Happy Happy!

...And the spider? Well, while I was posing for Youngest as he took photos, I sat staring at a spider about 10 cm from my face as it was sunning its stripy belly. I don't blame it - it was gorgeously warm in the afternoon sun.

Details (coz I know you'll ask).

Wool - Self striping from stash, both blues, gifted to me - Swans Island - American merino wool.

Pattern - My slightly squiffy version from a delightful book called Nordic Knitting Traditions which I'd found in a seconds bookshop in Hebden Bridge for a very nice price :)

Confessions - I was fine with the pattern - No - I was AbSOLuteLY besotted with the pattern, the knit just grew off my circular needles while I was on holiday and I kept having to show off to Himself as it developed. A slight hiccup occurred on the journey home from our jollies and I missed out a row, despite several froggings and repeat knittings, I just completely lost my way, so I just made a speckledy section as I reduced the stitches to finish off the crown. Although not the correct finish, I am I have to say rather happy - happy enough to burst!

HaPpy HAppy HAPPY ME!

Walking the Walls

Berwick-upon-Tweed is a lovely historically interesting town on the edge of northern England and the borders of Scotland. Over the years the town has swapped sides of the border depending on which army was the stronger at the time and apparently Berwick is still at war with Russia..... however, now it is a town full of quirky corners, interesting architecture, upanddownyways, snikkets, ginnels and jennels. One of our favourite things is walking around the Elizabethan defensive walls -  so why don't you come with us and see what I mean!

 L.S.Lowry loved Berwick too - almost bought himself a house here. However he spent many holidays here painting and drawing at every opportunity. All around Berwick are these boards, placing the painting at the source of the inspiration.

 Walking on the walls allows you to see things that you miss when pavement pounding. I love the scrolls on the street lights.

 This house seems to hug the curve of the town walls, its brilliantly painted white walls seem so fresh and 'nautical'.

 As we walked by the Dewar's Lane Granary Gallery - a converted dockside building, look what was there!! A Lowry exhibition! As soon as we could we were in and just soaking up the atmosphere - my  eyes ate up each and every  painting and drawing as I stared. I had studied him years ago as an A level art student never ever EVER dreaming that one day I would ACTUALLY see his artwork FOR REAL! And, now this is the amazing thing, for free.

 Again, crisp white walls but this time with black and plantation style shuttering.

You can see how thick the walls are. Behind Youngest are the original dockside administrative buildings, things like Customs and Excise and the homes of rich merchants and below the walls, now converted, are the warehouses and the dockyards. Not all the architectural grandeur is historic....

Love the triomphe d'oeil sparten style columns

The three bridges across the River Tweed.

Yes, that house really is a crooked as it looks, the two halves seem to be leaning into each other as they watch the tide go in and out.

This is only a very short section of the wall - in total it is just over a mile in length, this little bit is just a taster :) Hope you liked walking it with us, speak soonxxxxxx

Camping with CATS

It had to happen.  Our furry little catlings came camping with us this year and I loved it!

Himself did a lot of muttering but I suspect despite them using him as a springboard for their 3am games, he did like having them there too.

To prepare the girls for their big adventure I bought them harnesses which they had to learn to wear.  Pan, who'd worn one before as a kitten must have remembered this kind of torture from times gone by and soon put up with the indignity of wearing a cute paw-printed chocolate brown harness with grace and only a hint of a furry frown. 

Pepper, on the other hand fell to the floor and was instantly paralysed by the enslaving bounds of her red paw-printed harness. Oh the torment. She could barely move - she would raise her weak little head and squeak for help, wafting a paw around to attract attention. We, helpless with laughter would release her and she would immediately recover and gallop triumphantly around with tail fluffed up at her courageous escape. This 'training' continued over several weeks with each 'session' being less dramatic and hysterically funny until both cats would bumble around the house both ignoring their harnesses.

We made sure we packed their favourite toys, Pan's favourite blanket (she is quite a sensitive soul and needs a lot of 'security' around her), their food, their own bowls and of course the all essential litter tray.  I even bought a covered one with a flap door (for our own sanity - the thought of the after effects of one of the girls nipping to the loo in the confines of a caravan was just a little to much too bear).  That also needed a little training, however the girls took to this new thing a lot quicker and were popping in and out of their loo quite happily within the day. Once in the caravan, the litter tray was going to live in the shower so should any mishaps occur, a quick hosing down with the shower head should fix that.

The car journey, we've discovered in the past, works better if the two cats are in the same travelling box as they curl up into each other and pretend to be asleep.

So, the big day came, we all got in the car, some of us willingly (us and the dog) and some of us had something to complain about (the catlings). We drove with everyone quite happily in their respective spots, with only the occasional quiet mew or paw wafting. By lunch time we pulled off the road and decamped into the caravan for lunch and a loo break. The cats were brought too. Pepper, resplendent in her harness, happily sniffed around the caravan, Pan refused to come out of a box. Pepper used the litter tray as if she'd always known where it was and phew! thank goodness for the flap - it certainly prevented any pong from escaping!

Back in the car we continued with no mishap and by mid afternoon - we'd arrived! After a little sorting out and setting up - we could start our holiday.

Pan. Dear sweet Pan. Pan became the epitome of an Edwardian spinster fearing an attack of the vapours and retired to the shower unit of the caravan to recover, while Pepper decided that She HAD always been CAMPING and she just NEVER knew it! Pepper LOVED camping, Pepper LOVED her harness as it meant going out and sniffing grass and striding across the field. Pepper KNEW that CAMPING was GRRRREAT and how silly we humans were to worry about taking the cats CAMPING!

Pan thought the sky would fall on her head.

So, one cat chose to serenely sit in the windows and bird watch while the other would sally forth with human attached and check out the perimetre of the campsite, watch warily as tractors trundled by or headbutt the dog and purr happily.

Would we do it again? Pepper and I would like to, Himself and Pan remain to be convinced!

For SaraJ

Blue skies and sea for SaraJ from Sara's Crafts. For medicinal purposes of course!

This is one of our most favourite beach EVER! And you can see how busy it is..... we are the only ones on it, while on the other side of the dunes the rest of the crowds miss out on this beauty and solitude.

Mind you, if they knew what we knew, then we'd not have this wonderful freedom to ourselves. So - shhhhhh, not going to say where it is!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Another of our favourite places is a little fishing village called St Abbs. It is the epitome of a Scottish village perched on the edge of a craggy coast line. Little croft houses sit next to 1930s council houses alongside palatial gothic-style Victorian mansions. An eclectic community of housing marking the passing of time, finance and fashions.

We love the quiet little streets and despite modern influences, you can still see the original construction of the houses.

We wandered around the harbour, taking in the (particularly fishy) air (!), listening to the gulls screeching and the waves sloshing around the rocky entrance. Inside the harbour walls the water was still and lightly slicked with an oily residue but still clear enough to see to the bottom and make out the rocks and seaweed.

Thank you for indulging me with holiday memories. It always amazes me that I always feel so bereft after a holiday by the coast, looking through my photos has a double edged sword to it, I love seeing them but they also make me feel quite melancholy!

Think I need to do some therapeutic knitting :)