Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

it is rather cold the weather widget on the mac says -1 feels like -7. The snow has not really reached us. This is the best it could do

I visited the allotment at the weekend John has been very busy



We harvested these


and very tasty they were too.
John has fixed some sliding doors in the greenhouse



Yesterday was my blogaversary, you have a chance to win this





if you leave a comment. There are nine birds dangly. I will draw the winner when I next post

Thanks for visiting

Birds and bits and pieces

The weather this week has been cold and damp. Just by chance yesterday I looked out of the window to see a visitor. I cannot say that she is frequent because last year and the year before I only saw her once. Yes the wren had returned. Sadly the camera was upstairs and of course she had flown by the time I found it. I say she it might be he and might not be the same one. had the camera been available I might have some good shots because she was pecking in the pot nearest the house.
Today the blue tits were busy feeding and this time I did have the camera




We see most blue tits on the feeders at the front of the house. Our sparrow population seems as large as ever despite the hard winter last year.

The angels are progressing

and there are now matching stars


It is five days until my blogaversary and birds are involved so next week I shall post the finished article that someone will win.

The month seems to be whizzing past. In fact the year has. This time last year my sister came to visit. So soon it will be time to put up the Christmas decorations and hope there is no disaster
just scrolled down to see.

I really do like the tree up by the first weekend in December so Tia is going to spend a long time making do with the kitchen table!

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.

cat, cacti, angels..

Well it is blowing a gale here again today. What a mixture of weather we have had this week. Freezing cold icy blasts that have made the temperature feel several degrees lower that it really is, pouring rain, and now really high winds.
However Tia had the right idea last night


She can always find the best spot. If you are wondering about the terrible white mark on my kitchen table it involved hot plates that had been warmed in the oven. The heat went through the place mat and the table cloth!

My Christmas cactus are lovely this time of year although we never reap the benefit. They are on the window sill at the top of the stairs hidden by the voile curtain.


They do well because the receive minimum daylight in the darker days. They don't seem to like a lot of fuss either. There are three but two are quite similar in colour.

I have made these this week

They look a bit insignificant at the moment but will be Christmas Angels. The pattern is from Popular Patchwork 2007 Christmas Issue. I am going to use tradition Christmas colours for their dresses rather than the modern ones in the magazine.

The buttons arrived for the blogaversary draw gift so hopefully that will be finished this weekend. A Christmas gift is finished and the swap X stitch is coming along nicely.

All is quiet at the allotment John took photos but I forgot to ask him to send them to me so that I could use them here.

Thank you for visiting and the comments. I do not always manage to send a reply but appreciate you leaving a message.

The garden ...

...is looking very bare. Last weekend we did a lot of clearing away. The frost at the beginning of the week had finished off the nasturtiums. They are now in their new home.

John pulled up the slabs so that the worms can find their way in. It is surprising how much waste our little yard produces. So now we are producing compost in two different ways. Though the worms in the wormery will not be so active over the winter months.
We have repotted out big bush

There is still a bit of clearing to do

and still some colour.

We have had an incredible amount of rain this week 47mm over three days. Looking back I found it was much the same last year. Today is bright and sunny and much colder.

The secret stitching and knitting is going well and the blogaversary gift is awaiting some buttons. My latest textile lady has finally found a hair embellishment she likes

I think she has gone for the 1920s look.

This is my next project although the photo is awful.

In case you cannot see; its the outline of some angels.

If you have some time to waste may I suggest seals
as I am typing a cute baby is snoozing in the shallows.
You will need to be quick though the camera is switched off on Sunday

I have not visited the allotment for a while but I understand from John it is all coming along nicely

Thanks for visiting.