A-Z Monday, Letter U

Umbrellas!

What a lot of use they have been getting this summer.

So much that they are worn out and need to be replaced.

This must be one of the wettest summers I have ever known.

We have told our Swedish friends not to laugh about British summers.

This Swedish summer has been so wet.

Not only rain most days

but

heavy, heavy rain,

and thunderstorms.

But you wouldn't want to go out in a thunderstorm with your umbrella up

would you?

Check in with Jen at http://unglazed.blogspot.com/ for more A-Z Mondays.

Crayfish

This weekend we joined some friends with their Crayfish festivities.

The menfolk had already been out collecting the crayfish.

They go out on boats and put out pots which are left overnight.

The contents are collected later the same night or in the morning.

The photo below and the one of the sunset

were both taken by Mike in 2006 when he went out

on the boats for the crayfish,

needless to say he didn't stay out all night

but the others did I believe on that occasion,

building a camp fire on one of the islands.

It was quite an experience.

In this photo you can see the type of pots that are used.

They are freshwater crayfish

and need the freshest and cleanest of waters to survive.

This year Mike and I only joined them for the Saturday evening

when the crayfish have been cooked.

They are usually boiled in water flavoured with salt and dill.
Of course it is traditional to serve the crayfish with plenty of alcohol!
Akvavit (Snaps) is generally served.

Our host however had bought a special drink for Mike!

He was well chuffed!

Our host as always had provided a lovely aray of food.

But it was so delicious that I'm afraid I tucked in before taking any photos.

Well I didn't want to hold up the proceedings!

I did take a photo of dessert however.

It was a lovely evening

As usual we dined outdoors on the terrace overlooking the lake.

As it got later and a bit cooler

I moved to sit by the fire

where we sat and chatted

Rounding the evening off nicely

leaving a feel of warmth, reflection

and mellowness.

A~Z Monday letter V

Welcome, says the sign in Swedish.

And of course begins with the letter 'V'.

I'm a bit late with my A-Z Monday hosted by Jen http://unglazed.blogspot.com/

The sign is outside the cafe in the village

where we went for lunch last week.

Broccoli soup
and

quiche

Simple food but tasty.

The decor was simple too,

if a little faded

and old.

It is an old building and I wonder just how old the wallpaper is.

But it has a certain charm

which I just can't capture with the camera.

I don't think it would be to everyones taste.

But we like it.

The welcome is friendly.

And it is all very informal.

So why was I late with this post?

Well we had Very much rain,

with Very loud thunder,

which made Jewel and Rufus two of our hounds

shake and quiver with fear Very much.

Rufus finally found sanctuary under the dining table which had been pushed into the corner.

Jewel settled a little better

happy enough just to be next to me.

When we have thunder here it circles the house

and the 'mountain' it is on

for hours.

And when that happens I have to pull out all the plugs connecting the computer to the internet lest we loose connection permanently.

So that is why I couldn't post yesterday.

Look to the Skies

I had a fabulous day yesterday

doing something I haven't done in a long time.

I went to an airshow.

I love airplanes.

I can't tell you much about them,

but I like them.

If it hadn't been for our friend who took me, I wouldn't even have known it was on!

Mike was invited too of course,

but he isn't bothered about watching aircraft,

whereas I love it.

Back in the UK the largest free airshow in Europe takes place not far from where we live.

(http://www.sunderlandevents.co.uk/event-detail.asp?eventid=2973 )

I've ended up going on my own

because no one else was interested!

As you can see from this photo, we were not far from the airstrip.

The parachutists gathered together once they had all landed.

I was trying to get a photo of them when they started running across the runway.

It was only when I had taken the photo and moved the camera that I saw the reason for them running,

a plane was heading towards them!

This is a jet from the Netherlands Airforce.

You can see from the sky that the day by and large was lovely.

It was getting a bit too hot.

But then the clouds rolled in and threatened rain.

But it didn't so we stayed dry but cooler.

There was lots to see,

I've only put a selection here.

The first photo is a Spitfire

can't miss including such a worthy aircraft.

But there was a very fast noisy Swedish Aircraft with Saab engines

which made everyone stop look and listen.

You couldn't help but listen, the noise from it's engines was deafening,

literally!

I had forgotten how loud they can be.

In sharp contrast gliders sailed through the air effortlessly,

and soundlessly, tailing pink vapours from their wingtips.

I was amazed to see them doing stunts such as looping the loop and climbing vertically

only to slip back the way it had come.

I think that was from an 18 year old pilot too!

There was also a very popular stunt aircraft pilot,

the best in the world I was told.

He seemed quite a character and the crowds loved him.

One of the great things about this show was being so close to the airstrip,

the planes,

the pilots,

and the action!

Hope your weekend is an action packed one

filled with whatever you want it to be action packed with.

Maybe food, sun, lazing.......

A Bit of Colour

The sun is shining today
so I thought I would go get me some colour.


The Cornflowers,
Poppies
and Nasturtiums
I grew from seed.


These berries are in a wild bit behind the house.
We passed them this morning as we came back from a walk in the forest
with the hounds.
A feast for the birds
I'm sure.


I've been waiting for the Clematis to flower.
There were lots of buds just biding their time.
Yesterday one flower opened,
and today there are more.


The Poppies are scattered across the garden,
in various flower beds.
Mike thinks they look untidy!
But I think they are pretty,
so I don't care!


I always love Nasturtiums.
Their unruly habit seems to suit me.
These are in a window box with some herbs.
They are all going past their best now
and I can see some seeds.
I will collect them for next year.
More unrulyness!


Pontentilla,
my favourite colour.

Not sure what this is.

It's a shrub.
A lovely pink don't you think.
I hope you are in the pink today!

A to Z Monday ... Letter W

W is for water.
Another A to Z Monday hosted by Jen @ unglazed.
I am thankful for this A to Z Monday as it is acting as a prompt for me to blog.
We now have the use of one computer,
the other one refuses to switch on!
So we are sharing,
and whereas I would normally use the other computer in the evening to catch up,
this one gets used as a TV!
Even this computer is acting up,
I cannot respond to my emails, but at least I can still read them.
So if my sister is reading this,
that is why I have not replied to your email.

I got up a bit earlier today

to go down to the lake to take some photos.

Unfortunately,

it was a grey morning.

So the water and the sky

are grey.

However,

a little bit of interest in the next photo...

The green you can see is a floating island!

It is made up of reeds, grasses and has trees growing on it.

Bog Island!

Our friends who told us about it had to look up their word in the dictionary and came up with the word, bog!

Yes we said, that makes sense.

With all the heavy rain and bad weather weve been having

the floating island has floated all the way up from the other end of the lake!

Enough grey.
I will leave you with a photo taken in the summer of 2006,

that glorious summer in Europe.

A back view of me having had a swim in the lovely blue lake you can see.

Quite a different colour from how it looked this morning.

Its the same lake but from a different position.

The water usually gets lovely and warm in the summer.

But I havent tried swimming in it so far this year.

I think I will have to take another trip down to the lake as the sun is shining now!

Crochet, crochet

I always have some sewing on the go,

usually several things,

no,

more like

tens of things.
But last year
I fancied a spot of crocheting.
It had been some time since I last picked up a crochet hook.

I wanted to make some Granny squares.
One of the reasons

I like crochet so much

is because you can just make it up as you go along,

improvise.

I had a go at making some squares.
But I wasn't convinced by any of these.

It wasn't until earlier this year
that I came across a pattern that I liked
over at Attic24.
And unusually for me
I went ahead and crocheted 25 squares,
straight off,
enough for the front of a cushion.
I need to choose some fabric to make the cushion,
before sewing up the loose ends,
blocking the squares
and stitching.
I like the colours I've chosen.
And I enjoyed making them



I've been so smitten with crocheting
that my sewing has taken a back seat.
I was hoping to make great progress with my hexagon quilt.
But I haven't,
it got put away for a while.
I was so keen to carry on crocheting
that I bought some wool when I was in the UK.
It's a double knit wool,
inexpensive,
an important fact
when it might just as easily find itself tucked away for a long period of time.
But more importantly
there were lots of colours to choose from.
So I limited myself to 6.
I also had to consider what would fit in my hand luggage on the way home.

I've used flash on all of these photos,
and I don't think the colours look as nice as they really are.




I already have my next project lined up courtesy of Vanessa from Do you mind if I knit,

Apologies, can you Google Attic24 and Do you mind if I knit.
I will put them up when I can, only I cannot get the punctuation I need!!!
These !!!!! exclamations are okay I see!!!!

Edited to add:
http://doyoumindifiknit.typepad.com/
http://attic24.typepad.com/

In fact reading through this post you can see that I have written it at different times because sometimes I can use a question mark but not others.
And while Im at it, why do I spend ages getting the spacing right with my lines
and then when I post
the computer does its own thing.

Well back to crocheting...
Did I say 6 balls?
Yes, there was a lovely deep pink in amongst them as well.
Now , where did it get to?

On my travels to the UK
I took a handful of crochet hooks with me.
My sister had mentioned she wanted to learn to crochet.
She had taken a couple of crochet books out of the library
with the intention of learning to crochet
so she could make some softies.
But she hadn't mastered it,
or perhaps she hadn't tried,
I'm not sure.
So I showed her the rudiments of
foundation chain and a couple of stitches.
She was quick to learn
and soon got the hang of it.
Then my daughter joined us for the weekend.
I showed her how to crochet.
She started out a bit awkward
and unsure whether she would ever get the hang of it.
But after an unsteady start




she got into the swing of it.
She was really enjoying it
and keen.
So when she left to return home,
the pink ball of wool went with her.
I'm sure it's gone to a good home.
After all she sews some nifty little softies
as you can see from this owl she made for me a while back.






Ive written about it before
last year.
It sits in my workshop.
A lovely inspiration.



Back to my Ripple blanket.
The pattern for this is also care of Attic24.
Once I had finished crocheting my granny squares
I was still keen to continue crocheting.
So I looked around and I found a collection of wool,
various amounts,
different thicknesses,
random colours.
Most from some that mum had used for knitting.
So in true repurposed fashion
I fashioned them into my blanket.
I had seen The Ripple countless times in blogs
and I never imagined making one myself,
too time consuming,
even boring!
But no, not at all.
I started and I love doing it!
It's rhythmic,
relaxing,
soothing,
enjoyable.
True the colours would not be my first choice,
and the wools are a mixture
so I'm having to be creative with my tension to allow for the difference in the wools.
But I love it
and I will be so pleased when I get it finished,
and that will be whenever the wool runs out,
because,
finish it I will.

This post has been sitting around for ages
waiting for me to finish it.
I think because the computers
yes both of them,
just will not behave as I expect them to,
so it makes posting very frustrating at times!
Anyway since starting this post
two weeks ago!

my daughter has started her own blog
which if you would like to call and visit her, you can either Google Take your love to spar,
or click on Siobhans comment on Little Things, my previous post.
Im sorry, but I am having problems with both of the computers in different ways!!!
She has some more of her owls in her first post.


I think I will post this now while I have the chance.
Im sure I could have written tis better, but.......
computers!
Or is it me!!

Little Things

X is for Kiss.
Continuing with A-Z Monday
or to be more exact
Z to A Monday as we work back up through the alphabet to A
with Jen at http://unglazed.blogspot.com/

Every now and then I send my grandson something.

At Eastertime it was a snowflake of Easter Bunnies,

At Hallowean

I made him a bat and a ghost out of fabric.

Just little somethings

for a 4 year old.

One time I added a row of cutout paper kisses.

A row for him,

a row for Mummy,

a row for Daddy

and a row for his Uncle.

He loved them.

Time to send him some more.

Note that this has been posted late.

When working on it

the computer decided to shut down!

So I had to return to it

on the spare computer

when it was free.

A-Z Monday

I thought I would join Jen over at http://unglazed.blogspot.com to post a picture to illustate the letter of the week.
This week is the turn of the letter Y.

My favourite colour is yellow,
and you already know that I love flowers.
So what better way to post my first picture for A-Z Monday by combining the two.
I'm not sure what the flowers are,
maybe Strife?
They grow like weeds anyway,
so easy to grow,
they grow themselves.
I think they look nice against the green.
We have several splurges of them in our garden,
unkempt things they are.
A yellow splash of colour.
Cheery,
wayward.
Just how I like my flowers.

My first offering for A-Z Monday!
I look forward to future Mondays.
Pop over to Jen's to see who else is participating.


The flowers are not the only things that are wayward round here.
Our computer is acting up!
It means I'm not able to get round and visit people as I would like.
I started today's post and then had to leave and come back to it when the computer agreed to co-operate.
It's all very frustrating!

Ahh well,
these things are sent to try us.
Let's hope I manage a post tomorrow.

In the Pink

Happy 25th Birthday to my daughter!

Here she is with her son on a local beach in Northumberland last February.

I love her pink hair!

Not sure what colour it is at the moment.

She probably won't thank me for posting this photo of her,

(which is why I've chosen one where you can't really see her).

She doesn't like having her photo taken

so she tells me,

though Facebook would tell me different.

So a Happy Happy Birthday to her,

and I hope that the weather stayed fine for the party she was having this afternoon.