Polymer Weekend

Well, got back a short while from three days of Polymer Clay(ing) in Nottingham!  This was my third year of going down there and once again, met up with my friend, Irene.  This time it was in a different location, Alfreton,  but we decided to stay at the Nelson & Railway in Kimberley as per usual.  This is the view from our bedroom window this morning, unfortunately despite having had wonderful weather all weekend we awoke this morning to a dismal day which has progressively gone worse:

I can just imagine waking up in the morning, looking down the lane where the pub is and seeing this covered in snow.  What a pretty picture it would make.

On the way home I wanted to stop at a couple of places but missed one - Chas and I had our wires crossed but I was not that bothered because the view would not have been as pretty as it was when we went down and it was bathed in golden autumnal sunlight.  Here is the knitted tree from New Mills in Derbyshire:

OK so not really a knitted tree but a tree kept warm with some knitted socks on it (squares really that were sewn around it) - and below a knitted bumble bee, or is it a butterfly?

Am sure this was once featured on Sarah's blog?

On arriving home, well as we were driving up the Lane, there was a little Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel running back and forth.  We stopped so as not to run over it and I was sure I had seen a white dog also but it disappeared.  I got out and it came to me but quickly ran off and was running back and forth up and down the Lane, down a nearby Avenue and back up - obviously lost and bewildered - it was only a young dog.  I managed eventually to entice it up our long drive and into the utility room.  Then I left it with Chas and went asking people fairly close to us if they knew of anyone who had a dog like that, asked a few people walking by were they looking for a dog etc but to no avail.

Came back in and rang the Vets who told me to take it down for it to be checked for a chip.  Chas thought I should ring the RSPCA in case someone had rung in and they lived nearby so I did and they told me to ring the Dog Warden.  To cut a long story short the Dog Warden came and picked it up.  It was such a lovely little thing, I would say only about a year or so old and a short while ago he rang me to say it had been returned home and indeed there had been a white dog with it but that one had gone home on its own accord.  Maybe this one would too but I was so worried it would get run over - hope I did the right thing.  Here it is in the dining room (incidentally it barked like crazy and ran round in circles when Chas closed the kitchen door yet never bothered that the utility outside door was closed).

Now, what happened on the weekend?  Well, think you will have to wait until tomorrow for that episode as I must get the suitcases unpacked and some washing in.