frayed at the edge

The weekend : part 2

I had thought that one post would do for what we did on Sunday - but having just looked through all my photos, we shall have to have a part 3 tomorrow!  We went to the Chain Bridge Honey Farm, which is just outside Berwick.  First stop was for a cuppa, in the converted double decker bus - there were too many people about to take a photo of it, but it is similar to this one

 

of course we headed upstairs - when we were little and travelled on buses like these, we always had to sit upstairs ......

 

........ hopefully in the much-coveted front seat!

 

as we had eaten so much cake on Friday, we shared a piece of delicious lemon drizzle cake, which came with a little pot of lemon curd

 

I wonder if the eggs for the curd came from this hen

 

since we last visited the Honey Farm, they have acquired a lot more old, mostly rusty, vehicles.  The Referendum campaign has reached fever pitch, with every news bulletin full of claim and counter-claim.  I had a quick fantasy of making all the politicians lie down in a row, them squashing them flat with this machine!!

 

although the back wheels on this one could dispose of a few of the more annoying ones for me

 

I haven't yet persuaded Malcolm to buy me a caravan like this one

 

if only I had somewhere to keep old vehicles like these, I would ask Father Christmas every year for one!

 

if I had known that they were installing a length of rail track, I could have offered them the benefit of my experience working for British Rail

 

a very old John Deere - it's probably a quarter of the size of a modern one

 

but we mustn't forget about the bees, working away to give us honey

 

to finish, a little taster of tomorrow's post

The king of the castle

 After lunch on Saturday, we went for a good long walk on the beach.  As always, I started by taking photos of the lighthouse - here are just two of them

 

the next two photos show the difference that the light makes.  The first was taken looking towards the sun, then the second is round the other side of the groyne, with the sun behind me

 

a lovely rusted old fitting

 

I might have to sneak on to the beach in the middle of the night and steal this, to put in the garden!

 

this reminded us of the Easter Island heads

 

I do like a good rusty bolt or two

 

Malcolm recently showed me a bit in a magazine, where someone had taken seaside photos and added little stones, shells and bits of seaglass, so I think I will get prints of the next three photos and have a play

 

we sat in the sun outside the cafe on the promenade to have a cuppa (no cake after Friday's gargantuan helpings!).  There was a little old lady sitting on the wall, with three dogs.  The one on the left was a feisty little thing, challenging every passing dog to a fight, even ones big enough to swallow him whole!  You may think the other one is gazing adoringly at his mistress ......... no, she was eating chips, and he wanted one.  As for the third dog ......

 

....... it was having nothing to do with the others

 

as we walked back along the path above the beach, a skein of geese flew past - if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see them more clearly

 

back home, there was a swan in the dock

 

and a lot more swans out in the river

 

this little boat has been put up the dock sometime in the last week, as it wasn't there when Malcolm was over last weekend

 

we always end up picking up bits and bobs on the beach.  This piece of seaglass will make a good sail for a little boat picture, perhaps with a stone hull

 

as will this piece of pottery

 

the small tyres have all been cleared from the beach since the winter floods, but this rather large one has been left behind.  Malcolm immediately went to stand on it, which reminded me of childhood, when someone would stand on something and sing "I'm the king of the castle, and you're the dirty wee rascal" ....... I doubt the pc brigade would let you sing that any more - much too judgemental, referring to someone as both dirty and a rascal!!

Bits and bobs

As always, I brought back some little bits and bobs from our holiday.  I think this little owl is supposed to be a child's purse, but it is just the right size to put my house keys in

 

I found this keyring in a very smart gift shop - perfect for my keys for the flat

 

I don't think  I will keep tea in this box.......

 

....... I shall probably fill it with some of my thread stash

 

over the last two or three years, several of the shops where I bought quilting magazines have closed, and the ones that are still open don't stock as many magazines ....... but I did manage to buy a few

 

who could resist this owl bag (and you can never have too many owls, and too many bags!)

 

my lovely friend Maureen has just given me two owly gifts.  She brought me this extremely cute ceramic tile owl from Italy, where she was recently on holiday

 

and this little thread holder was from her day out at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Edinburgh - for some reason Malcolm said I couldn't fly home from Majorca for the weekend to go to the show!

 

we came over to the flat this morning, bringing with us this little chair, which Malcolm has painted with chalk paint.  The fabric for the seat has been in my stash for years and years!

 

we had a potter round town this afternoon, then just for you, we ate large amounts of cake ....... this is Malcolm's fruit loaf

 

and my rocky road - we will have to do a lot of walking on the beach to work off the calories!

 

the forecast is reasonable for the weekend - despite the fact that it a Bank Holiday, which usually means it will pour with rain!  So hopefully we will be out and about, enjoying the sea air.  Have a good weekend, love Anne

 

Going back

Yesterday we went up to visit Stuart and Alison.  We stopped first at New Hopetoun Garden Centre, planning to have lunch ......... but it was mobbed, as it was a "10% off everything day"!  So we went to plan B, and went to Rouken Glen Garden centre, which is on the same road

 

as you can see, we didn't have any trouble getting a table!

 

Malcolm had a cheese and pickle toastie

 

and I had a coronation chicken sandwich

 

when we turned in off the road into the garden centre, we noticed this new building.  We went to investigate after lunch, and discovered that it is a new farm, gift and coffee shop.  We will pop in for lunch next time we are up that way

 

if you want to know what all these gubbinses are .......

 

....... ask Malcolm, because he used to work there!

 

this building in Grangemouth used to be a bank, but it has been lying empty for at least 30 years

 

we used to occasionally go to this pub for dinner ........ no matter what you ordered, it came with diced turnip!  Chicken curry, rice and diced turnip, steak, chips and diced turnip ...... yum!

 

when we parked to go for a stroll round Falkirk, of course I had to visit Hobbycraft

 

I asked this young man busking in the High Street if I could take his photo - I put a contribution in his bagpipe case in return

 

I didn't go into this new wool shop, as I didn't want to buy any wool

 

some major repair work on the Steeple in the town centre

 

a lot of people think that the Romans didn't come any further north than Hadrian's wall ........ but they did, building the Antonine Wall, which runs across Falkirk.  The house we lived in during the 90s is on the line of the wall, but we never dug up any Roman treasure in the garden!

 

Malcolm made this fence ........

 

......... which is somewhat neglected

 

he also made this bridge, which you can hardly see, as the garden is sadly overgrown (I will have to look out some photos of how it did look)

 

I wasn't trying to spy, taking a close up of the bedroom window ...... I was just amazed that my lace curtains are still hanging there!

 

after all that strolling down memory lane, we popped into the cafe in M&S for a quick cuppa.  We shared a cheese scone, which was tasty, but a bit small

 

somewhat larger were the meringues that we bought in the farm shop - we left one with Stuart and Alison, and we had this one after dinner tonight.  It was delicious!!

 

 

A stroll round the garden

We start in the front garden, with the beautiful blossom on the tree

 

but for all the blossom, there will be no fruit, as it is an ornamental tree

 

these yellow daisies will go on flowering for several weeks

 

this is the cherry tree ....... after only producing five cherries last year, it has been warned that it could be for the chop!

 

and this is an ornamental quince.  When we first moved here it produced fruit, but for the last few years there have only been a few stunted quince.  I wonder if it is because it has to be constantly cut back, as it is grows out over the path to the front door

 

now we are in the back garden, with another ornamental tree

 

Malcolm made two of these planters just before we went on holiday - again just using old wood from pallets

 

this clematis is the first to flower

 

it won't be long until this poppy flowers

 

I love the way ferns unfurl

 

the hostas are looking good

 

I bought this pot of lilies last year.  When they finished flowering, Malcolm cut them back and then just left the pot out in the garden over the winter ....... so we were  bit surprised to find all this new growth when we came home from our holiday

 

to finish ........ I haven't yet managed to take photos of them, but there are wagtails nesting in the ivy on the left of the wall, blackbirds nesting behind the honeysuckle on the right, and blue tits in the nesting box on the front left post of the pergola!

All by myself

I was home alone at the weekend, as Malcolm had gone off to Berwick, leaving me to enjoy a sewing day with Abbey Quilters on Saturday.  I don't have any photos of the sewing, as we were working on our entries for the exhibition, so all highly secret stuff!  On Sunday, I decided to pop over to Jedburgh, to have a wander with the camera.  First stop, as always, was at the Abbey

 

I never tire of taking photos of this magnificent structure

 

and of course it looks better with blue skies!

 

the workmanship is superb

 

and there are just so many interesting angles to capture

 

one last photo before moving on

 

I walked down the hill, pausing on the bridge to look out over the river, which is very low

 

this church isn't quite as old as the Abbey

 

the final stop on my walk was at Mary Queen of Scots House

 

where the gardens were looking good in the sunshine

 

beautiful blossom

 

the flower beds frame the old stone Cross Base

 

tomorrow I will show you how our garden is looking

Rush, rush, rush

A very quick post, as I have to head off to pick up Maureen, as we have an Abbey Quilters' committee meeting this evening - it's all very serious stuff, as we are now counting down the weeks to our exhibition in July.  But I promised you sewing, so here it is!  I started with an easy task, after my holiday break from sewing.  I trimmed the bright baby quilt

 

made the binding

 

and in no time at all, it was ready for hand-stitching the binding on the back of the quilt

 

the finished quilt

 

with its colourful backing fabric 

 

the next task was the pastel version of the quilt.  I choose a pretty fabric for the backing, and the same cotton wadding as I used in the bright version

 

all pinned ready to quilt

 

the centre panel quilted

 

with a little loopy three-petal flower

 

and one of the side panels quilted with a meandering loopy pattern

 

I know you have been worried that I had to make do with cakes for three weeks on holiday, but my normal diet was restored today when I tucked into this delicious cheese scone!!

A last round up of the holidays

 We start with some night time photos of the pool and the villa

 

then we have sunrise (I hope nobody saw me out in the garden in my nightie taking these photos!!)

 

and a stunning sunset

 

wonderful fruit and veg at the Sunday market

 

and of course we have to have some arty photos - lovely rusty wire on a fence, and an electrical gubbins

 

some little collections of bits and bobs I picked up from round the villa.  There were dozens of snail shells, all slightly different

 

would you like some more delicious food to finish?  We go to il giardino every year, and I always have the same starter, carpaccio of beef with rocket and Parmesan.  Malcolm decided he would have that as well

 

then I always have the rack of lamb

 

Malcolm had pork

 

Malcolm had a coffee to finish ....... and some of my delicious dessert (the waiter asked if he should bring two spoons!) ...... raspberry mousse, which had a lemon mouse in the middle, topped with raspberry sauce

 

all washed down with an excellent bottle of wine

 

I hope you have enjoyed our holiday photos!  I'll be back on Monday with some sewing ....... so have a good weekend, and I'll see you then.  Love Anne

Boats big and small

Every year on holiday, Malcolm dreams of setting sail (just keep dreaming dear!), perhaps in a boat like this

 

or like this

 

when we had a stroll round the marina he was smitten with this one

 

but I suggested this fixer-upper might be more in his price range

 

or maybe even this one!

 

I took a photo of this boat two years ago, hoping that it was an omen for the upcoming independence referendum ........ and of course it was, as a majority of us decided that we were indeed better together

 

ok, I admit it, these two men were so casual as they zipped in to the quayside that I wanted them to fall out of the boat!

  

 

I wouldn't mind if we had a boat and just kept it moored in this lovely setting

 

one of these beauties would do - especially if it came complete with handsome young crewmen, in smart white uniforms, to pour me a glass of perfectly chilled wine, and cook me delightful meals

 

but Malcolm would probably sail off, and leave me with this one (which has been sitting in a corner of the marina for years!)

 

Out and about

One of our favourite places for a stroll is the Pine Walk in Puerto Pollensa.  Over the years I have taken several photos of this leaning tree, always complaining about the litter bin which spoiled the composition ......... but this year, there was also an ugly concrete support under the tree, a couple sitting on the bench,and a woman just visible in front of them!

 

this daft dog was trying to carry off this little buoy - but it was tethered to the seabed!

 

this one was keeping an eye on diners in a coffee shop, hoping for a titbit 

 

and this one was just looking for love!

 

I don't think this stump of an olive tree will ever rot away - it hasn't changed in the last ten years!

 

I think we have only once seen water flowing through the Roman Bridge

 

I think the sign looks like a cross between a fish and a duck ........ but this new shop sells salt and vinegar!!

 

these yellow post boxes don't have the same appeal as our red ones

 

even if they look out to sea

 

or look good beside a collection of bikes

 

this is a very expensive car, but that hasn't stopped the owner having a cute sheep added to it!

 

even on holiday I can find a tractor .......

 

....... or two

 

and a big machine!

 

these weirdly attired people seemed to be shooting a film, which appeared to be set in Jamaica.  They probably thought we were watching because we were captivated by their youthful goods looks, but we were just laughing at how ridiculous they looked - the chap on the left had a wardrobe malfunction when his dungarees fell down, exposing his pants!!  (sorry girls, I didn't capture that!)

 

the name of this coffee shop, Manzanas y Peras, translates as Apples and Pears ....... but you have to be British to know that is rhyming slang for stairs - the tables are set out on a series of steps (credit to Malcolm for spotting that!)

 

I can't really think of anything to say about this photo - it just appealed to my quirky sense of humour

 

are you exhausted by all that sightseeing - then join us for a delicious ice cream to recover (Malcolm had already made inroads into his before I managed to take the photo, claiming that it was melting!).  Mine was mango on the bottom and jaffa cake on the top, and Malcolm's was coconut on the bottom and caramel on the top