A day in my life

Sunday 14th September

Here is my rather belated post for last Sunday. I travelled to visit my parents for a couple of days on Sunday so it was a rather different day than usual.

My parents live almost exactly 150 miles away which I find is too long for a day trip. They used to come here regularly to stay for a few days but nowadays they worry about the journey so I mostly I visit them.

I woke at seven giving me plenty of time to catch the train at 8:20am. The journey (to Devon) was train, train, bus and all went smoothly. I enjoy train travel and had reserved a seat in the quiet carriage. I sat peacefully and knitted while watching the countryside pass by, without having to listen to any annoying mobile phone conversations!

I arrived in time for lunch and then in the afternoon we strolled around the town. I must have been talking too much because I only took one photograph, a view across the River Exe.

We went out for afternoon tea, a pot of tea with coffee and walnut cake. When I was a teenager living at home if we ever went out for coffee, mum always wanted to have some cake but didn't think that it was particularly healthy to eat a complete slice, so while my father and brother had a slice each, mum and I always shared one between us. It made me smile that now, some thirty years later, my father ordered two slices of cake, one for him and one for me and mum to share! Her careful eating has obviously paid off because now in her mid seventies, she is a very trim size 10.

In the evening we sat and chatted while I knitted. I had taken some sock knitting as it was easy to take on the train. My parents can't really understand why I would want to knit socks. Both of their mothers knitted socks out of necessity, to save money or because the quality was better than bought but now that socks are easily and cheaply available why anyone would ever choose to knit them? Isn't it interesting how your upbringing affects your views for years and years.

So that was my day, a peaceful time catching up on news and chatting about the family. As always I wish I lived near enough that I could make short day visits more often rather than going to stay only every few months.