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...