Winter Finally....

So a few weeks ago I put some frosty pictures on my blog background in anticipation of a bit of the white stuff - and IT WORKED! (*go me, I'm magic*)

I unashamedly love snow and winter, as previously declared) So yesterday Spot and I set out on a snowy adventure over at Newlands Corner.

Spot is perfectly camouflaged in this weather:

We love getting out and off the beaten track, Spot is hard to stop when she's out there - Generally I'm happy if she's in the same county, but here she stood for a photo call knowing she looked pretty:

We got away from the main paths (which were treacherously icy) and out to the bracken bit where the deer hide (I did see them, but couldn't get the camera out quick enough with all my winter clothing on!) Despite Newlands having been packed with visitors at the weekend when the snow first arrived, we still found that no one had been to our little special area:

The only other footprints were from the deer:

It was perfect, and cold and wonderful. My cheeks ached with smiling by the time we had finished, and when I saw that little path above that was all ours, I might have even *squeeeed* out loud! ;)

The blanket is nearly finished, and in true Rowan style the pattern quantities of yarn are way out.  I have 2 full balls over of 2 of the colours, and am 4 short of the border. It's on order though and should be here tomorrow or Saturday, so this marathon could be over by the weekend. (another smaller *sqeeeeee*!!)

T'il soon, xx

At least I can put snow and frost on my blog.......

I love winter. There I've said it, I love cold weather that makes your hands hurt, and frost with sunlight glinting on it, and snow....... I love wrapping up in my blankets, throws and handknit jumpers and snuggling in front of an open fire. I love walking the dog and hearing the ground crunch beneath my feet and seeing her camouflaged in snowy bracken, and coming home to a treat of hot chocolate steaming in a mug.

However, this year's winter has been a little disappointing so far (I know there is plenty of time yet). We had 12 degrees on Christmas day, and really apart from a good dose of bad wind (I guess even mother nature gets affected by Christmas dinner?) our weather has been very unentertaining. We're averaging around 10 - 13 deg C, and the sky seems to be grey more often than not. (There have been some beautiful blue sky days but just not many of them)

So, in celebration of my love of winter, I have slightly redecorated my blog in anticipation of just a few decent weeks of winter weather.

In other news the crochet blanket is going well. I have to wait for some more wool now as two of the colours were out of stock, and I've done all I can in what I have. 

I've also resurrected the wii fit, to try to lose the somewhat shocking 4 lbs I put on in just one week over Christmas! ooopsey! So that's what I'm off to do now

Have a great week everyone xx


Dec 2010, I am smiling in there - really! ;)

Sad News & Ally Pally 2011

I'm sorry everyone, I've been AWOL again. It's been a bit of a fortnight if I'm honest, and although writing about it may well have actually been a good thing, i just didn't feel the love for blogging during it.

All you blog-readers should know, though, that my beautiful Silkie-mama was taken by a fox last week. So no more pictures of her. Super-sad as she was brooding 6 new silkie eggs for me. I had left the door to the house open as i was away for the day, and the fox must've found a way in. Tbh i do leave the house open often and have never had an issue, but there you have it, it's happened, and I'm gutted (and have to admit to bawling my eyes out at the time - especially as it was a bit of a raw day for me anyway)  So the fox has not only denied me my chicken cuddle, but has possibly cost me £120 in lost chicken sales (silkies sell well as they are such good mums), assuming a 50% female hatch rate. Plus it'll cost me every bit of £30-£40 to replace her possibly,( and that's money I haven't got at the moment). Although i won't do that yet as having such a little bird hasn't always been easy. She was way too small to be in with the big girls - plus she was broody every other fortnight, so she spent most of her life in her own house and run, but alongside the big girls so she could see them. But it wasn't always the most convenient of situations. So I need to consider carefully what to do next.  She was a wonderful mum though and she did me proud with around 6 hatches.

If she had already hatched the chicks i really wouldn't have felt as badly about it. She was getting old, and i s;pose the fox needs to eat as much as the next animal. And she would never have been worth plucking and dealing with for a human meal. And if they die naturally you are not supposed to bury them any more, so that would have meant a huge fire (a cremation service if you will)  So, another 6 months down the line and I'd have taken it much more pragmatically. But the timing sucks both financially and emotionally and I'm heartbroken to have lost the only chicken that would actually be cuddled! - She really was a little snuggler.

Anyway, moving swiftly on.......

Last Thursday Mum and i made our annual pilgrimmage to Ally Pally for the Knitting and Stitching show.  I took a certain amount of cash (and no credit cards so I couldn't be tempted to abandon my budget!) and am very happy with my purchases:

I got a 3 month subscription to The Knitter, and Molly Makes (not hugely impressed with the latter, but that's the beauty of a cheap 3 month sub!) I got a thread box (no an ice cream tub is not a suitable substitute).  "Crochet lace innovations" by Doris Chan. And three lots of yarn:  3 Skeins of pure silk, 10 Skeins of green Mirasol Sulka and 4 skeins of Subliime Kid Mohair blend.

We had a really lovely day, it wasn't overly crowded and we had plenty of time to amble around and decide how to spend our money. The highlight of my day was very definitely meeting Doris Chan, especially as i was wearing my Jewel jumper at the time. At this time of the year it is one of my most wearable jumpers, and i think I may have helped boost her book sales just a little! *blushes*.  So amazing to be noticed by the designer of something you are wearing though - especially if it's a make that you are happy with. It was definitely one of those Big Grin moments!

So there you go, a mixed week. But we are now starting a new one, and I have a smile on my face and a skip in my step, because life is too short not to have.  I have lots of ideas for the yarn I bought at Ally pally - all of which is destined for The Crafters' Barn. - So if you fancy any of it, - keep a look out in my shop.

Have a great week, and I'll be back soon xx

Sooo much to tell you....

I had so much to tell you, and then my internet connection went westward! Isn't that always the way!!  So starting with the most recent and working backwards here is a quick summary of what's been happening in the last couple of weeks.

Last week we went to hayling Island. It was a bit of a last minute decision (sorry Lin, I know I need to bring down those bookeeping files for you, but we'll be there again soon) But it was such a beautiful sunny day and the tide was out at a good time. I went to the huge Tescos just before you get on the island too, and also bought a sack of potatoes from a farm shop I go to on the island, so a very productive day all round.

The Sunday before that I went to see the Fantabulous Sheepwash Playboys at the Preston Cross hotel in Bookham. They have jazz there most Sunday lunchtimes, but I can't afford to go every week (shame!) but I can never pass up the opportunity to see the Bennett Brothers in action. They just lift your spirits and make you smile your biggest smile. Fantastic fun, and flippin good music to boot!



Then, the week before that I went to Ally Pally for the Knitting and Stitching show. Now up until this year I have only ever been interested in the knitting part of the affair. But this year there seemed to be a bit more patchwork and fabric about, and I got lulled into a false sense of security ambling along looing at all the pretties....... and then BAM!

I'd bought a sewing machine!!! - obviously then I had to go back around and buy fabric (oopsie) and now I have a whole new obsession!  Here are my other Ally Pally purchases:

A subscription to The Knitter and Simply Knitting (purely for the free gifts - one of which was the Cath Kidson sewing book on the left) A pack of Rowan Wool Tweed from Black Sheep and three bundles of fabric - 2 packs of 5 x Fat Quarters, and one roll of 5 x 1/2 metres.

The weekend before that had been my Grandma'a 90th birthday party! A surprise party of 100 or so guests (and I was related to every last one of them - WOW!), pie n mash for lunch, and a jazz band led by the inimitable Gentleman Jim Mcintosh. Mama (my Grandma) led the dancing pretty much all afternoon.... she is an incredible lady. There was an umbrella paradefor the kids too (a jazz tradition, I have no idea why but maybe someone will tell me?), and Mum had bought special little umbrellas for them all, and the mothers had feather boas (so the kids didn't have to do it alone!), and our final dance/song was a big round circle holding hands and singing "When the Saints" (sooo many childhood memories in that)

Lastly, and by no means least, When I had just returned from Scotland, I went to see Stephen Fry at the Royal Albert Hall.  He took questions from twitter and made a whole evening of story-telling around them. A true raconteur in the same way as Peter Ustinov used to be, complete with voices and jokes. Very, very funny and a little serious too, A very generous man, by which I mean that he shared his lifetime stories with a "no-holds barred" attitude. A lovely evening.

So there we are about up to date. I  have completed Girasole too, and started sewing my window quilts that I bought last year, but I'll pop photos of those up tomorrow or sometime this week. I really must get on with my work now! ;)

Down by the riverside

The level of water at the river is well down due to the distinct lack of rain lately. This apparently changes everything in a dog's view of the world. Spot was scared stiff. Really I haven't laughed at her so much since she was a pup. Daft girl!

Latest update, 20 squares done

I'm not blogging about much else at the moment am I?

I'm trying to be really random with the colours, but it's funny how difficult random is when it comes down to it!

In other news, I have silky sitting on a few eggs, poor love keeps going broody and it seemed only fair to give her a chance to be a mum again.  I don't hold out a lot of hope on these tho' as I'm not sure the cockerel has been doing his rounds lately!, but we'll see what happens. Heavens knows where I'll put them if they hatch, they may well have to come indoors in a box for a while!

There's not much else to tell you at the moment, life is ticking along as normal. The veg patch is doing ok, but i've had to stop watering all my pots and window boxes. It's coming to the end of the season anyway and they did so well early on, but I'm on a water meter and we haven't had any decent rain since early May (and even then it wasn't really a lot) so my water butts emptied a long long time ago. So now I'm just finishing off my veg then I'll call it a day for this summer. I've done well, courgettes, bean, a few peas, and plenty of potatoes. So no complaints and definitely cheaper than the supermarket!

Spot and I haven't walked quite as much as usual, it's really incredibly hot for a dog with a long fur coat, and she still hasn't learnt that she'll last longer if she doesn't run round like her a*s is on fire. But we have walked a few evenings along by the river where I did my 5k training and that's lovely, and usually ends up with me rescuing her from the river where she dives in and then realises it's too high to get back out!  I swear she'd jump off a cliff face without a seconds thought if that was what took her fancy at the time!

All of these walk photos have been taken during July - very late for little ducklings (which probably explains why there's only one) I expect it was a second brood?

Right another coffee, and then.............. well who knows, the sun is trying to peek through so maybe a walk if it's not too hot, although I really should do some work................. sometime!

Mayfield Lavender Farm

Yesterday Spot and I met Franney  and Lukey at a lavender farm. Free entry and a little tea van..... you can't go wrong really can you? We took sandwiches and sat on a picnic table in the middle of the lavender field..... glorious!

Evening Walk

On my evening walk today.......................

I noticed that the wild foxgloves are out.  Now I have a bit of an aversion to foxgloves (I think I may have been poisoned by digitalis in a previous life ) but I have to admit these shocks of colour look amazing amongst the green and brown of the dry woodlands at newlands corner.

Also just a quick photo of the natural swimming pool that gets made at Hayling Island when the tide goes out - I had a little swim with Spot last week! ;)

Sorry photos aren't great, they're just taken on my phone. But you get the idea I'm sure!

Did indeed see the sunset

 

From this at 21:33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21:37

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21:40

 

 

 

 

All taken looking out from the observatory at Uwchmynydd  (Don’t ask me how you pronounce that!)  Looking West(ish) across the sea!  Not great photos as my camera struggled, but they give you the idea!

We’re home now all safe and sound. Spot has been collected from the kennels and is enjoying being home, and the chicks have grown loads in the week I’ve been gone.  Lots of work to catch up on, but will try and do photos soon.

It snowed!

I know that for most people in the country, these pictures are not particularly exciting. But these are for an old school friend, who having moved back home to Hong Kong, misses our English Winters. (Bearing in mind how cold our old school building could be I am surprised “missing” is an appropriate word, but still it is one she uses, not one I have foisted upon her! )  So, here for all those who have missed a good winter………..

The Hill at Newlands Corner looking Left towards Albury and Shere (ish!!)

Spot got a bit chilly while I was trying to be artistic!!!

Standing on the Hill at Newlands corner looking right, back towards Merrow/Guildford

The path squeaked as only proper snow can!

And what you do when it’s all over and your tired and happy:-

Summer!

Well the sun is finally shining, so we've been doing a bit of this:-

and listening to this:-

and knitting like a woman possessed:-




(The blanket thing is acutally nearly finished now but no point taking any more photos til it's blocked cos it's all scrunched up on a circular needle!)

So, obviously no time for blogging! :)

Back to reality!

There's nothing like spending 45 mins brushing your dog's teeth to bring you back home with a bump (and incidentally remind you who's boss - and it ain't me!! :) ) Luckily with Spot positioned in front of the chicken coop I can do pretty much anything to her, so spent time scraping the plaque that brushing hasn't dealt with, with my finger nails!!! - oooooh lovely job! (and thanks to the genetics of my family I have nails easily hard enough to do this! )

Obviously the last 2 posts were a blow by blow account of what we did on holiday, but I just want to add a few points that didn't fit in with the "left here and went there" kind of posts.

Wales was beautiful! - It had an essence all of its own which was somewhere between the cornish coast and the wilds of Scotland (given its geographical location I guess that's no surprise). The sea was just the most beautiful colour though - a real turqoise blue - especially at Abersoch where I think the depths must change quite significantly off the long flat beach. Honestly, you could not have hoped for a more beautiful setting if you were in the South of France. All the villages were picturesque and everyone was friendly and helpful. There were small cafe's and plenty of places to sit out in the sun and enjoy a coffee or an ice cream (have you noticed the plentiful mentions of ice cream?) and often quite a mediteranean feel to the menus - often including dressed crab and other seafood delights. And do you know the best part ??? NO McD's or Tesco's or KFC............ what a triumph for the welsh coastal villages...... and there were real honest butchers and little Spa's that reminded me of my Grandfather's grocers too many years ago to mention, that stocked normal everyday groceries without all the frivolities we've got rather too used to in my neck of the woods! It was a revelation! I also found it pretty sad that I noticed, despite having a hatred for McD's and all things that commercial, I can't believe that I have become so accustomed to That Logo, that I noticed it was missing!!! grrrrrrr.

There were no motorways (although occassionally the locals seemed to want to drive as if there was one) as life seemed a little more relaxed and pleasurable than it is round here (I am currently listening to some buffoon with his hand on his hooter presumably because someone hasn't moved off from the lights promptly enough.)

We saw loads of buzzards - and both remarked that Welsh Buzzards must be a bit more "show-off" than their English counterparts as they were far more often seen low and close to the road - properly showing off that amazing colouring they have underneath them, often hunting or having a bit of a set to with crows or kites, rather than the high altitude gliding that we only ever seem to see them do around these parts. Maybe it was just because of the kind of roads we were travelling on, but it was awesome to see, they are so utterly beautiful.

Right - I must think about putting on some dinner!!! - anyone got any suggestions?

Off for a week!

Going to Wales for a week........ and looking at the weather forecast it's going to be fairly typical welsh weather!! :)

We are starting with a weekend in Abersoch for the annual Jazz Festival, which will be great fun. and then we decided to extend that into next week and just mooch around the general area with a tent and an inflatable bed (Well I'm 40 now you know - I can't sleep on the ground!)

So in a minute I'm taking Spot to the kennels. We did think about taking her but if the weather does get hot I worry about her in the car, and she's not the best at drinking. Plus it ties us to places where dogs are allowed.... and it would be nice to have a little "us time" for a week!! - She doesn't seem to mind the kennel, in fact last time I picked her up she didn't even run to me in the office when they brought her out - she ran straight to another man (a stranger) who was eating a biscuit!!! - She's only loyal to the consumer of food!!!!

We've also got all the bits to set up an auto-drinker and a 12kg feeder for the chooks. So, although my neighbour will come in to get the eggs, she can please herself (and avoid the wet weather) as they won't actually need anything as such. So that needs to be done this afternoon.

I have started knitting Tempest, and it's beautiful (Thanks Sarah!) but I don't think I'm going to take it away. I think I'll start some socks instead as they are infinitely more portable. I have a plan to do more express lanes for a friend of mine in Opal rainforest (snake)

So, best get on with it then. Have a great week whatever you're doing, and good luck to all my friends who are running their race for life over the weekend.

BUMP!

Well there was me, trotting round town on Saturday, when I skipped across a kerb to cross a road before the lights changed...... Unfortunately there was a metal hoop laying in the road which caught around my foot and I crashed to the floor!!! - Honestly, I felt like I was 4 again! Needless to say the nice courteous people of Guildford didn't flock to my side to make sure I wasn't run over by oncoming traffic. In fact only ONE person even enquired as to my well-being. I removed the hoop from the roadside in case anyone else should happen upon it in the same way I had, and took myself to the nearest ladies convenience to wash my hands and remove the bits of road from my knees! I continued about my business (buying a joint for Sunday roast, and such) and returned home, slightly shaken I suppose but not really any the worse for wear, apart from the slight grazes.

Well come Sunday morning and I find I can't actually get out of bed...... I had instinctively put my hands out and landed palms first, but that must have jarred the whole top of my body, ribs, arm muscles, neck, chest.... plus the bruises to legs and knees made me a hobbling invalid. And I cannot believe that it did not occur to me, having had an intimate moment with a road surface, not to go and buy Arnica tablets, which are always my first recommendation to anyone in a similar situation. What a dope! - Luckily I do have Epsom Salts at home, so I spent large parts of Sunday and Monday in a hot salty bath. - Today (much to Spot's delight) - I can move again! The only lasting effect is a bruised rib which is right where my bra band is! - Typical! Still, luckily no lasting damage and aside from a few days where I can't go running, and maybe a little more sitting and knitting than I would normally indulge in, life has quickly returned to normal. I do feel an idiot though!!!!!

The chooks are all fine and, as if understanding my hour of agony and self-pity, I got 3 eggs on Sunday!!! - Little angels!

My increased knitting time has meant that Graffiti is finished - well at least the knitting stage is, it still needs sewing up..... but I can't bend over the ironing board for that long just yet. So, I have started on Rogue which was a pattern and yarn I had to hand as I didn't have the energy to make any life-enhancing decisions about what to knit. - One sleeve has been done already! Just as well the housework can always wait in this household!!!! :)

Deer !

Would you believe it!! - in the absence of any photo-able knitting/crafting. I went for a walk last week and saw 5 deer.... They were beautiful. So every day since I have taken my camera to take photos so I can at least show you something. Not a one, not even a "Butt shot" nada, nothing. Little monkeys!!!!! Bet now I've told you this and won't be taking my camera out they'll be there on Monday, in the middle of the flat bit!

Photos from Bute

I'm afraid there are no photos of the jazz, because I go to all the gigs with the bare minimum in case we can't get a seat, or I get too inhibriated to remember to collect everything when I leave, and because I dance a lot, and a camera would really cramp my style!

So here are a few photos of the fishing trip! and a Saturday morning walk......

Birdsong - this is for the audio rather than the video!!!!!!

We're back

Well we had a fabulous time in the Forest of Dean! We walked, walked and walked some more! so photos are few and far between as they got a little bit "samey" !!!!! We walked mostly around Symmonds Yat, which apparently is a great viewing spot for Peregrine Falcons - it seems they were away for a few days too!!!!!!









The whole area is really beautiful (although to be truthful I would have to say I prefer the New Forest) Unfortunately many of the attractions and places to visit were closed as we were way out of season, so there were plenty of things we didn't see!!! But it was amazing to have some time together and have plenty of rest and fresh air - did us both the power of good!

We did drive into the Brecon Beacons for an afternoon too, via Ross-on-Wye, Monmouth and Abergavenny. It was strange seeing all these places in real life - one of my favourite books is The Lady of Hay, and all the names are so familiar!

So that's it back to normality for a while now (well as normal as I ever get anyway!). A little message for any dog owners who haven't found the virtues of bicrabonate of soda - YES, it works!!! - Bicarb absorbs smells on contact, so it useful for all those little smelly cleaning jobs - great to have a tub in your fridge or to dust in the bottom of your bin (especially your compost collecting bin). But best of all, sprinkle liberally on your loved one.* Give them a good old fashioned hug and rub! and then let them outside to shake it all off!!!- I always do it over a carpet inside, in the vague hope that two items will be cleaned at once. Then just have a good hoover up afterwards! - Works a treat!

*Loved one being pet, not husband - although I guess it would work!! :lol:

Merry Christmas from Newland's Corner

Well, we have not been walking too much this week. . . a) because it has been really foggy (and having a white-ish dog who runs off into the fog doesn't bode well for my state of nerves at this time of the year!) and b) because I have been a little busy putting finishing touches to "stuff". But today OH and I decided that we should get her out as she is going in kennels tomorrow for a couple of days while I visit my sister. So off we went, headlights on, and wrapped up to the gills!


Well, blow me down with a feather, when we got there the sun was out, and Christmas had surely come early. . . . . . .

(this first picture is worth clicking on to get the bigger version, as it is quite weird how the ice has settled on only one side of the branches!)

They are not the best photos in the world as they were only taken on my phone - amazingly it didn't occur to me to take a camera for a walk on a day when I can't see the end of my garden!!!!! But I think they convey how totally stunning the scene was, and how my darling OH and I just had to keep stopping to look in awe at the majesty and beauty that is nature.

I think these photos lead well into me wishing each and every one of you a wonderful holiday, filled with Love, Laughter and Peace.

I'll be back after Christmas!

Lovely Day

I haven't seen much of OH lately as he's been working far too hard. So, yesterday we decided to take a day to ourselves and go to Hayling Island for a long walk along the beach.

As luck would have it the tide was in our favour and was out when we got there. (Didn't take any photos, but see my post here, for more of the same) We took the dog too, who was surprisingly well behaved and just ran around like a mad thing sploshing in the puddles and chasing seagulls! and actually coming back when she was called, (maybe she remembers what happened last time ) The weather was fabulous. The sun was shining and warm, and although we both had sweaters and coats on , we could actually have managed with one or the other:- there was no wind or chill to the air at all. At Hayling Island, when the tide goes out, there are acres of sand banks to walk on, little channels of water remain the only sign that the sea had been there only an hour or two before. The sun sits on the water all day, and it is glorious! We walked, we chatted, and OH identified all the geese, gulls, and ducks, as is his way!! - We saw a hawk of some sort too (just slightly too far away for OH to be 100% on identifications!)

Today the weather, again, is awesome. The sun is shining, there is a little of last night's frost left on the lawn. The little garden birds are queuing up to use the nut feeder, and Spot is asleep under the radiator. What a perfect weekend!