First footing

 The first weekend in January is usually the date that the Ayr Roads Cycling Club go down to their club hut for First Footing..but snow and ice made that unadvisable!

I went by car to the house the other side of the burn to the hut, down by the Stinchar River. It is the next one down from the Girvan and meets salt water at Ballantrae.

That is where Pirate's ..and now my..great friends live...so it was coffee cake and discussion first! Then I went round to the club hut to see who had come down by car with the soup! 

The hut has benches and chairs a cooker and a stove. Up until at least the nineties I think some would overnight there to be able to extend the area they could ride on a weekend.  There aren't many club huts like this left nowadays unfortunately, but it used to be a fairly common thing, and not just in Scotland. A little like the bothies, but not for allcomers.

Our friends came from their house after a little while and their arrival made it 20!! They have had 24 one year....but the last four had to stand!!

Great fun, great craic, old friends and new.

Soup,cakes, biscuits, bread, tea ....and a wee dram! ( Not for me as I had to drive home)

Then they were off, with an average of 30 miles to ride home.

We went back to the house for our lunch (not having shared the soup in the hut...those who rode down deserved that!) and more talking....

It is so enjoyable and energising to share good talk , discuss all sorts of things...

Then an hour to drive home in the afternoon arriving still in daylight..always a bonus!!

Not much!!

 After staying up into the wee small hours today was rather low key!!

Breakfast was.... brunch...

I missed most of this morning's dry weather, so the wash load was only outside for a couple of hours before the rain returned. But at least that short time will make the clothes smell nice.

The wall got its second coat and the packaging was tidied a little...I'm not sure that I need that much...but how can you get rid of a useful box?!!

The living windowsill and mantelpiece got a clear and clean...and I did my best not to put it all back!!

Now there are a couple of piles to be sorted 

Can you read the cross stitch sampler that Pirate was given?

Plus more corners...

And there's the CD and map shelves too...

But everything is slowly improving.  You can't rush this....

Supper was a mixture of leftover veggies and green salad from the fridge, and savoury and sauce from the freezer (home-made)

Nice and quick....then cushion patchwork sewing to the accompaniment of interesting historical videos.

Sewing and painting

 I thought I'd add a photo of Our Shirts quilt top....

I couldn't photograph it outdoors this time!!

And Pirate keeping an eye on proceedings...

Today has been shuffling things around..and painting.

Second coat done in the corner 

Corner filled...and the next piece of wall to be done...

That small wardrobe is full of packing..I have a feeling that the packing and the walls are what are holding it standing!!

Second coat on that and I may be able to move things around and bring the chest of drawers that holds my fabric and yarn stash...and maybe set up the frame for my half finished quilting....

It is going to be a late/early night tonight.

Time to do more on the cushion cover block

One of our best friends and Pirates teammate.. although nine years younger...is being buried soon...."today" if you are in Adelaide!! 11am in Whyalla to be precise..10½ hours ahead of here.

Despite being an Aussie (!) with that aggressive streak..he couldn't have been a kinder more caring person.

I'm glad that I got to know his wife too on her trips with him for him to ride the Masters Track world championships.

About 4½ years ago he fell off a ladder...and was x rayed just in case. They found an aggressive brain tumour...and was told 5 years max. They don't often tell you how long nowadays. But at least he knew and coped well.

Adding after watching the funeral. Ironically it wasn't that cancer that overcame him in the end.

His local track league and the youngsters he helped along will miss him too.

This was the view from the turbo trainer this morning. A good place to think of him and Pirate.

Bother!!

 Or another B word..... there is a very good café of that name on the way to Coromandel in NZ......

Patchwork border added...now it is a 5'6½" square.....and the lining to the top is 8" too narrow.....

So yes.  Op shop for a cotton sheet. I don't think  that I have a spare left. Plus finding the right padding for the inside...as the back is polycotton sheet, the usual polyester batting might be a bit too "hairy"". 

We'll see. At least the top is done.

Down to the village surgery this morning...I have a long standing sinus and throat problem...I pressed that button on the phone the second that 8.15 turned up......and got in second on the line!!

I was glad I did, having missed it yesterday and not got through until after 9.  It takes a lot of screwing up of courage to phone....and to go to the doctor. I was SO glad that our favourite doctor was on...she is willing to discuss and explain everything.

So I have a different nasal spray... antihistamine plus corticosteroid.

It works!!!! 

I'm still a bit run down and stressed. I don't really like living alone I've never really done that much of it! Less than ten years in total. There has always been  family, flatmate, partner, offspring of various ages....There again , ....I have to get used to it now. 

Today's big job....filling the back of the car ready to go to the cowp tomorrow.

There is still another load to be sorted...and hopefully a load to the metal recyclers...I won't get a lot , but it will be a handy something for my wallet!

Sewing

Hawthorn  blogged today, the first in a long time.

I like the CS Lewis quote.

Still unpleasant outside, so I concentrated on the quilt. Three edges on and I've started pinning the fourth.

I will be able to cut the lining and back to size. Then that will be as far as I can get until I source wadding and bias binding.

So that has been the view for most of today.

It will be good to get it to that point and have a break from sewing.

I did go on the static trainer for half an hour before breakfast...ok it was still sitting!! And I've been conscious of having a get up and do something break every hour or so.

Hoolie!!!

 It was still dark at 8 this morning!!...and by 8.30 I could see that the wind had got to a tarpaulin that is covering some rubbish.

So...sort that, have my morning coffee and half an hour of exercise...

That was the view from the turbo!!

The Yellow weather warning wasn't far out....24 hours of fairly constant wind and rain. I checked the met office Radar map for type of precipitation...hail north south and east of us!!

Indoor jobs then....two 650ml freezer boxes of chopped apples done. I went through all the stores. There was a fair amount starting to soften and go brown..they'll go out for the birds when I can. Two full mushroom trays of two sorts of apple left now that need juicing.

And I've made a start on edging the quilt 

Pixie I call this Our Shirts quilt..his shirts , including a work shirt..with oil marks! , his shirts that he liked me wearing..one of mine that he wore, a couple that he liked..and one that I can't remember which of us had it initially..but we both liked it!!

The edging and backing is a sheet.

Most of the shirts are cotton with polyester blend as is the sheet...not something I'd normally use as I stick to natural fibres.

But this is special.  

Skies

 I started this morning with coffee..in the mug that I was given by Team Arrow...my club in Whanganui 

..then turbo..followed by breakfast!

I might keep that going... energy levels were definitely improved, especially as the day started beautifully sunny.

It didn't last....

Then I found a cotton fabric to back the top..and possibly the bottom..of Our Shirts quilt...in the fabric stash!!

I need to find some thin smooth wadding for the middle.

It has been hot washed and ironed, ready for use.

I'm quite pleased with the patchwork... although the squares have been put diagonally in the pattern with triangles added to make straight sides...The intended measurement was 5' square....well it IS square....and 5'2" !! It will have a 2¼" edge then bias binding.

I'll be glad when it is finished!