Highlandhearts

Hello, its been a while since i've written on my little blog but I am still here!   Hope you like this photo above taken this past weekend.  It is OH climbing up Ben Bhraggie.  Look how deep the snow is!  The monument is of the first Duke of Sutherland who played a large part in the Highland clearances.  It is 100 feet tall and has been there since 1837. We have had a couple of snowy days this past week but it has cleared again except for on the hills.  Maybe we will get a white Christmas this year. Its now a damp cold day and seeping into my bones so I have put another fleece on over my two jumpers and am sitting under a blanket with my fingerless gloves on (I can't write this update with my fingers covered!)  We are economizing on fuel with the expense of Christmas coming as at this time of year work for both of us dries up. My bit of good news is that I have been busy knitting away as my friend and I are currently supplying our crafting makes to 2 shops and it will b

I've had a lovely day trip out today to celebrate a friend's Birthday.  We are all big fans of "Outlander" after starting the series of books written by Diana Gabaldon for our bookclub.  If you haven't heard of it, its a passionate historical love story with a supernatural element and is set in the Highlands of Scotland. To the East of Inverness, past Culloden battlefield which is where Bonnie Prince Charlie led the Jacobite army against the English in 1746, there is this ancient site of standing stones and burial cairns. Its been a crisp, cold autumn day and it was nice to walk through the leaves, their crunch being the only sound in the quietness.  It wasn't eerie, just peaceful. Amazing to think that these stones were laid here thousands of years ago. We had a while to walk around, just the three of us, each of us touching some of the standing stones.  Apparently this place was where the author got her inspiration for "Claire to step

I went to woodworking classes the last two Saturday mornings and here is my highland coo.  I call him Claude!  It was great fun to make and we have a very patient teacher so I am going to sign up to do some other projects over the winter months.  What I also like about the courses is that everything is made from recycling bits and pieces so that makes the classes free. I had a move around of the furniture again.  You can just see Claude on the wall here underneath the mirror. This is my cosy armchair where i sit and do my knitting, kept in the basket beside my chair.  I have put a tartan throw on it now the autumns here and my crochet cushion softens the pouffe. The sofa has had the addition of a tartan blanket too and been placed closer to the fire. We have lit the stove this afternoon as its turned chilly and will help dry the washing.   Look at OH pretending hes on his computer but he has nodded off!!  Hes been on a good walk this morning and after showering

I am here staying at my friends lovely home which is now like a second home to me as I have stayed so many times before.  Come through the gate with me. I was playing frizbee with their dog in the garden this morning and look what was in the grass A fairy ring.  This is the perfect garden for it to appear as there are a few fairies already here. The stone next to this one says Fairies meeting place and he looks like he is waiting for someone doesn't he. These beautiful fairies perched on rocks and this bronzed one too. There are probably more hiding from me and Rossi, peeping out at us as we pass as I've heard that fairies are usually a bit camera shy :-) Rossi Terri X

The light is not greatest this week for taking photos but I am excited to show you  my new side table.   My nephew had this suitcase in his bedroom and I had my eye on it for ages. I swopped a  wicker hamper for it as he only needed it as a bit of storage space.  The case is lined with plywood inside so is quite sturdy.  The legs came from my sis-in-laws house and they had a wooden top which I removed.  Perfect for the case and making it a freebie side table too. I put up my winter curtains that I found in a charity shop.  At the time I didn't know what I was going to do with them but just loved the retro pattern and colours and they are perfect in my green room. They also happen to be the perfect size and length for the window so I sent for curtain hooks and rings for the pole from ebay, cost less than £5. I reframed this stag print which was given to me.  It was origionally mounted against a light background and a pine frame which had lost its glass but I had this fra

This is my new kitchen stool which had been upcycled by a lady nearby.  It was the perfect colour for my kitchen and I love the bees stensiled on it.  Sis-in-law brought it as an early Christmas present for me. We had one glorious sunny day this week.  I was working in the morning but was able to sit outside on my decking in the afternoon.  I really don't feel like I have had a lot of time out here this year. The garden has done well this year and my yellow daisies are beautiful at the moment and a haven for the bees. I even dozed off for a while in the sun. The hosta is dying back now and my budha is half hidden by all the growth. The sedum is in flower, underneath somewhere is my little rosemary. My spring onions are still growing in the pail This was the last area done this year.  Out of the three clematis planted it looks like two might survive but I will leave the third one just in case it comes back next year. We decorated a few pebbles and hav

Well I had a great time at the Highland Games but oh my, the weather was pretty awful with torrential rain.  It had rained every day for a week beforehand so when we arrived at 8.30ish there was already lots of mud!  The organisers had laid down boards and sheeting for the vehicles to drive on so we got in alright.  I had my wellies on as I knew the grass would be waterlogged. My photos aren't very clear but I popped out of our tent to have a look round in between showers. There were men in kilts everywhere and they are a hardy lot up here, the weather did not stop all the races, hammer throwing, discus etc. We set up our stall, I stood the decoupage table on a black bag to keep the legs dry.  We did sell it and the tall plant stand on the table. We have been busy making things the last few weeks and its lovely to think our crafty makes are making their way all over the world as we were chatting to people from Australia, Canada, USA, Holland and France. Lots of