My laptop came back from the fix-it shop yesterday. 38 viruses had been removed. so much for Macs being virus-free. I’d been without it for just over a week so maybe you can imagine my frustration!

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I went to Halifax to find a quilting store and called in at the Piece Hall for tea – just in time to sit in the courtyard and watch Nature’s amazing display. Then I was ready to begin my quilt project.

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I always used to make a quilt at important junctures in my life. I’ve been wanting to work on a Doors quilt for a few years so now I’ve begun. It has even more significance for me because of all the doors that are current opening for me after my big move. It’s also particularly appropriate since my apartment was a former sewing room above the owner’s dwelling.

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A red admiral butterfly feasting on the late blooming ivy by the Rochdale Canal

My first evening out to the city – in this instance Leeds. It was a balmy evening and the centre of Leeds was filled with people, dressed up to the nines,  eating and drinking at outdoor tables. The concert, by the BBC Philharmonic was in the historic Town Hall whose centre piece is an amazing organ, floodlit in neon blue, though it wasn’t in use for this particular concert. This is the building where the finals of the Leeds International Piano Competition are held. I was able to sit in my favorite vantage point – behind the orchestra. The conductor was Finnish and he produced a masterful Sibelius 5. The concerto was Grieg’s piano concerto performed by a Norwegian.

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A fancy schmancy dinner at a  Burnley Spa with new-found friends

Yesterday’s 9 mile hike started and ended at my apartment. I’m still in awe that i can walk to these places from my living room. This hike was steep in places, made slippery by fallen leaves, but it brought into focus the lives of those people who climbed up and down these steps in the dark going to and from work in the mills on the rivers. The stone steps have been worn away by their clogs. This mill is Jumble Hole (honestly, that was its name!)