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

6 WORD LONG

Joining Miriam's lovely meme

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

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.

6 word night

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

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

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.

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

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

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

6 word - new

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

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

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