Monsal Head and Matlock

Arise and (no shine). 

Given the seclusion of the farm, my brothers-in-law managed to take the car for a spin to train their manual skills.

We drove to Monsal Head which greeted us with ferocious gusts of wind. It was sad that the parking area albeit completely empty was a tad overpriced so we didn't think it worthwhile to stay, not even to sample the semi-circle of benches facing the view. My brother-in-law took a tumble as well due to the slippery grass.

We headed on to Matlock.

 The town was still very quiet as it was in the dead of winter. 

We did our daily stop at a pub for a toilet/local ale break. 

I simply love how they converted an old Singer sewing machine into a table! How creative!

More family portraits a.k.a. album covers. This hilarious sign is one of the most creative advertising I've seen yet.

We walked up a back road and came across a house with a pretty blue door which had the sign 'House' on it, in case you mistaken it for a toilet or a bedroom. :)

Also, if you squint really hard, you will see my mother-in-law in the bottom right waving at us. She was the trailblazer up the road.

The boys decided to participate in a progression of oddity which any reader of my blog would know to be a very fond tradition of my husband when on a trip.

We then had a late lunch at The Promenade Fish and Chips shop which was run by a Greek man with whom we had some laughs.

We visited some pretty novelty shops and being us, we can never walk past an Oxfam without going in. We found some gems: a photo of an old map for the husband's office, Ten of a Kind game (a now well-despised game by the rest of the Liews) and a copy of Charles Dickens' Christmas Books which I later discovered, through an intricate label in the front pages, once belonged to Edmund Henry Wilkie , a lantern lecturer among others! (How interesting!)

Headed back to the cottage and we couldn't resist using the adorable egg cups so we boiled some eggs for the protein-hungry boys. Dinner consisted of the second roast chicken made the day before and some stir-fried vegetables. I also made a kale smoothie using ingredients from home. My mother-in-law found a pie dish and suggested we make a cake. We had some walnuts and coffee so I decided to make a coffee walnut cake for dessert. Finding new ways to use the well-equipped kitchen was a great pleasure indeed!