frayed at the edge

A sunny day

When I got up on Saturday, there was a little bit of cloud in the sky, and I tried to capture the sun's rays shining through

 

but by the time we walked over to town later in the morning, the clouds had gone, the sky was blue and the sun was shining

 

and finally spring is bursting out all over!

 

after doing our bits and bobs of shopping, we walked the long way back to the flat, through Coronation Park

 

it's a while since we last walked through the park, so we don't know when these amazing new sculptures were installed

 

I wouldn't want to meet a bat this big!

 

I liked the robin so much ......

 

....... I had to take two photos of him

 

this is barley, which was so important in days past that it was used as currency

 

fortunately I know that a group of owls is called a parliament, so I didn't need to walk round the read the words on the post

 

the owl would look good in the garden, so if it goes missing one day, you will know where to look for it

 

these creatures give me shivers if I find them scuttling about in the garden

 

the otter has lovely sleek lines

 

and who could resist this cheerful mole .......

 

...... as long as he doesn't pop up in the middle of our lawn!

 

we were pleased to see that the driftwood boat has survived the winter storms

 

I usually take photos of the bridges from the other side

 

so it good to see them from a different perspective

 

and a train obligingly appeared on the bridge, to emphasise the size of it

 

we hadn't seen the seal all winter, so as we walked back over the old bridge, we were delighted to see him perched on his rock

 

he was obviously aware of us hanging over the parapet looking at him, as in this photo he has turned to look at us after we had walked further along the bridge

 

I am teaching at The Quilt Shop tomorrow, so hopefully I will get the chance to take some photos during the class to share with you on Wednesday.

 

A tale of two walks

When we walked over the old bridge on Friday, the tide was at just the right level for the seal to be perched on his favourite rock - accompanied by a perfect reflection

 

and there was the bonus of a heron wading through the water with his reflection

 

there was no sign of any work being done on the Money Pit - I am sure it must be costing a fortune to have all that scaffolding on the building, so you would think they would be working as much as possible to get the refurbishment done

 

Malcolm spotted this wonderful shadow shot of the balconies - the house is actually much more pink than it looks in the photo

 

I just like tatty old doors!

 

still no work on the Big Money Pit - I think they are waiting on Planning Permissions

 

recently is has been very cloudy or very hazy ....... but there was a good clear view over to Bamburgh Castle ........

 

........ and Lindisfarne

 

I think it is obligatory to take photos of old chimneys when the sky is blue!

 

the contrail is from a plane heading up to Edinburgh

 

this chimney is unusual - there is no satellite dish or tv aerial

 

when we look out at the lighthouse from the flat, the breakwater looks straight, but this shows you the two turns as you walk out to the end

 

we walked along part of the old walls - I always stop to take a photo of these two trees

 

our second walk was yesterday morning, when we went for a stroll along the beach.  The latest winter storms have changed the beach again, not only covering up a lot of the groynes, but also covering the sand with stones and grit

 

the next section of the beach had vast heaps of rotting vegetation

 

but then we reached a long stretch of smooth sand

 

I nearly forgot to take a photo of the lighthouse!

 

a mussel shell, left behind by the receding tide

 

I couldn't decide if the holes in this rock were natural or manmade

 

at the far end of the beach, the level of the sand was much lower, with previously unseen rocks

 

with pockets of small stones .......

 

and large stones

 

the lighter covered steps at the bottom are usually covered with sand, showing how much the level has changed

 

we walked up the steps to the promenade, and joined lots of others for the walk back

 

looking down on to the beach, just as I snapped, the owner thrust the ball thrower at the dog, spoiling my photo

 

this dog was standing up straight, looking good ...... and just as I snapped, it looked down - arggghhh

 

we were pleased to see that the little café was open

 

and it was warm enough to sit outside to enjoy a cuppa, and share an Empire Biscuit

 

with a view over to the lighthouse

 

as always, in the course of our walk, we picked up some treasures.  This is a cuttlefish bone  - our Mums used to buy them to give them to our budgies!

 

little bits of sea washed china

 

this still had sharp edges, so I put it back on the sand to be ground smooth.  I think it is from an old ginger beer bottle

 

 

What we did on Saturday

When we walked over the old bridge on Saturday morning on our way to town, we heard a splash and a plop ...... and there below us was a seal, which had come out of the water on to a rock.  I only had the point and shoot with me, so you can't see him too clearly.  And even less clear is the heron on the little outcrop behind him

 

then we spotted another heron - this time you can see more of his reflection than you can of him

 

the sun reflecting off the water had given this photo the feel of a painting

 

it was an exceptionally low tide, and you can see the wooden piling round the bridge pier

 

and this is very old wooden piling round the foot of the old bridge

 

I rather like the bits of reflections of the bridge in the pools

 

later in the morning we set off for the beach, and we got a closer look at a heron

 

looking back at the three bridges basking in the sunshine

 

this is the ramp for launching the lifeboat - there isn't usually this much of it exposed - we were worried that there wouldn't be enough water at the end of the ramp if the boat was needed

 

the sky reflected on the calm water

 

I wonder who had fun making this - could it have been us?  A couple walking their dog stooped to ask if we were going to dance round it ....... Malcolm said yes we would be back at midnight, and I added that we would take off all our clothes.  Did they want to join us?  For some reason they said no!

 

if we could have picked this up, we would have brought it home to make a seat in the garden

 

I think Malcolm was contemplating how many logs this would provide

 

of course we have to have a photo of the lighthouse

 

I just liked this abandoned tyre, standing upright in the middle of the beach

 

halfway through our walk, we sat in the sun outside the cafe on the promenade, and shared a delicious bowl of chips

 

then, on our way back after quite a bit more walking on the beach, I treated us to icecreams

 

I'll be back tomorrow to tell you what we did on Sunday.

A ripping yarn!

Our first stop on Saturday was at the St Abbs Wool Festival.  It was very busy, and this was the only photo that I took (with permission).  The needle felted creatures were delightful, but sadly none came home with us.  Indeed I didn't buy anything, because I just thought of the size of my stash, and sensibly decided not to add to it

 

it was a lovely day to be out and about, looking down to the harbour

 

I have taken lots of photos of this memorial

 

with its tragic figures looking out to sea

 

and when I was sorting out my photos on Saturday evening ......

 

..... it occurred to me that I always take the photos from behind, looking out to sea with the figures

 

we had taken a picnic with us, and decided to go on down the coast to Coldingham, to eat it looking out over the beach.  As usual there were some surfers braving the cold water

 

this snail on the side of the picnic bench looked determined to share my sandwich!

 

this tiny one was on the table top - that's the top from a bottle of (diet) Coke to give the scale

 

our next stop was in Eyemouth.  When we there there the other Sunday, this shop was shut ...... and it was shut again on Saturday, as it is being refurbished.  Hopefully it will be third time lucky next time we go

 

however this little gallery was open (Malcolm was on his way in, then turned round just as I took the photo).  

 

The gallery has all sorts of lovely things, and I bought the little blue and white boat for Malcolm to add to his fleet

 

 

what is this up in the tree?

 

a friend of this big pink Easter rabbit!

 

there was all sorts of yarn bombing in front of the church

 

but every time I see yarn bombing, I just think that it is a waste of yarn that could be put to better use!  (I know, I'm turning into a grumpy old woman!!)

 

this is the Eyemouth lifeboat

 

and this one is from Whitby, which is quite a bit further down the coast, so we have no idea why it was in the harbour

 

we were about to give up watching for a seal - when one popped up!

 

I am sure that some trendy art gallery would display this collection of rusty bits as a cutting edge work of art

 

as we walked back to the car, we paused to watch a boat load of divers heading our of the harbour

 

I'll be back tomorrow to share what we did yesterday, and to finish, two photos of the super display of daffodils as you drive into Berwick

 

 

A tale of two scones ........

....... but before we get to the scones, we'll start with Abbey Quilters' sewing day on Saturday.  I had layered up two identical small quilts for Linus, and soon had the machine set up ready to do some fmq

 

as the quilts are small, it didn't take too long to quilt the centres

 

using a little loopy flower stitch, instead of my usual lazy meander

 

Sheila was working on her little wallhanging ........ as you can see, her leaf blocks, unlike mine, are the correct size!

 

Sandra H had made this cute quilt top for Linus (it is actually deeper and brighter than this photo shows - my camera just doesn't like blue!)

 

Margaret had her first go at foundation piecing, and soon got the hang of it, producing this tree block

 

Val, as always, made sure we had plenty of fuel to keep us sewing, with her wonderful cheese scones

 

and delicious carrot cake - there was a slight oops with the icing, as it has stuck to the clingfilm covering the plate, but of course that didn't stop us from tucking in

 

after lunch, I changed to the walking foot and stitched in-the-ditch between the centre and the border

 

by the end of the afternoon, all I had left to do was finish the binding

 

so, why are we called Abbey Quilters?  Is it because we meet in the Abbey Row Community Centre

 

a magnificent building ......

 

........ which was a school

 

or is it because of the Abbey?  (actually, I don't know!!)

 

and now to the scones!  We didn't have a scone yesterday, after our walk on the beach (I'll tell you about that tomorrow), but when we popped over to town this morning, pausing on the old bridge to take a photo of the seal and a heron .....

 

........ we went to the delightful Mielle Patisserie

 

where we shared one of their delicious Provencal scones

 

but then this afternoon, we popped over to Wooler for a potter round the shops, and went for a cuppa (I forgot to take a photo of the coffee shop).  We were only going to have a drink, but then we saw scone with jam and clotted cream on the menu!!

 

and to finish - I realised yesterday that I had, yet again, forgotten about my blogiversary!  I have now been writing this nonsense rubbish informative blog for seven years!!  I am sure when I started it, Malcolm thought it would last for a few weeks, or months at most, but here I am, still rabbiting on.  Through blogging I have made many friends ...... mostly online, but some are now firm friends in the real world.  So, to celebrate, I think I'll have a little giveaway, as I haven't had one for some time.  What the giveaway will be, I don't yet know - I will have to wait until I have a hunt round the studio!  So all you have to do to enter is leave a comment between now and next Monday, when I will employ my random number generator (aka Malcolm) to pick a winner.  I'm quite happy to post the parcel anywhere in the world, so everyone can enter ........ and if you leave a comment everyday, then you have more chances!!

 

Bright skies

We decided on Saturday morning to head over to Berwick after all.  As we headed out to Malcolm's car, I paused to take a photo of my poor little car, still covered in snow from Thursday ......

 

....... and the road at the foot of the drive, which still had rutted, frozen snow and ice on it

 

the display on Malcolm's dashboard shows how cold it was

 

and this shows how he can change his driving mode

 

but before we get on to photos from Berwick, here are some from our trip out for lunch last Wednesday - the first ones are from the drive over to Melrose ..... fortunately the big beastie in the third photo had pulled off the road out of the way

 

the Abbey was looking good in the sunlight

 

Malcolm spotted this big clump of "chicken of the woods", which is a fungus, on a tree stump

 

I liked the delicate coating of ice

 

on the way home, we passed this pack of hounds ...... but we didn't see the hunt

 

so now on to Berwick.  Once we had unpacked, we went for a (chilly) walk into town.  After a potter round the shops, we popped in for a cuppa and scone for lunch ...... this is a delicious Provencal scone, with feta cheese, sundried tomatoes and olives (I pick out the bits of olive!)

 

on our way back over the old bridge, we could see clusters of people all looking down at the river and busy with cameras and phones.  Why? Because the seal was posing prettily for pictures!

 

and to finish ...... a photo of a swan!  It came into the dock this morning before it was quite light, so the photo has a slightly blue tinge!

 

yesterday morning we went for a long walk on the beach - pop in tomorrow to see the photos!

Would you rather .......

........ have a leisurely paddle in a canoe

 

or go zipping across the water on one of these?

 

my answer is a definite NO to both!  You will only get me on the water on a very big boat!!  The canoes came very briefly into the dock on Saturday, and we saw the man on the jet ski when we were walking on the beach at Bamburgh with Stuart and Alison on Saturday morning

looking up at the castle

 

and down to a feather

 

looking out to the Farne Islands in one direction

 

and Lindisfarne in the other

 

of course, after a long walk on the beach at Bamburgh, the next stop has to be Seahouses for chips.  Stuart and Alison agreed that they are the very best of chips, and taste even better being eaten sitting in the sun beside the sea!

 

and the chips are much too good to share, even with handsome birds! 

 

I spent a lot of time at the weekend jumping out of my seat to take photos of what was going on in the dock.  First we had swans sailing in majestically

 

then the seal popped his head out of the water, with a fish in his mouth!

 

but the fish escaped - you can just see it to the right of the seal

 

then there was the whump, whump, whump of a helicopter.  I snatched a quick shot to make sure I got it before it disappeared

 

but had time to switch to the digital zoom to get a closer shot

 

the lighthouse looked good in the late evening sun

 

the swans were back in the early morning sun

 

look at this thing of beauty ........

 

 ....... it's the lid of the latest addition to my tin collection - and even better it is full of biscuits!

 

to finish ....... we didn't have scones at the weekend, but on the way home we popped in for a cuppa and scones.  A rather crumbly (but delicious) fruit one

 

and an exceedingly cheesy cheese scone.  No, we didn't have the jam on it!

A special day

It was Fathers' Day yesterday, and as Stuart and Alison couldn't visit as they are on holiday, I took Malcolm out for brunch.  I'm showing you the photo of what we had to eat first, as it will take the rest of the post for you to recover from such a big meal (I didn't finish mine!!)

 

now to go back to the start of the weekend.When we arrived at the flat, we made up a small picnic, and headed off to the beach on the far side of the lighthouse.  As we sat eating, we had company.  This enormous seagull crept closer and closer

 

while this crow watched from a fence post

 

on the beach, Malcolm meandered along looking for driftwood, and I looked for things to take photos off

 

 

just the other day I read about building stone stacks on I live, I love, I craft, I am me .... and promptly added building stone stacks to my to-do list.  So on Saturday, I built my first one, topped with a piece of seaglass

 

delighted that it didn't fall over, I then built a shell stack

 

oh dear, I've definitely got the bug, as this morning I built this pebble, seaglass and shell one on my bathroom shelf!!

 

I haven't taken many of my "arty" photos recently, so I put that right over the weekend

 

in contrast to the tiny crab that I found last week, this shell was about 8" across!

 

these two boats were beached by the low tide

 

 

Malcolm spotted these seagull chicks, little fluffy bundles!

 

as we walked across the old bridge, we could see this photographer fiddling about with his tripod and camera (I was getting worried that his tripod would topple over and his camera would end up in the river!).  Then, having got everything set just right. he produced this black cloth and disappeared under it!

 

we can't have a Berwick post without some swans!

 

more geese have appeared

 

the seal popped his head out of the water

 

last week it was a big orange lorry spoiling the view of the dock ........ this weekend it was a beer lorry

 

 

yesterday was the longest day for us in the Northern Hemisphere (yes, it's downhill all the way to Christmas now!).  The sun was just setting at 10 0'clock

 

to finish ...... do you remember the sad tale of our little wisteria, which wouldn't grow and definitely wouldn't flower, no matter how much love we gave it?  Recently Malcolm dug it up, and I gave it to Maureen, to see if it would grow in her garden, as she already has a spectacular one.  She has been sending me regular progress reports, and yesterday she sent me this photo.  The wisteria is still in the plastic bag that Malcolm put it in when he dug it up, and that is sitting in a bucket, waiting for the ground to be prepared for where it will be planted.  Not only has it put out a lot of foliage, it has also flowered!!  We think it didn't flourish in our garden because we are quite high up on our hill - we are about 200 feet higher than Hawick, so we are pleased to see it doing well lower down in Jedburgh!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Aunts' Quilt and Mother's Day

A very short Auntlets' report this month, as I am on schedule with my blocks.  No photo though, of all the blocks on the design wall, as there isn't room for them now!

1st pieced block

 

2nd pieced block

 

applique block

 

for next month, there are the last two pieced blocks and the last applique block.  After that there are the setting triangles which are appliqued.  The outer border has appliqued scallops, but I think I might not do them - I shall decide when I have assembled the main body of the quilt.

So now on to Mother's Day.  Stuart and Alison arrived at the flat on Saturday afternoon, and Malcolm made us a very nice dinner.  Then, after breakfast on Sunday (also cooked by Malcolm, while I sat with my feet up!), we went out for a walk.  We had frequent stops, as Stuart was trying out his new camera.  As always, there was plenty to see

I know there's an engine somewhere in here!

 

having fun with a floating plastic container

 

you're dribbling dear!

 

the allotmenteers are getting ready for planting

 

a splash of colour on an old brick wall

 

an interesting plaque on an old building

 

a good address!

 

I've still got lots of photos from our walk which I will save for tomorrow, because I have the main event to share with you ........ sconnage!  We popped into Lowry's Coffee Bar

 

Stuart and Alison shared a fruit scone

 

while Malcolm and I shared a cheese one

 

and here I am, a very proud Mum with her handsome son!

Pickled!

We went for a cuppa in Cafe Crema in Berwick this morning.  Having ordered our drinks, I asked the waitress about the scones - she said they were just about to come out of the oven, and oh joy, one of today's flavours was the cheese and pickle one that we enjoyed so  much recently

 

as it was another grey day, I had just poppped my little point and shoot camera in my bag, not expecting to take any photos other than that of the scone.  Which of course meant that as we walked back over the old bridge, there was the seal posing prettily for us!!

 

on the way home we called in at the Garden Centre, and were delighted to find that they had two very special visitors

 

part of the Christmas display featured these bears, which were a bit scary, as they moved like real ones!

 

however the penguins were very cute

 

to finish, a very small sewing update.  After spending yesterday afternoon wrestling with large curtains, it was a pleasant change to work on a stitchery last night