Month: January 2016

Flooers – 21 January 2016

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You can tell when it’s been a really bad day photographically when the POD is flowers, especially cut flowers.  These ones are really quite pretty, but they still tell a tale.  It was a dismal day for taking photos.  Hardly any light from mid morning until night.  It rained all day and it was cold.  Not much to get up for really, but I did.  I made the superhuman effort and got up and went out.

I went to meet Fred who has even more to moan about than me.  He’s had to endure the pain of a failed tooth extraction and then the added misery of oral surgery to remove the root.  I don’t even think he got his tooth back so he could get a shiny new fifty pence piece from the tooth fairy.  He wasn’t complaining too much though as we exchanged comments on each others art works completed or part completed over Christmas.  That and the coffee eased the pain of his gums and my lack of decent light.

I got myself the latest Stuart MacBride book to cheer myself up.  Why is it that this book which has to be printed, bound, have a cover fitted and be carried from the printers to Tesco cost nearly two quid less than its digital equivalent from Amazon?  Amazon say it’s because VAT is added to the purchase price as the government have decided that an ebook is software.  That is a feeble excuse.  It doesn’t take a genius to work out that it isn’t software which is according to Merriam-Webster as “The programs that run on a computer and perform certain functions“.  An ebook has to be read, it does not perform any function and it does not run on a computer.  It’s time the government owned up to this, frankly, ridiculous surcharge.  Anyway, this is the second book I’ve bought this year.  Is it a sign of the times?  We will wait and see with breath suitably bated.

A grey day – 20 January 2016

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Grey start to the day with mist and the inevitible rain. We had hoped to go out somewhere scenic today as we did last week, but it wasn’t looking like a scenic kind of day. Finally settled on going to the Forge Market in Glasgow. Not very scenic, but it does have a Clarks shoe shop and there are few of them in the countryside. After trying this and that, leather and suede, black and brown, boots and shoes – you get the message, I settled on a pair of brown leather shoes and almost as my debit card was cooling in my wallet changed my mind. That’s about par for the course for me. I’ve got 28 days to cool my heels, or my feet to be more precise, before I have to accept or reject the shoes.

When we came out we tried to get a table at Cotton House, but were too late. They closed at 2.00 and it was just about 1.00 at the time. We were in Glasgow and they were in Bonnybridge – a bridge too far.

After getting lost a couple of times trying to get back on the motorway, Scamp suggested we go to The Fort in Easterhouse. I always did think they needed a fort in Easterhouse, but not one with high fashion shops, just a portcullis and a drawbridge. Had lunch at Wagamama. I had my usual of Ramen, Pork Ramen to be precise and Scamp had Teriyaki Chicken which was quite nice.

Walked along to Hobby Craft after lunch and got myself a daylight light bulb. Fred gave me one a month or so ago and although it was quite good, it was a bit weak and not as blue as daylight should be. The one I got today is much better. It’s a long life spiral bulb 20W which equates to 95W and has a mired value of 6500k which sounds like a perfect daylight level. I’ll give it a try over the next few days. Maybe it would disperse the grey light we are living with at the moment.

Sore Legs – 19 January 2016

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combo bIt was cold today, not as cold as it has been, and most of the snow has gone now, but it was not particularly comfortable. We went to the gym and had a swim afterwards. This was the most exercise I’ve done in a long time and I’m beginning to feel the effects in my legs tonight. The pool was lovely and warm, maybe too warm. I did a few lengths, but spent most of my time in the jacuzzi and the sauna.

After lunch I went for a walk round St Mo’s and grabbed a few shots with the Oly. I seem to get better results with this new E-PL5 than I do with the Nikon. Sometimes you need the instant response of the Nikon and the quality is better with it, but for day to day shooting and for pocketability (if that’s a word), the Oly wins hands down.

Not a lot done, but a much better day than yesterday. I even got today’s Medium sudoku finished (hopefully correctly!). So things must be getting better.

A dismal day – 18 January 2016

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combo bA day that started with drizzle and a milky sky.  It never really got better, but did wash away some of the snow.  About 4 o’clock Scamp unlocked the front door for the first time today.  It wasn’t a day for venturing out and we couldn’t even be bothered to go to the gym.  Scamp cancelled Gems because of the state of the front path.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.  That’s it folks, well almost.  Heard on the radio tonight on the way to salsa:

“So, about the balls, you just roll them do you?”  Apparently, allegedly, they were talking about making snowmen.

A cold and frosty morning – 17 January 2016

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combo bWell, that’s the way it looked when we got up.  When I say ‘got up’, I really mean got out of bed, looked out the window and went back beneath the warm duvet again.  I’m not sure if it had snowed during the night, but the temperature was hovering around zero, so it might have.  Didn’t do much in the morning apart from clear up the kitchen a bit.

In the afternoon I struggled into my boots and gaiters to take a walk across to St Mo’s.  Lots of deer tracks, but no sign of the actual beasts themselves.  Spent some time watching the coots and ducks sliding across the frozen pond.  Managed to find a puddle hidden under a covering of snow on a layer of grass.  It was deep enough to reach up to my knees and cold enough to take my breath away.  That alone shortened my walk.  No tramping through the trees today, not with frozen tootsies.  Got a few photos of tracks in the snow, but nothing interesting.  There wasn’t really enough directional light to create the shadows you need when photographing snow.  Came home, dried off and stared at a glowing screen 1 for an hour or so.  I don’t suppose I will ever learn.

That about wraps it up for today.  We should have gone to salsa tonight, but the weather station said it would snow and the temperature was dropping from its high of 3ºc and we weren’t really all that bothered.  Hopefully we’ll go to class tomorrow.  Tomorrow is another day.

  1. “Maybe we spend too much time looking at glowing screens.” 22 December 2015 ↩

Snow! – 16 January 2016

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combo bA late start after the late night yesterday.  Couldn’t really decide what to do today and the weather didn’t look as if it was going to be all that good for a scenic drive.  That being so, we settled on a drive in to Glasgow and lunch there. On the way there, the snow started falling and by the time we got to Glasgow it was quite thick.  I’ve got a dream just now about getting an iMac to replace the Macbook Pro.  I asked the Apple rep in John Lewis some questions about it.  Some she couldn’t answer, some she could, but she didn’t inspire confidence in either Scamp or me, but she had a good way of moving ‘weans’ away from the expensive ‘toys’.  We walked out and down through Buchanan Galleries then down Bucky Street to the Apple store which is closing for “remodelling”.  They couldn’t tell me when it would re-open and I found that a bit disconcerting.  What I did find out about iMacs confirmed that not only did the JL rep not know much about the computers, but also she just made up some of the answers.  Why do JL employ supposed ‘reps’ from companies when these people know nothing about the products and sometimes deliberately mislead customers.  It’s not the first time this has happened to me.

I wasn’t feeling all that hungry, so we headed back to the car park, but made a detour to the JL teashop where we had a light lunch.  Luckily, Scamp had found a seat with a good view past the Concert Hall and up Sausageroll Street.  The snow seemed to abate for a while while we were in JL, but by the time we got back to the car park it was back with a vengeance.

Back home I made good on my promise and dug out the old sewing machine.  While it was not exactly the same as the one I’d been using on Thursday, it was close enough to work out the basics.  Tomorrow I’m hoping to get some 3in1 oil and get it lubricated at least and hopefully working.  Bearing in mind that this is a forty odd year old machine, for once I will have to be very gentle.  Let’s hope that tomorrow’s blog is not titled “It’s Broken”.

On the go all day – 15 January 2016

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combo bBusy day, that’s why this entry is a wee bit late.  Up early to get ready for Crawford and Nancy coming for dinner.  Between us we made the soup, the main course which was Scamp’s Chicken in Breadcrumbs Twice 1, made the pudding which was ginger cheesecake and all before lunch.  We went out to Costa Robroyston for lunch 2.  Fleeting snow showers while we were out, but it was icy underfoot.

After lunch, we did some extra shopping, tidied up the living room, hoovered (or Dyson’d to be more exact), cleared and set the table and in the midst of that I even managed a short walk, a very short walk. I had forgotten my boots and normal street shoes are no match for sheet ice. Discretion was the better part of valour and I retraced my steps, but not before I got this shot of Mr Grey’s cousin out on a limb.  One or two shots and then he decided that it was time to leave.  I was quite impressed with the quality of the shots from the Tamron lens today.  It’s easy to see how the acutance is masked by the heavy noise when the ISO is up in the five figure bracket.

The visitors arrived about 7.30pm and we did have an entertaining night as usual.  Unfortunately, our young neighbours were also having an entertaining night and the music finally finished about 2.00am.  I hope it’s a one off.

  1. She didn’t make it twice, it’s just it’s marinated in breadcrumbs with lemon, garlic, parsley and stuff, then coated in breadcrumbs again for cooking. It’s got a fancy Italian name too. ↩
  2. We must be almost on first name terms with the folk that work there. ↩

A bit of culture, sew there – 14 January 2016

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Combo bAnother bright morning, bright but cold.  Since I was going to a sewing machining class, yes, that’s right a sewing machining class in Glasgow tonight and I wanted to see where it was, we decided to drive in to Glasgow.  It was really quite easy to find and it was near Kelvingrove Art Galleries, so it made sense to just stop and smell the roses, or look at the pictures.  It’s ages since we spent any time in the (F)art galleries, many more ages since I took a critical look at the paintings.  I won’t say I learned a lot, but I did see some intersting techniques that I’ll have a go at.  Since we were on quite a tight time schedule we left without listening to all of the organ recital, but it didn’t look as if Bowie was on today’s playlist.

I had an hour or two before I needed to get my threads and needles ready, so I went for a walk through St Mo’s.  Saw a deer in the distance, but that was it as far as the wildlife was concerned.  Even Mr Grey was absent.  Got some pics of frozen and snow covered toadstools.  We don’t often get toadstools in January, so this is another sign of the mild weather of the last few weeks.  Temperature is dipping quite drastically now though.  Frosted cars in the morning and the grit lorry making its rounds tonight.

Speaking about tonight, I drove into Glasgow to go to the Sew Macho class.  Couldn’t find the actual studio at first.  Luckily there were other dressmaking hopefuls there too and one of them knew where we needed to go.  Only four in the class and I, of course, was the oldest by far.  It was a really, really interesting introduction to the mysteries of the sewing machine.  When I was at school I wasn’t allowed to take Home Economics  – boys did Woodwork or Metalwork and girls did Cookery or Sewing and never the twain would meet.  I’d played about with Scamp’s sewing machine forty odd years ago, but apart from making strings of little ducks and little dogs, I didn’t do anything with it.  I was always scared I’d punch a hole in my finger with the needle, or I’d break the needle, maybe even both!
Tonight I learned to:

  • Set up the machine.
  • Spool the bobbin with thread and load it.
  • Do Single Stitches
  • Do Zig-zag Stitches
  • Make a Simple Hem
  • Make a Blind Hem
  • Sew in a patch
  • Sew on a button

All taught with good humour and confidence by teacher Jenny.  I even managed to patch an old pair of jeans.  I think I will dig out the old sewing machine and see if I can remember some of the techniques.  You never know, I might even make myself a tee shirt … someday!

A day by the loch – 13 January 2016

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combo bToday we woke to sunshine, just as the weather fairies had predicted, so it was up and out early.  We took ‘pieces‘, that’s sandwiches to you unenlightened ones, and we took a flask and all the makings for a cup of coffee and tea and pointed the car at Loch Lomond.  In particular, we headed for Milarrochy Bay on Loch Lomond to see and photograph the famous Milarrochy Tree.  It’s a tree that once stood on the banks of the loch, but is more usually part submerged a few metres from the shore.  Google “Milarrochy Tree” and you’ll see the tree photographed in every time of the day and on every day of the year.  It’s quite a Scottish icon.  In its way it’s as famous as the waterfall at Buachaille Etive Mor.  Google that too if you like.  We can’t remember the last time we went to this spot, but it must have been at least four cars ago, and maybe longer.  It’s a strange way to count time, I know, but it works for us.

Thankfully when we got to the carpark it was deserted so I could spend as much time as I wanted shooting it with all different lenses and all different settings with both cameras, but not at the same time.  That would be taking things too far.  All in all, I think I took about 90 shots of the tree.  If you think that’s overkill, you’re not a photographer.  After eating our pieces and having our cups of coffee we headed up to Rowardennan and the end of the road, well almost, because the predicted clouds were rolling in from the west and looked as if they had been loading up with snow which they were set on dropping any time soon.  Took some shots of the loch which is quite a boring stretch of water with some foreground interest from some rocks and tried to frame the youth hostel with an overhanging pine tree.

After that it was back home in time for tea, well more coffee actually.  It was great just being out in the daylight watching the play of light on the hills.  The sun had shone all morning but then it got tired and had to rest behind some clouds.

A day to remember.

An improvement at last – 12 January 2016

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IMG_3015- flickr--12The day started with the usual grim wet weather and much darker than it should be even at this time of year. However, throughout the day the clouds lifted and lightened. By four o’ clock we had a lovely sunset. The first this year and the best for a long time before that. That means there will be clear skies tonight and the inevitible drop in temperatures. Snow forecast for dinner time tomorrow. Sounds like fun, but more seasonally appropriate for January.

So what did we get up to today? After what has now become out late we went to Westerwood. Scamp to the gym and me for a swim. After that Scamp had a hairdresser’s appointment and I was preparing for dinner which was to be chicken curry made with a base of curry paste. It was then I realised we didn’t have enough milk and when I went to get it, took a short diversion to grab a shot of the sunset. Smart things smart phones. I thought the curry turned out really well, although the sauce was a bit thick. Scamp thought it was too salty. We both agreed that the flatbreads were excellent.

Hoping for some (whisper it!) sun tomorrow. It’s forecast, but we’ll have to wait and see if the weather fairies are telling the truth or not.