Week ten already, time really does fly when you force yourself to get out and about, whatever the weather. It was our third wedding anniversary on Wednesday, so we took Ebony to Lyme Park for a picnic. The weather stayed ok, although we did get damp bums from sitting on the soggy grass. I had assumed the park would be nice and quiet on a weekday, because I am an idiot who forgets about school holidays. The playground and picnic area was heaving, but the house and gardens were relatively quiet so we found a peaceful spot to eat our picnic.
Ebony tried to feed some carrot crisps to a duck, before we gently persuaded her that this was perhaps not the best use of one of her precious crisps. She also tried every single stuffed vine leaf in the tin, before deciding she did not like stuffed vine leaves.
Last time we visited Lyme Park, Ebony spent a lot of time playing near the lake. This time she was less keen, possibly because there was a huge Mr Darcey sculpture peering out at her. Instead, she spent her time running around the lawn, and staring at older children. She is fascinated by other kids, especially older one, and will happily follow them around gormlessly for hours if left to her own devices.
After the picnic, she made a beeline for the stairs. “STEP STEP STEP” is a common screech in our house now, as Ebony loves playing on the stairs. She navigated her way up the concrete stairs at Lyme Park, teetering dangerously off the edge of the railing on a number of occasion. Occasionally, other people would dare to use the stairs, and Ebony would shout “Noooo, noooo NOOOO.” at them in her thick Lancashire accent, while I nervously muttered things like, “Oh dear, Ebony, we should say hello to strangers.”
After tiring of the stairs, she then proceeded to clamber up the steep banks next to them instead, leaving me with the vague paranoia that she may fall backwards and smack her head on the concrete steps at any time.
Once we reached the top gardens, she became distracted by some older children. The children were rolling down the grassy embankment and then running to the top for another go. Ebony stared, taking it all in, and then determinedly climbed the bank to join them. She couldn’t seem to grasp the concept of rolling down sideways, and so instead lay face down on the grass in a vertical sort of direction. She slowly shoved herself down the hill, gathering her dress under her tummy as she went, screeching “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” while moving at a snail’s pace in the general downhill direction. It took her about five minutes, and two thousand grass stains, to get to the bottom. And then she headed straight back up to the top for another go.
She was undisturbed by the fact that she was, quite obviously, doing it wrong, and that all the other children were looking at her with a faint sense of pity. After a few more attempts to break the world record for slowest hill roll, we set off back to the car.
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Read this to find out more about where the idea came from, and why we’re embarking on this series of adventures.
You can keep up with mine and Ebony’s explorations here. Check out this great adventure post over on chatiryworld.
Ebony tried to feed some carrot crisps to a duck, before we gently persuaded her that this was perhaps not the best use of one of her precious crisps. She also tried every single stuffed vine leaf in the tin, before deciding she did not like stuffed vine leaves.
Last time we visited Lyme Park, Ebony spent a lot of time playing near the lake. This time she was less keen, possibly because there was a huge Mr Darcey sculpture peering out at her. Instead, she spent her time running around the lawn, and staring at older children. She is fascinated by other kids, especially older one, and will happily follow them around gormlessly for hours if left to her own devices.
After the picnic, she made a beeline for the stairs. “STEP STEP STEP” is a common screech in our house now, as Ebony loves playing on the stairs. She navigated her way up the concrete stairs at Lyme Park, teetering dangerously off the edge of the railing on a number of occasion. Occasionally, other people would dare to use the stairs, and Ebony would shout “Noooo, noooo NOOOO.” at them in her thick Lancashire accent, while I nervously muttered things like, “Oh dear, Ebony, we should say hello to strangers.”
After tiring of the stairs, she then proceeded to clamber up the steep banks next to them instead, leaving me with the vague paranoia that she may fall backwards and smack her head on the concrete steps at any time.
Once we reached the top gardens, she became distracted by some older children. The children were rolling down the grassy embankment and then running to the top for another go. Ebony stared, taking it all in, and then determinedly climbed the bank to join them. She couldn’t seem to grasp the concept of rolling down sideways, and so instead lay face down on the grass in a vertical sort of direction. She slowly shoved herself down the hill, gathering her dress under her tummy as she went, screeching “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” while moving at a snail’s pace in the general downhill direction. It took her about five minutes, and two thousand grass stains, to get to the bottom. And then she headed straight back up to the top for another go.
She was undisturbed by the fact that she was, quite obviously, doing it wrong, and that all the other children were looking at her with a faint sense of pity. After a few more attempts to break the world record for slowest hill roll, we set off back to the car.
--
Read this to find out more about where the idea came from, and why we’re embarking on this series of adventures.
You can keep up with mine and Ebony’s explorations here. Check out this great adventure post over on chatiryworld.
