yesterday...

....was one of those idyllic days when everything goes perfectly .

CatCall to start the day , and watering plants in the lovely yard there with two friendly cats for company .

It was D's birthday and his daughter and her partner and their little one ( two ) arrived bearing croissants for breakfast . These were no ordinary croissants though , they had been laid out to prove the night before and were now waiting on a tray to be baked , a variety of different fillings . Reminiscent for me of American conferences ( the Day Job) , where you arrive from your hotel at the conference to be served the most amazing danish pastries , croissants etc . Nowhere does it better ! But thanks to J and D our kitchen was a pretty close approximation . All the more appreciated as J was due to go back on night shift later ( she is a midwife not long qualified and if ever you want to watch in admiration as someone manages a really busy life at such a young age , take a look at her blog http://www.motherwifemidwife.blogspot.com/). Alina seemed to enjoy picking up tiny red hearts off the floor most of anything , but thats' how it is when youre two . The hearts had been added as sprinkles to D 's card and present , and there was a moment this morning when I spotted one sticking to his bare buttock which still makes me giggle now ....I dont quite know how it got into the bed but maybe Alina does !

Holy Island in the afternoon was magical . Very few cars there , so as we stood looking out to sea taking endless photos , all we could hear were birds and , when we walked around the headland heading for the beach , the eerie noise of the seals out on an outcrop of rocks , sounding like a cross between distant motorbikes and mermaids singing . Strange noise , which I managed to capture on the camera video function . The castle reflected in the sea perfectly for us in the sunshine for a few minutes and the same as we ate pear cake in a fairytale garden setting with a gang of birds watching us , starlings , thrushes and sparrows, squabbling over crumbs .

We sat on the beach searching for "St Cuthbert's beads ", or crinoids , the tiny fossilised remains which look like tiny beads crinoids st cuthberts beads - Google Image Search and which were spilled by St Cuthbert according to myth. Fossil folklore Incredibly satisfying to find , all different , all beautiful , and something which visitors to Lindisfarne have done over the years , and stil , with each turn of the tide , more of the beads are washed up . We left the island with plenty of time to spare , with the aim of returning at some later stage when the tide is close to covering the causeway , just for the fun of watching as the water closes in from both sides .