frayed at the edge

Day 11 ........ and it's that hunk again!

Back in our routine, we went for a cuppa in the Pickled Orange this morning ....... and of course that meant sharing one of their wonderful scones - this one is blackberry and vanilla (with some of their tasty homemade raspberry jam to spread on it)

 

I always have a vase of flowers in the hall - but since I started shopping in Sainsbury's, they haven't always been the fanciest of flowers ..... the latest offering was what I call petrol station flowers (yes, I could go to a florist, but it's a case of lazy "pop it in the trolley" shopping!)

 

so when we popped into Morrison's for some shopping this morning, I took the chance to buy a bunch of altroemeria and a bunch a gypsophila

 

did you notice the little blue and white pot on the left .....

 

Malcolm bought it years ago on a business trip to Manila.  Then, when we were in Singapore, he spotted this little pot

 

so of course it had to come home with us

 

so ....... what is that on the right?  It's a temple bell, which Malcolm bought on a business trip to Kuala Lumpur

 

and what are all these things sitting on - a wine cupboard which we bought in Jakarta ....... and the little bit of rug that you can see - Malcolm bought that on a business trip to India!

 

and if you look at the hall from a different angle ....... the lamp/plant table in the corner also came from Jakarta  - but the little pine chest of drawers was bought years ago in Falkirk (we lived there in the 90s).  The big embroidered tree was a kit that my Dad bought from an advert in a newspaper many years ago (just as well that he knew someone to stitch it for him!) ....... and the two white tablecloths were stitched by my great-aunt Mima (they were already old when I was little, so they could be 80 or 90 years old!)

 

and I might as well show you the other corner, which has a lovely chair which we bought in an antique shop in Hexham years ago (Malcolm reupholstered it)

 

so, to return to this morning ........ when we came home, I was jumping up and down and squealing, when I found this on the doormat

 

why?  Well, let me explain.  Although I am now on my 4th laptop (Malcolm bought me my first one in, I think, 1999, when I took over as writer/erditor/producer of the monthly newsletter for the little expat group that I was a member of when we lived in Cillegon, West Java (we moved there after the fall of President Suharto and the ensuing political chaos meant that the project that Malcolm was working on in Jakarta was put on ice and he went to work on an existing plant, in the hope that the original project would be revived .... it wasn't) ...... I have never got the hang of using a touchpad, and have always used a mouse - which of course means also using a mousemat.  My current one is a rigid one, which means it can sit on the arm of the couch when I am using the laptop (it actually came with a cable to plug it into a usb port - the silver bit has several usb ports, so that you could, in theory, plug several things in - unfortunately it didn't work!)

 

ever since I took the photo of that gorgeous young man in the Abercrombie and Fitch shop in Singapore (I have since discovered that the staff in A&F shops routinely go about half-naked!), Malcoolm has been teasing me about him, and on Sunday said "I'm surprised you haven't had his photo put on a mousemat".  Yes. you have now guessed what was in this morning's post ....

 

sorry, Malcolm, what did you say ...... it's not for stroking

 

but why should a little mouse have all the fun!?!?

 

ok, I've run out of excuses to show you more photos of him ....... but I know that there are quite a few of you will have been drooling over him, given that I had more comments on him than I have had on most posts!  So ....... if you would like to get your own mousemat - I got mine here (or simply print out a photo), either tell me in a comment , or email me (there is a link to click on at the top of the righthand sidebar) and I will email you with the photo as an attachment for you to download.

Day 10 ..... and trying to avoid C*****mas!

It's only the 10th of October, but the shops are rapidly filling up with cards, decorations and presents.  We could hardly get in the door of a shop this morning, as a member of staff was stringing up lights!  When I rule the world (!!) I will ban anything to do with Christmas until December (except for those organised people who make their cakes and puddings weeks/months in advance).  However at Abbey Quilters last night, I had to bend my rules, as we were making felt decorations.  We had a choice of a stocking or a pudding, both adorned with little teddies.  I chose to start with the stocking

the decorations are made with felt

 

all the pieces cut out

 

the white pieces stitched in place and a cute little Santa added

 

the back and front stitched together

 

that's as far as I got!

 

the pattern for the pudding decoration

 

at the end of the evening, Caroline came over and put a little parcel into my sewing bag.  I asked her if I could have a peek ...... she said no, to wait until I was home before I opened the parcel.  I was squealing with delight when I saw what she had given me.  Thank you very much, Caroline, for the wonderful present!!

a beautiful handmade card

 

the cutest sheepie fabric

 

I shall have to make something special to show off the sheep

 

pull the lamb's tail .....

 

...... and you can measure your knitting!!

 

I took the photos of the present out in the garden this morning, making the most of the sunshine, as the forecast is for rain tommorrow.  It's no surprise to me that it is going to rain ....... I am going to the hairdresser tomorrow afternoon, and it always sees to rain when I get my hair done!!

Day 9 ...... and something I nearly forgot!

Stuart and Alison gave us a joint birthday present, which we opened before the holiday, as we didn't want to take it with us in case it got lost.  I finally remembered today to take photos to show you.  We removed the outer wrapping to discover this - I would box Stuart's ears for being cheeky, but I would have to stand on a stool to reach!

 

inside was an intriguing folder

 

and inside the folder ...... gift certificates for us to attend a food and wine evening.  They are valid for a year, so we have plenty of  time to decide which evening to attend

 

you know how much we enjoy our food (and wine) so they couldn't have found a better present for us!

 

I had to pop into Hawick this morning, and as usual walked round to see if the heron was sitting on the rocks in the Slitrig.   He wasn't there ...... but there is a new "water feature" - and old tyre which has got jammed in the rocks

 

I walked on round to see if the heron was further along the river.  No heron, but a pair of ducks

 

I walked through the old churchyard

 

I have wondered in the past about the meaning of a skull and crossbones on headstones, so today I made the effort to google it ....... if you click here you will find a very comprehensive list of gravestone symbolism.

A quick visit to my favourite charity shop produced these four wine glasses

 

taking that photo reminded me that I hadn't yet shown you the miniature glass bottles that I bought from a quirky shop at the South Melbourne Market (I put the espresso cup beside them to give you an idea of how small they are)

 

they are a little reminder of the very elegantly served cuppa that I had at the Armchair Collective, which we visited with Lee

 

when I went out this morning, I had to break the ice in the birdbath .....

 

...... the water must still have been cold this afternoon, as this (rather plump) female blackbird was somewhat hesitant about having a dip!

 

........ and the robin looked most annoyed at having to queue!!

 

I'm off to Kelso later for the monthly meeting at Abbey Quilters.  Come back tomorrow to see what tonight's project is.

Day 7 - and this is strange!

Regular readers know that I don't usually blog on Sundays (it's all to do with Shadow Shot Sunday and is a bit complicated).  But having committed to posting every day during Blogtoberfest, here I am with a Sunday post!

We woke this morning to a beautiful frosty autumn morning -  it's hard to believe that last Sunday we were sweltering in the Botanic Gardens in Singapore

 

however, we had a wonderful walk this morning, made even better by these gorgeous creatures!

 

there is no better place to be on a beautiful autumn morning than the glorious Scottish Borders

 

and after a busy day ...... a little bit of blog reading, a glass of wine, and a cosy fire ...... bliss!!

 

ps - did the studio stay tidy?  NO!!

 

Day 5 ...... and it's back in the old routine

It's Friday, so of course that means housework!  If you are ever walking past our house on a Friday morning and you hear a strange noise, as if someone is strangling a cat ....... don't worry, it's just me singing as I clean the bathroom.  Think of the chorus of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night", then sing along ...... scrub-a-dub, a-dub dub, scrub a-dub a-dub.  With the house gleaming, I set off for Borderland Fabrics, for an afternoon of patch'n'chat.As soon as I arrived, Katy jumped up to give me a belated birthday hug, and this beautiful handmade card ........

 

....... and these super buttons

 

when Tricia arrived, she too had a present for me (I have been so spoiled!!)  How cute is this pincushion!

 

and knowing that I like owls, Tricia had found the perfect gift bag

 

Friday at patch'n'chat means cake, and today we had a choice of not one, not two, but three cakes!!

date slice

 

truffles

 

cupcakes

 

I was very good, and only had a date slice - having lost that two pounds, I don't want to put it straight back on!! 

I'm looking forward to getting out to the studio over the weekend, and organising some sewing projects.  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

Rich in history

Everywhere you go in the Borders, you encounter reminders of the history of the area.  On Sunday we went to Melrose, with it splendid Abbey

 

 

 

 

After our enjoyable potter round Melrose, we went to Abbotsford House, the home of Sir Walter Scott.  We wanted to look round the newly opened Visitor Centre

 

it is an amazing building, and there is an excellent exhibition about Sir Walter Scott.  If you are going to be in the area, do visit ........ and if you need some extra persuasion ......

 

 

 

 

we had our cuppa in the restaurant ......

 

........but we could have sat out on the balcony

 

from the balcony, there is a good view of the house, which is closed at the moment for major repairs

 

it is scheduled to reopen early next summer, but I am sure we will be back at the Visitor Centre before then!

I'm singing John Denver*

Not long to go now!!  I am just about jumping up and down with excitement at being off on our travels, but before we go, as promised, the project I am taking to work on when I join Meredithe and her friends for a sewing day.  I have so many things on the to-do list it was hard to decide, but in the end I settled on this

 

I love Anni Downs patterns (I have another book and a small pattern for a needlescase as well!).  I have gradually been collecting small-print fabrics .....

 

....... including some of Anni's own designs

 

and of course there was the bundle of Lynette Anderson fabrics which had one with cats on it hidden in the middle of the bundle!

 

However, I won't be taking the fabrics with me, as I will be working on the stitcheries first.  I photocopied the patterns, to make it easier to trace them on the light box

 

 

Once the patterns were traced, I put some thin iron-on wadding on the back (oops, forgot to take a photo of that stage!) and looked out an assortment of embroidery threads

 

We leave here early tomorrow morning, and finally arrive in Sydney on Thursday  I've got lots of books on my Kindle and music on my ipod for the journey, but as it is an overnight flight, I will probably sleep through most of it.  I got used to flying longhaul when we lived in Indonesia, so although it can be boring, I don't mind it too much.

 

When I have finished this post, I will do another three quick ones and schedule them to appear while we are travelling, as I still have lots of photos to share with you ....... and we visited somewhere new yesterday for our cuppa after our walk.

 

* and I'm still singing "all my bags are packed, I'm ready to go" and "I'm leaving on a jet plane"!!

The last of the season

This morning was the last early morning walk for this year - by the time we come back from our holiday it will be getting dark at that time of the morning.  Don't worry, I will still go for walks over the winter - just not at 6.45!  So here are the last of the summer morning photos .......

 

The verges have been very green and lush this summer, but there hasn't been a lot of colour - I had to hunt for some this morning

 

 

 

 

 

what are these rabbits looking at?

 

a cheeky squirrel!

 

which shot off as I took another photo!

 

Marion's old donkey was out in the field again ....... and again was determined to keep his back to me

 

and he had obviously persuaded the ewes to do the same!

 

fortunately this ewe was quite happy to face the camera

 

on the way home I spotted another little rabbit

 

and some more colour - but this time in the trees

 

 

If you scroll on down from this post, you will see that I was experimenting with my ipod touch this afternoon.  I wanted to see if I could do a basic post from it, so that if for some reason I can't do one using my laptop, I can still keep you up-to-date with our travels.  I was delighted to find that it was straightforward (and thank you to Sue and Rachel who commented immediately to let me know that it worked!)

 

I will be busy over the weekend sorting out our packing, but of course I will still find time to take part in Shadow Shot Sunday, and then I will be back on Monday to show you the project I am taking with me to stitch when I spend the day with Meredithe and her friends.  I hope you all have a great weekend, love Anne

The rest of the show

As I had to wait until the end of the show on Saturday to get my entries back, I offered to help serving the teas.  Could these wonderful, delicious cakes have influenced me?!

 

 

 

In the middle of my tea-pouring duties, I was summoned to the marquee, to be presented with the two cups.  The man doing the presenting is John the Farmer ...... usually the marquee is put up in his field next to the car park, but it was just too wet this year.  First, the Photography Cup (which was donated by my friend Lorraine)

 

and then the Industrial Cup ........ and there in the background is Lorraine!

 

it had been damp and dreary in the morning, but after lunch the sun came out and everyone had fun in the sun

 

On Sunday, we went to Jedburgh for a walk.  As always, I took a photo of the old bridge, looking good in the sunshine .....

 

........ but just to the left, there is a barrier closing off the footpath

 

why?  Because this is what happened during the recent devastating floods

 

 

yesterday morning at the start of my walk, I met Graeme the Decorator, who pointd at a distant field and said "look, there are two deer in the field"..  Screwing up my eyes I saw two vague brown shapes ....... but he was right!  (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

However I had no problem seeing this ewe

 

and this squirrel

 

yesterday morning, I added my prize cards to my "bragging wall"

 

if I win more next year, I might need a new wall!

 

if you were wondering where I got the patterns for the toilet roll covers ....... I found this book on Amazon (where else!)

 

out in the garden, the beans are doing well

 

earlier in the year, I thought I had lost the wonderful bees balm, after it was overwhelmed by a large clump of harebells, so I was delighted to find that a little bit has survived (Malcolm has now dug out the harebells!)

 

after I mentioned last week that I had forgotten to take my camera cable when I visited Stuart and Alison, I got a little present in the post ..... Rachel sent me a card reader!

 

I had a blether with Anne on the phone this morning (check out her new website here).  She and Mick are exhausted after the Festival of Quilts ....... but they did very well at this, their first major show.  They even had a customer who bought patterns because shhe had seen them here!  You can see more about the Festival (and a photo of Anne's stall) over on Kay's blog.

 

I needed some sustenace this afternoon when I was doing the ironing ....... and there is nothing better than some deliciously wicked dark chocolate

 

just a few of these little drops were enough to revive me ....... but even if I had succumbed to the whole bag, it contains less than 200 calories!

 

Winning ways

There was great excitement on Satuday afternoon when I went back into the hall after the judging was complete (Malcolm had gone back home to watch the Test Match).  First was my "champion chutney" (the jar on the right with the red lid with white spots), which I had called "going for gold" as I had made it with golden delicious apples ........ there may have been squeals of delight when I saw it had been given 1st prize.  Then it was on to the "jubilee jam" (the jar on the left with the spotty lid).  I had called mine "not quite red white and bue jam" ........ I had made three different jams and layered them in the jar - the strawberry was nice and red, the pear had gone slightly yellow and the blueberries had gone a bit purple ........ but it still got 2nd prize

 

Next was "2 metres of paper chains" ....... I was the only one who entered that category, so I got 1st and 2nd!!  The one at the back is made with scrapbooking papers which were free with a magazine, and the one at the front is made from pages from an old road atlas, which I bought in a charity shop last year to make bunting

 

when I saw the other entries for "a tealight holder", I didn't think I would win anything, so I was pleased to see that my felt one had been given a 3rd

 

when I saw the next category on the schedule, I thought "oh dear", and I guess others thought that too, as again mine were the only entries ........ toilet roll covers!

 

fortunately I already had two handmade brooches - another 1st and 2nd!

 

the herb pots in the garden provided lots of choice for this arrangement (I had asked Malcolm not to cut back the parsley when it went to seed, as the seed heads looked good!)

 

the hedgerow and the garden provided enough flowers for "purple passion in a vase" ........

 

......... and "a button hole with a Scottish theme" (mine was the only entry for this category!)

 

there were also some quirky categories ........ this one was "something still in use".  These are my pinking shears, which I have had for just over 40 years

 

"stitches from times past" ....... the small table cloth on the left was made my by Great Aunt Mima, and must be about 80 years old, and the tray cloth on the right was embroidered by my Granny, and is maybe 60 years old (I still use them!)

 

next, the photography section.  I won a 1st for "a photo taken on the 1st of August! ....... mine was called "one man went to mow".  Then a 1st and 2nd for "first day at school" ........ yes that is Stuart!!

 

a 3rdd for "a holiday snapshot" ....I took this at the Sunday market in Pollensa in May - "Spanish onions"

 

and another 3rd for "the wonder of nature!

 

and now, the big one ........literally!  Malcolm entered his garden chair in the "I used to be something else" category, and was delighted to won a 2nd for it

 

 

I still have lots of photos left, which I will show you tomorrow ........ I'll finish with this one of a very handsome chap.  The children had to mark on a chart where they thought he would poo - the chart was put into the cage under him when they had all had a go, then there was much excitement waiting for him to do the business!!