frayed at the edge

Tasty!

The title could refer to the Friday cake, but you will have to wait until the end of the post for that.  Instead it refers to this tasty mouthful which Mrs Blackbird had gathered to feed to her second brood of chicks.  The nest is in the big conifer in the corner of the front garden, and she was sitting on top of the telegraph pole before she flew down to the nest.  (The photos were taken at full zoom, so aren't a sharp as I would have liked)

 

I was somewhat worried that I didn't have many photos for today's post, then I remembered I still had these ones from last weekend.  Do you have rather a lot of money to buy this house in Berwick?

 

it is a beautiful old house, but sadly dilapidated.  It would be a decided money pit to restore it to its former glory

 

when I was looking through the folder for the previous photos, I spotted this one.  Malcolm pointed out the reflection of the lighthouse on the water

 

and the pilot boat was reflected in the dock.  The little blue boat ties up against the pilot boat and the crew climb on to the pilot boat and then on to the dock ..... the blue boat is too small for the crew to access the dock directly

 

and now for the most important photo of the week ...... the Friday cake!  Annette's treat for us this afternoon was a chocolate, cream and strawberry cake -yum!!

 

Stuart and Alison have already arrived in Berwick (they are having a night out on the town!) and we will join them in the morning.  They have been told to bring old shoes for walking on the beach, and no doubt Stuart will have his new camera with him, so there will be frequent stops for photos!  I hope you have a super weekend, love Anne 

A special day

It was Fathers' Day yesterday, and as Stuart and Alison couldn't visit as they are on holiday, I took Malcolm out for brunch.  I'm showing you the photo of what we had to eat first, as it will take the rest of the post for you to recover from such a big meal (I didn't finish mine!!)

 

now to go back to the start of the weekend.When we arrived at the flat, we made up a small picnic, and headed off to the beach on the far side of the lighthouse.  As we sat eating, we had company.  This enormous seagull crept closer and closer

 

while this crow watched from a fence post

 

on the beach, Malcolm meandered along looking for driftwood, and I looked for things to take photos off

 

 

just the other day I read about building stone stacks on I live, I love, I craft, I am me .... and promptly added building stone stacks to my to-do list.  So on Saturday, I built my first one, topped with a piece of seaglass

 

delighted that it didn't fall over, I then built a shell stack

 

oh dear, I've definitely got the bug, as this morning I built this pebble, seaglass and shell one on my bathroom shelf!!

 

I haven't taken many of my "arty" photos recently, so I put that right over the weekend

 

in contrast to the tiny crab that I found last week, this shell was about 8" across!

 

these two boats were beached by the low tide

 

 

Malcolm spotted these seagull chicks, little fluffy bundles!

 

as we walked across the old bridge, we could see this photographer fiddling about with his tripod and camera (I was getting worried that his tripod would topple over and his camera would end up in the river!).  Then, having got everything set just right. he produced this black cloth and disappeared under it!

 

we can't have a Berwick post without some swans!

 

more geese have appeared

 

the seal popped his head out of the water

 

last week it was a big orange lorry spoiling the view of the dock ........ this weekend it was a beer lorry

 

 

yesterday was the longest day for us in the Northern Hemisphere (yes, it's downhill all the way to Christmas now!).  The sun was just setting at 10 0'clock

 

to finish ...... do you remember the sad tale of our little wisteria, which wouldn't grow and definitely wouldn't flower, no matter how much love we gave it?  Recently Malcolm dug it up, and I gave it to Maureen, to see if it would grow in her garden, as she already has a spectacular one.  She has been sending me regular progress reports, and yesterday she sent me this photo.  The wisteria is still in the plastic bag that Malcolm put it in when he dug it up, and that is sitting in a bucket, waiting for the ground to be prepared for where it will be planted.  Not only has it put out a lot of foliage, it has also flowered!!  We think it didn't flourish in our garden because we are quite high up on our hill - we are about 200 feet higher than Hawick, so we are pleased to see it doing well lower down in Jedburgh!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A tale of two beaches

On Saturday, we went for a walk on Spittal Beach.  While Malcolm was busy looking for driftwood, I was looking for interesting things to take photos of.  However the tide was in, so there were no rock pools to explore, or interesting bits of seaweed.  However, I did discover a tiny dead crab

 

and a shell from his big brother

 

and another little dead one

 

of course when I am on the beach, I have to take a photo of the lighthouse

 

there was a bit of excitement when some microlights flew over us - I think the people who fly these things are either brave or mad!!

 

 

I was glad when we went back to the carpark that these beauties weren't sitting on my car!!

 

 

then on Sunday, we decided to head north to Dunbar, birthplace of John Muir

 

I was rather taken with this original entrance to a shop - too often the tiles are removed or covered over.  And you can just see a bit of the mosaic tiled floor

 

this shop had some wonderful things in it, including some lovely driftwood creations

 

and so to the beach.  It is very different to the beach at Spittal - I found it hard going walking on the pebbles

 

it looked better from this side!

 

when we were walking round the harbour, we saw this boat getting ready to set sail

there used to be a castle in Dunbar

 

but this is all that is left

 

however the remains of the walls have provided nesting sites for the seagulls

 

back at the flat, there were lots of swans in the dock, but my view was obscured by this large lorry ..... as an aside, Stuart was at school with Richard, one of the Stevenson family

 

however, the dock gates are open on a Sunday, and I was able to go on to the dockside to take some photos

 

I still have lots of photos left, so I'll just pop in a random selection

 

and to finish ....... more proof that it was a foodie weekend!  For lunch on Sunday we shared a portion of chips.  In our defence, we just couldn't help ourselves, we kept passing people tucking into chips, and the smell was so delicious, we just had to have some!!

The leftovers!

Some days I am scratching about trying to find enough photos for a post, other days I have so many it is hard to decide what to include.  Then I get to the end of the week and think, oh I meant to include this photo, or that photo.  So here are a few of the ones that didn't make it in earlier in  the week

Melrose Abbey in the sun

 

a rickety bridge and rhododendron

 

we had lunch here on Wednesday

 

a neighbour's fat sheep - the white bit is the end of its tail!

 

another fat sheep with similar tail

 

a handsome horse in the same field

 

a silken seed head of the early flowering clematis

 

Malcolm's chair and beehive, scrubbed clean ready for a fresh coat of paint

 

 

as I took this photo, the driver of the tractor appeared, and said surely there were more interesting things to take photos of than his tractor.  I replied that I love tractors, and that I had been about to steal it, as he had left the door open.  He said I was welcome to steal it, as then he could have the afternoon off work!!

 

we are over in Berwick, so no Friday cake to share with you!  I hope you all have a great weekend ...... you might see us on the beach looking for more driftwood!!  Love Anne

A quick tour .....

...... round the rest of the weekend, as it is Abbey Quilters' monthly meeting tonight.  On Sunday we went for a run over to Wooler.  Having lived "down south", I know a lot of people down there think that it is grey, grim and industrial "up north".  If only they had been with us to enjoy the stunning scenery

 

in Wooler, one end of the town is dominated by the church

 

I couldn't remember if I had taken a photo of this pillar box before, but you can't have too many photos of pillar boxes!

 

as all the cafes/coffee shops were shut, we headed to the antique centre at Powmill, where we shared an excellent cheese scone

 

I liked the set my tea was served in, and you can see Malcolm's coffee mug in the background

 

we didn't buy any antiques, but I did come home with several pieces of Liberty fabrics

 

and a good sized remnant to make cushion covers

 

there was a big ship sitting offshore on Sunday morning, waiting for high tide to come into the dock, but it wan't until early evening that the pilot boat went out ......

 

........ and shepherded in its charge

 

and before we leave Berwick, we have to have a swan photo!

 

on our way home yesterday morning, we called in at the Lovatt Gallery in Jedburgh ......

 

........ as the owner, Linda, who had bought some of Malcolm's driftwood creations at the Christmas Fair, had said she would be interested to see more of his stuff.  We were very glad that we made the detour, as she bought almost all of his remaining stock!!  So we went off to Border Meringues to celebrate

 

Malcolm had a rhubarb and ginger scone

 

and I ate what has to be my entire week's month's year's sugar allowance in a slice of rainbow rocky road!  It isn't white chocolate on the top, but a  sort of chewy fudge.  It was delicious, but it will be a long time before I will want to eat anything so sweet again!!

 

must go and make the dinner, but I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing!

 

 

A successful day!

To get ready for the craft fair, we took all our stuff over to Berwick Town Hall on Friday

after several trips up and down the stairs, we set up our tables

 

we had our tables set up long before the others, so I had to wait until Saturday morning to take more photos

 

not all the stalls were selling things, some were showing off the skills of the various craft groups in Berwick, including Berwick Quilters

 

this is Malcolm relaxing and reading the papers before the doors opened

 

we were kept rather busy after that!  And we had a very important visitor to the stall, no less a personage than Hazel Bettison, the Mayor of Berwick.  You can read about her here and here.  She was very impressed with our creations, and told us of two further events that we could have stalls at.  She was there in all her finery, as there was to be a public protest ..... there had been a bit of a muddle and the protesters were to have a meeting on the stairs of the Town Hall, as they had mistakenly been told that there was no event on in the Town Hall on Saturday

 

we had few customers while the protest took place, so I amused myself by sticking my feet out in front of me and taking a photo of my new shoes

 

so, how did we do?  Very well!  So well that we don't have enough stock left to do the events the Mayor told us about (in Scotland, we don't have Mayors, we have Provosts).  And there is another reason for our depleted stock, which I will tell you about tomorrow ......... hooray, back to blogging Monday to Friday!  I will also tell you about the rest of our weekend ...... and on Wednesday there will be sewing!!

To finish, a little something came home with me from the craft fair ...... a lovely example of book art, created by Theresa

 

Not long now!

We are currently relaxing, before having an early dinner, then going over to the Town Hall to set up our stall for tomorrow's craft fair.  We came over yesterday afternoon, after we has managed to squeeze everything into the car.  As soon as we arrived, I was at the window taking photos of the swans!

 

I'm not sure if this is a duck or a goose, but I remember it hanging out with the swans last summer

 

in the evening, there was a great commotion of seagulls, out in the river

 

while the swans seemed to be investigating something in the dock

 

this morning, as we started to walk over the old bridge, Malcolm spotted a heron.  I immediately took a photo. in case it flew off before we got closer

 

then another one as we got closer still

 

until finally we were right above it

 

we went for a walk after lunch, and as we came down the hill back towards to river, I took a photo of the old jetty, which was damaged some years ago when it was hit by a ship

 

we have heard that there are moves afoot to repair it, but perhaps they could leave this little bit as a reminder of what happened

 

I wonder why this corner has been cut out of the door - it looks to small to be a cat flap, and as the door opens into a garden, I don't suppose you would want a cat flap in it anyway

 

we stopped to look in the windows of The Tower House Pottery.  Their work is stunning, but a little bit expensive

 

please keep your fingers crossed that we sell lots tomorrow, as we really don't want to have to take it all back home!  Have a good weekend, love Anne 

 

 

Topsy turvy weather

After a few wonderful, very warm spring days, on Saturday there was such a cold wind blowing I declined to accompany Malcolm for a walk on the beach, although these swans didn't seem bothered by the wind

 

and the windy conditions hadn't deterred this little boat from a fishing trip - although I think they would have been glad to be back, as the weather worsened

 

the weather on Sunday morning was grey and wet, but the boat set off for another day at sea

 

as we drove home, the rain got heavier and turned sleety, so we were quite happy to stop at The Teviot Smokery for a cuppa and some excellent sconnage.  As usual we had half each, and that did us for lunch

fruit

 

cheese

 

by the time we got home it was snowing ......... you can just about make the snow out in this photo

 

but today, although it wasn't as warm as last week, it was warm enough to open up the summer house to have lunch in

 

and to hang the washing out to dry

 

when I was hanging out the washing, I noticed that the dark hellebore had suddenly flowered - there wasn't even a stem showing s few weeks ago when I took photos of the adjacent pale one!

 

and there was another splash of colour in one of the pots

 

as Malcolm was busy in the garage creating all things driftwoody, I offered to unwrap the olive tree for him

 

we were relieved to find that it had survived the winter and was looking healthy

 

I have to thank my friend Sandra H for the next two photos, taken on a recent holiday.  For some reason I can't get the photos to separate, to put captions under them, so I will just say that I want one of those machines, and I am intrigued by the markings on the sheep at the back

to finish, when I was doing the ironing this afternoon, I wondered if I am the only person who is tired of the on-going fashion for putting silly little straps inside sleeves?  If I roll my sleeves up, I don't want to faff about doing up the little button to hold the cuff up, when it stays up perfectly well on its own!

 

ps - if, like me, you are fed up with the election, then check out the app "Penguin Poop", and have have fun splattering your least favourite politician!!

A creative day

I'm still catching ip on the week, so this is a report on yesterday.  Work is underway to produce all sorts of goodies for the upcoming craft fair, using Malcolm's stash of dritwood (this isn't all of it!)

 

and my stash of sea glass and shells (yes, this is just some of it!)

 

Malcolm has started making mirrors 

 

he also chose these three pieces for a boat.  The hull will be attached to the base by an old knitting needle, and I will make fabric sails

 

I sorted out some string and beads, which I will combine with small pieces of driftwood (once Malcolm has drilled holes in them) to make mobiles

 

I tried out some designs, just sitting them on sheets of paper.  The successful ones will be put on canvas

seaglass fish

 

shell fish

 

driftwood tree with seaglass and shells

 

driftwood tree with button decorations

 

driftwood fish

 

I unearthed this piece of Laura Ashley fabric from my stash - I have had it for years!

 

an idea for a boat

 

I used this stamp set, which was free with a magazine, to try out making price tags

 

I couldn't find an ink pad, so I improvised with a paint stick and a roller

 

and after a bit of experimenting

 

I produced this - I used the upper case A in the middle, as there was only one lower case a in the set

 

 

it was quite at patch'n'chat this afternoon, as Annette and Cathy were away with friends on a quilting retreat, but we were well looked after by Annette's husband Norrie.  Annette had managed to make time in her hectic schedule to bake a cake for us before she left - her delicious spicy fruit cake (second pieces may have been eaten by all of us!!)

 

Norrie had help looking after the shop - their very cute dog Barley.  I took several photos of him, and in every one his tail is blurred, as it wags constantly

 

we are over in Berwick already, as the forecast is much better for tomorrow than Sunday, so we will head back home on Sunday morning.  No doubt we will be on the beach tomorrow afternoon!  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

 

Back to basics!

When we headed over to Berwick on Sunday morning, I left my laptop and big camera at home, and contented myselfwith the Hudl and my little point and shoot camera .......could I survive for two days without lots of time online and basic photos with limited zoom?  I was pleased to find that the answer was yes, that I am not as addicted to my technolgy as I feared!  When we arrived at the flat, there were lots of swans in the dock, and I was quite happy to take a general shot, rather than zooming in for close-ups

 

after lunch, we headed off down the coast to Cocklawburn Beach

 

the tide was out, and the sands stretched as far as the eye could see

there were also lots of interesting things closer to hand to see

 

there is always a dead crab on the beach!

 

we climbed over a ridge of rock ....... and there was even more beach!

 

while Malcolm was looking for driftwood, I found this  old piece of wood, which had a bit of fungus growing on it

 

as we walked back along the beach, the tide had turned, and a chilly mist was blowing across the sand

 

there was an icecream van in the car park, so we rounded off the afternoon with a "99"

 

the sun was still shining when this little fishing boat came into the dock

 

unlike yesterday morning!  When we got up, we couldn't see the dock at all, but by the time we had breakfast, it was just appearing out of the fog

 

however, the fog didn't stop us having  a good day out, which I'll tell you about tomorrow!

 

To finish, three sigms today that spring is here

1: a man wearing socks and sandals (there should be a law against that!)

2: a postman wearing shorts (I think it might be obligatory after the first of April)

3: best of all, several large bumble bees buzzing round the garden!