Lunch Time Treat

Friday we had our lunch break at the Port of Ness, taking our little picnic and our travel mugs of coffee with us.  It was nice to admire the views and stroll along the pier, taking in the beauty.  Thankful that we have each other to share this beautiful Island with.

 

The harbour was constructed  early in the 19th Century.

 

 

The boathouse features in the Peter May novels and tours are now been offered around the area.

The first time in awhile that I wasn't wearing a warm jumper, we reached the dizzy heights of 20 for a few hours.  The bonus was there wasn't a lot of wind either, making it feel quite warm. 

Sadly it didn't last and the winds picked up to almost gale force which meant the cancellation of Ness Gala, planned for Saturday.  Such a shame, when so much hard work was put in to it by the organizers.  It did make for some quite dramatic skies.

There was also the beautiful rainbow to admire.

Just for a change Highland cattle instead of sheep, they have such a majestic stature and are a joy to sit and watch.

Sadly the weather deteriorated over the weekend so it was indoor pursuits.  I have managed to get a little crafting done which I will share in another post.  As always thank you for your wonderful comments and encouragement.

See you soon.

St Moluags Church

We have had another tour around our local area, enjoying the views and getting to know where everything is.  Our neighbour helped us with the rubbish from the outbuildings, it is amazing how much bigger the buildings are now.

 

Several trips were made to the recycle centre, with a lot of the things finding new homes which was good.  We are still a long way off making a start on the renovations out there, concentrating on the main house first.  It is a joy to see the building like this...

 

 

...and dream...

 

Our recent tour took us around Europie, which is about one mile away from the Butt of Lewis.  There in the middle of a croft is St Moluag's Church.

 

 

Church services are only held in the warmer months as there is no water or electricity in the building.  There is a fence both side of the walkway to keep it clear from sheep wandering over it.

 

 

It is believed to be a 13th Century temple.  There is certainly a lot of speculation about the origins, one tradition believes that St Ronan founded the church before going on to the Isle of Rona.  It is certainly a beautiful place to visit and one of great peace and calm.

 

 

 

The lighting is by oil and candle.

 

 

Can you imagine a Carol Service, what a beautiful place to come together and celebrate. 

 

Not much crafting is been done here at the moment we have both been busy outside, painting.  If it doesn't move it gets painted.  We are hoping our little cottage will be looking its best by the end of the Summer with its newly painted exterior.  The plan then is to finish off the interior once the weather changes, one little step at a time.

 

My only craft achievement in the past couple of days is some tags in readiness for Birthday gifts, made using some oddments/scraps of Harris Tweed.  Rather fitting I thought.

 

 

I will close with last nights supper, broccoli soup with cheese and scones.  A wonderful warm up and reward for the painting outside.  The thermometer was reading 21 yesterday but with the wind it didn't feel particularly warm.

Finally, just because...

See you soon.

Surprise Visitor

We had a little visitor yesterday, which made us both smile.  It gave us the run around for awhile, as yet we still can't discover how it got in...it is a mystery!

 

It is now back where it belongs, along with the rest of its family.

 

 

Yesterday was a little poignant for us both, it was a day that we really did miss our family.  The girls all phoned and sent some wonderful gifts and cards and I managed to speak to my Dad.  What would we do without modern day technology?  I did make rather a grand treat for Gerard in lieu of not seeing the girls.  It was a hairy bikers recipe and something that I would definitely make again.  Pork fillet wrapped in bacon with an apricot and ginger stuffing.

 

 

I didn't have any dried apricots so I used some tinned ones, it did not detract from the taste.

 

2 balls of ginger were used along with a little of the syrup.

 

 

 

I bought a large fillet and chopped it into two, a rolling pin was used to flatten it to about 1cm thick.

 

 

It was then wrapped in cling film and left overnight in the fridge.  I put it on to cook on our return from Church and it cooked in about 50mins.  Served with veg/gravy and of course the traditional for Sunday Yorkshire pudding.

 

 

Progress is been made all the time on the cottage, both inside and out.  The side fence has now been repaired and one coat of stain we are just waiting for a better day, weather wise and I will give it another coat.

 

 

The bedroom has had a few additions, I have used some of the checked fabric to cover a couple of the drawers.  A rag wreath has been made, a heart and a bag to store all my hair paraphernalia, not an inch of fabric was wasted.

 

 

I have finished the chairs, Harris Tweed has been used to cover the seats, I have to admit to been a tiny bit proud of them.  They look quite good in their new home.

 

 

Whilst the rest of the UK is basking in the sun in such wonderful temperatures, we are still only reaching the dizzy heights of 14, showers and of course wind.  We are ever hopeful that it will pick up next week.  The only bonus with the wind it doesn't take long to get the washing dry...and yes we do have to use storm pegs here to keep the washing on the line.  It is a battle to get it onto the line some days.

 

 

I have a date with a sewing machine so must get on, what is keeping you busy?

 

See you soon.