frayed at the edge

A walk in the woods

Yesterday morning, we headed over to Harestanes, to go for a walk.  We parked beside this lovely old building

 

and for once resisted the lures of the beautifully crafted items in this shop

 

this is the visitor centre and cafe, where we ended our walk

 

we hadn't gone very far into the woods

 

when we saw this section of old tree trunk, with what at first glance looked like some sort of strange fungus on it

 

but it was a vast collection of coins, hammered into the wood ....... I have no idea why!

 

every so often, there would be a shaft of sunlight through the trees

 

I would be reluctant to sit on this bench, as I have watched far too many cheesy horror films, where nasty things creep out of the woods to attack  people!

 

I took this photo of the base of a tree trunk, then realised that you wouldn't appreciate the size of it

 

so took this one, with another bench, to give you the scale

 

Malcolm always pauses to admire the sturdy wooden bridges

 

this one has chicken wire on it, to stop you slipping on it when it is wet

 

even in the depths of the woods there was a flight of steps to be negotiated

 

and just in case we got lost, there was a compass to point the way

 

these plants also make me think of horror films

 

will some nasty tentacles appear and grab me?

 

no - they just produce pretty flowers

 

this weird and wonderful thing is a beech nut

 

the flies were basking in the sunshine

 

as we walked back to the visitor centre, a flash of red caught my eye - a post box!

 

every table in the cafe had a water glass with a few wild flowers and herbs - very pretty

 

we had some excellent sconnage - delicious cheese

 

and an unusual flavour - elderflower

 

I have mentioned in the past that when it comes to choosing a bottle of wine, I tend to go by the label, so I couldn't resist these two bottles when I was shopping this morning

 

you even get a little story about the pig on the back label!

 

but I wouldn't want you to think that my diet consists of scones and wine ....... I do eat some healthy stuff, like these juicy grapes

 

and the best strawberries in the world

 

and watermelon, which I have chopped up ready to eat with breakfast or pudding

 

and this is a selection from the fruit bowl ....... on the back right, an Asian pear, delicious grated into coleslaw.  Beside it, and ordinary pear, for a simple lunch, all you need is a pear, a little bit of cheese, some home made chutney and a hunk of crusty bread.  Front left is one of Malcolm's satsumas - I rarely eat them, and to finish, a flat peach, sweet and juicy

 

back tomorrow with some sewing!

Strange times

There is a scene in the film Local Hero with two elderly chaps watching the goings-on at a ceilidh, when one turns to the other and says "strange times, strange times" ......... and that is how we felt this morning when we put the tv on and found the country had voted to leave the EU!!  There are already all sorts of unintended consequences from that vote, but I am going to ignore them entirely, and instead treat you to some sunny photos of the garden, after last week's rainy ones.  I love big, blowsy poppies

 

with their intricate centres

 

this one had suffered a little in the rain

 

with splashes of colour from the centre on the petals

 

even the shady corner was enjoying a rare glimpse of sunshine

 

I do love hostas!

 

Malcolm has just given the summerhouse a good clean, but he was muttering about painting it - I'll just leave him to get on with it

 

we had to buy a new parasol this year, as the fabric on the old one had disintegrated!

 

we also replanted the big herb pot

 

and some small ones - we only have parsley as it came in a multipack of herbs, as we never use it in cooking!

 

the olive tree is looking healthy, but the vine next to it sadly would seem to be dead

 

unlike this one under the window, which is running riot

 

round in the front garden, the cherry tree has obviously paid attention to the threat to turn it into firewood, and has a good crop this year

 

the purple elder is just starting to flower - it looks very striking, but come the autumn, our cars will be covered in purple bird poo!!

 

I got these two little fuchsia in a supermarket for not much more than a pound each

 

I always think the flowers look like little ballerinas

 

just before I made our mid-morning cuppa, the postman arrived with a parcel containing these little beauties, so of course we had to have one - delicious!

 

this afternoon we headed over to Jedburgh, to make the great sacrifice of eating cakes, so that you can enjoy them vicariously

 

the premises had to be refurbished after being flooded in the winter, and Malcolm rather liked the bar, made from pallets

 

the tiny meringues that come with the cuppas are excellent - crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle

 

Malcolm chose cherry shortbread

 

while I had lemon meringue pie - it was the last piece, and was a rather large helping ....... so Malcolm had some of it (if Stuart had been there, we would have come to blows over which of us had it, as it is his favourite!!)

 

we are staying at home this weekend, so hopefully I will get on with my last quilt for the exhibition.  The forecast isn't very good, so we may not get out for a walk.  Whatever the weather, have a good weekend, love Anne 

Swans and boats

There are a great many swans about at the moment.  In the dock ..........

 

where there is a lot of weed for them to eat

 

and on our last two visits to the flat, there has been a black swan

 

they aren't native to Britain, so I don't know where this one has come from

 

out in the river, you can just see a line of them at the water's edge

 

and more further down the river

 

and looking the other way, they are right up under the bridges

 

in the dock, there was a shimmering reflection of the pilot boat

 

this boat, which is tied up in the far corner of the dock, is tiny

 

one of the fishing boats, returning from a trip

 

we passed this one yesterday, when we walked along to the beach

 

this little one sits under the dock at the lifeboat station

 

I do like a bit of blue sky behind an old chimney

 

Malcolm spotted this piece of ragged rope caught in a gnarly post

 

every time we go to the beach, I find another interesting piece of groyne for a photo

 

this little lump would look good in the garden, but I suspect it is like an iceberg, with far more below the sand

 

walking back from the beach, we saw yet more swans!

 

various lorries park on the dockside overnight, and last night these two car transporters appeared, laden with brand new Mercedes.  Malcolm reckoned there was £500,000 worth of cars ....... do you think they would have missed just one little one?

 

to finish, two sweet treats.  First, a bowl of delicious Scottish strawberries - possibly the best strawberries in the entire world

 

and second, the delectable Tom Hiddleston.  If you haven't seen him in the Night Manager, you have missed a treat (and I don't mean the scene in which you saw his bare bum) ........ it's an excellent story, and some of it was filmed in Majorca, with stunning scenery

photo by Mona Kuhn for W Magazine

A special day

 Yesterday was Fathers' Day, so of course that meant that Malcolm was well and truly spoiled.  When we were in Dunbar, I found these two quirky notebooks (a boy can never have too many notebooks!).  They have squared paper, so he can draw up tiny plans of his creations.  

 

after breakfast in bed (kippers on toast - delicious) we set off for a day out.  Unfortunately the main road was closed, but we didn't mind the diversion too much when we drove along country roads with lush hedges and verges

 

as soon as you see this photo, you will know where we went ....... Bamburgh for a walk on the beach

 

there were lots of people about, some flying overhead

 

some on horseback

 

some just standing enjoying the view

 

and a great big lolloping dog!

 

there were lots of colourful wild flowers in the dunes

 glorious sands for as far as we could see

 

and lots of blue skies, with just a bit of cloud

 

looking up at the castle from the beach

 

Malcolm spotted this arty shadow shot

 

looking across the cricket ground to the pavilion

 

and walking round to the pavilion, we found the rollers ready to be used on the wicket (it's all to do with what conditions the bowlers want!)

 

but the best view is from the far side of the ground - what a wonderful backdrop to play in front of

 

I treated Malcolm to lunch at the Copper Kettle - it was easier to take a photo of the placemat, than try to take a photo outside without a tourist in it!

 

he had crab sandwiches, with a very posh packet of crisps

 

I had chicken mayo and bacon, also with posh crisps

 

on the way home, we called in here, and I bought some scented candles, which are made in Selkirk by Eternal Flame Candles.  The first three have quite normal scents .........

 

........ and of course when we saw these ones, I had to buy them!

 

we went for a walk on "our" beach this afternoon, treating ourselves to ice creams as a reward for walking for miles!  But do you prefer to lighthouse to the right of the ice cream, or to the left?

 

It's raining again!

It has been a rather soggy week, and yesterday everything in the garden was dripping.  The miniature rose almost looked as if it had been dipped in plastic

 

large raindrops on one of the clematis

 

small raindrops collecting on the lilies in a pot beside the back door

 

the drops on this shrub look like little jewels

 

my favourite plant in the rain -  alchemila molis

 

a dainty seedhead on an early flowering clematis

 

as it was such a miserable day, we decided to put off going over to the flat until tomorrow morning.  So this afternoon we headed into Hawick, parking in the supermarket car park and popping in to buy the papers.  Then we left the car there and walked along the riverside towards the Mill.  Do you remember when, during the terrible winter floods, part of the road fell into the river?  Well, it's still there!

 

although some work has been done to shore up the riverbank

 

there is still a lot to be done

 

the power of flood water is frightening, causing huge sections of road to collapse

 

having inspected the damage, we crossed the footbridge to the Mill.  We had a potter round the shop before we went for a cuppa.  Malcolm saw a jumper that he rather liked, but it cost £495 ....... no, I didn't leave out a decimal point, it cost four hundred and ninety five pounds.  He decided that he didn't like it that much!

 

Malcolm had fruit loaf

 

and I had lemon sponge - both were delicious

 

we walked the long way round back to the car, giving me the chance to take to photo of these old wooden garages - I think they could do with some tlc!

 

you may be aware that there is some sort of football (soccer) event* going on in France - no doubt Malcolm will be glued to it for most of the weekend, but hopefully I can tear him away long enough to go for a walk!  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

* Scotland were sensible and didn't qualify, which saved the fans the expense of travelling to France to see their team going out in the first stage.  Malcolm of course is cheering on England, so I said I would cheer on Wales, to provide some balance  (I had a Welsh great-granny - or possibly great-great-granny!)

Viking gold?

We headed to the beach on Thursday, so that Malcolm could play with use the metal detector that Stuart and Alison gave him for his birthday Do you like the cute spade I bought for him to go with it?!)

 

would we find a treasure trove of Viking gold?  Well, there wasn't any hidden under this plant

 

and these bleached tree trunks didn't mark the spot

 

this teeny tiny (dead) crab hadn't swallowed any

 

and this large crab shell was empty

 

Malcolm soldiered on - yes that's him away in the distance

 

finally, some beeps ...... but it was only a rusty old bolt

 

if this slimy green sea monster knew where the treasure was, it wasn't telling us

 

I got a bit fed up and wandered off to investigate these two feathers.  Given their size, I think they must be swan feathers

 

another plant growing in the sand, but still no treasure - not even a bottle top!

 

a quick photo of the lighthouse - you know that there must always be one 

 

we decided to give up and go up to the cafe for a cuppa ....... and just as we stepped on to the ramp up to the promenade ........ beep, beep, beep.  But no matter how carefully we looked through the sand, we couldn't find anything!  In the end we decided that it was the re-bar in the concrete that the detector was picking up.  Never mind, we had fun and will try again another day!

 

no teapot, milk jug or dainty china cup and saucer  ....... but sitting in the sun made up for that

 

a seagull hoping in vain for some food

 

so no treasure, but at least as we walked along the path above the beach, I found an arty photo!

 

yesterday morning, we headed up to Selkirk, to the Waterwheel Cafe

 

it's a while since we indulged in a two-scone lunch!  (that's half each, not two each)

 

the rain had gone off when we came out of the cafe, so we decided to go for a walk along the mill lade, pausing to admire this stunning group of rhododendrons 

 

the path has been upgraded, in conjunction with new flood defences, and Malcolm was very impressed with this wooden construction

 

when the water is low like this, it is hard to imagine that it would come up over the bank - the new wall on the right is to protect the fields from floodwaters

 

although only the tops of the walls are curved, this reminded me of the ruined building with the rounds walls that we saw recently - perhaps it looked something like this?

 

we could here fast-flowing water ahead, but didn't expect quite this much to be flowing into the lade

 

another stretch of the new flood defences - the owners of the row of houses must be delighted to be protected, after the dreadful winter floods

 

 a sturdy new bridge over the lade - again Malcolm had to pause to admire its construction ....... perhaps I should get him a job with a wooden-bridge-building company? 

 

by the time we walked back to the cafe, we reckoned we had covered about two and a half-miles, so we must have burned off some of the sconnage!  To finish, another of my arty photos - a clump of snow-in-summer growing out of a wall

 

back tomorrow with some sewing

Dodging the seagulls!

As we walked out to the harbour entrance, I was somewhat concerned by the the large number of seagulls wheeling about.   As it is breeding season, they were very vocal about anyone getting too close

 

every little edge seemed to have at least one gull on it

 

and yes, even gulls turn their rears to the camera

 

despite the signs telling you not to feed the gulls, you do see people throwing food to them.  Unfortunately, the gulls then associate humans with food, and they then swoop down to steal food.  When you see the size of their beaks ....... do you really want them to peck at you to steal your fish and chips?!

 

as we left the harbour, I did consider taking the JCB for a joyride!

 

and I could have used it to scoop up these lovely rusty items, which were sitting outside a little engineering firm

 

approaching this little church, we thought that it was very plain

 

but when we got close enough to read this plaque, we understood why it was unadorned

 

I misread this pub sign as Black Angus, which made me smile, as my late Dad was called Angus ....... I had a picture of him riding a horse in a dress .........

 

I remember being sent to the ironmonger's shop with a blue metal can to buy paraffin when I was barely big enough to carry the can home!  I think these days it will be illegal to sell paraffin to a child

 

never mind the coffee, just give me the chocolate

 

what a wonderful name for a greengrocers!

 

on our way out of Dunbar, we popped into the Garden Centre, which is claimed to be Scotland's newest garden centre

 

purely for research purposes, we shared a pot of tea in the very smart coffee shop.  It is light and airy, the service was friendly and efficient, and the dishes that other customers were eating all looked excellent.  It was hard to resist the tempting display of cakes - but that just gives us an excuse to go back to sample them!

 

there is a large, well-stocked plant area outside

 

and we liked what they had done with these two old canoes, using the one at the front as a planter, and turning the one at the back into a garden bench

 

again, we have made the sacrifice to go out and eat cake on a Friday!  Malcolm had a mint chocolate brownie

 

and I had a ginger chocolate brownie ....... we then walked the very long way round town and back to the flat, to use up some of the calories!

 

we will be heading back to Hawick in the morning, after a very enjoyable few days in Berwick, so I hope to spend some time in the studio on Saturday and Sunday getting on with my entries for the exhibition.  I'll be back on Monday with the tale of what Malcolm was doing on the beach yesterday!   I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

A sunny day out

Yesterday, we took a run up the A1 to Dunbar ....... this is a quote from Wikipedia about the town

Due to its geographical location, Dunbar receives less rain and more hours of direct sunshine per year than anywhere else in Scotland (according to the Met Office). The town has begun to be referred to by locals as 'Sunny Dunny', after a local radio host popularised the term.

You can read more about Dunbar  here.  Our first stop was for a cuppa

 

we sat on a raised section at the back, on very comfortable, squashy sofas

 

tea for me, coffee for Malcolm, and we shared a delicious toffee apple crumble pie

 

Malcolm had placed our order at the counter and had chosen the pie - it was only as we were leaving that I saw the Irn Bru tiffin ........ if I had seen it when we went in, I would have to have had a piece!

 

we had a potter round some of the excellent shops.  I can't show yet you what I bought in this one, as it is for Malcolm for Father's Day

 

but I'll show you what I bought here at the end of the post

 

our next stop was at the John Muir Museum  We didn't spend as long here as we might have, as it was full of schoolchildren!

 

if you get the chance to go to the museum, it a fascinating story, the boy from Dunbar  who founded America's National Parks

 

most of the photos are of him as an older man with a bushy beard, but the statue shows him in his prime

 

I have seen a similar tiled doorway in a shop in Selkirk - I will have to look next time I am there to see if it is for the same firm

 

the tiles on the step would make a wonderful quilt!

 

we meandered on down to the harbour

 

this little cannon was on the wall of a house overlooking the harbour - I wonder if I could get one, to repel visitors I don't like the look of

 

those of you who have been reading the blog for a while (thank you!) may remember that Malcolm went on a dry-stone walling course.  He declared this wall to be well built!

 

having carefully studied this warning notice .....

 

we didn't trip over the fishing nets and fall off the quayside

 

we didn't get trapped in a lobster pot

 

or tangled up in this enormous chain

 

and we didn't fall over these two stacks of fish boxes - which have come from far and wide

 

as we walked on round the harbour, Malcolm chose this boat

 

and I chose this little one in the foreground.  The man working at the stern of the other boat is the Harbour Master (according to the back of his shirt).  He was having a good tidy up while the tide was out

 

I guess this is where the expression "keeled over" comes from

 

the same boats seen from the other side

 

I wasn't very happy walking over this bridge (yes, that's the Harbour Master still hard at work), as it looks a bit neglected

 

but on the way back, I was reassured by this car which drove over in front of me

 

a reminder of one of the warnings!

 

by this time it was us who needed to be fed - and if you are at the seaside, you have to eat fish and chips (I am sure there is a law that says you have to!)

 

but we didn't need any persuading to share a wonderful fish supper (no matter what time of day you eat it, it is called a supper)

 

I still have lots more photos, which I will share with you tomorrow, but for now I will finish with what I bought.  Although Malcolm's birthday isn't until September, when he said he liked this clock, I got it for him ....... and I haven't made him wait for it!

 

this is one of a set of two coasters by the same artist

 

and this wonderful wooden hare, made from recycled wood, had to come back to the flat as well, where there was a playmate waiting for it!

I regret that there is a short delay .......

....... in bringing you the sewing post, which will now appear tomorrow.  Instead, we have a Berwick post, as we came over this morning.  It was bright and sunny when we left Hawick, but it has been very misty here, as you can see from these photos

 

is Miss Havisham looking out of the window, in her wedding dress?

trees in the mist

 

the lighthouse is out there somewhere!

 

these cranes make me think of "War of the Worlds"

 

the railway bridge, seen through the arch of the new bridge

 

this makes me think of the "Marie Celeste"

 

but not everywhere was misty as you can see from these photos of old doors and gates

 

the old school is still rotting away, home to dozens of pigeons

 

alas, Malcolm hadn't secretly bought the "money pit" house, for me to turn into a quilting retreat!  But it is good to see that the new owners are hard at work rescuing it from years of neglect

 

walking on, we found a smart, well maintained boat

 

in contrast, an extremely dilapidated one, with weeds growing on it (I have offered in the past to buy it for Malcolm, but it's not quite the same as the beautiful boats we see in the marina in Puerto Pollensa!)

 

the new path on the quayside is finished, so you can now walk all the way up on to the old bridge .......

 

....... without tripping over an old mooring ring

 

back at the flat, there were swans in the mist in the dock

 

you can just make out that there are dozens of them

 

on our way home from our walk, we went past Lowry's coffee shop (ok, we made a detour down a steep flight of stairs to get there!)

 

we popped in for a cuppa ....... and yes, a little bit of sconnage!

 

there will be sewing tomorrow!!

Going out in style!

I didn't take any photos at the party on Friday, but I can tell you that we had an excellent time, there was a lot of "do you remember", a lot of laughter ........ and of course there was food, food and even more food!  I gave into temptation, and bought one or two last little bits and bobs ........ on the left is just some basic calico, then in the middle there is a useful white, then a versatile red

 

you can just see that the white has a tiny print on it - it makes a very good background for applique. The red has tiny gold spots - it will be good for all sorts of Christmas projects.

 

some luscious variegated embroidery threads

 

the cutest of cute buttons

 

and even more cute buttons!

 

when I was taking the photos, I noticed this tiny spider on the wall - I put a pin beside it for scale

 

so what do you think this is a photo of?  It is a length of green garden cane, with two raindrops hanging from it

 

the first poppy has flowered - and in the background you can see the bird bath which the fussy birds refused to use - it now has plants in it

 

the inside of the poppy would make a good textured applique block

 

to finish - some sconnage!  When we were out and about yesterday morning, we went for a cuppa, and shared a very tasty (and still warm from the oven) scone

 

back tomorrow with lots of sewing!