frayed at the edge

What's today's date ........

........ let me just look at a calendar or two (or even three!!)

 

this gorgeous chicken thinks it's the 8th

 

 

the cute sock monkey agrees!

 

If you are of a sensitive nature, scroll past the next calendar quickly (Malcolm bought it for my Christmas ..... on the other hand you may want to click on it to enlarge it!!

 

this handsome chap also agrees that it is the 8th ....

 

..... which can only mean one thing ...... it's my first anniversary!!!!! (did I hear a fanfare and a roll of drums?)

I can't believe I have been doing this for a year and haven't yet run out of things to say (ok, I admit it, my friends will tell you that I never stop talking!!).  I thoroughly enjoy writing my blog, and I'm amazed at how many people now read it.  This is my 294th post and I have received over 1100 comments.  I have made many friends, mostly blog friends, but of course last year I met Sarah and Lee, and this year I hope to meet Meg, as she is moving from Idaho to Italy.  

Of course an anniversary means a giveaway!  To be included in the draw, which I'll make next Friday, simply leave a comment, mentioning if you live in the UK or abroad, as there are two separate giveaways, because of the cost of postage.  Multiple entries are welcome, so feel free to leave a comment every day!!

To finish, of course there has to be an update on the weather!  We have had another day without snow (hooray) BUT ...... it is still well below freezing, so the snow willl be here for quite a while yet (we've had snow here since the 17th of December - we remember because it was the day we went to Falkirk to see Stuart!!).  We went for a walk after lunch, and this is what our road looks like

 

It is passable with care - but the cleared bit is only wide enough for one car, and the ploughed snow at the edges is frozen hard, so it would be a bit hairy if you met a car coming the other way - or worse, a tractor!!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend - we will be staying in and keeping warm!

Love Anne

ps - Malcolm also bought a calendar for Jennifer.  When we were there on Christmas Day, her mother-in-law had a very good look at all the photos, then declared that she really didn't fancy any of the men (she's 92!!)
 

 

Comfort food!

We didn't get the forecast snow overnight - hooray!  And it hasn't snowed today - double hooray!!  BUT, it is bitterly cold, so this morning I gathered together these ingredients

 

and this recipe

 

While the dal was cooking, I also got out these ingredients

In a bowl I put about two tablespoons of the chilli sauce, two table spoons of lime juice and one tablespoon of mint sauce.  I finely sliced the onion, added it to the bowl and mixed everything together well.  I covered it with clingfilm and popped it in the fridge for the rest of the day

 

This evening I made chicken curry and reheated the dal, then assembled it all (don't worry, Malcolm got some too!)

 

It was a wonderful warming dinner, just the thing on a very cold, but very beautiful day

 

I would love a comment from you, because then I could put you in the draw for my first anniversary giveaway!

 

ps - I'm sorry some of the photos are aligned left - yes, you've guessed, Typepad is having one of its regular wobblies and won't let me centre them!
 
 

 

 

Homeward bound

We had a lovely time at Stuart's - an excellent dinner, and perhaps a glass or two of wine!  Old habits die hard, and I got up early to see Stuart off to work .... it was very cold and frosty - minus four degrees!!  Of course we went to Aromas Coffee Shop for the best bacon roll in the world, followed by a potter round the shops, then we headed off for home.  There was still a lot of snow, so especially for Lee and Tracy, who are sweltering in the Australian summer (poor things) here are some more snowy pictures .......  

 

 

 

 

it was threatening to snow again, which was bad news for .....

 

...... these sheep - even with their woolly coats they must be cold!

back home the Minto Hills looked good! 

 

And finally, for those of you who never experience snow and ice and frost ....... you might never have seen one of these

 

but what does it do, I hear you cry!

 

It spreads salt on the roads to melt the snow and ice - you can see the brown salt coming out at the back - and it can also have a plough on the front to clear the road of deep snow.  If you look at the road sign on the right of the photo, you may just see that it says Welcome to Scottish Borders - we always cheer when we pass the sign, as it means we're 'home'!!

I hope you have a super weekend - we have a lot more snow forecast ....

Love, Anne

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Let it snow!

We got up this morning to find it had snowed!  Just a sprinkle, but enough to make you think that Christmas really is almost here!  I didn't have time to take photos before we left to come up to Falkirk (I'm sitting in Stuart's lounge typing this!) ..... but I did take the following photos this morning on our way up - they're not too bad considering they were taken from a moving car!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that was all very pretty as we went up the A7, but then when we got to the outskirts of Edinburgh, the weather took a decided turn for the worse .....

 

and if you thought that was bad .....

 

 

the traffic was very slow going at this point!

 

Now that it is almost Christmas, it's time to 'send' you my Christmas card!  First of course is the envelope .....

 

 

....... and then the card .......

Malcolm spotted these in a local charity shop - pillar box, my favourite!!

and inside the card?

and the charity the cards are in aid of?

 

 

We may think it Christmas, but a shop we were in today thinks it's almost Easter!!!

Oh look, Typepad don't want to put this last photo in the middle!

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Making amends!

After the embarrassment of having no new photos for you yesterday, I made sure that I took lots today!!  So ..... let's get started!

This morning we went to Hawick for some shopping (and we may have had a cuppa and a scone).  I bought 5 lovely little napkins in the Oxfam shop for 99p ....

 

I thought I might use them to make little gift bags - I have just folded this one, but it gives you the idea of what I could do ...

 

It has been a lovely clear bright day, so I popped out after lunch for a quick walk up to the church, hoping to get some shadow shots for Sunday.  I got some good shadows and reflections, and I also was pleased with this photo of a large tree in the old graveyard behind the church

 

I also liked this colourful shrub in front of one of our neighbours' garden wall

 

Tomorrow we are having our Christmas lunch at patch'n'chat. We have to take a small gift for the 'Secret Santa', so this afternoon I headed out to the studio to make some cards ....

..... but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how they turned out!

 

Work on the Gnome Sisters is going well, so I thought you might like to see how they're looking

I have some lovely fluffy white wool to knit scarves for them and I think I might also knit skirts.

 

Later on this afternoon, the birds appeared for their teatime feed

 

The fat balls were very popular - I think the birds need the fat to help keep the cold out

 

ps - I also did all the ironing, so altogether a busy day!!

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Leftovers!

As promised, here are some of the photos that didn't make it into yesterday's post (I'm keeping the others until next Tuesday!)

 

frost on the deck

 

 

sunrise behind the house

 

 

frost on the Minto Hills

 

 

Lambs' Ears traced with frost

 

Now for some other photos that I took yesterday and today ..... first of all, do you remember an early Tuesday Treasure, when I showed you Stuart's baby things, and had to admit that they were kept in a shoe box?  I was going to make a new box, but I decided that the shoe box was now part of the memories, so when I recently got a lovely handmade paper carrier bag, I decided to use it to cover the box 

 

I added some ribbon decoration on top

 

 

and some pretty braid round the edge of the lid

 

 

I was up at Homebase this morning (I can't tell you why, as it might involve Malcolm's Christmas presents!).  Looking over the valley to Ruberslaw, I was surprised to see it wreathed in mist, as it was bright on my side ......

and finally ......
 

Olaf has now been joined by his brother Gustav, but they are both still very shy, and say they won't come out from behind the cushion until they are joined by their big brother - but he is still hiding in my knitting basket ........