frayed at the edge

A brief escape!

Snow, snow, snow and more snow - but the snow on the road melted a bit late morning, so after lunch we ventured out in the car.  It's only half a mile from the house to the main road, but it is down a long fairly steep hill, then up a short even steeper hill. It was a bit scary as the car slithered several times, but we made it out on to the main road and then on into Hawick.  There followed the quickest supermarket shop I have ever done (including a magazine - hooray) and with the boot full of fresh milk, veggies and other necessities, we set off home again.  Oh dear, not so easy to get back up the long hill, then ....... we met one of the neighbours coming the other way in his truck, which meant pulling over into the deep snow at the side of the road.  Much wheel spinning later, I got out and pushed the car, giving Malcolm enough of a help to get underway again.  Then ...... another neighbour in his big 4x4 and into the side again.  At least I was still walking behind the car and was able to use a bit of muscle to get Malcolm on his way again ....... and off he drove, leaving me to walk the rest of the way home (once he was home, he did walk back along the road to meet me!!)  So ..... we won't be going out again until the road conditions are much better.  As promised, no snow photos (don't worry Anne, there will be more tomorrow!), but the table measurement this morning was 18 inches!!

So, on to happier things

 

 

When I put this on the bookcase in the kitchen this morning, I realised that I hadn't yet shown you our new shelf.  It is actually an old shelf that I found in a charity shop.  The shelf was at an angle for books to sit on, so Malcolm took the saw to it, so that it would hang on the wall with a level shelf.  An added bonus was that the ends now have a funny heart shape!

 

 

The shelf is now home to Malcolm's collection of little owls - holiday and birthday presents from me (the one on the right wiggles when you nudge him!)

 

 

I also hung up our Advent Snowman (the photo is slightly confusing ...... there is a window between the back lounge and the hallway to the back door.  The table and the orchid are in the hall .... and you can see my reflection!))

 

 

The Gnome Sisters are delighted with their Christmas cushion ....

 

 

...... and their brothers love theirs too!

 

 

Now ...... if a recipe is in this magazine

 

 

then it must be low calorie and healthy .... mustn't it?

 

 

I'm sure 32 calories per piece must be a typo!  Preparing the strips was a bit of a faff, trying to remove all the pith

 

 

but dipping them in chocolate was easy - although I did have to resist the temptation to keep licking my fingers!

 

 

Mine might not look as pretty as the ones in the magazine, but they taste delicious ....... but with all those calories, we will have to ration ourselves to one or two pieces each day!!

 

Soup kitchen!

When the weather is this cold, there is only one thing to cook ....... soup, and lots of it.  I sometimes use a recipe, but most of the time I just use what's in the fridge.  So today I sorted out the ingredients for

 

orange soup

 

 

and green soup

 

For the orange soup, I sliced and diced onions, butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots and orange peppers.  For the green, courgettes, leeks, celery and broccoli.  I added stock and seasoning to both pots, then simmered them until the veggies were cooked.  The last stage was to blitz them (I don't like bits in my soup!)

 

 

Lots and lots of lovely soup to divide into portions for the freezer

 

 

Did you notice there is less orange soup?  That's because I had some for lunch, with a spoonful of creme fraiche to stir in ..... delicious!

 

 

It started out a very cold day (although it got milder and damp later).  The sheep in the field in front of us looked miserable this morning

 

 

But this little tit was quite chirpy, flying back and forward to the bird table

 

 

We have had other birds about the place recently.  It all started when Malcolm asked to borrow my chicken calendar

 

 

He got out the pencils that I bought him when we went to the Pencil Museum, and over several days, he produced two drawings

 

this one looks ready to have a peck at you!

 

 

a striking pose

 

 

it's got its beady eye on you!!


 

First class service

I was intrigued this morning to recive a tiny padded envelope in the post - I hadn't bought anything, so what could it be? I was delighted when I opened it to find this

 

I think it is excellent customer service to send out this new foot - I was unaware that there was one available.

 

I was trying to take photos of the tiny tits on the bird feeders this morning - but they just wouldn't stay still long enough!  (click on the photos to enlarge them)

 

I think this one was a blue tit

 

 

you can see how small this one is compared to the sparrows behind it

 

For the past two weeks, there has been a new horse in the field in front of us - can you tell which is the new one (hint- look at the state of their coats!)

 

 

Of course Friday means patch'n'chat ...... and that means cake!  This week Annette had made one of her wonderful sponges - although she didn't think it was one of her better ones .....

 

 

I chose the fabrics for the borders of my row quilt - the darker fabric will be the inner border, the lighter one a much wider border which I will applique .... probably with flowers and leaves

 

 

I quite often buy scented candles in glass holders from my local supermarket ...... I like to burn a candle after dinner to eliminate cooking smells.  I looked out a collection of used ones this morning (and a large jar which had last year's Christmas candle in it).  I stood them in a basin with very hot water to soften the remnants of wax

 

 

Once I had cleaned the wax out, I put them in the dishwasher, where they are being washed along with today's dishes!  I will be doing something with them over the weekend, which I will share with you on Monday!

I hope you all have a good weekend ..... the forecast isn't very good, so I think I will be spending a lot of it in the studio!  Love Anne

Turning into a mouse!

It was a bright clear frosty morning, so we stopped at the Carter Bar so that I could take some photos.  But it slightly hazy when we got there (and very, very cold!)

 

this is looking back into Scotland

 

 

the border runs into the distance

 

 

beautiful blue sky behind ....

 

 

....... The Beacon - I don't know if it has been lit since

 

 

I always cheer when we pass this sign on the way home!

 

When we picked Jennifer up, Malcolm suggested that we went to the Biscuit Factory for lunch.  He had discovered it some time ago, as it is near the Alfa Romeo garage where he got his car at the start of the year.

 

 

As we were a little bit late for lunch, we hurried in the door .....

 

 

... went upstairs to Cafe Byker Vista, and studied the menu - which had a lovely fabric cover

 

 

When my tea arrived, I was quite taken with my funny angled saucer

 

 

And now to explain why I am turning into a mouse ...... I decided to order a ploughman's lunch, thinking a little bit of cheese, some crusty bread, pickle.  This is what I got!!

 

This is as much cheese as I probably eat in a month - I swear I felt little mousey whiskers appearing and my nose twitching as I surveyed my plate.  However, you don't have to worry about my cholesterol levels, as Malcolm ate some of it!!

When we got home, we found a mysterious parcel from Italy on the doorstep ...... but I'll tell you about that tomorrow!

Season of mists ......

.... so wrote John Keats in 1819 about autumn.  And we had a misty start to the day, with a ribbon of mist along the top of the field in front of us

 

 

Did you spot the little sheep on the right of the photo?  Looking the other way, the sky was clear and a brilliant blue, with the moon still visible

 

 

I decided to have a day in the kitchen, doing some batch cooking for the freezer.  I started with some real comfort food - mince and dumplings  (one portion for dinner tonight).  This is a wonderful reminder of childhood, when it used to be my job to make the dumplings!  I organised my main ingredients

 

mince, lots of onion and sliced carrots

I started by softening the onions in a little oil, then added the mince to brown.  I added some salt and pepper, then poured in some boiling water and added the carrots.  Then .... I added my secret ingredient - a large squeeze of .....

 

 

Later, when it was time for dinner, I reheated a portion of the  mince, then got out my last two ingredients.  There are lots of ways to thicken the gravy, but as I make my mince the same way my Mum made it (and probably my Granny too!) I use Bisto.  I used to make the dumplings from scratch, but it is so much easier with this packet mix (and I think every bit as good)

 

 

All that was left to do was to cook some broccoli, and dinner was ready

 

 

I also planned to make a sausage and bean casserole, so while I made a start to cooking the mince, I popped the sausages in the oven to cook.  I then assembled the other ingredients

 

Onions, mushrooms, sweet red pepper, garlic and cannellini beans (oh dear, I forgot to include the passata and had to put it in the next photo!)

Once the onions had been softened in some oil, I added the mushrooms, pepper and garlic, two teaspoons of ground cumin and a smidgen of smoked paprika

 

 

Then I got the sausages out of the oven (mmmmm - I wish you could smell them!)

 

 

and added them, the beans and the passata to the pot

 

 

I only had to simmer it for a short while as the sausages were already cooked ...... then I divided it into containers to go in the freezer

 

 

I also made a quick pot of vegetable soup for lunch tomorrow!  After all that, I was glad to sit down later in the day to watch a dvd with Malcolm.  We wouldn't normally do that, but Malcolm unfortunately is hobbling about the place, having fallen off a ladder last week!  We watched 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'.  We had both read the book (indeed, we have both read all three books), so we were looking forward to watching the film.  The only thing we were concerned about is that the film is dubbed , but we needn't have worried, as it has been done very well.  Of course we could have watched it with the Swedish soundtrack and English sub-titles .... but then I couldn't have done my sewing at the same time!

I've been busy making more things for the Christmas Fair - I'll tell you all about them tomorrow!

 

 

A wonderful surprise!

When we came home on Saturday morning,we found a mysterious package had arrived in the post. The label told me it was from Leenie - but what could it be?  I was so excited that I forgot to take a photo before I ripped it open

 

There was a card, an envelope with coins in it, and this .....

 

....... one of Leenie's stunning watercolours.  This is Pemaquid Point Lighthouse on the coast of Maine

 

On the other side, there is a painting which Leenie abandoned because she didn't think it was good enough!

 

 

I mentioned that there were also coins in the package

 

Four quarter dollars - the two on the left are from the State of Maine and show the lighthouse.  The two on the right are from Idaho, and show a falcon, as Idaho has the World Centre for birds of prey.  I am so delighted with my present - thank you very much Leenie.  I will let you see the painting again when I have had it framed.

Now that the weather is so much colder, winter dishes are creeping  on to our menu.  At the weekend, I prepared a big batch of my 'winter roast vegetables'

 

you can use any mix of winter veggies

 

 

put your seasoning and several glugs of olive oil in a large freezer bag

 

 

this will keep in the fridge for several days - roast for approx 40 mins at 200 degrees

 

I was busy at the weekend with things for the Christmas Fair.  After much folding, unfolding, turning things this way and that, I finally ended up with this ....

 

Two face cloths, a body puff and a bar of soap in a little pail ...... and the finishing touch - wrapped up in cellophane

 

 

I took this last photo at quarter past eight yesterday morning.  I actually took it through the window, as it was much too cold to go outside in my jammies to take it.  The moon was so clear in the morning sky, and again there was a hint of pink reflected on the clouds

 

Picking lilies?

Malcolm : What do you mean, you're going to pick lilies, we don't have any in the garden.

Me : No dear, I said I'm going to make some piccalilli. 

Some weeks ago, I promised Tinky that I would share my recipe for piccalilli with her ...... so I thought I might as well share it with all of you!

I started yesterday, when I chopped up about 500g of cauliflower.  I put it in a colander, over a bowl, and covered it generously with salt.  I left this overnight for the excess moisture to drain out of the cauliflower

 

 

The original recipe for the piccalilli uses cucumber and pickling onions, but I prefer to use ......

 

I cut 100g onions in half and sliced 200g gherkins.  I rinsed the salt off the cauliflower and left it to drain.  The other ingredients are

 

300ml vinegar, 50g sugar, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 2 teaspoons dried mustard, 1 tbsp cornflour

 

The method is simple - put most of the vinegar, the sugar, turmeric, ginger and mustard in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.  Add the cauliflower and simmer until it is almost cooked.  Add the onions and gherkins and simmer for a few more minutes.  Use the remaining vinegar to slake the cornflour, then add a little at a time, until the mixture has thickened.  Spoon into hot jars, cover and label.
This made four small jars - now I just need some cheese on toast .....

 

Once the piccalilli was ready, I finished my Ishbel shawl - I had blocked it yesterday, and today I sewed in the ends.  I had also knitted fingerless mittens with the leftover yarn and I finished them as well.  Then it was out to the studio to take photos  ......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was cooking, the postman arrived with two boxes.  One contained a roll of cellophane wrapping and some cellophane bages.  I popped two washcloths and a bar of soap into a bag and tied it with a scrap of ribbon - of course it will look better with matching ribbon and a pretty tag

 

 

When I saw these cardboard boxes, I thought hmm - what can I use them for?  Perhaps for the new baby sets, with some pretty tissue paper (this is just an odd piece from my stash)

 

 

And to finish - could you have resisted this bakers' string and these super tags, which I can stamp or embellish 

 

What's a girl supposed to do .....

...... when she is trying to lose weight (or even just not put any more on!) and her husband arrives home with lemon meringue muffins.  She could try using some willpower, but unfortunately, her willpower packed its bags and left home long ago!!

 

Fortunately, said husband only supplied half a muffin (oozing lemon curd) with the afternoon cuppa!

 

Of course I could have used the excuse that I needed to build my strength up again after the effort of being guest speaker last night ...... but that would have been a fib, as it all went very well!  I took along some extra quilts to decorate the table (thanks Tricia for the idea!)

I had all the quilts and fabrics arranged in order in two suitcases

 

But things were slightly less tidy by the end of the night!

 

The ladies all seemed to enjoy themselves

 

Here they are busy working on their bowls

I took photos when I was making the samples for the bowls, so some time soon I'll get them organised into a tutorial.  You know I'm a bit of a technophobe, but I should be able to to scan the template, then email it to anyone who would like to make a bowl of their own.

 

There was one more thing to enjoy last night ...... when I was leaving, I was delighted to see that the Abbey was floodlit.  The photo is slightly blurred, as I was using my small camera, but I think that adds to the slightly spooky look!!

Shall I pencil you in for later .......

.......or will I get right to the point?  Yes, you've guessed, we went to the Pencil Museum this morning

 

The first photo op was before we even got in the door!

 

 

When you go into the museum, you go through a mock-up of a graphite mine - this poor chap didn't look too happy at his work

 

 

The museum is well laid out, with lots of information boards telling the history of pencils

 

 

But there was more to this new industry than you might imagine

 

 

There were displays of pencils ......

 

 

...... and this one of pen nibs

 

 

When we went for a cuppa, we discovered paper and pencils on the table, and instructions on how to draw a mouse

 

 

This is Malcolm's mouse

 

 

And this is mine

 

 

We then did some shopping, before going for lunch ..... delicious tomato and tarragon soup and a crusty roll - I had ham and chutney, Malcolm had beef and horseradish

 

 

We needed a hearty lunch to build us up for our afternnon walk ...... up a very long hill to see the Standing Stones. 

 

 

The walk up to the stones was in lovely sunshine, so we were a bit peeved that it started to rain as soon as we got there.  However, I didn't mind so much when I captured this shot of the rainbow

 

 

Unlike Stonehenge, you can walk round these stones

 

 

We liked this stone contraption on the gate ...... it makes sure that the gate shuts!

 

 

On the way back down, we had some wonderful views of the hills ......

 

 

....... and saw lots of sheep!

 

 

ps - I bought some pencils for Malcolm at the museum, but I forgot to take a photo!!

 

 

 

 

Hard graft!

Don't worry, I haven't been working my fingers to the bone, rather I was grafting the toe on Malcolm's second sock last night.  This is also known as Kitchener stitch (but I don't know who Kitchener was!).  No matter how often I do this, I have to read the instructions and then keep reciting the method as I work my way along the stitches

 

 
all ready to start

 

 

finished!

 

This afternoon, it was off to Borderland fabrics for an afternoon of patch'n'chat.  Anne S. brought in her latest project - she has completed the centre of her quilt top, and is ready to add her first border

 

 

I made a start to my first owl

 

 

And of course there was cake - one of Annette's lovely sponges with delicious raspberry jam

 

 

It has been a rather miserable day here, so I thought we ought to have something lovely to look at to cheer us up ...... I hope these two orchids do the trick

 

 

 

 

I hope you have a super weekend, love, Anne