The wedding weekend

My baby brother has married a lovely girl!

It was a fantastic day:

• She, and her bridesmaids, looked stunning.  And so happy!
• a special family gathering
• catching up with people I've not seen for many years
• enjoying meeting my new sister-in-law's family - they're lovely too!
• the service was shared between the Catholic priest and Church of Scotland minister
• such a warm atmosphere, and everyone felt welcomed
• the priest's homily on "Christian Marriage" was just right: the strength of a marriage is in receiving and sharing God's love.  He makes it possible for us to thrive together, in any circumstances
• Dad's ceilidh band played, and the dance floor was busy until late
• I took lots of pictures... too many to include here
• I printed some off the next day, for my grans to see what they'd been unable to share in person, and for G&T to have as an instant reminder of their big day

 Knitting featured too:

• I made a blanket for them as our wedding present

• I wore a Clapotis wrap which I made myself for the occasion

• I loved the feel of the Kid Classic yarn... mohair, lambswool (and nylon) felt so snuggly and soft next to my skin; perfect for a July wedding in Scotland!
• a feeling of luxury, all the more special because it was my own work

We stayed at the Crieff Hydro and had breakfast together the next morning

• a treat to finish the celebrations in style

Mist, a near-miss and the end's in sight

1. The mist was swirling around the house as I Ieft this morning, and was still there in the evening. Very atmospheric.

2. The phone rang at 5 to 5, just as I'd switched off my computer. I answered it... and only needed to take a message. I clocked out just before 5 :o)

3. I've almost reached the end of the straight section on my Clapotis scarf.  I'm pleased that it's grown so quickly (scarves usually take ridiculous amounts of time for what they are) and I'm looking forward to wearing it.

Girly weekend

Andrew was away visiting his brother, so I've enjoyed a girly weekend:

Friday:
- a yummy meal with my prayer triplet.  I headed home fairly early to try to get a good night's sleep, but it was lovely to catch up with them both at last.

Saturday:
- I played my bass guitar for a short worship time at the ladies' quiet day for church.  I wasn't sure how well it would work just having me on bass and Becca on acoustic, but actually it sounded pretty good!  I feel self-conscious that I can only do very basic playing but it was enough.  I definitely need to make time for practising more though...
- The sun shone, and Camerton Hall was the perfect venue.  We were able to explore the grounds and sit outside during our quiet times.  Lunch was delicious too!
- I left after lunch to go birthday present shopping and found just what I needed.
- I've had Andrew's car this weekend and enjoyed the chance to drive around with the hood down all day.  Lovely summer weather!
- Once back home I relaxed with sitcoms and a rom-com (The Proposal - virtually a remake of While you were sleeping and fun to watch).
- I added almost 2" to the Clapotis scarf

Sunday:
- Unusual not to be at church around 9am; 10:30 was quite a treat!
- Caroline invited me back to their new house for lunch.  They've found a great house: it needs work but knowing what they've done before it's going to be stunning.
- I enjoyed simply relaxing with a friend and catching up.
- When Andrew & Gary got back we headed out to see the Scarecrow festival at Dean.  There were some fab scarecrows to be seen and it just amazes me how much effort and imagination has gone into the creations.
- and finally we caught up on the highlights from today's F1 race - I'm so pleased that Williams have finally won a race!

Monday knits

I managed to find half an hour on Saturday to pop into Whitehaven to buy some yarn for the Clapotis wrap. I cast on yesterday and it's growing nicely... I think I'm almost halfway through the increase section, although I might keep going to make it wider. I'll see how it looks when I'm further into the section.

I've also restarted Andrew's slippers. The first one was too narrow, so I've added 6 stitches to the width and I've gone up a needle size. So far so good.