frayed at the edge

Leaves on the lawn

It may be the last day of July, and therefore still summer, but the silver birch tree in the front garden obviously thinks it is autumn, and had started shedding its leaves!

 

we recently received a letter from our electricity supplier, telling us that we would have no power today between 9.00am and 4.30pm.  On Monday I received a phone call from a very earnest young man at the power company, checking that we had received the letter, and giving me lots of advice about switching off/unplugging things ..... I bit my tongue and didn't tell him, that considering how often our power has been off recently, I am well aware of what to do!  Anyway, we showered early and generally made sure we had done anything that required power before 9am.  Now, we have a slight problem when the power is off ....... we can't flush the toilet, as our little sewage plant goes off, so thought we might as well head go out.   Malcolm headed off to Galashiels, and I headed off to the garden centre in Kelso.  Armed with a pot of tea and a pot of extra hot water, I sat and read my book.  On the way in I had spotted a display of beautiful orchards, which were on special offer, so one of them had to come home with me

then I went to Julian's fruit and veg shop, which is attached to the garden centre.  As I was being served by a delightful young man, my phone rang.  Seeing that it was the power company, I apologised and said I needed to answer.  Well ....... the young man on the other end announced that the planned power cut hadn't gone ahead, in a manner that suggested I should be pleased to hear that.  In a rather cross tone of voice I suggested that he might have let me know at 9am, not at 11.30.  Why, he said ...... because then I wouldn't have left home at 9am I replied.   While the conversation continued, the delightful young man put my purchases in my shopping bag, and even put my change into my purse and zipped it shut, then gave me a cheery wave goodbye!  I didn't bother taking photos of the veggies (a bit boring) - asparagus, mushrooms and a bag of mixed peppers.  But look at these beautiful cherries ........

 

....... and on the left flat peaches, and on the right flat nectarines

 

and of course we have the Friday cake.  There were only a few of us there this afternoon, so we had a rather large piece each of the delicious Danish apple cake

 

over the weekend, we will pop in to see the exhibition that we helped set up on Monday, and we might even have a walk on the beach!  I hope that you have a good weekend, love Anne

A little bit of bling!

Some weeks ago, I saw a little feature on a beautiful ring in a magazine.  I tore it out, eventually got round to looking at the website and even printed out the guide to ring sizes.  Then I forgot about it until last week, when I got myself organised, measured one of my rings on the guide, and ordered the ring.  On opening the envelope yesterday, I found this delightful tiny drawer

 

which pulled open to reveal this little thing of great beauty

 

a moonstone, a pearl, a peridot and a ruby, set in silver ....... I am so in love with my new ring!  If you too would like one, then click here.  Not only is the jewellery beautiful, it is very reasonably priced, and the service was excellent (and of course I should say here that no-one is paying me to say this!)

 

we popped over to Pirn House for lunch today.  Over the months we have seen this house on the way being built.  Malcolm was able to stop this morning so that I could take a photo ..... it looks fabulous, and will be stunning when it is finished

 

Malcolm had a very tasty ham and cheese toastie

 

when I look at the menu, all I can see is "French toast, bacon and maple syrup", so that is what I had (yet again!!)

 

on the way home, Malcolm spotted these fat woolly bundles ....... and good soul that he is, he turned and went back so that I could jump out to take photos.  I think these Jacob's sheep are in dire need of shearing!!

 

I was busy sewing this afternoon, but I'll tell you about that tomorrow.  On my way back across the garden at the end of the afternoon, I stopped to take some photos.  These clematis flowers have survived the heavy rain showers of the last few days

 

we have lots of teeny tiny olives

 

and some teeny tiny grapes

 

the poppies may have finished flowering, but the seedheads still add interest to the border

 

to finish - the bees were so busy buzzing round the lamb's ears, that this was the closest that I got to a photo of one!!

Photos from another planet?

We have all been fascinated by the photos of Pluto ......... but did I find a new planet when I was taking photos in the front garden last night?

 

alas no ....... it was just me playing about with the camera settings when taking photos of the sunset!

 

the front garden looked slightly different when I popped out to take some photos this afternoon

 

the cherry tree was given a good taking to, after only producing five cherries last year.  Oh dear, there hasn't been any improvement in this year's crop!

 

this is the beginnings of a quince ..... for the last few years the quince haven't matured, but hopefully they will this year, so we can have some quince jelly

 

I haven't fed my orchids for a while ...... they generally thrive on neglect!  But when I saw the drip feeders on a BOGOF this morning, I thought I would give them a treat!

 

and to finish ...... I bought this bag of salad leaves this morning for tonight's dinner.  As you can see it contains 90g

we had half the bag each - a generous serving.  But according to this panel, a serving is 80g.  You would have to be very fond of salad to eat that much in one sitting - and what would you do with the leftover 10g?

 

 

In between showers .....

........ I was able to take some photos in the garden.  The red poppies are doing well

 

the pale poppies have just started to flower

 

in the back garden we have a pale honeysuckle

 

and a dark one in the front garden

 

the pieris is looking stunning

and I love my little Robinia Lace Lady tree.  We had one in a large pot on our last garden, but when we went to lift the pot when we were moving, we discovered that it had put roots down through the drainage holes in the pot  and was firmly anchored to the ground ..... so we had to leave it behind!

 

I like the way that some of the ferns have spread into the cracks in the wall

 

hooray, the bottle brush looks set to flower again this year

 

another plant captured with a fly on it was this one in a planter in the front garden.  I don't know what this is - it looks a bit like garlic!

 

in the back garden a bee decided to pose as well - I can never remember what this flower is called

 

I also can't remember what this shrub in the front garden is called!

 

when I was taking photos in the front garden, I heard a clip-clop, clip-clop ....... and down the road came a horse and rider

 

ok, I have teased you enough with all these garden photos, when I know that all you want to know is whether or not I finished the Lovely Baby Quilt!!  I have to admit that I didn't finish it last night, and for that you can blame the England Cricket Team!!  I got engrossed in their exciting match with New Zealand (I know a lot of you will be saying that cricket isn't exciting!!).  But I did finish it this afternoon ....... so here is the big reveal

 

and one last photo from the garden to finish.  We didn't get round to planting anything in our "vegetable garden" this year, so when I saw a tray of "living salad" in Lidl, I bought it and planted it out.  After a rocky start, the plants are starting to flourish

 

 

The leftovers!

Some days I am scratching about trying to find enough photos for a post, other days I have so many it is hard to decide what to include.  Then I get to the end of the week and think, oh I meant to include this photo, or that photo.  So here are a few of the ones that didn't make it in earlier in  the week

Melrose Abbey in the sun

 

a rickety bridge and rhododendron

 

we had lunch here on Wednesday

 

a neighbour's fat sheep - the white bit is the end of its tail!

 

another fat sheep with similar tail

 

a handsome horse in the same field

 

a silken seed head of the early flowering clematis

 

Malcolm's chair and beehive, scrubbed clean ready for a fresh coat of paint

 

 

as I took this photo, the driver of the tractor appeared, and said surely there were more interesting things to take photos of than his tractor.  I replied that I love tractors, and that I had been about to steal it, as he had left the door open.  He said I was welcome to steal it, as then he could have the afternoon off work!!

 

we are over in Berwick, so no Friday cake to share with you!  I hope you all have a great weekend ...... you might see us on the beach looking for more driftwood!!  Love Anne

Then and now

I have tracked down photos of the garden that I took just after we moved in.  Of course if I had been sensible, I would have looked at the photos first, then taken ones from the same place, but you should get an idea of how the back garden has developed over the years.  There was a barn on the other side of the back garden wall, with some of the structure actually resting on the wall, but we knew that it would be demolished, as planning permission had been granted to convert the barn to the right of the garden into a house

 

we had yet to buy the summer house and convert the old milking parlour into my studio

the main border wasn't quite as full as it is now, and you can see just a little bit of ivy on the neighbours' house ....... most of the wall is now covered in ivy, and that is one of the main nesting sites for our sparrow population

 

you saw in the first photo that the grass went right back to the wall.  But on the far side we now have the damp and shady border, which is home to most of our hostas

 

 

there are also hostas in the border Malcolm created on the other side

 

the garden looked glorious yesterday afternoon - the sun was shining and Malcolm had just cut the grass

 

the main border is full to bursting - the forsythia has just about doubled in size!

things aren't looking quite so good in the old sinks at the front of the house ....... I shall have to replant them

 

when I went out into the garden to hang out the washing this morning, the first poppy in the main border had flowered

 

then this afternoon another one had appeared

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some photos that are clamouring to appear in the blog, including an orchid update!

 

 

Don't worry, there will be sewing ........

........ but I have some other photos that have been patiently waiting for inclusion.  First ..... sheepies!

 

and a horse, all of them in the field across the road

 

we had a beautiful sunset on Friday night

 

remember I bought the inexpensive bird bath as a temporary replacement?  Well, it's just as well it was inexpensive, as the birds wouldn't go near it!  And when we had heavy rain last week, we realised that the resulting increased water level was too deep.  So it has been demoted to looking pretty in the back garden, and I have bought a proper replacement.  The sparrows have already checked it out and approved!

 

so, now for the sewing.  I took the "Twas the night before Christmas" stitchery on holiday, and managed to get quite a lot of it done

 

and when we were over at the flat last week I finished another little stitchery (that's 12 of 32!)

 

but best of all, at patch'n'chat on Friday, I persuaded Margaret to let me take photos of some of her latest blocks.  Her work is beautiful ...... I am looking forward to seeing how this quilt progresses (click on the photos to enlarge them to see the detailed stitching)

 

I wouldn't want you worrying that we were deprived af tasty treats now that we are back home"  Yesterday we went to The Waterwheel Cafe on the outskirts of Selkirk, where we enjoyed one of our delicious two scone lunches

 

 

The hailstones, thunder and lightning ..........

........ that we suffered yesterday afternoon nearly had me booking a flight back to Majorca!  However today is bright and sunny, and I am sitting at the dining table in the flat typing this, with the French door wide open on to the Juliet balcony.  We have come over to the flat as there is major upgrading work going on at home to our electricity supply ....... and when we have no power, we can't run water or flush the toilet!

I have just finished sorting through my holiday photos ...... I only took my point and shoot this year, as I have masses of photos from our previous visits.  I was very embarrassed to realise that by far the biggest file is of food, and that the food is mostly cakes!!  (yes I am firmly back on my healthy eating plan!).

For today though, I think I will show you some photos of our "neighbours" at the villa.  In the paddock next door were two horses, a sheep, three goats a cockerel and numerous fat hens, which provided us with lots of entertainment ........ especially the hens when they came running on their little fat legs when there was any food on the go!

 

 

don't worry, the horse wasn't as near to the barbed wire as he looks in the photo

 

the brown goats were very agile, leaping on to the wall to eat the trees, but the smaller black one couldn't quite make it

 

we mostly heard, rather than saw, the sheep, as she had a bell round her neck.  I eventually managed to snap her the day after she had been shorn!

 

there was a dovecote in the villa garden, with four beautiful white doves ........ I crept out one morning and managed to capture all four

 

there was also an aviary, with some beautiful little birds.  It was hard to take photos as there was a wire mesh front on the aviary, so I had to wiggle the camera about to try to get shots through the mesh.  They were rather shy, and if you startled them they would pop into their hollowed out logs

 

back home, the cherry tree has forgotten the dire warning that it was given last year (firewood was mentioned!), when it only managed to produce a handful of cherries.  I don't think this year's sparse blossom will produce anything much!

 

however the other tree in the front garden is looking very pretty, despite having already shed petals in the windy weather

 

then in the back garden, just look at this tree - this is the best display of blossom from it in all the years we have been here!

 

the little clematis beside the summer house is in full bloom

 

and there is a lovely splash of colour in the main border

 

on Friday I may just share some of the cakes with you ....... and there might be a delicious ice cream too!!

 

 

Rain rain go away!!

Oh my, we have seen more rain since we got home on Saturday evening than we saw the whole time we were away!  I am still sorting through all my photos, so for tonight a small selection

a rather strange boat!

 

a mountain in the distance behind the villa

 

the first (of many!) cakes

 

beautiful fruit in the market

 

as always, Malcolm wanted to buy a boat!

 

an idea for a driftwood fish?

 

it was rather hot!!

 

I am going to be very busy over the next few weeks, catching up on my sewing and making things for the craft fair, so I'll only be blogging on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Thank you for all your comments about my trip down memory lane.  Some of you asked questions, so I hope over the next week or so to reply.

To finish ...... there was a little calamity in the garden while we were away.  It must have been very windy, as the birdbath had blown over and smashed beyond repair.    When we were out this morning we popped into Homebase and found this inexpensive replacement.  I don't think we will be able to leave it out over the winter, so we will have to look for a winter-proof one later in the year

A streaker in the garden!

Don't worry, Malcolm hasn't been running round the garden without his clothes!  A starling has decided to use the satellite dish as a perch from which to chatter away to the other starlings, with the unfortunate consequence that he has left his mark on the dish

 

a pair of blue tits were busy all afternoon establishing a new home in one of the nest boxes

 

I glanced out of the kitchen window at lunchtime and saw a bird on the telephone wire across the road

 

could it be the first swallow of the year?  I rushed off to get the big lens - and yes it was indeed our first swallow.  This means we have to keep the garage door shut, as they try to nest in it!

 

we have been enjoying some wonderful weather, and the garden is bursting into life

 

to finish - I took these photos of last night's sunset from the comfort of my sofa.  At first sight it looks as if the camera lens had dirty marks on it, but it is a cloud of flies dancing in the evening sun