The Scone Incident

Well today was my 'perfect day'!  I had told hubby I wanted surprises and I think I can safely say I got them!

On birthday's in our house we always open the pressies on our bed with the four kids in our bedroom, I had lots of things I had hinted at - going well so far - and then, well I opened a yoga-mat, to a chorus of "you weren't expecting that!"

No I was not. Apparently for some reason they were giving away free yoga-mats with the perfume hubby had bought me? I know. Even the shop assistant was confused by the promotion.  That'll be going on EBay in the next few days so everyone's a winner!

I never make myself a birthday cake, let me re-phrase that, I never make cakes. I can make
perfectly nice ones, I just can't be bothered with all the faffing about
with ingredients and mixing and whatever else you do to make a cake.  And with a family of 6 they are not eaten appreciatively, they are wolfed down with somebody always moaning they didn't get a piece.
So I was delighted this morning when my mother-in-law turned up with a cake she had made for me on hubby's instructions, in the shape of a guitar. "surprise"!

Anyway as I hinted last week in my music post, I wanted to spend a nice day outdoors.  So off we set across the fields and hills heading for a nearby village with a pub to have some lunch in.  We had been walking for about an hour when we came across a conveniently placed bench at the top of a field, it had no memorial plaque on it so I assume it was a thought for ramblers from a kindly farmer, rather than a mourning relative who knew 'Bessy loved this spot'.

The view from where 'the incident' happened

Perfect. We sat down and my husband produced a cream tea, I mean the works bless him, he had really thought it through and had everything, a flask of lovely tea, scones with real cream and real strawberry's, how lovely I thought, so while he was mother and poured tea and constructed scones I was trying to balance my camera somewhere to take a timed picture of us enjoying our elevenses.  It being a field there was no natural tri-pod so I pulled across the gate and set it up balancing on one of the bars.  The shot was perfect, we were going to look so romantic sat on our bench having our cream tea, everything was set, all I had to do was get to the bench in 10 seconds and smile! Simples. Well, unless you are me.

As I dashed to the bench my left foot slipped out from under me and before I could even cry "I'm falling" I was laid on the floor in front of the bench with my ankle and my back in pain and covered in cold wetness which I had at first thought was cow-pat.  No.  It was my strawberry's and cream scones, which as I somersaulted as I fell I had hit out of hubby's hand and they came crashing down landing on me. SURPRISE!!!

Although I am always trying to capture moments like this, it goes to show, life isn't picture perfect and maybe I was trying to hard to capture it to prove to myself that it is. To look at how happy we were enjoying our scones on a lovely Autumn day and for others to see us as a perfect couple, to show to myself that we should be together, we can have fun and enjoy each others company.  But I think it would have been a false picture, I think I would've always seen beyond the smiles and remembered the issues and the fact I was trying to create a scene.

Well I certainly did create a scene, but not the one I intended.  But it made me realise that if we weren't a good couple, if we couldn't spend time in each other's company and have fun, that little incident could have ruined the day, but it didn't. We laughed about it together and wished that the camera had been on record because we would've made a fortune on 'you've been framed'.  There was no embarrassment or frustration or anger over the spoiled scones, just laughter, and those moments you will never capture on camera.  You have to hold on to them in your heart and remember that when it could've all gone horribly wrong, it didn't. Because you were with the right person at the right time.