This morning I had a potter along Hawick High Street. First stop was the bank to pay a bill, but after that things improved! A quick trip into WH Smith to buy the papers and this month's Sew Hip magazine, then on to the Shelter charity shop, where something was calling to me as I went in the door - buy me, buy me
nineteen balls at 50p each - how could I resist!
lovely colours and textures, with a little glint of silver - I think this could be a throw.
After a quick stop for a cuppa (I resisted the scones - with difficulty!) the last stop was at Morrisons for a bit of shopping. Hooray, the first British strawberries have arrived
They look, smell and, most importantly, taste absolutely fabulous, with a lovely texture. Compare them with these ones at the Sunday market in Pollensa
these ones might win a prize for the biggest strawberries ever, but they don't have a lot of flavour and even when they appear very ripe, they are still quite hard. Home grown is definitely best!
After an enjoyable lunch of homemade leek and potato soup and toast, we headed off to Harestanes for a walk. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as good as our last walk there on Easter Sunday, but it was nice to get out in the fresh air (instead of doing the ironing!). Last time, the bluebells were just starting to flower, but now they are starting to go over. However, the carpet of blue under the trees is lovely
The smell from the wild garlic was quite strong in the rain, and the flower shone white against the wet leaves
Malcolm had to keep stopping for me to catch up, as I was sidetracked by another photo opportunity - like this tiny purple flower (it's about the size of a shirt button!)
suddenly, we came to the end of the woods and came out on to the road, to see this wonderful view
as we turned round to retrace our steps, I had to take this photo - there is just something appealing about old fence posts and walls (or am I just weird?)
on the way back, we had a slight detour to the Woodside garden centre for a cuppa
it was raining when we came out, so Malcolm kindly held the umbrella over me as I took photos of the wisteria
and the tree peonie
If you are thinking about coming to the glorious Scottish Borders for a holiday, then I can recommend this cottage owned by local artists Hugh and Lindsay (you've met Lindsay already - the organiser of the Woolgatherings). Do have a look - the cottage is well-situated not only for exploring the Borders, but also for crossing the border into Northumberland, which has numerous wonderful castles to visit, including Alnwick Castle, with its wonderful gardens.
This has turned out to be a marathon post - especially as I keep pausing to watch a fascinating programme about the 'six degrees of separation'!