frayed at the edge

Winter wonderland

We woke up this morning to find that it had snowed heavily in the night - and it has been snowing off and on all day.  It looks really pretty ..... but as we live on a country road, we are snowed in!!  Malcolm was particularly upset, as he was supposed to be going down to Newcastle to pick up his new car (more about that in a future post - all I'm going to say is that it might be a case of a delayed midlife crisis...).  Fortunately, we usually stay at home for New Year, watching the cheesy Hogmanay programmes on tv and toasting the New Year with a nice glass of bubbles (and there is the annual competition to see who lands the first slap of the year .... I usually win!!)

So,  for the last photos of the year, it has to be snow, snow and even more snow .....

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we head rapidly to the end of the year, I would like to thank everyone for reading my rubbish drivel interesting and informative blog!  Be sure to come back next year, as there is going to be a very special giveaway ........ to celebrate the first anniversary of the blog on the 8th of January, and I have lots of things planned to entertain you!

Very best wishes to everyone for a peaceful and prosperous New Year, with lost of love from Anne (and Malcolm)

 
 
 
 
 

One more sleep!

It's almost Christmas, and all good boys and girls should be tucked up in bed ...... and all good gnomes should be too!

 

Ulrika, Agnetha and Frida

 

 

Sven, Gustav and Olaf

 

Before they went to bed, they left a mince pie and brandy for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph .......

 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and that Santa is good to you!

With lots of love from Anne

 

Here come the girls!!

At last Ulrika's sisters have decided to come out of the knitting basket, so today she was joined in getting up to no good by Agnetha and Frida ......

 

quick girls, make lots of snowballs before the boys get here!

 

 

having a blether with Mr Owl

 

 

checking there's plenty of food for birds like .......

 

 

.... this little robin

 

 

a mug of hot chocolate after their snowy adventures!

 

Let it snow!

We got up this morning to find it had snowed!  Just a sprinkle, but enough to make you think that Christmas really is almost here!  I didn't have time to take photos before we left to come up to Falkirk (I'm sitting in Stuart's lounge typing this!) ..... but I did take the following photos this morning on our way up - they're not too bad considering they were taken from a moving car!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that was all very pretty as we went up the A7, but then when we got to the outskirts of Edinburgh, the weather took a decided turn for the worse .....

 

and if you thought that was bad .....

 

 

the traffic was very slow going at this point!

 

Now that it is almost Christmas, it's time to 'send' you my Christmas card!  First of course is the envelope .....

 

 

....... and then the card .......

Malcolm spotted these in a local charity shop - pillar box, my favourite!!

and inside the card?

and the charity the cards are in aid of?

 

 

We may think it Christmas, but a shop we were in today thinks it's almost Easter!!!

Oh look, Typepad don't want to put this last photo in the middle!

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Oh the pain ....

..... oh the agony - I was at the dentist this afternoon ..... but it wasn't the treatment that hurt, it was the fact that I finally had to pay the bill for six months' treatment!  I wouldn't have minded so much - but the amount ended with a penny .... and they made me pay it!!!

Never mind, on with the fun stuff!  Ulrika decided that she wasn't going to wait for her sisters, and sat up and posed nicely on top of the cushion on my favourite chair

 

She loves her skirt with its fluffy edge to match her scarf - especially as her sisters' skirts are plain!  But I did say yesterday she looked as if she was full of mischief .... I turned my back for a minute and this is what she got up to .....

Who ate all the panettone?  (I keep my stash of hot chocolate in this old tin!!)

 

If I promise to clean my teeth can I eat all this chocolate?  (No!!)

 

I don't like these satsumas - they clash with my hat!

 

 

My new best friend ..... Cheeky Monkey!

 

 

Tomorrow we are going up to Falkirk to see Stuart, and I'll be giving him this beautiful Christmas card that I made for him .....

 

 

Don't worry, he will be getting a proper card, this was just a bit of fun .... when I saw the badger card-making kit, I just couldn't resist it!

And finally - did I put up the tree?  Yes, I did!!

 

ps - I'm sorry the last two photos aren't centred, but Typepad has thrown one of its periodic wobblies and refuses to co-operate!!!

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Good fun!

I set off for Borderland Fabrics much earlier than usual, as today was our Christmas lunch.  Annette and Cathy set the mood for the festivities, when they changed into their costumes .....

 

Annette

 

 

Cathy

 

 

the gang's all here!

 

 

we all took a contribution for lunch

 

 

pudding!!

 

 

I was just enjoying my meringue .....

 

 

...... when one of the others 'helped' me put it in my mouth!!

 

 

the parcels for the 'Secret Santa'

 

 

this is the parcel I took ......

 

 

..... and these are the cards I made

 

We had a super day .... by the end our ribs were sore from laughing!!  We had such a lot of fun - and of course lots of lovely food (and I forgot to mention the mulled wine!).

I hope you all have a super weekend .... I'll be putting our Christmas tree up.

 

ps - did you notice that I've had my hair cut short - I got fed up with it - especially when it was windy and it kept getting in my eyes (and in my mouth).  I'll have to change the photo on my profile (but perhaps I won't use that meringue photo!!).

 

 

 

 

It's a braw, bricht, moonlicht ........

...... morning!  I took this photo yesterday just before 8 o'clock

 

it was a lovely clear, cold, frosty morning.  You can see the lights of Hawick on the horizon.  I then tried taking another photo of the moon using the zoom .... the background has come out very dark, but I was amazed to see the detail of the surface of the moon!

 

Of course, Friday means cake, and Annette triumphed with another of her sponges - a chocolate one this time

 

Unfortunately, the weather today was back to damp and dreary, but when it started to rain this afternoon, the sky was brightened by this double rainbow

 

I know I shouldn't be thinking of starting a new sewing project when I have so many unfinished ones lurking in the studio, but for the last few weeks, I have been thinking about making a new runner for the chest of drawers in our bedroom.  So this afternoon I got out one of my many notebooks and did a little drawing

I haven't done any applique for a while, so I am looking forward to getting started!

 

I was tidying up before I came back into the house at the end of the afternoon - and thought I would take photos of the silly tin I keep odds and ends in ...

The foam shark is actually the top of a pen, which I got as a free gift in a shopping mall in Singapore years ago - I never use it, I just like it!  The back of the tin is also silly .....

 
  
 
 
 
 

A grand day out

First, of course, I have to start by revealing the Christmas cake, after it was unwrapped!

mmmm - rich and delicious!!  Several times between now and Christmas, I will drizzle brandy over it, so it will be even more moist.  In the past there have small disputes over the icing of our Christmas cakes, as I don't like marzipan, but this problem has been resolved - no marzipan under the icing, and marzipan fruits on the top for Malcolm!!

While we are on the subject of cakes ..... of course there was cake yesterday at patch'n'chat - in fact there were two -

 

a border tart

 

iced ginger bread

Yes, I had a piece of each!!  We could have eaten them in style, as the table in the shop has been laid to show off Christmas place mats

If you would like to make these mats, do check out Borderland Fabrics' website, to get in touch with the shop to buy the fabrics.

 

Now on to today - we set off this morning for the village of St Abbs over on the east coast.  It was a beautiful morning and we had a lovley run over.  We were heading to another event organised by local wool shop Woolfish - a cornucopia of all things woolly.  Malcolm came in to have a cup of coffee, but then he left me to immerse myself in all the wonderful woolly goodies.  (he went for a walk along the clifftop - taking lots of photos for me, which you can see tomorrow in Shadow Shot Sunday!!)  I haven't yet taken photos of the things I bought, but of course I did take photos of some of the stalls.  First is the exceedingly colourful stall of my lovely friend Lindsay 

Every time I see Lindsay she has made all sorts of different, interesting things, and they are always beautifully presented.

The next lot of loveliness was on the stall of Janis Embleton - all sorts of super handwoven delights

And then I succumbed to the most beautiful hank of pure silk lace weight yarn from fyberspates - I will have to knit something very special with it

Unfortunately the llamas and alpacas weren't there today - I know I showed you photos of them when we were there in the spring, but you can never have too many photos of such lovely animals!!  
  

 

 

Practice makes perfect ......

....... I hope!!  I went out for a walk this afternoon and took along my new camera to try to get to grips with the myriad settings (my poor brain was hurting by the time I got back home).  Here is a selection of the ones that didn't go in the recycle bin!!

 

the church looks different in the low autumn light

 

 

lovely ripe elderberries

 

 

wonderful gnarled dead branches, blanketed with moss

 

 

these sheep were happy to pose

 

 

these ones took one look at the camera and trotted off!

 

 

I love autumn colours

 

 

a reminder of why I live here!!

 

 

sheep enjoying a meal of windfall apples

 

 

I may pick a sprig or two for Christmas!

 

I also got a bit arty, and took some B&W photos of the church on my way home, as the sun had come out and there were some good shadows - you'll see them on Sunday!

 

 

 

 

A nice bit of fruit cake!

It has been a busy day!  Of course, being Friday, it started with the housework, so the house is clean and tidy for the weekend.  Then it was off to the dentist .... I was having impressions taken - something I really don't like!  After that it was a quick trip to the post office, to post off the prizes for the giveaway.  A stop at the baguette shop for lunch, then it was on to Jedburgh for patch'n'chat at Borderland fabrics.  I was working on those chickens again - marking the beaks and feet, ready to embroider them.  Fortunately, Seonaid had some wonderful quilting with her, so I have interesting photos for you (there are only so many times I can show you those chickens!!)

The first photo shows Seonaid's practice pieces ...

 

and this photo shows a detail of her quilt

 

Having marked in the central line of the vine, Seonaid is quilting the leaves without any marking, which takes a lot of skill - it looks fabulous, and I hope I get the chance to show you photos once the quilt is finished.

 

Of course, we can't have a report of patch'n'chat without a mention of cake ..... today there was a choice of fruit cake or shortbread - we all had a slice of cake, but managed to resist the shortbread!!

One of the other Annes was missing today - she is at home recuperating after surgery on her knee.  We all wish her a speedy recovery.

Hope you have a good weekend, love, Anne