frayed at the edge

I'm still smiling!

So why am I smiling - because I've got my lovely new teeth!  I had a rather long visit to the dentist yesterday afternoon, during which he did the final fitting for my new partial dentures.  He thinks that the support that they will give to my own teeth, and the help they will give to aligning my bite properly, will finally sort out my 'face-ache'.  So here I am this morning, smiling!

 

 

Malcolm took the photo of me when we were out for a (long) walk this morning.  We parked the car at the Woodside Garden Centre, then set off along a path, which led us to another, steep path.  We toiled on and on up the slope (my poor legs were complaining!), then at last our destination came into view

 

 

What, you don't think that looks as if it was worth a long slog - perhaps you'll change your mind when you see the whole thing (with Malcolm, as always, providing the scale!)

 

 

This is the Waterloo Monument, on Penhiel Heugh.  The tower is 150 feet tall, and this sign over the door tells you some more about it

 

 

This is the highest point for miles around, and the views are spectacular

 

the Eildons

 

 

Ruberslaw

 

 

looking down to the River Teviot

 

Although we hadn't carried a stone up the hill with us, Malcolm used one that was lying around to add to the small cairn

 

 

On the way back down, Malcolm spotted this - it is a viewing point, but we don't know what for

 

By the time we got back to the garden centre, it was lunchtime.  A big bowl of soup was just the thing to have after our two hour walk - I chose the celeriac and pear

 

 

Back home, I headed out to the studio, to have a quick session working on the tractor quilt.  I decided to do the border with a leaf pattern.  This is the front .........

 

 

....... and this is the back

 

 

I finished one side, and hope to do some more work on it tomorrow.  This evening, I will be sitting with my poor weary legs up on my footstool, sipping on a glass of white wine (the bottle is in the fridge chilling) and doing, as always, some knitting!

 

 

Cutting the mustard

When I was in the studio on Sunday, I was watching Jamie's '30 minute meals' while I was quilting the tractor quilt.  There was one dish that he made that I thought looked quite tasty, so today I had a go at recreating it.  I assembled the ingredients (except for the chilli, which I remembered later!) - celeriac, pears, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper

 

 

Next, I set up the food processor with the grating attachment (I bought this processor in Jakarta, so I must have had it for 12 or 13 years!)

 

 

I only used half of the celeriac.  Using a large knife, I trimmed off the ends then cut it into slices

 

 

It was easy then to trim off all the knobbly bits, cut it into chunks and pop it into the processor

 

 

I peeled and cored the pears and added them - and that's when I remembered the chilli!  In a small jar, I put some salt and pepper, mustard, olive oil and vinegar

 

 

I popped the lid on and gave it a good shake, until the ingredients had emulsified

 

 

All that remained was to mix everything together

 

 

The verdict - I thought the dressing overwhelmed the other ingredients (and I didn't use anywhere near as much mustard as Jamie!) and I couldn't taste the pear (although Malcolm thought he could taste it).  I think if I was making it again, I would make a simple dressing with lemon juice and olive oil.

 

Things are finally starting to grow in the garden, after the long hard winter.  The flowering current is just starting to put out leaves and flowers

 

 

 

However another casualty of the weather is the winter-flowering jasmine.  At this time of year, it should be covered in flowers - but there is only this sad little one!

 

 

To end - yet something else that I want, really really want.  I don't suppose it does very many miles to the gallon, but I would be quite happy to just drive up and down our road!

 

 

 

The black sheep of the family!

Oh bliss - there are some lambs in the field across the road from the house - including these little black lambs.  (sorry it's not a better photo, but they were at the top of the field and the weather was a bit murky!)

 

 

Then, when I was going out this morning, I had to do one of those screeching to a halt things (just joking, Malcolm!) ....... because more Jacob's lambs have arrived

 

 

In contrast to all the black and white, the greenfinches were back on the peanut feeder

 

 

On the knitting front, I have finished the two cabled cushion fronts.   Now I have to admit to a major faux pas.  I had taken photos of blocking them ......... but I had a thorough sorting out of my photos - and I have deleted them!  So all I can show you is the two fronts, ready to make up

 

 

In common with forty million people wordwide, I have become addicted to playing 'Angry Birds'.  Malcolm too has succumbed- we have nearly come to blows over whose turn it is!!  If you haven't encountered the game, let me explain.  There are cheeky little green pigs, sheltering in a variety of structures

 

 

You use a catapult to fire the birds at the pigs ......

 

 

..... in the hopes of demolishing the structures and getting rid of the pigs

 

 

There are lot sof sound effects - grunting pigs and chattering birds, then the bangs and crashes as the birds hit the structures!  And the cost of all thus fun - a mere 59 pence to dowload the App - money well spent!

 

Gorgeous!

This morning, despite miserable, grey, wet and foggy weather, we headed down the A68.  This time we were going to Hexham to an antique and collectors' fair.  Why there?  Because two of my favourite stallholders were going to be there with all their wonderful goodies!

First, there was Julie, with all sorts of fabric loveliness

 

 

And then there was Helen, who sells everything that is gorgeous

 

 

As the weather had cleared, we went for a walk round Hexham.  The most imposing building is the Abbey - this is just a small part of it

 

 

This is one of several very old gravestones that we saw

 

 

When we passed the Old Gaol ..........

 

 

........ I asked Malcolm to pose in the stocks while I threw rotten veggies at him.  For some reason he said no!

 

 

I'm glad I remembered my own advice to look up - otherwise I might have missed this .......

 

 

and this ........

 

 

Somewhat lower down were these delicate little flowers

 

 

We came home a different way, round little back roads we hadn't used before.  At one point Malcolm had to consult the map, which gave me the chance to snap theses bright clumps of aubretia

 

 

Unfortunately the weather suddenly got worse - it was really miserable for quite a few miles

 

 

What did you say - oh, did I buy anything?  Although there were all sorts of wonderful things on the many stalls, I just couldn't decide what to buy ....... and in the end all I bought was this gorgeous lavender bag from Helen!

 

 

To end, a little bit of good news.  When Stuart phoned last night for our weekly chat, I asked him if he had heard from his friend Will, who lives and works in Japan.  Thankfully, Will is safe and unharmed and has been able to let his family and friends know what is happening through Facebook!  He is a professional photographer, and was asked if he could take photos of the nuclear reactors.  He declined the request (as any sensible person would do), joking with his friends that he said he couldn't go, as his radiation suit was in the wash!

Things old and new

To start, I have something fairly old - an Edwardian post box.  This is the first Edwardian one that I have found - I'm glad that we crossed the road for a closer look when we were out for a walk yesterday!

 

 

I think if the paint were to be cleaned off, this would look like the one on the left of the photo in the link.

 

 

Next, something considerably older!  We went for a walk after lunch today, heading up the bridle path.  We have on occasion looked for the remains of a tower house, which we know is somewhere in the woods.  I have tried to find out about the house, and this link has a very informative piece - especially the bit about the army using it for demolition practice!  Today, we wandered down a different path, and there, suddenly, through the trees, we spotted the house

 

 

Later additions to the house have mostly gone, but this date stone shows when it was first built

 

 

It must have been an imposing sight before it fell into ruin

 

 

We were surprised that the house hasn't been fenced off - or at least had warning notices posted.  This section of stonework looked ready to fall

 

 

As we walked round, a flash of colour caught my eye.  This must have been a floor in the Victorian part of the house

 

 

Now for something considerably newer - the tractor quilt!  At the weekend, I finished quilting the centre panel

 

 

a detail of the front .......

 

 

....... and the back

 

 

It's Monday, so time for the latest knitting news.  The egg bunny cosies turned out as cute as they looked in the book

 

 

This week's project is a bead necklace, so that won't take long to do!  The pattern is for nine beads, but the only packet I could get in my local craft supply shop contains eight - maybe I could put something else in the middle!

 

 

 

 

 

I'll tell you what I want ......

....... what I really, really want (with apologies to the Spice Girls!).  I spotted our neighbour Billy the farmer driving this wonderful machine across the field this morning (yes, that's snow on the hills in the background) - I want one!

 

 

But what I really, really don't want is one of these ........

 

....... why?  Because it's the tanker for emptying the septic tank!  Fortunately the tank is on the far side of our neighbours' garden (we share the tank with the neighbours on either side of us), so at least I didn't have to see the proceedings!  We have a lot of bother with the drains, and Malcolm is the only one who sorts it out.  He is so fed up with it, that we are looking into having our own separate system installed.  In August we celebrate our Silver Wedding, so won't that be a really romantic present - a nice new septic tank!!

Last Friday, I told you about Alison finishing her late Mum's quilts.  This week, she had another one with her.  One of the last projects that Agnes had been working on involved making dozens of tiny log cabin squares.  This is the stunning quilt which Alison has made with them

 

 

Each square measures four inches, and Agnes had stitched most of them by hand

 

 

Annette didn't have time to bake a cake for us this week, but fortunately there is a wonderful cake-making business near the shop, so she popped in there to buy not one, but two tasty cakes for our afternoon cuppa

 

a wonderful rich gingerbread

 

 

a lovely moist raspberry and white chocolate cake

 

Earlier in the week, we had colourful  visitors to the bird feeder

 

 

 

I was sorting out some of my (many) photos yesterday, whe I realised that I hadn't shown you these two.  As you approach this building, you wonder why the pipe goes through the window

 

 

But when you draw level, you see that it is several inches away from the glass (although why it's there at all is a mystery!)

 

 

We've just seen the forecast for tomorrow - more snow!!  I hope your weather is better and that you have a good weekend.  Love Anne

Almost a change of plan!

We got up this morning to discover it was snowing!  This was the view from the kitchen at 7am - no, it's not a blurred photo, that's heavy snow!

 

 

We were worried we would have to change our plans for the day, but an hour later, this was the view from the front doorstep

 

 

As we headed down the A68 towards the Border, there was more and more snow lying - until it was at its deepest as we crossed into England

 

 

Our first stop was at Jennifer's, to give her a stool that Malcolm had made for her

 

 

Jennifer had given Malcolm the piece of needlework, which had been done by her mother-in-law, and asked him to make a stool - she was delighted with the result!

 

 

There was a rather unusual sight in Jennifer's back garden - a female pheasant (unfortunately the male was nowhere to be seen, as he is much more colourful!)

 

 

Next on the agenda was ........ lunch!  We went to the Milkhope Centre, where we enjoyed some rather tasty sandwiches

 

 

But we were under strict instructions not to eat too much, as next we went to visit Rachel, who had promised us a feast of baking!  First we had the most delicious cheese scones, hot from the oven

 

 

You know that Malcolm and I usually share a scone when we are out, but these were so delicious, we disgraced ourselves and ate two each (as did Jennifer!!).  Then we somehow found room for a slice of this wonderful, delicious, gorgeous (you get the idea) mocha cake (yum, yum, yum)

 

 

But of course there then followed the quid pro quo ........ those of you who regularly read Rachel's blog will know the tale of woe about her dishwasher.  Although she had sourced and fitted a new circuit board herself, it still wasn't working.  Malcolm delved into the innards, and promptly produced a large piece of glass (from a broken wineglass) that the repairman hadn't noticed.  We all held our breath as he pressed the start button ...... drat, it still wasn't working!  Unfortunately, to do any further investigation required a specialist tool, which Rachel didn't have, so we will pop down again sometime soon (Malcolm hates to be defeated!)

My part of the baking/skills swap is much easier ....... to knit a cushion cover to sit on a chair with this cushion, which was made by Rachel's Mum

 

 

It is now 7pm, and we are still so full of cake and scones that we haven't had any dinner!  However, Rachel gave Malcolm the last two scones, which he will have later for supper.  She also gave Jennifer and me a large slice each of the mocha cake - I might share mine with Malcolm with our afternoon cuppa tomorrow ........ although I could be like Nigella and get up in the middle of the night and guzzle it (except I don't have the required red satin dressing gown to do that!)

 

Rescheduling

I had more or less planned today's post (yes, there is some planning involved in writing this stuff!!) when all my plans were changed.  Why?  I was driving up the hill on my home from Hawick this morning, when I saw ....... more lambs!  I ran into the house, dumped my bags on the kitchen floor, grabbed my camera and ran (well, walked quickly!) back down the hill.  It was dificult to get photos, as they were a bit obscured by a fence and a hedge ....... but prepare to say - aaaaaah!

 

pretending to be shy!

 

 

have you got my good side?

 

 

this little one has just arrived - but it won't be long until ........

 

 

it catches up with this one!

 

When I walked back up to the house, I could hear a lot of birds chirping in the garden.  I crept up and had a peek - and was rewarded with the sight of a bird that we've never seen in the garden before.  Once I had taken some photos, I had to get out the bird book to identify ......

 

a long tailed tit

 

These tits are tiny.  According to my book, they are the smallest British bird (I thought that was the wren).  This next photo shows you just how small they are

 

what bad manners, sitting on the food!

 

 

you can see its size compared to the peanuts

 

I took this next photo earlier this morning - I didn't get a good look at the bird on the right before it flew off, but I think it is a coal tit - we don't see many of them in the garden either.

 

 

If you look carefully at the sparrow on the right, you can see it has a little feather in its beak - we can already hear the sparrows outside in the morning, above our bedroom window where they nested last year

 

 

It's Monday, so that means a progress report on the knitting project.  Last week's face cloth didn't take long to do (it was such a bright sunny day, I took the photo outside!)

 

 

Given that it is Shrove Tuesday tomorrow, the timing is right for this week's pattern - little Easter bunny egg cosies

 

 

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow, with a look at the weekend sewing and our Sunday morning walk!

 

Like mother, like daughter!

Some weeks ago, we lost a very special member of our Friday afternoon patch'n'chat - the lovely Agnes Glendinning.  Although Agnes was in her eighties, she was still a prolific quilter, as her daughter Alison discovered, when she came over from Austalia, where she now lives, first for the funeral and then to sort out her Mum's estate.  Alison is trying to finish some of her Mum's quilts before she heads back home.  Today she had this beautiful teddy bear quilt with her - her Mum had stitched the teddies and made the tiny patchwork quilts, then Alison assembled and quilted it.

 

 

When asked what she was going to do with the quilt when it is finished, Alison said it would be going back to Australia with her, where she would put it away in the hope of one day giving it to her first grandchild!  Here is a detail of one of the adorable little teddies

 

 

There were more teddies this afternoon - Anne S was about to start the blanket stitch round the teddies on a small wallhanging for her (grown up!)daughter

 

 

When the post arrived this morning, there was a bit of a scuffle as we both tried to open a card which had arrived addressed to both of us.  Malcolm insisted on opening it, as he said the writing on the envelope was that of his younger sister Judith.  However when the card was opened, it was from my friend Sarah.  She said when she saw the card, she immediately thought of us, as it reminded her of the old telephone box near our house

 

 

It was Sarah who sparked my interest in pillar boxes, and when she visited us in the summer of 2009, she brought me a felted pillar box that she had made for me, based on a photo of a Victorian pillar box which I has included in a previous post.  She then sent me a pack with stamps featuring pillar boxes, so I had them framed together (sorry for the funny angle of the photo, but it was to try to eliminate the reflection on the glass)

 

 

I was sad this morning when I had finally to accept that my African violet had died.  This little plant was special to me, as I had given it to my Dad as one of his presents for his 80th birthday in 1999.  When he died five years ago, the poor plant only had two leaves on it!  But I repotted it, and it then recovered and flowered for months on end.  However recently it has been looking a bit sickly, and today I had to send it to the compost bin

 

 

It's Friday, which means I have two important things to do to finish the blog.  The first, of course, is to show you the Friday cake ....... a wonderful chocolate sponge

 

 

And now ...... a fanfare and a roll of drums, as I announce the winner of the giveaway!  The 'random number generator' (aka Malcolm) picked a number, and the winner is .......Tinky.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I am hoping to quilt the tractor quilt.  Love Anne

 

Catching up!

I've got lots of photos to show you, starting with this one from Saturday, when I finished the quilt top for the Linus tractor quilt - now I just need to layer it and quilt it!

 

 

When we were about to get in the car on Saturday morning to go to Hawick, the postman arrived, with a mysterious parcel for me.  It was from Amazon, but I knew that I hadn't ordered anything!  I opened it to find it contained a present from Rachel   (thank you  Rachel) ...... this wonderful book of vintage socks

 

 

It is packed full of the history of socks and the vintage patterns the book is based on.  There are clear instructions for the construction of the different heels and toes

 

 

and who could resist knitting a baby's bootikin!

 

 

Last week I bought a bunch of beautiful lilies.  When I left on Thursday morning only one or two of the blooms had opened, but when I came home on Friday, they had all opened

 

 

In the mirror, you can see a little bit of this embroidery, which I did many years ago for my Mum and Dad

 

 

Although we have had some frosty mornings, it has been warmer during the day, and there are more signs in the garden that spring is just about here.  This is new growth on the forsythia

 

 

and this is one of our many clematis

 

 

This next photo is actually from about ten days ago - I was just pottering round the garden, hoping to see some new growth (while lamenting the plants which haven't survived the winter), when I saw a flash of colour under the old leaves of the hellebore.  I immediately fetched the secateurs and snipped off the tatty old foliage

 

 

We went out for a walk after lunch today.  We were going to go up the bridle path, but it was extremely muddy!  Instead we walked through the wooded area beside the road.  This little holly has a long way to go before it it as tall as the trees round it

 

 

Two other flashes of green caught my eye - the first one is a welcolme sight of new growth

 

 

But it won't be long until this nettle is big enough to sting an unwary walker!

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this round up of photos that nearly didn't make it into the blog - I need to lie down for a rest now!!