Exploring a new area, or revisiting somewhere you haven't been for a while definitely allows you to see things in a new way.. We visited this shop, really by accident and the following of one of those touristy brown signs. The promise of lunch led us to this Aladdin's cave of crafty goodness...

Yarns reflecting the tones of the surrounding countryside 

There were also felting classes going on where we saw 3 women making hats. all very different and all wearable .... Well worth a look.

Meanwhile outside we saw lots of these, no surprise there I hear you say considering we were in the very heart of Scotland and all that that brings...

But look here at the thistledown that they make after the purple heads die away...

Whispy soft you could almost imagine it stuffed into a case to make a downy duvet....

Just to finish up .... How about your own Rustic Highland Cottage Up for sale right across from the craft shop. Needs a bit of work though.......

Other Holiday Matters

Surprisingly we didn't spend all week searching for fungi as might have seemed the case from my last post. No, we did other things as well. After a bit of persuasion (ok and some bribery) the three of us spend some time cycling up Glen Lyon. This is supposed to be the prettiest glen in Scotland and it was trying very hard to live unto it's name. The scenery was fabulous....

The whole place is very lush, hardly surprising given the amount of rain.....

When we weren't cycling we tried out a few of the walking routes in the area. Both in the woods and above the tree line. The midges were pretty bad as soon as the rain stopped so it became quite welcome especially in the bracken covered areas.....

On one walk we met this fellow. He was very friendly although between you and me he might have been a bit too keen on getting close...

One evening we went on a Highland safari. It was absolutely brilliant. Out kilted ranger took us 'up the hill" to over 3000 feet in his Landrover. We saw deer, mouton hare and the views really were out of this world.....

My pictures don't do them justice.. I would definitely recommend doing this if you are ever in the area. We would like to go back in the winter as I am sure everything will look very different then.

I still seem to have lots to tell you about but I will keep it for another slow news day. xx

Fun Guys

We have just arrived back after spending a week in The Highlands. Best known for the majestic scenery, amazing wildlife and weather extremes, I thought you might like to see a few pictures from a different perspective. Lets go down and peek through the bracken, the heather and the grasses and see what we managed to find....

Some Morrels

This chap keeping off the persistent rain with his little cap...

These girls spiralling like fairy dancers up the sides of a broken log...

Resplendent spots....

Not so much "under the boardwalk" as firmly attached....

These teeny, tiny fungi pretending to be a corral reef....

Stony living, clinging to the edge....

You won't spot me if I just hide in here...

Frilly petticoats...

Actually I have loads of things to tell you about our week away but leaving a teenage son on his own does have some downsides.  I'd better go and sort out the kitchen before environmental health gets here.... (He has done pretty well really, the house is still staring, doesn't smell of anything too bad and the cat is still here so can't be bad!)

Work and Hobbies

Now, usually I don't say too much about my work. I meet lots of people and as you might imagine some are nice, some are not so nice, some are mad and some are just plain rude. That's life. I am really very lucky in that for the vast majority of time I love my work.
Recently my job has changed a wee bit, BUT I am still the Sister in a busy outpatients department for most of the week. We see lots of people ranging in age from about 11 to 105. Obviously I can't tell you very much about the people who I meet on a day to day basis. I can tell you though that yesterday I had the opportunity to take a step back, away from learning to scan (It's not as easy as those Sonographers make it look let me tell you), away from the hustle and the waiting times, away from upset and angry people.
I  am being given the chance to work as a real midwife for one day a fortnight. (BY real I mean in delivery suite, not that the rest of the time isn't real it's just not what most people think of midwifery).

Yesterday was the first day for QUITE a while. And what a day! A delivery! Yippee (Yes it is still exciting and makes you smile even after years and years. We wouldn't do it otherwise!) Apparently (and this is a secret!) I was much nicer than "those midwives in One Born Every Minute!" Possibly I'm not trying hard enough! Anyway a very special little brother was born. Result. Happy family and Midwife.

When not at work I have once again been on the cake making spree! Hope you are not getting too bored with looking at them all but I like putting them up so that I can remember what I've been up to. (And folks at real work seem to like a peek too).

Summer has arrived in cake form.

Read all about it here.

Hope you are all well. Take Care x

Trips, Draws and Visits

It has been a very busy weekend...
Firstly k and I went to London. No big deal I hear you say but remember we are country folk and had not been without at least one of the boys before. We were totally responsible for finding our way about, meeting people at the right time, in the right place and above all having fun. We managed all of the above, declared the trip a success and will definitely  do it again...
We met family at the Science Museum where we literally watched the world go around....

Afterwards we braved the shops, sustained by a very nice (not a good word) lunch at Carlucio's. As you might imagine, (especially those of you with daughter children) I did quite a lot of the buying but mostly for herself...

On Sunday we were up bright and early to meet a fellow blogger, Rachel. We (I hope she will agree) got on really well and it really did feel like we were old friends. We spent an hour or so at the Marylebone Farmer's Market. There were fantastic flower displays and of course we were tempted... Who couldn't be at £2 for 5 stems....

How could you fail to smile at such beautiful blooms? Or perhaps you are more of a vegetable person?...

Chard perhaps...

yellow carrots or even....

red beans... We didn't find any streets paved with gold but this bicycle came a pretty close second.....

When we arrived home it was very nearly time for the Big Give-Away draw! Now K has been really excited about this and has been asking if she could do the draw for ages, indeed ever since it had been mentioned..... This evening she did her bit, carefully cutting out all the names of those who had posted and popped them all into a hat... Out came (and how is this for co-incidental happenings?)... Rachel Lucas from Baking Brownies for Motzart. This was not a fix I promise you just a happy ending to a very good weekend. Enjoy the sun-shiny weather xx