Flower Power.

Yesterday was just one of those beautiful days and these photos were among my favourite photos of the day. Can you guess one of the places we were visiting? I love the vibrant, bright, happy colours of the wild flowers in the first three images. More to come...

Beautiful Bute.

Sunny and sparkly photos from a trip to the Isle of Bute yesterday (Saturday).

We caught the ferry by the skin of our teeth due to parking issues yet again (there's a car park opposite the church a hundred yards or so south of the ferry terminal which is useful to know about (though not for use on a Sunday!)).

The crossing was amazing. I hadn't been to Bute for a few years and it's definitely the best crossing of the ones we've done more recently (Arran and Cumbrae). There were fantastic views to all sides and it was lovely to see the yachts bobbing about in the sun. The cloud formations were pretty fabulous too.

We'd taken the bikes and had planned to do a short loop involving visits to two beaches on the west of the island. Although Bute is not a moutainous island, there is a hill to climb and descend in order to get to the far side if taking the shortest route. It was a little too much for N. We made it to one of the beaches with a lot of help from hubby who practically pushed N the whole way up the hill. After time at the beach we just went straight back the way we came. I always feel I've never explored Bute properly. I'd like to come back on my own sometime and get right round the island properly (along with my camera, of course!)

This was the last section of the path to the beach. I thought it looked lovely with A cycling ahead. It was only after I'd taken the photo that I realised I'd actually managed to capture her falling off her bike! She was fine.

A picnic at beautiful St Ninian's Bay and a short wander/play (I wish I'd taken a longer wander myself), then back to Rothesay. For some reason it was a lot easier going back than it had been coming and took a lot less time. After ice cream and a fish supper (in that order!) and a sighting of the very busy Waverley ("the last sea going paddle steamer in the world") in Rothesay, it was time to make the crossing back to the mainland.

Of course, the fantastic weather helped. It's not been a great summer weather-wise so we were determined to make the best of what we had. A week of sunny, summery, warm weather would be lovely please, before school starts back (we've two weeks of school holidays left, aaargh!).

Anyway, here's a map showing the various Clyde ferry routes. Having these so close to home is one of the good things about living here. Somehow it's just magical to get on a ferry and cross to an island for the day. We're spoiled for choice really. Cycling-wise, Cumbrae would have been a better choice for us today. You can cycle right round the island, the distance in doing that is only about 10 miles and it is very flat, N would have managed it fine. Next time!

And finally, I hope I didn't come across as too much of an Instagram fan in my last post. I actually wish it didn't exist! I'd much prefer it if everyone there were back blogging or using Flickr to share photos. I like to take photos with a proper camera not my phone. I don't have time to take and post pictures with both. However, Instagram is there and it's very popular and there's nothing I can do about it. "Nothing endures but change" as they say...

Moving On?

I begin with biscuits. They look nice, which sort of links into something I want to mention. Now that school is finished I have a little more time, not just for blogging, but also for seeing what other people are up to and as part of that I've finally got myself onto Instagram. Well, that seems to be where the party now is folks. I did wonder why flickr was so quiet - all I was getting on my feed were landscape shots from "proper" photographers and very few house/craft/food shots. Well, I like flickr for storing, arranging and sharing my photos from my proper camera. I realise now that the sharing part is important to me as when I do share them on flickr, to be honest, not much happens. So I've started sharing pictures on Instagram. (I have a different username there as I somehow linked my instagram to my facebook account so real people can find me on it). I am quite enjoying taking a quick photo with my phone and being able to post it straight away with a little comment. I've found many bloggers on instagram and it is nice to be able to join in. I do feel like a newbie though and it can take work to get established so we'll see how it goes. If you see me there please say hello, I'll be easy to spot I'm sure, it's all similar stuff and I'll use the same avatar once I figure out how to add it!  

Pigeons on the roof.

Last week, when it wasn't raining, I managed to get out for an evening cycle...

   

It was a gorgeous, sunny, clear evening with great views of the mountains. This current week has been very damp and greay so it's good to remember that we have had some nice weather during the holidays here.

Last week we also celebrated another birthday. A chocolate cake with smarties was requested by N, as usual. I went a little crazy with the smarties this year. It was good though.

We've even done some crafting. A was given a needle felting set for her birthday by one of her friends. She asked for help so that prompted me to get my own needle felting goodies out, last seen about two and a half years ago I think! She made a little mouse and a lavender pillow (which I've still to take a picture of) while I finished off two lavender pillows, one in my favourite blackkbird design and one in a new flower design. It was good fun, I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed needle felting and it was nice to have company too.

As I mentioned in my last post, we went to see "Song of the Sea". I found this such a good film. It was so beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in the wonderfully atmospheric images and music. We also enjoyed the story - N was on the edge of his seat throughout the film as he was so engrossed. Anyway, to see it necessitated a trip to Glasgow. After the film we venture out to the west end to visit the Botanic Gardens...

I didn't think I'd taken many photos, I wish I'd taken more now! N was grumbling about having sore feet and was a bit fed up so it wasn't a completely happy trip.

These are duck eggs. They're so pretty, they had a translucent swirl to them, hard to see on the photograph.

I've been doing a lot of clearing out recently. In one kitchen cupboard I found the ice lolly moulds, so we used them! I feel like I've been clearing and tidying for days now. I've got rid of quite a lot of stuff but there's still more to go. We don't have much cupboard space so I do need to be more ruthless, we've been living in an ever-increasing guddle these last two years, not good!

Chocolate banana loaf, great for using up over-ripe bananas. One for eating and one for the freezer.

A lavender pillow photo shoot now follows...

And finally, my latest charity shop find - a lovely Prinknash jug. Perfect for holding hydrangeas from the garden...

I enjoyed sorting through these photos. It reminds me that we have accomplished some things over the holidays and I've not spent the whole time clearing and cleaning.

Preparing this post has taken me ages though, I can see why so many people have switched to Instagram over blogging...