A walk and stitching

I'm enjoying a very slow and leisurely break from work. There are lots of jobs I need to do but it's too hot to rush around so I've slowed the paced and I'm spending time being 'in the moment' and being 'mindful'. 

One of the jobs I need to get on with is finishing Aubrey's quilt. I set up my machine and set to work but for some reason the tension was all wrong and so a period of checking and double checking followed to get the tension right again. Missy loves to 'investigate' things and I think she may have altered the settings with her nose.  The computer screen on the machine is a blessing as it makes it quick and easy to alter all the setting but does lead to problems when people or pets decide to play with it. Once the stitch tension was corrected I got on with the quilting. I then added the binding. 

Next job is stitching the binding down. I finished off a second bird house yesterday. I was hoping to get a couple of these done a day but I'm having too much fun doing other things. This one needs a bit of a press.

Being on holiday is great for clearing that list of books that you want to read. This week I read Murder before evensong by The Reverend Richard Coles. The village of Champton is beautifully described and so are the residents. A lovely peaceful village, what can go wrong! Three murders and one suicide follow and it all seems to stem from the idea of putting a loo in the church!

Yesterday John was teaching in Reading and I offered to drive. Although I work there at least once a week I haven't really done any exploring. I do visit the shops but I decided I wanted to do a walk along the river Kennet. On the way to the river I passed Reading Minster of St Mary the Virgin. I'll explore this on another day. I'm impressed this photo doesn't have a bus in it as there was a line of them driving past at the time.

 

I joined the river at this point and crossed to the other side of the river by the foot bridge in the photo, to get into the shade.

Along the side of the river there were a lot of wild flowers growing. I loved the colour of these ones.

As I walked I passed the old Huntley and Palmers building. The company was originally founded in 1822 by Thomas Huntley and George Palmer. It continued to trade until the early 1990's and is now back selling a range of biscuits but no longer in Reading.

As I walked I discovered there was a riverside museum at Blakes lock. Unfortunately it was on the opposite bank so a visit will have to wait.

I continued past the weir, enjoying the birds perched on the poles. I love the light on the river and the reflections.

I walked past Blake's lock. On my walk back a boat was making it's way through the lock. I love all the greenery on the lock gates.

Further along there was a huge group of swans. They all came rushing to the side hoping I had some food with me but they were disappointed.

Then under the bridge where I found reflection of light off the river on the roof. I spent quite some time enjoying the way the light danced.

Round the corner and the Kennet joined the river Thames. I carried on walking for quite a while enjoying the birdlife and the small boats passing by. Looking across the river I saw an entrance to a marina with a swan busily sorting out its feathers.

A little further along I sat on the grass and made a couple of little sketches, nothing fancy so I won't be showing them on my blog but I found satisfaction in doing them. I walked back the way I had come . Whilst I waited for John to finish his teaching I enjoyed reading another couple of chapters of my book whilst enjoying the cold air from the air conditioning.

Currently I haven't made any plans for tomorrow or the weekend. I'll see what I fancy doing tomorrow.

Take care

Lyndsey