frayed at the edge

The Salmon Queen

Yesterday evening we walked along to the old bridge, to wait for the arrival of this year's Salmon Queen.  Her approach was heralded by the skirl of the pipes

 

with all the crush of people, I only managed a quick snap as she went past

 

then a view of her back as she got out of her boat (which had been towed behind a car!)

 

it was hard to take photos of all the people up on the stage, as the light was behind them, so these are the best of a poor bunch!  First, Lauren, the outgoing Queen

 

this woman with the fantastic hat is the High Sheriff of Northumberland

 

and this, of course, is the Mayor of Berwick, whom we met last month at the craft fair

 

and the most important person of the evening, the new Queen Shannon

 

after speeches by the two dignitaries and the two Queens, we were led in prayer by this chap - being Scottish I would call him a minister

 

we then walked the few yards to the War Memorial, where the minister again spoke, and the lone piper played a lament

 

Queen Shannon then prepared to lay a wreath, as the dignitaries looked on

 

with the solemn part of the evening over, the pipe band struck up a cheery tune

 

there was a big lad on the big drum

 

and a wee lad, who looked as if he might be his brother, on a much smaller drum!

 

as we left, we saw the High Sheriff chatting to some spectators

 

I wonder if she had a donut before she went home!!

 

in a comment on yesterday's post, Julia mentioned that her son would be fishing today near the old bridge.  As I walked along to the Gallery this morning to do my stewarding at the exhibition, I saw these men on the river, so I hope one of them is Julia's son

 

when I got to the Gallery, I was delighted to see the finished exhibition

 

when we arrived yesterday,  Reaper was moored at the quayside across the river

 

we went to see the ship after lunch today. I stayed on deck, declining to climb down the ladder to see below-decks, so Malcolm took these photos.  He said it was quite cramped, and that there was also a strong smell of diesel (fuel) which makes me feel sick, so I was glad I had stayed in the sunshine

 

 

these are my photos from on deck

 

then I took this one from the old bridge as we walked home

 

to finish ...... when I looked out the window after dinner tonight, a line of geese was heading out of the dock

 

within minutes, the remaining geese, who were still playing with the swans, hastily raced after the others

 

apart from this dozy one!!

When we arrived at the flat ........

........ late this afternoon, there were so many swans (and a few geese) in the dock, that I had to take three photos to include all of them!

 

we came over today because of this ......

 

...... so hopefully I will have lots of photos to share with you tomorrow.  But now, as promised, the progress report on the studio.  Having finished the painting on Tuesday, yesterday I set about putting the furniture into its new arrangement.  I started with the two main units on the back wall.  I bought these some years ago from a wool shop which closed, and they are provide lots of storage space

 

then to the left of them I put my cd/dvd storage units, and my old pine chest of drawers.  I will be able to put my quilting hoops in the spaces

 

on the facing wall, I put the big storage unit in the corner, and the bookcase (yes, it's a Billy bookcase from Ikea!) beside it

 

my plan was for Malcolm to link the two with shelves, but I realised that the shelves could only be as deep as the bookcase, which wasn't deep enough for the storage boxes I planned to put on them.  So I turned the bookcase sideways on - much better

 

I put the tables back in the centre of the room, and by the end of the afternoon, the studio looked like this, as seen from the four corners

 

I have sorted out my (many, many) magazines.  I have kept my favourite Australian, American and Spanish ones (and a few British ones) but I am parting company with the rest.  I gave Maureen a big pile on Tuesday - once she has read them, she will pass them on to the ladies in the Church sewing group that she goes to.  Then I gave another pile to my Lovely Neighbour (the shoe shop owner) - she will pass them on to her Mum.  A third pile went to a charity shop in Hawick this morning, and there is one pile left.  As I restore all my fabrics, threads and craft items to the storage units, I plan to be equally ruthless, and only keep the things I know I will use - the rest can go to the same charity shop (Shelter) that the magazines went to, as I know they will raise much needed money for homeless people.  Some of the stuff was bought in charity shops, so it will be raising money twice!

 

to finish, I thought you might like to see what we had for lunch in the garden centre in Kelso.  We shared a delicious egg mayo and bacon sandwich, and a small bowl of chips

 

I have been so busy .......

....... that I nearly forgot that this is the 15th of the month, so my next Aunts' Quilt report is due!!  As my design wall is unavailable, I popped the blocks on the floor in the back lounge to take the photos.  I am sure that Anna will forgive me for not keeping to the schedule, as I have made good progress this month.  After doing all the bias stems last month, I added all the pieces that were done with freezer paper

 

I have also completed another of my stitcheries - this is number 14 - only another eighteen to go!!

 

to finish -  I have been consulting this book, which Stuart gave me some years ago .....

 

....... and leafing through this magazine.  I'll show you how the new look studio is shaping up tomorrow

The phantom stone-stacker .......

........ has been busy again, this time on Cheswick Sands, one of the biggest beaches in Northumberland.  We had a long walk on the beach on Saturday, and I enjoyed assembling another little stone stack

 

looking to the north from the beach, you can see Berwick Lighthouse in the (blurry) distance

 

and to the south you can see the castle on Holy Island

 

some very hardy souls were braving the cold waters of the North Sea

 

this dog was having a great time, standing in the water and waiting for big waves to come crashing down on him!

 

we were rather worried that these stones beats would come to life ......

 

as usual, while Malcolm was striding out meandering along, I was lagging behind taking photos

 

as we walked back through the dunes to the car, I spotted this sign ......... 

I still have lots of photos from the weekend - maybe I'll be able to include them later in the week!  I was home earlier than expected from my day out with Maureen, so we were able to get on with the second coat of paint in the studio

 

 

when we were buying the paint last week, I spotted this bag to put the roller in - it was a lot easier than wrapping it up in yards of clingfilm!

 

to finish ...... do you remember some weeks ago I bought a tray of "living salad" for £1 from Lidl, and planted them out in our vegetable trough?  Well ....... look at them now!!

Catching up!!

I have been very, very busy since I was last here, so it will take a few days to catch up with what we have been doing.  So here, in no particular order, is a quick snapshot of the last few days!  We arrived home yesterday to a lovely squishy envelope on the doormat, with a pretty envelope inside

 

and inside that envelope was a lovely note from Dawn, saying that when she saw these very cute owl buttons she thought of me, and then bought them for me!  Thank you very much, Dawn!

 

Yesterday morning we went along to the Watchtower Gallery in Berwick, to hand in my three driftwood fish pictures, which  are being included in this exhibition

 

we had offered to help with setting up the exhibition, so we were given this wall to work on

 

which gradually filled up with all sorts of fish/boat/seaside related items

 

there is also an exhibition of artwork at the other end of the large room

 

the Watchtower is a magnificent old building, a wonderful setting for the exhibitions.  Do pop in if you are in the area - and if you pop in this Friday, you'll find me there, doing a stint as a steward

 

we went over to Berwick on Friday, to have a break from the dreaded decorating.  There were hardly any swans about, but when Malcolm went out for a walk, he spotted them all huddled in a corner on the far side of the dock (he also got all three bridges in the photo!)

 

however on Saturday, there were lots of them about

 

 

I suppose I ought to show you some of the decorating!  The biggest job was washing down the ceiling and walls, which were grubby because of the log burning stove.  This is Malcolm finishing the last bit of washing this morning

 

we then covered the carpet with a motley collection of old curtains, shower curtains, towels, and even an old ironing board cover!

while Malcolm did the cutting in, I got busy with the roller.  After much humming and hawing last week, we eventually settled on a light green paint, as I fancied having some colour on the walls, rather than boring white

 

having done the ceiling, Malcolm took this action shot of me starting on the walls.  I always use the roller on a long pole - much easier than using a stepladder

 

by mid-afternoon, I had done the first coat, and this is Malcolm covering the last little bit of white

 

I hope to get the second coat done on Wednesday (I'm having a girly day out with Maureen tomorrow), then we can get the furniture back in place and everything put away.  The lower room will be much quicker to do, as it is much smaller, with a much lower ceiling.

 

last week, it wasn't a squishy envelope that brought a present, but a stout cardboard box.  A gorgeous gift from the Lovely Granny-to-be, to say thank you for the Lovely Baby quilt.  Thank you very much, Granny-to-be ..... the fizz has gone away for a special occasion, and we have only just eaten the last chocolate!

 

and to finish ....... as soon as I saw this little box in a charity shop last week, I had to buy it

 

so of course we had to have boiled eggs for breakfast the next day!!

What do you do .......

....... when you have to wash a black and white quilt, and you have visions of the black dye running all over the white bits?

 

Panic!!  But after thinking about it, you buy a packet of Colour Catcher

 

so that when you wash the quilt, any loose dye is absorbed by the colour catcher sheet .......

 

and your quilt looks clean and fresh, spread out on the bed in the guest room, until it can be hung back up in the studio

 

do you think I should sue E L James for stealing the title of my quilt?  And if you are wondering why it is called Shades of Grey, this is the reason, as written on the label on the back of the quilt

 

buoyed up by the success of washing that one, I decided to also wash the two batik quilts which hang in the studio

 

again the Colour Catcher did its work

 

and the batiks are bright and fresh again

 

yesterday, I unpicked the borders for Mrs Billings that I was unhappy with - it took less time to unpick them than it would have taken to mark and cut out new pieces

 

a quick press, and they were ready to use

 

so after packing up more bits and bobs in the studio, I watched some of the tennis while I prepped the diamonds.

 

 

I had to give up watching Sharipova, as she got louder and louder as the match went on.  It brought to mind a saying, which I will express in a more polite form ....... she sounded as if she had caught her bosom in a mangle (photo from Ebay)

 

while I was sewing, Malcolm was busy painting the back garden gate - the black paint looks very smart

 

I won't be here for the rest of the week, as I just have so much to do, but I will be back on Monday.  To finish ..... Malcolm picked up this flyer when he was out this morning

 

despite being born, and growing up in Airdrie, I have never heard of the Airdrie Boys, so I was even more surprised when I looked at the other side, and saw that they went to Airdrie Academy, where I went many years later.  I don't remember them ever being mentioned at school, and there weren't any prints of their work in the art classrooms

Before I tell you .......

....... why Malcolm was banished to Berwick at the weekend, I have some photos of the stunning sunset on Friday night

in contrast, I got up on Saturday morning to a prolonged thunderstorm, and torrential rain that was bouncing back out of the birdbath

 

which was in contrast to Thursday, when Mr Blackbird enjoyed a leisurely bath

 

then a little bit of sunbathing to dry off

 

ok, lets get on to the main topic!!  The studio needs redecorated, which of course means that I have to pack everything up.  I decided it would be much easier to do it on my own, as I am very fussy about how all my treasures are treated!  So Malcolm was sent off to have fun in Berwick, while I tackled this (I am embarrassed at how untidy it all is!!)

 

as I started the packing, I was distracted by this little tin, which was given to me by a friend years ago - she obviously recognised my many talents!!

 

but I realised that if I kept stopping to take photos, I would never finish!  By the middle of Saturday afternoon I had had enough of carrying boxes out to the garage, so watched Wimbledon instead!  However, I was busy packing when Malcolm came home at lunchtime yesterday.  He went up in the loft to get more boxes for me, so that I could pack up my books.  There was no way I could carry these heavier boxes, so I used the sack barrow

 

this afternoon, I packed my fabric into bags - the first packed were these three bright bags, which I bought in Majorca in May

by the end of this afternoon, quite  bit of progress had been made

 

to finish - if you don't like snails, go no further!  This one was slithering up the studio door yesterday

You may have noticed .......

...... that I like my food!  I also enjoy cooking, but for some reason I haven't done a foodie post for a while.  Yesterday, I thought I ought to use the two large sweet potatoes that I bought recently, so this is what I did.  I diced approx 225g of onions

 

and put them in a pot with a good glug of sunflower oil to sweat

 

I then peeled and diced approx 1000g of sweet potato

 

and added it to the onion

 

as I didn't have a spare chicken carcass lying about the place to make stock, I used my preferred stock pot

 

I added the stock and a tin of coconut milk .....

 

...... to the sweet potato and onions, and simmered it until the veggies were soft - about 30 minutes

 

once it had cooled a bit, I whizzed it up with my stick blender

 

ok, at this point you are probably thinking that's nothing special ....... but there's more!  I diced approx 200g of chicken breast

 

and got the chilli and ginger out of the freezer.  You could of course use fresh ......

 

but these frozen cubes are handy to have, if you don't have fresh ones available

 

it didn't take long to stir fry the chicken

 

I gave Malcolm a little taste

 

and of course tasted it myself.  We decided that it could do with more coconut (that was all there was in the store cupboard) and perhaps more chilli, as we both like spicy food.  The soup is now in the freezer - I think home made soup is one of the things that tastes better after it has been frozen.

While the soup was simmering, I looked out this recipe

 

Stuart had asked me recently to make more limoncello for him, as he likes to put some in his lmp, so I thought I would try this gin-based version instead.  It is now in a dark cupboard for the next week

 

when I put it in the cupboard, I checked on the sloe gin, which has been maturing since December

 

although it is pale ..... oh my, it is very, very good

 

that left one more task - to use up the six lemons!  I turned as ever to my go-to book

 

for this recipe

 

after twenty minutes of stirring this luscious mixture

 

I had three jars of lemon curd .......

 

....... and a very messy kitchen!

 

after all that, do you still have room for the Friday cake?  Of course you do!!

 

Malcolm is over in Berwick, and I am home alone ........ I'll tell you why on Monday!  Have a great weekend, love Anne

Not so much shabby chic .......

........ but rather shabby sheep!  I encountered these beauties when I went out for a walk at lunchtime

 

it was breezy, and it seemed that every time that I got a flower in focus, the breeze whirled round and the flower vanished from the viewfinder

 

I took quite a few photos of this bee before I got one that I was happy with

 

I passed several gates on my walk, some of which are never opened

 

this is my favourite gate, and I think that it is such a shame that instead of being repaired, it has simply been fenced off

 

it has elegant posts

 

and beautifully crafted hinges

 

inspired by some photos in a recent post by Amy, I reset the camera to take B&W photos of the church

as I was changing back to my standard setting, I noticed one called "nostalgia"

 

I think there is a slight difference between the colours in that one, and this one taken on my normal setting

 

to finish ....... there were no donkeys about when I set out on my walk, and when I came back they were in the far-away paddock, but I did manage to take a photo of the little cute one

 

ps - I spent the afternoon in the kitchen - pop in tomorrow to see what I was cooking!

 

 

Hot and hazy

As usual, the media are going mad, with headlines like "hotter than Argentina" ....... but of course, our hot weather will last for a day or two, while Argentina (why Argentina, not one of the first places that springs to mind for a comparison) will stay hot.  Never mind, we decided to enjoy it while it lasts, and headed out this morning to Born in the Borders, for, first, a walk along the river, then a spot of lunch

the remains of a very big tree

the thistles will soon turn purple

 

this gate hasn't been closed for a while

 

a hazy Fatlips Castle in the distance

 

Ruberslaw, also hazy in the distance

 

you can read about Chesters House here

 

the river was very low, but still provided some good photos

 

there has been a lot of work going on in the area, renewing the electrical gubbins (hopefully when it is finished we won't have power cuts like yesterday's)

 

and of course there had to be an arty photo!

 

after an enjoyable (if slightly hot and sweaty) walk, we headed back to Born in the Borders' courtyard.  We didn't go into the brewery

 

but we had a look round the food hall

 

and the clothing and gifts shop

 

before heading into lunch

 

it turned out we were slightly early for lunch, so we ordered from the brunch menu.  Malcolm had egg and asparagus on toast with hollandaise

 

and I tucked into a sausage and bacon sandwich, on artisan bread

 

on the way back to the car, we resisted the temptation to try out the latest attraction

 

to finish - a warning for fishermen about the overhead electrical wires