A fun evening

Yesterday evening was the annual harvest supper and barn dance at our local church. It's always a fun event and a chance to catch up with folks that we don't see very often. I remembered to take my camera with me which was great until I tried to use it. The little message on the screen told me I had forgotten to put the memory card back in when I downloaded the last lot of photos. Grrr it's annoying that my memory is still letting me down but thanks to the wonders of my smart phone i was able to capture the occasion

When we arrived there was a dance about to begin and it all looked peaceful as everyone listened and walked through the dance. 

Once the music started and the dance was underway total chaos ensued as people got their left and their right mixed up and forgot all the instructions. The caller kept on calling out what to do but it became a do your own moves dance.

The important bit was that no one got annoyed and we all spent the evening laughing, so much so that as we walked home at the end of the evening I commented how much my sides hurt from all the laughter.

The hall is part of the church which is a very large Victorian building. Many years back the south aisle was turned into a hall with stage. During weekdays it's used by a nursery and in the evening and weekends provides the venue for social functions and meetings.If I'd remembered to turn and take a photo behind me you would have seen the 'bar' where those of us who had just arrived were enjoying a drink before joining in with the next dance.

The supper was very tasty with chicken curry, vegetable chilli or lasagna. I think most of us opted for a little of everything. There was also a great variety of desserts to chose from. I would have taken a photo to show you but we were all too busy eating and chatting to think of it.

Today was the Harvest service in the church and I loved the floral arrangement. perfect for harvest and Autumn. It looks very simple but very effective.

Walking to the common I spotted a couple of trees with lovely autumnal coloured leaves.

Most of the trees are still sporting green leaves or the leaves have just turned brown, curled up and dropped off. I'm reliably informed this is because there wasn't a lot of rain earlier in the summer and back in the spring. For the leaves to give the glorious autumn colours the trees need a good intake of water early in the growing season.

On the common there are several clumps of these pretty Neapolitan Cyclamen. They aren't wild so have either escaped from a local garden or more likely been planted here by a local resident.

You can see what I meant by the leaves just turning straight to brown. Last weekend the tree above this clump was covered in green leaves and now its branches have some green leaves but the rest have turned brown and dropped off.

Today being Sunday it's time for some hand stitching. I did a little earlier today but this evening I shall enjoy some more stitching and I'm hoping to find something fun to watch on TV whilst I do it. Currently there are a lot of repeats being shown prior to the new season of shows starting in October. I'm not adverse to repeats but get a little cranky when they show the same thing every other week.  Anyway here's what I stitched earlier today on Mathilda. 

I must hunt out the blue thread I was using for her coat. I put it somewhere and now can't find it. I think Scamp may have hidden it as he gets grumpy when I'm hand stitching. He likes to sit on my lap in an evening and he's perfectly happy with me stitching so long as the fabric doesn't touch him. If it does he gets up and turns round which means i have to stop stitching whilst he resettles himself. If it happens a few times he jumps down and finds somewhere to curl up very small and behaves as if he's been told off.

Although it's Sunday, a day for slow stitching I may get my machine out. Lucy has commandeered the dinning table for work on her Masters dissertation but she has finished what she wanted to get done today and gone out to meet up with friends so I should be able to get some sewing in. She's in the final stages of finalising everything and proof reading as it is due in on the 2nd October. After that I can have the table back for sewing but next week I want to give her space to finish her work.

This weekend was the first weekend of ignoring work and getting on with family life. I'm pleased to say I haven't opened my work bag or my work emails. I did spend a couple of minutes considering my travel choices for tomorrow as I am going to a meetings at one of the hospital Trusts that we provide training for, but that was for my own comfort and peace of mind. You can't leave your travel arrangements until the last minute.

I'm linking this post with Kathy of Kathy's Quilts for her Slow Sunday Stitching link up. Pop over and see what everyone's been up to this week.

Lyndsey