Imagine it.

Remember my friend? (how could you not, the post is only about 4 back, such is my blogging prowess these days)

She got married. It was beautiful.

Herself and her husband run a group providing a fresh perspective on life, positive help for anyone who wants it, and embracing and experiencing everything that comes in their path. If you want to be a part of it, you can go to their facebook page, their website, and sometimes through Vikis blog. (they even do wristbands, if you need a positive thinking stocking filler!

Tonight, all their friends and family are having a push to get their ethos out there to build support for the community they are creating, which is why I'm bombarding you with links. Tomorrow, those of you who read wedding blogs, may notice her face pop up again. I know I've asked it before, but shes worth repeating myself for. If you can, If you want to, go, visit, talk, support. anything you feel like doing.

Thank you.

Poppies

(Viki and I on the ullswater steamer this spring. )

I've had this post in draft for a week now, trying to work out how to introduce a friend of 20 years without sounding trite or sappy. But really, it doesn't matter what I say, just that I say it. So go read vikis blog, she's just started. And it's well worth reading.

credit where credits due, pt 2

In praise of friends.
Little did I think when I started this blog 18 months ago, that I would make what i hope are lasting friendships from it.
This little space was created after spending several weekends completely immersed in the world of wedding blogs, seeing the relationships that formed, the supportive comments, and the brilliant ideas in weddings which were oh SO different to the ones in magazines.
Of course, I wanted in on all that fun. I hoped that people would pop by and comment, like what I was doing. I wanted it as an outlet for the ideas I was having, rather than constantly bombarding my mum and lovely bridesmaid with emails.
And you came, and you commented, and you were lovely. Occasionally you would email, and slowly relationships started to grow.
One day I met one of you, bizarrely we went ring shopping together. If it weren't for this meeting, I wouldn't have the wedding ring I wear today.
Then a while later, another lady emailed, asking about a group meet. So 5 of us met, in Edinburgh (I love that because of these ladies I get posh days out to Edinburgh :) drank coffee, smelt tea, ate cake, and laughed.
We've met again, with the addition of another, and I count all of them amongst my friends. Oddly, for people I haven't known that long, I feel like they can read me like a book. Maybe I wear my heart on my sleeve, maybe I am an open book, or maybe we were meant to meet, who knows?
You may notice us, babbling on twitter (sorry! We're that loud group in the corner).
But it's not only these ladies who've commented, who have read my ramblings. I wanted to say thank you to you all.
The ladies who write about their life in London, sometimes with forays abroad.
The ladies who married before me, marching on into married life.
The ladies who moved country to live with their husbands, to Italy, to America.
Ladies with beautiful children, who take beautiful photos.
Ladies who got married after me, in the snow.
A Lady who got married the same day as me
A lady who makes wonderful driftwood sculptures.
A lady who takes gorgeous photos, and had the most colourful wedding ever!
(every link is a different blogger, do click through to them all)
And lastly, (but definitely not least) to the real life friends. Not many of them know about this space, but I'll thank those that do anyway.
To Andi, and Kathryn, for funny twitter conversations, and just for being good friends. (and for a recent pretty awesome birthday present which I'll show you soon)
My bridesmaids - my 'sister', oldest friend, and best friend. Thank you all for being beside me when I got married :)
Only one of you reads this, and I hope you don't mind me 'outing' you, but thank you for being with me through nearly all of the wedding planning, for giving me a kick up the proverbial when I needed it, for organising a brilliant hen, and for being beside me as I got married. I should probably also thank your husband (!) for not only being our wedding entertainment, but also the entertainment (purely musical I assure you) at my hen.

Thanks to all of you, and I hope you'll stick along for the ride with me.

liberation

I never told you about lovely bridesmaid and I taking an unplanned trip to 'liberate' some slate from the Lakes. because its a naughty thing to do.

We had gone out from the day to woolfest, yes, thats right, woolfest. next week I go to potfest, twice. its a crazy place, Cumbria. After we had dragged ourselves away from all the wool, we went for lunch at a pub that lovely bridesmaids sister manages, and realised that we were halfway to one of the places on my list of things to do which we were planning to come back to in a few weeks time. I love killing several birds with one stone!

After lunch, we set off on a further tour of the lake district, to one of the scariest rides my little car has ever done, via a tour of my bridesmaids own wedding day. I wasn't at this wedding, as we had lost touch at this point, but she got married in a beautiful tiny church nestled in between hills, with a reception in the village hall afterwards. They had photos taken in the nearby bluebells where her husband originally proposed, and more photos in (yes IN) the lake opposite. I had never been to any of these places before, and they were all on the way to our final destination of near car death, so we had a couple of stop offs in beautiful scenery.

the path up to the bluebells

Crummock water - I have a picture of her in the lake on a rock she stood on in her wedding dress!

Then we headed on to the place which shall remain nameless, but very steep. I should point out that my dear little car, is 11, was born in the fens (well, not born, its a hyundai, but you know, lived) and is still somewhat reticent to attempt a good hill. So just after stopping for a drink/icecream (us, not the car), to see a sign saying 20% INCLINE or something to that effect, struck terror into my heart. However, it pootled on up, and about halfway up we stopped for a 'wander'. While on this wander, we encountered sheep that look like rocks. They creep up behind you and listen to your conversations.

can you see the sheep? THERE ARE THREE.

Anyway, after much shenanigans, we managed to liberate enough slate for my table numbers. There was a point, near the top of the hill, where my car almost started rolling back down again, but it made it. The other side was far scarier,many more bends, and steeper inclines, but we made it.

When I got home that evening, I rang James, and said
'we did the scary hill' (obviously I said the real name)
'HOW?!'
'in first gear.'
cue much laughing from him, and later everyone in the pub I suspect, when he told them. Incidentally, everyone there just said I was 'tidying up' by taking a bit of slate. they do seem to have rather a lot...

image via weheartit

At the risk of sounding like I'm copying other beautiful ladies, I can't let today pass without saying that the lovely R becomes a MRS today! A year ago, we'd never spoken, never heard of each other, but shes become a very lovely supportive lady to me, and I want to wish her every happiness today, and for the rest of her life with O. She really is a darling!

Congratulations to you both, I can't wait to hear about it all afterwards.

once more with feeling....

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!