Spooky Last Minute Gifts for Halloween

Morning all! Here are some last-minute gift ideas for Halloween. All are from Folksy.com, where you can find all sorts of handmade cards, clothing, gifts, and supplies from UK sellers.

A very cute primitive-style ghost and pumpkin figure at £14 from Loopy la-la on Folksy.

Spooky soupula soap slice from The Soap Loaf Company at £2.85.

A tiny halloween theatre £38 from flossie limejuice.

Hallow Ena, paper art doll from Pussy Cat Willow at £2.20.

Trick or treat bags from Helen Rawlinson at £6.50.

A felt owl mask from Lupin Handmade at £12.00.

Have a Happy Halloween, folks!

Barnkirk Point Walk

Rob, Brock and I did the walk from Annan to Newbie and Barnkirk Point this morning. It was surprisingly busy with walkers and the odd cyclist and lots of dogs (which pleased Brock immensely!).

View of the railway bridge over the River Annan.

Rob and Brock.

Hawthorn berries.

Hazy view of the Cumbrian coast.

Master Brock.

Criffel seen from the shore section of the walk.

Celebrating Wool

Huzzar! My Pinterest Board - Celebrating Wool - Folksy Finds is on the front page of Folksy.com today:-

Brock

Here are some photos that my Mum took of Brock last week.

Brock is a Patterdale - Jack Russell cross (PatterJack, as we have taken to calling the mix!). He is 2.5 years old and had previously been kept on a farm in an outdoor run with little human contact. When he was first taken to the rescue centre he was scared of people, but the volunteers brought him round after three weeks of walking, play and care.

He came from The West Cumbria dog rescue centre, based in Workington. There are lots of other lovely dogs waiting for homes.

Brock is a wonderful little dog: he loves walks, playing with his toys, fetching a ball, running round and round the garden, meeting other dogs, training, and getting lots of tickles and attention on the sofa.

Glenkiln Sculpture Walk

Rob, Brock and I went on the Glenkiln Sculpture Walk today. The first time for Brock - about the fourth or fifth for Rob and I.

The weather was misty in places with sunshine breaking through elsewhere. The track was muddy in places in the fields, but it is quite an easy walk: just a few low hills and slopes to climb. It is about 3.5 miles long.

 View from the parking lay by.

'King and Queen' by Henry Moore, overlooking Glenkiln Reservoir.

 Mysterious figure in the mist.

'The Visitation' by Sir Jacob Epstein.

A rather nice tree on the edge of a gully.

Small bridge with device for stopping sheep from escaping!

'Two Piece Reclining Figure' by Henry Moore.

Brock.

Topiary bird by roadside.

View of Glenkiln Reservoir. There were lots of geese, ducks and swans on the water.

There is a good guide to the walk on walkingenglishman.com.

Talkin Tarn

Rob, Brock and I had a walk around Talkin Tarn in Cumbria this morning. It was a bright, sunny day and there were lots of people about, including people rowing on the lake.

Brock enjoyed meeting some other dogs, and watching the ducks and geese.

There was a craft stand in the boathouse, but it had not opened by the time we left. There is also a cafe by the marina area, but the last time we had coffee there, it was dire.

We stopped in Brampton on the way home and had a very nice coffee at the Howard Arms, which came with a homemade shortbread biscuit. Very pleasant!

Chilli Harvest

I picked about a third of our chilli harvest today. (All taken from three plants of the variety Cheyenne.) The chillies are green to begin with and ripen to orange.

We bought three small plants from Tescos earlier in the year and potted them on into larger pots. Since then they have been regularly watered, and fed with a tomato feed once a week.

The chillies have a medium heat and we have eaten them fresh from the plant in soup, vegetarian chilli, vegetable curries and gaucamole. Very tasty!

 

I decided to pick a bowlful to dry in the kitchen. The chillies are threaded onto thick thread using a needle passing through the thick part of the stem. They can then be suspended from a drawing pin or strung like fairy lights along a high part of the room to dry. Once dry, they can be crumbled into a jar or left whole and stored in an air-tight container.