frayed at the edge

A busy weekend!

It was Fathers' Day yesterday, and I took Malcolm out for breakfast to celebrate ....... but we actually went on Saturday, as I wanted to take him to the new cafe at the mill, but it doesn't open on a Sunday at the moment (it starts opening on Sundays next month).  Malcolm had a roll with links sausages

 

and a large americano, to which he added hot milk

 

I had a bacon roll

 

and my usual pot of tea

 

It may only have been about 9.30, but other customers were already ordering cakes and scones!

 

 

 

Back home when I put the tv on in the studio, I became engrossed in the Trooping the Colour ceremony.  It is an amazing spectacle ......

 

 

 

 

I wonder if the Queen ever wishes she could just stay at home with her feet up watching a dvd and eating chocolate?

 

but at least on Saturday she had her beloved Duke back at her side

 

Yesterday we went to Melrose for a walk

 

As there had been so much rain on Saturday, we decided not to have our usual walk along the river, as it would be muddy underfoot.  So instead we walked through the town, enjoying glimpses of beautiful gardens ...... and unusual buildings.  This first photo is a bit out of focus, but you need to see the back of this rough wooden building ......

 

....... to appreciate the surprise we got when we saw the front, with its delightful leaded windows

 

I liked this urn on the top of a gatepost ...... unfortunately we don't have gateposts to put something similar on!

 

A wonderfully dilapidated barn!

 

I went out for a walk after lunch (having already had my usual early morning walk!)  When I went to take a photo, the camera promptly beeped at me and switched itself off!  Fortunately I hadn't gone far, so I nipped back home, put the battery on charge, and collected my little Fuji Finepix, which I haven't used for months!  I was able to take lots of shadow shots, which have been in short supply here recently!

As I strolled along, I heard a bellow, but couldn't see the animal responsible for it.  Then minutes later I heard the thunder of hooves ..... I turned to see a large black bull galloping down the field .......

 

....... startling not only me, but also these sheep, which had been peacefully grazing

 

big bull(y)!!

 

Back home, the battery for the big camera had recharged, and I set it up on the tripod in the summerhouse, to take photos of the tits feeding the chicks

 

 

I decided to move the camera, to take shots from a different angle .......

 

...... so of course the birds disappeared!  So I went over to the back gate, and had a look at the swallows' nest

 

 

Then, oh joy, oh bliss ..... look what rumbled into a view - a gorgeous tractor, cutting the hay

 

Malcolm hasn't spent the whole weekend sitting in the sun, reading the paper - I'll tell you tomorrow what he has been making!

 

Night and day

There was a slight delay in going to bed last night, as I had to nip out into the front garden to take photos of the stunning sky!

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, last night's wonderful sky did not give way to good morning.  The sheep looked soggy and fed up in the rain!

 

The more I take photos of sheep, the more I become convinced that they pose as soon as they see the camera!

 

 

 

 

This poppy in the back garden has been threatening to flower for several days - it's jus a pity it picked such a soggy day to open!

 

I have finished the third of the three small Christmas stitcheries .......

 

...... and the quilting on Lilly Pilly.  I hope to add the binding and hanging sleeve over the weekend

 

 

I must apologise for forgetting the Friday cake last week - but I think this week's cake will make up for it!  Once again we were treated to Annette's lovely light chocolate sponge, topped with fresh cream and strawberries - delicious!

 

The forecast isn't very good for the weekend, but that won't stop me spoiling Malcolm for Fathers' Day on Sunday!  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

 

I was surprised ........

....... when I went out for my walk this morning - not by these starlings in the tree, but the blue sky beyond them!

 

There was a new horse in a nearby field .......

 

....... and our neighbour's horse in the adjacent field was being very vocal in its disapproval of the new arrival

 

I found this cone on the road in front of a stand of trees where I know there are squirrels (they have a disconcerting habitof running across the road right in front of the car!).  It looks as if a squirrel has been nibbling on it

 

This Jacob's ewe was keeping a beady eye on me ......

 

..... as was this rabbit!

 

The church was bathed in the early morning sun

 

As I came down the hill towards home, one of the neighbour's many cats (7 at the last count) was slinking along, stalking this pheasant - but as soon as it saw me, it sat and tried to look innocent!

 

As Malcolm is really enjoying driving his new car, we decided to go further afield for lunch today, and headed south over the border to the town of Corbridge.

We had a walk round the town before lunch, enjoying the sights.  This door is small - even I would have to duck to go through it

 

but the building is somewhat larger

 

it was helpful to have an information plaque on the building!

 

It was hard to decide which of the many cafe/coffee shops to go to for lunch, but we finally settled on this one .......

 

....... with its promise of a lazy lunch!

 

Malcolm had corn beef and potato hash, with a crispy fried egg

 

and I had the ploughman's platter (Malcolm as usual ate the tomato, which I don't like)

 

After lunch, we went in search of RE ...... we knew that the shop is tucked away, and it took a bit of searching to find it!

 

The young chap who served us was delightful, and more than happy for me to take photos!

 

 

On the way back to the car we detoured down this steep cobbled lane.  It may look quaint, but I don't think I would want to live in one of the houses, lovely as they are.  Imagine having to lug a large food shop up or down the cobbles to your house!

 

 

This might look a rather plain extension (a studio perhaps?)

 

but its elevated position must give it superb views out over the river

 

On the way home it was frustrating to be stuck behind a lorry

 

and even more frustrating when the lorry was in turn slowed down by a tractor and livestock trailer!

 

I've often seen vans with signs on them saying "no money left in van" or "no tools left in van" ....... but this one is much better!!

 

What? ...... Oh you want to know what I bought in RE - I'll tell you tomorrow!

 

Webbed feet!

Every time we think it can't possibly rain any more ....... it does!  Although we shouldn't really complain, as we haven't been affected by floods, as some parts of the country have.  Fortunately it was dry yesterday morning, so we were able to go out for a walk.  First stop was at the river, where the heron was trying to keep his feathers in order, as the breeze kept ruffling them

 

 

The rhododendrons are in full flower

 

 

 

although this one has shed a lot of petals, they provide a colourful carpet under it

 

although I was some distance from this chicken run (I had the big lens on the camera), the chickens obviously spotted me and came running over - perhaps hoping that I had food for them!

 

We turned off from our usual route, along a street which has a stream running down the side

 

I'm not sure what this pump on the bank of the stream is for .......but  it would look good in the garden!

 

We saw lots of this wildflower, which I have just tracked down in one of my wildflower books.  It is valerian, but not native valerian, but one that has escaped from gardens

 

 

We returned to our usual route, and went down some stairs which run down the side of a waterfall.  After all the rain we have had, there was a lots of water coming over the fall - we had to raise our voices over the noise!

 

 

After our walk, we popped into Sainsbury's to get the Sunday papers (and have a cuppa!).  I noticed this new partwork - on special offer to entice shoppers to buy it.  (sorry, it was hard to take to decent photo because of the cellophane packaging)

 

Of course I couldn't resist buying books of recipes with two such wonderful ingredients - Cadbury's Dairy Milk and Lyle's Golden Syrup.

yum!

 

not too sure about this one!

 

I have finished another of the stitcheries

 

and have almost finished quilting Lilly Pilly

 

The Euro 2012 Championships only started on Friday - and already I am suffering from a surfeit of football.  So once I post this, I will fetch my ipod and listen to some music as I work on the next stitchery (occasionally annoying Malcolm when I start singing along to my favourite songs!)

A paler shade of blue

My camera, for some reason, doesn't like deep blue, so this first flower should be a much deeper blue (I'm sure I could change the settings, but at 6.45am my eyes are barely open, so no chance of doing that)

 

this next one should be a deeper blue too .......

 

....... but this teeny tiny forget-me-not is pale blue

 

although it wasn't raining, everything was still dripping from the overnight rain, as you can see from these pansies, which are in pots at the entrance to the churchyard

 

 

When I got to the bottom of the hill, I had a look in the field to see if the foal was there.  It was, but it was at the far side of the field, and I only had the small lens on the camera.  So instead of going on round the bend and down the hill as usual, I turned up the bridle path which would take me nearer to the foal.  First though, I had to take these photos ........ does this ewe look glum ..........

 

because she is different to all the other ewes in the field!

 

Then, on to admire the foal, with its long gangly legs!

 

 

Now ....... if I hadn't changed my route to photograph the foal, then I wouldn't have been back out on the road just as a car drew up, and a man got out of it.  He was in his very smart riding gear, about to head off to Hawick for the Common Riding.  When I was little, my Mum frequently said "those who ask don't get", but my friend Anne frequently says "shy bairns get nowt" ......... so I asked if I could take his photo (explaining that it was for my blog, in case he thought I was some sort of stalker!)  He said yes, as long as I was quick, as he had to get his horse ready.  He then slung his jacket over his shoulder and posed as if he had spent years on the catwalk!  As he rushed off, I shouted after him "What's your name?" ...... so thank you very much, Michael Robertson!

 

I was about to type "to finish" ....... but then I thought, am I starting to be like some newsreaders, who spend most of the bulletin dwelling on doom and gloom, then at the end suddenly smile and trot out a cute story!!  So, is it just me, or do the flowers on this little shrub in a neighbour's front garden look like little aliens?

 

It has been raining steadily all afternoon - hopefully it will be better tomorrow!  Malcolm won't notice, as he will be watching Euro 2012 (football).  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

Soggy!

When I looked out the window this morning, I was very tempted to about turn and get back into bed, it was so damp and dreary.  However, I need the exercise, so I got dressed, got out the rain jacket and the tatty old trainers and headed out.  The drizzle meant that there were no insects about, so instead of swooping gracefully through the air catching their breakfast, the swallows were huddled on the phone line

 

The horses didn't look very happy either .....

 

....... but this little lamb had found a good place to curl up and avoid the worst of the weather

 

But it wasn't all gloom and doom!  I had fun looking for arty waterdrops ......

 

 

....... then I had a "find the biggest worm slithering down the road" competition!!

1st

 

2nd

 

3rd

 

I love how rabbits sit very, very still - I guess they think if they don't move, they can't be seen

 

The sheep haven't made much headway in eating the overgrown field - you can only just see the lamb's head peeking out from the long grass

 

When I was catching up on Brid's blog the other day, I saw that her house is featured in this month's Ideal Home magazine.  I finally got round to buying the magazine this morning, and have spent the rest of the day gazing longingly at her beautiful home

 

 

 

Did you spot the beautiful chair on the top right of the photo?  I have come up with a cunning plan ...... I am going to adopt Brid, then when I go to visit her, I shall accidently put the chair in my suitcase when I'm leaving!!

 

To finish, one of my arty photos ....... this is the skeleton of a dandelion flower

A day off!

Normally we don't vary from our routine when there is a public holiday ...... but as today is a very special holiday, for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, we decided to do something different!  But first, I got up as usual and headed out for my walk.  I put the big lens on the camera, which meant I could take photos such as this one, of a black sheep some distance away in the field across the road

 

then there were these cows, two fields away at the bottom of the valley

 

 

I never tire of taking photos of the Mintos and the Eildons, as the views change so much with the different seasons

 

 

These sheep were tucking into the lush grass, in a field which hasn't been grazed for some time!

 

 

I just managed to snap this fox as it dashed down the field - but I couldn't see what it was carrying

So, where did we go for our "jubilee jaunt"?  All the way to Hawick!  One the the woollen mills has just opened a cafe and shop.  Malcolm had checked it out last week, and said it was a super place.  We parked in the supermarket car park, popped in to buy the papers, then walked along the river to the mill.

 

 

As always, I had a pot of tea, and we shared a delicious cheese scone

 

Malcolm enjoyed his large americano, topped with hot milk

 

The cafe is light, airy and welcoming

 

 

Although we just had a scone, I think the next time we might have one of the wonderful cakes!

 

the shop is full of wonderful things - not all of them woolly!

 

 

There are also little bits of history, such as these wool weights .......

 

 

...... and an old loom

 

to finish ...... get ready to say aaaaah

Drip, drip, drip

After yesterday's rain, it was still damp and dripping when I went out for my walk this morning, and  the ewes in the old orchard looked seriously disgruntled

 

However the dripping plants in the verges provided some interesting photos

 

 

 

However this rhododendron provided a splash of colour

 

I consulted my wildflower books to discover that  this is water aven

 

This weekend, the Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee ....... so of course that meant a party lunch at patch'n'chat!!  We had to dress in red, white and blue ..... so I bought this t-shirt (although purists will note that it actually shows a Victorian pillar box!)

 

I added a red bangle, my beautiful pearl and lapis lazuli necklace, and as it is the diamond jubilee, my diamond earrings

 

A not very good photo of the finished look!

 

We all took a dish to share - this was my contribution, smoked salmon

 

As always, there was a lovely spread of food

 

 

 

We may have had a wonderful lunch, but that didn't mean that we had to do without the Friday cake!!  This week's offering was fairy cakes with fresh cream, and to continue the jubilee theme, topped with an edible Union Jack!

 

I will be making a start to quilting Lilly Pilly over the weekend - I hope whatever you are doing, you have a good time, love Anne

It's a small world!

Malcolm has been thinking for some time about changing his car, so when he enjoyed driving the hire car on holiday, he thought he would investigate Citroens further

 

Then in one of those little coincidences in life, when he was reading the local paper on Thursday, he saw an advert saying that the Citroen dealer from Coldstream would be at a hotel in Galashiels on Sunday morning.  So we decided to go along and check out the cars.  We had a test drive, then went into the hotel to have a cuppa and chat with the car salesman.  I mentioned that my Dad's cousin used to own a hotel in Galashiels, and I thought it was that one.  He asked me what his name was - I said Angus MacKenzie ..... yes, he said, it was this hotel.  It turned out that his Grandpa and Angus were friends, and he was in and out of the hotel when he was little!

 

 

 

 

 

On the way home, I just had time to snap this enormous hare, before it hopped off into the verge!

 

Over the weekend, I made a start to the machine applique on Lilly Pilly.  This is a method I haven't used before, where you simply stitch round the shapes, leaving the edges raw

 

I took this photo of the wrong side, so that you can see how much I have done

 

When I went out for my walk this morning, I was delighted to see all these new sheep in the field across the road

 

Up the hill, the ewes were back in the orchard

 

There was a little haze over the hills

 

The "whomping willow" was looking spooky despite the sunshine

 

This little feather is less than an inch long

 

The lambs are getting big!

 

So what was Malcolm doing at the weekend, when I was sewing my fingers to the bone?

listening to the Test Match (cricket) on the radio

 

ps - yes, he bought a new car, which he will get on Thursday!

 

 

Back in the old routine - part 2

No, there was nothing wrong with the camera, or my photography ....... this was the view of the horse in the field across the road when I went out for my morning walk - in a very thick mist!!

 

The last time I saw these ewes, they were lounging about under the trees in the old orchard just up the hill - this morning they were on the other side of the orchard wall ...... where it was probably a bit warmer!

 

The church looked as if it was auditioning for a part in a Dickens story

 

The moisture in the air made this spider's web visible

 

The snails were happy to glide along on the damp road - I love the different colours of their shells

 

 

 

There was a bright spot amongst the gloom - but it wasn't a flower, but a piece of bright blue baler twine, holding a fence together!

 

At patch'n'chat, Katy brought in this kit, which she had received from a craft club.  She didn't want it, and asked if anyone would like it ......I promptly said yes please.  She was looking at the Spanish cross stitch book that I brought back from Majorca, saying how much she liked some of the designs - so I swapped the book for the kit, and the angel came home with me!

 

But, I hear you ask, where is the bit about the old routine?  Well, it's Friday, and that means the Friday cake!!  Today we had what is probably the most delicious, decadent cake that Annette has ever made for us ...... her wonderful light-as-air chocolate sponge, but this time she had  topped it with whipped cream and strawberries

 

The mist lifted by mid-morning, and we have had another hot day, with the good weather forecast to continue over the weekend.  Whatever the weather, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love Anne