Bonfire Night

And there's a picture of a bonfire - at the Scouts' bonfire and firework display. The display was very good but alas my firework photos were not. Oh well. It's been a beautiful cold day and was a clear cold evening, so perfect firework weather really. And everybody really did saw 'ooooh' and 'aaaah' when the first fireworks went off - I love that! We can't help ourselves. I always think fireworks are such a weird thing to enjoy - they look amazing but they sound disturbingly like artillery, especially when there are random fireworks going off in people's gardens so you can't necessarily see them and the sound is echoing off buildings. Fortunately our cats don't seem the least bothered by the noise. The occasional twitch of an ear and that's it.

The moon was particularly lovely tonight so that was a bonus. Using the amazing zoom on my compact camera I managed a slightly smudgy but suitably spooky-looking photo. Quite pleased with that.

frosty

We had the first frost of the winter last night, and a clear night was followed by a beautifully clear day. I don't know what temperature it got to in the day but it felt chilly all day - the sun was warm, but the moment you went into the shade you felt it.  It was great to see some blue sky again though! Up near the library you could see for miles and miles. I should have taken more pictures really but I was just too cold at that point. It was my first gloves day of the winter too, reminding me that I really should knit that second mitten, y'know, sometime before spring.

Tonight being Bonfire Night, the kids and I ventured out for a walk to see if we could spot fireworks. I took loads of photos but obviously they're mostly useles - that one above is of the moon with fireworks and the tops of some trees. Or alternatively it could be a colony of glow-in-the-dark bats. The cats have been more twitchy at the sound of explosions this year (perhaps there were more fireworks this year because it was a dry night?) but not excessively so. While we were out firework-watching we saw a fox slinking around completely unconcerned about the whole thing. Animals must think humans are very peculiar sometimes.

It was still cold and clear with very little breeze and the moon was particularly beautiful:

We were trying to decide whether it was full or not, but apparently it's waxing gibbous.

My brain is still addled by Cézanne - nearly finished though. I just have to add a bit to the Cleopatra answer and trim a bit more off the Cézanne one. Actually I could easily have written something twice as long for the Cézanne, which I suppose is reassuring in that I have plenty to say, but it's also quite frustrating that I'm having to prune quite so drastically. I'm only good at pruning drastically in the garden!

Warm feet and fireworks

A row of coziness.  I do like a hot water bottle.  I know some people prefer electric blankets but I'm not keen - and there's something so seventies about electric blankets. Besides which, one of the joys of hot-water bottles is you get to make covers for them!

The red one on the left is one my mum made for me, I think when I was a student or possibly even when I was still at school. The stripey one is one I made for the Boy out of an old fleece dressing-gown he'd long outgrown.  I'm not great at sewing so I'm quite proud of how well it turned out. The pinky-orangey one is Miss M's and could really do with a button to fasten it now. It was fine when I first knitted it but of course being garter stitch it has stretched and sagged somewhat. Still gorgeously squishy though!  The two small ones are half-size hot-water bottles that the kids used to use. They're not often used now but I still like the covers.  I feel like knitting another cover.  It's not as if I need another one, but it's no odder than all the people who've knitted loads of lace shawls is it?

It's definitely a hot-water bottle night tonight. There have been frosts the last couple of nights and although it was cloudy and very wet this afternoon (and at its worst just as the kids came out of school of course), the skies cleared again this evening. Which meant dry and clear for the fireworks! We didn't go to a display but the kids and I went for a walk round the block to see what we could see.

 

 Boom! Oooh! Aaah! etc. 

Actually there were so many going in off in one place just at this point that I wondered if somebody had just lobbed a lit match into a box of fireworks. Miss M was completely horrified at the very thought - clearly they've covered firework safety at some length at school. Which is good!

Miss M claims she didn't like the loud noises and didn't enjoy herself at all. Here's a picture of her not enjoying herself at all:

'Aye, right' as we say round here.