Things that go munch in the night

We'd known for some time that we had a fox visiting our garden in the night.

He first came to our attention last December when he appeared a couple of time at dusk, helping himself to the crispies put out for the birds - "crispies" being the bits of batter that break off when you deep-fry fish. They are skimmed off and discarded, but our local chippie is good enough to save bags of them for us.

When we told them about our latest diner they started putting in the odd piece of fish and battered sausage - bits that had sat too long under the warmer - and these we left out for Foxy after dark. They were usually all gone by about 2 in the morning.

Naturally, the staff at the chippie hoped we'd have pictures... So we decided to treat ourselves to a trail camera, and were lucky enough to have success straight away.

That's a great lump of battered cod in his mouth. :-)

Yes, we'd known about the fox.

What we hadn't known about was this guy:

A European Badger - generally more placid than his North American cousin (unless threatened, then watch out!) and quite willing to visit peoples' gardens if food is on offer.

Chuffed to bits we were! We now put peanuts out as well as fish. Boy, does he love peanuts!

Here's a few more nice photos:

Peanuts! Nom, nom, nom...

What is that light?

Ah, and this is Blue, our outdoor cat. We get lots of shots of him and his little feline friends.

Cyprus, here we come!

The forecast for Harwich:

The forecast for Larnaca:

Hey, you know... we'll send a postcard, 'kay? ;-)

To be honest, we picked October for our second visit on the understanding that things would have cooled down a bit by then. I don't think we've seen 30° here all summer!

Now, frankly, I glow in the dark so... Hat? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Long-sleeved cover up? Check. Factor 50? Check!

I'll let you know how I got on. :-)

Cut-Glass Snowflake Doily

13 June 10 - Stop the presses! The doily has been identified!
I'm just waiting for a copy of the book to arrive (yes, I found one!) and then I'll post the details. Watch this space. :-) Details here!

Amendment: 27 May 10 - And the prize goes to Ravelry's doilyswan for spotting the first mistake! Round 9 has been amended. Anyone else?

I like to rescue interesting doilies from charity shops, take them home and save them for posterity by "reverse engineering" the pattern. Ok, I've only done two so far, plus I've got one waiting in the wings, but if there were more hours in the day I'd do more.

I found this unusual doily, or it could be a large motif, in a shop in Manningtree, Essex.




The style suggests it's a vintage pattern, though I could be wrong. I've asked all over the place and no one's recognised it yet.

Here's my first draft -


And here's the copy I made using my notes from the first one -


And here... is the pattern!

Cut-Glass Snowflake Doily
American notation

#10 or Bedspread cotton
1.5mm hook
Finished size = 10”

Notes:
2trtog (2 treble together [decrease]) = *yo twice, insert hk in st, yo, pull thru st, (yo, pull thru 2) twice, rpt from *, yo, pull thru 3
Ch4-picot = ch 4, slst in top of last st made

Ch 6, join

Rnd 1) 24 dc in ring

Rnd 2) *3 sc, ch 8, sk 1 dc, rpt from * around

Rnd 3) slst to 2nd sc, ch 4, *in ch8 sp (7 dc, ch 5, 7 dc), tr in 2nd sc, rpt from * around

Rnd 4) ch 7, *in ch5 sp (7 dc, ch 5, 7 dc), ch 3, tr in tr, ch 3, rpt from * around, slst in 4th ch of beg ch7

Rnd 5) ch 7, *in ch5 sp (7 dc, ch 5, 7 dc), ch 3, in tr (tr, ch 3, tr), ch 3, rpt from * around, ending ch 3, tr in same tr as beg ch7, ch 3, slst in 4th ch of beg ch7

Rnd 6) ch 7, *in ch5 sp (7 dc, ch 5, 7 dc), ch 3, tr in tr, ch 3, 2 trtog in same tr and nxt tr, ch 3, tr in same tr, ch 3, rpt from * around, ending omit last tr, slst in 4th ch of beg ch7

Rnd 7) ch 7, *in ch5 sp (7 dc, ch 5, 7 dc), ch 3, tr in nxt tr, ch 3, 2 trtog in same tr and nxt tr, ch 6, 2 trtog in same tr and nxt tr, ch 3, tr in same tr, ch 3, rpt from * around, ending omit last tr, slst in 4th ch of beg ch7

Rnd 8) ch 1, sc in same st, ch 7, *in ch5 sp (7 dc, ch 5, 7 dc), ch 7, sc in tr, 17 tr in ch6 sp, sk tr, sc in nxt tr, ch 7, rpt from * around

Rnd 9) slst over 3 ch, sc in 4th, *ch 5, in ch5 sp (7 dc, ch 9, 7 tr 7 dc), ch 5, sc in 4th ch of ch7, ch 2, sk 3 tr, sc in tr, ch 4, sk 3 tr, in nxt tr (sc, ch 3, sc), sk tr, in nxt tr (sc, ch 3, sc), ch 4, sk 3 tr, sc in nxt tr, ch 2, sc in 4th ch of ch7, rpt from * around, to end: replace last ch 2 w hdc in beg sc

Rnd 10) *13 dc in ch5 sp, sc in 4th dc, 25 dc in ch9 sp, sc in 4th dc, 13 dc in ch5 sp, sc in ch2 sp, 3 sc in ch4 sp, ch 12, 3 sc in ch4 sp, sc in ch2 sp, rpt from * around, ending sc over beg hdc

Rnd 11) slst over 7 st, ch 3, 6 dc, *sc in 3rd dc of 25, (ch 10, sk 3 dc, sc in 3 dc, ch4-picot (see notes), sc in 2 dc) twice, ch 10, sk 3 dc, sc in nxt dc, dc in nxt 7 dc of 13, ch 8, sc in ch12 sp, ch 8, sk 6 dc, dc in nxt 7 dc, rpt from * around

Rnd 12) ch 1, sc in same st, *ch 3, in ch10 lp (8 dc, ch4-picot, 7 dc), ch 3, (sc, ch 4, sc) in picot, rpt from * once more, ch 3, in ch10 lp (8 dc, ch4-picot, 7 dc), ch 3, sc in 7th dc, 5 sc in ch8 sp, ch 12, 5 sc in ch8 sp, sc in 1st dc, rpt from * around. FO

Copyright © 2010, Judy M Kerr. All Rights Reserved.

The pattern has only been tested by me and it's so easy to gloss over mistakes and "see" what you expect to see, so if you try it and you run into any problems please let me know - sofar_sogood at btinternet dot com.

And if anyone does recognise the pattern, again please let me know so that I can make the appropriate acknowledgements. Thank you.

ThisClose!

DH and I went for a walk today,

from Beaumont Quay around to Landermere (only about a mile each way). Very nice it was, too. Sunny with a cooling breeze, lots of shorebirds to see, no one else around.

But the best bit was on the way back, about 100 yards from the car.
A baby bunny on the footpath -


Close -


Very close -


This close!!!


It had no fear of us at all. It was so tiny - we were probably the very first
what-the-heck-is-that?s it had ever seen.

Eventually instinct kicked in and it decided it probably shouldn't be hanging around us and scurried off into the bushes.

Late Flakes, Holiday Snaps and a Big Brag

Sorry I'm late. Our little guest has (finally) gone home and I'm frantically trying to catch up with everything.

This is simplysnowflakes' SF Sign-up #11. I added an extra "arm" 'coz y'all know I don't do 5-point flakes (or 8 or God forbid 12). I should have reduced the number of chains between each point, though - as it is it came out too "round".





I think last week I promised some pics of L's visit so here goes:


L with the bear she won in the arcade at Seawick Holiday Park (St Osyth, Essex) on one of those crane grabber machines. How did she do that? I have never managed to get one of those machines to grab anything! (She doesn't like having her picture taken - can you tell?)

So then she goes and wins another one. Which she gave to me! Dear, dear child :-) I've named him Reggie - thought you might want to know that.






After Seawick we went to Mistley Place Park where L was "adopted" by a goat - it followed her all along the fence wanting more scratches.






Sometimes the pigs are out wandering around the park but this day they were all asleep, like this snoring porker. Really, he was snoring - it was so cute.


Of course, no holiday would be complete without the classic "joke" shot (DH enjoying an ice cream whilst perusing an information board by the River Stour at Mistley - "bunny ears" provided by L).











And now for the Big Brag. While she was here I taught L how to crochet. The brag is not that I taught her but that she picked it up so quickly! She bought her own yarn and hook at our local needlecraft shop and this is what she made the first day:

She decided it was a coaster. After that she made a little blue scarf for her soon-to-be-born nephew, then a round coaster and then she made this heart for her mum (pattern here):

I know grown women who won't attempt picots but she wasn't fazed in the least. Gosh, I'm proud of her.

Saturday Sky with Port

Harwich International Port - Parkeston, Harwich, Essex.

for the Saturday Sky webring

Saturday Sky with Lighthouse - Part 2

The Low Lighthouse in Harwich, with the High Lighthouse in the background.

Ships approaching the harbour in the 1800's would align the lights of these two lighthouses to steer a safe course up the channel. Over time the channel shifted and these lights became redundant in 1863, replaced by the Leading Lights further west along the shore in Dovercourt.



The Low Lighthouse is now the home of the Harwich Maritime Museum.

Too wet for snow

It is chucking it down outside. Typical Bank Holiday weather. Don't let the little sun in the corner fool you - no sun to be seen here!

But fear not - despite the title, I have got a snowflake. In fact, it's the ~winning~ snowflake in the first simplysnowflakes Homepage Contest. Woohoo!

Ok, in the interest of full disclosure I feel I have to mention that, although several people expressed an interest in taking up the challenge, in the end there was only one other entry.

But I won.

Here's the real snowflake we had to "copy". How did I do?








I will be posting the pattern for this flake soon as. Mind you, it took me a month to post my granny square pattern, so I wouldn't hold my breath.


Last but not least, here's my simplysnowflakes Snowflake Signup (SSSS) #4. I know where this one came from but in order to get a pattern you have to complete the previous one and there are some in the group who haven't gotten this far yet, so I'm not tellin'.

Super Seraphina

I've just completed my first Seraphina Shawl. I love this pattern! It was a bit confusing at first but the pictures are a great help. Once I got my head around the repeats I was away.

This one is for my aunt. I inherited my mum's stash and decided to use some of it (there's tons!) to make something for each member of the family. The problem is that there's mostly only one or two balls of each yarn, so I've been making scarves. I had six 50g balls of this yarn so I thought I could get away with a shawl. Well, it was just barely enough - it seemed to be worsted weight but it worked up like chunky and I had to use a K hook. In the end, one ball did only two rows. Thank goodness for blocking, which added a few inches.

The very next morning I started this one:

I found the mohair at a charity shop in Rickmansworth - £1.99/$3.94 for about 400g. Yes!

When that one is done I'm going to make one with this ball of Sirdar YoYo. Can't wait to see the colour changes.

Another bargain - the 400g balls sell for about £16.50/$32.69 but I got this one off of eBay for £10.50/$20.80 delivered. Like I need more yarn, yeah.

Saturday Sky with Lighthouse

The Harwich High Lighthouse was built in 1818, replacing an earlier lighthouse which sat over the town gate. It and the Low Lighthouse 150 yards away on the shore served as "leading lights" - a view of one light positioned over the other meant a ship was on the correct course into the harbour. Over time the harbour channel shifted and the lights became redundant in 1863.


The lighthouse now houses the National Vintage Wireless and Television Museum.

Saturday Sky

Clouds over Felixstowe
(as seen from our bedroom window)
And here's the 5-day forecast:
Mmm, nice. Actually, I'm quite looking forward to Wednesday. If it's going to rain I like it to really rain. Hey, I spent 11 years in the Pacific Northwest - I do rain.

Show and Tell

Snowflake Monday again. I never did get around to making another SF last week and the one I did make is a repeat of one I made before so there's no point posting another picture. Instead, I'll treat (if I may use that word) you to a few other things I've made recently.

Here is the chart for the flower and the leaf pattern came from this doily at Craftown.










I really love this heart - chart here

Sorry, can't remember where I found this one.

This baby afghan was made for my new nephew, born just before Christmas (pattern here at Joann.com). Modelled by my lovely assistant Larry, who was bought from Hamley's for my 1st birthday. So he's also 40-something and his growler still works!

Naturally, Tinkle the camera-hog had to get in on the act again (seen here earlier). So before you think I only have the one cat:

L to R - Sasha, Beastie and Tinkle, cozying-up together in front of the radiator. Like the blinkie says, "I want my cat's life".

Early Snow Delayed

I was going to post my Snowflake Monday offering yesterday as I was going to be in Colchester all day today (nattering and shopping and drinking coffee with a friend up from London) but I couldn't get my pictures to load - not with Blogger or ImageShack. I could understand one not working, but both?!

I'd just about given up hope of being able to load them again today when, suddenly, up they popped! Took a verrrrry long time, though.

Both are from Leisure Arts Let It Snow! leaflet 2038. They're meant to be three-dimensional but I prefer my flakes flat.

And before any of you think I skived off SF making today, I had half an hour on the train this morning. I started a SF when I got on and I finished it just as we pulled into Colchester. Nice timing.

Saturday Sky with Station

Dovercourt station, a ten-minute walk from our house, is the second last stop on the single-track line between Manningtree and Harwich, named the "Mayflower Line" because the captain of the Mayflower, Christopher Jones, was born in Harwich.

There used to be one further stop - the "Train Ferry" at Harwich Harbour, which carried railcars to Zeebrugge, until the service was discontinued in 1987.

Sorry I'm late

We had company yesterday and today - friends from my old meeting in Tottenham - so no computer action. And I forgot to take an "official" Saturday Sky so here's yesterday's holiday snap with the greatest proportion of sky - DH and friend sorting out their seaweed before slinging it at each other. Nice. We're at the West End beach at Dovercourt Bay, just a 2-minute drive/20-minute walk from our house (yippee!), and that's Walton-on-the-Naze in the distance.

Today's sky

Today's Saturday Sky comes to you from Lavenham, Suffolk - looking down the hill in Prentice Street towards the patchwork of fields beyond. It had been raining heavily only a few minutes earlier.

Lavenham is a lovely medieval town famous for its half-timbered buildings and beautiful "wool church", built thanks to the prosperity of local wool merchants.

We enjoyed our visit, and the wonderful lunch we had at Sweetmeats Tea Room, and plan to go back (to both!) again.

Saturday Sky 2

Near Little Bentley, Essex, looking north - 8 July 2006, 10:42am.

We spent this gorgeous day walking on Mersea Island and then stuffing ourselves silly with prawns, crab, smoked salmon, smoked mackerel, cockles, mussels and crevettes - the current seafood platter selection from the Company Shed, West Mersea - all accompanied by a hunk of stonebaked bread and washed down with a lovely Pinot Grigio (both bring-your-own). Fantastic.

That's a big boat

MV Cosco Ningbo was docked in Felixstowe yesterday - the 6th port of call on her maiden voyage, which began on 22 March. She is the largest container ship in the world and can carry 9447 twenty-foot containers. Length 350.57 meters, width 42.8 meters, carrying capacity 107277 tons, speed 25.4 sea miles per hour.
















Source: Official Web Portal of Ningbo, China

Yep, that's a big boat.

Why do I tell you all this? Because we can see Felixstowe docks from our bedroom window. (Looks great at night, all lit up.)

This is the best picture I could get -



















You can see the stern clearly enough, the bow is just "touching" the trunk of the (thoughtlessly placed) tree.

Should be in Hamburg now, and due to arrive back in Shanghai in May.