Heading for the Hills

Sunday was a crisp and cool autumnal morning. 

A few essential jobs to do before we are free to play out.

A quick visit to Settle town.

Then  on to the hills.

Over the Dales, with snowy topped hills all around

Had a smile at car sticker-humour

in the village of Langcliffe

We stopped by the river Ribble,

sitting the the sunshine

drinking tea

drinking in the view

And,

when we returned off the hills

the sun was disappearing behind the skyline.

Time to head back - the boys were hungry (mind you so were we!)

Today is Monday - another start to another week. hey ho... 

Hope you had a lovely weekend where ever you are xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx hawthorn

November knittin' notes

Well - that was a damp squib was it not!?

We had, as per normal, a bowl of trick or treater-sweets. I handed out one lot of sweets to a pair of the prettiest witch/pippi-long-stocking/type girls who sweetly chirped 'trick or treeeeeat' and then having selected a sweet or two chirped again 'thank you and happy halloweeeeeeen'

And that, as the saying goes, was that...... s'pose the torrential rain had something to do with the poor turn out.

We, did however light our celtic pumpkins, and quietly contemplated the turning of the seasons. Autumn is gently fading, leaves fall, the air is cooler by the day and winter is not that far off. Winter - winter is the beginning and not the end.

Any hoo.

I've been a knittin'. Frantic finger aching knittin'. 

Squash in any free moment type knittin'. Looky looky!

I started another (yes another..) shawlette. 

This ball of  wool had almost been two other shawlettes 

but at the last moment were frogged. 

I finally settled for this pattern and finished it a happy happy knitter.

For those who think it is the same one I did before - I promise it isn't, 

look below, the one I wear all the time (on the right)  is much orangy/browner, 

where as the new one is tooooo pink for me.... A gift for some one may be???

Who ever gets to wear it, hopefully they will love wearing them as much as me!!

Then, no sooner as one shawlette finished....another begins....

obsessed moi? 

This one is delighting me as the colour variations gently slide into each other 

giving the impression of pseudo-fairisle - yummy! 

Now, I have plans for this one, to make it a bit more girly than first impressions. 

Ooh - can't wait!

There are other things on the hook and the needles but sshhhhhh - they're S*E*C*R*E*T!!

Hey ho, really glad that this week is ending. It has been 'interesting' at work and all this seems to have a knock on effect on me and consequently my family. Not making me a happy bunny. I think this is why I am frantically knitting - it is a form of escapist therapy!!

Well - here's to November - lets make it a creatively good 'un :) hawthorn  xxxxxxxxxxx

October's end

October's last day - Samhain tonight. The village will be filled with little ghosts and princess-witches. There will be knocking at the door and sweets given and costumes admired. This is the first year in many that we have simply not got involved. Oh - we have the sweets and we will answer the door and light up the window skyscape and pumpkins but the boys have suddenly grown up and don't want to actually join in with the festivity of it......boo.

We have a diva in our midst.

She poses and pouts. She wears her outfits with aplomb. She knows how to work her adoring crowds.

Oh, oh - here she comes!

Pan models a seasonally coloured cowl with wooden buttons made for a metro-sexual Siamese 

(his owner's description, not mine!)

*******************************************

I thought I would do an October montage

A lot has happened.  Birthdays, foul weather, walking, Samhain, autumn arrived and Lily* vanished. 

*Yesterday, as I flung open the bedroom curtains, a big ginger cat was sitting on the kitchen roof. My heart did a skip but at the same time I knew it was not Lila. The cat turned and stared, it was a huge tom cat, short coated and sporting - a purple collar and bells.... He jumped off the roof and disappeared.

I think that this cat is the one that folk have been seeing. She has been gone for 15 days now, not a sign, nothing. We have to face facts - she is gone.

Celtic designs and city skyscapes

Still on the theme of 'decorating for Samhain', the three of us (Himself was busy doing the loft conversion) got creative.

In between walking around the village for Lily (there has been several possible sightings of her  so we have been out all times of day and night in hope) Youngest and I have been carving pumpkins and Eldest has made a brilliant window display.

He first drew a skyscape on black paper, cutting many windows. He was definitely practising multi-tasking as he was watching Fawlty Towers at the same time.... !

We had, on one of our Looking-for-Lily walks, collected some very vibrant leaves, which Eldest then painstakingly taped and trimmed to fill the windows with colour.

I then taped it to our front window for him and we strategically placed fairy lights behind the windows and....

Just look at this!

before switching on the lights

The leaves made gorgeous colours and they really showed off all his 'windows' he had created - I am really pleased with his creativity.


Youngest and I ended up with two decorated pumpkins and a huge pot of pumpkin, chilli and garlic soup and home-made cinnamon bread - aaah heaven!

So, now the house is fully Samhain-ed and souped up.

PS - the possible sightings of our dear Lily are still coming in, I have just had another phone call saying that a cat was spotted - So without much of a thought apart from grabbing a coat and a torch, I set off, but  - nothing.  We do still have hope - how many deep red super furry fluff-cats live in our village?

Hawthorntime horrors

For Angela and C,

Hopefully a little inspiration to set off your Samhain mojo 

I trawled the internet and found some free templates. ** I've listed them below

With a little bit of scissor action and a lot of snippity bits left everywhere.

We now have a murder of crows cackling above our mirror.

A swarming colony of bats dashing across our wall.

Goulish faces watching our every move.

And skulls adoring our walls.

I've not quite finished, there are spiders and their webs waiting to go up and a few last touches.

AND!

Yesterday we bought two pumpkins -

Just think of the fun (and the soup says Himself and Eldest)

For the spider look HERE

For the Crows look HERE and HERE

For the goulish faces look HERE

For the bats look HERE

Thank you for your lovely comments about my last post, they are a delight to read :)

***********************************

The richness of autumnal shades

 I'd felt that our rather insipid summer had seamlessly drifted into autumn with out the usual bang fizz until we were out last Saturday and my eyes were invigorated by some gorgeous colours.

So, inspired to seek out more eye popping colour I wandered into the garden and was pleasantly surprised.

Reds 

Rhus typhina

American Blueberry 

Acid yellows

Hydrangea petiolaris

Rosa rugosa 

Oranges

Geranium sanguineum

Cotoneaster microphyllus

The last of the calendula

Purples

Akebia quinata - Chocolate Vine

All the colours of the season - makes it feel right to think about decorating the window in preparation of Samhain (Halloween). The boys are up for it and it does mean we can go and collect leaves and cut up card and legitimately make a mess!