frayed at the edge

A most enjoyable day!

Yesterday morning, we decided to pop over to Rothbury - after being stuck indoors all last week, we were itching to get out and about.  This is the great pile of snow I was standing in front of on Saturday- as you can see there is still an awful lot of it!

 

although the roads are clear, there is still a great deal of snow on the verges

 

arriving in Rothbury, we parked in the car park down by the river, and walked over the footbridge into town

 

the view up the river from the bridge

 

a little splash of colour against the snow

 

after the snow-filled skies of last week, it was so good to see some blue

 

it's not every day that you see a tractor parked on the main street in town!

 

it will be some time before this pile of snow melts - the truck behind it gives you an idea of the size of it

 

I do like an old, weathered church door

 

another splash of colour

 

on the way back to the car park, we walked over the road bridge

 

snow drops in the snow!

 

of course we went for a cuppa, choosing the Elm Tree Coffee Shop, as they do a "morning special" of a cuppa and a scone for £2.80 ....... a bargain!

 

Malcolm ordered a fruit scone

 

and I ordered a cheese one, but of course we then had half each

 

on the way home, Malcolm kindly pulled off the road so that I could take photos of these magnificent beasts

 

I like the way their horns point in different directions

 

but I was glad that there was a stout hedge between me and those horns!

 

back home, I started prepping the dinner.  I know there are four chops on the plate and there only going to be three of us for dinner, but the chops were packaged in twos in the freezer.  I had found a recipe on the internet which I thought I would try.  I rubbed the chops with olive oil and sprinkled them with a sea salt and herb mix

 

I then put two tablespoons of sugar and four tablespoons of honey in a bowl, zapping them briefly in the microwave and stirring them together

 

after browning the chops, I put them in a foil tray and spread them with half the sugar/honey mix and popped them in the oven for 15 minutes.  This photo shows the chops turned over after that first spell in the oven, with the rest of the sugar/honey mix spread on them, ready to go back in the oven for another 15 minutes

 

I had decided to serve green beans and mashed potato

 

it was an excellent dinner (we may have had a starter and pudding too) and Jennifer went home with a doggy bag with the extra chop

 

to finish, a bit of nonsense!  JDtheTractor and CheekySockMonkey decided to deal with the pile of snow still sitting in front of the house

 

I think they are going to be there a long time (did you spot them at the bottom of the pile?)

 

indoors, the Gnome Sisters declared that they weren't going out to help, preferring to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate

 

while the Gnome Brothers said that hot chocolate was just for girls, and they were going to drink beer - oh no they weren't, the beer was returned to the fridge!!

 

we came up to the flat this morning, and have been for a long walk on the beach this afternoon, so do pop in again on Monday to see the photos!  Have a good weekend, love Anne

A little tutorial

When Rachel mentioned in a recent post about the trials of crocheting straps for a super bag she had made, I said in my comment that perhaps next time she could use an I-cord instead.  Back came a request to explain what an i-cord is!  By chance I had just started a little knitting project which would use i-cords, using this gorgeous Noro yarn, which I found in my stash

 

I cast on 30 stitches, and knitted 30 rows (I was making it up as I went along!!)

 

then I knitted the stitches on to the circular needle, and picked up 30 stitches on each of the other edges

 

after knitting until I was getting near the end of the second ball, I knitted two together across all the stitches, then knitted a few rounds of rib, creating a little bag

 

now for the I-cord.  You need two double-pointed needles.  I cast on 7 stitches

 

I knitted the first row as usual, but instead of turning  to knit the second row, I pushed the stitches back to the end of the needle, and brought the yarn from the left to the start of the row, pulling it as tight as possible

 

here is a close-up!  And that is all you do, just keep pushing the stitches back to the end of the needle and bringing the yarn across from the left

 

after a few rows, you can see that a cord is formed.  You need to pull a bit on the cord to close the slight gap where you have taken the yarn back to the start of each row

 

you can use any yarn to knit I-cord - the thinner one was knitted with some leftover sock wool

 

so here is the bag and two lengths of i-cord for handles

 

but what has happened to the bag?  Well. I washed it and the handles with a load of towels, then put them in the tumble drier, also with the towels, to felt them.  I pinned  one handle on, and popped a large ball of yarn in 

 

then pinned the other handle on.  I will probably attach them with buttons

 

and now a final snow report.  On Saturday morning, we walked up to the main road through the village.  I managed to wrest my Helly Hansen jacket away from Malcolm, having let him wear it when he was out shovelling snow - I have had this jacket for years and years, it maybe only gets worn once or twice each winter.  As you can see, we have had rather a lot of snow

 

with the roads barely passable

 

then yesterday morning a very nice man appeared with a large machine and cleared our road

 

this morning the thaw was well underway and we were able to go out in the car for the first time since last Monday.  So after doing the usual Monday food shop, we went for a cuppa ...... and shared a slice of delicious chocolate cake!

Snowed in!

We got up on Tuesday morning to a world that had turned white

 

with more snow than we have seen for some time,  going out in the car was ruled out

 

after lunch we went out for a walk

 

enjoying the scenery

 

and pausing to take an arty photo ....

 

....... or two

 

we headed down the hill out of the village

 

until we reached our destination.  So what was so special about this stretch of hedge?

 

because on the other side of the hedge there are alpacas!

 

who were watching us watching them

 

on Wednesday morning we got up to a lot more snow

 

 

our next door neighbour had groceries delivered ....... but the van got stuck!  After all efforts to dig the van out had failed, Malcolm applied a bit of sideways thinking to the problem.  This is him, wearing my "foul weather" jacket, heading out with a watering can full of hot water.   He melted an area around the wheels, allowing the driver to get traction to drive off, an hour after he arrived!  You can always rely on an engineer to find a solution to a problem Sorry for the poor photo - I took it from the attic - not only did the window have snow on it, but you might have noticed a bird had splattered it as well!)

 

later in the day, the sky cleared and the moon appeared

 

we had even more snow yesterday morning, so I decided to be brave and go out to take photos, but I don't have long boots.  It's not just engineers who can find solution - I simply wrapped my legs in clingfilm ......

 

...... then wrapped more round the top of my boots

 

it worked - my legs stayed dry as I waded the snow

 

I stuck my yardstick in the deep drift in front of the hedge

 

a mere 18 inches!

 

I won't be sitting here any time soon

 

we brought these birds home from Indonesia - I am sure they wish they were back there in the sun!

 

it may look lovely, but I wish it would go away

 

back indoors, I took a photo of an icicle hanging in front of the lounge window

 

later in the day, it had grown quite a bit

 

then early this morning, it had grown and twisted - it was easily 24 inches long

 

and was sprouting sidekicks

 

it had been shaped by the wind

 

which was strong enough to blow the bird seed out of the ground feeder

 

 

and blow over the heavy wooden plinth the bird bath sits on.  Fortunately the bird bath didn't break

 

we may have been stuck in the house since Tuesday, but don't worry, we didn't have to do without  scones.  Fortunately there were two emergency ones in the freezer ....... I enjoyed a mug of hot chocolate with mine

 

As I write this, I am watching the local news bulletin, with film of the main A1 closed for 30 miles between Alnwick and Berwick.  Hundreds of people were stranded in their cars overnight!  So I think we will be staying home for the weekend!  Whatever your weather, have a good weekend, love Anne

 

Ambling around Amble

 Yesterday morning was just a bit chilly, so we wrapped up warmly (Malcolm even put his woolly hat on!) and headed over to Amble for a potter round the harbour.  Most of the little pods were open .......

 

........ but as we had already had breakfast (kippers on toast) we were able to resist the delicious smells coming from the sausage pod

 

we also resisted the lure of the cheese pod!

 

oh, oh, oh, the temptation to pinch a lobster pot - surely they wouldn't miss one!

 

and a rusty anchor or two would make a talking point in the garden

 

and I'm sure Malcolm could make use of this in his shed

 

there was the usual joke about Malcolm's occasional wish to buy a boat

 

I said that if we found out that we had won the big lottery prize on Friday, perhaps he could have this rusty fishing boat.  We didn't win as much as a penny, so it's back to plan A and the rowing boat!

 

for once I didn't mind this eider duck turning his back on me, as it showed off the flash of green on the back oh his neck

 

while admiring all the handsome male ducks, did you notice the two females - yes, the plain brown ones!

 

while I was sticking the camera through railings to take this photo of the falling down building

 

Malcolm noticed this plaque, which we must have walked past many times

 

we've seen this before on the High Street, pigeons huddled on an old roof.  I assume that there is poor insulation in the old building so the roof is warmer than the surrounding ones

 

I must pay more attention- in all our previous visits I haven't noticed this old mosaic in the doorway of a shop

 

then came  the big decision ....... would we have our cuppa here?

 

or would we have it here (a considerate driver, who had been parked in front of the Tea Rooms, drove off just as I stopped to take the photo!)

 

we decided on the Tea Rooms, as we fancied a toasted teacake

 

and instead of my usual pot of tea, I had a salted caramel hot chocolate - delicious

 

on the way home

 

the trees are still bare

 

but in the garden there are signs of growth.  This is the apple tree

 

one of the conifers in the front garden

 

and the miniature rose on the deck

 

several weeks on, the little narcissi are still flowering outside the kitchen door

 

to finish ...... this is one of those "is it just me" moments.  This plaque is over the door of the Post Office, and obviously covers the word Post.  So, why mount the plaque on the old, carved stone lintel, when it could have been put above it?

A strange shadow shot

Yesterday morning, when we were sitting in the lounge having our post breakfast cuppa, we both noticed this strange shadow shot on the wall.  Well, I can hear you ask, what's strange about the sun shining in the window and casting a shadow on the wall?  The strange thing is that the sun wasn't shining in the window ...... the shadow was cast by a reflection of the sun, shining on the windows of the house across the road from us!

 

but through on the other side of the house, these shadows were caused by the sun

 

this is a temple bell, which Malcolm bought many years ago on a business trip to Manila 

 

and this is me, taking the photos

 

later in the morning, we set off for Kelso, as I had an appointment with my lovely hairdresser, to restore my blonde gorgeousness.  Of course we stopped for a cuppa on the way, and enjoyed an excellent cheese scone

 

after my hair was rendered beautiful again, we came on over to Berwick, where the sun was shining in the windows this morning.  This is my little mannequin, which looks after my jewellery

 

I had taken this knitting project with me, as it has been lying neglected for some time.  The plan is to turn it into a rug - you can see where I have stuffed the first section with some wadding

 

I bought the balls of wool some years ago at Woolfest.  It is rug wool, very rough and tough

 

this morning we had a walk over to town, and surprise, surprise, we popped in to Café Crema

 

for a cuppa and the best (and biggest) cheese scone that we have shared for some time!

 

we had to pop out in the car after lunch to run some errands, then to avoid going back to the flat to do some housework, we took a little run up the coast and over the Border to St Abbs

 

as always there were lots of lobster pots lying about round the harbour - do you think anyone would notice if I pinched one to use as a planter in the garden?

 

there were lots of gulls sitting on the rocks in the distance

 

but this one posed nicely on a wall beside the harbour

 

after an exceedingly chilly walk round the harbour, we popped in for a warming cuppa

 

and enjoyed a little sweet treat - a small piece of tablet

 

and to finish - here is The Aunts' Quilt looking good on the guest bed in the flat

 

I don't think Pooh and Jemima would be pleased if they knew that Bruce the Puffalump was sitting on the quilt.  I have had Bruce since the 80s, when I named him after Bruce Willis - that's when he was a handsome young man with lots of hair!

 

I've just checked the weather for the weekend - although it is going to be cold, it should be dry, so we may get out and about for a walk.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

A windy day out!

Yesterday morning we headed down the coast to pick up Lucie to go out for lunch.  She had chosen this place by the beach in Blyth

 

this photo doesn't show just how busy it was, as it has been a school holiday this week

 

the three of us chose the same - haddock and chips.  It was all freshly cooked, the batter was light and crispy and the chips were plump and non-greasy. (thank you very much Lucie, for such a delicious treat!)

 

this starling was one of many keeping an eye on the people eating outside, in case they dropped a morsel

 

after lunch, we strolled over to the beach, stopping to admire the iconic beach huts (have a look back at the first photo, and you will see them on the chip shop sign)

 

looking out towards the lighthouse, the sea didn't look too rough

 

but the wind was whipping the tops off the waves

 

but despite the bitterly cold winds, there were some brave souls surfing!

 

but we hadn't gone just to have lunch and a chilly walk ...... Lucie had quilted The Aunts' Quilt for me.  This is just a sneak peek until I have stitched on the binding

 

back home, I got out all the leftover fabric to make the binding

 

and I also found the remains of a jelly roll which I can add in if there aren't enough scraps

 

so yesterday I cut all the shorter lengths

 

then this afternoon I cut the longer strips.  I hope to get the binding made and stitched on over the weekend

 

on Monday, when we were in Berwick, we popped into Mielle Patisserie ......

 

........ to share one of their delicious Provence scones

 

we  have also had a sweet treat - Sue's son-in-law, Adam, had these biscuits made for her, with an edible paper on top of the icing, with the shop's logo.  Adam has also designed a website for the shop - you can see it here

 

and to finish, I took this photo of the sunrise on Tuesday in Berwick.  The sky looked as if it was on fire, and just as I snapped the photo, a bird flew in to the shot to add some interest

 

it's a reasonable forecast for the weekend, so hopefully we will get out for a walk.  It should be milder, so Malcolm is hoping that he can get more work done fitting out his shed with a large workbench (and I will have to remind him to take photos!).  Enjoy your weekend, love Anne

An early treat ......

 ........ for Valentine's Day!  Yesterday morning, we popped over to The Running Fox in Longframlington, as I had offered to treat Malcolm to breakfast

 

although it had snowed during the night, it was bright and sunny

 

I was temporarily diverted from the breakfast menu by the sight of these scones!

 

as I like a reasonable amount of milk in my tea, I get annoyed in establishments that give you a tiny little jug of milk, as if it was rationed (although Malcom always gets a big jug of hot milk to have with his coffee).  So I was delighted yesterday that not only did I get plenty of milk, but it was served in a cute little bottle

 

Malcolm ordered the full breakfast .......

 

....... and I ordered the eggy bread with sausages - but I didn't expect to get such a plateful!  The food was delicious, with most of it sourced locally, and the bread is baked on the premises

 

after breakfast, we worked off a few of the calories with a walk round the church

 

the sun was shining through the trees, casting interesting shadows

 

although the wooden and glass doors are beautifully made, I think they are out of keeping with the age of the church

 

the bell tower is unusual, with a double opening

 

there were lots of snowdrops in flower

 

and lots of daffodils peeping through the grass

 

I do wish that the old gravestones could be cleaned and protected, are they are little bits of local history.  The wording on this one is unusual "Underneath this stone are deposited the remains", and also mentioned is the "afflicted widow"

 

this one is an unusual shape

 

this one faces away from the prevailing weather, so isn't as worn as many of the others

 

a last photo before we headed back to the car

 

now, I could lie and say that on the way home I got Malcolm to drop me off, and I walked the rest of the way taking photos

 

or I could tell the truth that the photos were taken through the windscreen from the comfort and warmth of the car!

 

there was still evidence of the overnight snow

 

with it even clinging to the tree trunks

 

the slightly scary downhill run into the village

 

we came up to Berwick this morning, as we had an appointment at our Solicitors to sign our updated wills.  Having moved to England, we were advised that it would be a good idea to have them re-written under English law (Scotland has a separate legal system).  We were delighted to find a new shop - The Little Vintage Shop.  Although it makes us feel old that what they sell as vintage is what we grew up with!

 

then a few doors along we saw this notice in an empty shop window.  I have done some paper making in the past, so I might sign up for one of the classes

 

I had a bit of fun taking photos of the railway bridge through the "new" road bridge (we were crossing the river on the old bridge)

 

I wonder if the local council would move the lamp post on the road bridge, as it doesn't quite line up with the centre of the span?

 

in this photo, you can just see a train crossing the railway bridge

 

this afternoon, there was a flurry of activity on the dock

 

but I was momentarily distracted

 

by the antics of these gulls

 

who looked as if they were having an argument

 

and I almost missed the moment when they removed something from the boat

 

it was the engine that was belching out smoke that I showed you in a recent post - they must have heard me say that they needed to do some serious maintenance on it!

 

I'll be back on Wednesday with a quick and easy tutorial.

Healthy eating!

Yesterday, when we were in Alnwick, we popped into the Chocolate Spa

 

for a cuppa

 

we shared a delicious slice of lemon sponge

 

and we were given a little dish with two chocolates ....... but Malcolm scoffed his before I could take a photo!

 

I bought two little chocolates to bring home - I love the little label on the bag

 

Malcolm, of course, had Shaun the Sheep (as you know, I don't like white chocolate), and I had Ted the Tractor

 

at this point I can hear you wondering why today's title is "healthy eating", when there has been no evidence of that so far?!  Well, these are the veggies that I prepped for tonight dinner - a rainbow on a plate

 

yesterday afternoon, I finished the two Charming Bags.  Jennifer and her younger son James visited us yesterday, so I thought that I would give her one of the bags.  I thought she would pick this one

 

but she chose this one.  She plans to keep her knitting in it

 

it was snowing again this morning when we went out, but by the time we got back home the sun was shining and the sky was blue!  There was great excitement when Malcolm spotted this tiny snowdrop, the first flower to appear from all the bulbs we planted in the autumn

 

and it shouldn't be long until these narcissi flower

 

the forecast isn't looking too good for the weekend - we may have to stay in and keep warm!  Whatever your weather, have a good weekend, love Anne

Two very different days

 Before I tell you about the weekend, I thought I would share this piece of absurdity with you.  This enormous plastic envelope arrived for Malcolm on Thursday - it is actually folded in half.  That's a mini bag of M&Ms (I just used it to hide the address) - the pencil gives you the scale

 

in the envelope was a folded piece of A4 paper, and a little plastic bag containing a tiny brass nozzle.  I don't know why it couldn't have been put in a normal sized envelope - so much for cutting down on plastic waste

 

so, on to the weekend.  It rained all day on Saturday in Berwick - not showers, just constant rain.  However, you don't have to go out to take photos - I took these through the window!  Out on the river beyond the dock, dozens of seagulls were diving into the water

 

they flew round and round for quite some time - then simply flew off!

 

this little fishing boat sailed out of the dock, trailing a cloud of smoke behind it.  I think they are needing to do some serious work on the engines!

 

this swan was having a good peck at its feathers

 

stretching its neck over its back to sort them out

 

finally it straightened up, every feather back in place

 

as we weren't able to get out for a walk on Saturday, we had a detour on our way home yesterday, as it was a bright sunny morning.  We decided to go to Bamburgh, as we prefer to go there in the winter, when it isn't crowded with tourists!

 

there were lots of daffodils .......

 

...... and snowdrops growing under the trees

 

I shall have to remember to plant daffodils round our trees in the autumn

 

this camellia was smothered in buds

 

unfortunately this shop was shut, so we couldn't sample their wares

 

this is the local cricket ground 

 

I wonder if it is the only one in the country situated in front of a castle?

 

the tennis court is being refurbished - Malcolm wouldn't let me play with the machines!

 

guess which way the wind mostly blows!

 

I wonder if the cricket club would let me borrow their heavy roller, as some of our grass is a bit lumpy and bumpy, and would benefit from being rolled

 

another view of the castle

 

it was a day for looking up at chimneys ........

 

..... set against the blue sky

 

the birds looked as if they were deep in conversation

 

as we walked round the cricket ground ......

 

this little robin followed us

 

sitting prettily for his close-up

 

we popped in here for a cuppa

 

but we didn't have chops and ale

 

instead we shared a delicious piece of carrot cake

 

I have now remembered to take a photo of my Charming Bag - I'll share it with you on Wednesday!

 

A Charming Bag!

First, thank you to those of you who let me know about the comment page in the new design being dark grey, making the comments hard to read. I get your comments in emails from Typepad, so I don't look at the comment page, and I wasn't aware of that, so I have changed the design again!

 

Now, on to the Charming Bag.  On Tuesday, I was teaching a class at The Quilt Shop, showing the ladies how to make the bag ....... and here we have a big oops - I forgot to take a photo of my bag!!  You can just see a little bit of it in the bottom right-hand corner of the photo!  I called it the Charming Bag as it is made with a charm pack, which contains 40x5" squares cut from one range of fabric

 

the ladies were soon hard at work, piecing the front and back of their bags

 

to make sure I got the right name to go with each bag, I took a note of the order I took the photos in!

 

 

Moira's Japanese themed version

 

Sonia chose William Morris

 

Hollie arranged her fabrics to go from light to dark

 

Christine chose bright fabrics

 

Karen used the same fabrics as Sonia

 

Pat chose pretty fabrics

 

Jo too chose William Morris

 

while Gillian chose soft fabrics

 

Karen was the first to have her zip stitched in place

 

after that it got very busy as the ladies sewed at a great rate to get as much finished as possible before the end of the day, and I didn't take any more photos.  But on Wednesday, at our usual sewing day, Hollie had almost finished her bag

 

and Sonia had finished hers!

 

while I was busy teaching, Malcolm was busy in the kitchen, and when I got home I was greeted with the delicious aromas of a chicken and ham pie!

 

when we were out and about yesterday morning, of course we went for a cuppa.  You know that we usually share a scone, but there was a "morning special" when a cuppa and a scone wasn't much dearer than just a cuppa, so of course we had to have a scone each (and as usual we traded half).  This was an excellent fruit scone, with homemade raspberry jam

 

and this a very tasty cheese scone

 

I hoped recently that spring is nearly here - and these snowdrops show that it just might be!

 

we are in Berwick, and as always hope that we will get out for a walk.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne