Friday 31 March 2017

Friday Smiles

Hi Everyone,

I hope you have all had a lovely week with plenty to smile about. As usual I'm joining Annie over at A Stitch In Time with a Friday Smile or two, though I nearly didn't as I thought I'd shared all the things that made me smile already. Or so I thought! But, sharing photos on Facebook probably doesn't count so here's a few shots from Sunday trip out to the RSPB Visitor Centre  and Castle Semple Lochwinnoch.
Our first stop - the RSPB Visitor Centre where we enjoyed the picnic we took with us. I left wishing I was a kid again so I could go pond dipping - it looked like lots of fun.

This pussy willow just made me smile - those furry catkins are always a welcome sight.
The loch at Castle Semple. The birds are so well fed it has made them almost tame.
This swan seemed to recognise the person who was feeding him.
A rare photo of the two of us together. A lovely young woman, who was just passing as I was taking a pic of himself, kindly offered to take this shot with the yachts on the loch behind us.

Something else that I've been enjoying is this embroidery. There's no pattern to it, just rows of stitch combinations found in a book, Hand-Stitched Crazy Patchwork by Hazel Blomkamp, giving me the chance to learn new stitches and re-learn the ones that were taught at school more than sixty years ago. Notice - the rows are not particularly straight - I do try, even to drawing lines on the fabric with a ruler!

And finally, having overindulged due to a Mother's Day box of my favourite chocolates, this funny was so reassuring.

Wishing you all a very happy weekend and a wonderful week ahead.

5 comments:

Lisca said...

Of course chocolate is a salad! I always knew that! lol.
Lovely pictures of the loch and the birds and ducks and swans. How nice of that lady to take a picture of the two of you. A really nice pic too!
Have a good week,
Keep smiling,
Lisca

Annie said...

What lovely smiles this week Ellie. I love pussy willows too....our little tree is covered at the mo. Love your embroidery....it's a long time since I did any like that. Hope you have another week filled with smiles.
Hugs,
Annie x

mamapez5 said...

The loch looks beautiful. That is a super picture of the two of you. I used to sit by Ellesmere and watch the water birds, which were also almost tame, but I was wary of the swans. one of them jumped into the boot of our estate car where I was preparing our picnic, and stole the sandwiches, and he put up a very agressive fight when I tried to shoo him away. And I love the pussy willow. I used to cut a small branch to keep in water and watch it gradually open out to show the stamens. Kate x

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Looks like you had a great time even if you can't go pond dipping Lol! Gorgeous photos. Have a lovely weekend, Angela xXx

Lynn Holland said...

What a lovely photo of you both and sunshine as well, wonderful.
I like your stitching Elizabeth you are very neat
Have a lovely weekend
Lynn x