all in a day

The winter arrived this week, gone is the hope of an early spring. We have been having some very cold days, with temperatures as low as -10C. This weather comes from the Continental Europe, where they are having it much, much worse.

We woke up this morning to a bright, but cold frosty morning.

 Not wanting to drive anywhere, we decided on a walk from the house, out of the village, across frozen fields, in the direction of Alfred's Tower,

with only a cold wind and sheep for the company.

Normally there is a very good view from up here, but by the time we walked up to this point, the sky clouded over and only parts of the village were visible, although most of the village is hidden in the valley.

Back down in the village, the duck on the local pond complained that it had to get it's skates on instead of going for a swim!

By the late afternoon, the picture changed completely.

The snow arrived.

 

The best place is by the fire, with my silk embroidery project, and planning the border for the "Summer" quilt, now that all the central blocks are done.

weather - forever changing

Only a week ago the nature made its own design on my car windscreen. It is a lot warmer now, temperatures up around 10C, but it is wet and very windy, the nature has its own ideas. This is the English winter we are more used to.

Our thoughts are constantly with the people of Queensland. Our son has been trying to contact his friend who lives in Brisbane, but so far no reply. As far as I know, all my blogging friends are safe.
We are also thinking about the people of Brazil and Sri Lanka, who too are battling with floods in their countries. We are all so helpless when it comes to such forces of nature.

baking for christmas

After a week without any snow, it is back again. This morning we woke up to a very different scene from that of yesterday.

I will not be going very far today. We live on the top of a hill and the road through our village very rarely sees a gritting lorry.

The best thing to do is to enjoy the scene

and build a snowman

I took a picture of my neighbour's logs, there might be an idea for an embroidery sometime in the future.

By the afternoon the temperature is dropping and the best place is back inside. Time for some Christmas baking. When I was small, my mother used to bake several kinds of Christmas biscuits every year.

I don't make as many as she used to, but I still like to make a few, it reminds me of all those Christmas times a long time ago.

Vanilla and almond crescents and "bear's paws", made from walnuts..

Our house suddenly smells like Christmas.

this month's progress

My stitching is progressing very slowly this month, may be the cold is slowing me down..

At last the wadding for my Christmas tablecloth has arrived and I have started to quilt by hand, determined to finish it in time. "Heirloom Hannah" now has a dress embroidered along the bottom.

I am also still working on the yellow hardanger tablecloth, at this rate I might finish it for Easter!

                     Still, by then the weather should be very different from today.

Very foggy and cold day. It looked like someone has sprinkled a huge bag of icing sugar all over. And as the afternoon was getting darker, the countryside looked like a fairy tale. (Although I did not think so when  my toes were freezing, waiting for the school bus!) But I did take some pictures before that.

more snow

Yes, this really is winter. Britain has been battling with the snow for a week now, winter conditions spreading down from the north of the country and it reached even us, down here in the Southwest. Vehicles and people stranded in some parts of the country, thousands of schools closed, not counting the work days lost, even distribution of food has been affected, leaving some empty shelves in supermarkets.  As always , it takes us by surprise.

One wonders how the rest of the Northern Europe do it, they just get on with their lives. Every year our government tells us that it is not worth investing in a proper snow equipment, because the snow never lasts.

As we are digging ourselves from the snow, I hope they are right, but it is only just beginning of December....



no gardening today?



may be we can have a picnic



uh, my feet are cold!

winter is here

Yes, it snowed last night. Then it got warmer, then more snow and the temperature dropped again by the morning. The result - icy road this morning.
Today was the last meeting of our group of the Embroiderer's Guild, next meeting in 2011. So, braving the icy road and knowing that there is 2 1/2 miles between me and the main road which, hopefully, would be treated, I set out, driving very gingerly.
When I arrived at my destination, I was the only one there! Eventually, another lady arrived, but that was it, we just set there, looking at the locked door. Obviously, everyone else knew something we didn't, that probably due to the weather, today's meeting has been cancelled. Only, they forgot to tell the two of us! Wouldn't you be mad? And as I am writing this, I am yet to hear from the anyone on the committee.
So I came back again, on the same icy road. At least I have taken some pictures.