Sturdy Birds!

While many of my bear artist friends are busy preparing for the Hugglets show in a few weeks time, I confess I have been enjoying a little break from my bear making of late.  With the help of my family, our wedding preparations are now in full flow and we are counting down to the big day in a haze of pva glue, string, hessian and heaven only knows what else .. we've been having plenty of creative fun outdoors, that much I do know!

And in the midst of such creative madness, I seem to have become strangely obsessed with orange and peach nail polish - not that I have much left in the way of elegant finger nails, but I'm hoping they'll grow back quickly so I won't be shamed during the exchange of wedding rings!  (By the way, who would have thought choosing the perfect nail colour could be so complicated?  There are an impossible number of shades and I just can't make up my addled bridal mind!)

Me 'n Miss Marple

After so much wedding planning, Stuart and I were both feeling the urge to clear heads and exercise legs on Sunday, so we dusted off our bikes and trundled over to Oaken Wood in Barming, which is about a ten minute ride from home.  The terrain probably wasn't best suited to my ladylike 'Miss Marple' who, quite frankly, prefers a nice smooth stretch of tarmac; nevertheless, we bounced and rattled our way along gravel pathways and woodland trails, quite happily lagging behind Stuart, who reverted to his inner child, having a lovely time sloshing his sturdy mountain bike through muddy puddles!

Urgh! That ain't no way to treat a lady!

He's off!

Every so often Sir Galahad (aka Stuart) would realise he could no longer hear the ol' lady bike clanking along behind him and would dutifully return on his trusty charger to find us ... and there we'd be, gasping for breath at the foot of a slight incline!

My Sir Galahad!

I've fast reached the conclusion, I'm not built for hills and neither is my rather heavy, steel framed, 'Dawes Duchess' cycle!

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

No matter though, because we sturdy birds do whizzing downhill rather well ... wheeeeeee!!!!!

Homeward bound: shake, rattle 'n roll Miss Marple, for across that field lies my kettle!

I think it's fair to say, me 'n Miss Marple are never likely to win an Olympic gold and yes, perhaps a mountain bike (cover your ears Miss Marple!) would have been the more sensible cycle selection for such woodland trailing - after all, skinny biscuit wheels don't provide quite as much security whilst cycling over tree roots, as one might perhaps prefer.  However!  When all is said and done, it simply can't be denied that 'Miss Marple' does have a comfy sprung saddle large enough to cosset the wobbliest of bottoms, not to mention her tinkly bell for muddy puddle emergencies and of course, the most sensible and handiest of baskets emminently suited to taking care of tool kits (not that I would know what to do with one - hence the bell to call Stuart back) woolly pullies, sucky sweets and ... even a lip gloss should I so require!