frayed at the edge

A trip around the .......

........ there is a patchwork block called "trip around the world" (which the students will be doing next week).  I can't take you on world tour, but I can take you on a trip around the garden!  

The peony is a beautiful deep, deep red

 

a pretty shrub that I can't remember the name of!

 

these flowers smell slightly of garlic

 

a bud on the climbinng rose

 

another stunning clematis (that's my hand holding the flower up, which shows how big it is)

 

this little clematis just goes on and on flowering

 

the "alien" clematis flowers look somewhat more normal now!

 

the climbing rose on the back wall has been swamped by ivy, and has one lonely flower

        

 

this is a miniature rose, which we have had for years.  It was in a pot in our last garden, and is now planted out in a border

 

now that we have enjoyed the garden, let's pop into the kitchen, to see how the orchids are doing.  This first one might look a bit shabby, but it has been flowering since last December!

 

the orchids did very well last summer, and it looks as if they might even do better this year

 

this is the best orchid I have ever had - but I can't claim any credit for it, as my orchids have to thrive on neglect!

 

I have one last delight to share with you ........ the Friday cake.  A most delicious apple cake - there was some discussion as the whether we would prefer custard or ice cream with it!

 

I won't be sewing over the weekend, as we are doing something special - I'll tell you all about it on Monday.  I hope you all have a great weekend, love Anne

 

After the mutant sheep .......

........ we now have the alien clematis.  The buds appeared as normal

 

but then I think a little spaceship must have landed and fed the buds with a super strength growing compound, as they grew

 

and grew

 

and grew some more

 

before finally opening into this beautiful flower

 

last year the flowers were ordinary white ones, so I don't know why it has flowered like this.  I also don't know if the outer layer is a leaf or a petal.  Perhaps one of my lovely readers is a clematis expert who can enlighten me!

 

at patch'n'chat this afternoon, there were some new books for us to drool over, and this one came home with me

 

it's only two weeks until we get the keys to our holiday home, so I might even manage to make one of the delightful projects in the book before then

 

and to end, of course, we have the Friday cake.  This week we had Annette's light-as-air chocolate sponge, topped with cream and strawberries ......... delicious!

 

I have lots of sewing planned for the weekend, and Malcolm will be working in the garden and watching the Test Match  (cricket) ........ he may even watch some of the World Cup (football).  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

Leaving home

On Saturday, I set up the camera on the tripod, to take photos of the blue tits

 

the parents were tireless, flying back and forward to feed their brood

 

this is one of the chicks, impatient for its next meal

 

and still mum and dad flew backwards and forwards

 

reluctantly, I put the camera away, thinking that I would take more photos on Sunday ........ but when we came back from our walk, there was silence in the garden, no cheep, cheep, cheep as the chicks called for food.  While we were out enjoying our scones, they had flown the nest!

 

so, what did I do to the little applique wallhanging?  Well, I wasn't happy with the binding, especially the bottom left hand corner, so I took it off, and put new binding on.  Much better!

 

I was delighted to receive another parcel in the post this morning, although this one wasn't squishy

 

it contained a little print, which I bought from here.  I only ordered it on Sunday evening, so was delighted that it arrived so soon (click on the photo to enlarge it for a closer look)

 

back to the College in the morning - my students will be using fusible web for the first time.  I have lots of baking parchment packed, to protect the iron and ironing board!

 

Sunshine on a plate

I love this time of year, when I can feast on the most wonderful Scottish strawberries and raspberries - the best in the world!!  For breakfast this morning, I added some blueberries and Greek yogurt ....... delicious

 

if you thought Frances' blocks were tiny, at patch'n'chat this afternoon Katy produced these teeny tiny hexies - again I have put my thimble in the photo for scale

 

I was still working away on my Sheena Norquay sampler

 

today's cake was the delicious dumpling-like cake, fruity and rich with spices

 

back home, Malcolm had put his sign on the summer house - I was delighted when I found this sign in a garden centre, as there are very few things available with Malcolm on them!

 

it looks as if we will have another good crop of lavender, as there are several clumps like these dotted round the garden

 

as always we hope to go for a walk on Sunday morning.  I have lots of sewing to do, and Malcolm plans to give his planter a second coat of paint ........ we are busier than ever in "retirement"!  Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

A gentle stroll

In deference to my (much improved) knee, we went for a short walk in Melrose yesterday.  After the mild winter, the verges are looking lush

 

this is a tiny wild rose

 

the thistle will turn purple as the summer goes on

 

although the river is very low, it still roared over the rocks

 

what a stunning laburnum

 

I like the way the fly-hood is shaped to cover the horse's ears

 

I remembered to look up

 

although it was only a short walk, I still had need of half a scone!

 

I spotted this poppy in the back garden this morning.  It has split from the bottom .......

 

....... instead of from the top like this one

 

I gave it a helping hand

 

this poppy opened the other day - just in time to be rained on!

 

the smallest clematis is flowering

 

a dainty aquilegia

 

the osteospermums love the sun

 

this wisteria was tiny when we moved here, and over the last almost eight years, it has hardly grown.  We have pruned it, moved it, spoken nicely to it, threatened it with the compost bin ...... all to no avail

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update ....... here is a little sneak peek

 

 

Consequences!

If you eat a lot of this on holiday ........

 

.......  then when you come home, you have to eat a lot of this!!

 

I took lots of photos in the garden yesterday while the sun was shining, which turned out to be a sensible thing to do, as we got up this morning to rain (that's because I was going to the hairdresser this afternoon!).  We have buds on three clematis

 

the early-flowering clematis only has one sad flower left

 

but lots of fluffy seedheads

 

I love the colour of the new growth on the pieris

 

this may look like something from a sci-fi film, but it is a poppy!

 

the shady corner is looking lush

 

and the back border has filled out

 

as has this border

 

the rosemary and chives are flowering

the grape vine is flourishing

 

the front garden is looking good too

 

when we came back from our holiday, we were delighted to find that we had blue tits in one of the nesting boxes

 

and great tits in a hole in the back garden wall

 

the front garden as usual is filled with sparrows

 

to finish, more sheepies for Thimbleanna, as she wasn't impressed by the Spanish ones!

Colourful visitors

Yesterday evening, we had a little bright bird in amongst the brown sparrows, in the front garden

 

 

today,when I came in to the kitchen to make my lunch, I heard the distinctive call of a pheasant.  I looked out the front door, and there he was, strutting round the garden.  I ran through to the lounge and grabbed the camera -  he was bobbing in and out of the bright sunshine and deep shade, sometimes half in one and half in the other

 

it was such a lovely day, I had my lunch out in the garden

 

I didn't share my ginger beer with this little beastie!

 

Malcolm has been hard at work, tidying up the garden - it is looking good!

 

don't forget to leave a comment if you would like to be in the draw on Friday for the giveaway to celebrate my 1,500th post.  I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing.

 

 

Raindrops keep falling ........

.......... not just on my head, but all over the place!  Yesterday morning, every time it looked as if the weather was improving - on came the rain again.  So we abandoned any hope of going for a walk, and settled for sharing an enormous scone.  Shock, horror, there were no cheese scones, but this plain scone, once butter and jam were added, was an acceptable alternative

 

I took this photo from inside the car when we parked at the Woolen Mill yesterday morning - I was worried that anyone seeing me comparing my nail polish to the colour of the car would think I was a bit strange!

 

I've just remembered that I should have started with the quilts from Saturday's coffee morning and exhibition for Linus.  When I saw the first quilt, I thought "oh, that's my cottages pattern" - then realised that I made the quilt!!

 

it rained for most of the day, but it has finally stopped and there is even a little glimmer of sunshine.  When it had almost stopped raining this afternoon, I popped out to the garden for some soggy photos.    We have a good crop of toadstools in the grass in the front garden

 

the peony has shot up

 

the flowering currant provides a splash of colour

 

in the back garden, there is new growth on one of the ferns

 

a raindrop on a tree

 

if you look closely at this raindrop, you can see a reflection of part of the house

 

this tree is bursting into leaf

 

whille I was busy in the house, Malcolm was busy in the garage, making driftwood trees.  He already has orders for next Christmas!

 

just some of his collection of driftwood

 

bits of seaglass, interesting stones and worn pieces of brick

 

we had a colourful visitor in the front garden this afternoon

 

you know I like big machines, and when I was in Hawick this morning, despite the fact that it was pouring with rain and I was soaked, I paused as I crossed the footbridge over the river to capture this one!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing.

No more excuses ..........

......... for this full-to-bursting concertina file

 

....... this ever-growing heap of paperwork

 

...... and the clutter on my desk

 

because this morning I bought a second-hand filing cabinet 

 

I can hear you asking about the certificate on my desk, awarded to me for winning a triathalon.  Is this a sporty part of my life that I have, until now, not shared with you?  You will be even more surprised when I tell you that I also came second!  Puzzled?  Let me explain ........ when we first went out to Indonesia, we lived in a rather posh apartment complex in Jakarta, which had a very well equipped gym.  As all the socialising meant that I put on weight, I decided to venture into the gym and, for the first time ever, partake in some keeping fit.  Barry, the charming Australian manager of the gym, took pity on me and helped me make the most of my very limited abilities.  He decided to stage a "triathalon" competition - using the rowing machine, the treadmill and the exercise bike.  Under the supervision of one of the gym staff, you had to cover as great a distance as possible in  a set time.  Having nothing better to do one afternoon, I had two attempts ........ and it turned out that no other females entered, so I won first and second places.  My prize was a bottle of wine and the cheesy certificate ....... I have a photo somewhere, being presented with my prize, I must see if I can find it

 

as we drove home from Hawick this morning, we saw that there were lots of lambs in the field at the bottom of our road, so I headed out with the camera to capture these little cuties

 

I remembered to take some photos in the garden

this clematis is about to flower

 

the fresh green of alchemilla mollis

 

one of a pair of wagtails who have moved into the back garden

 

a sparrow tucking into birdseed

 

and to finish, this photo is specially for Toffee Apple (she knows why!)....... we have just had a delivery of logs, which Malcolm has stacked very neatly in the left-hand side of the log store

Decisions, decisions

After I folded up the Abbey Quilers' raffle quilt, ready to take it to tonight's meeting, I had to decide which quilt to have on top of the pile on the guest bed.  Perhaps the second quilt I made, way back in 1993?

 

or the Birdie Border quilt, which the lovely Helen gave me ......

 

........ I could turn it over to show off Kay's wonderful quilting

 

the next option is the Row quilt

 

this quilt has been folded over the back of a chair for quite a few months, so I thought I would put it on the bed for a while.  I made it in March 1994 for my Mum's birthday.  Sadly she died only 18 months later

 

when I made this little lap quilt, I was going to give it to Malcolm's Mum .......

 

........ but having hand-quilted it, I decided to keep it for myself (I did make her another one!)

 

I love having a big vase of flowers in the hall.  I bought these lilies two weeks ago, and they have only just opened fully.  The hall is full of their rich scent

 

the sun has been shining again today, so Malcolm decided to open up the summer house, and give it a quick clean.  You can just see him wielding the vacuum cleaner

 

there is another sign of spring ....... I have been woken up at 5am for the last few mornings by the birds chirping and singing outside our bedroom window.  They are starting to investigate the little gaps at the top of the house wall, which they use for nests

 

last spring, swallows started to build a nest on our neighbours' house.  I wonder if they will have another attempt at building it this year

 

to finish - we are used to seeing small birds in the garden, but this pigeon is considerably larger!!