frayed at the edge

Birthday boy!

 

 

Happy birthday Malcolm!!

 

Have a good weekend, love Anne

 

Unidentified flying objects .........

......... in this case birds!  I have been looking at so many pictures of ducks, I am starting to quack, but I still don't know what this is.  It was swimming in the River Teviot this morning

 

 

 

 

I also haven't been able to identify this bird, which was bobbing about at the water's edge.  It looked similar to a wagtail, but with stiking yellow  flashes

 

 

 

 

However, I didn't need any help to identify this next bird - the heron

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I should take a photo of this old mill, as it is scheduled for demoltion ...... although hopefully the clock tower will be saved.  The building is a victim of the economic downturn - it was going to be developed into apartments, but those plans fell through, and the building fell further and further into disrepair.  It will be sad to see another little bit of Hawick's rich history disappear

 

 

These two handsome dogs were patiently waiting for their owner outside the supermarket - I guess their owner didn't see the item on the news yesterday about dogs being stolen and large amounts of money being demanded for their safe return

 

 

Back home, the birds haven't been put off by the appearance of the owls round the bird table, and were tucking in when I took these photos after lunch

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is now officially over, and one of the horses in the field across the road already has its coat on!

 

 

To finish - why do these ripening elderberries not fill me with joy ....... because it means that soon my car will be covered in purple bird poo!!

 

 

A little bit of history

On Saturday. on our way to visit Stuart and Alison, we decided to visit the House of the Binns, near Linlithgow.  However, as we were too early, we made a detour to visit Blackness Castle.  We didn't do the tour inside, but we did enjoy walking round the grounds, dwarfed by the vast structure

 

 

 

 

I am sure you will recognise these famous bridges, which can be seen from the castle grounds

 

 

Malcolm spotted this gate, which had been abandoned in a flower bed ......

 

 

....... then I spotted this very late flowering poppy (complete with hover fly)

 

 

Then it was on to the House of the Binns, which is the ancestral home of  Tam Dalyell (pronounced dee-ell)  His family has lived in the house since 1612, although it has been owned by the
National Trust for Scotland since 1944, on condition that the family are allowed to live in it, and if the missing family treasure is ever found, that it is returned to the family!  Tam was very much in evidence during our visit, chatting to the NT ladies and directing a coach driver to his parking space, and because it is still very much a family home, photography was not allowed inside.  However, I was able to take lots of photos outside

 

 

 

 

 

There is a tower on the highest point of the grounds - the views in all directions are stunning

 

 

 

 

This is the view down to the River Forth and Blackness Castle ...... at one time there was a tunnel from the house down to the river, for the occupants to escape their enemies during troubled times

 

 

We had lunch in a garden centre near the House of the Binns on Saturday, where we saw  wonderful stone owls, made with river stones.  Having picked up a small one to look more closely at, I then went to pick up a bigger one ... only to discover that it was so heavy that I needed both hands to lift it!  That owl ended up coming home with us, to add to Malcolm's collection.  He decided to put it in the remodelled front garden .....

 

 

...... where it was soon joined by this big wooden owl, which Malcolm bought in Indonesia (that one was the start of the collection) ........

 

 

...... and this smaller wooden one, which I gave him some years ago

 

 

I had a busy half hour in the kitchen this morning, turning this

 

 

into this

 

 

and this

 

 

into this

 

 

Later on in the studio, I transformed this

 

 

into this

 

 

and I have already started changing the ball of yarn (gorgeous stuff, 45% silk, 55% superwash merino) into these

 

Although it says child's sock, the pattern has been reworked from a vintage one to fit a small adult foot!

ps - I bought the owl on Saturday as an extra present for Malcolm's birthday, which is this Saturday .......... but I will be away all day at the autumn quilt show at Harrogate!  However I have a special dinner (and a bottle of fizz) planned for Friday night, when he will open his presents, so he isn't too upset!!

Then and now

It's hard to believe that it is 25 years since we got married - the years have just flown by!  We were living in Hampshire at the time, and instead of weather like today's, which is a bit chilly, we had a beautiful sunny day.  Stuart was seven (it was second time around for both of us), and I am sure he would have preferred for us to wait a few weeks, so that he could then have had a day off school!  Looking back at the photos, I was amazed to say how blond Stuart was, and how dark Malcolm and I were (although mine had a little help!).  Now I'm blond, Malcolm is silver and Stuart is very dark!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think Malcolm would attempt this now!!

 

On Saturday, we went up to Falkirk to go out for dinner with Stuart and Alison.  Just before we went to get changed to go out, Stuart opened a bottle of fizz

 

 

 

and cheers from me too!

 

I just remembered at the last minute before we went out that I had to have my photo taken with my new dress on, so Stuart took this hasty photo

 

 

 

We went to Casa Espanola (I would have put in a link to their website, but it is somewhat out of date).  Sorry there is no photo of the outside of the restaurant, but it was absolutely pouring down, and we had a mad dash from the taxi to the door!  We were a little bit early, so had a drink in the bar, which of course has a Spanish theme

 

 

The food was fabulous, but it would take so long to show you all of it, I will just share my meal ...... calamares, venison and lemon meringue pie!

 

 

 

 

 

I still had the bill for the meal we had after our wedding, so I got it out to compare with Saturday's bill ....

 

We then went for a drink in La Banca (the building used to house a bank!), where we shared a very nice bottle of the house red

 

 

 

Stuart and Alison gave us two lovely presents ...... a very striking glass hotplate and gorgeous unusual crystal glasses (which are full of fizz at the moment!!)

 

 

 

We have had a lovely day today, with our cards on the mantelpiece ......

 

 

........ and lunch out - sorry didn't take photos, but it was wonderful lentil and bacon soup, then when we were lazing about this afternoon, I realised that we hadn't had a photo taken together ...... so I quickly set up the camera on a pile of books on the coffee table, set the timer, and threw myself onto the sofa beside Malcolm (where did those double chins come from!!)

 

 

To end ...... please tell me how my gorgeous little blond boy of 25 years ago turned into this joker??!!

 
 

The missing link!

I was finishing stitching the binding on the baby quilt last night when - shock horror - I realised that I had missed a bit of quilting.  You can see it here on the back of the quilt

 

 

So I nipped out to the studio before we went out this morning, to fill in the gap

 

 

My sewing machine plugs into a socket under the table, so my knees were complaining when I crawled under the table twice in a few minutes!

 

 

As I went back to the house, the sun was shining on the garden seat, so I paused to take a photo of the now finished quilt

 

 

We usually go out for lunch on Wednesdays, going somewhere local on knit'n'natter days, but heading out and about on the other Wednesdays.  Yesterday we had planned to go to Robert Smail's Printing Works in Innerleithen, but fortunately Malcolm checked the opening times and found that it is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  So we decided to go today.  As the premises don't open until noon, we thought that we would head to Peebles for lunch.  It got off to a good start, with a very stylish cup for my tea

 

 

and Malcolm was pleased with his flat white

 

 

Then Malcolm's lunch was put on the table - poached eggs and bacon on a muffin, with hollandaise sauce - perfect!

 

 

Next, mine arrived - oh dear ...... this is supposed to be chicken soup with herb dumplings

 

 

You may think the three white blobs are generous pieces of chicken ..... no, that's the dumplings!  I could have bounced them off the floor, they were so dense.  There was a generous helping of shredded chicken, but other then that there was a very small amount of diced carrot (which was uncooked) and a bit  of spring onion.  I ate the chicken, but when it came to supping the liquid, it had so little taste, I gave up.  After complaining, the waitress did return to apologise and give the chef's excuses.  She asked if I wanted anything else - I said no, I would rather they just didn't charge for the soup, so that's what happened.  I was very disappointd, as I had pictured a steaming bowl of traditional chicken soup, with lots of carrot, onion and rice, topped by fluffy dumplings.  (the waitress did also say that they had taken it off the menu)

However, a spot of retail therapy soon cheered me up, especially when I got a jam funnel ...... no more messy jars when I make jam

 

 

Then it was on to the printworks

 

 

We spent well over an hour having an excellent guided tour - including some hands on fun, preparing a line of type to have our own bookmarks printed

 

 

We learned that upper and lower case are called that because they were in upper and lower cases!

 

 

After learning how to set the type - from left to right and upside down! - we saw the machines still used to print all manner of things including calendars, which are based on old designs (they have full records of everything the firm ever printed)

 

 

They used to print a weekly newspaper, with each page taking 13 hours to typeset.  Now they print one edition a year.  The adverts are printed on the front, so you can't read the news without buying the paper!   (I love the use of the word 'effective' in the header!)

 

 

Do look at the link, as it is fascinating reading about the firm, which was owned by three generations of the same family, before passing to the National Trust 25 years ago.

To end our day out, we went for a cuppa, and to make up for the disappointment of my lunch, we had the most delicious treacle scone

 

Explanations!

First of all, the old gadget.  I said this was my Dad's, but I think it might even have been my Grandpa's ....... it is certainly very old.  It is a very simple drill, which I will now demonstrate for you.  You place the drill on whatever you want to drill a hole in, and run the barrel up the shaft .......

 

 

....... then down the shaft

 

 

This turns the point back and forward, drilling the hole.  After only a few turns, the point was firmly embedded in  my piece of wood

 

 

The drill isn't meant to drill through things like a power drill, but will make starter holes, say to put a screw into

 

 

Now for an explanation of dux.  Wikipedia only has a very brief explanation, in which it claims that it is a modern term, but my Dad was also a dux- although in his case I think it was of secondary school.  It simply means the winner of first prize (I think the American expression is valedictorian).  At the primary and secondary schools that I went to, the dux medals were awarded to pupils in their final year.  I don't know if they are still given at primary school, but I know that secondary schools still award them.  My medal was presented by a former pupil , which is why it is called the Martyn Henderson dux

 

 

I wasn't going to show you the reverse, as those of you who know at what age I would have left primary school will be able to work out how old I am now (I know I only look 29* in my photos!!). 

 

 

When I was in the studio this afternoon, I watched our new Martina McBride dvd.  Malcom is totally in love with her - but it's with the Martina of the late 90s, as she looks in this video ....... maybe he wouldn't be so enamoured if he saw her now!

 

 

He much prefers her with short hair (in her early career she had long hair).  I think that he lives in hope that I will come home from the hairdresser with my hair cut short - but I just tell him if I get it cut short, I'll also get it coloured liked Martina's!  I used to have my hair that sort of colour - I must look out some photos

 

 

Every time I see the video, I covet her long velvet coat ........

 

 

....... but I wouldn't want this orange dress - I think it is very unflattering

 

 

I finished the quilting on the baby quilt, and got the binding stitched on - I'll hand stitch the binding on the back this evening.  Here are two little bits of the quilting - I have simply stitched round the shapes

 

 

 

* why 29?  In my head I stopped getting older when I was 29 ....... it's just a pity that my body didn't get the message and has gone on getting older!!

Sparrows at both ends

It was still wet and miserable this morning, but I made the effort to get up and go for my walk (although I have to admit that I did two miles, instead of three!)  As I stepped out of the front door, I discovered that the sparrows had already arrived for breakfast - these are just a few waiting to return to the feeders when I went out the gate

 

 

It was so grey and miserable, even the little red tractor looked dejected!!

 

 

Our neighbour's horses were huddled against the wall, sheltering from the rain

 

Look again at the photo - did you notice that there are four horses, with the two smaller ones sheltering behind the bigger ones!

 

This snail didn't mind the rain - it looks as if it is aquaplaning along the road!!

 

 

To amuse myself as I trudged along, I imagined what this sheep was thinking : was it

a: if she doesn't put that camera away I'll jump over the hedge and butt her!

b: why is that woman thinking abour roast potatoes and mint sauce?     

c: hurry up and take the photo so I can eat this lovely grass for breakfast, before I have tasty grass for lunch, followed by delicious grass for dinner.

 

 

There's only one thing to do when it's miserable - go shopping!  I was a woman with a mission this morning - looking for a new dress to wear when we go out for dinner with Stuart and Alison to celebrate our Silver Wedding at the end of the month.  I found the perfect dress in the first shop I went into - but you will have to wait until after our special day to see it!  I popped into the garden centre on the way home, and had a very tasty bacon roll for lunch

 

 

Back home, I headed out to the studio.  As usual, I opened the back storm doors, and without looking, went to put the hook into the eye to hold the door open.  I felt something very strange on the door.  I didn't scream, but I did let out a loud squawk!!  On investigating, I found a snail on the door - that's my thumb beside it, to show just how big it was!!

 

 

I have been so busy making things for my sales table for the Southdean Show, that I have forgotten about making my entries for the craft competition.  One of the categories is a handmade lavender bag.  I can actually put in two entries, so I looked out some lovely pieces of scrap silk (which were given to me by my friend Anne S,)

 

 

I started with the two fabrics on the left, thinking that they would make a pretty hexagon lavender bag.  I was going to iron the silk onto vilene to make it easier to work with - but then I discovered that the vilene was sew-in, not iron-on - oops!  After a bit of a rethink, I got out some iron-on wadding, and marked the hexagons on it.  I then had to get out another pair of scissors, which I keep for cutting wadding

 

 

Having cut out the hexagons, I ironed them onto the silk, and then cut them out

 

 

I tacked the seam allowance with a fine needle and thread, so that the silk wouldn't be marked, then I got out my box of silk threads

 

 

Soon, I had the two sides stitched

 

 

While I was busy in the studio, Malcolm was working on the re-modelling of the front garden.  The birds certainly like what he has been doing ....... and here are the other sparrows, which were promised in today's heading

 

 

 

I should have known ......

...... that the blue sky and sunshine wouldn't last!  I got up this morning and looked out of the window to find it was grey, wet, miserable.  I decided that I really didn't want to go out for a walk.  Now, I could have got dressed as usual, then gone through to the fitness room (aka the spare bedroom!) and used the implements of torture machines to work on my fitness

 

 

 

However, I got back into bed and snuggled down under the comforter, to spend a lazy half hour listening to the radio.  Malcolm caught my lazyitis and stayed in bed too, instead of having his usual session on the torture machines!

When I was in the kitchen after breakfast, I looked out the front door (through the glass, I didn't actually open the door, it was so miserable) and saw the horses across the road standing in a line, with their tail-ends to the wind, looking thoroughly fed up with the weather

 

 

After lunch, I filled the bird feeders, and sat down to patiently wait for the birds to appear, which they soon did.  We are in the middle of sorting out the garden where it was dug up for the new drains.  Malcolm placed this planter near the feeders, and the birds are landing on it and having a look round before they use the feeders

 

 

 

 

This is a very young robin - you can see his red breast just starting to appear.  He was so cute, I took rather a lot of photos of him!

 

 

 

 

Every so often, the birds would all fly off, so while I waited for them to return, I took photos of various things both in the room, and outside in the garden

 

I gave Malcolm this Beanie Baby, called Rainbow, years ago

 

 

a tassell hanging from a key

 

 

buds which will open out .......

 

 

into beautiful roses

 

Soon, more birds arrived

 

a blue tit

 

 

a young sparrow

 

 

a male chaffinch

 

 

a female chaffinch

 

And finally, my patience was rewarded, when a rare visitor to the garden appeared - a greenfinch

 

 

I didn't get any sewing done this afternoon, as I had to do my least favourite domestic chore .... the ironing!  However, this evening I will continue sewing the sections of the shawl together and make a start on attaching the miles of edging!

Head in the clouds

On Sunday, we drove to Llangollen, where my resolve to overcome my fear of heights was to be severely tested ...... but first there were good things!   I had arranged to meet Emily for a cuppa, and we spent a very pleasant hour chatting and sorting out her knitting (she was vey impressed with Malcolm's knitting knowledge!)  Then we walked up to the canal, for a very enjoyable stroll in the early afternoon sun.  We knew that our destination was four miles away - but as I am used to doing a hilly three mile walk every morning, four miles on the flat was no problem!  There were lots of boats on the canal - here are a few of them

 

 

 

 

We had recently watched a programme on tv about the canal, so we knew that this funny looking bridge is to allow the farmer access between his fields on either side of the canal

 

 

There were also several wonderful stone bridges

 

 

 

Suddenly, we came out of the trees, and in the distance saw our destination - the Pontcysyllte aqueduct

 

 

The structure doesn't look very high in the photo - but if you click on the link, you will find out just how high it is!  When we reached the start of the aqueduct, we were amazed at how many people were walking across ....... and how narrow the footpath was!  In the end, I was more worried about falling into the canal as we passed people, than I was about the height!!  If you look closely at the photo, you can see that the woman bending over is looking at a duckling, frantically swimming in front of the boat

 

 

Because it was so busy, it was hard to take photos, but I did manage to take a couple of the views

 

 

 

When we got to the other side, there was a path which took us slightly below the level of the aqueduct, and we could see what a massive structure it is

 

 

Of course, having walked across, I had to walk back again, but as it wasn't so busy, I relaxed a bit and managed to appreciate the experience of being on a structure which was built more than 200 hundred years ago!!  We also had a chuckle at this canal boat having to back up to allow the man in the canoe room to paddle off the aqueduct, as he had the right of way!!

 

 

When we got back to the other side, we sat in the sun and had an icecream and a cold drink, before setting off back the four miles to town.  We knew from the tv programmme that there are horse-drawn boats on the canal, and were disappointd not to see any ...... but when we got back to town, we discovered why - they go in the other direction!  We were just in time to see this horse walking to his stable, having left the boat behind him

 

 

We were going to go out for dinner on Sunday evening ....... but our legs were so weary, we settled for a bar supper in the hotel!

 

Catching up!

Now that we are back home and the internet connection isn't disconnecting every couple of minutes, I can show you more of our weekend!  To finish off Friday, here are the little goodies I bought

 

lovely coarse wool to knit a bag, which should felt well

 

 

a kit to knit a very cute sheep teacosy

 

 

oops - another book

 

On Saturday, we headed first to Denbigh, to visit the castle.  We were a bit perplexed when the women who sold us our tickets said that the castle was closing for a year ..... as it was being knocked down and rebuilt.  Howver, she clarified what she meant - it is the visitor centre that is being replaced, not the magnificent ruins!

 

 

 

 

Next we went to Conwy, where there is an even bigger castle.  To reach it, we walked across the suspension bridge

 

 

This was when I had to be very brave, to climb long spiral staircases, and stand on top of very high walls and towers

 

we were standing on top of a matching tower!

 

 

yes, that's Malcolm's hand!

 

 

the enclosed bridge on the right carries the railway

 

 

the people are dwarfed by the walls

 

After leaving the castle, there were more heights to scale, as we went for a walk round the town walls

 

there is only a railing to stop you falling off!

 

 

we were above these wonderful old chimneys

 

 

looking down on the smallest house

 

But then - the reward for surviving all those stairs and heights ....... fish and chips for dinner (and bread and butter)

 

 

However, Saturday's heights were nothing compared to where we went yesterday!  Come back tomorrow to see just how brave I had to be!!