Window Watching

After a week of cancellations and delays on the Ferries, they are finally running as normal today.  Long may that last.  The weather has been as you can imagine windy and wet.  Although the wind has now abated the rain is still coming down this morning.  We have had some moments in between the storms where the sun has shone brightly casting some evocative shadows.    Creating images that I remember from last year when I did a very similar post of the windows in our main town.  So many reflections but still a joy to admire the windows, imagining a young child with wondrous eyes exploring the magic.  We have the tree lighting and late night shopping next Friday but I thought I would share some of the windows whilst it wasn't so busy and of course during the day whilst it is light.  Waterproofs are not needed on this tour, but it is feeling a little chilly due to the wind factor.

These photos above are definitely a case of watching me watching you but I was so impressed by the use of books to make decor.  So simple and yet very effective.

Another simple but effective display in a small space created from twigs and handcrafted baubles.  It is also a great place to call in for a coffee.

I have had such fun playing around with some of these photos, the reflections are a delight at times but obviously detract from the window display.  I hope you get a vague idea of the wonderful array of displays.  Some have a wonderful vintage feel whilst others are right on trend.  It is a definite eclectic mixture of old and new which I love.

I am hoping that I can take some photos of quality that will show the windows at their best.  I must admit I have enjoyed the reflections and the fun of having two pictures at the same time to browse.

We are entering into a new month and indeed season.  I am so enjoying the process of preparation are you?

See you soon.

Pom Pom Penguin

Another day and it seems another storm, 26 of the 27 Caledonian MacBrayn ferry routes have updates, some delays but mainly cancellations.  We are hopeful that we will get a calm sea when we start travelling next month.  I am so glad that we did an early shop and that we have extra food and provisions, the delays and cancellations of the freight ferry will not have any adverse effects on us thankfully.  It is blowing a gale outside but we are warm and cosy and are ready to start relaxing.

The past couple of days have been spent giving the cottage a deep clean and a sort through the Christmas decor.  What fun we have had remembering Christmas's past, particularly when looking through the baubles.  It is certainly an eclectic mix but each one a different memory of a place or person.  I am not getting all the Christmas tableware out this year as we won't be here but a start has been made on a few Christmas touches.  We do want to feel festive prior to our trip away and decor is certainly a way of stirring  up a seasonal feeling.

Christmas cards have been written and are already to be posted.  Any worldwide post has already been taken to the post office.  I did look to try and reduce the numbers of cards posted but found it hard for one reason or another so I will cut a few corners somewhere else.  Our Grandson Bertie fell in love with a penguin in Waitrose but the price was little prohibitive.  Granny to the rescue...

... a  couple of pom poms, some orange felt and a couple of beads later... Tah Dah!

One very quickly became two.

They have been taken to the post office but how long they will take to get across to the mainland remains to be seen.  It will certainly make one little boy very happy.

As always I thank for your visit here and your comments they are all appreciated and indeed uplifting.  A warm welcome to a new follower I do hope you enjoy my little adventures through life.

See you soon.

Weekend

What a busy but fun filled weekend we have had.  We had friends and neighbours around on Saturday evening to get together for Christmas.  A little early I know but we won't be around and diaries are filling up quickly.  We then went to friends from Church for lunch and fellowship on Sunday which was a joy.  Saturday was spent preparing for guests and batch baking for the coming days.

Mince pie were first on the list, several variations made some with a crust topping and some a nutty crumble topping.

Sausage rolls were made , along with a  wreath using sausagemeat, stuffing and redcurrant jelly for the filling.

Mini quiches were also added.  Cheese and onion, cheese and tomato and cheese and pickle.

Cheese straws and cheese and cranberry sauce rounds.

The meat was done using the Hairy Bikers recipe that I have made several times before.  Two pork fillets stuffed with apricot and ginger stuffing and wrapped in bacon.  It makes for a stunning centrepiece and so tasty.  I didn't take photo of it cooked for some reason, but here it is wrapped in cling film prior to cooking.

Mixed fruit scones and cranberry and orange scones were added for dessert.  Along with a raspberry trifle and a New York cheesecake again with raspberries.

I did have some fun with the napkins choosing to make an elf's boot as there were a couple of children.  I popped a chocolate into the fold.  It was worth the effort to see the smiles.

Little gifts were made of hot chocolate mix and chocolate spoons, perfect for this time of year.  They were certainly well received.

In other news, we have had our first egg.  We were both so excited to find it and then one very quickly became three.

Aerobics class today and then I intend to sort through some of the Christmas decor.  We have so much that we have collected over the years that will just not fit into this little cottage so time to let some of it go.  Our daughters will love and cherish some of it and carry on some of our little traditions.  It will be so nice when we are not together to have shared memories and reflect on Christmas's past in our separate homes.  An ornament here and there reflecting some of the trips that we have taken together, or gifts bought and loved.  Spreading some of the happiness and ornaments that trigger so many happy memories will keep us together in spirit.

As always I thank you for your visit to this blog and for you comments.

See you soon.

Uplifting Stroll

Thank you so much for all your comments and emails, it has been a joy reading them together, we are indeed thankful and feel blessed by your support.  We have had quite a busy week, making arrangements for our trip away, we are so excited to be able to catch up with the family.  We have also been shopping the cottage and rearranged some of the rooms and changed the curtains and accessories in the lounge.  We have given it a bit of a makeover and made it look and feel warmer.  The curtains are thick and lined so will help to retain the heat as well as adding a couple of warm throws that we can snuggle under.  There was quite a lengthy power cut yesterday but the cottage was still warm and cosy due to the multi fuel stove.  We were also able to have warm drinks by putting the kettle on the top to heat water.  We were also about to heat some soup but thankfully power was restored before the need arose.

We have finally finished all the Christmas shopping by taking advantage of the early Black Friday sales.  It is such a relief to have everything sorted and indeed wrapped ready to go.  We had a lovely walk around the town and took advantage of the dry but cool weather, taking a stroll around the harbour.

A lot of the trees have now lost their foliage and so it was a delight to catch a glimpse of the castle here and there.

We didn't walk the castle grounds but it is a nice walk and gets your heart pumping due to its undulations.  We did call into the harbour shop and get a selection of fish for the freezer.

Today it is my intention to catch up with you all and to do some batch cooking, meals for busy days ahead.  Wishing all my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving, we certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

There is nothing like a bracing stroll to lift your spirits.  Hope you enjoyed the tour as much as we did.  A warm welcome to a new follower, hope you enjoy our little adventures through life.

See you soon.

We Are Rejoicing

Thank you so much for all your comments and anniversary wishes.  We had a lovely day of reflection  and a little time spent planning for the future.  For those of you that don't know Gerard had a heart attack earlier in the year (March).  It has been quite the journey getting his quality of life back, due to the quantity and mix of medication due to other conditions.  It has been a long journey but on Thursday after a couple of weeks of monitoring and testing he is back on track.   The doctors have surpassed theirselves and have found the right mix of medication.  His blood pressure and heart beat are now back in rhythm and normal, no longer requiring a further operation or pacemaker. We are now able to once again look forward and start planning for the future.  We are so thankful for your support and prayers over the past months for those who have been on this journey with us.  He will need monitoring but for now we are rejoicing and feel blessed.

We are now excited and making plans to visit the family during December and have  booked a log cabin at Effteling in Holland for the Christmas period.  Exciting times.

In the meantime, the preparations for Christmas and our trip continue.  I have made a start on soap savers and washcloths to go with the soap already made.

Hair bows have been made for the girls.

Some simple fabric tags that can be added to the tree.

A start has been made on Harris Tweed stockings which I am hoping to embellish with a stag.  Progress on these are slow due to intermittent power cuts, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't finish them.

We have had some beautiful red skies that my photos do not do justice, they are breathtaking.

Finally, I haven't shared a photo of the sheep for awhile.

Highland cow.

Geese.

Once again I thank you for your friendship and support, we have been humbled by your concern.

See you soon.