frayed at the edge

Today's cake ......

........ was a delicious chocolate and fresh cream concoction.  I wouldn't want you to think that we have cake every day, sometimes we have ice cream!!

.

 

The villa we are staying in is a short drive from Pollensa, and a slightly longer drive from Puerto Pollensa, which is where we were this morning, as it was market day.  It's hard to take photos with the Hudl in the sunshine, as you can't see the screen, but this one shows you some of the fresh produce on sale

 

To finish, a photo of the scenery, taken through the windscreen as we drove back to the villa

 

 

There might not be sconnage ......

.......... but there are cakes!!

 

 

and there is wonderful scenery

They're back!

For the past few days, Malcolm has been telling me that the swallows are back, but I kept saying that it was a bit early.  But then yesterday evening, there was a very soggy swallow sitting on the telephone wire.  I bet he was wishing that he had stayed in Africa a bit longer!

 

now, some more catching up, first with more photos from our walk on Sunday.  At first I thought these were snowdrops under the hedge ..... but if you could smell the photo, you would know that it was wild garlic

 

this boat was high and dry

 

everywhere we loooked there was blossom on trees

 

at first we were puzzled by this blossom

 

but then we saw this on another branch

 

of course when the sky is such a wonderful blue, I have to take photos to show it off

 

I wonder if this fisherman found the water a bit chilly?

 

now, on to Monday.  I treated Malcolm to lunch at The Night Safe Bistro in Hawick - so called as it is in a former bank (I would have shown you a photo of the outside, but just as I went to take it the camera switched itself off, as I had forgotten to change the battery!)

 

the restaurant opened last September, but this was our first visit.

 

they have kept the vault door, but now it is used as a storeroom

 

Malcolm ordered a BLT

 

and I ordered a chicken tikka wrap

 

then we had half each!   The food was delicious, the staff were friendly and efficient and the prices were reasonable - we will definitely go there again.

back home, the early clematis is now fully in flower

I have been working away on the sampler quilt

 

I have run out of the black fabric for the outer border, but hopefully I will be able to get more tomorrow at Borderland Fabrics - but don't worry, if I can't get more, I do of course have a plan B

 

while looking for the photos of the sampler quilt, I found this photo of Sandra's prize for winning the giveaway........ two of my photos, some of my cards, and a copy of my Country Cottages pattern

 

do pop in again tomorrow, as I have some exciting news to share with you!

 

I gather there is a problem with commenting - I don't know if it is related to the problems of the last few days.  If you can't leave a comment, please email me and let me know - there is an email link at the top of the right hand sidebar.

 

 

Fingers firmly crossed ........

....... that the problems are over!  As you may know, Typepad was subjected to some sort of attack which meant that there has been no blogging.  I'm just going to do a short post just now - I would hate to do a great long one and have it vanish!  So, back to Sunday.  We went for a walk in Melrose

 

the last time we walked along the river, the water was roaring over the rocks.  It was much quieter this time

 

most of the scaffolding has been removed from the Abbey

 

we popped into the Woollen Mill for a cuppa, and shared a delicious raspberry muffin

 

to finish, two little robins.  I snapped the first one on our walk on Sunday, and Maureen snapped the second one in her garden on Monday

Darkening skies

We had dramatic skies last night as the sun set - but I have to admit to being lazy ....... I didn't go outside to take the photos, I simply pointed the camera through the (newly-cleaned) window!

 

and now for the promised sewing update.  I have been beavering away on the sampler quilt.  On Saturday I made two more blocks and rearranged the others on the design wall

 

the middle block on the top row took a while to make, as there were five blocks, each made up of 16    small squares

 

On Sunday I added white borders round six of the blocks

 

and made a start to adding the black sashing

 

no sewing on Monday (too busy with domestic duties), but I had a full day yesterday.  First I squared up some of the applique blocks.  I always cut the background fabric bigger than the finished size, as it can be distorted by the stitching

 

then it was time for the cunning plan for the grandmother's fan block - you may remember that it had turned out a little bit small.  First I squared it up, then I added slightly wider sashing strips

 

and trimmed it to the same size as the other blocks - it isn't noticeable that the sashing is fractionally bigger

 

the top row stitched together

 

the vertical sashings added

 

then the horizontal sashings and the cornerstones added

 

to finish, do pop over to Lucie's blog, to see how she quilted the top that I gave her for Quilts for Comfort ........ it is fabulous!!

ps - don't forget to leave a comment to be included in Friday's draw for my fabulous giveaway (well, hopefully it will be fabulous when I finish rooting through my various stashes for a gorgeous prize!)

 

Pretty little things

Hooray, we finally had a good long Sunday morning walk!  We went to Harestanes, where we hadn't been all winter, as we knew it would be very muddy underfoot. But yesterday it was dry, and everywhere we looked there were signs of spring

 

the new bridges over the stream are looking good

 

this tree was very big ........

 

........ but not as big as it used to be, having lost an enormous piece off the back

 

of course after a long walk, there is only one thing to do ....... eat scones!

 

I went out for a walk at lunchtime today, as we had seen lots of lambs in the nearby fields when we came home yesterday.  Before seeing the lambs, there were horses big and little to be admired

 

and the donkeys were enjoying the sunshine

 

 

but the sheep weren't co-operating, and were all at  the far side of their fields!

it was good to see the sun shining on the Mintos .......

 

......... and the Eildons

 

on round the bend there were sheep much nearer the road - but there were no lambs!

 

but then, in the next field - hooray

 

 

of course on the way home I had to pause to take a photo of my favourite view

 

remember to leave a comment to be included in the draw for my giveaway to celebrate reaching 1,500 posts on Friday (I still don't knw what the giveaway will be, I will have to have a search in the studio tomorrow!)  To finish, I am sure you thought that today's title referred to the lambs ....... wrong!!  It referred to these little beauties - my new shoes for the summer

Thoroughly spoiled!

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and as usual Stuaret gave me a sweet card, with a lovely sentiment expressing his apppreciaion of his lovely Mum*.  He also sent me these beautiful flowers

 

the spoiling continued when Malcolm took me out for breakfast - we had intended to go for a walk, but it was misty and dreary, so the walk was abandoned.  We went back to Pirn House Interiors, where we had lunch on Wednesday, as we had seen these two tempting dishes on the menu.  I had French toast with bacon and maple syrup

 

and Malcolm had scrambled eggs with goats cheese and toast

 

having seen the cakes and scones, I think we will have to visit again soon!

 

on the way home, we were rathered surprised when we came round a bend to see these cows feeding.  Malcolm was able to pull into the side of the road to let me out to take photos

 

the troughs were actually on the verge - a most unusual arrangement, with the cows poking their heads through the fence to eat

 

before I got out of the car, I might have been tempted to steal this very cute calf ....... but the smell coming from the field was atrocious!

 

this morning we popped over to Berwick, to return paperwork related to the purchase of our flat to our solicitor ....... ok, we could have posted it, but we were quite happy to have an excuse to have a day out!  As we didn't have any sconnage yesterday, we made up for it this morning, when we popped in here for a cuppa

 

Malcolm declared that this was the best cheese scone he has ever eaten (half of)!!

 

as it was another misty grey day, I didn't take the big lens with me - which of course guaranteed that several photo opportunities promptly presented themselves!  Looking over the parapet of the old bridge, we saw that the seal was there again.  When I half depress the button on the camera  to focus, it emits a beep ..... I am sure the seal heard it, as he immediately moved from lying like this

 

to posing like this

 

there were also various birds

 

we went for a walk on the beach, and while Malcolm collected driftwood, I looked for sea glass

 

there was a rather hazy view of the lighthouse

 

some of the rocks on the beach gave me ideas for quilts

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update

*I lied about the card

 

An unexpected visitor!

No, Stuart and Alison didn't arrive with an extra guest, but look what turned up overnight!  Fortunately the snow was only on the hills, and didn't spoil the weekend

 

I bottled the sloe gin, and gave S&A two bottles to take home with them

 

they had brought a treat for dessert - a box of delicious doughnuts!

 

on Saturday we headed over to Berwick.  Of course we couldn't show them the inside of the flat we are buying, but we did walk past, and pointed out the shops, restaurants, takeaways and pub in the vicinity.  As we walked over the old bridge, we were delighted to see the seal was there again

 

and he was still there when we came back over the bridge later on

 

we had an enjoyable, if slightly chilly walk.  The wind must have made things tricky for these golfers

 

I didn't need this sign to take care to stay away from the sharp drop beside the footpath

 

this is the rail viaduct, which carries the main line from Edinburgh to London

 

Saturday morning shoppers heading into town

 

as we headed for lunch, I was looking forward to a bowl of soup ......only to find that the soup of the day was cream of tomato, my least favourite soup!  So instead I had delicious macaroni cheese (it was such a generous serving that I gave some to Malcolm!)

 

when I was busy working in the studio yesterday afternoon, I was startled by a sudden loud noise ..... large hailstones rattling off  the veluxes

 

to finish, a little oooh and aaah ........ which of course means lambs!  These two, snuggling into their mum, look very new

Which is my best side?

I had some help with the photos of my knitting progress, but the vain little bear just couldn't decide which was his best side

 

we were in Jedburgh this morning, and I didn't really intend to take photos ......... but I had to take some shots to show off the blue sky

 

back home, the filtering of the sloe gin goes on - it is a slow job

 

I have been doing more work on Mrs Billings, prepping large amounts of hexies

 

I popped a penny on top of one of the hexies to let you see how small they are

 

 

there were lots of sparrows in the garden this afternoon, with several of them drinking from the birdbath

 

every so often when we are out and about, Malcolm will issue a command to take a photo of something he has spotted ....... so, to finish, we have today's command

On top of the world!

No, we didn't have a quick jaunt to climb Everest, getting back in time for dinner!  Instead we set off in the sunshine this morning, to climb Minto Craigs to Fatlips Castle (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

we parked the car and set off up the track

 

there were lots of distractions along the way

 

the path went ever upwards

 

the trees suddenly gave way to views out over fields

 

and still the path went up, and up

 

then we rounded the next bend, and there it was

 

but what's this - a door with three locks behind a metal grill

 

no problem, the grill was only bolted and we had the key!

 

an impressive barrel vaulted roof on the ground floor

 

then I had to take a deep breath and overcome my intense dislike of ......... a spiral staircase!

 

but it was worth the effort of climbing all those horrid stairs to see this

 

then I had to take a very, very, deep breath to overcome my fear of heights and step out on to the roof.  But it was worth it to see the amazing views

 

Malcolm snapped me, snapping the view

 

back at ground level, Malcolm was auditioning for King of the Castle

 

as we set off back down the hill, I took this arty shot of the sun shining through the trees beside the castle

 

at times we had to go "off'track"

 

hooray for my serious boots and walking pole!

 

after all that exertion, we were ready for lunch!  We went to the Cream Puff in Denholm (after returning the Castle key)

 

we both had the spicy lentil soup - and it was very spicy!  The bread was delicious too

 

right, I'm off to do my nails, so that I look glamorous for my first day in my new job ........ I may even put on some slap in the morning!