frayed at the edge

I'm not saying it was cold .......

....... but there was ice on the birdbath this morning!!

 

I went out, broke it up and took it off - and some time later it was still lying there, unmelted!!

 

This little sparrow looked thoroughly miserable!

 

But as soon as I filled the feeders, things looked a lot livelier

 

When we went into Hawick for our usual Thursday morning cuppa, we were a little bit early, so we walked round to where we sometimes see a heron on the River Slitrig.  I was disappointed not to see him (I know, I always think that herons are male!) ....... but then Malcolm spotted him sitting on a garden wall above the river - maybe the water was just too cold!!

 

Although it was starting to cloud over a bit, we went out for a walk after lunch.  We decided to walk the route that we have only walked once, but this time we would do it the other way round, so that we didn't have to walk up the very steep hill!  Usually when I show you photos of the Minto Hills, you only see one - but here are both of them!

 

We have had quite a lot of rain recently, which meant there were some tricky stretches to negotiate

 

We were distracted for a while ...... but I'll tell you why later!  This calf was keeping a careful eye on us, although it was a good distance away

 

This horse obviously believes that the grass is greener on the other side

 

When we got back home, I lurked just outside the garden gate, hoping to take some photos of the birds on the feeders - but the sparrows just sat in the hedge and laughed at me!

 

So what caused the hold-up in our walk?

picking lots of rosehips  ........

 

...... and even more sloes!

 

As we hadn't picked sloes before, we brought a little bit of a branch home to check that they were indeed sloes - a quick google search confirmed we were right (thank you Wikipedia!)

 

Now we will make sloe gin and rosehip syrup!  To finish, two photos of the birdbath ....

a brave sparrow takes the plunge in the cold water .......

 

..... while the other birds stay firmly on the rim!

A bit of this and a bit of that

It was such a lovely sunny morning, we headed out early to go to Kelso ....... we had planned to go for lunch before I went to knit'n'natter, but decided to go for a walk in the sunshine as well.  We weren't the only ones enjoying the sunshine - this duck's plumage was shown of beautifully in the sun

 

We were delighted to see that this dog was much more concerned with keeping the river bank tidy, picking up plastic bottles, than the humans who had dropped the litter

 

We went somewhere different for lunch - I don't why we have never got round to eating here before!

 

Lunch got off to a good start when first my tea arrived ........

 

..... and then Malcolm's coffee, in very pretty china

 

Then the food arrived - we had both chosen the mushroom, caramelised onion and brie on a toasted bagel ....... yes, it was as delicious as it sounds!!  (and the presentation was wonderful too!)

 

I was busy in the studio at the weekend.  Having made a quarter of the templates for the Farmer's Wife blocks ....

 

....... I started sewing and have made the first two blocks

 

I was also doing some more machine quilting on my row quilt (which had been neglected for several weeks!)  I have a confession to make ....... when I did my sample, I had to alter the tension as the dark thread in the bobbin was coming up to the right side.  Having fiddled about with it until the dark thread didn't show, I then started quilting ......... but it wasn't until I had done quite a bit that I noticed that the cream top thread was showing on the back (it didn't on the sample).  I had done too much to contemplate unpicking it ...... so I have rather an unusual effect on the back!!

 

Yesterday I did more prep work on my hexagons, cutting out lots of papers - it was quite relaxing sitting there snipping away, listening to the radio and enjoying the warmth of the stove (the only discordant note was Christmas adverts on the radio!!)

 

I also did some more work on the Baltimore block - I seemed to have got bogged down stitching so many leaves - but now I just have another two to do!

 

I have also been getting organised to make a batch of cards with the orchid photos - although slightly different to the ones I made for the swap.  I am using single fold cards, and have to trim the photos as they are slightly the wrong size for the cards.  Then I use a little gadget that clips the corners - it's amazing the difference it makes to have rounded corners

 

I am making the cards as I have a table at the end of November at the Southdean Christmas Fair ..... I will have to knuckle down and get lots of things made.  Fortunately the lavender from the garden has dried, so I will be able to make more lavender bags and coasterswanted to send him the hare

To end, something special in the post again today ...... I had ordered two of Gretel's latest lino cut prints, and Gretel had emailed me to check that I did want two, and that it wasn't a glitch in the order.  I replied that I did indeed want two, as one is for Stuart's Christmas ...... he had admired my little hare when he visited on my birthday.  The wonderful Gretel promptly replied that although she know longer had any hares for sale, she would pop one of her own stash, meant for presents, in with my order, as a present for Stuart ........ I had mentioned in a previous email to Gretel that Stuart had recently taken up running, and as Gretel has too, she wanted to send a little something to a kindred spirit (oh dear, now Stuart knows what one of his Christmas presents is!)  Thank you very much, Gretel ..... and I love the plump little elephant too!

Sunshine!

Yesterday was bright and sunny, so we headed over to Harestanes for one of our favourite walks.  I was able to take lots of photos for next weekend's Shadow Shot Sunday. and still have lots left to share with you today

the bees were enjoying the sunshine too, both on this plant .......

 

....... and this one

 

the mild weather has confused this rhododendron into flowering at the wrong time

 

this mushroom has been well and truly nibbled .......

 

but I think it would be wise to  avoid this one!

 

I was going to show you more photos from our walk, then some photos of the garden, but they just kept vanishing ...... and now this block of text won't budge from the right!  So on with the knitting update - I've made a start to the shawl, but it needs a lot of concentration, so I have also started a pair of socks

 

 

I love the colours in the shawl, like autumn berries ........

 

..... which brings me to the last photo I am going to attempt to include.  We picked some brambles yesterday, and Malcolm made a very tasty apple and bramble crumble, which we had with some custard ...... we very rarely eat puddings, so this was a real treat!!

 

Blame the one-click!!

You know that I bought Malcolm a Kindle for our Silver Wedding.  He is really pleased with it - although he does still read 'real' books.  Then we bought one for Stuart as a combined birthday/Christmas present ..... and he really loves it!  My friends Anne S. and Tricia also love theirs.  So when I got an email from Amazon telling me that they were launching a new, cheaper Kindle ........

 

Yes, that one-click button did the deed, and this arrived in the post this morning

 

It's smaller and lighter than Malcolm's and can hold fewer books - but I really don't think that's a problem, as it has the capacity to store 1,400!

Friday of course means cake at patch'n'chat, but we had to make do with shop bought cakes, as Annette is away on holiday!  Still, we all tucked in to the choice of fruit loaf .......

 

....... and Swiss roll - I don't know when I last had a piece of Swiss roll!

 

I'm off to play with my Kindle get on with my knitting!  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

A pleasant stroll

Now that it is dark in the mornings, I no longer go out for a walk ........ I torture myself on the cross trainer and rowing machine instead.  But I miss walking, so today I went for a walk after lunch (I strongly deny that I was trying to avoid doing the ironing!)  Usually I head up the hill towards the church, but for a change I went downhill.

Although it is still reasonably mild, most of the horses now have their blankets on

 

The sheep, of course, have their own woolly coats to keep them warm

 

And sometimes all you need is Mum

 

Along the way I was able to indulge my liking for gates ......

 

...... and falling down bits of old fences

 

It wouldn't be a walk in the country without one of these thundering past ........

 

....... and there are a lot of tractors about at the moment with these attachments on the back for cutting hedges - although as you can see our road has yet to be done

 

This sparrow was perched in the hedge across the road from us - he obviously didn't know that all the other sparrows in the neighbourhood were in our front garden, waiting for the feeders to be filled

 

I hope he arrived in time to share in the feasting on the fat balls!!

 

I have finished making/extracting from my stash a little pile of goodies to send off to my partner in Mousy Brown's swap.  All that is needed is an address label on the envelope, then it will be off to the post office on Saturday to send it. 

 

For lunch today we had homemade soup (I had apple and parsnip, Malcolm had pea and ham) and some of the sourdough bread we got yesterday - it was delicious!!

Only the best will do!

How is this for a posh carrier bag?

 

So what were we buying - a duke or a princess ..... or even the castle itself?  No, we were shopping in the deli at the coffee shop!  We got a wonderful chicken and leek pie (which was less than half price!)  We've had one of these pies before - it had lots of chicken and a lovely creamy sauce, so we are looking forward to enjoying this one

 

We also got a sourdough loaf - yes, I could bake one, but when we were standing in the queue we could smell the bread, so it just had to come home with us!

 

When we got home, there was a parcel sitting on the front doorstep.  It didn't quite have an exotic stamp on it ....... although it had come from that very exotic part of the UK..... Wales!

 

....... but it was full of wonderful things!  Three balls of delicious sock yarn, two free patterns, and a lovley little cotton bag to keep my knitting in

 

Yesterday I wound the laceweight yarn into a ball, using the swift and the new ball winder, which make the whole process so much quicker and easier

 

The pattern says to use a circular needle, but unless I need to because of the number of stitches, I would much rather knit on straight needles

 

I had a busy day yesterday - you can see some of what I was doing on the table ........ more hexagons prepped (in the centre)and templates made (in the bag on the right) - but I can't tell you what else I was doing until after I have sent off my envelope to my partner in Mousy Brown's swap.  (And why is there a piece of pipe lagging on the left of the table?)

 

Out in the garden, there are still little bits of colour.  We got this clematis earlier in the year

 

It had a few flowers on it when we got it, but then it sat there all summer sulking.  Now it has buds on it and one flower has opened!

 

Across the garden, the two clematis on the trellis are still flowering profusely, with lots of buds still to open

 

I keep meaning to look in my plant books to find out what this climber is

 

For some reason this little fuchsia doesn't flower in the summer when the others do - it waits until the others flowers in the border die back

 

This last rose is clinging on

 

The hellebore is confused, and has started to flower again!

 

The nuthatch was back on the peanut feeder this afternoon - and still determined to show me its bottom!!

 

When the robin wan't looking, these cheeky sparrows had a bath (you can see the water that has splashed over the edge!)

Persuasion

Berwick Quilters held their exhibition at the weekend ....... and Malcolm didn't need too much persuasion to go, when I reminded him that there is always wonderful home baking at quilt shows!  I don't think he was disappointed by yesterday's selction (I should point out that we shared the cakes!)

 

 

There was a wonderful display of quilts ......

 

 

....... and Malcolm promptly spotted this owl

 

 

This is the quilt that my friend Katy made for her husband, featuring his wonderful Highland cattle

 

 

She also made this very cute teddy bear quilt

 

 

Another very, very cute quilt ...... I love the elephants!

 

 

I forgot to find out who made this amazing miniature quilt show - the detail is fantastic, given how small it is

 

 

Also on a very small scale is this bed - it is about six inches long

 

 

The quilt show was held in the village hall in Horncliffe, which we hadn't been to before, so we went for a walk before we headed for home.

The first thing to catch my eye was this tablet in memory of a former minister in the village

 

 

I was also able to add to my collection of post boxes - you can tell from this one that we were over the Border in England, as Scottish post boxes don't have ERII on them (she is the first Queen Elizabeth of Scotland)

 

 

Malcolm spotted this doorway - we thought perhaps the door hadn't been used for some time!!

 

 

The knitting update - I have finished my socks ........ but when trying them on - oh dear, they make me itch!  Hopefully they will be ok once they have been washed

 

 

I couldn't decide what to knit next, so had a potter round my stash and found a kit with this pattern, which can be knitted as a wrap or a triangular shawl (sorry, it wasn't the best of photos on the pattern)

 

 

I haven't decided yet whether to knit the wrap or the shawl, but as I have still to wind the yarn into a ball, I won't be starting it until Wednesday (I'm out at Abbey Quilters tomorrow evening)

 

 

To finish ...... I have great admiration for wildlife photographers who spend days, weeks, months, even years waiting for their subject to appear - I get bored after five minutes waiting for the birds  

 

 

Wine and cricket!

Although the domestic cricket season is over, there is still cricket being played abroad ....... so we are enjoying a glass of wine and watching cricket in India, thanks to the magic of Sky tv.  Yes - I watch cricket too - my Dad played when I was little, and we used to have 'test matches' in the back garden, until we got new neighbours who erected a greenhouse!

The wind has finally dropped, and it is merely breezy now.  The sky is clear, so hopefully we will get another lovely sunset.  I have a collection of 'sky' fabrics ..... maybe one day I will make a wallhanging of the view of the sunset from the front garden.

This afternoon at patch'n'chat, Tricia produced her sampler quilt, which she has just finished.  It is a truly stunning quilt and she is under strict instructions to put it into the Scottish Championships next year.  It is her birthday tomorrow - so many happy returns, Tricia, and have a wonderful day with your family!!

 

 

Andrea was working on a gorgeous wallhanging (even if it does have cats on it - you know that I don't like cats).  We all liked the combinations of blue and yellow, giving it a lovely fresh look.

 

 

Annette wasn't able to bake a cake for us this week, but we forgave her when she produced Selkirk bannock for us to enjoy with our afternoon cuppa.  This link will take you to the website of the firm who make 'the original' Selkirk bannock - and lots of other traditional Scottish goodies.

 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

 

ps - I thought you might like another photo of the robin in the birdbath!

 
 

Emergency over!

Being a punctual person, I arrived at the dental centre 15 minutes early ...... and was taken after waiting for only five minutes.  Fifteen minutes later, my tooth was fixed, the bill was paid and I was heading for home.  Sadly Douglas, my dentist that I was so in love with, has now retired, so I was treated by my new dentist, Mr Prusek.  I think he is Eastern European ..... he sounds like a villain in a James Bond film 'you need a new fillink'.  He was very quick and efficient, and apart from the first prick of the needle, I didn't feel a thing - that's my kind of dentist!!

Back home, I made some apple and sultana chutney.  As so often happens, there was a little drop left over when I filled the jars ....... so what better way to try it than with a piece of crumbly extra mature cheddar and some slices of pear

 

 

We have had extremes of weather today - very bright sunny spells, mixed up with black skies and heavy rain.  So the birds were either sheltering .......

 

 

..... this little sparrow even had its head tucked under its wing

 

 

...... or tucking in before the next shower

 

 

For once the robin sat for long enough on the stone owl for me to take a photo

 

 

but he was determined to keep his back to me when he perched on the wooden owl

 

 

There haven't been any finches in the garden recently, so I was glad to see this one this morning

 

 

 

This afternoon I was out in the studio, continuing with my sporadic attempts to sort out my various stashes.  I have a lot of sample curtains, which I buy (very cheaply) from a shop in Hawick.  They take up a lot of room, so I have been gradually taking them apart, keeping the fabric, throwing out the little bits of header tape, and giving the lining fabric to Malcolm, who plans to use it as extra insulation in the loft.  So I reduced this pile ......

 

 

to this much smaller one

 

 

Now I have to resist the temptation to fill the empty spaces !!

 

 

To finish, some photos of last night's stunning sky

 

 

 

 

Dental emergency:part 2

I phoned the dental centre at 8.02am, and asked for an emergency appointment.  I had to give my name, what the problem was, and say if I was in pain (foolishly, as it turned out, I answered truthfully and said no).  I was then told that someone would phone me back to let me know if I could have an appointment today, but as I wasn't in pain it was unlikely - those in pain would have a higher priority. What??  I was told to phone back this morning for an appointment ...... no, the receptionist insisted, I wasn't told that at all.  I was very slightly cross after this conversation - did this mean that I would have to phone up every morning, and unless I lied and said I was in pain, there was little chance of getting an appointment?  I may not be in pain, but I am worried that the thin section of tooth where the filling fell out might break off.  Then, just after 9am, a bright and breezy phone call to say that I couldn't have an appointment today (no pain!), but I had an appointment for tomorrow (hooray).

On to happier things!  We went out for lunch to the Woodside Garden centre, which has a wonderful new website.  We sat next to the window, as usually there are lots of birds on the feeders, but because of the strong winds, there were very few birds about.  But I did manage to take some photos

 

 

 

 

After luch we had a stroll round the garden centre, which is set in an old walled garden.  There was a display of wonderful garden sculptures (there are details on the website) .......

 

 

 

......... and this large seedhead caught my eye - a cardoon

 

 

On the way home, we saw potatoes being harvested by large machines - very different from when the potatoes were harvested by hand, which was backbreaking work known as tattie howking

 

 

Back home, I went in to the lounge for something ..... and saw a nuthatch on the peanut feeder.  I rushed off and got the camera - but just as I got back to the lounge, a big bully-boy sparrow attacked the nuthatch and drove it off.  However it did briefly come back, and I took these (not very good ) photos

 

slightly blurred

 

 

a nice view of its bottom!

 

 

a slightly better view

When I googled nuthatch for a link, I discovered that there are dozens of them!!

 

I was out at knit'n'natter this afternoon, and this gave Malcolm the chance to have a go at baking a tarte tatin ...... and he took photos!

 

caster sugar and a little alcohol

 

 

bubbling away to turn into caramel

 

 

apples and brambles added ......

 

 

....... then dotted with butter

 

 

the puff pastry put on top and tucked in round the edges

 

 

after 30 minutes at 190 degrees

 

 

turned out on to the serving plate

 

 

the healthy option - low fat creme fraiche!

 

The tarte was delicious - I just wish you could somehow reach into your computer to have a taste!!