When we were strolling along in Puerto Pollensa this morning, we saw a bunch of people looking over the bridge ........ what was so interesting? Ducklings!!
while Malcolm enjoyed his almond cake ......
I was enjoying this amazing confection ........ apple, custard, crunchy bits, topped with caramel
just a short post, as I have to get ready to go out for dinner. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne
For the past few days, Malcolm has been telling me that the swallows are back, but I kept saying that it was a bit early. But then yesterday evening, there was a very soggy swallow sitting on the telephone wire. I bet he was wishing that he had stayed in Africa a bit longer!
now, some more catching up, first with more photos from our walk on Sunday. At first I thought these were snowdrops under the hedge ..... but if you could smell the photo, you would know that it was wild garlic
this boat was high and dry
everywhere we loooked there was blossom on trees
at first we were puzzled by this blossom
but then we saw this on another branch
of course when the sky is such a wonderful blue, I have to take photos to show it off
I wonder if this fisherman found the water a bit chilly?
now, on to Monday. I treated Malcolm to lunch at The Night Safe Bistro in Hawick - so called as it is in a former bank (I would have shown you a photo of the outside, but just as I went to take it the camera switched itself off, as I had forgotten to change the battery!)
the restaurant opened last September, but this was our first visit.
they have kept the vault door, but now it is used as a storeroom
Malcolm ordered a BLT
and I ordered a chicken tikka wrap
then we had half each! The food was delicious, the staff were friendly and efficient and the prices were reasonable - we will definitely go there again.
back home, the early clematis is now fully in flower
I have been working away on the sampler quilt
I have run out of the black fabric for the outer border, but hopefully I will be able to get more tomorrow at Borderland Fabrics - but don't worry, if I can't get more, I do of course have a plan B
while looking for the photos of the sampler quilt, I found this photo of Sandra's prize for winning the giveaway........ two of my photos, some of my cards, and a copy of my Country Cottages pattern
do pop in again tomorrow, as I have some exciting news to share with you!
I gather there is a problem with commenting - I don't know if it is related to the problems of the last few days. If you can't leave a comment, please email me and let me know - there is an email link at the top of the right hand sidebar.
....... that the problems are over! As you may know, Typepad was subjected to some sort of attack which meant that there has been no blogging. I'm just going to do a short post just now - I would hate to do a great long one and have it vanish! So, back to Sunday. We went for a walk in Melrose
the last time we walked along the river, the water was roaring over the rocks. It was much quieter this time
most of the scaffolding has been removed from the Abbey
we popped into the Woollen Mill for a cuppa, and shared a delicious raspberry muffin
to finish, two little robins. I snapped the first one on our walk on Sunday, and Maureen snapped the second one in her garden on Monday
the pair of collared doves have been back in the garden, and this shot explains their name
they have been billing and cooing as they hoover up the fallen seed under the bird table
the scruffy little robin was back today as well
but what was he watching ?
he was watching the sparrows, who were tucking into the yellow daisy-like flowers. They were in a feeding frenzy - in seven years of living here, I have never seen anything like it!
and to continue with the bird theme for the last photo, I saw these mugs this morning when we were out and about. They had been reduced to £1.29 each ....... and we had a voucher for a further 15% off!! We had planned to just use odds and ends of china for our new holiday home, but I couldn't resist such a bargain. I had picked up two, but then picked up another two, so that when Stuart and Alison come to visit we can have matching mugs for our cuppas
remember this is the last post you can comment on to be included in the draw for my giveaway. It has been great getting lots of new commenters, including Myra from Winnipeg!!
* I remember reading this book when I was in my teens.
Yesterday evening, we had a little bright bird in amongst the brown sparrows, in the front garden
today,when I came in to the kitchen to make my lunch, I heard the distinctive call of a pheasant. I looked out the front door, and there he was, strutting round the garden. I ran through to the lounge and grabbed the camera - he was bobbing in and out of the bright sunshine and deep shade, sometimes half in one and half in the other
it was such a lovely day, I had my lunch out in the garden
I didn't share my ginger beer with this little beastie!
Malcolm has been hard at work, tidying up the garden - it is looking good!
don't forget to leave a comment if you would like to be in the draw on Friday for the giveaway to celebrate my 1,500th post. I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing.
We start with last night's meeting at Abbey Quilters. We had a delightful speaker, Vicky Mitchell, who was quite happy to have photos taken of her work, and of her!
a wonderful array of quilts
this large quilt is stunning
I love the landscape on the left
but my favourite exhibit was also the smallest - a delightful handstitched book
as we had a guest speaker, instead of just having a biscuit with our cuppa, Val (one of the committee) had made scones - her scones are fabulous, and it wasn't long before the plate was empty!
then we move on to today. We picked up Maureen this morning, and set off to spend the day at Stitchin' Heaven. Maureen hadn't yet been to the shop, so was looking forward to a day spent shopping stitching. As always the ladies were working on all sorts of projects
Ros is now working on the outer borders of her fabulous applique quilt
Margaret is working on Robin's Nest, designed by Karen Styles, who also designed Mrs Billings
Annie was going to make a bag with these tiny squares, but has decided to use them as a background to an applique wallhanging
a new lady, Jill, was hand-quilting her sampler quilt
Maureen was finishing an Advent calender
Frances was making some tiny hexagon blocks
Carolyn was working on new stitchery patterns, which I can't show you as a naughty person has pinched one of her designs and someone has put it on Pinterest, so the new designs are under wraps
Anne's quilt is a combination of Mrs Billings and Robin's Nest
Sue was working on her Mrs Billings
to finish ....... this scruffy little robin was enjoying himself in the birdbath!
* football managers frequently describe a match as "a game of two halves" ....... all football matches consist of two halves, what they usually mean is that they were being beaten in the first half, but took the lead in the second half (or vice versa).
It's Abbey Quilters' monthly meeting tonight, and as I have been sewing all day, I am rushing to post this before I make the dinner (nasi goreng). I have been working away on my sampler quilt. Having made some blocks, I decided to audition fabrics for the sashing and borders. Should I use red
or black
I haven't made a grandmother's fan block since I made my first sampler quilt in 1993. Having made the fan, I had to make a template for the background fabric
unfortunately, as you can see, the finished block is a little bit small
however I have a cunning plan to sort it out!
next I made the maple leaf block, and pinned them all on to the black fabric
then I added the rail fence block, and the first stages of an applique block
this morning I was pleased to see the ewes and lambs back in the field across the road
this last photo is for Jessica ....... I may not have pheasants in my garden, as she does, but I do have them in the field behind my studio
.......... not just on my head, but all over the place! Yesterday morning, every time it looked as if the weather was improving - on came the rain again. So we abandoned any hope of going for a walk, and settled for sharing an enormous scone. Shock, horror, there were no cheese scones, but this plain scone, once butter and jam were added, was an acceptable alternative
I took this photo from inside the car when we parked at the Woolen Mill yesterday morning - I was worried that anyone seeing me comparing my nail polish to the colour of the car would think I was a bit strange!
I've just remembered that I should have started with the quilts from Saturday's coffee morning and exhibition for Linus. When I saw the first quilt, I thought "oh, that's my cottages pattern" - then realised that I made the quilt!!
it rained for most of the day, but it has finally stopped and there is even a little glimmer of sunshine. When it had almost stopped raining this afternoon, I popped out to the garden for some soggy photos. We have a good crop of toadstools in the grass in the front garden
the peony has shot up
the flowering currant provides a splash of colour
in the back garden, there is new growth on one of the ferns
a raindrop on a tree
if you look closely at this raindrop, you can see a reflection of part of the house
this tree is bursting into leaf
whille I was busy in the house, Malcolm was busy in the garage, making driftwood trees. He already has orders for next Christmas!
just some of his collection of driftwood
bits of seaglass, interesting stones and worn pieces of brick
we had a colourful visitor in the front garden this afternoon
you know I like big machines, and when I was in Hawick this morning, despite the fact that it was pouring with rain and I was soaked, I paused as I crossed the footbridge over the river to capture this one!
I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing.
......... for this full-to-bursting concertina file
....... this ever-growing heap of paperwork
...... and the clutter on my desk
because this morning I bought a second-hand filing cabinet
I can hear you asking about the certificate on my desk, awarded to me for winning a triathalon. Is this a sporty part of my life that I have, until now, not shared with you? You will be even more surprised when I tell you that I also came second! Puzzled? Let me explain ........ when we first went out to Indonesia, we lived in a rather posh apartment complex in Jakarta, which had a very well equipped gym. As all the socialising meant that I put on weight, I decided to venture into the gym and, for the first time ever, partake in some keeping fit. Barry, the charming Australian manager of the gym, took pity on me and helped me make the most of my very limited abilities. He decided to stage a "triathalon" competition - using the rowing machine, the treadmill and the exercise bike. Under the supervision of one of the gym staff, you had to cover as great a distance as possible in a set time. Having nothing better to do one afternoon, I had two attempts ........ and it turned out that no other females entered, so I won first and second places. My prize was a bottle of wine and the cheesy certificate ....... I have a photo somewhere, being presented with my prize, I must see if I can find it
as we drove home from Hawick this morning, we saw that there were lots of lambs in the field at the bottom of our road, so I headed out with the camera to capture these little cuties
I remembered to take some photos in the garden
this clematis is about to flower
the fresh green of alchemilla mollis
one of a pair of wagtails who have moved into the back garden
a sparrow tucking into birdseed
and to finish, this photo is specially for Toffee Apple (she knows why!)....... we have just had a delivery of logs, which Malcolm has stacked very neatly in the left-hand side of the log store
Yesterday was Mother's Day, and as usual Stuaret gave me a sweet card, with a lovely sentiment expressing his apppreciaion of his lovely Mum*. He also sent me these beautiful flowers
the spoiling continued when Malcolm took me out for breakfast - we had intended to go for a walk, but it was misty and dreary, so the walk was abandoned. We went back to Pirn House Interiors, where we had lunch on Wednesday, as we had seen these two tempting dishes on the menu. I had French toast with bacon and maple syrup
and Malcolm had scrambled eggs with goats cheese and toast
having seen the cakes and scones, I think we will have to visit again soon!
on the way home, we were rathered surprised when we came round a bend to see these cows feeding. Malcolm was able to pull into the side of the road to let me out to take photos
the troughs were actually on the verge - a most unusual arrangement, with the cows poking their heads through the fence to eat
before I got out of the car, I might have been tempted to steal this very cute calf ....... but the smell coming from the field was atrocious!
this morning we popped over to Berwick, to return paperwork related to the purchase of our flat to our solicitor ....... ok, we could have posted it, but we were quite happy to have an excuse to have a day out! As we didn't have any sconnage yesterday, we made up for it this morning, when we popped in here for a cuppa
Malcolm declared that this was the best cheese scone he has ever eaten (half of)!!
as it was another misty grey day, I didn't take the big lens with me - which of course guaranteed that several photo opportunities promptly presented themselves! Looking over the parapet of the old bridge, we saw that the seal was there again. When I half depress the button on the camera to focus, it emits a beep ..... I am sure the seal heard it, as he immediately moved from lying like this
to posing like this
there were also various birds
we went for a walk on the beach, and while Malcolm collected driftwood, I looked for sea glass
there was a rather hazy view of the lighthouse
some of the rocks on the beach gave me ideas for quilts
I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update
*I lied about the card