frayed at the edge

Homeward bound

We had a lovely time at Stuart's - an excellent dinner, and perhaps a glass or two of wine!  Old habits die hard, and I got up early to see Stuart off to work .... it was very cold and frosty - minus four degrees!!  Of course we went to Aromas Coffee Shop for the best bacon roll in the world, followed by a potter round the shops, then we headed off for home.  There was still a lot of snow, so especially for Lee and Tracy, who are sweltering in the Australian summer (poor things) here are some more snowy pictures .......  

 

 

 

 

it was threatening to snow again, which was bad news for .....

 

...... these sheep - even with their woolly coats they must be cold!

back home the Minto Hills looked good! 

 

And finally, for those of you who never experience snow and ice and frost ....... you might never have seen one of these

 

but what does it do, I hear you cry!

 

It spreads salt on the roads to melt the snow and ice - you can see the brown salt coming out at the back - and it can also have a plough on the front to clear the road of deep snow.  If you look at the road sign on the right of the photo, you may just see that it says Welcome to Scottish Borders - we always cheer when we pass the sign, as it means we're 'home'!!

I hope you have a super weekend - we have a lot more snow forecast ....

Love, Anne

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Let it snow!

We got up this morning to find it had snowed!  Just a sprinkle, but enough to make you think that Christmas really is almost here!  I didn't have time to take photos before we left to come up to Falkirk (I'm sitting in Stuart's lounge typing this!) ..... but I did take the following photos this morning on our way up - they're not too bad considering they were taken from a moving car!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that was all very pretty as we went up the A7, but then when we got to the outskirts of Edinburgh, the weather took a decided turn for the worse .....

 

and if you thought that was bad .....

 

 

the traffic was very slow going at this point!

 

Now that it is almost Christmas, it's time to 'send' you my Christmas card!  First of course is the envelope .....

 

 

....... and then the card .......

Malcolm spotted these in a local charity shop - pillar box, my favourite!!

and inside the card?

and the charity the cards are in aid of?

 

 

We may think it Christmas, but a shop we were in today thinks it's almost Easter!!!

Oh look, Typepad don't want to put this last photo in the middle!

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Oh the pain ....

..... oh the agony - I was at the dentist this afternoon ..... but it wasn't the treatment that hurt, it was the fact that I finally had to pay the bill for six months' treatment!  I wouldn't have minded so much - but the amount ended with a penny .... and they made me pay it!!!

Never mind, on with the fun stuff!  Ulrika decided that she wasn't going to wait for her sisters, and sat up and posed nicely on top of the cushion on my favourite chair

 

She loves her skirt with its fluffy edge to match her scarf - especially as her sisters' skirts are plain!  But I did say yesterday she looked as if she was full of mischief .... I turned my back for a minute and this is what she got up to .....

Who ate all the panettone?  (I keep my stash of hot chocolate in this old tin!!)

 

If I promise to clean my teeth can I eat all this chocolate?  (No!!)

 

I don't like these satsumas - they clash with my hat!

 

 

My new best friend ..... Cheeky Monkey!

 

 

Tomorrow we are going up to Falkirk to see Stuart, and I'll be giving him this beautiful Christmas card that I made for him .....

 

 

Don't worry, he will be getting a proper card, this was just a bit of fun .... when I saw the badger card-making kit, I just couldn't resist it!

And finally - did I put up the tree?  Yes, I did!!

 

ps - I'm sorry the last two photos aren't centred, but Typepad has thrown one of its periodic wobblies and refuses to co-operate!!!

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Small people .......

....... at least I think this first person must be small

 

This photo was in yesterday's Daily Telegraph.  As you know, I like pillar/post boxes, so of course I had to show you this super photo.  Hopefully you can read the article - but what it doesn't say is that John Cooper works for Machan Engineering in Denny, Stirlingshire, the only company left in Britain which makes pillar and post boxes.

 

I know this next person is definitely is small ... and not only small, but also very shy.  Here is Ulrika, hiding behind the cushion, but looking as if she might be plotting against her brothers!  She says she will come out from behind the cushion and show you her lovely fluffy white scarf once her big sisters stop hiding in the knitting basket (it must be a family trait, remember her brothers hid in there too!!)

 

I had hoped to put the Christmas tree up today .... but the best laid plans ..... ah well, there is always tomorrow!!
 
 

Decorating

There have been two kinds of decorating going on in the house.  The first is the boring but necessary kind ..... we have been decorating the lounge - hooray, no more dull grey walls, instead they are a rich, warm stone colour, and the fireplace wall is going to be papered with a big bold patterned paper!

The other decorating is much more fun - starting with my little wallhangings, which I have made over the years.  They go on the doors in the hall, so that you see them every time you walk through the house.  The first one I made years ago - I designed it as a mystery wallhanging for a group I was Chairman of ... it was lots of fun, with people asking to see the finished one, so they would know what to do!!  It's looking a little worn now, and has lost the beads and bells that hung from the bottom edge ....

 

 

The next one was made from a kit - very simple, but pretty

 

This Father Christmas was also made from a kit - I love his fluffy beard and the little bell on the end of his hat!

 

And yes, this snowman was from a kit as well - the advantage of kits is that you don't have lots of fabric left over that you might not use

 

You have already seen the little elves that tell us how many days there are until Christmas, but they have now been joined by two little ornaments that can have a tealight in them - very pretty!

 

Our dining room windowsill is very deep - perfect for decorating.  It's a bit of a motley collection, but we like it .... first one side

 

and then the other

 

I made the runner for the dining table last year (and there are matching placemats) and I bought the napkin/salt and pepper holder just a few weeks ago

 

I had planned to put the tree up on Saturday, but things didn't go as intended, so hopefully you will get to see the tree tomorrow!
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

Shadow Shot Sunday

I know it's still Saturday here, but it's Sunday in Brisbane, and as ever Tracy of Hey Harriet has been busy putting together this week's collage  and posting her own excellent shadow shots - do pop over and visit ..... but not before you have looked at my shadow shots!!

 

We had quite a lot of rain at the start of the week, but on Thursday the sun came out, so not only were there shadows, but there were also some wonderful reflections in the puddles!!

 

a wonderful upside-down higgledy piggledy fence

 

a shadow behind the fence and a small reflection in the puddle in front

 

the statue of the 'village idiot' in the old graveyard

 

shadow on the church door

I hope you have enjoyed this week's shadows - I certainly enjoyed taking them!

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

Good fun!

I set off for Borderland Fabrics much earlier than usual, as today was our Christmas lunch.  Annette and Cathy set the mood for the festivities, when they changed into their costumes .....

 

Annette

 

 

Cathy

 

 

the gang's all here!

 

 

we all took a contribution for lunch

 

 

pudding!!

 

 

I was just enjoying my meringue .....

 

 

...... when one of the others 'helped' me put it in my mouth!!

 

 

the parcels for the 'Secret Santa'

 

 

this is the parcel I took ......

 

 

..... and these are the cards I made

 

We had a super day .... by the end our ribs were sore from laughing!!  We had such a lot of fun - and of course lots of lovely food (and I forgot to mention the mulled wine!).

I hope you all have a super weekend .... I'll be putting our Christmas tree up.

 

ps - did you notice that I've had my hair cut short - I got fed up with it - especially when it was windy and it kept getting in my eyes (and in my mouth).  I'll have to change the photo on my profile (but perhaps I won't use that meringue photo!!).

 

 

 

 

Making amends!

After the embarrassment of having no new photos for you yesterday, I made sure that I took lots today!!  So ..... let's get started!

This morning we went to Hawick for some shopping (and we may have had a cuppa and a scone).  I bought 5 lovely little napkins in the Oxfam shop for 99p ....

 

I thought I might use them to make little gift bags - I have just folded this one, but it gives you the idea of what I could do ...

 

It has been a lovely clear bright day, so I popped out after lunch for a quick walk up to the church, hoping to get some shadow shots for Sunday.  I got some good shadows and reflections, and I also was pleased with this photo of a large tree in the old graveyard behind the church

 

I also liked this colourful shrub in front of one of our neighbours' garden wall

 

Tomorrow we are having our Christmas lunch at patch'n'chat. We have to take a small gift for the 'Secret Santa', so this afternoon I headed out to the studio to make some cards ....

..... but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how they turned out!

 

Work on the Gnome Sisters is going well, so I thought you might like to see how they're looking

I have some lovely fluffy white wool to knit scarves for them and I think I might also knit skirts.

 

Later on this afternoon, the birds appeared for their teatime feed

 

The fat balls were very popular - I think the birds need the fat to help keep the cold out

 

ps - I also did all the ironing, so altogether a busy day!!

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Here's one I made earlier!

There just aren't enough hours in the day at the moment, and the one thing I didn't get done today was taking photos for tonight's post ..... so it's into the archives again!  I thought I would show you some of my wallhangings - some of them are really bright, which is a decided contrast to today's weather which has been grey and dreary again!!

 

 

I thought we would start with something seasonal - this is Cheeky Angel

 

 

this is called Blooming Bright - for obvious reasons!

 

 

another bright one - Funky Baltimore

 

 

it will soon be spring - this is Fresh as a Daisy

 

 

and what better way to finish than with this one - Simply Friends

 

Tuesday Treasures

I recently went to put my watch on after I got dressed, only to find it had stopped.  Fortunately it only needed a new battery, as it has a special significance ....

 

In 1998, when we were living in Indonesia, there was political trouble which culminated in President Suharto being deposed.  We had to be evacuated and returned home for a while.  Once we went back to Indonesia, Malcolm's employer, BP, wished to do something to show their appreciation of the disruption to our lives.  In the end, they decided to give each of us a sum of money .... and I bought this watch, so it is a reminder of the extraordinary times we lived through.

 

When I found it had stopped, I went into my jewellery box to get out my 'good' watch (I'm one of those people who always likes to know what time it is and I always wear a watch!) ....

...... this is a tiny dainty watch for wearing to special events.  I bought it in 1995 with money that my Dad gave my after my Mum died, so of course it is very special to me.  It had also stopped - yes, another new battery needed!

However, all was not lost, and it was back into the jewellery box .....

..... this was my Mum's watch, given to her by my Dad for their Silver Wedding in 1971.  My Mum gave it to me not long before she died, as she knew how much I liked it (I used to borrow it for special occasions).  Of course, being so old, it is a proper wind-up watch, not some new-fangled thing needing a battery, so I was able to wear it until I could go to the jewellers to get batteries for the other two.  It may be old and not worn very often, but it still keeps perfect time - and I suspect it will outlast the other two!!