Out of season...

This week was our holiday, ok so not across the water to sunny shores, but out of season, damp and chilly uk. But hey we were at the beach, and would enjoy our time away.

We had an enjoyable 1st class train journey and on arrival at Weymouth we were greeted by the Olympic mascot.

We walked down to the seafront and had a walk along the sandy beach, and the first spits of rain came down.

We found a fabulous sand sculpture depicting the last supper and a war memorial.

We found our hotel on the seafront before setting out to explore the town.

We wandered around the town centre, and down to the marina, but the weather sadly got worse and worse, till we ended up soaked through and frozen, to the point of wondering why we had chosen this town.

We hid out in the amusement arcade to brighten our spirits before venturing back to the hotel to dry out.

The following day was brighter so our spirits rose. Everything thing looks better when the sun is out, so we went back down to the harbour, as the plan for the day was to visit Nothe fort.

It was a steep climb so we stopped for a tea break to take in the views and give hubby's knee a rest.

We managed the steepest finish to the top only to find it was closed, only opening on Sunday's when out of season. We were gutted especially after the effort to get up there.

At least there were gardens at the top so we could rest and look across the sea.

Whilst walking through the park we found the most tame squirrels. They literally came right up to us, to the point of shocking hubby as one leapt up his leg!!!

In the evening we found a bright and cheerful pub, where we ate the most amazing steak and ale pie.

We were off to the Sealife centre the next day, where we took a long stroll the opposite direction down the beach front. It was overcast but fairly bright and blustery. We started at the Ray pool.

On to the nursery section with cute seahorses and the most amazing Weedy Sea Dragon.

After a quick pit stop, we went in the shipwrecked section, I was mesmerised and fascinated with the Moon Jellyfish. There were changing coloured lights, which made you notice different features with each colour. We were lucky to be there when the keeper came to give them their food, and stopped to give us some knowledge on the creatures, which made it more special.

When we came to the outside section with the Penguins, of course the heavens decided to open. But we stayed to see their feeding and the keepers talk.

After seeing the turtles, it was time to see the Seals get fed and show how they are trained, with going to specific rocks, touching balls, waving and jumping.

The last section was the Ocean tunnel, where there were large sharks, Rays and turtles swimming around and overhead.

Before leaving we had a much needed hot drink to warm us up after the rain had chilled us again, but we thoroughly enjoyed our day.

We finished our day with dinner at the local Wetherspoons.

The last day we checked out, and made our way to the Sealife tower.

We had to wait as it didn't open till 11. Up we went up 173ft, and rotated to see the views across the whole Jurassic coast. The clouds were quite low so we couldn't see to far into the distance, but it was still a good experience.

We went back to a couple of shops that I wanted to revisit and try on some clothes. We had a late lunch and spent our last moments back in the arcades before catching our train home.

On our return I had to do a large food shop, which took ages and I spent too much, but I did come up with a wish list!!

I'm determined on our last few days off at home to try to get up to date with my 'Mood blanket'. I was very good at the beginning, doing my square each week and sewing in ends and joining straight away.

Sadly in the past few weeks my focus has been on other projects, which has made fitting in my square harder with my limited spare time, so I've rushed the squares without joining them. The problem I've made for myself, as I've been trying out different patterns and stitches, is all the squares are different shapes and sizes, which will make the task harder!

I've also been making up another plain background, in moments when ive needed easy, no thinking crafting. This is a textured yarn that was in my m.i.l stash, though I don't know what exactly it is, I will be turning it into another style of flower cushion, but I will be trying something different....