frayed at the edge

Day 5 ...... and it's back in the old routine

It's Friday, so of course that means housework!  If you are ever walking past our house on a Friday morning and you hear a strange noise, as if someone is strangling a cat ....... don't worry, it's just me singing as I clean the bathroom.  Think of the chorus of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night", then sing along ...... scrub-a-dub, a-dub dub, scrub a-dub a-dub.  With the house gleaming, I set off for Borderland Fabrics, for an afternoon of patch'n'chat.As soon as I arrived, Katy jumped up to give me a belated birthday hug, and this beautiful handmade card ........

 

....... and these super buttons

 

when Tricia arrived, she too had a present for me (I have been so spoiled!!)  How cute is this pincushion!

 

and knowing that I like owls, Tricia had found the perfect gift bag

 

Friday at patch'n'chat means cake, and today we had a choice of not one, not two, but three cakes!!

date slice

 

truffles

 

cupcakes

 

I was very good, and only had a date slice - having lost that two pounds, I don't want to put it straight back on!! 

I'm looking forward to getting out to the studio over the weekend, and organising some sewing projects.  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

Day 4, and I know you won't believe it but ............

.......... I weighed myself this morning - and I have LOST weight!!  OK, it's only two pounds, but I think that is the first time I have ever lost weight on holiday!  Although it seemed as if we were always eating big meals, those were the special occasion meals.  On other days we cooked dinner in the apartment, just the everyday sort of dinners we have at home.  And, of course, we were very active, walking for miles most days.

Do you remember that wonderful pesto chicken pasta that I had for lunch at the winery.  I decided to try to recreate it for dinner tonight - but a slightly healthier version!

 

the ingredients, clockwise from top left :- 250g of fusilli pasta (I used fresh, but you coud use dried);  pesto - this is a light one, with less fat; half fat creme fraiche (but if I was making this for a special occasion, I would use double cream!); 200g of diced chicken; salt and pepper; a medium onion, diced;  four mushrooms, finely sliced; and broccoli and asparagus to serve on the side

As usual, I managed to forget an ingredient for the main photo...... parmesan! 

 

 I shaved some with the potato peeler, to put on the finished dish

 

and grated some to stir in to the sauce

 

it was very simple to cook.  I started by gently cooking the onion and mushroom in a little olive oil

 

and put the broccoli and asparagus on to simmer

 

once the mushrooms and onion were nicely softened, I added the chicken

 

then when the chicken was cooked, I put the pasta on to cook

 

to finish the sauce, I added the creme fraiche .....

 

....... and the pesto and parmesan

 

I drained the pasta, and stirred it through the sauce ....... remember, add the pasta to  the sauce, or you end up with two saucy saucepans to wash up!!

 

We had a good sized portion, and it would easily do three if you perhaps had a salad instead of the veggies, and some garlic bread, and it would certainly do four for lunch.

Rich in history

Everywhere you go in the Borders, you encounter reminders of the history of the area.  On Sunday we went to Melrose, with it splendid Abbey

 

 

 

 

After our enjoyable potter round Melrose, we went to Abbotsford House, the home of Sir Walter Scott.  We wanted to look round the newly opened Visitor Centre

 

it is an amazing building, and there is an excellent exhibition about Sir Walter Scott.  If you are going to be in the area, do visit ........ and if you need some extra persuasion ......

 

 

 

 

we had our cuppa in the restaurant ......

 

........but we could have sat out on the balcony

 

from the balcony, there is a good view of the house, which is closed at the moment for major repairs

 

it is scheduled to reopen early next summer, but I am sure we will be back at the Visitor Centre before then!

Thoroughly discombobulated!

Yesterday I had a phone call from Cathy at Borderland Fabrics, to say that there would be no patch'n'chat on Friday, but if I wanted, I could go along today to join the Wednesday afternoon ladies.  There was a special reason that I wanted to go along (more of that later), but now I think it's Friday and will be very confused when I wake up tomorrow to find that it is Thursday, not Saturday!

 

Looking back over photos of the early morning scenery through the summer, I realised that most of them are either misty or hazy, as the summer has been so wet, so I was delighted that finally I was able to take some clearer ones today

the Minto Hills

 

a patchwork of fields

 

there has to be a sheep!

 

hedges at odd angles

 

I couldn't leave out these two cuties!

 

these crows flew out of the trees .......

 

then about-turned and flew back

 

a glimmer of sunshine

 

these sheep were starting to form a line .......

 

before setting off across the field ........

 

...... as these ones hurried through the gate to join the end of the line

 

a stylish old gate

 

I had to pick up my pace on the homeward stretch, as the sky darkened and it threatened to rain

 

This afternoon, when we went through for our cuppa, the Wednesday ladies were surprised to see cake on the table (I think they get homemade shortbread)  Maybe they will think about coming along on  Fridays, having sampled Annette's delicious apple and sultana cake

 

I mentioned at the start that there was a special reason why I wanted to go along to patch'n'chat today.  Well ........ it's because that will be my last one for several weeks, as we are off on our travels again.  But this is no ordinary trip.  While we are away we will both celebrate our  40th 50th  oh dear, I have to admit that it will be our 60th birthdays!  This of course means a big celebration, so we leave next Tuesday for a trip to Australia and Singapore.  I'll tell you more about our plans tomorrow.

 

The rest of the show

As I had to wait until the end of the show on Saturday to get my entries back, I offered to help serving the teas.  Could these wonderful, delicious cakes have influenced me?!

 

 

 

In the middle of my tea-pouring duties, I was summoned to the marquee, to be presented with the two cups.  The man doing the presenting is John the Farmer ...... usually the marquee is put up in his field next to the car park, but it was just too wet this year.  First, the Photography Cup (which was donated by my friend Lorraine)

 

and then the Industrial Cup ........ and there in the background is Lorraine!

 

it had been damp and dreary in the morning, but after lunch the sun came out and everyone had fun in the sun

 

On Sunday, we went to Jedburgh for a walk.  As always, I took a photo of the old bridge, looking good in the sunshine .....

 

........ but just to the left, there is a barrier closing off the footpath

 

why?  Because this is what happened during the recent devastating floods

 

 

yesterday morning at the start of my walk, I met Graeme the Decorator, who pointd at a distant field and said "look, there are two deer in the field"..  Screwing up my eyes I saw two vague brown shapes ....... but he was right!  (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

However I had no problem seeing this ewe

 

and this squirrel

 

yesterday morning, I added my prize cards to my "bragging wall"

 

if I win more next year, I might need a new wall!

 

if you were wondering where I got the patterns for the toilet roll covers ....... I found this book on Amazon (where else!)

 

out in the garden, the beans are doing well

 

earlier in the year, I thought I had lost the wonderful bees balm, after it was overwhelmed by a large clump of harebells, so I was delighted to find that a little bit has survived (Malcolm has now dug out the harebells!)

 

after I mentioned last week that I had forgotten to take my camera cable when I visited Stuart and Alison, I got a little present in the post ..... Rachel sent me a card reader!

 

I had a blether with Anne on the phone this morning (check out her new website here).  She and Mick are exhausted after the Festival of Quilts ....... but they did very well at this, their first major show.  They even had a customer who bought patterns because shhe had seen them here!  You can see more about the Festival (and a photo of Anne's stall) over on Kay's blog.

 

I needed some sustenace this afternoon when I was doing the ironing ....... and there is nothing better than some deliciously wicked dark chocolate

 

just a few of these little drops were enough to revive me ....... but even if I had succumbed to the whole bag, it contains less than 200 calories!

 

Winning ways

There was great excitement on Satuday afternoon when I went back into the hall after the judging was complete (Malcolm had gone back home to watch the Test Match).  First was my "champion chutney" (the jar on the right with the red lid with white spots), which I had called "going for gold" as I had made it with golden delicious apples ........ there may have been squeals of delight when I saw it had been given 1st prize.  Then it was on to the "jubilee jam" (the jar on the left with the spotty lid).  I had called mine "not quite red white and bue jam" ........ I had made three different jams and layered them in the jar - the strawberry was nice and red, the pear had gone slightly yellow and the blueberries had gone a bit purple ........ but it still got 2nd prize

 

Next was "2 metres of paper chains" ....... I was the only one who entered that category, so I got 1st and 2nd!!  The one at the back is made with scrapbooking papers which were free with a magazine, and the one at the front is made from pages from an old road atlas, which I bought in a charity shop last year to make bunting

 

when I saw the other entries for "a tealight holder", I didn't think I would win anything, so I was pleased to see that my felt one had been given a 3rd

 

when I saw the next category on the schedule, I thought "oh dear", and I guess others thought that too, as again mine were the only entries ........ toilet roll covers!

 

fortunately I already had two handmade brooches - another 1st and 2nd!

 

the herb pots in the garden provided lots of choice for this arrangement (I had asked Malcolm not to cut back the parsley when it went to seed, as the seed heads looked good!)

 

the hedgerow and the garden provided enough flowers for "purple passion in a vase" ........

 

......... and "a button hole with a Scottish theme" (mine was the only entry for this category!)

 

there were also some quirky categories ........ this one was "something still in use".  These are my pinking shears, which I have had for just over 40 years

 

"stitches from times past" ....... the small table cloth on the left was made my by Great Aunt Mima, and must be about 80 years old, and the tray cloth on the right was embroidered by my Granny, and is maybe 60 years old (I still use them!)

 

next, the photography section.  I won a 1st for "a photo taken on the 1st of August! ....... mine was called "one man went to mow".  Then a 1st and 2nd for "first day at school" ........ yes that is Stuart!!

 

a 3rdd for "a holiday snapshot" ....I took this at the Sunday market in Pollensa in May - "Spanish onions"

 

and another 3rd for "the wonder of nature!

 

and now, the big one ........literally!  Malcolm entered his garden chair in the "I used to be something else" category, and was delighted to won a 2nd for it

 

 

I still have lots of photos left, which I will show you tomorrow ........ I'll finish with this one of a very handsome chap.  The children had to mark on a chart where they thought he would poo - the chart was put into the cage under him when they had all had a go, then there was much excitement waiting for him to do the business!!

 

Homeward bound

Stuart and Alison had mentioned last night that there was a new shop in Falkirk, selling all sorts of craft stuff.  Imagine my delight when I went this morning and discovered that it is ........

 

I spent a very pleasant 5 10 15 ok, I spent about 30 minutes having a good browse!  I would show you what I bought, but I forgot to take a photo! 

My next stop was Linlithgow.  Alison had mentioned last night that she would like some black and white photos for their hall, so when I got to the Palace and St Michael's Church, I switched the camera over to B&W and started snapping away

 

 

 

 

There were some swans down by the loch, so I snapped them in B&W too

 

I was a bit surprised when this one took its head out from under its wing, to reveal that wasn't a swan!!

 

back to colour for a few more photos, first of the loch

 

then the church

 

and then back round to the front of the Palace.  Is it just me, but when you have such a wonderful, historic building, do you really need to provide parking right in front of it, spoiling the view.  There is space to the left which could be used for disabled, rather than general, parking and there is a public carpark just a short walk away, which is where I parked (end of rant!)

 

I've still got lots of photos of Linlithgow, so I'll save them for tomorrow.  On the way down the A7, I stopped here for a bite to eat

 

unfortunately I was too early for the sausage hotpot (or fortunately, as far as the waistline is concerned!), but I enjoyed my bacon roll

 

the nearer I got to Hawick, the gloomier the skies became, and just as I passed the town boundary, the rain began.  Not exactly welcome home!!

A bit late!

We've only just finished dinner ...... too busy blethering and catching up on all our news.  Then horrors - I had forgotten to bring the cable that I normally use to transfer the photos from the camera to the laptop - but Stuart came to the rescue and did it by other means!

 

So, lets start with this morning, when it was very misty.  The "whomping willow" tree looked especially spooky

 

 

and even this Jacob's ewe looked scary!

 

usually the horses just look at me as I lean on the gate taking photos, but this morning they came over for a chat

 

when the smaller one moved off, the other one struck a noble pose

 

however the damp air meant that these spider webs were visible

 

 

the mist had cleared when I set out,  but unfortunately when I got to Edinburgh it came down again, so I gave up on my plan to have a detour to take photos of the Forth Bridges ...... and went for lunch instead!  A delicious tuna mayo and cheese roll.  There was no way to eat it in a ladylike fashion!!

 

when I got to Stuart and Alison's, I was going to go out for a walk to take some photos, but the sky was grey and uninviting.  However, as there are still houses being built on the estate, I was able to bag a couple of good machines through the window!

 

 

hopefully the weather will co-operate tomorrow (the rain is pouring down just now!) and I will be able to take some photos of the glorious scenery!

All done!!

It took somewhat longer than I thought it would, but finally at 8o'clock last night, I put the final stitch into Tree.  I had spent the weekend hunched over the sewing machine, even missing my day out yesterday

 

 

 

Malcolm spent the weekend providing meals and cuppas (thank you dear) while I stitched away (one broken machine needle, several pricked fingers).  But the end result was definitely worth all the work (my apprentice took the photo in the front garden this morning)

 

he also took this photo of The Night before Christmas

 

earlier, of course, I had been out for my morning walk.  It had rained throught the night, and it was a bit grey and humid.  There wasn't much happening as most of the sheep have been moved to far flung fields, so I had to content myself with a couple of ancient tractors ........

 

 

lumps of mud left on the road by said tractors .......

 

.......and trying to make it look as if this bale of haylage was sitting on top of the gate!

 

as well as lots of wrapped haylage bales, there are also fields full of hay bales

 

and straw bales

 

we went down to Longframlington this morning to drop off the sewing to Anne, ready for her trip to The Festival of Quilts.  Anne and Mick will travel down to Birmingham on Wednesday and set up their stand ready for the show opening on Thursday morning.  If you are going to the show, do stop at their stand (Stitchin' Heaven on the 697) and say hello (and buy lots!)  After having a cuppa and a blether with Anne and Mick, we went on down to Morpeth, to go out for lunch with Malcolm's sister Jennifer.  We were going to go to Meldon Park, only to discover that it is closed on Mondays.  So instead we went to The Blacksmiths Coffee Shop, which was so busy, we had to sit at an outside table!  We all chose the same - cheese savoury sandwiches, which were delicious

 

ps - I was so busy sewing yesterday that I didn't take any photos, or open the laptop ....... which is unheard of!  I shall have to try  harder tomorrow to find interesting subjects for photos!!

On Wednesday it was Stephen King ......

...... this morning it was Alfred Hitchcock!  When I went out this morning, there were rather a lot of swallows on the phone wires.  Usually they fly off when I go past, but this morning, not only did they stay on the wires, but as I walked past, they stopped chattering and an ominous silence fell, just like a scene from "The Birds"!

 

 

further up the road, I met one of the neighbours, Graeme the Decorator (he is out and about much earlier than me, as when I meet him he is on the way home from walking his dogs).  He told me that I had just missed an excellent photo opportunity ........ three deer in the field just beyond the church.  Of course when I got there, they had vanished!  However, when I got down to the bottom field, the horses posed prettily in the early morning sunshine

 

 

 

on round the bend, and there was Marion's old donkey, leaning on a telegraph pole in the middle of the field ....... there was just one thing wrong, he was showing me his rear end!!

 

fortunately I had taken this photo earlier in the week

 

the sky was deep blue again, which prompted me to take a photo of these old chimneys

 

I had a busy afternoon at patch'n'chat, stitching the binding on the back of the Night before Christmas - but I'll show you photos on Monday when hopefully Tree will be finished as well.  So all that's left for today's post is ......... the Friday cake!  This week we had delicious cupcakes with sparkly pink sprinkles - delicious!

 

I will be sewing away furiously over the weekend, finishing Tree - although I will be taking a little bit of time out on Sunday, to meet up with other crafty friends at one of Lindsay's  Woolgatherings.

 

I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne