Author: Maria Runs

After our washing machine broke the other week, we found one for delivery at the start of the holidays.

Bunny socks for the Easter holidays!

I had to wait in for it, as Andy had meetings all day so could not be letting them in. Thankfully it was warm, as the delivery instructions asked for doors and windows to be open. I sat in the dining room and got on with some work while I waited. The instillation was OK (we’ve got rid of the old one which was built in, and cut out the cabinets so that it could host a freestanding one, but we knew it would be a tight fit), and then Dad came over for a run together. I’d worked out a route that was around 3.5 miles, so a little over a (not)parkrun. It was so warm- I was glad of my hat- and it reminded me that I’m not a big fan of afternoon runs as the weather heats up.

Once out of the shower, of course it was time for tea and a hot cross bun.

In the evening, we watched Grace, which was a detective series on ITV, based on the Peter James books. They are all set in Brighton, and the series had been filmed there (I say series, I think it was a 2 hour thing?)- it was so nice to see them walking by the Hove beach huts, and at one point they even came out of the Flower Pot Bakery (which is home to the most amazing vegan chocolate almond croissant). It did make me really wish I could head there sometime soon.

On Tuesday I had arranged to meet a friend at the lakes- we have tried about 3 times to meet up, but keep having to cancel due to lockdowns/ tiers/ self isolating. Well, we actually made it this time!

I walked the long way through the woods, and at one point a couple of cyclists were heading towards me as I was coming to a gate. One of them waved, and I went to hold the gate, before they said “Maria”, and I then realised it was my dad! He was out cycling with a friend, and just happened to me along the same path.

I met my friend and we walked around the lakes, and then I thought I would head home via Caffe Nero, as by this point I’d been walking for hours and hadn’t taken any water with me. I got an iced drink, and when I got home and checked my watch I had walked just under 10 miles. I still can’t quite work out how it was that far (it was around 4 miles on the long way to the lakes, and we did walk around them but they aren’t big).

Once home I did some more work, while I rested my legs!

Wednesday felt like a Friday to me, as it was Andy’s last day before he’d taken time off over Easter. I headed out on a rather warm run first thing, did a bit of work, and then made some hot cross buns.

I saw a deer on my run- bagel, pb and banana for breakfast, and hot cross buns- although no cross- seems a waste of flour and once I got told off by someone for having one on the wrong day. However, after some googling it turns out that they originate with the pagan festival of spring, celebrating the goddess of dawn and spring- Eostre, with the 4 sections either being the 4 phases of the moon, or the 4 seasons. Anyway, I think that is a nicer image to think about rather than a crucifixion when you are eating something…

I wanted to try a new recipe as we are going to make them in school after the holidays, so of course it’s vital to research that the recipe will work! Thankfully it did (from Domestic Gothess)- sometimes the dried fruit burns so easily but these ones were all good.

On Thursday I did a 5 mile run, then made simnel cakes for Andy’s parents and for his brother. In the afternoon we walked to the park and met his parents and our niece and nephew, before meeting them back at ours (we had to walk fast while they walked back slowly to the car) for a little Easter egg hunt in our back garden.

On Friday I decided to try a new path that I’ve seen in the woods but wasn’t quite sure where it ended up. Last year I did quite a lot of exploring local paths during lockdown, and although I have a terrible sense of direction and often get lost, I quite enjoyed doing little out and back routes along new paths, then after a while working out new routes when I realised where they joined up. I had looked on Strava and could see a path that should meet up with a route that I do, so I headed there and have managed to add it into a 4 ish mile route. The new path was quite boggy and muddy, but I think after a few weeks of drier weather it will be OK.

Our beautiful acer tree, simnel cakes, gardening and matcha

I then spent most of the day in the garden- touching up the green paint on the fences, sorting out the weeds and generally tidying up a bit.  I did enjoy it as when you are up close to the flower beds there are loads of buds and new growth. It was freezing cold though!

Galette for breakfast, leftovers on Sunday with some blueberries

 On Saturday we tried a new breakfast- a banana and chocolate galette (basically folded pastry). The recipe used an entire pack of buttons and an entire pack of vegan smarties (Doisy and Dam ones) so we were a bit more restrained! It had bananas, chocolate buttons, peanut butter and pecans, and was baked for about 25 mins. It was really tasty, and it also meant Sunday’s breakfast was also sorted.

Baby Yoda cup cosy arrived- I was ordering a couple of coasters and could not resist adding it to my order

Then we were off on our now traditional Saturday walk (although I think we are allowed out more than once a day now? As it isn’t Stay Home, only Stay Local now…?). This time we walked almost the reverse of our route last week, over the bridge, into the park, and then this time exploring a new path which has only recently been opened to the public. We even saw our first bluebells!

I did a bit more weeding as I hadn’t quite finished on Friday, but my legs were shaking from all of the crouching down (pretty much 3 hours of doing squats!) so I didn’t last very long! I ended up back inside, baking more simnel cakes (this time, one for my parents and one for us- it was a recipe for one large one, but I just baked it in two smaller pans instead).

On Sunday I ran to Panshanger for a shorter than usual Sunday run, as I had planned a longer run the following day. It was so sunny and beautiful!

I had a podcast to watch (the teaching one- Two Mr P’s) so I settled down to watch that after brunch. It was so warm, so later on I made some tea and actually sat outside with my cup of tea! Shock!  I could not resist a few jobs in the garden (a smidge more weeding, and planting some squash and pumpkin seeds) but I mainly sat outside, watching the birds and even spotting the random fish that appeared in our pond. (Still no idea how it got there- we only created the pond last year and didn’t buy any fish).

Tulips and the magnolia tree for spring vibes in our garden, simnel cake for Sunday night TV viewing

Even though it didn’t feel like a Sunday (the days had felt like a perpetual Saturday afternoon since Thursday), I had to remember it was, as I still have to do the LF covid tests -even in the holidays. I am still not a fan. I suppose they will catch some asymptomatic people, but depending on which studies you read, they have quite a high false negative rate, and I think some people have a false sense of security from being tested twice a week. It shows that they are not that accurate, as if you test positive through one of those, you have to book a “proper” test anyway.

We watched the next Line of Duty, but I am still not very enthralled by it. A slice of simnel cake helped of course.

Do you think we are allowed out more than once a day now? I quite like a walk in the afternoon if I had a run in the morning. Do you like simnel cake or hot cross buns?

I took this first photo in March last year- at that point I had gone since January without a haircut, and would have usually had one in the Easter holidays.

29th March 2020

I thought a “before” photo would be quite fun, and I could see how long it would grow before lockdown was over. I didn’t think I’d be doing the same thing a year later!

July 2020

December 2020

March 2021

In some ways, I still think it is January- the lockdown seemed to make each week merge into one. I realised that I’d not taken a photo for a while. I’d just happened to decide to do it when wearing my Stockholm t-shirt, but I quite like it because I can see how much it has grown compared to the writing.

I know that hairdressers opened up last summer, but I was quite cautious and didn’t really fancy it (the one I go to has no external windows, and has a nail bar inside so always smells really chemically, and just the thought of sitting there in a mask for over an hour just didn’t appeal). I think I am going to have to brave it at some point, but I can put it in a plait for work/ running and so it doesn’t bother me too much (we shall see how that changes once it gets warmer). I have been washing it not too many times a week, and using deep conditioning treatments when I remember. I also have this gorgeous leave in spray from Lush, called Supermilk (made with oat milk and lovely things), so I use that to protect it from the hairdryer, but I think the ends are looking quite dry now so I keep being tempted by trimming it myself…

Onto holiday bits- the first day of the Easter holidays was of course, pancakes for breakfast and a long walk, this time to Panshanger. There’s a bridge over the dual carriageway which goes into one end of the park, and I had tried a few times to find it and never managed. We found it this time (I think they’ve improved the signs) so that was exciting- it means I have more possibilities for running routes too.

I also made some peanut butter stuffed dates (my favourite snack), did some garden jobs and make a carrot cake.

We have been watching Your Honor in the evenings, but I was finding it so stressful, that we gave a new series a go- The Flight Attendant. Well, this one is no less stressful! I need to find out what happens, but I can’t work out when I actually want to watch them because it leaves me feeling so frazzled!

On Sunday I made a chocolate almond croissant- basically one of those delicious La Boulangere Vegan Croissants, cut in half and filled with a little marzipan, chocolate buttons and flaked almonds. Perfect after a long run.

I did a bit more pottering in the garden (mainly cutting leaves and twigs from the logs- I am saving the twigs for a nature pile near our pond, and will chop up the logs at some point for a log pile), and then I relaxed with an afternoon movie- I’d not watched Moana for ages, and with the promise of warmer weather over the next couple of days, it seemed to match perfectly.

Then we watched Seaspiracy, which was all about how bad fishing is for the planet basically. It had some horrible scenes of dolphins and whales being caught/ trapped/ killed (reminded me of Blackfish a bit), and some shocking information about where most of the plastic waste in the sea comes from (not straws….). It was interesting, but also just so sad to show what humans are doing to the planet. I also felt fairly helpless, as I’ve never eaten fish, so it’s not as if I could stop that to help.

When did you last have a haircut? Or do you cut it yourself?

Do you like documentaries? 

On Monday after work we went on a walk and had such a beautiful sunset. The clouds were so pink, and the colours changed all the time. I had seen lots of chocolate tea lattes being made on Instagram, so I had a go at making my own. After brewing the tea and adding milk, I used a hot chocolate stir stick, and then topped with marshmallows. It tasted so chocolately, more like a hot chocolate than a tea latte. Very tasty though.

Then, disaster struck when our washing machine broke! It blew the fuse, (thankfully on a cleaning cycle and not full of washing)- we managed to push the fuse down for long enough to make it drain the water out, but that was it. At the moment we have so much washing- if I go on a run and then to work I’m wearing 3 sets of clothes (as I change out of work clothes as soon as I get home) so the basket fills up so quickly! I had to wash some of my running bras in the sink as I only had a few left that were clean!

Delicious peanut butter slice from @sophie.bullimore (look her up on Instagram as she creates delicious and simple vegan bakes)

Runs again were pretty standard- 4 miles on Tues, Wed and Thurs morning. I didn’t meet Dad for a run as he was going cycling, and as it was the holidays coming up we would have plenty of time to run together then. On Tuesday morning the sunrise was really amazing- the sun had risen as I was heading down the road, and once I was in the park it was up, but there was a long strip of thick cloud, so I could see the bottom of the sun below the cloud, and then nothing. It looked as if it had been chopped in half horizontally.

Our tulips are nearly out! 

On Wednesday it was fairly overcast again. The big blossom tree by our front garden is looking really pink now, and the tulips in pots in our garden are about to open. I love seeing all of these signs of spring. Just hearing all the birds in the morning is a sign that lighter and warmer days are to come too.

It was our final yoga session of the term- I managed to just about stay awake in the final nidra part. A hot cross bun and Bake Off was also enjoyed.

On Thursday again it was a beautiful sunrise. I have to remember not to take too many photos, otherwise I won’t be home with enough time to get ready for work, but it’s just so tempting.

Hot cross bun + marmalade is probably my favourite combination

On the last day of term we had a walk as the sun was going down, and again saw some amazing clouds.  Some of my Sugar and Sloth goodies arrived- I just love all the positive messages.

What signs of spring have you noticed? The woods near here are full of green shoots which will soon be bluebells, but the trees are still fairly bare.

Cutest coaster and perfect for this time, matcha for Monday morning, and my new present

Andy bought me a present of a digital tyre inflator! I really panic when I have to put air in my tyres – I hate the time counting down, and don’t always have the right coins, and one time I managed to deflate one tyre as I hadn’t fastened it properly. Anyway,  this one plugs into the car power so you can do it at home, in your own time. Only I didn’t quite do it properly- I checked them all on Sunday, and then on Monday morning the light was flashing. Argh! I had to do them all again, and took it with me to work in case it was wrong again. Luckily the  light didn’t come on but that was a stressful start to the week!

Last month, Sugar and Sloth was the artist who designed the Bird&Blend tea club postcard, and I totally loved it and so have been ordering a few bits from them. I got myself that coaster because it seemed such a good reminder to take things one step at a time, and then I ordered some other designs to make little Easter gifts for people at work. You can buy singles of teabags from B&B (you always get a few samples with your order, but you can actually buy them now which I really like), so I ordered a box of chocolate digestives tea (it’s black tea with cocoa nibs and other delicious things), and also some little packs of biscuits. I got some biodegradable wrapping, and wrapped them up into a little parcel. I was quite pleased with how they looked. (I also got myself a vegan Easter egg from B&B as it is dark chocolate infused with their hot cross bun tea which just sounded so amazing, plus it is wrapped to look like a bunny, complete  with pom-pom for a tail). I have since become a little addicted to Sugar and Sloth- they do little monthly themed  boxes so I could not resist ordering a penguin one!

This week followed the same pattern as the previous week- runs on Tues, Wed and Thurs before work, yoga on Wednesday night, and a run with Dad after work on Friday.

Matcha in the mornings is helping me keep going through the term- I’m enjoying rotating a few different flavours, and mainly making them with hot water (80 degrees) then frothing and topping with a little oat milk. If I have a run, I’ll have one as soon as I am home, then have a shower and have breakfast after that.

We treated ourselves to a ready made dinner – the Cook vegan lasagne is really tasty with pine nuts in the topping.

I was fairly lucky with the weather again- a few days we had rain, but I was out and home before it got heavy. I don’t mind getting wet, but I don’t have time to wash my hair before work so it’s better if my hair stays dry! It’s so light in the mornings now. I am heading out at around 6am and it’s pretty much daylight. I feel so lucky to have these fields and woods so close to where I live.

I’ve been having a candle on during yoga which I feel helps to set the tone. Often in our classes we would have a candle, or the garden would have fairy lights, and sometimes the teacher would use a scented spray for the room (essential oils) and I think I miss those little added bits.

On Friday we had our back fence put in, so my weekend job was to paint it. I love painting, and painting outside is even more stress-free because it doesn’t really matter if you spill it (I did put some cardboard on the patio, but if some drips onto the soil then it’s fine).  It is crazy to see the change of colour when it dries through! The wet paint looks so chalky. Now we have this lovely big bed at the back, ready for some trees and shrubs, we’ll put some bird boxes up- a world of possibilities.

Our Saturday was standard- pancakes for breakfast, a walk, a click and collect hot drink for the walk home, cleaning and then fun garden jobs. I did squeeze in some baking (peanut butter slices).

On Sunday I headed out on a different route to Panshanger. At one point I was running down the old railway line, and came across some horses coming towards me, so I stopped and let them past. Then, as I ran further along, there were 2 heading the same way as me. They were walking, so I asked if I was OK to run past, and the  riders waved me on. But then, a few moments later, I began to hear the horses running, and I could hear them getting closer, so I jumped sideways into the bushes to let them past. They thanked me, but then a little further ahead, they stopped and walked again. I realised that they were walking each time someone was coming the other way, but this meant I kept catching up with them. I ended up walking a fair bit to keep them ahead of me as I felt so nervous heading them coming up behind me. (They were very friendly and it is no reflection on them, it just made me feel panicked).

When I got home, I had French toast with croissants. I’d seen lots of recipes on the internet, so sort of combined them- basically making a little mixture of almond milk, chickpea flour, cinnamon and vanilla, dipping the (vegan) croissants in it, and then cooking them in a pan for a few minutes. Served with fruit and maple syrup it was a pretty good brunch and one I’ll repeat for sure.

We watched the new Line of Duty on Sunday, but I felt so blah about it. I quite like the series as a whole, but I do feel that it has got worse as the series have gone on. I mean, it’s fine, but it’s not the best TV ever (eg The Wire or something like that). Anyway, the “chis” was driving me mad (took a bit of time to work out what they meant from the context and you know you don’t have a good enough script when the continuity announcer at the end had to explain what it was. And even then, I cannot remember. Why can’t they just call it a CI like every other police drama????).  We decided to give it another go next week, but I really feel not that enthusiastic about it.

What do you think of the latest Line Of Duty series? What is your favourite Easter egg?

I didn’t have a run on the Monday as I wanted to get in to work earlier than usual just to set my mind at ease.

My treat for making it through the day was a hot cross bun and tea when I got home- very much needed as I had forgotten to bring my lunch with me!

I went on an early run on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (around 3 miles each time)- by Thursday it was sooooo windy and was pretty hard work. Rain was forecast on Wednesday but luckily I was home before it really started (no time to wash my hair so didn’t really want to get my hair wet on a run).

The best pod for my run, and the best tea to help me through some tricky work- got to make it in a travel cup though as not sure about using the cups from work at the moment.

It’s so light in the mornings now though- I love it! No need for a torch even for the first few minutes. It’s still lovely and empty- just me and my podcast and nature.

On Wednesday evening I had yoga as normal- I must have been more shattered than I thought, because in the yoga nidra I properly fell asleep (I usually drift in and out a bit) and woke up later with the “this zoom meeting has ended” message on the screen! Whoops!

New vegan box for March- those peanut m’n’m’s are so good, tree trunks going and a windswept look after teaching PE outside!

On Friday the rotten tree trunks in our garden were being removed (Andy sent me a picture)- it’s made a huge difference to the garden. We’re going to put in some nice trees like silver birch (my fave).

I drove to Mum and Dad’s after work, and we had a lovely (not)parkrun together, over fields and again very windswept but really good fun.

On Friday night we rented a doc called Sour Grapes- all about fraud in the wine industry (made me think of the most recent Sneaky Pete series).  It was interesting enough, but also madness the money people were spending on wines to just sit in cellars.

On Saturday we had the final Christmas panettone, baked in the oven (baked French toast) and then had a lovely spring walk. Hair in plaits is the only way when it’s still so windy! I spent my life detangling my hair at the moment. It’s coming up to 15 months since it was cut, and the thickness is just a bit crazy. We got a click and collect drink for the way home, and later I finished our Christmas cake.

Sunday was time of course for another long run- I went along an old railway line for a bit of it, and then headed back to Panshanger park and then home through the fields. I feel so lucky to be able to run so far with only such a short section on roads (the first and last half mile). Beautiful weather, but I’d had a bit of a stiff shoulder and back, and a few times had to walk to stretch out a bit. Enjoyable though.

Me, Brian, Dad and my brother at Linford Wood parkrun back in 2017

I had memories pop up of my visit to Irchester Country parkrun with Dad, this time last year. I did my i, completed by UK parkrun alphabet, met the lovely Mary who was RD, and I think we were all aware that it would be the last parkrun for a while, I don’t think anyone imagined it would be this long. The 5th June is there, in the distance, and hopefully we make it. I also had a lovely email from Brian (my dad’s cousin) who got into parkrun when we met him at Linford Wood parkrun back in 2017 (for some reason, we thought he went to it already, but it turned out he only went there to meet us there). Anyway, since then he’s turned into a huge parkrun fan, doing lots of runs and volunteering. He’s been on 97 since the pause, and so was messaging us about celebrating his 100th! Hopefully we will get to do that this year.

On that note, parkrun have issued changes to the milestone t-shirts (from September). Basically we will have to pay for them now (overseas people had to pay for postage anyway), and they are introducing some more volunteer ones (and  run 25 I think). I was relieved to see that the colours are staying- I’m only 15 away from 250, and green is my favourite colour, so I am really looking forward to that. Also, you can re-order a top if it wears out/ shrinks etc. I might re-order my 100 top, as I ended up getting the wrong size (in that I chose it- I really liked the Tribesport fit, and the old Apricot ones, and then by the time I could claim my 100th- after doing my 150th run- they had switched supplier, and although I followed the measurements, it ended up being too big really).

What I would like is a sort of “pay it forward” aspect- eg I would be happy to donate for one other person to get their top if they could not afford it. I read a few people suggest this in the comments, and they were generally met with “well just donate to parkrun forever then”. Well, I do that, but it doesn’t mean that someone can get a free t-shirt if they can’t afford the cost. Edit- Danny Norman from With Me Now pod did an excellent live interview with Nick Pearson on their facebook page (you can still watch it after) which answered those queries and more and is well worth a watch.

Are you happy with the new changes to the t-shirts? What do you remember from parkrun this time last year?