Where am I?

What have I been up to since I last posted 11 days ago?

Really, is it that long?

Well my friend came to visit.

and we both went travelling,

to some place we hadn't been before.

I thought I would take a leaf out of Sarah's blog and let you guess where we went!

This last picture is a bit blurry,

but I like it,

and it seems to depict the mood of the area it was taken,

warm and sparkly.

I like sparkly!

Joining in with Happy Week

I called in here to find that Lisa was having a Happy Week. So I thought I would join in.

So what have I got to be happy about?

Well this is a before picture. A picture of my workshop when we arrived back here in September, once we had unloaded all the additional things we had brought with us. I made a proper start on organising it yesterday, but feeling defeated I left it looking nearly as bad as this. But today it just sort of got done. Sometimes that happens. What can feel like a mountain one day, becomes a mole hill in the light of a new day.

Unfortunately I didn't think to take a photo, so you'll just have to wait for the after picture.

This photo makes me smile.

I took it on Saturday when we had the sunshine.

I like the way the shadows mingle on Jewel,
making her twinkle,
just like a jewel.

A Mixed Bag

After a week of grey, uninspiring, miserable weather,
on Saturday we had this:-

Then today we had this:-

Nightimes however have all been pretty exceptional. It's been a full moon and although often the moon has been hiding behind the clouds, it has still cast it's light somehow through the cloud making it almost like an eerie kind of daylight.

This week brought us some shocking news. A friend of ours had a heart attack. She's only just had her 45th birthday. Fortunately she came out of hospital yesterday and when we went to see her, yes she was taking visitors, she looked well. A timely reminder I think that we are all getting older and we never know what's around the corner.

On a lighter note.

This fellow has taken to visiting us again. I love to see him, he's quite colourful. One of our most colourful birds that I've seen in our garden.

No doubt we'll be seeing more of him.

This is a typical fence that we see a lot of in the area. I like them, especially covered in snow. I expect I will be taking many more similiar pictures.

Well we'll see what this week brings.

My friend is coming to stay on Wednesday all being well. She had a visit planned in April 2007 just before we moved back to the UK but we had a spate of ill health so she cancelled.

I'm looking forward to her visit.

Lovely smells from the kitchen

Well this is the little number I was stitching yesterday and as it was a little cooler earlier today (I'm writing this on Monday 00.54 a.m. so I'm referring to Sunday), Jewel got to wear this for a while until we lit a stove for added warmth. It fits nice and snug and is light. The one she has been wearing up to now is rather bulky, so a special bedtime coat was required. She doesn't have any fat on her so she feels the cold sometimes. I love the colours in the fabric which is a lovely soft, warm, fleece.

I've yet to make one each for these two boys. Here they are at the entrance to the kitchen waiting for their dinner.

Rufus on the left is quite a sturdy dog, and his coat is nice and thick so he doesn't always need a bedtime coat. The houses here are so well insulated that they retain their heat efficiently. Paddy however has a very thin coat and doesn't have all his hair so he can feel the cold a bit. So he will need one.

No sewing today. I spent some time in the kitchen. I made a loaf. It must be over a year since I made any bread. This is an extremely simple recipe, one of Delia's. There's only one small piece left! I also made some carrot and lentil soup and an orange and chocolate cake, neither of which I photographed. Next time...

Keeping Cosy

It's been grey these last two days, especially today.

So only one thing for it.

Hunker down and sew to some good music.

A candle or two are a nice touch. It's what they do in Sewden. That's a good 'spoonerism,' not quite the word I'm looking for, it's getting late, but I'm sure you get my drift.

I turned a mistake into a cupcake.

You can't see what I've made here, but it's being worn tonight to keep someone warm?

Maybe I'll get a photo tomorrow.

Sparklers

No fireworks or bonfires here.

But lots of sparkle.

Sunshiney, snowy pictures

Today has been dull, but it has started to thaw so it has not been so cold.

So here are some more sunshiney pictures from the weekend.

Hope your weekend was good for you.

Sun and Snow

The sun came out to play, so did I with my newly mended camera.

Can you see the deer? Not a very good photo, but that's about as close as they got. It's the first time we've seen them on our property this year, but we know they've been visiting. I'll get some closer shots in time.

Lovely blus skies.

Ahh there's me with the guys and gal. You can see the lake in the background. It's just a short walk from our house.

A lovely expression from Rufus. Shame I didn't get a close up.

Paddy, he's always ready for a cuddle.

Jewel. Doesn't she look a picture?