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Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Final snap

Hard to believe this is the final snap of the year - feels such a short time ago that I was introducing my first one - thank you to all of you who have participated with your own snaps and lovely comments.

For my final set I had been thinking of festive snaps but in the end decided to use a water and sky shot I took this week and match it with others from during the year because this is one of my most recurring themes in my photos and a topic that always has me reaching for my camera - probably helped by the fact that I live near the sea so often come across good water and sky shots.


The top one I took this week - the water is Loch Lomond, where I had a family Christmas in a holiday chalet - wet and windy but managed a walk to see the water and get some photos

2nd down taken in June when we were on holiday in Ullapool

3rd down is from my holiday in Spain in September (I clearly like to holiday by water as well as living by it!)

and finally at the bottom is one taken near home in October - it was interesting looking through my sea and sky photos from the year looking for one that had a similar feel to the other 3.

and for the last time I'm looking forward to seeing what caught your eye this week.



Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Snap festive red

With only days until Christmas, I wanted to have a festive theme for my snap collection this week and while looking through my festive photos from this month I noticed plenty of red and chose 4 of them


Top left are some baubles on a stall at the Christmas market
Top right is from my festive jumper
Bottom left is a cup of mulled wine I enjoyed with my crochet group (stretching my red theme into very dark red)
Bottom right - I was intrigued by these decorations on the floor of a highstreet shop

Looking forward to seeing what you are all sharing in our penultimate snap collection. 

If any of you are thinking that you might like to host a photo meme next year but are worried about doing link up  - adding a linky is easy and free - I use inlinkz . 

Wishing you all a lovely Christmas, whatever you are doing.


Monday, December 19, 2016

Memorandum Monday in the festive spirit

A big wave to you all as we count down to Christmas - plenty of lists on the go with a satisfying number of items ticked off as completed (but somehow more are being added too)

The local yarn bombers have been busy - this lovely snowy scene has been attracting lots of attention and people stopping for a photo - it is on top of the big postbox in the middle of the high street


This afternoon I'm heading into the city for my last foray to enjoy the decorations and some last bits to buy - I don't intend to venture in again until next week and am hoping a Monday afternoon will be quiet enough to get through the shops and market without feeling like I am wading through people all the time and that checkout queues will be reasonable.  There is always the lure of some mulled cider if it gets too much!!

Wishing you all a good week and Fabulous Festivities

Friday, December 16, 2016

6 words time

joining Miriam for her lovely meme



Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Snap the river

one of the things I love about walking by the river regularly is watching the changes as the volume of water changes and bids move around and the light provides sparkle or reflection.  So I made a point of taking photos while standing in the same spot over several weeks to create a set that show some differences.  And the reflection one was taken in December so another for the winter scavenger hunt


looking forward to what has caught your eye this week



Monday, December 12, 2016

Memorandum Monday fusion

a big wave to you all as I happily post from my big computer now that my broadband is working again - there were 5 components that could be the cause of the problem and mine was fixed when they addressed the 4th one!  All working fine now and I won't miss the daily chats to the people at the call centre helpdesk.

what else is new for me this weekend?  I captured another item for the winter scavenger hunt when I went to a new monthly market in our local town


I was pleased to browse 15 stalls with some tasty local produce to try - plenty of jams, chutneys and jams to sample plus some biscuits and fancy sausage rolls.  There seemed plenty of interest and purchase so I'm hoping it will continue.

Another first was an unexpected new fusion section on the menu in a sushi restaurant - sushi with grilled cheese on top!!  we couldn't ignore it so had one piece each to try - and I won't be having more as hot sushi didn't work for me.

Hope you all have a great week with some festive fun and no list stress

Friday, December 9, 2016

6 words - fresh

Joining Miriam with her lovely meme - a word of explanation - #lovelydeadcrap is a tag Miriam uses regularly on her Instagram feed


Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Snap festive decorations

Not the photos I had planned to use but they are on my computer and I am still without broadband  (don't ask - just imagine a cartoon of steam commingled out of my ears!)

So 2 photos I took while doing some festive decorating. I'm doing discrete areas as the mood takes me


I  made the 3 Santa figures - you can see how I evolved the pattern- middle then right of photo then left

Below my favourite hanging decorations that are not too heavy. Most were made by me or someone I know.

No link up  I'm afraid as doing that on my phone is beyond me.  And it could well be Sunday before I manage to visit your snaps. 

Monday, December 5, 2016

Monday Memorandum from a cafe

A big wave to everyone on a frosty morning.  My first new thing is  that I am  posting this on my 'phone' (the  feature on it I use the  least so feels strange calling it that) using the wifi in my local cafe because my broadband at home is not working and the engineer is booked for  Tuesday and of course this happens in the last few days of my mobile data month so I don't have enough for blogs. So here I am with my coffee



And my second new thing is starting to collect items for the winter Scavenger hunt. This was taken outside in the dark.  Lights on the trees along the river

Hoping you all have a good week and I should be round to see what was new for you on Tuesday afternoon once the engineer has fixed my broadband 


Friday, December 2, 2016

6 word short

joining Miriam for her lovely meme - this week a short story on the theme of 'short'


Wednesday, November 30, 2016

snap frost

we've had some hard frosts over the last week and areas not in direct sunlight stayed frosted all day to then receive a second layer of frost the next night - cold but also resulting in some beautiful detail with frost edged petals and leaves and visible ice crystals - I had to go out with my camera to collect some for a snap set


Only 4 more Wednesdays this year - so only 4 more snap sets.  Hard to believe we have completed almost a year and I'm so pleased that many of you have joined me each week. And many of you also joined me for pairs the year before and even zoom in, zoom out the year before that.

I wont be hosting another theme next year - because I'm taking a trip to NZ early in the year and know that I will not be able to maintain the weekly posting and visiting that I feel is part of hosting a meme.  I'm hoping one of you has an idea for a weekly meme and will launch it upon us -  I do like to have a photographic project to think about each week. 

Looking forward to seeing what you have captured this week



Monday, November 28, 2016

Memorandum Monday blinds

Big Monday morning wave to you all and a cold but sunny day - we've had several like this recently giving lovely light on the water and nice reflections (when the birds stay still!)


I learnt a lot about venetian blind workings this weekend - for instance
- when the cord used to raise and lower them frays it no longer fits through the hole and so wont work
- the cord can be removed and replaced
- the easiest way to measure the width of cord is to wrap it around something 10 times, measure the width of that and then divide by 10
- not many places stock 3mm nylon cord and the places online that stock it charge almost twice as much for postage as the cost of the cord
- using thinner cord means that the mechanism to counter gravity and lock the cord in place when open does not work (but a knot around a handy hook on the wall does the job)

I still don't know why they are called 'venetian'

Off to start some tidying and putting away of ornaments (and general clutter) ready to start getting out festive decorations on the 1st.

Wishing you all a great week

Friday, November 25, 2016

6 word narrow

Joining Miriam in her lovely meme


Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Snap silhouette

the up side of the low light and frequent cloud cover is the chance to capture some good skyline silhouettes

I've been collecting these over the past 10 days as we have had a lot of cloud cover to defuse the light

Looking forward to what has inspired you this week


Monday, November 21, 2016

Memorandum Monday winter begins

A big wave to you all - you should be able to see me waving now that the fog has receded.

New in town this week is the opening of the first part of the winter fair and market


It was very busy and I just skirted the edges for a photo and quick look to ascertain the layout is the same as last year.  I'm waiting until December and 'winter' before I have a proper look. 

Another good weekend of crochet and rugby - plenty more crochet to keep me busy this week - so many cute ideas popping up on blogs and Instagram my list of things I want to make is getting very long.  Wishing you all a good week.

Friday, November 18, 2016

6 word - read

Joining Miriam for her lovely meme


several of you commented on the font that I used last week for winter - it was Beyond Wonderland - I've shown it and another wintery feel font I like below - both can be downloaded free at dafont


Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Snap retro

As I said on Monday, I had fun at an event at the museum celebrating their new fashion and design galleries - and my favourite stall was a '60s / 70s retro photo booth' - clothes and props and a clever camera / printer set up so you got a strip of 4 photos - and just 5 seconds to make any changes between takes.  The camera is cleverly housed in that wooden box on right of top photo. 


There was a queue so I was able to watch several groups before me and get an idea of which props I wanted to use - that camera was a must and all the different glasses were fun.  I rather like having ginger hair!  But that background hurts my eyes if I look at it for too long.

Looking forward to seeing what inspired you this week


Monday, November 14, 2016

Memorandum Monday after the shocks

A big wave to you all and lots of good thought waves to all my New Zealand friends - I was relieved to learn that the levels of destruction and causalities was much less with this earthquake even though both were bigger than the one that devastated Christchurch in 2011.  When I lived in Wellington - the city most expected to have a big shake - I had water and food supplies in case of a quake and we had supplies at work and I knew about all the emergency help stations near work and home.  But in the 5 years I lived there I never experienced a shake that went on for over a minute and made the cupboard doors open and moved the pictures on the wall - but yesterday all those things happened in Wellington several times.  While horrible for everyone,especially all the aftershocks which will be so unsettling, NZ is prepared and has the infrastructure to cope with natural disaster - when your country is on the Pacific Rim of fire you have to be. 

Back to Scotland and my weekend - lots of 'same old' for this time of year with rugby on the TV, plenty of crochet and then more TV with the big reality shows.

But I did also do something new - a fun set of events at the museum to celebrate the recently opened fashion and design galleries (featured in a snap in July).  There was a fascinating table full of corsetry and undergarments showing the things people have done to change their body shape - including items bought this year.  Lovely to be able to pick them up and feel them - they all felt very uncomfortable. I was fascinated by a woman doing small loom weaving and another making origami jewellery and I enjoyed all of the slogans that people had written on t-shirts but didn't join the queue to get to that table - because I was intent on queuing for another fun stall - all will be revealed on Wednesday!

And, of course I'm not going to leave you without a photo - too cloudy to try for the super moon last night but on the way to the museum I did spot a fabulous new mural on an end wall


Hope you all have a good week - with far fewer big shocks than last week!

Friday, November 11, 2016

6 word - winter

joining Miriam for her lovely meme


Wednesday, November 9, 2016

snap progress

More festive crochet for you today and a sequence



starting with the picture graph - then work half done and the finished piece - it is about 35 cm square.  This crochet method is called corner to corner (or c2c) and has been popping up on various crochet blogs I follow all year - the appeal is the ease of creating a picture from a square based graph such as you would use for cross stich or beading pictures (the inspiration for this picture was a Perler beading piece) .  It does take concentration to follow the graph because each line of work is a diagonal.  Hard to tell from the pictures but the background is dark blue while the eyes and buttons on the snowman are black.  Various design and technique lessons learnt to apply to future projects  - this is my first complex picture - it is fun (but don't even ask about all the ends to sew in or look at the back!)

looking forward to seeing what has caught your eye this week













Monday, November 7, 2016

Memorandum Monday crochet

Big wave to everyone and hope you are all keeping warm - there was snow in Scotland over the weekend - not near me but up on high ground and forecast this week for the hills I can see on the horizon.

all the cold wind made it perfect for staying inside to craft and watch international rugby matches on TV (well done Ireland).  I started on festive crochet this weekend


as well as being cute, there is a jar inside waiting to be filled with goodies as a hidden surprise.  And I have a growing list of festive patterns that I want to try.

Hoping you all have a good week with some hidden nice surprises.


Friday, November 4, 2016

6 word Play


joining Miriam for her lovely challenge to tell a story with a photo and 6 words

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Snap in flight


I've been collecting these for several months - I regularly try to capture birds in flight but only occasionally manage a photo that has the birds in the frame and is in focus. 

The birds are - from top down - seagulls, swans, geese, oyster catchers

I'm interested in their different flying formations (or total lack of  in the case of the gulls)

Looking forward to seeing what collections you have to share this week

Monday, October 31, 2016

Memorandum Monday with apples

A big wave to everyone as I adjust to the change in time with our clocks going back an hour at the weekend



On Saturday I helped out on the apple tasting stall at the local community orchard's apple day - not a new thing for me as I also helped out last year.  A pleasant afternoon of people (mostly families with pre-school children) enjoying picking crap apples (the appeal was in part climbing the ladder), ducking for apples, watching the bonfire, singing apple songs and of course eating apples.  It really is interesting how different the apple varieties taste and how some people prefer sweet and others sharp flavours.

I do also have a new from the weekend - when I was radically pruning the privet hedge I discovered an old bird nest - yes it was a radical cut back as the nest was formally in the middle of the hedge.  From the number of old leaves inside the nest I would say it is more than a year old and I was pleased there were no old eggs inside.  I've never come across a complete nest before - amazing to see how much work goes into creating it and weaving the materials together to build up the sides.


Hoping you all have a good week

Friday, October 28, 2016

6 WORD LONG

Joining Miriam's lovely meme


Wednesday, October 26, 2016

snap inspired

a final set of photos that I took while on holiday is Spain


at first glance you may be puzzling about the connection between these 4 images.  Well each was inspired by the photographic themes that I see regularly when admiring the images in your blogs and Instagram streams (flowers, through arches, reflections, unexpected faces).  In each of these I was thinking of that inspiration when I stopped to take the photo.  A nice reminder of how being part of a photographing community provides inspiration and different ways to look - thank you.

Interested to see what inspired you all this week

Monday, October 24, 2016

Memorandum Monday clearing the decks

A big wave to you all on another overcast Monday.  Continuing my feeling of season change I've been working on finishing on-going crochet projects ready for some festive crafting.

I started making the coloured centers back in January and this weekend I finally joined all 8 big squares together and started the brown edging.  I did design it to be modular and easy to do in bits and to pick up and put down but recently the unfinished bits had been staring at me so I'm glad to get it done.  Then some reindeer patterns are calling me - amongst a raft of dragons, monsters, bunting, large mandalas .....

hoping you all have a good week and particular big wave and good wishes to the several of you with ill and ailing relatives.


Friday, October 21, 2016

6 word night

another photo from my holiday for my 6 word story this week - thank you Miriam for this lovely challenge


Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Snap off the wall


My selection this week are things that caught my eye on the walls in Barcelona (and one in Palafrugell)

The wire picture top left was part of a series showing aspects of the towns' history.  I thought the use of a bent wire line was very effective and practical for a city setting

Top right is one of the many graffiti pieces to be found around Barcelona - I liked the image of the girl despite the other graffiti that had been added

bottom left is the side of a pub that was a favourite haunt of Picasso and his friends - the black shapes are because I was sitting under awnings and looking up at the wall and I rather liked the framing it provided to the cat drawings

bottom right intrigued me as it was high up on a wall and I did wonder if it was intentional modern minimalist abstract graffiti or the result of either paintballs or malfunctioning spraycans

looking forward to seeing what caught your eye this week

Monday, October 17, 2016

Memorandum Monday autumnal

Waving to you all on this autumnal Monday before I go out for a walk to enjoy some blue sky before it disappears again!

Definitely feels a change in the seasons - I couldn't put off wearing my boots any longer so swapped over all my footwear and jackets and generally did my wardrobe seasonal change.  I do like wearing boots but not the fact that I'll be wearing them for about 6 months.

A nicer autumnal practice has been picking and eating the tasty apples from my tree - this was the second half that I harvested on Sunday


Another first this week was going to see the Billy Elliot musical - it was fabulous.  I love the movie and was interested to see how it had changed for the musical - fabulous use of dance to tell the story of the miners' strike which is the background to the story of the young boy who becomes a great ballet dancer. 

Hoping you all get some sunshine this week and have a good week.

Friday, October 14, 2016

6 word strong

Joining Miriam with here lovely meme challenging us to tell a story on a weekly theme with a photo and 6 words


Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Snap old Spain

As well as enjoying the water in Spain we had several trips to local historic sites / sights


Top left is from the medieval old town in Pals - the top of the hill is covered in winding streets and lovely old buildings, many of which have rooms dug into the side of the hill

The two top right are at Ruins de Empuries - a fabulous site that is still being excavated - we visited over 20 years ago and really noticed how much more has been uncovered since then.  The site includes a Greek (top) and Roman (bottom) city that was inhabited for 1500 years starting 200BC.  There was an excellent audio guide which had the right balance of archeology and what life would have been like

Bottom is the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona - building on the front part started in 1882 and completion of the rest is anticipated in the next decade

I really enjoyed looking at the different architecture and imagining what it would be like to live in these different cities at those times

Lovely to see all your snap sets every week



Monday, October 10, 2016

Memorandum Monday how new is new?

Big wave to everyone on an autumnal morning - still getting used to getting up when it is dark.


I spent a pleasant hour on Sunday crocheting this fun carp that I'd marked in my crochet magazine a few months ago - it's sole purpose is to raise a smile

On Friday I had another first - a pleasant evening at the opening event of the local community book festival - lots of poetry readings and songs all on the theme of 'we're all Jock Tamson's bairns' - this phrase was also new to me even though when I looked it up I learnt that it was first included in the Dictionary of Scots Language  in 1847. It means we are all the same. The theme was interpreted widely with historic and very current examples.

And I wanted to share a first from last weekend when I was in Barcelona - the magic fountain display - a fabulous half hour of lights and music and changing water formations in the giant fountain - a free display.  The crowd was large but the water spouts high and it was easy to see (and at times feel) the spray.  This is a screengrab from my gallery which shows the variety - and if you look closely along the bottom of some of the photos - the number of people using phones and tablets to capture the magic



wishing you all a good week



Friday, October 7, 2016

6 word - new

Joining Miriam's lovely meme - a story in a photo and 6 words


Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Snap swimming


Back from 2 weeks in sunny Spain with temperatures around 25C each day - rather a shock back to autumnal Scotland.  So I decided that for my first snap set using my holiday photos I'd remember the heat that allowed us to swim most days - actually snorkel mostly - in gloriously clear water with lots of little fish to watch.

We were staying in one of those white villas. A nice walk through the pine trees and down steep steps led to a series of rocky coves and beaches. All of those rocks were hard on the feet but once we took to wearing dive shoes into the water it was all much easier with less scratches.  The water was cool to get into (as it always is) but comfortable once immersed and the sun dried you off nicely once out. Yes that is me in near silhouette in my snorkel gear, beautifully back lit by the sun.

Looking forward to seeing what has caught your eyes this week

Monday, October 3, 2016

Memorandum Monday unpacking

Extra big wave to everyone in between unpacking and adjusting to the cooler temperatures - I went from 26 to 6 C on the way home.

I'll share plenty of my holiday in northern Spain over the week (and next probably) but for now a taste of the new bit at the weekend - Barcelona


I'd heard lots of good things about the city and it really is a delight to wander - the small winding streets of the Gothic quarter with interesting shops and cafes around each corner; the magnificent architecture with a mix of elegance and creative exuberance; plenty of people to watch; and a fabulous beach a few blocks from the city centre.  Plus easy to use and cheap public transport it is an easy city to while away the time.

I have 123 blogs in my reader so it may be later in the week before I get to visit you all and catch up on what you've been sharing while I was away. 

Wishing you all a good week - now I must go and finish unpacking, do some more laundry then settle down to sorting my photos

Friday, September 30, 2016

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

snap my apple tree

(Sorry just realised I  hadn't set up the auto post correctly)

If you are puzzled why I haven't left a comment on your snap from last week - I'm away from cheap wifi - I'll be visiting last week's and this week's snap next week when I'm back to my normal borachband provision.

As part of my packing and preparation process I drew together this snap collection of the apple tree in my garden - when it was first in bloom in 2011 then flowering earlier this year and now the lovely fruit - hope the birds haven't got them all while I've been away.




Friday, September 23, 2016

6 words - never

Joining Miriam's lovely meme


[I used the PicsArt app on my phone for this]

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Snap women statues

Following on from my snap collection last week of women statues in Edinburgh I found another three that are accessible - although I had to research online to discover the stories behind them.


On the left - this is on the highstreet of the town where I go linedancing.  The woman is Jackie Crookston who in 1797 was shot by soldiers in a riot in the town following a protest against military conscription.  I can't find anything about why she out of the 12 was used for the statue or why this historic incident was chosen for a statue

In the middle is a statue to commemorate 'Edinburgh's opposition to apartheid in South Africa' - but there is no explanation of what that opposition was nor who this woman is

On the right is a statue that is outside a local library to commemorate the work of Helen Crummy who in the 1960s established local music and art programmes for local children after the school would not provide music lessons for her son.  The resulting community arts festival is still going strong and is copied worldwide.

I'll keep my eye out for more statues of women.

A heads up - I won't be around to see all your lovely snaps until next month.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Memorandum Monday takes flight

A big wave to you all on an autumnal Monday when everything seems to be on the move


This weekend I learnt that I find it easier to meet the 10 kg requirement than to cram everything into the case that meets the baggage measurement restrictions. 

Wishing you all a good week and an extra wave because I wont be round to see what your weekend held and I wont be here next Monday either (but I have set up snaps).

Friday, September 16, 2016

6 words twist


joining Miriam's lovely challenge to tell a story with a photo and 6 words - this week the word is 'twist'

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Snap regal statues

Recently I overheard a walking tour guide say 'Edinburgh has more statues of named animals than of named women'.  I was intrigued so checked on line and indeed while there are 3 named animals - 2 dogs and a bear (all male) the only named women are two Queens.  Having collected and shared lots of animal statues for snap sets I thought this was a good challenge to get out and about to find the statues and look for other representations of women.

After much walking and looking I realised that female figures do feature on several fountains and other decorative pieces - I managed to find one where they are wearing clothes - but not as single figure statues.  Even the two statues of Queens are rather hard to find and identify


Queen Mary (of Scots) is one of several figures on the side of the National Portrait Gallery - up at first floor level so I'd never noticed her until I went looking

Queen Victoria is on top of the National Gallery - again not a statue you tend to notice when walking past - I could only manage a silhouette.

Now my interest is roused so after some internet research I've found mention of a few more statues of women that I'll share next week.

Are there statues on women where you are?  Queen Victoria?  Anyone else?


Monday, September 12, 2016

Memorandum Monday - application of physics

Big wave to you all on a cool Monday morning (with the promise of sun tomorrow). 

I've been 'busy' this weekend becoming an armchair expert on all things Paralympics.  You know how it is when watching new sports and listening to commentary and discussion - its easy to suddenly have an opinion on
if the guide is 'pulling' their visually impaired athlete along
or on the problems on navigating a corner when running on two blades and therefore don't have knees or feet
or why running blades are longer than everyday prosthetics and why they have to change legs between the race and the medal podium
or what is meant by 'equivalent to an above the knee amputation' in the context of high jump - and even how it is possible to jump on one leg
or why the swimmers wear massive jackets to walk to the side of the pool
or how can you swim in a straight line with only one arm

if only they had used such examples when teaching physics I might have been more interested!  

I did take a break from viewing to go wild bramble (blackberry) picking - an excellent crop this year with plenty of big juicy berries.


and I realised another physics related truth - when you have to stretch to pick from a cluster of berries - best to pick the highest ones first because as you pick, the branch becomes lighter and therefore rises - just out of reach unless you move closer into the prickles!

Wishing you all a good week - I'm looking forward to plenty of wheelchair racing, the road cycling and the madness that is wheelchair rugby

Friday, September 9, 2016

6 word - more

Joining Miriam for her lovely meme