trekking, hiking or trailing? What do you wear?

I am sure the road ahead contains lots of adventures for Aaron and I, given the pace at which he attacks life. I want to be right there by his side for all of it

And that means losing some weight and getting fit, just as much as wearing the right thing on my feet!

Bye for now, Liska xxx

Collaboration with Cotswold Outdoor.

Trees, Open Air and Inspiration

So Aaron and I spent Saturday afternoon Easter weekend, looking at trees, on a Tree Walk in Hampstead Heath courtesy of Zoe Hind and Laura Daligan.  They are both experts in their field so it was a really enjoyable day.  Zoe has read my tarrot and done my Astrological reading several times.  She has a great >> site if you want to read your stars.  It was nice to "meet" her Saturday as all of the readings have been via Skype.

Aaron didn't enjoy it as much as I thought he would as he was cold and tired, but he is ordinarily an outdoor boy so we will be going back.

Before he got cold and tired this is how much fun he was having:

If anyone reading this is interested, I am going to run a Mums yoga stress buster class on the Heath in April.

Kids are welcome and we won't be sitting cross legged.  Simply going through meditation, mantra and breathing techniqies, that are great to fit in with being a busy Mum, proof of which will be that we can do them on the heath even with kids with us.

If this first one goes well I will make it a regular thing.

Let me know if you are interested.

Liska xx