Project 365+1: Days 197 - 203

This week it's been just about as cold and wet as you might expect from a Scottish summer, though we've have a couple of bright spells in between the downpours (one day in particular when I was able to actually go outside and take some photos, which was nice).

I've been trying to take more pictures with my fancy camera, rather than just relying on my phone all the time. Of course, not all of my photos this week were taken using my camera. There were a couple of days when I just couldn't be bothered to dig it all out (or I'd stowed it out of Tara-Trouble's way and so didn't have it to hand when a photo opportunity presented itself), but there are some very nice photos for this last week.

Day 197: Peeling Paint

This was taken looking out of one of our side windows. When we moved in the house was a sort of creamy colour with reddish brown on the stonework round the windows, but when they were getting ready to open the holiday home nextdoor we all got a new look in white and black. Unfortunately, the black paintwork round the side of the house hasn't held up too well, mainly because of a fierce hailstorm we had a few weeks after it was done.

Day 198: Evergreen

We were given a couple of fir trees which stand on either side of our front door, and this is the very tip of the stragglier of the two. I've always thought that they should stay green all year round, but during the spring of this year they went all brown and most of the needles fell off. A bit of plant food and extra water perked them right back up (though skinny tree is needing some weeding done on its pot). I'm pleased with how healthy looking they are now.

Day 199: Welcome

This is the little thing that hangs on the door handle leading into the living room. It was part of a new home set of gifts that some friends gave us when we moved in (they also gave us the 'and they lived happily ever after' wall hanging which is directly beneath our Victorian photo). Mr Click took Tara for a walk the other evening while I stayed home reading and this was pretty much my view from my chair, I couldn't help but think it'd make a good photo... so here it is!

Day 200: The Hungry Ghost Festival

Earlier this week I posted a photo of my friend Jen's book in Waterstones. Well, the day I spotted that book (Wednesday for anyone trying to keep track) I came home to find another Jen-shaped book waiting for me. This time it's a copy of her recently published poetry collection.

I've known Jen (online) for about four years now and have been impressed by her writing talents for pretty much that whole time, so I'm really looking forward to getting started on this. Unfortunately it was published the week that I decided to reread The Lord of the Rings so it might be another week or so before I get a chance to read it.

Day 201: In With The New

On Wednesday we took my father-in-law's car to Ayr to be serviced and MOT'd which was a brilliant excuse for some retail therapy. One of the things I love best about Ayr is the charity shops. I really enjoy going around charity shops and it's great when you come away with interesting bargains. There is also a Brantano's and a Pets at Home there so as I needed new trainers and some walking boots the plan was to stop in there (as well as to get some treats for the girls and Tara).

Well, the second charity shop we went into had those brown boots in it. Mr Click spotted them straight away, insisted I tried them on, and just like Cinderella, they fit perfectly. Only £5 (which gave me a much bigger trainer budget in Brantano's, though I only spent £1 more on those black and purple trainers than I did on those dirty looking blue ones four years ago). Yup, I've been wearing/living in the same comfy old pair of trainers for almost half a decade (there are children out there who weren't even conceived when I got those shoes). So we decided it was time to retire them.

I also found two books, a set of Gilbert & Sullivan CDs, a nice new top for work, some jeans for Mr Click and I spent a small fortune on some new notebooks because I've run out and couldn't pick between three (so went for them all). We also stocked up on rattie food and treats and biscuits for Tara (though Mr Click wouldn't let me get a £10 chew that was as big as she is, he has promised her one for her birthday next month though...) All in all, a very successful day!

Day 202: Blue Flowers

Now that Tara's getting so much better on her lead, it's easier for me to take my camera with me when we go walking. I'd been hoping to get some good pictures of the wildlife during out evening walk, but the birds we saw flew away too quickly to catch and the only other animal we saw was a hare (which was a bit too far away to catch clearly). But I'm quite pleased with the way that these blue flowers turned out. There are so many fancy flowers on the estate that one day when the weather is nice I'm going to make it my mission to go and get some nice photos of some of them!

Day 203: Yellow Bread

As you can see, it's been a colourful week here at the Click house. Yesterday we had a bit of a lazy day. I spent most of my time redesigning a Lord of the Rings site that I used to run and we watched a bit of TV. Other than that it was fairly relaxed. At one point I stayed in with Tara and read The Lord of the Rings while Mr Click went out with his radio.

He returned with some funky homemade bread that was an interesting yellow colour (this photo doesn't really do it justice) from the local farm shop on the estate. This was a very good call because we'd both been too busy/lazy to actually make a loaf ourselves and so there wasn't really anything for tea. Mr Click suggested cheese on toast but I pushed for soup, and I won, so here's our chicken & pasta soup with funky yellow bread. It was fantastic!

And what's up for next week in the Click household?

Well, I'm hoping to finish rereading The Lord of the Rings this week, so we're planning a movie marathon at the end of the week. Other than that... let's hope we have some more good weather so I can get outside with my camera a little more.