They Call Me The Wanderer ....

I've had a long hiatus from blogging during which I have had a lot of ups and downs in my life.  However, with encouragement from my boss and my lovely friend Rachel I have decided to pick it up again - so we'll see how it goes.

In March 2014 I upped sticks and moved to West Yorkshire after getting a transfer with my job.  Now after several moves I am finally in a place of my own and I love it.  I have a lovely wee three bedroom terraced house - well maybe that should be two bedrooms and a craft room - and its close to work so my travelling is down to a minimum and I'm not spending endless hours on buses or trains.  I've got settled in very quickly and its the first time in almost 2 and a half years that I feel like I have a home.  I miss Glasgow and it will always be home but for now I'm here and I am finally starting to make a life for myself down here.

Unfortunately my constant companion and bestest friend in the world, my gorgeous wee Minnie May died just 7 months after we moved to Yorkshire.  I miss her terribly and it has taken me a long time to even think about having another puss in my life, but thanks to my landlord's two moggies who seem to think that this is still home, especially Lola, I am coming around to the idea of giving a special cat a forever home.  Since I am going to be away rather a lot over the next couple of months I am going to wait until I get back from my holiday in October before I start my search.

Back in April I managed to get a wee allotment in the local park.  I fell lucky as not only was in laid out into beds it also has a shed.  I've done more experimenting than anything this growing season and currently have parsnips, sugar snap peas, beetroot, carrots, butternut squash, pumpkins and courgettes as well as rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, blackcurants, gooseberries and blackberries (or brambles where I come from). I've also created a wee memorial garden and planted three rose bushes for my parents and my gran - a yellow rose for mum, a lovely scarlet red for my dad and a pretty apricot for my gran.  I'm planning on a fruit tree for next year together with a proper greenhouse and I might even paint the shed!  My friends Jo and Richard regularly bring their two little lads Craig and Thomas up to visit while I'm up there and Craig loves to help with the digging.  I have regular orders for my rhubarb from Jo and her mum and also my neighbour Nicola.

This month marked 40 years since my dad passed away.  Hard to believe he's been gone so long.  I still miss him so much especially when I am visiting new places that I know he would love.  Unfortunately on the day of his anniversary I found out that my uncle Archie and my wee cousin Craig had passed away last year.  I am travelling up to Scotland for the Davis Cup next month and spending a week catching up with friends and I also have some bridges that need mending as far as family go.  I haven't seen my aunts and uncles since mum's funeral over 10 years ago so I will be visiting them and hopefully start a new chapter there.

I've not done much stitching at all in the last couple of years and in fact I think I have only finished one project since I have been down here.  I lost my enthusiasm for stitching in a big way but putting my craft room together has helped a little ad I have started a new project for my kitchen Lizzie*Kate's Little Cups of Friendship.  I have done more knitting than anything whilst here and only have one sleeve left to do on my bolero cardi and I'm also knitting a cushion cover with the wool I got for my birthday last year from my team at work (and you should have seen the looks on their faces when I told them what I wanted with my birthday money!!)  Its lovely wool and the shade I am using at the moment, magenta, is so vibrant.  My friend Rachel and I have joined a lovely group of knitters in a wee village called Silsden and we go there twice a month on a Saturday for knitting, crotchet, stitching, loads of chat as well as tea and home baked goodies.  We also take our knitting to our wee local, the Fox in Shipley, just up the road from my office.  Its a small pub but they have live music on a Tuesday night and a little group of knitters too.  I don't think I've ever been a regular at my local in my life but I am now!

All in all I have a fairly hectic social life these days what with the knitting group, the Fox, my once a month book group, the once a month pub quiz and the random days out - this week alone we've been on a Scarecrow Trail and a Treasure Trail up at Burley in Wharedale where I found not one but two "des res's".  Just need that lottery win ...

This weekend is a Bank Holiday and I am planning on a day at the allotment tomorrow before spending Sunday with friends in Saltaire before we head to the Hop to hear (and see) the fabulous Turnarounds and then off out to the Brew Haus on Monday for the Sausage and Cider Festival.  Can't wait - will need to go back to work on Tuesday for a rest!

I plan over the next couple of months to add lots of photos of where I've been recently but for now I will just add a couple of shots of the allotment and a finished project I finally got around to framing.

So until next time thanks for reading and see you soon.

Love and hugs,

Ally xx

My shed

One view of the allotment

Pumpkins

Butternut squash

My daddy's rose

Official Crazy Cat Lady