happy hallowe'en

Hallowe'en was a rush this year (in the sense of being hurried).  What with bugs and homework and essays and sewing and all the rest!  So here are the only two pics we managed to take (a little fuzzy!)

the crafting!  There were bat biscuits made for trick or treaters too but no photo.

and an evil princess, I couldn't catch the boy in his faceless hoodie costume.  Lots of goodies were collected and a lot of fun was had.  Then after they went to bed we watched Urban Ghost Story which was a really good film about social issues but not very scary and then listened to 'The turn of the screw' by Henry James, on the iplayer.  Definitely scary!  To be listened to in the dark, maybe not on your own though!

a very windy day

We took a walk on the prom yesterday, it was so windy!!  But we saw the starlings coming in to roost around the church tower, a truly amazing sight, the whole group swooping and curving round gathering more and more birds as they go.  Teague managed to capture a little bit of it on video.  But if you have starlings near you it's really worth going to watch them roost.

On the way back we took the sheltered route to avoid the wind and popped into Penlee Memorial Garden, one of our favourite places for flowers.  We're thinking of going back in the week, on a less wild day, to do some drawing.  But this time Teague took some lovely photos of what's blooming at the moment

we have no idea what this tree is, the fruit are actually quite small, smaller than apricots so if anyone knows...

a trip to the lizard and a new embroidery pattern

We took a wintry trip to Kynance cove on the Lizard last week because I have only been once at high tide (there is no beach at all at high tide, so a pointless trip really!).  Of course we packed our camera for this gorgeousness but did we check the batteries?  Of course not.  So these strange photos were taken on Jason's phone.  The light is very strange in them, it was actually a bright sunny day but I think I like these photos more, they make me think of  memories fading.

that hat is not mine!  But my ears were cold.

this is the walk over to Lizard Point (which for some reason was never photographed).  The ponies are sort of wild ponies brought in over the winter to graze.  This is to encourage the choughs that have been reintroduced here, and judging by how many choughs we saw it's working well.  I do love choughs.

It really is a very beautiful walk, one we will be doing again.

And I have also managed (being a superwoman and all that!) to finish a pattern and list it in my folksy and etsy shops.  Considering my unpredictable laptop and an essay to write and hand in (my first in two years) I think I'm quite on top of things!

Anyway the pattern consists of cute little boy and girl rabbits with umbrella, kite and balloon.  It can be found here and here

more autumn

just when I think it's time to cosy up and start the bookish learning the sun comes out.  After years of living in Cornwall I have learned that if it's dry we must leave the house because there are no guarantees that it won't start raining tomorrow (and not stop until next spring!)

So off to Trevaylor woods today

Teague and Annis love the woods and could happily spend all day there.  They take penknives, camera and sketchbooks (we rarely actually take the sketchbooks out but we could!) and everything else they need is in the woods

today such strange mushrooms, again we're assuming they're not edible.

and leaves to swish our feet through

and a stream for pooh sticks (which I never win)

and I'm messing with my template, can't seem to make up my mind but it's fun so maybe a new one every day?!

Botallack

It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday but, instead of the beach we crossed the peninsula to have a saunter around Botallack.  This is my favourite stretch of coast, it's so dramatic and I love the remnants of industry.  I think they remind me that nature always takes over again in the end.

these are old mine workings

this is the arsenic labrynth where arsenic was collected (from roasting the tin), apparently Victorian women used to eat it and rub it into their faces and arms to make their skin look paler so they didn't look as though they worked in the fields!  But it seems to have had a myriad of uses, including fly papers and eczema medecine.  The poor man who had to collect the arsenic would (ironically) cover his face and arms with clay to protect them and stuff cotton wool up his nose. 

These are the engine houses and there is the most stunning sheltered spot down there to enjoy the sun and watch birds.  Yesterday we saw a peregrine falcon (we don't see too many of those), two choughs (which I love) and a raven.

I wish I knew more about mushrooms or, at least in this case, toadstools.  I could guess that these examples might be poisonous!

and relaxing in the sun enjoying the beauty of it all.

Stuff we're enjoying right now

Every year around this time we seem to get a lot more reading and bookish learning done.  Today in particular it has turned colder so we don't mind staying in and cosying up with a good cd

and this is a great one, it's entertaining and informative enough to make us want to find out more.  Today we listened to the piece about Galileo and it has inspired us to look for a galileo telescope kit so if anyone knows of a good one please let me know

I have begun my Open University course and am back to reading and then reading again, oh and then reading in a bit more detail!  But I'm enjoying Chekhov ( I can't say I have ever read or seen his plays before).

and Annis has bought a fabulous Julie West embroidery pattern from Sublime Stitching that is so cool and funky, that coupled with gold thread... who could resist.

oh and there's nothing I like to see more than a teenage reader.  The oldest (now at college) enjoyed reading but it's been a bit more of a struggle with this one.  Percy Jackson and the lightening thief seems to be doing the trick though.

and Annis has been crafting all by herself (poor thing) with her autumn finds from a lovely walk this morning in Morrab Gardens.

What are you finding to do now it's getting colder?

that autumn crafting feeling

Annis has got the knitting bug, she has three of these dolls but apparently that's just not enough!  The difference is that this time she wants to knit it herself from one of these lovely books

Then we remembered this sad half finished monkey that she got for christmas and began two years ago.  As far as I know grandma asks her if she's finished it yet every time we visit.  So, I put my foot down and said the monkey has to be finished before we move onto purl stitch.

See the speed she's knitting that monkey in her cheery mish mash home ed tshirt which she adores!

and in the dining room (I thought it was quiet) whole armies are being created

painting warhammer (another gift from two years ago that has just sat around half finished!).  All this leaves me a little time for blogging and...

a little time for embroidery.  I love autumn!

It feels like autumn

A beautiful walk on the cliffs picking blackberries

Gorgeous blue sea and autumn sunshine

Makes us glad that we home educate.

And even still some butterflies around.