Walking on Wednesday

What a beautiful morning it was, crisp blue sky, perfect for walking.  I managed to get a load of washing on the line before I set off.  We walked 9 km today, so feel pretty proud of myself (this is without the extra dog walk I do).  

It was a really pleasant walk today, avoiding most roads, and mainly over fields, but with proper footpaths, so not too muddy which was nice, especially after the heavy downpours we had yesterday.

On the first Wednesday of each month the walking group finish up at one of the local churches that holds a coffee morning.  I had a really lovely cup of green and lemon tea, a brand I hadn't tried before.  Wish I'd taken note of what it was called as it really was tasty.  I allowed myself one small home cooked square of cake as a treat.  It was just over an inch square, so basically two small bite sizes, but just enough as a treat. 

These were just outside the church and looked gorgeous.

My husband and I then went out to the local garden centre for lunch, as they do a roast dinner on Wednesdays.  We will have a light salad for tea.  I prefer having a larger meal in the middle of the day as my digestion seems to cope better with it.

A spot of shopping then needed to be done as it is our younger son's 23rd birthday on Sunday and our older son who is currently away at sea asked us if we could get something from him for his brother.  He has bought him a pair of trainers (fortunately our younger son wears the same size and style of shoe all the time in part due to his Autism so it was easy to get them) and a pair of jogging bottoms and zippered hoodie top, whatever you call them.  

I have been wanting a new pair of trainers for general walking as the trainers I have just make my feet hurt.  I did get my feet measured up in a specialist shop in our little town, and I tried on a pair of trainers that felt pretty good....until they told me the price; £225!  I nearly fell over backwards.  Needless to say our budget doesn't run to this kind of expense.  I thought while we were in the shop getting our son's footwear I would see if they had anything that might suit me.  I do have a proper pair of walking boots that I got just before I went to NZ, but don't want to have to wear those every time I go out walking especially if just walking on footpaths.  I was pleased to find a pair of Karrimor multisport footwear reduced to a mere £32.99 which is a much more sensible price and being waterproof they will suit my needs much more.  

I wore them out when walking the dogs this afternoon and can report that so far they seem really good.  They are also very lightweight which for me is always a thumbs up.

In the factory shopping complex where we got the footwear there is also a Hospice shop and a Free Book Shop.  We always like to pop in both of those to see if there is anything on our wish list or otherwise.

I was immediately attracted to this wool checked jacket which was in the men's section, but was clearly a woman's jacket.  I tried it on and it fitted nicely.  It will make a nice warm jacket to wear when out walking when I don't need a waterproof jacket.  

I spotted this lovely Denby mug at a really good price, and with it having a little wren on it, I just had to have it.  I can now get rid of at least one of the chipped mugs in our cupboard.  

Oh and I forgot to show this pretty little picture frame that I picked up in the charity shop yesterday.  I will probably use this as gift - putting a photo or picture inside.

I picked up three books from the Free Book place, and plan to go back with a bag of books to give to them.  These three all have a nature theme to them.  

A small paperback of this popular book.  Such lovely inspirational illustrations.  I do have a hardback copy somewhere but I think it must be packed up as a lot of our books are.

I love reading Derek Tangye, and don't have this one, especially in hardback so pleased with this.

This looked interesting so just added it to the pile.

All in all a good day.

Tomorrow I will go through my shoes and bag up any that are good enough to go to the charity shop.  I have tried various different trainers and footwear over the last few years so have quite a few that just aren't suitable.  I have been going through the them the last few weeks wearing them out walking to see how they are, and so far almost all had failed the test, hence needing a new pair.  I also will package up some books ready to take to the free book place and go through my jackets/coats to see if I have any that can go to the charity shop.  I did this earlier in the year, so I may not, but I will re-visit this task now that the colder weather is upon us.  It was only 6 degrees Celsius when I woke up this morning and the low of today is predicted to be 2!