Books today

I've sold a book on Amazon!!! OK! Big deal! Well it is for me! With the help and advice from Michelle at work, I put up a load of books for sale. I didn't think the prices were unreasonable but three months went by........ nothing, nada, niente, zilch! I reviewed the prices and put them up for another couple of months - which must be up soon - and at long last.... my very first sale!!! So now I am off to the Post Office to send it down to London. Probably the postage will outweigh any sale money but I might be left with a few coppers! Is it really worth it? I think I'll give the rest to Peter (see Peebles for Pleasure, my other blog!) for his Peace Group book sale in March!
OK! Off to the P.O.

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And I'm back! The bleep bleep Post Office is closed for refurbishments! Not open again till Thursday! My first sale and I can't keep to the time schedule for posting it! As Victor Meldrew would have said, "I don't beleeeeeeeeeve it!" Anyway I have emailed the buyer to explain the situation, so we'll see whether she's prepared to wait or whether she wants reimbursed!

Talking of books, did I tell you about the book I left at a Peebles bistro in the hopes that someone might pick it up and take it home ? No I don't believe I did!

So!

One day in the Co-op somebody left a book of the poems of Robert Burns lying on a shelf. It had a label on it to say it wasn't lost but on a journey. The person who had left it hoped someone else would take it home and maybe read it then leave it somewhere else! So I took it home with me, looked up the website it gave (Bookcrossing) with a book number, and I was able to register the find. Then the other day I took it out with me to lunch with Linda, and surreptitiously planted it on a chair at the next table! That would have been that if one of the sharp-eyed waitresses had not spotted it as we were leaving. "Is this yours?" So I had to explain the story, and they decided to play along.

Well, the one of the girls was in the shop the other night and told me someone did pick it up and asked if she could have it! I'm hoping to hear on the website just where it has gone! I'll let you know!

So to finish off for today - a photo! Not of books, but of Cosmos and Jinty, a couple of weeks ago! They are getting bigger - not a lot - but they are definitely filling out! Aren't they just gorgeous?

Talk again soon.

Little Spring messengers

Walking along the river up towards the park the other day after the snow began to disappear, I found that the woodlands were beginning to get white with snowdrops.

There were banks of them popping their heads out from amongst the old brown beech leaves from last autumn -

a promise that spring isn't too far away! I mean we're now over half way through February, so any more bad weather we get won't hang around for that long. I expect we'll get the usual lambing storms towards the end of March/ beginning of April, but they'll hopefully not last.

Elsewhere, some variegated ivy took my eye, as it clung to the wall . A few wee snowdrops and some ivy leaves would make an attractive display in an egg cup - or a wine glass!

It was getting darker as I headed back along to Peebles. Looking upriver the sun was gleaming through the trees onto the water, while downstream to the east the silhouettes were beginning to look rather good. Spot the ever-present church tower!

Talk again soon.

More snowy pics

Well, With the weather being as it has been recently - about 4 inches of snow altogether - I haven't done very much except walk along Tweed Green with the camera, and some of those pictures I have also put in my Peebles for pleasure blog as well as the ones here the last time. However, there are a few I haven't shown you yet so that's what I'll do today. Hope you like them.

This one is especially for Eunice - more little ice collars on the grasses at the river's edge! Glass beads! So pretty!




This is about as much ice as appeared on the river. Winters ain't what they used to be! I have seen a photo from the 1960s where Tweed froze over entirely, and people were able to skate or just walk across the ice to the opposite bank! That was cold! I wonder if Rosemary would let me borrow the photo to copy? Must ask her! I believe she told me about bonfires on the ice......

This is a view you'll be familiar with: the parish church, the bridge across Tweed, and a bit of Tweed Green, including my place!



Same view from further round! This is the putting green, where no-one has putted for years, but is still known as such! David had the idea of taking over the pavilion and reinstating the putting green, but the insurance would be way too high, and probably not worth it! Summers ain't what they used to be either!
This one was taken from Priorsford Bridge as the kids were coming out of school for lunch! That's one optimistic icecream van parked in the foreground! There were only two or three kids stopped there. The rest of the hordes walked straight on past it in search of something more substantial from the food shops of the High Street.

I'll try and catch up with this blog a bit sooner next time. I already have photos of the walk up the other side of Tweed bridge - and proof that spring is coming!
Talk again soon.

Wintry weather

There is something about an old broken down wall, especially in the snow! It wasn't the brightest of days but I liked this view.

The next pics were taken in the sunshine of the last few days. The snow in the "wall" photo melted the next day, but a few days later there was more, and this time the temperature dropped and it froze. Since then we have had a few more flurries and more blue skies and sunshine, so I crunched across the Green, over Priorsford bridge and back on the other side the other day, taking these as I went.

School's out! It's lunch time and suddenly the town's foodshops are full of school children, who have crossed the bridge and made their way through the snow to the High Street, to grab a baguette or a pie for lunch!





Looking back to the old hospital and the care home to its left, with Venlaw, the forested hill, behind.






Here's the most commonly photographed view of Peebles - the bridge over Tweed, with the church standing on its exalted position facing down the High Street.

My house fairly stands out from the rest in this one! I do love my view of the river, watching it through the seasons.





At the river's edge the water must have frozen round the stems of these grasses, leaving them with little ice collars like glass sparkling in the sun!


When I was growing up in Edinburgh, a wee bittie from the sea, mother always used to say there must be storms at sea when we saw and heard seagulls inland. I am still not sure what gulls do or where they go if it is stormy, but these ones are always around, competing with the ducks for a share of the bread they are fed by the youngsters of Peebles and their parents! They are quite small and do not screech quite like the bigger gulls, and altogether are rather attractive little birds.


I feel so lucky to have such wonderful surroundings that look so different from season to season - hey, guess what? It's snowing again!

Talk again soon

Oh, have I been having problems with this old computer! It has been driving me demented, trying to upload photos! I just couldn't get them loaded at all! Maybe it was blogspot but I think my PC was just throwing a wobbly! Time to replace, I fear!

Anyway I must have lots to catch up on, so where will I take you today! Linda and I meet up for lunch quite regularly, and have explored a few of the small towns near Edinburgh recently.

After lunch one day not so long ago at Queensferry in the rail bridge bistro, with views of the bridges - the poor old railway bridge seemingly swathed in bandages, as repairs are carried out - we drove further west along the coast of the firth to Blackness Castle built in the 15th century.

It's shape - though maybe not from this angle - bears a fair resemblance to a ship setting off into the sea, and is often referred to as "the ship that never sailed". The first records of the castle in 1449 indicate that it was in use as a state prison, which role it was to continue for over 250 years. Unfortunately we didn't have time to explore that day so are planning to return in the spring or summer.

Around the end of January we headed north over the bridge into Fife to eat at a tearoom taken over recently by Baxters of Fochabers, where they were still advertising Burns' suppers and the food they produce that could be eaten on such an occasion.

Another day we headed east along the Firth where we ate in the sunroom of a very nice hotel, with coffee served afterwards in the beautiful and comfortable lounge. How's this for nice surroundings?

We do get about!

Talk again soon.