Firth park 2.0; February and March.

 Looks like I forgot to do  a post about the Firth Park photograph project up in February, so we'll play catch up this month and hope to do better in future. 

February

and then March, which we did last Friday

It was a lovely day weather wise, as was the rest of the Easter weekend; sadly we are back to cold winds and grey skies now. There were so many beautiful pictures from Firth Park to choose from, even though when we first glanced up the path it didn't look as though it was going to be very inspiring. It shows the importance of really looking I suppose. 

In other news, a final word on the velvetiser. We are so very pleased that we bought it. It makes a lovely drink with a beautiful texture and no lumps and no watery taste which can so often be the case with hot chocolate made at home (in our experience. Other people might be total magicians with it.) That said our preference is for making it with chocolate powder from  a jar rather than the expensive chocolate flakes recommended and sold by Hotel Chocolat. So a definite thumbs up from us. 

An Important Date

for the OH in the Orkney calendar. Yesterday saw the re-opening of Geri's Ice Cream parlour for the season. Of course we went; we never miss opening day if we're actually here on Orkney. Here's the photographic evidence.

The cone is mine; I can't really face the big sundae type things anymore except on very special occasions. It is a double scoop though; one of toffee fudge and one of vanilla honeycomb. The vile looking green sauce on the OH's concoction may give away that it is Chocolate Mint. 

Before going to Geri's, we went to the cinema to see Dune 2. It's something over two years since we saw Dune, which was enjoyable in a crash bang wallop sort of a way although a lot of the time I couldn't tell who was who. Dune 2 was much better, as it wasn't so dark and as I more or less remembered who the main characters were and where they were placed in the plot I could sit back and let it wash over me. It's all bit fantasy cliche but the script was more or less OK, the acting was fine and the cinematography was lush. In a development which took us both by surprise I did actually enjoy this one more then the OH did. Who could have known?

Wool Stats and Completed Projects for March.

 I was rather afraid that the stash reduction for this month was going to be very small indeed but in the end the numbers were more pleasing than anticipated. Yarn in was 200g which I claimed in a swap and for which I have a project in mind, and no wool in my stash that was suitable. Yarn out was 1265 g; almost half of that was sold and the rest was a mix of being knitted up or given away  Net reduction for the month then was 1065g and the cumulative reduction for the year to date is 3429g. 

(Things may not be quite so good in April as I have two lots of club yarn arriving, which I opted to receive on a quarterly basis, thus saving myself some postage but it does mean that there will be a lot arriving all at once. Ah well, c'est la vie. )

Meanwhile here are the completed projects for March. 

Birthday socks for my brother-in-law. He is a train geek, and in fact has just become an assistant editor at Railway Modeller magazine, as well as being the voluntary editor for the magazine of the Ffestiniog Railway Society, so a real enthusiast. So when I saw this mini-skein set dyed in the colours of some of the most famous locomotives from the old pre-British Rail days I had to buy it and make him some socks. Because I only had 20g of each colour I did actually have to sit down and do maths for this one! and I also knitted them two at a time so that I could be sure I had enough wool for the coloured stripes and that they were even. The dark grey is called Engine Oil, and the colours belong  to the Duchess of Hamilton (maroon), the Flying Scotsman (green) , Mallard (blue) and Rocket (yellow). Mini skein set by Quack Yarn. He loved them. 

 

Owl themed fingerless mitts that I made for a round robin type of thing. It's a big circle and you get sent something, take inspiration from it and make or buy or rootle out  something to send on to the next person round. I got a lovely fabric box with appliqued owl and fox, so I made these out of some fox coloured wool I had (coincidentally from Box 2 - very helpful) and with owl cables. 

These are socks for the OH that I made from the wool I got in a January swap, so not out of the box but good to get it used up. These were far from being a favourite project as the wool was harsh and they just seemed to take ages and ages to knit. Also about 3/4 of the way through the ball, the micro stripe turned into a much fuller stripe but there was nothing I could do as it didn't turn back! So the foot you can't see in the picture is finished with about four quite wide stripes. It looks odd and I was quite disheartened, also it niggles me, but he doesn't  care. so that's alright really then. 

This is the big project I worked on without managing to complete in February; The Impressionist Shawl by Helen Stewart. I wanted this finished for May when we are off to the Loire Valley and starting off with a visit to Monet's house and garden at Giverny. I thought it would be a fitting thing to wear there. The lace is much easier than it looks (it must be otherwise I couldn't have done it) but even knowing that I am really pleased with this. 

I'm not even going to pretend that I made these 'spa cloths' for any reason other than to do a quick knit and get this year used up. My current swap theme is Earth/Eco Day, and these are made in some hemp yarn that someone gifted to me. I was pleased to find an appropriate use for it. 

Box 2 is still looking relatively and worryingly full, but there's another four weeks so if I work hard....

And finally the token 'not knitting' project; a card I made last week which I am also quite pleased with. Simple but effective.  

S.O.S. -No, not a cry for help

 not in this instance anyway. 

SOS stands for several things but here it stands for the Scottish Owl Sanctuary. We've been talking vaguely about visiting this 'one day', without the day ever having arrived before. However, due to the vagaries of the weather and possible ferry disruption we ended up with a spare day in Glasgow before setting off for Stockholm so the 'one day' arrived. We gave Son No 2 a lift into work, thereby making him late for the first and probably last time. Honestly he gets there early every other day and has to take two trains and then walk; you would think that the one time he got a lift in a car he could do at least as well. What can I tell you? Glasgow commuter traffic. 

We went straight on to the Sanctuary after dropping him as we couldn't face trawling back through the commuter traffic in the opposite direction to the flat only to go out again half an hour later, but this meant that we arrived rather more than an hour before the place opened. Luckily the cafe was open so we spent some time in there.

I risked a scone, and it was fine. Baked on the premises fresh every morning apparently.

And then we went and looked at owls. I do love an owl, so I took lots and lots and lots of pictures, some better than others. Here are a few of the best ones. 

Eurasian Eagle Owl. Shame it shows the cage wires; the OH's phone camera is fancy and somehow gets rid of those. 

This is a burrowing owl. Judging by its performance the day we went, it spends large portions of its life standing on one leg. Well, why not? 

This one couldn't be bothered to pose so I couldn't be bothered to remember what sort of owl it was. A 'Whatever' Shrugging Owl, perhaps?

My favourite - the snowy owl. 

A Very Cross Owl

And a Very Fluffy Owl (also possibly quite cross)

The SOS has the largest collection of owls on show in the world, and they are from every corner of the earth, from deserts to rainforests . They do flight demonstrations twice a day and we were lucky enough to catch one; even more luckily one of the owls used was the female snowy owl. They get really close up to you so you get a very good look and the talk by the handler was informative and funny without being too much. We had a really lovely time. So glad we finally made it. 

Where We Stay In Stockholm

 We always stay in the same hotel when we go to Stockholm. It's on a small island called Skeppsholm; Stockholm is built on a series of islands so that's no big deal. There's a bridge to one part of the city centre, and ferries to other parts of Stockholm so getting around is easy and it's  very close to the National Gallery, so it's almost ideal for us. The only slight inconvenience is that there aren't many restaurants or cafes nearby which make eating out in the evening quite tricky sometimes although we did sample the inhouse restaurant on this occasion and wouldn't be averse to eating there again. 

Anyway it struck me that although I have put up some pictures of notable features on the island I haven't ever just posted pictures of the immediate environment, which is worth doing. Almost all of the architecture  dates back to the 17th Century and a lot of the buildings were used originally by the military, especially the navy as the island 'guards' one of the sea entrances to the city. Most of them have been converted to civilian use these days as museums, offices or indeed 'our' hotel. 

So here you go

Above and below views of 'Fantastic Paradise' an installation which has moving parts powered by water in the summer and is affiliated in some way to the Modern Art Museum just behind it.  Despite some scarily sharp edges on the metal parts Swedes seem perfectly happy to let  their children run about, play and climb on these structures when they are working; mine would never have been let near most of it! and I can't see anything 'paradisal' about it either. Now if they had called it 'A Nightmare of Paradise...' My ignorance showing here I'm sure.  

And of course the now standard photograph of the beautifully calm dining room and one of my breakfast choices. Incomprehensibly, there is no cinnamon bun on that plate...

We Are Back

 

and we had a (generally) wonderful time. 

More details to come over the next few days; today will be post holiday sorting out. But I did want to share that picture of the beautiful Stockholm waterfront. 

It's been a while...

Months in fact, since I was able to have my nails done. Sadly the woman who did them has been struggling with a chronic health condition but she is now on her way to recovery and is starting up her business again. As soon as I saw the Facebook post about her return I messaged her and made an appointment; such a lovely coincidence that she is returning just about the time we were planning to go away. 

I went along yesterday and although I had been fantasising about revisiting my inner Goth and decorating them with ravens, skulls and red roses, in the event it was such a lovely sunny day that I opted for something sunny and springlike for my nails. 

Like so

Click if you want to see them more clearly. I used to follow a blog where the writer said 'click to embiggen' and I often wondered what she had against the word 'enlarge'. 

Obviously not being able to have decorated nails wasn't the end of the world and I didn't repine, but it is lovely to have them done again. A little thing, but it lifts my spirits. I am already plotting about what to have in May when we go off to the Loire but meanwhile, given that according to my own personal weather reporter - i.e. the OH with his phone -   temperatures in Stockholm are still low and they are even having the odd flurry of snow,   a reminder of the approaching spring will be no bad thing.