The Wheels on the Bus....

Pinch punch second of the month! Typical me, chasing my tail as per!

My car's very sick this week so I'm left without transport for the foreseeable. Luckily though, we have a great little domestic bus service which runs in a circuit through our nearby towns and villages so I'm using its wheels in the interim! Me and the bus drivers are on first name terms now! It's like having your own little private bus service. Sometimes, there's even other passengers on board to talk to and the scenic route looks better from higher up!!

The apple and the pear blossom smells divine. Hopefully a good harvest this year.

Flamingo Pink sunsets this week.
I'm not a fan of the 'let's blot the sun out club'. Are you?
xoxoxo
Off out into the garden while the weather permits. Always stuff to do!
xoxoxo
 
Have a good Bank Holiday weekend if it applies and a good weekend anywhere it doesn't!
xoxoxo
Thanks for stopping by.

X
**Update on car** 
I got it back yesterday but the fix may only be temporary so fingers crossed it lasts until I can find a replacement vehicle! Could be a while!

Spring has Sprung....

 ....well, what can I say?! One minute it's Christmas Eve then the next day is time to put the Easter Bunny away for another year!

Bye Bye Bunny

So now we're nearly a third of the way into the year and hurray for the light coming back. The days are bright but there's a definite chill in the air out of the sunshine! Nothing that stops the garden from waking up though thankfully and it's so good to get back out there and clear away the winter debris.

It's also great to see the arable fields around me becoming hives of industry. For some reason, it always gives me renewed hope when I see the farmers' fields being tended and ploughed and the neat rows of crops springing to life with their edible produce. Keeps me balanced against what ails with the world and there's a lot (and my youngest son in a job!).

Cuteness overload!

This is he when he was about 3 (he turned 38 in March!). An absolute cherub as opposed to his big brother who was the Tasmanian Devil in disguise! Phew! How I managed to live through those whirling dervish years beats me!!

This was the cake I baked for his birthday but as you can see, it wouldn't win any prizes in any baking competitions! It went awfully flat (no, I didn't open the oven door mid-bake!) because the mixture should have gone into 2 tins but I only had one big one so made do! I thought I'd be clever and put tiny marshmallows in the mix but they ended up burning to a crisp! Apart from that, it tasted edible!

Still in shock 3 weeks post-birth!

This is me with Son Numero Uno, who had his birthday beginning of April! 43 years have gone by in a flash! I look absolutely nothing like that today (neither does he, funnily enough!). I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat though, only better! Age and experience can be wonderful attributes! Now I'm blessed to have three darling grandchildren to cherish although they're growing at an alarming rate. The eldest has begun her Higher examinations, with the first one, Psychology, going smoothly yesterday. Music and Admin next week. She's studying furiously and it looks like she's bought the nation's supply of post it notes for revision purposes!

Current library reads ...

Absolutely packed full of great recipes

Bit gloomy but well-written.

And there you have it, a new post from me and hopefully more to come. After all, I've been around these parts for quite a while, it would be a pity to give up on Blogland now!

Thanks for being here.

Huge hugs to All.

xoxoxo

It's A Wrap......

December has come and almost gone in typical warp speed fashion. It's been a whirlwind for me, that's for sure and now it's winding-down time or as I like to call it 'decompression time'! 

Here are a few pics from the month. 

I'm trying to get back to blogging so this is a vain attempt to kick-start the endeavour! 

Hope you enjoy and hope that each and every one of you have a special Christmas time, however you may or may not celebrate and remember, never get your tinsel in a tangle!

An old blogging friend from way back in the beginning and with whom I still keep in touch (not sure but some of you may remember The Shabby Chic Bohemian?) sends me something handmade each year and this time, I received this beautiful quilted star.

Last week, I took a trip into Edinburgh to meet one of my daughters-in-law and we treated ourselves to lunch at The Scotsman Hotel's Grand Cafe. It's very opulent don't you know and a once-in-a-while treat! I'd eat there everyday if I could. 

Stairway down to the 'Ladies Room'!

Another posh gaff but this time local to me. Their Christmas displays are always worth a visit.

I bought this delightful book for a certain 4yr-old who doesn't ever want to go to sleep when I'm babysitting for him (10.30pm last Saturday night before he finally gave up trying to entertain me!). 

The Sagittarian moon has been spectacular these last couple of months.

Someone's sitting her Higher prelims (and doing extremely well with the results) and needs books,books,books!

Another place I visited in December with a pal was Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh. We were laughing out heads off when we discovered we were being 'shadowed ' by a very nice 'Are you being Served ' gentleman employee! Clearly, we looked nothing like your average Harvey Nicks customer, although I'd already bought a gift voucher for one daughter-in-law's birthday (at the frugal end of the scale but beautifully wrapped!).

One day I'll have my 'Pretty Woman' moment in all these places!

Trying to finish this little Frida Kat-hlo embroidery for my sister. I won't see her until Friday so there's time yet!

Leaving you with these words of wisdom! I know it would be true!

Have a jolly Holly Christmas my dear friends. 

See you on the other side as the winsome Vintage Vixen says.

**Header image courtesy of Spicetrove.co.uk

Happy New Year

 Here we are on the cusp of a brand new year ready to herald it in and if I was a betting kind of gal, I'd put all my money on the vast majority of us wishing for exactly the same thing and for me that would be peace on earth.

That's all I want to say about it but if I manage to stay up to see the bells in, that's what I will take a cup of kindness to.  

So it's Auld's Lang Syne my dears to each and everyone of you and here's to a great 2024. 

See ya.

Xxx

Merry Christmas 2023

Just dashing through the shreds of wrapping paper and other Christmas flotsam and jetsam to wish all of you Beautiful People who bother to read and comment here a very merry and peaceful Festive Season, however you celebrate. Wish for you all to move into my neighbourhood. What larks we would have!

Merry Christmas 🎄 Everyone 🎁

                               xxx

Ps all Xmas Artwork drawn and painted by my daughter-in-law, goes without saying please don't use it without permission. Thanks.

Life is a rollercoaster.....

The other day, I bumped into an acquaintance that I hadn't seen for a while and they asked me if I'd been away anywhere on holiday this year. I quickly replied 'no, I haven't had the time'! She said 'but I thought you were retired now?' I said I was but that didn't mean I have all the time in the world to do with as I please! The tendency is for other folks to assume that your time needs to be 'policed' just in case you were to fall into the trap of enjoying yourself too much. Add into the mix, a geriatric mother, two chronically ill sisters and a whole heap of grandchildren (well 3 actually but that's a heap to me*) and one wonders where one had the time to ever go to work! Anyhow, this is how I've been passing my 'free' time this summer and dare I say, enjoying myself while I was at it!

The Big Blue Top rolled into a town near me to host the little spin-off festival of the Edinburgh Fringe and I was particularly good to myself this year, having booked a couple of tickets to go and spend...

Mr. Adam Frost, he of Gardener's World fame and winner of many gold  medals at Chelsea Flower Show. He gave a very interesting talk and answered many questions with a great deal of humour and I particularly loved the fact that his first subjects on the agenda were his two grandmothers, one who he called 'Scruffy Nan' and the other 'Tidy Nan'! It was clear that he held both in very high esteem, especially when it came to spending time away from his abusive father. His introduction to gardening came via his grandfathers' allotments and the rest, as they say......! I came away from the talk floating and feeling a little bit in love with Mr. Frost!

Then two days later, off we go to the Big Blue Top once again, this time to see...

the incomparable Mr. Patrick Grant. I nearly didn't make it on time because of lack of parking slots but luckily the long queue of silver-haired admirers  made sure I had time to spare! When he came on stage, he apologised to the 3 men in the audience in case they had been dragged along against their will! Again, he gave a very interesting talk, mostly promoting his clothing company (all of the gear he was sporting, including the brown woollen socks he was oddly wearing with his Birkenstocks, was made either in Wales or Lancashire, where he moved his company to after the first lockdown).  His clothes are expensive to the ordinary punter but he said it's better to invest £100 on one good pair of jeans which will last for an immeasurable amount of time, knowing exactly where and how they were made, than spend £10 ten times over a year on a few unethically sourced and badly produced pairs. Easy for him to say, I suppose but I've been buying second-hand clothing since the early '70's and still do so I think I've made a healthy contribution to saving our planet and will continue to do so ad infinitum. Patrick (we're on first name terms now!) only mentioned The Sewing Bee momentarily at his Q&A session at the end of the talk. It was quite clear from the beginning that he was NOT there to talk exclusively about the programme!Again, as with Adam, rousing applause at the closing of the talk from their very appreciative audiences. No book signing from Patrick but I was rather bemused by the piles of boxes filled with Adam's new book. His sponsors were obviously optimistic that they'd all sell on the day! 

Being the skinflint skint pensioner that I am, I ordered my copy from the library! Sorry Adam!

The weather held fast for the whole 10 days of the festival. It was nice to wander round visiting the various stalls that had opened up shop for the duration and the food and drink traders were doing brisk business. Nice to see folks enjoying the sunshine and good festival vibes although some people got a bit carried away at the Sister Sledge concert two nights later and carried off one of the flags! Don't think it was Patrick who'd mentioned he was attending!

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to bag myself a ticket to see Miss Elkie Brooks a couple of nights later, despite putting my name on the waiting list. Perhaps she'll come and sing for us next year, fingers crossed. The last time I saw her in concert was in Edinburgh in 1977! She came on for her encore and sang the most beautiful Jewish hymn. I've never forgotten about that. 

In the quest to become an old and grey hedonist, the fun in the sun continued ......how very dare I ....but that's for next time!

Bye for now and thanks for reading if you got this far! Means a lot.

💕

*I love my grandchildren more than life itself so it's never a chore to see them. In fact, it's a great honour that they want to spend time with me and by the way, I'm definitely 'Scruffy Nana'!

Letting the Train Take the Strain....

 ....in an attempt to carry on as normal (or what passes for normal around here these days!), I took a little trip on the train at the weekend to catch up with the goings on in the woolly world. The Edinburgh Yarn Festival is now defunct with little possibility of returning anytime soon (it got too big too quickly and possibly became unmanageable logistically for the two organisers). 'Tangled Galashiels'*, a smaller alternative, had been organised some months ago in a neat little venue in the Scottish Borders. I'm not a far flung traveller these days so I love the chance to visit places that don't involve a lot of organising or distance and are within reach for me by car, bus or train since I'm invariably a 'lone' traveller too.

Everything's so lush and green considering we've had no proper rain for weeks now.

This is Jess at her stall. She owns a tiny little shop in Edinburgh called 'Ginger Twist Studio'. It's her 10th anniversary of ownership this month and I was telling her that when she first opened up, I took a trip to see her new shop but it was on one of the days she was closed!I've never had a chance to revisit so can't believe that was 10 years ago!How time flies!

I love Woolly Originals work. She does everything on her domestic knitting machine. We were having a discussion about knitting machines and she couldn't believe I gave mine away, complete with all the wool and accessories but there was just no room for anything when we moved to this small house years ago!

I absolutely loved this fluffy pink stuff! I have a vintage cardi pattern that would look perfect for it but I'll have to resort to a cheaper version.

The lady who crocheted these fab chunky throws gave me a few pointers on hook sizes and which yarn to use so that's another winter project for the ever-growing list of things to do!

This was a separate exhibition of work done by students of the nearby textile college.

Not really sure how you were meant to get in or out of this dress! The waist was tiny too!

Not my 'thing' but I'm sure it has a story to tell!

So after a break for refreshments and a chat with other woolly nerds lovely crafters, it was back to the main venue where I met up with the lovely Lindsey at her stall 'The Border Tart'! She provides the free wool for Operation Christmas Stocking each year. I haven't made last year's socks yet! Told you the to-do list was ever growing!

I bought these things from Lindsey. She does workshops in Rajasthan and brings back the loveliest hand blocked prints.

Homeward bound in time for tea and yet another stonking sunset!

That's it for today, I'm off to work on my time management skills! I've become quite a dab hand at procrastination these fine days! Please tell me I'm not the only one!

Thanks for visiting and leaving your lovely comments.

xoxoxo

*Tangled Galashiels has no affiliation with the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. They are two separate organisations.