A nice quiet day

 

Morning sun!! But not exactly weather to put clothes on the line!!

The dehumidifier has been working well today!

By lunchtime the clouds had lifted a little so I ventured outside 

Wave to the neighbours, then I found a tree full of sparrows!!

There was even some blue sky until I turned the corner....and there were the clouds rolling in again

Busy starlings

And busy cat.."who are you looking at????"

Back home just as the fine rain started again....lunch and print work...

Then just before 6, my phonecall!! He had forgotten that I no longer have a landline and had been trying that....so his festive cooking done sons gone out he could have a phone call in peace!

Good to catch up with an old friend and hear their voice even if you are still far away.

Then a quick supper , a quick check on blogs....and there are new blocks to carve...

Bread!!

 I got brave last night and mastered the screen of my "new" bread maker...

And the result was tried this morning..with homemade marmalade if course!

A nice extra after breakfast to get energy for a trip to town on the bus.

I went out as near to the bus time as possible...and got quite damp in five minutes!! Thankfully it was dry by the time we reached town..and stayed dry.

Posting done..with quite a wait.. people need to use the post office all year round, not just before Christmas!!

Then I had time to walk around town... today's exercise..the co-op shop's refurbishment is still ongoing..re-opening due on Friday. I didn't need much there so waiting is ok. A walk up to the top of the town followed. There is supposed to be a new art and craft outlet opening..but no sign of it.

I'm not to worried about that, as the proposal is apparently renting a shelf plus a percentage of sales. As it isn't in a part of the town with much footfall I am wondering how successful they will be. 

A little different to the gallery and circle I used to be a member of...now in Frogmore street in Abergavenny, moved in from the outskirts.

There we did shop duty once or twice a month..those doing two had a smaller percentage deduction from their sales. 

I found a small arts and crafts shop selling materials and finished work..not in an obvious place, but with a surprising number of people passing by..

The owner is friendly, and we have a fair bit in common..so I must get some stock out and take it there, even if just small prints to start with.

There used to be an art and craft and office supplies shop elsewhere in town, and she told me the latest news of the building...the rear now a yoga studio, the front and upstairs a gallery and artists' workshops...

No time to look today, I can look at that next time.

Back home for a rest, then give the cutlery and kitchen tool drawer a good clean and sort out...you don't realise just how grubby they get, even though you are putting clean items in !!

After supper... risotto from the freezer...some gentle mending.

I can't just sit... sitting quietly in good company is one thing. Sitting alone is a completely different matter.

Walking a Lang Way

 I had a sale!! At last...another bus journey to Ayr to post it...and another new bus journey...on the bus that heads out towards what was Butlins holiday camp...and is still a holiday camp...I got off the bus just before the bridge over the river Doon..the second bridge down from the one in the poem "Tam o'Shanter"...down to the coastal path...

The pole is the marker for the national cycle route, in this case NCR7.

There were blackberries.! Looking ripe and juicy but still quite sharp, needing more sunshine...as do the apples on the tree that we have foraged from every year.

As I went further north the clouds began to hide Arran.

And I reached the beginning of the Lang Scots Mile...

It got much busier..just a couple of weeks school summer holidays to go...and the ice cream stand and playground were busy as was the beach!... mainly for running around!!

The path cuts between new flats and skirts the walls of the old Citadel...and the newer one..a sports centre...

 To be continued tomorrow..it is getting late and blogger doesn't want any more photos....

Keeping active...

 I wasn't very active this morning... waiting for a phone call...much unpicking done while waiting....phone call postponed until lunchtime...

Which meant trying to make a call myself...cue asking auntie Goggle for over half an hour, as the company concerned doesn't put their phone number on their letters....

Then a 52 minute call, 45 of which was hanging on...but at least I know now that my widow's pension is a Live Case...and phone again in two weeks if I haven't heard anything.

Things may be tight....but just imagine if I was under state pension age..... possibly younger, with children to care for.,and if I did claim Universal Credit benefit, that is at least five weeks wait for a decision....

Then I could get out in the fresh air and DO something!!! 

I trimmed some grass and clipped up the tomato plants after clearing out the leaves below any fruit.

It started raining..just a few sprinkles...so grab a coat and go for a walk around Hannahston...just along the nearest side and back up the fields, not the full circuit.

Of course, having taken a coat...it stayed dry until after I got home again!!

Dogwood fruit ripening....

Lammas growth on the young oak trees

And thistledown 

Getting out

 I spent most of today sorting and tidying...doing an hour at a time then having a break..worn out clothes getting the heave ho...his and mine...and setting aside those unneeded..his and mine! 

There are some things that I haven't looked at yet.... because I need to reduce my "spare tyre" before trying them on.....

An old coffee/child's play / work table has gone on farcebook marketplace locally..that gets collected tomorrow.  I can't remember where we got it from...but Pirate would never refuse an offer..even if we had no need or space for something!! At least now it has found someone who needs it.

All that done so time for a walk...round Hannahston, with a diversion to see how the future foraging may be.... An hour well spent.

Only one variety of wild pears has survived...again...and no plums...but the cooking apple looks promising as well as all the other apples.



First garlic lifting..the tops haven't dried, but this won't matter for these...they will be used quick enough!

Freezing the last of the gooseberries...I was glad to see that although I picked them early, they have carried on ripening..and where they are dark red they are delicious! Two boxes with 1½ lb each ( a total of 1360 g for those in metric) ..add the 2¼ lb in the jam, and a couple of handfuls om top of that...well over 5lb in total..not bad atall.