Sunny Weather!

The longest sunny period for over a year (according to the weather boffins)!  It's very welcome indeed.

The old advertising sign is up on my shed at last, and the flower beds are in bloom.

We are optimistic that this year's garden produce will be better than last year - it couldn't be much worse!

Messing about on the river at Symonds Yat.  That's not us in the canoes - we're waiting for the ferry to come back so we can cross the river.  

Taken from the ferry as it's pulled across the river by the rope.  Thirteen of us have just had a lovely lunch. Half of our group are cycling back to the cars, but we are walking.

Bye for now

Teresa x

P.S. There's still time to enter my book giveaway here.

Making the Most.....!

Since I now have all week for housework etc.OH suggested that we make the most of the lovely sunny day last Saturday to take a walk.  He also had an ulterior motive in that he wanted to see how much my weak left leg could cope with, in case my friend (ex work colleague) invites me to one of her arranged walks as promised.  We parked near the canal marina, crossed a bridge and set off down the path........

.......through the trees.....

....under many bridges......

......past verdant views......

......and spooky water's-edge gardens....(click to enlarge and spothe weird horrors!!).
 

Lasagne and chips (one veggie, one meat)

 Just under 2 hours later we reached our planned pit-stop and braved the occasional cold wind, when the clouds obscured the sun, to eat our lunch al fresco. I was grateful during the way back to the car (via roads and a shorter distance) that we pessimistic brits had carried an umbrella, despite the fact it didn't rain, because I was able to use it to help me balance as my leg began to weaken.  We came to the conclusion that, when it comes to my friend's walk,  I should be able to manage the first half, but will have to leave them to it after lunch :-(

Made with all recycled fabric and scraps.

I've been getting on with a little stitching too and knocked up this cushion from an idea I had. It's supposed to look a little bit like a tetris type game where the different shaped pieces are either falling or breaking off.  I think it would have worked better with smaller hexes but that would have been tons more work!
 

One consequence of my being at home may turn out to be the putting-on of a little weight for OH and I, if we're not careful!!  After the success of the scrumptious crumble last week (which included raspberries bought from one harvest supper), this week was the turn of bread and butter pudding, after I acquired the leftover harvest loaf, from a harvest lunch that I didn't even attend  ;-)  It's not WHAT you know...........

Progress since last time:

Hexie cushion - finished
Bee Quilt - Round 4 complete (no pic yet)


Bye for now
Teresa x

Three Peaks and a Dog!

Last Thursday was my birthday (half-century minus one, if you're interested).  At work, my boss gathered everyone together to say Happy Birthday (no singing - they were mostly men standing around awkwardly like spare parts, a couple of whom I'd never met before and were just visiting), give me a round of applause? and present me with a card and cake.  It was a lovely chocolate cake which I had to distribute (as per the office custom) to the waiting gannets colleagues.

When I returned home the family were all waiting for me with flowers and cards and 2 more cakes?  And I was happy when they agreed to join OH and me for a meal at an Italian restaurant. 

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As I was driving home from a 'Me and My Girl' rehearsal in the dark last week I noticed that the horizon looked different and seemed to be glowing.  I realised when I got nearer home that what I could see was the mountain on fire!! 

Photo taken Oct last year

The fire was on the ridge of the mountain (The Blorenge) in the far left of the above picture and was spread quite a way across. There've been lots of fires in the area over the last few weeks as a result of all the dry, warm weather we've had.  There's no hint of warm weather today - I've just been out for lunch and it's about 2 degrees and blowing an arctic gale!!!  March was more like June and April has started off like November - What's going on?!!!

The picture above was taken near the top of The Skirrid Mountain on Sunday (when it was still warm and sunny).  The Skirrid is the one on the far right of the October picture. In the distance on the right above is The Blorenge that was on fire.

I couldn't remember if I'd ever climbed The Skirrid before, until I got to this point.  Then I remembered sheltering from howling wind and rain behind these rocks to eat a picnic years ago. I think I must have been in my early teens because I remember certain friends of my mother being with us with their dog.

Talking of dogs - this little cutie is how we came to be here that day.  Friends are looking after her for the week and we went with them to take her for a walk.  I tried to get a cute picture like DD does, with the dog looking up at the camera, but she wouldn't keep still for a second!  She's only still here because she's watching the next group of people approaching.

OH put her on the summit marker for a photo shoot. There was no way she could avoid the photo on there. Under her body the summit of The Sugar Loaf is visible which is the middle mountain in the October photo. 

So, by now you should have quite a clear picture of the whole of this area :-)

It was good to get out in the fresh air and get some exercise.  I'm afraid getting any kind of exercise has completely gone by the wayside in the last few weeks, but a walk in the countryside is much better than any gym session as far as I'm concerned!

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DD was laughing at me the other day when I asked her if she'd seen my latest blog post.  She said this blog was supposed to be about sewing but there was never any on here.  She didn't mind because she likes reading the other stuff and finds the sewing posts boring!  Despite that, she's right!  Hopefully, the balance will shift one day and the crafting posts will out-number the rest.  I don't know what keeps the rest of you reading but I hope I don't lose any followers if/when that day comes.  You're all very good to keep popping in to read my random ramblings.

Crafting progress since last time (which is quite a long time but it doesn't show!)

• Knitted cowl - a few more rows knitted
• 7 Zipped Purses - 2 more cut out 
• Quilt-as-you-go-quilt - 1 more block quilted (4 left to do out of 25ish)
• Bag for work friend - looked through my books but couldn't find one to make that I liked.  Also, the friend has left work unexpectedly and lives about 2 hours drive away!  Will still make the bag but will post it or visit and take it.

The "To Do" list is pretty much the same as last time, which is to finish the above, but with the Easter Bank Holidays coming up I should be able to make a little progress. 

The week after that I will officially call "Mad Rehearsal and Performance Week" in honour of "Me and My Girl".  Oh! My! Goodness! We open 2 weeks today!!!! Costumes - check. Words - check. Moves - check-ish!   Confidence...........?

Bye for now

Teresa x

The 'S' Word (and a bit of E)!

There are a couple of subjects that haven't come up here lately; namely singing and exercise.  It's because there hasn't been as much of either going on as there used to be! 

Newer readers may not know that I used to belong to a church choir, 2 singing groups (one group finished soon after the other one started) and take singing lessons. Now, I only belong to the church choir!  As I said, the one group finished; the other is on Saturday mornings (and I don't have time to commit to it at the moment) and my singing teacher moved away after becoming a Baptist Minister.  I still love to sing (in the car, in the shower, while walking up/down the road, in the pub, in church, in my office (quietly!)) and hope to join another group sometime, but for now I'll have to be satisfied with the above.  I'll tell you what though, I've certainly noticed a big difference since giving up the lessons.  My range has decreased and my singing doesn't 'flow' as easily.



The garden is in full production mode - these are courgettes no's 2, 3 & 4 and I counted at least 14 more on their way.



 There's been a little exercise going on in the background but not much. I won't let it decline to nothing but we haven't belonged to a gym for a few years now and don't go jogging outside anymore (only on our treadmill).  I make an effort to schedule 2 exercise sessions a week; one aerobic and one resistance/muscle toning, and on top of that, whenever it comes to mind, I do a little 'batwing' toning or crunches to target the most needy areas :-)


I found this when I got home from church after OH had been preparing veg from the garden for dinner and the freezer!

Another subject that doesn't come up here nearly enough for my liking is stitching!!!!  Considering that's what this blog is meant to be about, it's a pretty dismal effort.  I've decided, therefore, to mention it in every post.  I will include an update of any progress since the previous one, however small.  There may be photos (or there may not, because the small amount of progress may be negligable or embarrassing) and I'm hoping this will help me 'up my game' a bit (or a lot!).
 

Lovely, welcome fabric scraps from Ali in return for a book I sent her

Well, there's no better time to start than now, so here's the progress since last time I mentioned the S word:

Long term UFO cardigan - Finished knitting back and pocket linings, started one front
HST quilt - Sandwiched together and pinned ready for quilting
Quilt-as-you-go quilt - one more block quilted (17 done, 8 to go).

Tonight I'm off to my friend's Sunflower Club for women (with DD) which I'm looking forward to.  This months discussion is 'your favourite book'.  I'm taking 3!!! One has my favourite sentence, one my favourite chapter and the other IS my favourite book.  I'll try not to talk for too long because I know there are new members coming and our time is limited, but get get me started on books and...well..........!! 

Bye for now
Teresa x

A Time for Enjoying the Sunshine!

 I've been following my own advise to make the most of the good weather so over the last few days OH and I have enjoyed a long walk, a BBQ and a bike ride.  Do you see the little black dots over the hedge in the photo above? DD told us about these large 'flies' that she had come across on her dog walks. When we went on our walk, they were everywhere!!

 They were slow compared to normal flies so were easy to catch but didn't stay put for long enough to photograph when OH opened his hand.

 This was the best of a bad lot but captures it quite well.  Have you seen them in your part of the UK?  It's like that mystery of the cobweby patches in the hedges last year!

 This pic (above) is the result of leaving OH with my camera when I popped into a field for a moment (as you do in emergencies) - a weed!!

 I managed to capture this butterfly but the orange tipped ones were too quick and active even though there were lots more of them. And I had to capture this clump of my favourite forget-me-nots.

 We spent a few hours today out on the bike ride stopping at a hotel for lunch.......

 .....and some liquid refreshment.  When we continued our ride, one of our group said something had happened to his bike while we were at lunch, making it wobbly!!! Can't think what he meant - mine was OK!

 I've still got 7 days left to make the most of, which will possibly include another bike ride, another BBQ and a Royal Wedding celebration.  I will also try to fit in some shed organising and stitching.  A small cloud on the horizon took the form of a deep scratch on my new car where the bike rack came loose and rubbed down to the metal as we were driving home :-(

(Hello to any new and recent followers or visitors - you're very welcome and I'd love to hear from you sometime.)

Bye for now
Teresa x

Back on Track!

So many times in previous years I've failed to make the most of a welcome spell of lovely sunny weather thinking that there'll be plenty more to come in the summer.  Well, I've finally learned my lesson and will make the most of any opportunity that comes my way, no matter how dirty my house is or whether there's anything to eat in the kitchen!!  For the last few years, our summers seem to have come early and not taking advantage of them has resulted in missing out altogether.

So.......



.....this is what we did, this weekend, and last.  Loaded up the bikes and took off for a cycle with friends (six of us last week and 8 on Sunday).  Last week, we took our usual route along the old railway line by the river from Monmouth to Symonds Yat.  This week, we rode along the canal path from Abergavenny to Crickhowell (a much longer route that required 2 pub stops as opposed to the usual 1!).

 People were out in droves - walking dogs, pushing children, cycling like us or narrow boating. 

 Being the slowest cyclist (and therefore last) I had the advantage that I could photograph the others while moving along, but it was a disadvantage when groups of walkers had just managed to reform after the others had scattered them, then I came along!!  It was a fun afternoon out and I'm sure if we do it more often there'll be no more saddle soreness (despite wearing gel pants)!

Stitchy news in brief - (because this is all there is, due to taking advantage of the good weather - you can't have everything!!)

I'm right up-to-date with my Tag Square Bee blocks now with this latest offering for Jen in rainbow colours.  I had a real struggle finding all the colours and I'm not sure that this fits the brief entirley because the fabrics aren't modern enough. I've a feeling that another member of the Bee wants rainbow colours, but I'll worry about that when the time comes. I have yet to recieve my March and April blocks though so I'm looking forward to that.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Second Last Weekend Before Christmas!

Saturday am

Rehearsing with the Saturday Singers for a Welsh evening on Monday 20th (squeezed into a corner of the Fellowship Rooms because there was a children's party in the Chapel where we normally go).  We're singing 2 welsh songs: 'Suo Gan' and a carol that I can't remember the name to) .  None of us, except the choir master, speaks much Welsh so we've been struggling a bit with these.  I remember my sister telling me about the time a visitor to the hotel she worked at was asking her if she spoke Welsh. She told him she did and spouted out a long sentence to prove it.  He was quite taken in but all she had said was "Abergavenny, Monmouth, slow down, stop, service station" and various other Welsh words on our road signs.  He then proceeded to talk about well know Welsh TV series Pobol y Cwm but pronouned it in quite an unfortunate way that had us in stitches when she told us.

Saturday afternoon

Met up with a friend for mulled wine and a chat.  She's recently started a life coaching business that's beginning to reap rewards for her after putting in a huge amount of work. 

(one of DD's sweet little bunnies in the palm of her hand)

Sunday pm

DD picked me up to go to town.  Where we had a some lunch before heading to the shops for Christmas shopping.  I couldn't go in my car because a man was due sometime in the afternoon to replace the windscreen - I'd somehow developed a 6" crack in it during the cold spell!

 (A little knitting I work on when my eyes tire of tiny cross-stitches)

Before my OH picked me up to get back home in time for the first Carol Service of the season, DD showed me the baby bunnies that had been born to one of her rabbits just a couple of weeks ago.  Sooo cute!!

Back at work now for the last week before the 3 week break!!!! :-)  We had the news today that we were successful in our appeal and the planning permission  has been granted for the next stage of the job.  This means work for another 18 months to 2 years. I wish I was happier about it because I should be grateful to have a job and certainly wouldn't give it up unless I had to, but this job is not really what I want to be doing.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Probably the Most Boring Photo in the World!

How would you like to look out on this view Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.15pm??  This is the outlook from my new office.  A dirty, yellow-ish shed wall.  It's certainly not very inspiring or cheerful but is more than a little overwhelming and claustrophobia inducing!  One consolation is that the days seem to pass a little quicker since we moved here.

But let's put that out of our minds and look as something a bit more interesting.  My OH and I joined a couple of friends on a Sunday afternoon bike ride.  Despite the cold and grey day there were lots of people along this popular foot/cycle path.  

The last time we cycled here was during better weather when we wore far fewer layers of clothing.  We don't go cycling very often and never usually in the cold weather so I was unused cycling while wearing a woolly had, gloves and jacket.  I think the walking boots were a mistake too as they made finding the correct position on the pedals a bit tricky!  I confess I came off twice due to my lack of skill with the gears.  Not exactly over-the-handlebar jobs but sedately falling sideways into the mud!

 The carrot at the end of the ride was a nice mug of hot chocolate.  Sorry, you've just got dirty mugs here but my need was greater than yours! During the ride back my OH, not wanting me to fall off again, gallantly jumped off his bike and  pushed me up the last hill while running and pushing his own bike too!

This was all very different from the last time we went in the summer. For one thing, I was fitter than I am now!  It was also nice weather and we were less encumbered with clothing.

 Bikes were parked by the river and a different kind of drink was required.  Looks like I couldn't wait then either! :-)

Another confession - I'm a bit saddle sore today! (Note to self: Must ride my bike more often!!)

Bye for now
Teresa x

Random Ramblings!

The new Blogger in Draft has some useful additions (especially for someone as Blogologically challenged as me).  The more realistic looking preview is nice but what I like most are the new photo uploading method and the easily accessible Stats.  The photos are now attached in the order in which I load them and I can see a little preview to make sure they're the ones I want.  On the Stats page I saw recently that someone had searched for 'how-to-find-time-to-stitch' and ended up on my blog.  How disappointed they must have been. They won't have found much help with that here!!  In fact, I think I might do a search on that myself :-)

 Look at what I found in the kitchen at work with a note attached saying 'Free to a Good Home'!! 

 This is where I spent part of my evening yesterday (well, half an hour of it anyway).  It's what our friends jokingly refer to as our 'gym' - in the same way as they call my shed the 'studio'.  My OH bought this treadmill recently and, as we were waiting for delivery, he painted the walls and floor of our outside yard to accommodate it (there's a roof too so it's not completely open to the elements, but it's going to be a tad chilly in the winter).  I think the old lockers he brought home and painted add an authentic touch - they're not there to store our gym gear though.  Oh no.....they're for storing recycling and home made preserves but don't tell anyone, it spoils the illusion!!

I've done a little stitching (or preparation for it) in one way or another every evening this week but I've not got anything interesting enough to show for it.  I don't want to be one of those bloggers that takes a picture of every square I cut out or every row I knit until you're almost fed up with the finished item before you see it.

Bye for now
Teresa x

I Can't Believe I've Reached 100!!!

Yes, this is my 100th post and I can't believe I've made it when I struggled so much in the beginning! It took me a while to get into a routine that included blogging and to remember to take my camera around with me (still need to improve on this). But I'm determined to keep at it and maybe, one day, use it as a platform for doing a little selling of my stitchy items via etsy or Folksy. I'm loving the connections I'm making with all you lovely bloggers, at home and abroad, who have so much wonderful inspiration, advice, photos and glimpses into your worlds. I must also thank you all once again for your lovely support through following, reading and commenting here. I try to reply to every comment but sometimes there's no way to get in touch. Incidentally, thank you Marivel for your lovely comment on my last post. I have to say I AM ususally quite busy, as you say, but I can't take the credit for the lovely produce coming from our garden. That's all the work of my lovely OH!
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Now onto this weekend's news. My 'to do' list, I'm afraid, didn't get finished. I got about half of it complete which included - Cleaning hairbrushes, changing guest bed, dusting/vacuuming our bedroom, finishing hand quilting block. What did not get done included - Cleaning make-up bag, washing curtains, machine quilted project and starting on revamp of shed furniture. Hopefully, I can do some of this in the week and finish it next weekend!
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OH and I picked up our DD on Saturday on our way to Cardiff shopping. We made use of the Park and Ride facility which was really good value at £3 a car. It meant saving on fuel, parking charges, trying to find a parking space and traffic jams! Within an hour of arriving in the city we'd all bought what we went for and were wondering what to do next. We wandered around for another hour or so and then stopped for lunch followed by an ice-cream as we wandered a bit more. It's nice to wander once in a while with no particular place to go - something I don't do very often!
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Why does it always seem to be 'the hottest day of the year so far' whenever I do the Race for Life? Luckily the route in Cwmbran is partly through trees which gave shade every so often, much to everyone's relief. I am the one in the white cap running with my friend Julie, in the white shirt next to me.

My OH came with us and kindly took the photos. Julie and I weren't together at the end - I have one leg weaker than the other due to a medical condition and am in danger of tripping up (only when exercising, not everyday activity) if I don't concentrate on lifting it properly. So at about half way I told Julie to carry on without me as I had to walk for a bit. Eventually, I finished in about 40 minutes. Once again there was a great atmosphere on the day and it was very moving reading the messages on runners backs about who they're running for.

Being vegetarian when the rest of the family are not usually means I end up as an afterthought where food is concerned. My meal planning consists of thinking what to make for the family and then deciding what to replace the meat with for myself, usually meaning adding a meat substitute like quorn. I'm trying to eat less quorn so last night decided to make a vegetarian dish for the whole family. I'd recently seen some recipes I fancied trying on Fuel for Body and Soul so I gave the Moroccan Filo Pie a go. I replaced the filo with puff pastry (couldn't get filo at the shop), used my own cooked green lentils out of the freezer, used sesame seeds instead of pinenuts and replaced the ras el hanout with other spices that I had.

I was pleased with the result (although DS and OH were looking for meat!) and had enough left to put 2 portions in the freezer.

While still in a cooking frame of mind I whipped up a batch of fruit and almond muffins because there was no cake left for sandwich boxes. They are definitely best eaten while still warm! :-)

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Bye for now

Teresa x

Produce (n) and Produce (v)

Here's some 'produce' from the garden which is starting to supply us very well now. Lettuce, beetroot radishes and strawberries. We've also had a few potatoes with lots more to come! The cherries in the dishes with the strawberries are from a tree at my OH's work place.

And here's what I've managed to 'produce' recently (although nothing is finished).-

Above and below are the 2 blocks that were missing when I put them all together at my club the other week. Once the block above is put together I'll have lots of quilting to do to get to a stage where I can start joining them up.

Finally, another little something I've started which was turning over in my mind for a while. The half-square triangles are cut-offs from making a previous block, that I kept to use instead of discarding (the cream ones are mine, the green ones were given to me by another quilter). As you can see, I've so far joined them in squares which measure 3" and will use the purple/flowery background to make squares to go between them. Then, I'll see what it looks like before deciding on the next stage.

I've written myself a list of jobs I need to get done this weekend. I did the same thing a few months ago and managed to do all except one thing on my list which I was pleased with. I haven't, however, included the fact that OH wants to go shopping in Cardiff today and I'm running/jogging the Race for Life on tomorrow so time will tell what gets done.

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Bye for now

Teresa x