frayed at the edge

The view from my window

Now that the nights are much lighter, we don't shut the curtains, which means that last night I saw this tiny sliver of new moon

 

then there was a dilemma - if the shrub was in focus, as in the previous photo, then the moon wasn't, and if the moon was in focus, as in the next photo, the shrub was blurred!

 

the problem was solved by zooming in, so that only the moon was in the photo!

 

I also took several photos at different times over the weekend, from the comfort of my sofa!

a blackbird at sunset

 

sunset without the blackbird

 

Mrs Blackbird enjoying a bath

 

making sure her topknot is clean

 

a last wash under the wing

 

a fluffy sparrow

 

we are out of our usual routine this week, and this morning we were in Hawick.  We decided to have a cuppa, and thought we would try the Almond Tree, which has now been open for some months

 

the menu explains the set-up of the cafe

 

I had my usual pot of tea, Malcolm had an excellent americano (with hot milk on the side) and we shared this very good cheese scone

 

back home, I had just refilled the bird bath, when some sparrows appeared to have a drink

 

then this little one tentatively got into the water

 

but didn't have quite as vigorous a bath as Mrs Blackbird

 

while this one just sat on Mr Owl and laughed at him

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing.

Topsy turvy weather

After a few wonderful, very warm spring days, on Saturday there was such a cold wind blowing I declined to accompany Malcolm for a walk on the beach, although these swans didn't seem bothered by the wind

 

and the windy conditions hadn't deterred this little boat from a fishing trip - although I think they would have been glad to be back, as the weather worsened

 

the weather on Sunday morning was grey and wet, but the boat set off for another day at sea

 

as we drove home, the rain got heavier and turned sleety, so we were quite happy to stop at The Teviot Smokery for a cuppa and some excellent sconnage.  As usual we had half each, and that did us for lunch

fruit

 

cheese

 

by the time we got home it was snowing ......... you can just about make the snow out in this photo

 

but today, although it wasn't as warm as last week, it was warm enough to open up the summer house to have lunch in

 

and to hang the washing out to dry

 

when I was hanging out the washing, I noticed that the dark hellebore had suddenly flowered - there wasn't even a stem showing s few weeks ago when I took photos of the adjacent pale one!

 

and there was another splash of colour in one of the pots

 

as Malcolm was busy in the garage creating all things driftwoody, I offered to unwrap the olive tree for him

 

we were relieved to find that it had survived the winter and was looking healthy

 

I have to thank my friend Sandra H for the next two photos, taken on a recent holiday.  For some reason I can't get the photos to separate, to put captions under them, so I will just say that I want one of those machines, and I am intrigued by the markings on the sheep at the back

to finish, when I was doing the ironing this afternoon, I wondered if I am the only person who is tired of the on-going fashion for putting silly little straps inside sleeves?  If I roll my sleeves up, I don't want to faff about doing up the little button to hold the cuff up, when it stays up perfectly well on its own!

 

ps - if, like me, you are fed up with the election, then check out the app "Penguin Poop", and have have fun splattering your least favourite politician!!

It may have been snowing on Tuesday .......

........ but today Malcolm cut the grass for the first time this year!  The front garden is looking very neat and tidy

 

this is the first shoot on the Russian vine.  In the summer it is a weekly job to trim it, or the house would vanish beneath its exuberant growth!

 

the leaves of the flowering current are a lovely shade of green

 

the back garden too is looking good

 

the summer house will neeed a good clean, and possibly a repaint, once the weather is better

 

the chair and beehive, which Malcolm made from pallets, will also need a good clean and possibly a repaint too (the beehive is used for storage, we don't keep bees!)

 

we popped into Homebase this morning, as Malcolm had things to buy and had a 15% off everything voucher.  I didn't plan to buy anything, but then I spotted this miniature orchid in a pot, and of course it had to come home with me

 

and to show how tiny it is, here it is with my tallest orchid

 

I also spotted these two boxes, which were half price - and you know a girl can never have too much storage!

 

 

I am having a weekend away from the computer, as it is a holiday weekend for Easter, so I will be back on Tuesday.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

 

Several miles of thread later ......

........ I have finished the basic background quilting on the Baltimore bed runner.  Because it is too big for the design wall, I had to take it into the house and put it on the bed for photos!

 

the little pin is to remind me that there is a raw edge that needs to be fixed

 

now that I have quilted the backgrounds, the next job will be to embellish the leaves and flowers with quilting

I have finished another stitchery - this is the ninth one!  It took a bit longer, as there was a lot of satin stitch

 

over in Melbourne, my lovely friend Meredithe gets together with Miss GJ and Miss H on Tuesdays to stitch.  They decided to call themselves the Eliott stitchers, as they watch  The House of Eliott while they are sewing.  I had suggested in a recent email to Meredithe that I should get the box set and watch on Tuesdays too, as that is my man sewing day.  A couple of clicks later and the box set of the three seasons was winging its way to me.  I remember watching this on tv years ago, and I am looking forward to enjoying all the beautiful clothes again

 

it should have been Malcolm making dinner today, but I had to take over his duties as he was otherwise engaged, stacking his delivery of logs!

 

 

A frosty start .......

........ but once the sun came out the day warmed up, and I got sidetracked on my way to the studio, to take photos of the garden.  There is lovely strong growth on this clematis

 

and this one is now in leaf

 

as is the honeysuckle

 

this is the climbing rose on the pergola

 

one of the grape vines

 

the forsythia is about to bloom

 

I love alchemilla mollis, but it self-seeds all over the place!

 

little pockets of sunshine from the miniature daffs

 

you know there is always a plant I don't know/can't remember the name of!

 

those were all in the back garden ...... I had to wait until later when the sun moved round to take photos in the front garden.  The ornamental quince is almost flowering

 

and the honeysuckle already has a bud on it!

 

the flowering currant looks as if it has been dipped in icing sugar!

 

Malcolm has tidied up the area round the bird table

 

this wonderful piece of driftwood was a recent find 

 

in between taking the two sets of photos, I was busy in the studio finishing the fourth space quilt.  It was most annoying when the bobbin thread ran out with only this small area of the centre left to quilt

 

I had been looking forward to taking a photo of the quilt in the sunshine, but by the time I finished it some clouds had appeared and the sun had vanished

 

I am delighted with the four space quilts, and am looking forward to handing them over to Sandra, our lovely Linus Lady

 

and of course there are the two girly quilts as well

 

you may have thought that I was a bit extravagant on Sunday when I made eighteen yards of binding ......... but this is all that is left!

to finish ....... while I was busy sewing, Malcolm was fitting the garden door, aided by our neighbour, who is delighted with it

 

Continuing our walk

Our next stop was at the old Bell Tower

 

which doesn't look as grand now as in the illustration

 

we walked on to an area called The Greenses, which we hadn't visited before.  In a corner of a raised flower bed is a memorial ..........

 

...... to a committed member of the community

 

if you follow the link above, one of the things it mentions is the provision on a new post box - and here it is!  It might be very smart, but I much prefer old ones, such as the beauties made over the years by Machan Engineering

 

this mosaic set in the pavement caught my eye - inspiration for an applique perhaps?

 

as we walked back to the flat, I remembered to look up and was rewarded with these three photos

 

this morning we popped into Cafe Crema for a cuppa, and were delighted that one of today's scones was the exceedingly tasty cheese and pickle, still warm from the oven

 

to finish ....... I had just started writing today's post when a movement in the garden caught my eye. We had a surprise visitor (sorry for the blurry photo) - a tiny field mouse tucking into spilled birdseed!

 

 

Springing into life!

The weather is trying to convince us that it is still winter, with snow flurries through the day, but out in the garden there are signs of spring.  Two of our clematis have leaf buds

the hellebore is flowering

 

I thinl this shrub is a skimmia (and if it isn't I know that you will let me know what it is!)

 

these miniature daffs are only 4" high

 

those were all in the back garden.  In the front garden, the ornamental quince has tiny buds.  When we first moved here, we had fruit from the quince, but we haven't had any for the last few years.  I wonder if it is because it has to be cut back several times a year, or it would block the way to the garden gate

 

there is a lot of growth on the flowering currant

 

a teeny tiny bud on the hawthorn hedge

 

these are full sized daffs

 

earlier, in the front garden, the sparrows were waiting for breakfast

with three starlings keeping an eye on them

 

while it's easy to take photos of the sparrows when they are sitting on the shrubs, it can be more difficult when they are swooping on to the fat ball feeder

 

I thought you might like a sneak peek of Malcolm's latest creation, as it takes shape in the garage

 

to finish ....... do you remember these panels, which I bought when we were in Australia?  Come back tomorrow and I will show you what I did with them today!

Too much snow!

We got up this morning to a white world!  While Malcolm worked hard clearing the paths and the drive ........

 

........ I had fun taking photographs

 

then suddenly it started to snow again

 

when the snow went off, I went for a walk, but I'll save the scenic shots for tomorrow, as there are lots of photos of sheepies, ponies, donkeys and birds to get through

 

the two little donkeys had more sense than to stand outside in the cold, content simply to pop their heads out of the table

 

as always,there were lots of sparrows in the front garden

 

so, I'll be back tomorrow with some wonderful scenic shots, but to finish ........ I wouldn't want you to think that Malcolm had to do all the clearing work on his own.  He had two little helpers ....... CheekySockMonkey and JDtheTractor!!

 

More snow!

We got up this morning to another light covering of snow, then more fell after breakfast.  After lighting the stove, I went out to take some photos in the back garden while the studio warmed up

the bell outside the studio

 

frozen water butt

 

fern leaves in the shady corner

 

the rusty bird looks unimpressed by the snow!

 

the ladybirds were a souvenir from our holiday in Portugal

 

just as well I didn't need to tell the time from the sundial!

 

 a solar lamp on the deck

 

delicate snow crystals on a shrub

 

after taking the photos, I was ready for a warming cuppa.  Stuart and Alison gave me this posh tea for Christmas

 

and I treated myself to this fun infuser

 

special tea deserves a special mug, so I got out this one (I have to admit that I have a matching teeshirt, but I think that might have been taking things too far!!)

 

 

I have now finished the first four blocks of "Best Friends Forever", which I have been working on when we are over at Berwick

 

at the weekend I made a start to block five

 

and this morning I prepped the remaining blocks (there are thirty two altogether!)

 

I did quite a lot of sewing today, but I'll save the rest to show you tomorow!

Winter garden

Although it is early winter, there is still a lot to see in the garden

cotoneaster berries

 

buds on a geranium

 

chrysanthemum

 

faded roses

 

and a faded hellebore

 

there are only a few leaves left on this climber

 

a tiny fuchsia

 

a last bud on the climbing rose

 

an intruder in the alpine planter!

 

the blackbirds love these pink berries on the rowan tree

 

we still have fresh herbs in pots on the deck

 

to finish ....... this used to called the shady border

 

but is now referred to as the jungle - although this looks more like an alien invader!