A Whirlwind!

Well, hello my Friends!

I can't begin to tell what a whirlwind of a time I've had!  First of all,  Very Early Retirement, which was emotional, exhilarating, humbling from all the good wishes, cards and gifts, and above all just plain Weird!

We then went straight into final wedding preparations, and were married just over a week later!  What a wonderfully happy day we had, with our nearest and dearest in a country house hotel.  I wanted to write about that first, but we haven't got the official photos yet, so will do things in a back to front order and tell you a bit about our honeymoon.

We travelled down to Cornwall, and set up our temporary cosy nest in a beautifully secluded cottage not far from Fowey.  It was so quiet and restful, just what we wanted.  The only noise at night was the hooting of the owl in the garden.  By day we had fabulous views from our enclosed terrace - ideal for Daisy Dog, who had joined us, of course!

The nearest seaside town, Fowey (pronounced to rhyme with Joy) was a delight. We had been there before but never in such good weather. We spent a long time just sitting by the harbour, watching the little boats and ferries coming and going, and just enjoying the holiday atmosphere of the place.

One of our favourite National Trust properties was close by, Lanhydrock, and we visited twice during the week.  Although Daisy isn't allowed in the house and garden, there are acres upon acres of parkland for her to run around in and she had a wonderful time!  Lanhydrock also allow dogs into the ground floor of the café and so we whiled away a pleasant hour with pasties and pots of tea.

Cornwall, of course, is renowned for its beaches and we visited several.  One of our favourites was Lansallos, which was an adventurous half mile walk from the National Trust car park in the village. It was like a hidden, secret cove and despite being the middle of the school holidays it was very peaceful.  We packed a picnic and spent a few hours there, chatting, relaxing, paddling and I also did some Beach Knitting!  

Maybe less well known is how many beautiful gardens there are to visit in Cornwall.  The most famous of which is the Eden Project, a magical place created from a barren landscape, now comprising of two biodomes (a tropical rainforest dome and a Mediterranean dome) as well as lovely gardens to walk around.  They promote good stewardship of the earth and its resources, as well as preserving the rainforests, recycling and living in a more 'green' way.  We had a lovely day and wore out feet out!

We also visited a couple of smaller gardens, privately owned, which were a delight to explore.  Our favourite was Marsh Valley Garden. It was a really hot day when we visited, and I had fortunately thought when we were packing to put in the wedding umbrella I had bought 'just in case', as I used it very successfully as a parasol!  It was so successful I may launch a one-woman campaign to bring back parasols, as I for one can't bear being in the sun for very long at all, probably due in part to being so fair!  Anyway, I got a lot of use from my parasol, and even a few compliments!

All too soon our honeymoon in Cornwall was over and it was time to come home and start married life in all its domesticity, which I  must say is pretty wonderful.  I did read somewhere, however, that any holiday taken in the first year of marriage is considered a honeymoon, so we are already planning our next 'honeymoon' adventure!

Now that I am officially retired, I will have so much more time for my creative life and that extends to my blog too!  I'll be back soon!!  

Donna x