frayed at the edge

Thinner!

You may think that eating this for lunch ......

 

(while Malcolm ate this)

 

wouldn't be conducive to weight loss!  But for the last six weeks, I have been following the Fast Diet.  The basic idea is that for two days a week, you have very restricted calories, and the rest of the week you eat normally.  I have lost about seven pounds, and have already fitted back into clothes that have been languishing in the back of the wardrobe.  But the best thing is that my engagement ring fits me again ..... I hadn't worn it for quite some time as it was too tight

 

we had lunch in Jedburgh, and on the way home, I took a few scenic photos

 

I took these bird photos recently, but somehow didn't get round to including them in a post

 

when I was sewing yesterday, I didn't just have my stove to keep me warm ....... I also had some music!!

 

Tomorrow, I'll show you my multi-pocketed bag, but to finish, I'll give you this little sneak peek - what am I doing?

 

Goodbye Mr Badger!

On Saturday, we were up bright and early to drive up to Larbert to stay with Stuart and Alison for the weekend.  After a welcome cuppa, we popped round to visit Fraser and Linsey, to deliver Mr Badger.  Fraser was delighted with him, and he was soon settled in on a very large cushion

 

then it was back to Stuart and Alison's to get on with making the Roman blinds.  While I was busy sewing, Malcolm and Stuart screwed battens to the walls above the windows, and cut the battens and the dowels for the blinds.  The sewing didn't take as long as I thought it would, and soon the blinds were ready

 

I was pleased with the way the pattern on the kitchen blind fitted in with the folds

 

I have to admit that I miscalculated guessed wrongly how much cord I needed for the blinds, so the one in the hall is temporarily held up with string!*

 

on our way home yesterday, we popped into the Mayshade garden centre for a cuppa.  We shared a taster plate of cakes, cutting them in half to have a taste of each one...... except for the one with white chocolate, which Malcolm got all to himself, as I really don't like the stuff!

 

the weather on the first part of the journey was awful, with driving wet snow making for poor visibility

 

however, as soon as we reached the Borders, the sky cleared and the sun came out!  The only snow was left over from last week

 

there was more sunshine today, so I went out for a walk after lunch.  The donkeys were as cute as ever

 

the sun was shining on the Mintos

 

this blackbird was enjoying a thorough bath

 

do you remember a few weeks ago I showed you photos of the new hat shop in Hawick?  This article was in The Scotsman on Saturday (click on the photo to enalrge it)

 

there may be peope in Hawick who are willing to pay £600 for a hat ...... but I'm not one of them!!

 

* while I was in the middle of writing this, Stuart phoned.  He bought more cord yesterday, so the hall blind is now finished!

 

V.I.P.

No, I didn't meet someone famous at the weekend ....... the VIP is for Very Important Post.  Why is today's post important - well you will have to wait until further down the post to find out!!

The weather wasn't great yesterday morning, so when we got to Jedburgh we decided not to go for a walk.  Instead we bought the Sunday papers and headed for a cuppa.  Shock, horror, the scones weren't ready, so we had to make do with a toasted teacake (which was delicious!)

 

so, why is this a special post?  Well ....... recently we haven't been using the back road when we have been heading to Jedburgh or Kelso, partly because there are a lot of potholes, and partly because it is inches deep in mud in places.  But Malcolm decided to go that way yesterday, and when we went past Marian-the-neighbour's field ........ oh joy, oh bliss, the first lambs of the year!  Malcolm was going to stop and reverse to the gate so that I could get some photos, but I had the small lens on the camera, so I told him not to bother, that I would walk up to the field when we got back.  Of course when we got home it was snowing!  I changed into my windproof trousers, my windand waterproof Helly Hansen jacket, put on my warm hat and got my old boots from the garage.  The donkeys weren't out in the field next to us, but these hardy ponies didn't seem bothered by the snow  (the photo looks grainy, but that's the snow in the air)

 

on my way up the hill, I thought I would have a look in the other field where there are Jacob's sheep, to see if there were any lambs, which meant negotiating this muddy track

 

I could see that there were lambs, but they were too far away to take photos.  So I walked on, and found a (very small) gap in the hedge to squeeze through, then stepped over the rusty wire fence

 and crept through the trees, to be rewarded with these exceedingly cute lambs

 

I walked on round to Marian's field, sneaking up to the gate so that I wouldn't frighten the lambs.  They didn't seem at all bothered by the snow

 

you can't really see the snow in the photos of the lambs, but you can see it in this photo of the goose (or is it the gander?) .........

 

...... and the blackbird sitting on the hedge

 

there were lots of snowdrops in the verges

 

as I trudged back down the hill, the snow went off, and the hills appeared

 

this is my favourite view on the way home

 

I won't be here tomorrow - I'll tell you why on Wednesday!

 

A pain in the bahookie*

It's snowing again ....... it has been snowing off and on all day.  Our road would probably be described as "passable with care", but I really didn't care to drive down it to go to patch''n'chat!  So with an unexpected free afternoon, I thought I would tackle the pile of magazines which has been sitting beside my chair since before Christmas (I haven't bought any magazines for weeks, as I felt guilty for not finishing the ones I already had!)

 

however, I have succumbed to buying a book, after seeing it on Lucie's blog

 

the instructions are very clear, taking you from the most basic stitching (I'm thinking of you, Meredithe!)

 

through decorative stitching

 

how to fill in shapes

 

ending with designs like this one, which looks complicated, but as the title of the book says, it is a continuous line of stitching

 

I forgot to take a photo of tonight's dinner ..... as it's Burns' Night, we of course had haggis, neeps and tatties!

The garden has been full of sparrows

 

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I shall be going to an Abbey Quilters' workshop.  I hope you will join me in cheering on Andy Murray, who reached the final of the tennis today, having "bitten" Roger Federer!  Whatever your weather, be it too hot or too cold, I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne 

 

*I am sure you guessed what bahookie means, but if not, you can find out here

Criticism!!

We had lunch in the studio today ........ and Malcolm said it was looking very untidy, if not downright messy!!  Well, ok, maybe there were one or two things lying about .........

 

what's that you are shouting at your computer?  You agree with Malcolm?  Oh dear, I had better tidy up then

 

Now that it's all neat and tidy again, on with the sewing report!  I have finished not one ......

 

....... not two

 

but all three runners

 

and with the offcuts, I made a cushion cover!

 

and then I stitched together the offcuts of the offcuts ....

 

....... but you will have to wait to see what I did with that last piece!!  I have become addicted to making the scrappy strippy blocks

 

and the crazy scrappy blocks with the offcuts

 

whenever I go out the front door, the birds start chirruping at me, demanding more food.  I don't mind, as long as they then earn their dinner by posing for me!

 

I wonder if the drip above the sparrow landed on its head?

 

the horses in the field across the road scrape the snow away to get to the grass

 

the  scenery does look good with its blanket of snow

 

after sewing yet more strips ...

 

....... I thought I should clean the machine

 

..... and change the needle.  If you look closely at the old needle on the left, you can see how rough the shank is!

 

when we are using the implements of torture in the morning, we have the tv on.  Because the machines are noisy, we have the subtitles on.  Most of the time they are accurate, but sometimes they are hilariously wrong ...... as happened yesterday morning.  The reporter said that "Andy Murray has beaten the Frenchman" ....... but the subtitles said " has bitten the Frenchman" ........ conjuring up a visionn of Andy leaping the net and sinking his teeth into the Frenchman's neck!  Could this be an idea for a film ...."The Vampire Tennis Players Massacre" could be a possible title!!!!!

That's enough, thank you!

The snow finally got serious on Friday night, and this was the view through the front door on Saturday morning

 

we went to St Boswells for a walk yesterday morning.  It was a bit on the chilly side, with flights of snow in the air, so in between photos I wrapped the camera in the ends of my woolly scarf!

I was tempted to dognap this little cutie!

 

this dovecote is on a modern garage roof

 

William's surname is pronounced Marshbanks!

 

an unusual window in an old house

 

a snazzy footprint

 

a very old postbox

 

sheep in the snow

 

our reward - Tunisian lemon cake ...... delicious!

 

it has been snowing all day - Malcolm has cleared the paths and drive three times, having learned that it is much easier to clear an inch or two several times, rather than six inches in one go!  The birds have been back and forward to the bird table - I think they have now eaten all the food!

 

by the end of the afternoon, the front garden looked like this

 

I won't be posting tomorrow, as it's a special occasion for us, but I'll be back on Wednesday to tell you all about it.  To finish today ...... when I was taking photos of the birds, I noticed this rider in the field across the road.  I'm surprised the horse wasn't galloping  to get back to the stable!!

Happy New Year!

It's traditional in Scotland to be first footed by a tall, dark, handsome man ....... so here, a little bit late, is a first foot for you (he's 6-foot, dark, and as his Mum, of course I think he is handsome!!)

 

so what have I been getting up to during my blogging break?  Well, I turned this .......

 

....... into this

 

when I heated the apricot jam to brush the cake with, before applying the icing, I was left with lots of lovely bits of apricots ....... yum, yum

 

on Boxing Day we went to Melrose for a walk

the Abbey

 

the Youth Hostel

 

it's just as well the shop was shut, or I may have bought this tractor!!

 

oooh - I'm tempted by this fun book!

 

on New Year's Day we went to Jedburgh for a walk.  It's not unusual to see a heron on the river .....

 

...... but it is unusual to see one so high above the water!

 

the rivers have been very full, as we have had so much rain, so we weren't surprised to see this flood gate was shut

 

a large bit of a tree was wedged under the bridge

 

we have had lots of birds in the garden

 

we also had a walk past the donkey sanctuary (I think that was on Sunday!)

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update, including plans to join in with Lucie's using up scraps challenge, and a to-do list like Meredithe.  To finish, some photos taken in the garden this morning

a tiny rose

 

winter jasmine

 

daffodils

The sweet smell of Christmas

It has become a tradition that I replace the dusty old pot pourri at Christmas, so I now have a lovely smell of lavender in my bathroom

 

Malcolm has the scent of roses in his study.  We have had this little bowl for many, many years and amazingly it has survived several house moves.

 

we also have the scent of roses in our bedroom

 

in my bathroom I also put some pretty little soaps on my new soapdish

 

and arranged some shells round my little beach huts

 

I took this photo standing in the kitchen doorway, looking along the hall.  All the rooms in the house, except for the back lounge, open off the hall. 

 

why did I take this photo?  If I zoom in to the room at the top of the hall, you can see the "birdie border" quilt on the bed.  I enjoy catching glimpses of it every time I go in to the hall!  (I should have walked up the hall to take the photo, rather than use the digital zoom, then the photo would have been sharper - sorry, I was just being lazy!!)

 

we have lots of fridge magnets, and this one always makes me laugh

 

these are the last bird photos of this year!!

a rather scruffy sparrow

 

the nuthatch (the strange light is a reflection on the window of the lamp which was on in the lounge)

 

Mr Blackbird enjoying a bath

 

I won't be here tomorrow, as Stuart and Alison will be here for an early Christmas dinner, so I'll be back on Saturday with the last post for this year.

Getting it right!

Last night we watched a Christmas cookery programme with the amazing Mary Berry and the luscious Paul Hollywood (although I would prefer him without the beard!).  The best bit was when Mary said that you should bake your Christmas cake three weeks before Christmas ....... and that's exactly when I did mine.  After all the "what, you haven't baked your cake yet" remarks, it was good to know that I had got it right!

On our way out for a spot of lunch, we stopped in Jedburgh to buy the newspapers.  I forgot to tell you that Malcolm had sold one of his driftwood trees to the owner of a small art/craft gallery in Jedburgh.  She wanted the tree to display jewellery in the shop window, so we had a little peak to see if it was there - Malcolm was delighted to see that it was.  Not the best of photos, as it was hard to get an angle that didn't have reflections

 

we then headed to Woodside Garden Centre, where I had a delicious bowl of celeriac and pear soup .....

 

........ and Malcolm had parsnip and ginger - equally delicious!

 

I was intriqued by this compost ....... but not enough to put my hand in an open bag and feel it

 

we were rather taken with this planter ........

 

....... even more so when we then saw this one planted up, but at £125, it would be a major investment for the garden (although it does come with a ten-year guarantee)

 

and now for the sewing update.  The Needle Nookie is finished (except for a little button on the back)  The strips aren't squinty, it's just the angle of the photo!

 

I got buttons for the clamshell sewing keep.  They are bigger than those on the pattern, but I just liked them so much I had to have them

 

the pattern says to stitch two felt hearts on the inside of the flap, but I am reluctant to do that, as the stitching would spoil the appearance of the quilting on the right side.  I could perhaps just anchor them at the top and bottom - I shall have to discuss it with Anne.  I did notice that the one shown on the pattern doesn't have hearts on it!

 

what is it about robins that makes them so appealing?

 

I think this sparrow is practising to become a model - just look at the way he is looking over his shoulder!

 

whereas this blue tit is obviously channeling Greta Garbo "I just want to be left alone"

Winding down .......

........ and gearing up!  First, I am winding down towards the end of the week, when I will take a break from blogging until the start of January, and of course I am now gearing up for the Christmas festivities.  When I start blogging again (perhaps on the 2nd or 3rd), I hope to have thought of a new and exciting way to celebrate my 4th blogiversary (on the 8th of January) ...... I've done giveaways, I've done swaps, I want to do something different this time (I have a vague idea of some sort of awards).

Now for the promised birds.  The nuthatch has been appearing more often, but it tends to zoom in, grab a seed and zoom off again, so it's hard to get a sharp photo of it

 

however, the robin poses very prettily

 

there was a pair of collared doves

 

this great tit is striking

 

and this blue tit is tiny

 

hooray, a better shot of the nuthatch

 

but one bird that isn't faring so well is the big wooden owl, which we brought back from Indonesia.  Unfortunately, he has developed a hole in his head

 

I popped out this morning to do the last of my Christmas shopping.  I had yet to buy something DIY related for Malcolm, so I headed for Homebase, which is on the other side of the valley from us.  It was a misty, murky morning, as you can see from this shot of Ruberslaw

 

but there was a glimmer of sunshine in the distance

 

I like this clump of trees

 

I can't show you my latest knitting, as it is a present, but I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update.