frayed at the edge

It's almost Easter!

Now that we have thawed out a bit, it is good to get out and about again.  We decided to go to Woodside Garden Centre for lunch, as they always have wonderful soup, so first we had a quick detour to Jedburgh, to pop into the supermarket for milk and newspapers.  When we went in, we were surprised to see a small display of Cadbury's Mini Eggs, then in the next aisle, Cadbury's Creme Eggs ...... and in the next aisle, a considerably larger display of similar small Easter Eggs!!  You would think that they could at least let us finish gorging ourselves on our Christmas choccies before they tempt us with Easter eggs!!

The garden centre did not disappoint with their soups ...... I had carrot, ginger and honey

 

 

and Malcolm had spinach and potato

 

 

We sat beside the window, so that we could watch the birds on the numerous birdfeeders hanging from the trees.  These are not the best of photos, as the window was rather dirty!

 

 

 

 

 

It was quite foggy when we got back home, so I decided to have a walk up to the church to take some photos

 

looking towards the Minto Hills

 

 

this could be a scene from a horror film!

 

 

the ewes have got rather muddy since the thaw started

 

 

these Jacob's ewes will be the first to lamb next year

 

But at last, a photo with lots of green in it, hardly any snow ...... and sunshine!!

 

 

 

Turning the tables

This morning we hit the sales ....... but not for me to buy 'bargain' clothes that would look wonderful once I shed two stones/grew six inches.  I was on a mission to find a small table to sit beside my couch, one large enough to accommodate all the bits and pieces I keep on my table, with room underneath to store my knitting basket.  The table I had was a little round wine table, that Malcolm's dad gave me for Christmas years ago - a lovely little table, but as politicians love to say ' not fit for purpose'.  I would have shown you a photo of it, but while I was making lunch, Malcolm installed the new table and put the little one away!  So here it is ...... my lovely new table

 

 

On it I have ......

 

....... my current reading.  I think there is a niche in the market for books 'for people who find dummies books bafflingly difficult' (ie me)!  I love Marian Keyes books - I was hooked from the moment I started reading 'Watermelon' many years ago.

 

 

........ the tidy bag that I made last year - it is very handy for all the odds and ends of thread and wool I generate.

 

 

........ my coaster - needs no explanation!

 

 

....... the owl notebook which was one of last year's pressies - as it has a magnetic catch, it is a good place to keep the scissors safe.

 

 

....... my reading specs - I wear them in the mornings when I read after breakfast (for the rest of the day I wear varifocals), pencils for doing crosswords, keeping track of knitting patterns etc, and handcream ...... I have tubes and bottles of handcream all over the house, as my hands get very dry in the winter.

 

 

....... I thought I should tidy out my knitting basket - these socks have been languishing at the bottom for months waiting for ......

 

 

....... the holes in the toes to be darned.  I knitted this pair four years ago.  They have been washed so often they are almost felted!

 

 

All tidied up!  I've added my current magazines under the books, and tucked in next to the knitting basket is my big camera, ready to snap visitors to the bird tables .....

 

 

Out and about

We had a wonderful Christmas day, with lots of lovely presents, good food and a glass or two of wine!  Yesterday morning, we popped into Hawick, where we were delighted to find Sainsbury's open, so that we could buy the Sunday newspapers.  Leaving the car at the supermarket, we went for a walk (a very cold walk!) in the park.After the walk, we went into the supermarket cafe ..... a large cup of steaming coffe for Malcolm, and a hot chocolate for me!

We were amazed to find that the river had frozen over

 

 

and there was a wonderful 'icefall', where water coming down off the bank above the path had frozen

 

 

When we crossed the footbridge over the river, this was the view in one direction

 

 

and this is the view looking the other way

 

 

As we went back across the river, Malcolm spotted a salmon!  If you look carefully in the centre of the photo, you can just about make it out

 

 

When I opened my presents on Christmas morning, I started with the smallest one ...... and immediately declared it to be my best present!!

 

Wonderful Sock Monkeys to put on keys - I have put them on the keys for the studio.  Then the second parcel produced .....

 

..... the cutest little owl to keep my Ipod headphones on!

 

I know it isn't quite yet time to make my New Year's resolutions, but I have already decided that 2011 will be (fanfare and roll of drums) ...... The Year of the Kits!!  I looked out two kits from the studio, but when I went to start the first one, which was a free gift with a magazine, there was a slight problem

 

 

If you look at the bottom, you will see that the chart for the design was in the magazine, which I no longer have!  However, all is not lost, as I think I will be able to mark out the stitches on squared paper.

It was on to the next kit ....

 

 

and encountering no problems with this one, I have done the basic stitching of the first heart

 

 

Although there has been a little bit of a thaw, we still have a lot of snow lying and the birds are still flocking to the garden to be fed ...... today's collection included this big fat pigeon

 

Two more sleeps!

The presents are under the tree

 

 

The cake is iced and decorated

 

 

The mince pies are baked

 

 

The cushions are almost finished

 

 

This beautiful orchid has flowered

 

 

So there is just one thing left to do, before I have a short break from blogging (I'll be back on Monday).  There is a very special card on the mantlepiece (and not just because it has a pillar box and a robin on it).

 

 

It is to wish all of you a very happy Christmas. 

 

 

Have a wonderful Christmas, love Anne

The dark side of the moon

This morning we had a lunar eclipse ...... I think this may be the first one I have seen, as usually these momentous events are obscured by clouds!  This first photo shows the lights of Hawick to the left, and the shadow part way over the moon

 

 

Then this photo shows the shadow further over the moon

 

 

But I can't show you any more photos because ...... it suddenly got cloudy!!  Later, when the post arrived, I was delighted to see this envelope ......

 

 

....... as I knew it would be fron my lovely bloggy friend Lynne.  Enclosed with her Christmas card was this gorgeous crocheted snowflake

 

 

I think I might put it in the middle of my mittens bunting (don't worry, the flames are fake!!)

 

 

After having starlings in the front garden for the first time yesterday, there were two new birds outside the back doors of the studio today.  I had to consult the bird book for both birds.  I knew this first one was a finch, and the bird book confirmed that it is a bullfinch.  The colours are stunning ..... finally a bird to rival the fantastic birds that Karen has on her blog!

 

 

 

 

Then later in the day, there was even more excitement when three of them appeared, although I only managed to capture two of them (and one of them is hard to spot at the top of the photo!!)

 

 

But the biggest thrill was this bird - although it took me a long time to get  photos of it!  There was actually a small flock of them in the tree, but they kept flying off whenever I crept up to the door to try to snap them.    After a long consultation with the bird book, I decided that they are redwings ..... birds that neither Malcolm nor I have seen before

 

 

Once this one had finally sat still long enough to have its photo taken, it then hopped round and faced the other way, for this final photo

 

Please, no more songs on the radio ......

....... about snow!  We are very, very fed up with the stuff!  Yesterday, I should have been going to the last Woolgathering of the year, but I got up to find it had snowed again, and had to stay at home.  Then yesterday evening we should have been going to visit friends, but between the snow and the freezing temperatures, we reluctantly had to cancel.  And lastly, we should have been going up to Falkirk to visit Stuart, but with the threat of more snow to come, we were worried that, although we might get there, we might not get home!

But, on the other hand, it does makes for good photos!!  We had unusual visitors in the garden this morning - starlings

 

 

Malcolm had some errands in Hawick this morning, so I decided to go with him.  It was quite misty when we arrived, as you can see in this photo of the Town Hall

 

 

When I stopped on the bridge to take a photo of the river, I was delighted to see the heron

 

 

Remember the mountain of snow in the car park?  It has grown even higher ..... I think it will be a long time before it melts!

 

 

Later in the morning the mist cleared and we had blue skies and sunshine, so after lunch we decided to go for a walk.  This was the beautiful (but chilly) view as we set off towards the church

 

 

But at least we could head back home and warm up after the walk, unlike these gorgeous girls

 

 

The church looked lovely in the sunshine - but I am keeping the photos for Shadow Shot Sunday!  We walked back down the hill, past the house, as there was a large fallen branch that Malcolm wanted to bring home to cut up for logs.  While he was dealing with the branch, I found more sheep!

 

 

We had a detour on our way home from Hawick this morning, as Malcolm wanted to call in to Homebase.  I was quite happy with this, as it gave me the chance to take a photo of the view across the valley to our house

 
 

The camera did suggest that I altered the settings for the 'white balance', but that would have meant taking my gloves off, so there isn't a lot of contrast in the photo!

 

Please take a seat!

Yesterday, Julie of The Cloth Shed had some lovely chairs in her post.  In my comment, I mentioned that we have some super chairs that we got in Indonesia, and that I would have to include them in a post sometime.  So ...... here are those very chairs!

 

We have two of these chairs in the dining room.  So many people want them that I think we will have to mention them in our wills!

 

 

This long stool is now in the dining, but in our last house our bedroom was much bigger, and it sat at the end of our bed.  I know a lot of people don't like clowns, but I love this one, which I bought in Singapore.  He has a china face and hands, and a silk costume.

 

 

This is the chair in Malcolm's study.  It is sitting on a beautiful rug that he bought some years ago in India, when he was there on a business trip (I didn't get to go with him on that one!)

 

 

This is one of a pair in our bedroom.  It was only after I had put the photos on the laptop that I noticed that this is the chair that has a little bit broken off the bottom of the left hand front leg!

 

 

This little camel stool is also in our bedroom.  When I was taking the photo, I remembered this photo of my Granny. 

 

 

As you can see, the chair she is sitting on is similar to the camel stool!  I think this was taken before my Dad was born, which means it was before 1919.  It is funny to see her so young and glamorous, as I only knew her as a plump old lady, with pure white hair.  If only I had inherited her beautiful white hair, I wouldn't have to spend so much at the hairdressers covering my most unflattering grey!!

Soggy!

Yesterday was a bit damp and grey, but we managed to have a short walk after having had a cuppa at the Waterwheel cafe ...... which of course meant I had to take more photos of the eagle owls!

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we walked along to the river, we noticed several burrows - we think perhaps it's a badgers' set

 

 

We could hear the river before we saw it ..... it was running fast after the recent rain

 

 

When we got back home, I headed out to the studio to  ...... yes, do a bit more for the Fair!  When I'm in the studio, I most often listen to music (either on the radio, or a cd) ...... but at the weekend, there is a tv channel which shows Star Trek all day (but why does the Captain always transport down to the alien planet, instead of sending a minion?)

 

 

I looked out these four gift bags which I had left over from a previous fair - they have a bar of oatmeal soap and a body puff in them.  I wasn't happy with the way they looked (I forgot to take a photo!).  I added the ribbon on the front, cut the top with pinking shears, and tied them up with red and white string.  Once I added pretty labels, I was pleased with the new look!

 

 

Do you remember in the summer, I won a First and two Third places with my photos at the Southdean Show?  What I didn't know at the time, as I left before the end, was that I had also won the Cup for photography.  I was especially delighted to win it for two reasons ..... first, the cup was given by my friend Lorraine, and second, this was the first year that it was presented!  There followed several delays - Lorraine was on holiday, then she forgot it, then we were away, then she was away again ...... but finally, I have the cup (which I keep until next year's show)

 

 

For the moment, I have it sitting on the mantlepiece, until I decide where to keep it

 

 

I phoned Janome today, but unfortunately there isn't anywhere else I can go for lessons ...... so perhaps when I have mastered all the stitches and feet on the machine, I can set up as a teacher!! (But that may take some time!)

Not so exciting after all ......

Today's post was going to tell you all about my trip to Edinburgh to have my first lesson on my new sewing machine ..... but things didn't quite go to plan.  We had a good trip up, and after we got over the cost of parking (almost all parking in Hawick is free!) we popped into Starbucks - as much to have a toilet stop as a drink!  Malcolm then headed off to have a potter round the shops and I went for my lesson.  I'm not going to name the shop (I don't want to be sued!) ...... but lots of you will know where I went.  I met the woman who was going to give me my tuition - and then it all went rapidly downhill.  She waffled on about completely basic stuff concerning needles and threads and showed me how to switch the machine on(!).  I said I knew all of this, could she perhaps move on a bit.  She said she didn't know how experienced I was, so had to cover the basics ... I said I hardly thought my machine was an entry level machine (perhaps she should have asked how experienced I was and then pitched the lesson to that level?) She then finally got round to demonstrating a stitch to use ..... at which point it became clear that she was unfamiliar with the machine - I was telling her what to do!!  At that point I gave up, complained somewhat vociferously to the shop owner and said I would arrange with Janome to have my tuition elsewhere!! 

Never mind, things got better after that!  Thank goodness for mobile phones ..... I was able to get a hold of Malcolm and we went for a quick sandwich for lunch.  Then of course the camera came out ...... this was our first glimpse of the castle (sorry, it was a bit grey, and I only had the small camera, so not the best of photos!)

 

 

Those of you who have been to Edinburgh will know that the castle sits high above the main railway station.  There is a frequently told joke about a tourist (I'm not going to put in the nationality!!) who asked why they built the castle next to the railway (perhaps it was the same tourist who asked why the Queen built Windsor castle under the flight path to Heathrow Airport!!)  I took this next photo to show you one of the beautiful wrought iron balcomies - it was only when I looked at it on the laptop that I realised that there is a pigeon perched on it!

 

 

This magnificent building ......

 

 

...... is home to the national Archives

 

 

When we looked up the lane at the side of the building, we saw this quirly little building (it turned out to be a restaurant)

 

 

This next magnificent building belongs to the Church of Scotland

 

 

I was puzzled by the lighthouse on this building, until I saw that it is the offices of the Lighthouse Commission!

 

 

Do you think we should have a sphinx put on our roof (except it's probably bigger than the roof!)

 

 

Another glimpse of the castle

 

 

It is often said that we Scots have very bad eating habits, and that we eat too much (deep) fried food, and too many sweet things.  So you can indulge in both with one of these ....

 

 

Of course we would never eat anything like that - our tastes are much more sophisticated, as you can see from this 'plate to share' that we enjoyed with a cuppa at a garden centre on the way home ...... oh dear, that was a lie, these were all sweet and sticky and gorgeous (but just small pieces, honest!!)

 

 ....... the one at the back on the left had bits of Turkish Delight (the chocolate covered kind) in it - that made up for the rotten morning!!

 

 

 

 

 

Would you like to know ......

....... what was in the box?  It was exciting to find it on the doorstep when we got home yesterday and see the Italian postmark ......

 

 

..... and to see that it was from my lovely bloggy friend Meg.  This gorgeous card .......

 

 

.....told me that the contents of the box were belated birthday gifts.  First, there was a ball of Meg's beautiful hand dyed yarn

 

 

Then there was this beautiful felt bag

 

 

The flower is made with felt and embroidery

 

 

But that wasn't all, as I realised that there were two little gift bags inside the felt one

 

 

Inside the smaller one were these glass hearts, which Meg thought I might use as stitch markers

 

 

and inside the larger one, this fabulous glass bottle stopper

 

Thank you very much, Meg, for these wonderfull gifts!!

 

As it has been a wet and windy day, I was quite happy to spend the afternoon in the studio, with the stove to keep me warm, and 'golden oldies' on the radio.  The first job was to sew the rows of my quilt together, so that I can choose my border fabrics tomorrow when I go to patch'n'chat.

 

 

Next, I put more labels on, ready for the Christmas Fair

 

 

The last job of the afternoon involved the bright fabrics and notebooks ...... I cut squares from the fabric and stuck them on to the books

 

With brightly coloured pencils, they will make nice stocking fillers for Christmas.