frayed at the edge

Oh I do like to be ......

...... beside Newbiggin-by-the sea!  As it was a clear bright (and somewhat chilly) morning yesterday, we headed over to Newbiggin for a walk along the seafront.  I wasn't worried by this notice, as there was no way I was going anywhere near the freezing cold sea!

 

we missed seeing the lifeboat being launched from the trailer behind the tractor

 

but we saw it out at sea bouncing over the waves

 

then later we saw it reversing on to the trailer

 

and being towed back up the beach

 

finishing with a tricky manoeuvre to reverse ........

 

up to the lifeboat station

 

this groyne shouldn't end up buried under the sand, as it is part of the landscaping, and isn't on the beach

 

this may look like a bare wall

 

but a closer look .......

 

...... shows plant growing between the bricks

 

a quick pause for an arty photo

 

from the far end of the seafront, we had a good view of the church on the point

 

then I took this photo as we walked back to the car

 

I suggested this boat would be a good "fixer-upper" project for Malcolm, but he declined to buy it! 

 

so I suggested that he could offer to repair these doors, as they are definitely in need of some tlc

 

we were going to go to this café for a cuppa, as it brings back memories for Malcolm of childhood visits and ice cream treats.  But as it was closed ......

 

...... we headed instead to the Maritime Centre

 

where we had some excellent sconnage for lunch

 

what an excellent idea, encouraging people to help keep the beach clean (I think people who drop litter on the beach should be thrown into the freezing sea as punishment - that would make them think twice before doing it again!)

Back in the old routine!

 Yesterday I took down and packed away all the Christmas decorations, and now all that is left is the Christmas cactus

 

and the poinsettia - amazingly I have managed not to kill this one, and so far it has only lost one leaf!

 

while I was packing away the decorations, Malcolm was busy putting up this curtain over the front door.  Oh dear, I can hear you say, but how will the door open with the curtain in the way?

 

a little bit of magic - the curtain rail is attached to a bracket at one end, and can you just see the arm that pushes the rail forward as the door is opened?  I had vaguely remembered seeing such curtain rails, and eventually tracked one down online

 

I got very excited when I was out in the garden this morning - this tiny shoot is a snowdrop, the first of the bulbs we planted in the autumn!

 

this blackbird is slightly hazy, as I took the photo through the kitchen window

 

when we were watching University Challenge last night, three of the questions involved naming Russian cities marked on a map.  To help, the cities' names were shown in the Cyrillic alphabet.  Malcolm was exceedingly surprised (and impressed) when I told him the answers.  He had forgotten that I studied Russian at school

 

after a search this afternoon, I found my Russian dictionary, which was a school prize

 

I used to be able to read and write Cyrillic script!

 

some very good advice after the Christmas overindulgence! 

 

I may have stepped away from the chocolate, but this week we have indulged in two delicious cheese scones

 

but of course as usual we had half each, so not too naughty!

 

the forecast for the weekend isn't too bad, so hopefully we will get out for a walk, after being somewhat lazy for the last two weeks.  And of course I hope to spend some time in my Attic, playing with fabric!  Have a good weekend, love Anne

 

I'm dreaming of a white ......

........ Friday after Christmas!

 

it started to snow after breakfast

 

and just went on and on!

 

as it started to get dark, large amounts of crows started to appear on the tall trees in the distance

 

while several dozen starlings appeared on the hedge outside the kitchen window

 

even starlings turn their backs on me!

 

later, the moon appeared (I should say that all these photos were taken from indoors - there was no way I was going out in the snow!)

 

on Sunday we went up to Berwick - it was very windy, and the sea was rough

 

the moon as seen from the flat!

 

of course, Sunday was Hogmanay, so we had some bubbles at midnight

 

cheers, and belated wishes for a Happy New Year!!

 

we had a good view from the flat of the fireworks (it was much too cold to go out)

 

on Monday the wind had dropped, and as it wasn't so cold we went for a long walk on the beach.  Not just a tyre this time, but a complete wheel

 

after more storms, the beach has changed again, and this is all that can be seen of this groyne

 

this photo of the same groyne (the one in the middle) was taken in July 2016 ....... its amazing how the level of the sand has risen!

 

what a wonderful find on the beach

 

Malcolm wants a Landrover, so he can drive on to the beach to pick up the big pieces of driftwood (maybe Santa will bring him one with my alpacas in the back!)

 

who told the crow to turn his back on me?

 

this very cute little dog decided that Malcolm was her new best friend, bringing him her ball to throw

 

there were some big waves crashing on to the beach

 

on Monday night there were storm clouds ......

 

...... creating some dramatic views of the moon

 

this may look like an oasis in the desert, but it is a little rock pool!

 

a bit of fun to finish - we had a very naughty houseguest, who ate our sweet treats

 

drank cider

 

and tried to steal some of our Christmas presents!!

 

6 & 6 in 2018 : the new challenge

After the success of last year's challenge, Meredithe and I had a flurry of emails whizzing between the UK and Australia, before we came up with this year's challenge.  We thought we would make it more fun by adding in new projects, as well as working on UFOs.  Should you decide to join in, remember there is no pressure to finish things, just make significant progress ........ and most of all, enjoy yourself!  You can decide on your new projects as the year goes on, but choose your UFOs now - here is the technical stuff, which Meredithe kindly takes care of (I pinched it from her blog, and have amended it where necessary) - you can also click on the link above to go to Meredithe's blog to see who else has signed up

Now it’s your turn.  Either link up by clicking the icon below (on Meredithe's post), or if you don’t have a blog, list your nominations in a comment, or photograph the list and put it on Instagram with the hashtag #6and6in2018

If you are linking up

:: Please link directly to your post on your 6and6in2018 not to your home page
:: Please link back to this post somewhere in your post (ie Meredithe's post)
:: Visit other linkers to see what they’re going to be working on for 2018 (who knows you might see something there to inspire you!)
:: The link will be open for a week
:: If you haven’t already, pick up the 6and6in2018 blog button from Meredithe's side bar

here is my list 

 

as I work on the UFOs over the coming months, I will give you the history of each one, but for now, here is how they look

#1

 

#1

 

#2

 

#2

 

#3

 

 

#3

 

 

#4

 

 

#5

 

 

#6

 

this month we get to work on a new project, and I have chosen one based on this sample I made last year

 

using the Liberty fabrics that Malcolm bought for me some weeks ago

 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of photos of what I have been up to since Christmas!