frayed at the edge

Meatball heaven!

This morning, we set of for Ikea on the outskirts of Edinburgh, as we wanted to get a new blind for the kitchen.  We went via Peebles - it was quite misty, that only added to the wonderful scenery.  Of course, you can't go to Ikea without having Swedish meatballs for lunch - complete with creamy sauce and lingonberry relish - heaven (and chips may have been eaten as well!).  We then had the strength to walk round and not buy all those tempting candles, coathangers, clocks, things you don't know what they are, but you're sure you need them!  Howvever, I did succumb to these

  

What are they?

 

Little spice jars, which I will use for buttons and beads

 

We came home via the A7, stopping off in Stow (rhymes with cow) for a cuppa.  We have been in the Cloudhouse Gallery and Cafe several times in the past, but we knew it was now under new management.  However, nothing has been changed yet, and we enjoyed our coffee, tea and fruit cake

 

When we got home, while Malcolm was busy putting up the new blind, I was cooking, using these ingredients ....

 

...... diced lamb, chopped onion, dates, spices, pomegranite juice, olive oil and salt.  Those of you who saw the programme or have the book, will know that this is Nigella's lamb tagine.  We will have one portion tomorrow, and the other one will go in the freezer.  I would have taken a photo once it was cooked, but it just looks like stew!!

Just call me Delia!

As usual, Monday meant domestic things - shopping, laundry - yawn, yawn.  However, I also had one of those 'what needs to be used up' sessions.  First of all it was the fruit bowl - some plums and apples.  First stop of course was my favourite Delia book - and there it was - a recipe for spice plum and apple chutney!

Next, an investigation of the vegetable drawers in the fridge.  Sweet potatoes, sweet yellow peppers and leeks - it might sound a slightly strange combination, but it has produced some tasty soup for tomorrow's dinner (as usual the soup is thick enough to stand a spoon up in!)

 

The third thing wasn't using things up - it is just a little treat for Malcolm to take when he goes to see his Dad tomorrow - strawberries dipped in chocolate (I'm keeping this one for me!)

 

On Saturday night we watched Mama Mia! (again!) and in between singing along with all those wonderful songs, I finished Oliver's quilt

 

It is just so cute and colourful - I love it!

 

As promised, the next stages in making Stuart's cushions.  If you haven't made cushion covers this way before, the assembly seems strange - you start by putting the front right side down

 

Then the two pieces of the back go on right side up, aligning the outer edges so that they overlap, then pinning them in place

 

Why do I put the pins in at right angles?  So that I can take them out as I go, as I sew the binding on

 

I stitched the binding on to the two sides first.  It was then trimmed and pinned in place on the wrong side

 

The other two strips were then added and trimmed (leaving enough to turn in at the corners).  The cushion cover now looks like this

 

The binding is just pinned on the back, but I hope to hand-stitch it in place tomorrow, when we have our last Kist, before taking a break for the summer.

 

I do like to be .....

..... beside the seaside - but unfortunately, when we took Malcolm's Dad to Newbiggin this afternoon, the weather wasn't very good, so we weren't able to sit outside for a cuppa, as we did last time.  However, that didn't stop me from having ice cream with my cup of tea!

 

I love the red and white cup and saucer and the matching tablecloth.  After the cuppa, I had a quick visit to the local wool shop - a good old fashioned one with great piles of wool everywhere.  You won't be surprised when I tell you that I bought some balls from the bargain basket!

 

I was intrigued by these two plaques, which were side by side on the side wall of a house - I will have to find out more about them (and find the rest of them!)

 

 

When we took Malcolm's Dad back to the Home, the sun had come out, and with it, two of the doves in the Home's dovecote

 

Before we headed for home, we had one last stop, in the Sue Ryder charity shop in Ashington.  As soon as I saw this remnant, it was in my hand and I was heading to the counter to pay!!  There is about two yards (or do I have to say metres) of it, and it is just the right colours for the dining room - yet something else for the to-do list!!!!

Hard work rewarded!

I have mentioned (just once or twice!) that I don't like heights and stairs, so when, on holiday, I was confronted with these ....

 

and even more of these .....

 

I did the sensible thing and sat at the bottom in the sun reading the paper, and sent Malcolm up the stairs, armed with the camera.

At the top is the Church of Calvari

and these stunning views

 

 

Of course, having climbed all the way to the top,  Malcolm then had to come all the way back down!

 

However, he was rewarded when he tucked into this for dinner ....

 

.... the meat was tender and succulent - and the chips were pretty good too!

What did I have - I succumbed to a rather posh burger .....

I love how they put a little bit salad on the plate, as if that makes it healthy!!

Teatime

As usual for Friday, it was off down the road to Borderland Fabrics.  There was the usual amount of sewing done, but today I just took photos of the important stuff - yes ... the food and drink

 

The tea definitely tastes better when poured from a pot with such a smart cosy!

 

Annette excelled herself today with this wonderful sponge - and as she had forgotten her whisk .... she whisked the cream with a fork!

The teacosy was knitted by Anne, who has been having an exciting time, as she now has an on-line shop.  Do have a look - there are all sorts of lovely kits for quilts, bags, dolls - lots of super things.  Anne will be adding more kits, so if you don't see something this time, do go back for another look.  I particularly like the Japanese quilt, which I saw when Anne made her sample one - the colours are lovely.

It's a wet and miserable evening here, but never mind ... it's the weekend  - have a good one, love, Anne

A little coincidence

This week, we have had a change to our usual routine, doing the housework today instead of tomorrow, and going out for lunch today instead of yesterday (oooh - we are just such little devils!!)  So, it was off to St Boswells, to lunch at The Main Street Trading Company - a wonderful mix of coffee shop, books, gifts and antiques (and did I mention books?)  We arrived a little early for lunch (we are always early!), so first we relaxed with a cuppa and the papers

 

After including a photo of wild garlic in Tuesday's post, it was one of those funny little coincedences to find that one of the soups on today's menu was chickpea and wild garlic!  Of course I chose that, while Malcolm had the pea and ham ..... and we also shared a wonderful venison sausage  sandwich

After lunch, we had a browse round the shop

 

a good selection of antiques

 

lots and lots of books

more books and gifts

 

and a wonderful selection of children's books.

 

Did I buy I book?  Oops, I spent all of this month's pocket money and bought two!!

 

I read Mimi's column every Sunday in You magazine, so I'm looking forward to reading her book

 

I could have bought this book just for the beautiful baby on the cover!!  The patterns are gorgeous and the whole layout is delightful - a book to pick up and browse through, as well as use!

 

We had a bit of a detour on the way home, to take in some history and  some stunning scenery - come back tomorrow and I'll tell you the rest of the story!

 

It's good to walk

This morning I had a potter along Hawick High Street.  First stop was the bank to pay a bill, but after that things improved!  A quick trip into WH Smith to buy the papers and this month's Sew Hip magazine, then on to the Shelter charity shop, where something was calling to me as I went in the door - buy me, buy me

 

nineteen balls at 50p each - how could I resist!

 

lovely colours and textures, with a little glint of silver - I think this could be a throw.

After a quick stop for a cuppa (I resisted the scones - with difficulty!) the last stop was at Morrisons for a bit of shopping.  Hooray, the first British strawberries have arrived

 

They look, smell and, most importantly, taste absolutely fabulous, with a lovely texture.  Compare them with these ones at the Sunday market in Pollensa

 

these ones might win a prize for the biggest strawberries ever, but they don't have a lot of flavour and even when they appear very ripe, they are still quite hard.  Home grown is definitely best!

After an enjoyable lunch of homemade leek and potato soup and toast, we headed off to Harestanes for a walk.  Unfortunately the weather wasn't as good as our last walk there on Easter Sunday, but it was nice to get out in the fresh air (instead of doing the ironing!).  Last time, the bluebells were just starting to flower, but now they are starting to go over.  However, the carpet of blue under the trees is lovely

  

The smell from the wild garlic was quite strong in the rain, and the flower shone white against the wet leaves

 

Malcolm had to keep stopping for me to catch up, as I was sidetracked by another photo opportunity - like this tiny purple flower (it's about the size of a shirt button!)

 

suddenly, we came to the end of the woods and came out on to the road, to see this wonderful view

 

as we turned round to retrace our steps, I had to take this photo - there is just something appealing about old fence posts and walls (or am I just weird?)

 

on the way back, we had a slight detour to the Woodside garden centre for a cuppa

 

it was raining when we came out, so Malcolm kindly held the umbrella over me as I took photos of the wisteria

and the tree peonie

 

 

If you are thinking about coming to the glorious Scottish Borders for a holiday, then I can recommend this cottage owned by local artists Hugh and Lindsay (you've met Lindsay already - the organiser of the Woolgatherings).  Do have a look - the cottage is well-situated not only for exploring the Borders, but also for crossing the border into Northumberland, which has numerous wonderful castles to visit, including Alnwick Castle, with its wonderful gardens.

 

This has turned out to be a marathon post - especially as I keep pausing to watch a fascinating programme about the 'six degrees of separation'!

Consequences!

If you go on holiday and eat this

 

and this

 

when you come home, you might find yourself eating a lot of this!

 

Of course you can eat lovely healthy food like sushi

but perhaps you shouldn't eat these as well!

 

So - did I do any knitting ....... yes I did!!

 

One sock finished and I'm ready to start the heel on the second one

 

I like how the pattern has formed.  It's the first time I've used this sock wool (Superba Print) and I am pleased with how it has knitted up.

Progress has been slower on the shawl, as it requires a lot of concentration, but I have started the next section of the pattern

 

You can see it taking shape (with the help of a few pins!)

 

The white thread is my Lifeline - a wonderfully simple idea that could save a lot of tears!!

Did you miss me.......

...... because I missed you - especially when I discovered that the cafe in the local supermarket had a wi-fi zone....  But don't worry, this isn't going to be the equivalent of the friends who invite you round for the evening and bore the pants off you with  holiday photos!!  I am only going to show you two photos today - the first one I took and the last one that Malcolm took - all the others in between can wait!

 

This is one of the stalls in the Sunday market in the old town in Pollensa.  It's amazing the way the stallholder cuts wafer thin slices from the ham.

Malcolm took this photo of me when we were out for dinner on our last night ( it might have been hot through the day, but I needed my cardi on for sitting outside for dinner!)

Of course, the big question is .... did I do much knitting?  I'll tell you tomorrow .....

Like a bat out of hell .....

..... what, what, what do you mean that's the wrong Meatloaf?  Oh, you meant that meatloaf!  Ok then, here it is.

First, assemble the ingredients.

 

Mince, sausagemeat, stale bread, an onion, two eggs and chilli sauce.

 

Blitz the bread into breadcrumbs and put in a large bowl.

 

Blitz the onion and add it to the bowl.

 

Add a dollop of chilli sauce and salt and pepper, then the two eggs (beaten) and mix everything well.  Now comes the fun bit - add the mince and sausagemeat, then using your hands, combine all the ingredients.

 

Put the mixture in a heatproof bowl, cover with greaseproof paper and tie with string - use some extra string to make a handle - it makes it much easier to lift the bowl in and out of the steamer.

 

Steam for one and a half to two hours - remember to check now than then that there is still wated in the steamer.

  

  Allow the meatloaf to cool a bit, then turn it out onto a plate (you might have to run a knife round the bowl to loosen the meatloaf).

  You can eat the meatloaf hot, in which case cut thick slices - it is lovely served with onion gravy and mashed potatoes.  But we like to put it in the fridge overnight, then cut thin slices.  We ate it with cauliflower and broccoli, with a 'healthy' cheese sauce made by heating some half fat creme fraiche with grated cheddar stirred in.

 

It's also very nice served with salad and a good fruity chutney.  Don't worry, we didn't eat it all - half of it is in the freezer for another day!

 

I hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend - don't eat too many Easter eggs!  Love, Anne