Thursday 21 January 2016

Catching Up

Hello there! It's been a very chilly week or two here with some clear, star-studded skies at night and some very sparkly frosts in the mornings. We haven't had much rain and the sun has shone almost every day. On bright days it's noticeable that the days are lengthening just a little bit, and that really does make a difference to the end of the day when I walk home in wonderful sunshine. It lifts my spirits and gives me a bit of a spring in my step, making me want to go outside and be active instead of closing the curtains and battening down the hatches. The mornings have been beautiful too, with some fabulous frosty sunrises. The last two mornings in particular have arrived in a burst of cold wintry colour. Just beautiful.


The little plumes of smoke rising from homes with real fires and stoves look cosy in the morning, and I find it pleasant to think that people around me in the little terraced stone houses that characterise this area are also getting ready for work and school, making breakfast and putting on coats, hats, gloves and scarves ready to go out. In the pastel skies birds rise in the morning air, already about their business of keeping warm and fed. I must admit I would very much have liked to go out with my camera yesterday morning to take frosty photos. 


Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post. As I'm a bit of a sporadic blogger these days I'm always thrilled that you take the time and trouble to read and comment on my posts. I've been plodding on with my scarf. As you know, I'm not the world's fastest knitter, but I do plan to finish it this month. I'm getting better at finding small moments in the day when I can knit two rows here or three there. It's not quite long enough at the moment, but I am getting to the stage where I'm beginning to wonder how long it will end up. I guess I'll probably measure it against one I already own. I'm even starting to think I could use the leftover yarn to make a matching hat, albeit a simple one, as it is so soft and squishy. Hmmm, one project at a time, methinks. 


At the weekend we popped over to Frome, one of my favourite places. We were there late in the afternoon and the light was fading. As we parked the car I looked at the tree above me and thought at first that it was hung with Christmas baubles. On closer inspection I realised that it was a plane tree and the 'baubles' were its fluffy seeds. Against the sky, they made fascinating silhouettes.



Frome is such a creative and inspiring place, and St Catherine's Hill is full of the prettiest craft and vintage shops. I've mentioned it before in my posts here.


I do like the higgledy-piggledy houses and rooftops against the darkening sky.


The wintry window display of this fabulous natural toiletries shop caught my eye - isn't it gorgeous?


The herby, flowery smells which waft out of this shop are amazing, and it's all so very twinkly too.


Another old street, Cheap Street, is full of unusual gift shops, tearooms and cafes, and has a water channel running down the centre of it. There's a lovely cafe at the top where we sat and watched the world go by for a short while whilst enjoying a coffee.



It was B's birthday last weekend, and we celebrated with lunch at a lovely Italian restaurant in Bristol and finished the day with a chocolate cake. I made a chocolate sponge and filled and iced it with chocolate buttercream, covering it in chocolate and caramel buttons, raspberry dark chocolate, mini chocolate mint sticks and mini gold buttons. Quite a combination, but it did work. 


Back home I lit one of the teacup candles which I made at Christmas, and admired B's birthday roses. 


She had a lovely day, and I can't believe that we're already almost at another weekend. Time does fly, doesn't it? I'm planning on spending some time blog-hopping this weekend - fingers crossed!


See you soon x

13 comments:

  1. We certainly have had some lovely frosty and sunny days this week but with very low temperatures (minus 8 on my way to work yesterday morning). I too would have loved to have gone out and about with my camera but had to go to work on the two best days. Today I had a day off but the weather turned a lot milder but with greyer skies so not so good for photography unfortunately. Your sunrise photos are beautiful. I am glad you enjoyed your visit to Frome, I haven't been there for years but remember it as an interesting place to visit. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I had the same problem. I decided to set my alarm a bit earlier before work this morning, only to discover there was no frost! Oh well, at least it wasn't so cold. Hope you had a nice day off.
      Cathy x

      Delete
  2. Great sunrise photos. St. Catherine's Hill looks like a fantastic place to visit - lucky you to have it nearby. Wow that cake looks yummy! Happy belated birthday to B. Gorgeous tea light too. Enjoy the weekend. xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a fabulous cake, I hope B had a lovely birthday. I'm a big fan of Frome, although I haven't been for a while. You've reminded me how nice it is there. I love streets with water running down them, it must be the child in me I think! I hope you have a lovely weekend Cathy. CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful skies and pom poms, fabulous cake and lovely to read your blog once again. Enjoy the weekend x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Look at that sky! And that cake! I've never been to Frome so I enjoyed seeing your pictures, thanks for sharing :-) xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a beautiful sunrise and I too always enjoy visiting Frome especially St Catherine Hill. Your birthday cake looks so good and that is a great way to decorate. Wishing you a good weekend.Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  7. I LOVE skies at this time of year.... we are so lucky to have such seasons :)
    Lovely photos
    Tilly x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fantastic cake, gorgeous photos and a beautiful teacup candle, thanks for sharing. Hx

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have noticed the days lengthening just a little too. Beautiful crochet! xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi there I've been reading your blog with much enjoyment for a while. That cake looks amazing I love a good choc cake. I've never been to Frome but it's now gone on my list of places to visit in the UK this year. Now I'm no longer working I can hopefully see more of the U.K. Wendy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Wendy, it's lovely to meet you! Thank you for dropping by. I hope you enjoy your UK explorations.
      Cathy x

      Delete
  11. What a lovely post, so full of nice things. Well with shopping, crafting and a birthday it is difficult to go wrong :-)
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I don't always get time to reply, but I look forward to and love to read your comments - they really do make my day x