Pittenweem

We stayed in Pittenweem. It's a beautiful village. Rather than try to describe it, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

We start up on the headland where the skate park was. We came here frequently, especially in the evenings - the children would play with new friends also here on holiday while I was very happy to admire the view. I took so many photos from here, this is just a small selection. The light was different each time...

Next we wander round the harbour. There was lots to see here too. Again, the different light adds to the interest.

Now a closer look at some of the houses. Which would you choose?

The blue cottage here was the one we stayed in...

...and this is a zoomed in view from the bedroom window. The big doggie from the little white cottage loved lying out on the path all day.

Now to the beach. We spent a gorgeous afternoon just pottering about in the sunshine. There was so much sea glass I didn't bother collecting any as it didn't seem precious somehow. Instead I used it to make some pictures on the sand. They were soon washed away by the incoming tide.

We often passed St Fillan's cave on the way down into the village. N was very keen to get inside, so we got the keys from the chocolate shop and in we went...

 It was bigger inside than I expected.

Now to some little street details and larger views. This first fellow sits outside the cave...

Yummy ice cream from the ice cream shop. One blue marshmallow, two strawberries and one rum & raisin.

Of all the villages we visited Pittenweem was our favourite and we were very glad that's where we'd ended up staying. We all agreed this wouldn't be our last visit...

St Monans

We're just back from a short holiday to the East Neuk of Fife, a great place to go with a new camera! There are several lovely old fishing villages to visit. These photos are of St Monans which we walked to one day. Fortunately it has a Spar as we were very hungry by the time we got there and there were no cafes which I thought most unusual for such a pretty village well frquented by visitors walking the Fife coatsal path. There was one in the process of being fitted out I noticed, so someone has already spotted a good business opportunity. Anyway, we had a very tasty picnic overlooking the harbour before walking back to Pittenweem where we were staying. I have so many photos of Pittenweem it's going to talk me a while to sort through them! The weather was fantastic while we were away, so very welcome after the long, cold winter months.

Now I'm back home I'm in clear-out mode. My collection of books and pottery is being much reduced. I've decided to keep only those I really like as I was in danger of becoming a bit of a hoarder. I still do like having lots of bits and pieces - I think it makes a house a home, but really I had too much and we could do with a bit more space (for all the other stuff!)

Saturday Morning Bike Ride

Yay, a bike ride, the first in months.

I took my new camera along with me. I'm still evaluating it. I was switching between auto and landscape mode which I think explains the different colour effects. It was rather a murky morning so perhaps not a fair test.

I just did an easy ten mile route. Normally I would have the roads to myself, I was rather shocked at first to have to share with two runners. Fortunately they turned back after the first big hill.

Homemade muffins were waiting for me when I got home, just like old times...

March

One post a month! At least it makes choose a title easy. I offer some images from March (incase you hadn't already guessed)...

I manage to glimpse some crocuses in bloom.

I picked some snowdrops to bring inside. The flowers don't last nearly as long as they do if left outside, however, it's nice to get a closer look at them and to appreciate their delicate scent.

Mother's day has been and gone, I was given a beautiful cupcake by A. She decorated it at her after-school club and was for once unable to claim it was for her to eat. My parents happened to be in the area on Mother's day and dropped in for a hastily arranged meal so much of the day was spent trying to get the house in some sort of order and making sure the parts beyond hope were well hidden.

I have a new camera. Another one. I just didn't like the photos I took with the previous one (it has already been claimed by A). I decided to spend a little more and have upgraded to a bridge camera. I still didn't splurge and have bought one towards the bottom end of the price range. It's a Fuji which is what my beloved compact was so I'm optimistic that we will get on. The sun was shining last weekend when I brought it home. Molly-the-cat was basking so she became my first subject. I now have a 40x zoom (as opposed to 5x) so expect lots of birds photos! I hoped to be able to get out and about this weekend to take some photos but it's raining and is set to continue to do so. So I made do with some woolly crochet shots. My sister in law sent me some bargain Noro yarn she found and I couldn't resist starting a project last night. Life seems to be returning a little to normal and I'm getting better at making a little more time for myself. I joined an orchestra a few weeks ago and it's good to be back playing my bass. The next thing I need to do is get back on the bike. But not in the cold and rain. Yet.

Anyway. I need to make a start on 29 pupil reports so I don't waste the holidays (two weeks off coming up very soon - fantastic!)

Have a great weekend, see you in April (I expect there will be far more than just a single post for April what with having new camera, time off work and the days being longer and brighter. All good!)