At Bloomin' last!!!

Finally I have finished this blanket. It's taken me nearly eighteen months which is just ridiculous.

I started it when we put in an offer for the house we are now living in, I just wanted to make something specially for it.

Autumn is a very special time for me, my birthday is in September and I tend to view Autumn as a time of new beginings, I make resolutions and such around about this time. Probably stems from the begining of school/college terms. They always seemed like a fresh start.

The colours of Autumn have a special place in my heart. I must admit I use them in my home decor quite often, I'm pretty certain all my flats etc have had an Autumnal coloured living room. It works all times of year, I can make it really cosy around Christmas and make it cooler in summer just by changing a few cushions and accessories.

 


I'm not a modern girl, really. I do like retro and comfy and above all, cosy.

So I'm now onto my next project. A little baby blanket. I've decided to use a Clamshell pattern from Cherry Heart. It's so pretty and just perfect. I've only got a few months to get it done, so can't afford to eek it out like I did my Autumnal blanket! 

Colour and Crochet

I love this time of year. I really do. And mainly it's because of the colour that seems to explode from nature.

I've been in heaven with my camera.

I seem to be obsessed with leaves and berries.

My garden is just full of colour. I feel like I'm seeing it for the first time this year. I must have missed it last year.

I'm still recovering from that 'lurgy'. It's been lingering for way too long, but I'm hoping I'm on the mend now.

The result of that is that I've not been particularily productive I'm still plodding along with my current WIP, my autumnal Granny Blanket.

 It's not a complicated pattern and I like the mindless repetition of it all.  I'm enjoying and plan to spend the afternoon indulging in some hooky goodness.

I really liked the photo with the pink flowers and have stored that away for a possible future project.

However I have had this particular stash of wool for a few months now.

 
I'm determined to finish the autumnal blanket first. But can't wait to play with all this wool!!

Hidden Treasures.

I think I mentioned before that I am getting quite obsessed about photography. In a strictly amateur way.  I stumbled on a group of photo's on IG of something called 'Macro Photography'. It wasn't something I was that aware of before, I mean I'd seen it before but didn't really take much notice. But these photo's realy struck me.

When I got my Lumix I played around with the Macro mode and was absolutely smitten. I loved seeing things, ordinary things, from a completely fresh perspective. It was like a whole other world.

But then my husband surprised me with a macro lens for my iPhone. He does love a gadget, even vicariously. It arrived yesterday.

I'm going to digress for a wee bit now. We are both still under the weather a bit..Will this cough EVER go away?

 I had a meeting in town and we met up for dinner, Pizza Express. I love going out for anything either drinkable or edible. I get it from my gran. She always went for a cup of tea every time she went shopping. A habit I continue to this day. I get a wee thrill, even if it's a McDonalds or a greasy spoon, I still love it. I'm a simple soul.  My husband knows me well and will indulge me. I honestly couldn't face cooking so Pizza Express it was.

So as soon as we got home I was presented with my new lens. Its a 'Ztylus, Revolver Lens Attachment'.  Very simple and easy to clink onto the phone. The initial instructions were great.

After that it got a bit hazy. As in there was no other information. But You tube is an amazing thing, we soon (Well, I say 'we', really it was Mr M) found a review and after that I was flying.

This lens is better than the macro setting on my camera, at least that's my first impression.

The first pic I took was of the arm of my chair. A rather tasteful, muted, closely woven tartan cover chair (ahem). This is what happened.

We both almost recoiled in shock.

But it was getting a bit too dark and we were both exhausted and a had some stuff to do around the house. So I put it away until today.

Another wee digression, Archie is still wearing his cone of shame so requires supervision in the garden. No walks until we've had the all clear from the vet. Luckily I have a rather large rambling garden. So he's never bored and can run around with me to his wee hearts content.  He uses his cone to scoop up gravel and all sorts of stuff. I had to kiss a clump of carnations goodbye yesterday as he managed to dig 'em up and chew on them in the blink of an eye!  I've taken to having my coffee sitting on the front steps, sometimes huddled under a brolly, watching him.

So I let him play about me as  I played with my camera. Which may have added to the general fuzziness of some of these photos, he likes being the center of my world, does Archie! He's in for a shock after Christmas.

I contented myself with trying to get photo's of dew drops on the leaves.  It's not as easy as you'd think, even though it's been made as simple as is possible. But because you are taking pics of such small things every movement you make is amplified on the camera. A bit like shaky binoculars. I was attempting to take freestyle pics of plants which were moving in the breeze.  So initially I was a bit frustrated. But I managed to take some passibly good photos.

When I looked at them on my computer I could see how out of focus they were or just focused incorrectly, But that's okay. I think I'm going to enjoy practising.


I then spotted my old mossy garden wall, so off I went to see what that looked like under the macrolens.

It's a whole other planet on there. I caught pics of things I couldn't see with the naked eye. Little heart shaped funghi, tiny clumps of moss. Amazing textures and colours.

This world we live in is really a wonderful and spectacular place.

The thing I've found though with photography and with Instagram, is that so many people do take it rather seriously. I'm very obviously an amateur, I'm not trying to convey a message, find myself, tell a story or indeed present myself in any particular way. There's nothing wrong with doing any of those things in fact I'm wondering if I should, more to the point I'm wondering if I want to do that. I don't think I do.

My IG gallery is a miscellaneous collection of selfies, pics of the cats and dog, a diary of what I've been up to, including the cliched food pics, and some arty experiments. But then, I think, if you look at my gallery you'd find out a lot about me as a person.



Although at the minute it'll be inundated with close up photo's of my garden!!










 

The House of the Dreaded Lurgy

Well perhaps I'm exaggerating. Just a tad.

A teeny tad.

It just feels like we are all sick.

The cats aren't though, which is a relief. After an initial morning inspection of us, they just slink away only to be seen again if they want fed. Probably very sensible of them.

It started with me, a a sneeze, a cough and a scratchy throat and then BOOM! I was floored by  a cold that quickly found its way to my chest and decided to coorie in and make itself at home there.

My immune system is weakened at the minute so I was laid particularly low by this and for various reasons I am having to rely on the most basic of remedies.

I felt very medieval.  I'm all for a natural approach but this felt extreme. A beechams powder is a miraculous thing..but I can't. But it is all for the best and I'm sure will be worth it.

I'm actually nose deep in a Vick inhaler as I type. Try not to dwell too much on that attractive image, eh?

Archie, our Scottie pup. Has had his own fair share of drama.

A fortnight ago I found a wee lump on his cheek. Being the vigilant and slightly ( read - very) overprotective dog mum I am, he was promptly whisked off to the vets. She made lots of reassuring noises, aspirated the lump and we were sent home with a weeks course of anti-biotics.

Then Archie started to sneeze and he got a doggy cold! Complete with a runny nose. So we had a Snotty Scottie!!

Back to the vets. I fully expect to be invited to their Christmas night out at this rate!

Told to keep taking the tablets and just monitor him. So we did.

He was miserable and did get much better but was frustrated as I kept him away from other dogs. He loves a good play does Archie!!

A week ago the results from his wee lump came back. They were weird results for a pup. Looks like he has lymphoid cells where he shouldn't. Very rare.  His lump was getting smaller, but the lab still recommended removal. Louise, our lovely Vet suggested we get him in for his castration and get the lump removed at the same time. We're trying not to worry too much about the results, as the worst case scenario is going to be heartbreaking.

But as anyone who knows me, knows I have a talent for worrying. A gift, if you will.

Upshot was that we booked him in two days later.

We swithered over the castration part. It seemed like kicking him while he was down, but it was the safest time as he had to go under an anesthetic anyway. I'd rather he had one op than two.

And to be truthful, he was getting a wee bit..ah...hormonal? I was begining to feel a bit sorry for his cuddly bear! A touch territorial and tiny mysterious puddles of pee were appearing in strange places.

As Mr M had to take him to the Vets, he reported that as they were waiting to be called, Archie, very matter-of-factly, pee'd on Mr M's shoe.

Talk about nipping behaviour in the bud!

 He returned home wearing the 'cone of shame', all groggy and feeling betrayed and just a wee soul.

Mr M and I felt terrible.

Then the next day Mr M came down with the cold and chest infection I did. The three of us were miserable together.

Archie's now hit that stage where he's full of beans, hating his buster collar and demanding a lot of attention. Amusing himself by trying to collect our hankies, used or new...whatever he can get his paws on. He's not that fussy. I have no idea how he gets them, but he does!

We are not full of beans, we are like two washed out rags.  working our way through Netflix and taking turns to make hot drinks.

I can't help thinking a Scottie puppy is like two other puppies. He's so sneaky, clever, quick and adorable and seems to be everywhere at the same time. But is a lot of work. It actually took two of us to put him to bed last night. He doesn't like 'bedtime' and runs and hides. It's really the only time he is out and out disobedient.

If I'm wearing a long skirt he actually hides under it! which is so sweet. But makes it easy for me to catch him.

This time next week, he'll have all his stitches removed and be free of the 'Cone'. Hopefully Mr M and I will be back to feeling much better so I think a day at the beach or somewhere else he loves will be in order!

Oh I do like to be beside the sea!

It feels like Autumn is here already. 

In many ways it is. It is my very favourite time of the year. I have never gotten out of the habit of seeing Autumn as a time of new beginnings. It's my Birthday soon so I think that contributes to my habit of starting new resolutions, hobbies and the like around this time.  

My new love appears to be amateur photography. It's easy to get hooked in this era of Instagram. I am an addict.

It all started with my OU course last year. I had to take photo's of my work and actually be imaginative. That struck fear and a sense of dread into my heart. 

I started using Instagram as a tool to practice, because goodness knows I needed to practice and I love it.

There are so many really talented people out there. I find it so inspiring. I am also in incredibly nosy individual and IG offers a peek into so many lives. 

I like I can post something and then come back later with a fresh eye and critique it. I like that friends and family can get a wee glimpse into what I've been up to or what Archie's latest escapade is. 

I love seeing photo's of the mundane right through to the spectactular..... and it makes me smile when some folk get quite snobbish about it all.   Decrying the person who loves selfies or taking pictures of their meals. 

With the arrival of Archie and forseeing the need to record events happening in life, we took the step of investing in a fancy schmancy camera. Mr Mimosa's idea really, he's been trying to buy one for the last few years but other things kept cropping up. The one he chose (I always let him pick gadgets, it's a gift he has) is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 a bridge camera.

To me that means there's lots of buttons and dials and things to click. I was a bit daunted to say the least. 

However slowly but surely I'm getting the hang of it. My IG feed is busy. 

But as I adore beaches and will go to one whenever I can, that means lots of beach photos....

and shell photos.....

and seaweed (with the occasional jellyfish) ...

and of course, adorable little Archie.....

All in all it's been quite a summer. I think I can sit back and think it was certainly a summer I'll never forget, but one that turned out extremely well. In fact pretty perfectly. 

I can only hope that Autumn will be as good. I'm already gearing up to go searching for photogenic golden trees, leaves and forests!

Timey whimey.

It's been rather a long time since I last posted. 

My only excuse is that it's been a mad time and  possibly the best of times. One of the many wonderful things that has happened since I last posted is that Archie arrived. 

He careered into our lives with a bang! A little black, scruffy whirlwind and it's been non stop ever since.

I got every bit of the chaos I longed for. 

 He did a fair bit of sleeping at the beginning. In fact  he had two settings. It was either full steam ahead or sleep.

There has been many firsts.

His first bath....

 His first selfie!

Not to mention digging his first hole!

He's grown an awful lot!

And had quite a few adventures....

So all in all it's been a busy few months.

Archie seems to be a typical wee Scottie. Stubborn, resilient, mischievous, loving,  playful, clever and downright adorable. 

He loves apples, being rubbed on his tummy, mysterious bags, barking at strangers and hates the rain.

It's been a whirlwind so far and I can't see that ending anytime soon.

Thankfully.