My Mother's hands still knit

I've looked at a fair few family photos on this visit and we're nearly always wearing something that was knitted for us by Mum.

We had jerseys/jumpers, cardigans, twin-sets... I'm pretty sure Mum knitted us a new jersey each year. She knitted when we were in the car, in front of telly and when just relaxing.

These days I'm privileged to have soft padded coat hangers Mum has knitted then hand sewn onto the hanger with a layer of soft padding between hanger and knitting. What a difference they make to my clothes and a tangible reminder of Mum each time I open my wardrobe.

The knitting continues, sometimes with pauses and always with dignity elegance. I'm sure you'll agree if you view large

Today I ran up and down hills with vim and vigor (at least in my mind ;-) Just as well because I went to the Puhoi cheese factory for lunch with my friend Mary. It was all very splendid washed down with a fine glass of Pinot Noir too.

We also went to a local art exhibition and were taken with some of the work on display. I've bought a hefty piece of pottery to hang either inside or outside. It is titled 'Wild Daisies' and I fell for it. It will be tomorrow's hand luggage challenge ;-)

Tonight I'm cooking Beef Stroganoff, using a favourite family recipe Mum sometimes cooked on a Sunday when I was growing up. My brother and sister in law will join us. After dinner we'll wind our way through family photos and films, now all on disk and viewable through TV.

It's going to be a lot of fun :-)