frayed at the edge

First class service

I was intrigued this morning to recive a tiny padded envelope in the post - I hadn't bought anything, so what could it be? I was delighted when I opened it to find this

 

I think it is excellent customer service to send out this new foot - I was unaware that there was one available.

 

I was trying to take photos of the tiny tits on the bird feeders this morning - but they just wouldn't stay still long enough!  (click on the photos to enlarge them)

 

I think this one was a blue tit

 

 

you can see how small this one is compared to the sparrows behind it

 

For the past two weeks, there has been a new horse in the field in front of us - can you tell which is the new one (hint- look at the state of their coats!)

 

 

Of course Friday means patch'n'chat ...... and that means cake!  This week Annette had made one of her wonderful sponges - although she didn't think it was one of her better ones .....

 

 

I chose the fabrics for the borders of my row quilt - the darker fabric will be the inner border, the lighter one a much wider border which I will applique .... probably with flowers and leaves

 

 

I quite often buy scented candles in glass holders from my local supermarket ...... I like to burn a candle after dinner to eliminate cooking smells.  I looked out a collection of used ones this morning (and a large jar which had last year's Christmas candle in it).  I stood them in a basin with very hot water to soften the remnants of wax

 

 

Once I had cleaned the wax out, I put them in the dishwasher, where they are being washed along with today's dishes!  I will be doing something with them over the weekend, which I will share with you on Monday!

I hope you all have a good weekend ..... the forecast isn't very good, so I think I will be spending a lot of it in the studio!  Love Anne

Turning into a mouse!

It was a bright clear frosty morning, so we stopped at the Carter Bar so that I could take some photos.  But it slightly hazy when we got there (and very, very cold!)

 

this is looking back into Scotland

 

 

the border runs into the distance

 

 

beautiful blue sky behind ....

 

 

....... The Beacon - I don't know if it has been lit since

 

 

I always cheer when we pass this sign on the way home!

 

When we picked Jennifer up, Malcolm suggested that we went to the Biscuit Factory for lunch.  He had discovered it some time ago, as it is near the Alfa Romeo garage where he got his car at the start of the year.

 

 

As we were a little bit late for lunch, we hurried in the door .....

 

 

... went upstairs to Cafe Byker Vista, and studied the menu - which had a lovely fabric cover

 

 

When my tea arrived, I was quite taken with my funny angled saucer

 

 

And now to explain why I am turning into a mouse ...... I decided to order a ploughman's lunch, thinking a little bit of cheese, some crusty bread, pickle.  This is what I got!!

 

This is as much cheese as I probably eat in a month - I swear I felt little mousey whiskers appearing and my nose twitching as I surveyed my plate.  However, you don't have to worry about my cholesterol levels, as Malcolm ate some of it!!

When we got home, we found a mysterious parcel from Italy on the doorstep ...... but I'll tell you about that tomorrow!

Scraps

After cutting out the lavender hearts, I was left with this pile of scraps ....

 

 

....... but of course nothing is wasted in the studio, so I cut out little hearts to use for labels

 

 

I showed you the front of the label yesterday, so here today is the back

 

 

I will have to decide how to present things on the stall - I have a collection of nice baskets which I can use

 

 

The needle cases also look good in this one

 

 

I got some lovely crisp white tissue paper to line the boxes for the baby gift sets ...... and used more of the spotty ribbon to wrap the facecloth round the baby soap

 

 

The next project is to use these fabric pictures .....

 

 

..... to decorate the covers of these notebooks and then think of some way to attach a pencil

 

 

This morning, while we were having our breakfast, the birds were gathering in the hawthorn tree in the front garden for theirs

 

 

A splash of colour against the grey sky

 

 

These ones braved the rain to look for food

 

 

The good news is that the antibiotics are starting to take effect ...... fingers crossed that when I wake up tomorrow the pain will have gone - especially as we are heading off for Morpeth in the morning to visit Jennifer.  No doubt this means that we will be going out for lunch .......

 

The continuing saga .......

Oh dear, just when we thought things were getting better ....... last night I was struck down with raging toothache again!  I was at the dentist's first thing this morning (even before the dentist arrived) and fortunately he saw me as soon as he came in.  He promptly wrote me a prescription for antibiotics, with instructons to take double doses today ..... so hopefully by the time I get up tomorrow, things will have improved!

But now for more cheerful things! Yesterday was glorious - cold and frosty, with a beautiful blue sky.  We went to Jedburgh for a walk along the river - I had to stop every few yards to take photos!  I took lots of shadow shots for next weekend, as of course with winter just about upon us (there was snow just down the road from us on the Carter Bar this morning) I have to stock up on them when I get the chance.  We were delighted to see not one, not two, but THREE herons.  One of them kept tucking its head down out of sight, but finally I managed to capture this shot

 

 

I love autumn colours, and this tree was beautiful in the sun

 

 

The carpet of leaves glowed under the trees

 

 

Of course after a long walk in the cold, we had to go for a cuppa - how could I not enjoy a cup of tea from such pretty china!

 

 

Back home, it hadn't got any warmer, and there was still ice on the windscreen of my car ...... this feathery shape would make a lovely quilting pattern!

 

 

There was lots more activity on the Christmas Fair front - here is a little taster - I'll show you the rest tomorrow!

 

Season of mists ......

.... so wrote John Keats in 1819 about autumn.  And we had a misty start to the day, with a ribbon of mist along the top of the field in front of us

 

 

Did you spot the little sheep on the right of the photo?  Looking the other way, the sky was clear and a brilliant blue, with the moon still visible

 

 

I decided to have a day in the kitchen, doing some batch cooking for the freezer.  I started with some real comfort food - mince and dumplings  (one portion for dinner tonight).  This is a wonderful reminder of childhood, when it used to be my job to make the dumplings!  I organised my main ingredients

 

mince, lots of onion and sliced carrots

I started by softening the onions in a little oil, then added the mince to brown.  I added some salt and pepper, then poured in some boiling water and added the carrots.  Then .... I added my secret ingredient - a large squeeze of .....

 

 

Later, when it was time for dinner, I reheated a portion of the  mince, then got out my last two ingredients.  There are lots of ways to thicken the gravy, but as I make my mince the same way my Mum made it (and probably my Granny too!) I use Bisto.  I used to make the dumplings from scratch, but it is so much easier with this packet mix (and I think every bit as good)

 

 

All that was left to do was to cook some broccoli, and dinner was ready

 

 

I also planned to make a sausage and bean casserole, so while I made a start to cooking the mince, I popped the sausages in the oven to cook.  I then assembled the other ingredients

 

Onions, mushrooms, sweet red pepper, garlic and cannellini beans (oh dear, I forgot to include the passata and had to put it in the next photo!)

Once the onions had been softened in some oil, I added the mushrooms, pepper and garlic, two teaspoons of ground cumin and a smidgen of smoked paprika

 

 

Then I got the sausages out of the oven (mmmmm - I wish you could smell them!)

 

 

and added them, the beans and the passata to the pot

 

 

I only had to simmer it for a short while as the sausages were already cooked ...... then I divided it into containers to go in the freezer

 

 

I also made a quick pot of vegetable soup for lunch tomorrow!  After all that, I was glad to sit down later in the day to watch a dvd with Malcolm.  We wouldn't normally do that, but Malcolm unfortunately is hobbling about the place, having fallen off a ladder last week!  We watched 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'.  We had both read the book (indeed, we have both read all three books), so we were looking forward to watching the film.  The only thing we were concerned about is that the film is dubbed , but we needn't have worried, as it has been done very well.  Of course we could have watched it with the Swedish soundtrack and English sub-titles .... but then I couldn't have done my sewing at the same time!

I've been busy making more things for the Christmas Fair - I'll tell you all about them tomorrow!

 

 

A welcome diversion

This morning I had to pop into the Health Centre to pick up a prescription, then, as usual, I went to cross the footbridge over the river to go back to the car park ....... just a small problem - the footbridge was closed!  So I had to head back up to the High Street - but using a different route to the one I had used on my way down.  I was very glad, though, that I did, as it gave me the chance to take photos of, first, this wonderful acer

 

 

then this rowan (mountain ash) ......

 

 

..... with beautiful golden berries

 

 

When I got home, the sun was shining and it was an hour until lunch, so I decided to go for a walk.  Typical though ..... I was about two hundred yards down the road and the sun went in!  So when I got to the bottom of the road, I thought I would head back home .... and, yes, about two hundred yards up the road, the sun came out again!!  Never mind, I still took lots of photos ....

 

after Monday's frost, a lot of leaves have come down

 

 

these trees are already bare

 

 

the sun had just come back out!

 

 

these two horses posed beautifully for me

 

 

I've not shown you the Minto Hills for a while!

 

The quality of this last photo isn't very good - I took it at dusk, so I think the camera couldn't cope with the level of light.  At this time of year, dozens (and  dozens) of crows flock to the field in front of us  - this is just a few of them

 

Rain rain go away ....

......come back another day!  That's what we used to sing as children, and I was singing it again today, when we got up to one of those dreary grey days.  However, the antics of the two horses in the field in front of us made me smile (sorry, more photos taken from indoors, it was much to miserable to go outside!)

 

look at me when I'm talking to you

 

 

go on, give me a kiss

 

maybe I'll just go and talk to the sheep in the next field instead!

 

It wasn't just the horses which were miserable in the rain - this sparrow was not a happy little bird!  (remember you can click on the photo to enlarge it - it is a very small sparrow!)

 

 

Malcolm has made a driftwood frame for the owl picture that I bought for him in Keswick

 

 

and another frame for the Christmas Fair

 

 

I think to finish we'll have, first, a photo from our walk on Sunday, with some rather handsome black cows .....

 

 

....... and then one with some lovely blue sky!

 

Morning has broken ......

...... Cat Stevens was singing on the radio this morning - and the sky looked like this

 

But the strange thing is .... this is where we normally see the sunset.  This is the sunrise reflected on the clouds.

This morning, I put Maia in a bowl of just-warm water and some delicate wash to soak for about twenty minutes

 

 

I then rinsed it well and squeezed (remember - NEVER wring knitting!) the excess water out.  Then I rolled it up in a towel and left it for a while for even more water to be soaked away.

 

 

The final stage was to block it (stretch it) to its full size (don't worry about the wrinkles, they are in the sheet, not the knitting!)

 

 

I have several 'Christmas' cacti.  During the summer they live on my bathroom windowsill and in the winter they sit at the end of the bath.  Every year they flower a bit earlier ...... but this year they have gone mad and are flowering already!

 

 

At the other end of the bath, I have a very special African Violet.  It was part of a group of plants in a basket that I gave to my Dad as one of the presents for his 80th birthday (Stuart celebrated his 21st birthday the day before!).  My Dad wasn't very good with houseplants, and when he died six and a half years later, only the African Violet survived - and it had only three leaves left.  I took it home and repotted it ...... and it flourished.  Within weeks, it had not only put out more leaves, it had also flowered - and it then flowered continously for about two years!  After that, it flowered off and on, but over the summer it looked a bit sickly.  However, after being moved to its winter home on the bath, it has suddenly perked up .... and today I noticed flower buds on it!

 

A (very) mixed bag!

I was going to call this post 'When will I see you again?' ..... but you might have got upset, thinking I was taking a break- it was because when I went out this morning, it was three degrees, which always starts me singing ......'When will  ....... ok, terrible joke!!  We woke up this morning to the first frost - it was so cold, I took this photo of my car from the bedroom window - I wasn't going outside until I had to!

 

But it wasn't that surprising that it was cold, as it was very clear last night - I did brave the cold then to take this photo of the moon

 

Tonight's heading reflects the fact that I have a collection of photos that haven't made it into other posts, so I thought I would use them tonight before I forget that I have them!  It was my bloggy friend Sarah's birthday yesterday (this is an 'oops' moment - because we went away just after my birthday, I didn't post photos of my lovely bloggy presents .... sorry).  Sarah loves beachcombing and driftwood .... and Malcolm just happpened to have some driftwood in the garage, so he made these two lovely things for her ( I remembered as I wrapped them that I hadn't taken a photo - do you like the animal print tissue paper!)

 

Don't worry - he didn't use my best cutlery ..... we found some in a charity shop to use.  The lettering and decoration on the shopping list is done with a poker pen.

 

When we came back from our holiday, this clump of tiny mushrooms had appeared in the grass at the front of the house

 

 

Recently we were back at the Water Wheel cafe, where the eagle owls are still thriving

 

 

 

Yesterday, when Malcolm was going out, he asked if there was anything I wanted (meaning milk, bread, veggies).  I replied that he could bring me a present (ignoring my Mum's voice in my head saying 'people who ask don't get'!)  Well, I did get ...... he brought me this quilting magazine - complete with cd, which has lots of patterns and templates that can be printed out

 

 

I have finally finished Maia - well, almost ..... I have still to block it

 

 

For some months now, I have had company in the bathroom ........ a very leggy spider.  Usually it is hanging from the ceiling - but of course when I went to take a photo, it was hiding in  a corner!

 

 

As this last photo shows, we may have had frost, but the climbing rose is determined to behave as if it is still summer!

 
 

Miserable!!

No, no ...... not me, but the weather!  We have had some heavy showers this afternoon, and the forecast for the next two days isn't very good (snow was even mentioned for the Highlands!).  On Saturday, I popped out for a quick walk before lunch (I'm missing my morning walks, now that it is too dark).  It was sunny when I set out, but by the time I had walked up the hill to the church, some threatening clouds had gathered

 

 

However, it had cleared again when I took this next photo

 

 

But what was this I encountered along the way - have the Martians finally landed?

 

 

Nothing so exciting - it's just an electricity supply pole

 

 

Just about this time last year, I mentioned to Malcolm that there were a lot of berries on the trees and in the hedgerows - and according to folklore, that is the sign of a hard winter to come.  He laughed at me .... and we all know what sort of winter we had!  Well, I don't want to worry you, but the holly tree in front of the church is laden with berries .....

 

 

In the afternoon, I was busy in the studio - I thought it was time to make a serious effort to get things ready for next month's Christmas Fair.  Do you remember quite some time ago I knitted a great pile of cotton washcloths, and new baby sets?  I eventually found them in a drawer, and pressed them, ready to sew the ends in

 

 

I have bought some lovely soap, to make up sets with perhaps two washcloths and one or two other pamperings things (I've ordered some lovely packaging!)

 

 

I also made a batch of handbag tissue holders.  I have been making these for years - I have made dozens and dozens!  Every time I say I'm not making any more .... but I always do!

 

 

I recently bought a new die for my Cuttlebug, which it makes teeny tiny tags.  I thought I would use them for price tags and maybe make up some small bags with other bits and pieces to use for cardmaking and scrapbooking.

 

 

Yesterday morning, as usual, we went for a walk (and as usual we went for a cuppa and scone afterwards).  Malcolm spotted this cow, sitting in the shadows.  There weren't any others in the field , just this one looking lonely!

 

 

I took this photo because of the funny-looking dead tree - but now I just want to sit and look at the wonderful blue sky ....

 

 

To finish, something I haven't taken a photo of for a while - a lovely length of higgledy piggledy fence!