It was more than all white!

Oh dear, my puns are getting worse! But I did see a heck of a lot of snow over Friday and Saturday, as well as being in Yorkshire, the white rose county of course.

Friday (at least here) was bone chillingly cold and I stopped off at the shops before I got to the railway station to get myself a warm hat....I looked ridiculous, but my head and my ears were warm. I thought I'd pose in it when I got home from church today.......

 .....so you could have a titter at my expense!

Anyway, armed with woolly hat, scarf, gloves and fleecy jacket I made the journey over to Hessle - it was a rather more complicated trip than it should have been due to the derailed train that had burst into flames in Manchester last week causing lots of disruption to the routes. Thankfully, nobody was hurt in that incident, but there's been quite a lot of track damage I think.

I didn't take my camera this weekend as I was quite loaded up, but I was really wishing that I had as the views from the train were fantastic. All the train journeys through Yorkshire are spectacular anyway, but with the deep snow it was all the more enchanting. I would have liked a picture of the two huge snowmen in a field, each wearing a traffic cone hat!

Once I reached Hessle I checked into my B&B which was a lovely country house. I wandered into the village to get a bite to eat - I must admit that I wasn't too keen on having to cross the footbridge over the motorway - makes me shudder to think of it...I almost had to close my eyes when the lorries were whizzing by below me! I was a little early for any of the restaurants but I found a pub that was serving food. I'm not a pub fan at the best of times, but being female and alone in a pub is not my favourite thing at all. I was all set to just eat my meal quietly and go, but I was chatted up (!) by one of the locals! No matter what I said he didn't take the hint, so I had to endure his company whilst I ate and then make my excuses and a sharp exit! Guaranteed to give one indigestion! And no, I wasn't wearing the hat!

Next morning I made my way to Studio Craftique which is a new shop, opened by Amanda and her husband just three weeks ago. I was made really welcome...including by Bobby, their gorgeous five month old black labrador (who took off with my hat at the end of the day!!). Hello to all the ladies, as well as a few men and some youngsters who came along to the demonstration. Everyone was really friendly, so it made for a very enjoyable first demo of the year. I even had a surprise visit from my friend Lynnda who I have known for years but haven't seen for almost a year, so that was the icing on the cake!

I'm sure that Studio Craftique is going to be a very popular destination for crafters in the area, as Amanda is running regular workshops and demonstrations and she's really keen to get everyone stamping and inking and journalling! I hope to have some photos of the day if Amanda's able to email them to me.

Well, the day flew by and soon I was making my way home again, thankfully in less arctic conditions than the previous day! A quick microwaved meal (slap wrists!) was in order so that I wasn't eating too late and then I had a good night's sleep - you can't beat your own bed can you!

This morning the usual church service was held, instead, in the primary school hall as it was "education Sunday". It was a lovely service with lots of cheerful music and the children singing and doing the readings. I did have a wobbly moment though, when they sang (very beautifully I have to say) the Bette Midler song, The Rose, which has such meaningful words. However, it was, all in all, a very uplifting morning and I was able to spend some time chatting over coffee with new found friends.

So, it's now the final push to get everything ready for Stitches in a few weeks. Lots to do, but it's always fun to be working with new products. I must go now as Tara is hinting, very heavily, that she wants to play, so I'll go and throw her toys around for her to chase!

Oh, and don't forget what they say....if you want to get ahead...get a hat!