frayed at the edge

You are feeling sleepy, very sleepy .....

This morning I went for a session of hypnotherapy, hoping to learn relaxation techniques which will stop me clenching my teeth in my sleep, which causes pain in my jaw.  No, the above words were not uttered!  Although I was very focused on Judy's voice, I was also aware of my surroundings at all times.  There was a lot of visualisation, which I found very easy to do.  At one point she told me to visualise a box - I promptly thought of a big square wooden box, just as she said, a small box, so I thought of a small square box, just as she said, a rectangular box!!  Not only did I learn relaxation techniques, but I also learned self-hypnosis, so I can reinforce today's work.  I'll let you know how I get on.

But meanwhile, here are some of the lovely pictures I can conjure up, to help me relax

  

Just close your eyes and imagine the sand between your toes as you meander along this beautiful beach, or enjoy dipping your toes in the warm water

 

Picture sitting at the picnic table, perhaps with a chilled glass of wine, looking across the river to the mountains in the distance

This may be a manmade lagoon, but it was a little piece of paradise we enjoyed on a magical holiday!

The big reveal

It's Friday, so of course this afternoon was chat'n'patch.  Pam has been working hard on a quilt which contains a lot of Laura Ashley fabrics, which someone had given her.  She has completed the main part, and had brought it in so that she could select fabrics for her outer borders

 

Although all the blocks are the same, the different fabrics make some of them look quite dissimilar.  Pam was in a bit of a state this afternoon, as she had just got word this morning that she has finally got a date for her hip replacement - so hopefully the next time you see her, she will be doing a quick Strathspey round the room!  Just behind Pam, you can see Jane, who recently not only broke, but also dislocated her elbow (ouch), but she is such a dedicated quilter, she was still sewing while encased in plaster from her upper arm to her wrist!

I was busy working on Oliver's quilt.  The quilting doesn't really show on the right side, so here is a detail from the wrong side, showing where I have been quilting round one of the tractors

 

On the knitting front, I have now finished my thirty squares, although there was a slight hiccup last night.  Before I started the last square, I counted the finished ones... and there were only twenty seven, instead of twenty nine.  Oh no, had I counted wrongly, I only had enough yarn for one more square.  However, further investigation revealed two squares which had jumped out the back of the basket and were tunnelling under the armchair to freedom, to a land where they could be what they wanted to be ... heck, they could even be circles (oops, sorry, a little flight of fancy crept in there!)

 

So, now, to the main event, the big reveal .....

We brought the mirror back from Indonesia - can you see that the curved band at the top matches the wall!  Malcolm gave me the phone holder for my birthday ages ago - it matches too!  We got the 'Anne's kitchen' sign in Florida, when we took Stuart to Disneyworld (that was in 1990!!)

 

I bought the antique hooks for Malcolm in Majorca this year - they look great with our two copper pans

 

Do you think I like chickens?

 

The kitchen was painted in matt paint, but we much prefer silk finish as it reflects the light - especially as the kitchen faces north west, and doesn't get the sun until late in the day.

 

I know I keep saying it, but I love my dresser - and did you notice that cheeky little monkey has sneaked into the photo!

Have a lovely weekend, love, Anne

Bad bits and good bits

Well let's get the bad bit over!  This morning I was at the dentist - this time for a check-up, which I should have had in February, but our dentist left and has only now been replaced.  The new dentist, Katya, is an absolute sweetie.  She's Greek, tiny and looks about twelve!  At least, she was a sweetie until I had to have five x-rays, need fillings in three teeth and other treatment for my gums.  I had to make six (yes, six!) appointments - I might as well go and live in the new dental centre!

However things improved after that, when Malcolm treated me to lunch in the Pickled Orange.  Then it was home to do the second coat of emulsion in the kitchen.  It's amazing how much the colour deepens with a second coat - we are really pleased with it.  However, it's not quite ready for the 'reveal', but I will tease you with a little bit of the 'feature' wall

 

It's a stunning deep red, which shows off the dresser beatifully.

Even with all the hard work going on, Malcolm had time to prepare this for dinner

 

This is a freezer/store cupboard dinner - meatballs from Morrisons which were in the freezer (the fresh meat kind, nor the Swedish style ones), a jar of Dolmio sauce, some herby cheese ..... and to make sure it was healthy, fresh basil from the plant on the kitchen windowsill.  Just to make it even more delicious, I had unearthed a packet of cheese doughballs in the freezer (which amazingly had less calories than a serving of pasta!!)

 

Once we had cleared up after dinner and I had finished a last little bit of painting ....... ok, I know we had a bottle of wine last night, but this was a special occasion, finally finishing the kitchen!

 

Yes it's fizzy, but it's not champagne - it's a lovely bottle of Prosecco - cheers!!

Ready, steady .......

........ paint!  Yes, today I finally started painting the kitchen.  Malcolm had long since done all the prep - filling and sanding, and all the cutting in.  So first, a quick explanation of why I've been lagging behind.  You know I was having dental and medical problems with my mouth.  The dental problems all got sorted, then finally - a diagnosis for the pain.  Unfortunately, I have neuralgia.  No problem said the GP, just take these pills.  First week - fine, the pain was going away. Second week, increase the dose... and - oh dear, I came up in a rash.  Not just a few spots, but a huge rash (I heard that Martians were queueing up to put a penny in the slot to look at me through a telescope!)  So, no more drug number one, now on to drug number two and so far so good!

So this is what I did today...

 

dust sheets in place

 

equipment organised

 

painting underway (don't look at the ancient trousers!!)

 

goodbye dull green, hello lovely blue

 

the perfect end to a busy day

A busy weekend

I don't know where the weekend went - suddenly it was Monday morning!  However, progress was made with the squares for the throw - I have now done 19 from 12 balls of yarn, with 7 left, so I'm hoping to do 30

 

I didn't get as much work done on the baby quilt as I had hoped to, but I did get it ironed and then layered up with the fleece (sorry about the patch of light, but I have veluxes in the studio roof, and the sun wouldn't oblige by popping behind a cloud)

 

I put the walking foot on the machine

 

I did get a little of the quilting done, but I'll wait until I've done some more before I take another photo.

 

This afternoon I went for my last session of acupuncture.  I'm still amazed how having needles stuck in you makes you relax, but yet again I fell asleep!  While I enjoyed the sessions, I'm not sure if they were of any great therapeutic value......

 

When I came home, my eye was caught by this iris, which has just flowered in the front garden

 

I also couldn't resist taking a photo of these two poppies.  Although they are past their best, they remind me of blowsy old theatrical ladies, all too much rouge and black stockings wrinkled round their ankles - and a half bottle of gin hidden in the chamber pot!!

A lot of horses!

This morning we were in Hawick, to see one of the events in the Common Riding.  This involved dozens of riders coming through an arch and riding off through the town.  It was quite a sight to see - even for us who aren't at all 'horsey' people.  It was good to see how many young peolple are involved, which should mean that this years' old tradition will carry on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

The riders and horses were all beautifully turned out and there was lots of cheering from both the riders and the spectators.

 

ps - once all the horses had gone past, they were followed by a street sweeping machine, to remove any evidence of their passing!

A mixed bag

Usually I have some sort of theme for a post (yes, a bit of planning does go into this!), but today I have a random collection of photos.

You may have realised by now that we like a bit of routine in our lives, and Thursday morning is no exception.  We head into Hawick, where the first stop is to buy the papers.  Then I treat Malcolm to a cuppa and something to eat.  We have several coffee shops in Hawick to chose from, so we tend to go to a different one each week.  Today it was the turn of the Pickled Orange

 

They have the most wonderful scones - today we decided on a cheese one to share

 

It was still warm from the oven, so the butter just melted into it!  Malcolm enjoys the Pickled Orange as he gets a free refill of coffee.

Next, it was a bit of shopping.  I had to stop on the way in to the supermarket to take a photo of these two lovely dogs.

 

We used to have a spaniel the same as the one on the right.  She was called Honey, and even after all these years, when we see a spaniel like this, we call it a 'honey dog'  If that isn't enough of an 'aaah' moment for you, when we came out of the supermarket, there were another two lovely dogs

 

Ok, it's not the most exctiing of Thursday mornings - but we enjoy it (especially the scone!)

 

However, there is something that never quite makes its way into my routine ...... the ironing!!  But sometimes I just have to do it, so this afternoon I put on some good music and tackled the basket.

 

There was rather more than that, but it would be a bit boring to show you several photos of ironing!  Instead I will end with a photo of a beautiful poppy, which has just flowered

 

Another piece of history

I had to post some letters when I was in Hawick yesterday, and I was delighted to discover that the pillar box was a George VI one, the same as our little local post box

 

Even with all the layers of paint from its many re-paintings over the years, the crown and initials are still clear

 

 

I said I would take a better photo of 'Sunset' - well, I have to tell you, it just did not want its photo taken!!  As fast as I stuck it to the wall (with Blu-tack, as I normally do with small quilts) it fell off again.  Then when it finally stayed on, the camera had switched itself off and by the time I switched it back on, Sunset had fallen off the wall again, then I realised it was squint ... you get the picture!  So here is my best effort

 

Of course for a competition, it's not just the front of the quilt that has to be considered - on the back there are two labels.  The first is the competition entry label

 

and the second one is my label

 

I'll be posting it tomorrow - keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Home from home

Yesterday, after we had lunch at the Woolgathering, Lindsay asked if we would like to walk across the road and see round her holiday cottage.  The words were hardly out of her mouth, when we were lined up at the door ready to go.  You can find out more about the cottage here and  here , but (with Lindsay's permission) I took photos of Hugh's artwork (all available to buy!!) and some of Lindsay's decorative touches

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were all so taken with the cottage, we wanted to move in!!  I know I'm biased because I live here, but there is so much to see and do in the Borders, and of course the scenery is stunning.

 

This afternoon I went for my second session of acupuncture - I was so relaxed that I fell asleep!  (I woke myself up when I started to snore - very embarassing).

Patience rewarded

This afternoon, we were sitting having a cuppa in the garden ...... when the pair of tits who have moved into the birdbox suddenly started popping in and out.  Of course the camera was fetched!!  As it's just a somewhat basic digital camera, the birds are a bit blurred, but it was so exciting to actually get photos of them

 

heading home

 

does my bum look big in this doorway

 

here we go again

 

up, up and away

 

Earlier in the day, we had been in Hawick for some shopping.  On the way back to the car, we had a detour to look round the Saturday market and car boot.  I couldn't resist this lovely felted bag on the Fair Trade stand

 

and of course I refused a carrier bag and popped it in my Cath Kidston recycled bag from Tesco

 

Then I succumbed to this wonderful piece of fabric from one of the car boot stalls - the photo doesn't do it justice.  There is no obvious right side/wrong side .... one side is silky and shot with gold, while the other side is a much richer colour, and is textured like velour.  It is on the to-do list for cushions for the new kitchen chairs.

 

We also bought some plants for the garden - I got some to replant the pots that sit at the studio door, beside my lovely froggy welcome sign

 

'Sunset' is almost finished - I will probably finish it tomorrow, when I'll be in Chesters for another of Lindsay's Woolgatherings.  So what will you do next, I here you cry ...... I will be doing a baby quilt for my new great-nephew, Oliver.  I hope he likes tractors!!