Lots of lovely wool

The plumber is coming to look at our poorly hot-water boiler tomorrow morning - I think the bank account may be poorly by tomorrow afternoon!  I must admit it will be good to have the shower working again.  It's made us think how much we take a hot shower on demand for granted nowadays - N and I both remember the days of a bath once a week.

Our holiday in Orkney seems to be such a long time ago, even though it's less than 2 weeks since we came home.  I think I mentioned that we bought one or two 'souvenirs' back with us this time; very practical reminders of a special place.

I promised myself an Orkney mug, and am delighted with this one made at the Fursbreck Pottery in Harray.  I bought the coaster on our last trip; it just needed a mug to sit on it!

Look at all this yummy wool!  Oh, I can't wait till the autumn and I can start knitting it up.  This was also something that we promised ourselves this trip.  n has been yearning for a jumper made from genuine North Ronaldsay sheep wool, and after a bit of research, we had a drive out to The Woolshed in Evie. What a gem of a place.  Wool, fleeces, jumpers, gifts, and the owner was happy to spend a lot of time with us, making sure we had just what we wanted.  N is delighted with the North Ronaldsay wool he bought, which I will make up into a gansey-style jumper for him.  The skeins of gorgeous multi-coloured dyed wool are for me - a jumper or tunic from the DK, and a cosy pull-on hat from the aran weight.  Really I could have bought all the wool, the colours were so wonderful.

N also treated himself to another beautiful jumper, made by a local knitter, but the photo I took doesn't do the colours justice - it's the most lovely blend of navy and deep heather, and it looks very well on N.  

One of the many places we visited this time was the chambered tomb at Maeshowe (photos to follow in a later post) and I bought a guidebook mainly because Orkney has such a wealth of Neolithic history, it does pay to have a little knowledge and understanding of it.  There is quite a lot to learn, so I thought I'd start somewhere.

Finally, we bought a couple of CDs to remind us of the wonderful Folk Festival music we enjoyed so much.  First, a recording made at the 2011 'Gathering' concert, and the second is a great CD of music by the Kirkwall City Pipe Band - lots of bagpipes a-swirling, and a good selection of songs, too.  Both are good listening.

I've been busy all day, either painting (I shall be so glad when I finish) or cutting out the latest project.  Fabric everywhere.

While we were in Orkney, we saw a house for sale that we really liked.  We found out today that it is now under offer.  I'm not surprised - if we liked it, then I imagine a lot of other people did, too.  I guess it just wasn't the house for us.    I'm having to remember that I have so much to be very grateful for.  Perhaps I need to learn the lesson again.