Northumbria - Vindolanda

 As promised way back in the summer, we made our return trip to the North East yesterday for a one night stop over and a trip to Vindolanda.  There was loads to look at in the museum and we didn't even get chance to see the ruins outside, so I guess there'll be another return trip at some point!  We also stayed at the Youth Hostel known as The Sill  and the accommodation including facilities for self catering as well as onsite food was first class.

Here are some photos of our whistle stop tour:

Not many photos from inside the museum as there was just too much to take in and read.  Unfortunately Pip and I were not feeling well during the museum visit and at one point we both ended up sat on the floor!

A lie down after tea sorted Pip out but no such luck for me and I was dealing with an abnormal heart rhythm long into the night.  I had a similar problem when we were away in Norfolk in the summer, and I reckon it is an ME crash due to pushing through and not being able to rest.  It's not easy being the sole driver and it can often be the case of 'suck it up buttercup' cos nobody else is coming to the rescue!

The shared kitchen and dining area was spacious and yet cosy.  As always we meet some lovely folk to chat to and it makes me think about the Pilgrim stories from The Camino Way.  Folk might travel together for a short time or share stories in the refugio for one night and then move on the next day.  YHA stories are very similar, making connections and moving on, and placing another foot on the pilgrim journey called 'life.'

A farewell to the room.

The view from our bedroom window.

There was an image in the dining room that really spoke to me and prompted a flurry of writing:

From This Far and No Further

' I the wall defend this place,

Across a dizziness of space.

I am controlled a ruled line

Mark of the safe, the sure, the known

I am the edge

The frontier

This is where the world ends:

Here 

Cliff Edge

Hawk-ledge

Fox-ladder

Adder- bed

Thorn-snag

Wind-rip

Rock-ruckle

Rook-castle

Sheep-slip

Stone-dip

Deep-drop

FULL STOP.

 

Katrina Porteous 

Right where I am sitting: Remembering Northumbria

Rolling hills, blue skies and ancient trails.  Stones marched upon and defended; stones prayed upon and those who lie buried.

The wall in honour of Hadrian, a pencil point mark from A to B and years of work, suffering and slavery.  The straight line, the right line, not veering off course and leading to the world's end.  Powerful in its existence, rigid in its entirety and ignoring all the laws of nature!

No walking the wall for me, the last time I walked anywhere of significant distance (8 miles in total) was 36 years ago - twin babies in a pram, tramping over fields and roads.  My heart however still lies in walking and so I look for it in books and images and over the years I've 'travelled' the Camino twice.  Those Pilgrim stories remind me of the Pilgrim Path I walk each day - some days the path is easy and in others I trip, stumble and complain of a metaphorical stone in my shoe!

This week is #InvisibleDisabiltiesAwarenessWeek and anyone looking at me would think, 'what's wrong with her?'  An unpredictable chronic invisible illness is just that and despite feeling ok setting off on our journey yesterday, things changed quite quickly part way through the day.  I have no shame in mitigating symptoms where possible, so spent a lot of time on the museum floor attempting to correct a crazy heart rate and non functioning legs - do what you can, where you can!

Unusually for me I also have a week of slightly bonkers existence so will be dploying my best management tips:  doing the bare minimum in between the craziness, harnessing the wonders of one pot meals and herbal remedies.

Productive Days

 Many, many years ago we used to have Saturday Chore Day and reading Eva's recent posts reminded me of that fact.  I'm very lucky as we have funding for a cleaner due to the combined health issues in the family.  Sammie visits once a week to clean the house from top to bottom and then the kids and I catch up with interim vacuuming, sweeping and turning out a room on a rolling programme basis. 

 On Saturday the bathrooms were cleaned and Pip in particular enjoyed mopping the floors!  The kids vacuumed their bedrooms whilst I sorted the lounge and we all pitched in with hanging out various loads of laundry as it was perfect drying weather.  It was really lovely to work together as a team and to have the satisfaction of all the things ticked off the to-do list 😊

Sadly we missed attending mass in person on Sunday as the car braking system is not working properly.  The foot brake works fine, it's the electronic automatic parking brake system that has failed and so we are home based until Thursday when it goes into the garage.  We made the best of things and the kids helped out painting the side fence whilst I made a cooked lunch.  Our friends Beatrice and David visited for a belated birthday celebration for Dave and we enjoyed Camembert cheese with gluten free crackers followed by home made fruit scones.

I've also been busy in my workroom finishing off some bunting and making a new batch which is Autumn themed.  Our lovely neighbours Paul and Anne run a hedgehog hospital and Pip helps out when needed.  I saw the hedgehog fabric in Aldi a few weeks ago and new instantly what to do with it 😊. 

I just love those colours they definitely shout 'Autumn!'

I hope life is treating you kindly.  Over here in the UK the financial markets are a mess and the big energy firms are now actually warning of potential blackouts due to limited gas supplies.  I was blown away when I saw the price for a bottle of olive oil; what had previously been retailed at £3.50 was now over £5.00 😯.  Due to recent drought conditions in Spain nearly half the olive crops had failed to survive.  The cost of living crisis is very worrying so for the last few weeks we've been buying extra tins, packet items with a long shelf life and cleaning products.  I managed to find some bags of gluten free pasta from Sainsburys that was a very cheap price so I bought several packets.

We are going to try and stave off putting on the central heating so we've made sure that we have plenty of extra quilts/ blankets, hot water bottles, extra layers of clothing and in early November a wood burning stove will be fitted 😊. We had a burner in the last house and it has been sorely missed but the energy crisis and potential blackouts has forced us to act.  All of our cooking facilities run off electric but we have a two ring camping stove in the shed that runs of Calor gas, so that is on standby.  I've also bought extra candles and Dave sourced some really good camp lanterns that run off a battery but can also be charged using a USB connector, should we have designated times of power.  I know it all sounds a bit Armageddon but I'd rather be prepared than have to deal with panic overload when it all goes horribly wrong - remember the loo roll riots of 2020? 🤪