frayed at the edge

Reward!

We decided to go for a walk round the big park in Hawick yesterday, and as we walked from the carpark to the park I was rewarded for making the effort

 

earlier in the summer, there was only a trickle of water here

 

it is getting cooler in the mornings, and there were signs in the park that autumn is on its way

 

as we have had a reasonable amount of rain recently, everywhere is green and lush

 

this little rabbit was enjoying nibbling on the rich grass

 

Malcolm wanted me to jump in the river to retrieve these fence posts!

 

rusty barbed wire and weathered wood - bliss

 

the last time we visited this part of the park it was a bit neglected, so it was good to see it had been revamped

 

and there was a wonderful suprise in the glasshouse - cockatiels!

 

it started to rain on the way back to the car, so to cheer ourselves up, we went for some serious sconnage

cheese

 

coconut and cherry - unusual, but delicious

 

to finish, something not quite so pretty as the scones!  Maureen has been giving me vegetables from her garden, as shhe has had an excellent crop this summer.  She brought these carrots on Friday especially for Malcolm .........

The rest of our day out

As well as the castle, there is also the Priory to visit.  As we didn't have that much time left, we didn't pay to go inside the ruins, but contented ourselves with walking round the outside

 

the Priory is next to a beautiful old church

 

Malcolm spotted this headstone in the graveyard

 

this is a list of ships which were helped by the Grace Darling lifeboat, and the numbers of lives saved (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

on the way back to the causeway, we saw some people in the distance walking across the sands, guided by the line of poles.  If you are on foot, it is a much shorter way than walking round by the road - but I think I would rather walk the extra distance!

 

it was an excellent day out, and we are looking forward to going back to see the parts we didn't have time for.

This morning, Malcolm put the beehive out in the garden

 

he hasn't decided yet what to keep in it

 

we have had lots of bees in the garden, but they never stay still long enough for me to get them in focus ...... these are my two best efforts!

Goodnight John Boy, goodnight Jim Bob

I had to retune my little tv in the studio last week, as some of the channels were being changed.  On Saturday I was scrolling through to see what was on, when I found one of the new channels ...... and look what was on - The Waltons!

 

John Boy was not amused when his siblings invaded his bedroom, when he was trying to write

 

yesterday morning we headed to Newtown St Boswells, to go for a walk.  As we headed towards the River Tweed, there was a lot of traffic noise from the main road above us

 

this plump bee wasn't bothered by the noise

 

however we soon left the road behind and meandered through the trees

 

  We stopped to admire this new wooden bridge ........

 

......... which looks so much better than this old one

 

it has obviously been a good year for the ducks, as we saw several pairs shepherding their broods along the river

 

we thought it rather strange that this boat had a plastic chair in it .......

 

then on round the bend we saw another one!

 

we missed the turn-off to take us away from the river and back to the village - as you can see the vegatation is somewhat overgrown.  I don't think I would sit on the bench, in case a strange creature jumped out!

 

my legs were complaining by the time we had climbed these three sets of steps!

 

I don't know why this sheep has a traffic cone in the field!

 

we couldn't decide what these three old buildings were for

 

of course, after such a long walk we were in need of a cuppa and sconnage.  We went to The Jammy Coo, where we enjoyed a cheese scone ......

 

....... and a fruit scone

 

I'll be back tomorrow, not only with a sewing update, but also with a beehive update!

Take two!

Fingers and toes firmly crossed that it all goes to plan tonight!  So what vanished yesterday?  On Sunday we went to the Philiphaugh Estate, for a walk by the river.  The waterwheel isn't working at the moment ......

 

........ because major work is being done beside the river

 

I want one of these

 

in a few weeks' time these little berries will be big, fat, luscious brambles

 

we have had many walks here, but this was the first time we have taken this path, along the edge of the run-off from the waterwheel

 

we thought at first that the concrete edge was just on one side, but a bit further on we realised that it was on both sides.  The other bank had been hidden by the vegetation

 

after an enjoyable walk, we popped in to the Waterwheel Cafe, to enjoy some serious sconnage (I'm delighted to see my word (a combination of scone and tonnage) appearing elsewhere.  Should I contact the OED to tell them I invented  it?

fruit scone

 

cheese scone

 

we stopped in Selkirk at the Studio on the Green, but we weren't there for a dance class.  The Nomads Tent (I think there should be an apostrophe in Nomads) were there with a selectin of goodies from their shop.  We had seen them several times before at Chesters House and we had always bought a little something.  And it was no different on Sunday.  Some of the goodies were displayed in the beautiful garden, and I was delighted to be given permission to take some photos

 

so what did I buy?  First, there was an addition to my collection of shopping bags

 

and then there were these very cute flamingos

 

we have lots of birds in the garden - both real and ornamental- and the flamingos have settled in with these wonderful birds which I bought in Indonesia, way back in the late 90s

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a big sewing update, but to finish tonight ........ do you remember some weeks ago I mentioned that the cherry tree had very little bossom?  Well, on Sunday I took a photo of this year's crop of cherries

yes, one cherry!!

 

ps - Susan has asked about buying a Country Cottages pattern.   If you would like a copy, send me an email (there is a link at the top of the sidebar) with your name and address.  I will send you a Paypal bill (you don't need to have a Paypal account to pay it).  The price : in the UK, £10 incl p&p, elsewhere £12, incle p&p.

One thing leads to another!

I was busy sewing on Saturday afternoon, when the sun came out from behind a cloud and shone right on the needle area, making it hard to see what I was doing.  I glanced up the velux, and saw that it was in serious need of being cleaned (as was the other one).  So I thought I would clean them while waiting for the sun to move round a bit.  Having cleaned the insides, Malcolm offered to clean the outsides, an offer I gladly accepted as it's very awkward to do the outsides.  When he had finished, I thought I might as well do the two sets of French doors, then as I still had soapy water left, I fetched a scrubbing brush and gave my chair a good scrub, ready for repainting

 

back in the studio, I admired the lovely clean veluxes

 

Typepad has just thrown a major wobbly and I have lost the rest of the post, so I'm sorry but you'll have to wait until tomorrow, as I can't face doing it all again!!

Trying harder!

I started my efforts to take more photos last night, when I just caught the sun before it sank below the horizon

 

when I was cleaning the bathroom this morning, I noticed the flowers in the planter on the windowsill showing through the glass

 

we have a cuppa in the middle of the Friday morning housework, and this morning we finally had a taste of the salted caramel shortbread (I can't quite believe it either that we have had it for almost two weeks without eating it!)

 

I was going to cut it into lots of little squares, but having tasted a little bit before I cut it, I ended up cutting it into somewhat larger pieces - it is delicious!!

 

at patch'n'chat this afternoon, Anne S. had brought some more of her daughter Roberta's fabulous tiny teddies for us to see

 

Andrea has almost finished this stunning wallhanging.  It is her first attempt at free motion quilting and she has done very well!

 

Maureen has finished her Gail Lawther wallhanging

 

a real treat for the Friday cake - Annette's wonderful chocolate sponge, with fresh cream and strawberries

 

next week's cake might not be of quite the same standard ...... Annette and some of the others are heading to Birmingham for the Festival of Quilts, so I have volunteered to bake a cake.  It's not that I can't bake, it's just that I rarely bake ..........

I hope you have a wonderful weekend - preferably with cake or scones on the menu!  Love, Anne

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I don't believe it!

How many fans of One Foot in the Grave had Victor Meldrew's voice in their heads when they read today's heading?!  So what is it that I don't believe?  TOOTHACHE!!!!!  It started at lunchtime on Saturday and got worse over the weekend, so this morning I phoned the dental centre at 8.30 to get an emergency appointment.  Fortunately there was one available at 1.15.  The dentist poked at the tooth (ouch!) and declared that there was a big hole under the filling right down under the gum (double, if not triple ouch!)  So why didn't he see it when I was there last Tuesday?  I didn't ask, as I just wanted him to fix it. Sounding like a villain from a Bond movie, he declared that "ze longterm prognosis for ze tooth eez not good" - he is Polish and his name would earn lots of points at Scrabble!  He drilled it so much I thought he was going to end up in Australia!  He has put a dressing in, and I have to go back at the start of September for more treatment.

But the toothache didn't stop me having fun with our visitors.  Saturday afternoon was hot and sunny, but we were worried when there was a brief heavy shower just when Malcolm was ready to light the pizza oven.  Fortunately the rain cleared and the sun shone again.  I forgot to take a photo of the starter, but you can admire my lovely serving platter

 

after the difficulties with the big pizza, I made small ones, topped with passata, mozzarella, salami, chorizo, proscuttio and onion

 

I need to work on producing neat circles

 

Stuart managed to snap me with a mouthfull!

 

the Youngsters brought the pudding - I wonder what's in the box

 

on my - just look at these delights!

 

Stuart has dared me to include these photos!!

 

it didn't take long to finish the doughnuts - they were delicious!!

 

they also brought a box of plain doughnuts - certain people ate one for an early breakfast ....... all I'll say is that Malcolm and I didn't have one

 

we went out for breakfast in Melrose, but unfortunately it was raining heavily so we didn't get to walk round the town.  After waving goodbye to the visitors, Malcolm and I headed to "The Whole Lot", a quirky shop that is part gifts, part antiques, part junk.  I spotted this wonderful fabric, which will make sumptuous curtains for the dining room

 

we were relaxing in the back lounge, reading the Sunday papers, when it started to rain ......

 

....... and rain

 

the garden had benefitted from the rain - Malcolm's bargain olive tree is thriving

 

and is now flowering

 

to finish - Stuart couldn't resist trying out the hammock on Saturday afternoon

Fluttering by

There was a butterfly in the garden yesterday, so I ran and fetched the camera, ran back to the garden, switched the camera on ....... and it flew away!  So when I saw another one this afternoon, I didn't rush to get the camera, but amazingly it stayed and posed prettily!

 

yesterday, we went to Jedburgh fo a walk along the river.  As always, as soon as I got out of the car, I took a photo of the Abbey

 

as I have mentioned, the rivers are very low, so this duck was standing on the riverbed!

 

this one had found a deeper place to swim

 

I keep waiting for this tree stump to lose its hold on the cliff

 

there will a great deal of noise and a large splash if it does come down, as it is at the top of the cliff!

 

the still water meant there was a clear reflection of the bridge

 

as we walked back into town, we passed my favourite shop - although I would have to be very, very good to get this for Christmas

 

we had been in this little coffee shop/bookshop several times, and were sorry to see recently that it had closed.  But it has just reopened with new owners.......

 

......so of course we had to check it out!  The banana bread was delicious, as was the scone.  The jam was proper home made strawberry, and the cream was clotted - a very good first impression!

 

on the way home we called in at the Teviot Smokery, as they were havinng one of their 25% off everything weekends.  This tin of biscuits was already half-price, but we still got the extra money off

 

I was pointing out this salted caramel shortbread to Malcolm, when an elderly lady who was walking past gave me a very stern look and said "NO"!  I said I wouldn't eat anything else for a week ....... but she didn't believe me!  At the moment it is in the fridge, waiting to be cut into bite size pieces

 

you know that we love all things owl ........

 

...... this might be a little bit cheesey, but it looks very cute on the mantlepiece!

 

the lavender has turned a deep purple in the sunshine - gorgeous!

 

please think of me tomorrow morning - I am going to the dentist!

 

 

Two for the price of one

Not only did we have a morning out on Sunday, we had a day out today!  So, to start with Sunday, we headed out to Abbotsford.  We started by looking at the map

 

then set off through the trees

 

there were some nasty steps to negotiate to go under the main road

 

but once back on the path, I paused to take one of my favourite arty photos

 

there were more steps

 

then we started to catch glimpses through the trees of this old bridge over the river

 

the rivers here are very low at the moment - you can see from the marks on the bridge how high the water is at times

 

this is the bridge where we went down the nasty steps to go under the road - on the way back we crossed the road, which we reckoned was safer!

 

as it was another lovely day, we sat out on the balcony to have our cuppas and scones

 

we had a wonderful view over the house, which has just re-opened after a major refurbishment.  We are waiting for a rainy day to see round the house!

 

last week, I noticed a voucher in the paper for two tickets for the price of one for the four Royal Botanic Gardens in Scotland, so today we set off for Dawyck Botanic Garden.  It was another lovely warm day, although a little bit cloudier.  There are some magnificent trees

 

Malcolm kindly provided the scale for this one

 

there are little stone bridges

 

and pretty flowers

 

I remembered that last time we were there, I wondered why they didn't remove this tree which spoils the view of the chapel

 

I had forgotten that it is in a row of trees round the chapel

 

the chapel is private, so I could only take a photo of the outside

 

we came upon a little wooden house in the trees

 

which had posters with words I have never seen before! (click on the photos to enlarge them)

 

all that walking had made us hungry (of course!) so we headed back to the visitor centre for lunch.  Egg mayo sandwiches for Malcolm

 

and a cheese and pickle toastie for me

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing, but to finish ......... if I am a very good girl, do you think Santa will bring me one of these!!

Christmas in July!

Two Christmas presents arrived today ....... one for each of us.  I'll tell you about mine first.  Last week, Lucie emailed me, to ask for my snail mail address, as she had a parcel to send me.  The plot thickened, when she said the parcel was from Susan in Australia.  When I got back from the Monday morning food shopping, the parcel had arrived

 

curiouser and curiouser - Christmas wrapping paper!  All was explained in the letter in the parcel.  Some Australian quilters celebrate Christmas in July, when its winter over there, and Susan thought shhe would send Lucie and me a present.  Look what a wonderful present it is ....... four delicious fat quarters!  Thank you very much Susan, for such a delightful present!

 

Lucie had included one of her business cards - isn't it just the cutest thing!

 

and now for Malcolm's present.  We have to cast our minds back to last September, when we were in Sydney.  We were invited to dinner with Lee, John and the Gorgeous Girlies.  John made pizzas for us in his outdoor pizza oven, which you can see (with its cover on) on the left of the photo

 

 

Malcolm was quite taken with the oven, and we talked about getting one, but once back home we never got round to it.  Then last Wednesday, on our way home from St Abbs, we popped in to the Garden Centre in Duns for a cuppa.  We had a look round ...... and there was a pizza oven!  I could see that Malcolm was still quite keen, so I asked if he would like one for his birthday* and Christmas*.  Being a sensible shopper, I didn't buy it there and then, but had a look online that night - and got it for a good deal less!  While I was opening my parcel, a delivery van pulled in to the drive, and the driver wrestled this very heavy box on to the drive

 

the box was so heavy, Malcolm had to unpack it and carry the contents a bit at a time to the back garden

 

fortunately the assembled oven has wheels for ease of moving it!

 

the logs or charcoal go here

 

and the pizzas go here

 

I will of course have a full report when we cook our first pizzas! 

 

I remember showing you these last summer ........ a little taste of childhood!

 

I had intended today's post to be about our Sunday morning walk (and sconnage) so please pop in tomorrow to see where we went.

 

**I know his birthday isn't until September, and of course it's quite a while until Christmas, but it made sense to get it now and enjoy using it over the summer!