frayed at the edge

Wine and cricket!

Although the domestic cricket season is over, there is still cricket being played abroad ....... so we are enjoying a glass of wine and watching cricket in India, thanks to the magic of Sky tv.  Yes - I watch cricket too - my Dad played when I was little, and we used to have 'test matches' in the back garden, until we got new neighbours who erected a greenhouse!

The wind has finally dropped, and it is merely breezy now.  The sky is clear, so hopefully we will get another lovely sunset.  I have a collection of 'sky' fabrics ..... maybe one day I will make a wallhanging of the view of the sunset from the front garden.

This afternoon at patch'n'chat, Tricia produced her sampler quilt, which she has just finished.  It is a truly stunning quilt and she is under strict instructions to put it into the Scottish Championships next year.  It is her birthday tomorrow - so many happy returns, Tricia, and have a wonderful day with your family!!

 

 

Andrea was working on a gorgeous wallhanging (even if it does have cats on it - you know that I don't like cats).  We all liked the combinations of blue and yellow, giving it a lovely fresh look.

 

 

Annette wasn't able to bake a cake for us this week, but we forgave her when she produced Selkirk bannock for us to enjoy with our afternoon cuppa.  This link will take you to the website of the firm who make 'the original' Selkirk bannock - and lots of other traditional Scottish goodies.

 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

 

ps - I thought you might like another photo of the robin in the birdbath!

 
 

Emergency over!

Being a punctual person, I arrived at the dental centre 15 minutes early ...... and was taken after waiting for only five minutes.  Fifteen minutes later, my tooth was fixed, the bill was paid and I was heading for home.  Sadly Douglas, my dentist that I was so in love with, has now retired, so I was treated by my new dentist, Mr Prusek.  I think he is Eastern European ..... he sounds like a villain in a James Bond film 'you need a new fillink'.  He was very quick and efficient, and apart from the first prick of the needle, I didn't feel a thing - that's my kind of dentist!!

Back home, I made some apple and sultana chutney.  As so often happens, there was a little drop left over when I filled the jars ....... so what better way to try it than with a piece of crumbly extra mature cheddar and some slices of pear

 

 

We have had extremes of weather today - very bright sunny spells, mixed up with black skies and heavy rain.  So the birds were either sheltering .......

 

 

..... this little sparrow even had its head tucked under its wing

 

 

...... or tucking in before the next shower

 

 

For once the robin sat for long enough on the stone owl for me to take a photo

 

 

but he was determined to keep his back to me when he perched on the wooden owl

 

 

There haven't been any finches in the garden recently, so I was glad to see this one this morning

 

 

 

This afternoon I was out in the studio, continuing with my sporadic attempts to sort out my various stashes.  I have a lot of sample curtains, which I buy (very cheaply) from a shop in Hawick.  They take up a lot of room, so I have been gradually taking them apart, keeping the fabric, throwing out the little bits of header tape, and giving the lining fabric to Malcolm, who plans to use it as extra insulation in the loft.  So I reduced this pile ......

 

 

to this much smaller one

 

 

Now I have to resist the temptation to fill the empty spaces !!

 

 

To finish, some photos of last night's stunning sky

 

 

 

 

Dental emergency:part 2

I phoned the dental centre at 8.02am, and asked for an emergency appointment.  I had to give my name, what the problem was, and say if I was in pain (foolishly, as it turned out, I answered truthfully and said no).  I was then told that someone would phone me back to let me know if I could have an appointment today, but as I wasn't in pain it was unlikely - those in pain would have a higher priority. What??  I was told to phone back this morning for an appointment ...... no, the receptionist insisted, I wasn't told that at all.  I was very slightly cross after this conversation - did this mean that I would have to phone up every morning, and unless I lied and said I was in pain, there was little chance of getting an appointment?  I may not be in pain, but I am worried that the thin section of tooth where the filling fell out might break off.  Then, just after 9am, a bright and breezy phone call to say that I couldn't have an appointment today (no pain!), but I had an appointment for tomorrow (hooray).

On to happier things!  We went out for lunch to the Woodside Garden centre, which has a wonderful new website.  We sat next to the window, as usually there are lots of birds on the feeders, but because of the strong winds, there were very few birds about.  But I did manage to take some photos

 

 

 

 

After luch we had a stroll round the garden centre, which is set in an old walled garden.  There was a display of wonderful garden sculptures (there are details on the website) .......

 

 

 

......... and this large seedhead caught my eye - a cardoon

 

 

On the way home, we saw potatoes being harvested by large machines - very different from when the potatoes were harvested by hand, which was backbreaking work known as tattie howking

 

 

Back home, I went in to the lounge for something ..... and saw a nuthatch on the peanut feeder.  I rushed off and got the camera - but just as I got back to the lounge, a big bully-boy sparrow attacked the nuthatch and drove it off.  However it did briefly come back, and I took these (not very good ) photos

 

slightly blurred

 

 

a nice view of its bottom!

 

 

a slightly better view

When I googled nuthatch for a link, I discovered that there are dozens of them!!

 

I was out at knit'n'natter this afternoon, and this gave Malcolm the chance to have a go at baking a tarte tatin ...... and he took photos!

 

caster sugar and a little alcohol

 

 

bubbling away to turn into caramel

 

 

apples and brambles added ......

 

 

....... then dotted with butter

 

 

the puff pastry put on top and tucked in round the edges

 

 

after 30 minutes at 190 degrees

 

 

turned out on to the serving plate

 

 

the healthy option - low fat creme fraiche!

 

The tarte was delicious - I just wish you could somehow reach into your computer to have a taste!!

A small emergency

When I was brushing my teeth this morning, something didn't feel quite right.  A quick feel round with my tongue revealed that a filling had fallen out.  Unfortunately, this filling is in the back/down the edge of a front tooth (upper left two, to be precise) so it has left a gap.  Of course I immediately phoned the dentist ..... only to get a recorded message telling me that everyone was busy and to phone back later.  When this happened twice more, I said to Malcolm that I would just head down to the dental centre, in the hope of getting an emergency appointment.  When I got there, there was little sign of anyone being too busy to answer the phone!  I explained what had happened and asked if there was an appointment available for today.  The receptionist said no, and that I would have to phone tomorrow between 8am and 8.30, to ask for an emergency appointment.  I found this just a little bit puzzling - why couldn't I just make the appointment there and then?  Because you can only make an emergency appointment by phoning between etc.  So I will just have to hope that when I phone tomorrow morning, they aren't to busy to answer the phone!!

When I got home, things didn't get much better - there on the doormat was a cardboard envelope containing photos, clearly marked 'please do not bend' .......

 

 

Never mind, things then got better when I went out to the studio to do some sewing.  I finished the redwork block

 

 

Did some more work on the Baltimore block

 

 

Then I spent the afternoon watching an old film while I prepped more hexagons

 

 

When I transferred today's photos to the laptop before dinner, I realised that I had only taken the above four!  So after dinner, I settled down to take some photos of the sparrows on the bird feeders ....... but they preferred for some time to sit in the hawthorn tree

 

 

But eventually, this male decided to tuck in to the seed in the feeder

 

 

 

 

While this one had a look on the ground for food - you can see from his ruffled feathers that it is quite windy here!

 

Thoroughly spoiled!

I had a wonderful day yesterday, starting with a delicious breakfast-in-bed made by Malcolm (sorry, no photo, much too early!)  ........ smoked salmon and scrambled egg, served with sundried tomato and parmesan bread which I had made on Saturday (ok - I put a packet mix in the bread machine!!)  Later, we popped down to Sainsbury's to get the Sunday papers, and while there we had a cuppa and shared a Belgian bun - a special treat for my birthday!  Stuart arrived at lunchtime and we headed over to the cheesery, where we bought several tasty cheeses.  We then set off for a spot of lunch - only to find that the place we had chosen was closed!  However, we went instead to the Jammy Coo, where we had very tasty paninis (Malcolm and I shared one, having had the bun!)

Now we finally get to some photos ....... the wonderful dinner which Malcolm made for us.  The dining room was just dark enough to light the candles and turn on the lamps

 

 

We didn't have a starter - just straight to the main course ...... and what a main course!  Wonderful, tender venison, with a raspberry and bramble jus, and delicious vegetables

 

 

Then ........ the lemon meringue pie!  It was sooooo good (and I won't tell tales about Malcolm and Stuart having second helpings!)

 

 

We had our wine in our beautiful engraved wineglasses - and I couldn't resist taking this 'arty'  photo of the candle shining through the glass!

 

 

I finally finished the scarf ...... I was glad to find that I hadn't missed another bobble - it had somehow gone through to the wrong side.

 

 

I have finished knitting the item for the swap I am doing over at Emily's blog, and have started on a pair of socks for me.  As there are so many colours in the yarn, I am just doing a plain sock

 

 

To finish ....... if you have a comment form like this one on your blog

 

...... you may have noticed that I haven't left a comment for a few days.  Every time I try, either the comment vanishes, or I get an error message.  I am still reading all of my favourite blogs, and if I could comment, I would say that it's the most wonderful/interesting/profound/moving/funny post, illustrated with the most amazing photos!!

Shadow Shot Sunday

The weather may still be glorious 'down south', but here on this side of the border it is grey again!  Fortunately I made the most of the sunshine earlier in the week to collect some shadow shots, so I can join in the fun over at Hey Harriet.