Will start with a picture of the sky last night, so many lovely sunsets here, I am not sure if it is because we are near the sea.

This morning I had some time in, doing chores and getting stuff ready for tomorrow when I am off to Driffield. This afternoon I went to the ceramic studio and finished painting the plate I had started using a photo from the American trip.

I also collected the mug which I had worried about getting right as it is for Darren to take to America as a gift.

I think it has turned out pretty well but Darren has yet to pass judgement! I also collected a little camper van money box that I started quite a while ago.

The plate will be glazed and fired next week, now I have to decide what my next ceramic project will be.

It has been an interesting day picture taking wise, so more to post than I have of late. Yesterday evening Darren, Tina and I went to the Ask restaurant on the South bay to have a meal together before they head off on their travels. Not the best photo to start the pictures!

The moon was still big and had a n interesting ring round it. I may have to take a photography course and start using a manual camera.

On the way home Tina popped in to Tesco to get dessert and came out with some lovely flowers for me, they have a lot of green in the flowers and are really lovely.

This morning it was misty and I went out into the gardens on a spider web hunt. This one was in the back.

This one at the front actually has the house in the background!

I went up to the ceramic studio to finish off painting the little camper van money box that I started a long time ago. While I was painting this fabulous car pulled up over the road, a rare sight indeed!

I finished the camper van and it will be glazed and put in the kiln today along with the mug.

As I walked down North Marine Road I saw this butterfly, who obligingly stayed still.

I cut through to the cliff top and caught sight of a different bird, realised it was a kestrel hovering near me but couldn't get my camera out to get that picture. But I kept watching it for a long time and it stopped on a post and preened for a bit.

Then it landed one of the cliff paths so I did get a couple of better pictures.

When I got home I did a bit of clearing in the back garden and mowed the front lawn with the hand mower. Came in and did quite a bit of ironing. When Tina came in she said she had spotted spider webs in the back garden so out on another web hunt!

New Tricks tonight, only a couple of episodes left now.

This morning I had a dental appointment, just a check up, and all is well except for a bit of a build up of tartar. The next appointment in 9 months, so that is good. I walked back via the cliff top, the beach looked lovely, so far I cannot tire of seeing it!

I walked down the meandering cliff path and saw these men at work on the beach. Have no idea what they were doing but it attracted a lot of interest!

Then some fitness freaks (just envious really that I don't have the inclination!)

Cutting through the park I saw this lovely young Canada goose. The sound of geese flying overhead is the thing I most love to hear.

At the boot sale yesterday I forgot to say that I got a great iron book stand for £1, as I intend to get more into cooking again it will be very useful.

Had my hair cut and coloured this afternoon which is always a good feeling afterwards. Going to go out for a meal with Darren and Tina tonight as Tina is at meetings the next two evenings and I am visiting my brother and his wife on Thursday and Friday, so this will be our last chance for a while as they are off on their big adventure holiday on Saturday.

This morning Darren and I went to a boot sale and collectors fair in Driffield. It was a really misty journey and it didn't really lift until lunch time, then it became a beautiful day. I got a few bits at the boot sale, but the best ones were the wooden burr bowl and little display stool. I love them and got the two for £4.50, which I think was a bargain.

I also got this little truck for holding crayons on the Yorkshire Air Ambulance stall, I will paint it and probably give it to my grand-daughter. I also bought a pack of their Christmas cards.

In the car park I had to take a picture of this car with it's collection of Minions!

This afternoon I did a bit to the jigsaw, I didn't find all of the edge pieces, and as it is a large picture of a peacock and 1000 pieces I think it will take a while. I got Sunday lunch for us and then this evening Tina asked me if I wanted to have a run out with her to deliver a book and get petrol. We ended up on a moon hunt and stopped in three different places. the moon over the sea from the Spa end.

South bay from that end.

The moon over the castle from the North bay.

And a couple of funky effect ones!!

This morning I went back to the studio to finish off the mug for Darren to take to America. It will be glazed and fired hopefully on Tuesday so will be ready in time for when they leave next Saturday. The design on the second side is mostly writing which is a challenge in it's own right! 

I also wrote a personal message on the bottom so I hope it will be a welcome gift and that it turns out well enough. On my way there I saw a nice little wooden footstool outside the charity shop which was marked up at £15. I sent Sandy round to negotiate a better price as she is in the shop next door and does a lot of business with them. She managed to buy it for £10. I have cleaned it up a bit and will probably make a cover for the material part.

Darren and I went and had a bit of lunch at Sainsbury's and I got some ingredients to make smoothies. I enjoyed Strictly last night and am looking forward to the second program this evening.

This morning I set off to the shop that does printing on clothes and mugs to see if I could get a mug printed for Darren to take to America. He had asked me to paint one for him at the studio, and I still intended to, but as if is a pretty complex design thought I would have one done from the design sheet as a 'back up'. Once the mug was ordered I went to the studio and spent over two hours doing one side of the mug. It has actually turned out better than I thought it would but the proof of the pudding will be when it is fired, and I still have the reverse side to do yet!

I did take some pictures whilst near the Grand,it was a lovely morning again, has been good all day actually.These steps are scary, maybe one day I will attempt going down or up them, I did say maybe!

The Grand was obviously a spectacular building in it's day, is still impressive, but sadly it is in need of a lot of restoration to bring it back to it's best.

Not sure if this boat is a dredger, but it was going very slowly quite near the shoreline

The castle and old town looked  like a picture postcard today in the clear morning light.

I went to town to collect a couple of items and get some drain unblocker as the shower is not draining well at the moment. Collected the mug, won't put a picture but more precise that my version! Making toad in the hole for tea tonight.

Tina and I went off to get her car MOT'd, the garage was near Morrisons so we walked up there for breakfast and a look around a different supermarket. I do think that they have very attractive buildings, usually away from the towns and quite distinctive designs.

We went to Deans garden centre where I got some bedding plants to brighten up the front garden. Then we went to town to do some shopping and for Tina to collect some tablecloths for the church. When we came home, after a cup of tea, I got tidying the flower beds and managed to get all the bedding plants put in and a curly grass that Tina had liked planted in the lawn in an area that doesn't seem to grow. I hope the new plant does like that position! For those of you who know what the garden was like when I moved in last year the next picture may ring some bells, this 'old adversary' was lurking under one of the large bushes I pruned back. The whole front garden was completely full of these plants, I think we filled over 20 garden bags removing them!

The front garden should look pretty once the bedding plants are established and the bulbs should start pushing up before too long.

It has been a nice day and another good sunset.

The front garden has become a bit like a jungle again and this morning the weather was good and I was in the mood to get out there and make a start at pruning and clearing. Quite a task as you can see from the 'before' pictures.

I ended up spending a couple of hours, or maybe a bit more, once I got started I was on a roll! I still have a lot to do to weed the beds and remove dead plants but at least it is looking like a little front garden again now.

The problem is, as you can see a bit in that second 'after' photo, where is the path?

Tina had decided when they first moved in that a brown garden waste bin would be a waste of money, but the thought of bagging all this up was not a good one, so I convinced her that a bin would be a good idea. We ordered it today and it should be here by the end of the week. They will still be emptying the garden waste bins until November, so plenty of time for me to get more clearing done. The weather stayed nice today so I went for a stroll to the front and took my book. sat near the beach for a while, the sea was dark and the sky quite bright, it was getting cool then and not many folk around.

I came back via the park and read a few more pages of my book there. Took this dramatic picture before I came home.