Knitting with cables and photos from the weekend

Yesterday we went to Blairgowrie to have Elizabeth measured up for a new highland dance jacket at Piob Mhor, a shop that makes kilts and highland dance outfits. It was a gorgeous drive as Aberdeenshire is still covered in snow and the hills to the west were white. As we went south the snow gradually disappeared and although it was bitterly cold in Blairgowrie, snow there was none.

We enjoyed a nice walk along the River Ericht and had lunch while we were there. We had difficulty finding a place to eat as one place had shut down, another had not reopened since shutting over Christmas and another place was fully booked which left us little choice. The place we managed to find served watery coffee and watery soup. But it was warm and had toilets.

Ben and Daniel came with us but the shot of me and Elizabeth turned out better so that’s the one I’m posting. You’ll have to imagine Ben and Daniel in the background.

Today Elizabeth had a dance workshop in Newton Hill so I went for a walk along the coast while she was doing that. I saw a very handsome cat sitting on a stone wall and took my camera out to get a picture of it but as I did so it came and rubbed itself against my legs so I got a slightly different photo to what I had first intended. I started patting it until it gave me the same bodily expression Victoria does when she’s about to bite a finger off so I quickly removed my hand. I speak cat pretty well now.

It was glorious to be out walking on the cliffs beside the sea with snow on the ground and such pretty colours in the sky. I’m not usually a huge fan of the ocean but there was something very soothing about the gentle breeze, the smell, the colours, the sound of the waves and the complete absence of any human-made noises like cars. And those houses on the cliff have the most wonderful view.

I accidentally went the wrong way along the coastal path which sounds pretty dumb given there are really only two directions you can go along a cliff beside the sea unless you plan to go into the sea which I did not. I ended up on a large field and the snow made it difficult to see whether there was actually a path there or not. So I backtracked and found the correct path then decided that Dunnottar Castle, which is just down the road from Newton Hill, must be beautiful in the snow to I went to have a look. There was less snow at the castle but it was still lovely.

Last week I started my first knitting project with cables and it’s going well so far. I thought cables would be difficult and have been putting off learning but actually they’re not too hard.