Author: Zogman

Schoolgirl – 20 October 2026

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Today Scamp was going to visit Shona for coffee and I was starting to make a bow tie.

I dropped Scamp off at her niece’s house and drove home to start on the bow tie construction.

I had brought back some interesting fabric from our visit to Jersey and thought it would look good for the bow tie. Scamp reckoned she would be out at Shona’s for a couple of hours and I was sure I could get a good start to the bow tie construction. Half an hour later I was still looking for the paper bag that held the fabric. Then I remembered that it should be in one of my cupboards. Once I’d found it, it was fairly plain sailing to pin down the paper pattern and cut round it. I remembered to arrange the fabric Wrong Sides Together and it all looked fine.

The bow tie was to be a reversible one with different patterns on each side. A year or so ago I worked out how that could be achieved. It’s too complicated to explain, but basically there is a lot of twisting and turning involved, but once you’ve worked that out, the rest is easy. It should have been, but it wasn’t until Scamp phoned to say “could she have a lift home” that I noticed one of the patterns was round the wrong way. Thankfully I think I might have just enough fabric left to make a new one. Either that or it’s a flying visit to Jersey to get more of the fabric!

I’d had enough of twisting and turning patterns for the day and left everything as it was and picked up Scamp and we drove home.

Dinner tonight was Potato Wedges and Veggie Sausages for Scamp and also Potato Wedges but with a Wagyu burger for men. Both served with a tin of beans. Yes, I was cooking!

Today’s PoD went to a photo of a Schoolgirl flower, cut from the climber rose in the afternoon. It was too wet and dull to get any decent outside photos, but the indoors version worked perfectly.

I think we might be visiting Isabel tomorrow.

Scrambling Plants – 19 October 2026

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We were out fairly early today, taking more unwanted stuff to the Council Tips. If this goes on much longer, we’ll be on first name terms with the men, (it’s only men work at the tip), who tell you where to put your black bag contents. Having said goodbye to today’s lot, we drove over to Stirling, and Waitrose.

We’d promised ourselves that we’d go to Waitrose Soon, but too many things got in the way and Soon just got forgotten. Today we made good on that promise. Monday turned out to be a good day to go to the shops. There weren’t too many shoppers to get in our way and the folk who restock the shelves had done a good job refilling them in time for us to fill our trolleys. With a bulging trolley’s worth of a host of food and a few drinks, we filled the boot of the Blue car.

Scamp reminded me that we had discussed dropping by Majestic Wines on our way home. We hadn’t been in that shop for years and we found that it was an interesting place to go. A host of bottles of every kind of wine were stacked in the shop. We were like two kids in a toy shop. We finally settled on four bottles, that should keep us going for the rest of the week, then, next week we’d do it all again. I think the poor wee Blue car wondered what was happening. First half of Waitrose ended up in the car, then, when it thought we were heading home, the Humans lobbed another case of wine into the boot!

Back home and after a late lunch, Scamp settled herself at the piano and I went for a walk in St Mo’s. It was good to see Scamp playing again. The piano has been too quiet for too long. Good to see it producing music again.

I walked round St Mo’s, and by the time I was going home, the light was failing, it had started out as a dull day and it wasn’t getting any brighter now. At the start of my walk I got a few decent shots of Purple Vetch plants hauling themselves up an old branch and marvelled at their ability to seek out supports to use for climbing. The Purple Vetch made PoD.

Watched the usual trilogy of puzzle games on BBC tonight and I managed to get some of them right for a change. Quite pleased with myself.

No plans for tomorrow yet, but I’m sure something will need done!

Autumn – 18 October 2026

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Today was one of those wonderful autumn days with leaves falling from the trees and a crisp feel to the weather. A good day to be out and about. At least, it was good to be out if you were well wrapped up. When I got up this morning, the temperature was telling me it was 0ºc outside. Thankfully the heating had clicked on an hour before me, and for that I was very glad.

By the time we’d finished our breakfast, the sun was shining through the trees and those trees were thawing with steam rising from them. It was quite delightful, especially if you were inside looking out!

I spent most of the day looking for a connector for my old MiniDisk. I knew I’d seen somewhere recently. A connector that would allow me to play some of my ancient collection of MiniDisks. After about half an hour I found the little black tube that would take an AA battery and power the MiniDisk. It actually worked at the first try. I really should have two MiniDisk drives, but neither Scamp nor I could lay our hands on the other one. I’m pretty sure I can find it if I really need it.

Because we had been searching in cupboards and drawers, Scamp decided this would be a great time to gather up some hardware that I no longer needed. Between the two of us we separated most of that hardware into those that would be useful to keep and those that would be going in the skip. The Useful articles were soon outweighed by the ones heading to the Council skip. That means that tomorrow will probably involve one or two runs to the “Small Household” area of the tip.

Scamp made a lovely Fish Pie or Smoked Haddock Dauphinoise if you want the posh name!
While she was hard at work with the Fish Pie, I went for a walk over to St Mo’s and got a pretty shot of the late afternoon sun shining through the trees. That was the PoD sorted.

Spoke to Jamie later and heard about his plans for Christmas. It’s only October, but he likes to be organised.

Tomorrow if we get the black bags organised and off into the tip, we may go shopping.

Dancin’ – 17 October 2026

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Late getting out today, partly because it was cold. Ice on the car windscreen is never a welcome sight!

We drove to Brookfield to a busy class. The first dance, if you can call it that, was the Rhumbumbumba. I’d tried it last night and, with Scamp’s help, I could stumble through the routine. I knew the ‘real’ version was a lot faster, but I just couldn’t keep up with this manic monstrosity. Halfway through the routine I made my exit to the toilet and didn’t come out until the ‘music’ had stopped!

I put the Rhumbumbumba behind me and attempted the October Waltz. It was a lot more reserved and slower in places but quite twisting and turning. I managed to get through most of it with a lot of help from Scamp. I was beginning to think I’d lost this one too, but there was a glimmer of light at the end of this tunnel that gave me some confidence that all was not lost!

Jive was next and it was a combination of the Bowtie, Spanish Arms and the Mooch! No, I’ve never heard of these dances, either, but some of them were remarkably like Glasgow Jive routines we’d learned from a previous teacher an also there was a hint of Salsa in there too, so basically, I felt I was on safer ground.

The final routine was an X-Line Tango. We had learned it from the TV when we were in Lockdown, all those years ago. We used to be quite good at it, even if I say so myself. Of course the routine had been changed since then, but the basic dance was the same. By the end of the class I was feeling confident of two of the dances. That’s a pretty good average for me!

We drove home and after lunch, Scamp was hoping to get the front grass cut, but a heavy dew was taking a long time to dry out and eventually she gave up on it. I went for a walk over to St Mo’s and got a few decent photos on, what was a lovely day. My favourite, and PoD went to a Dogwood bush (Cornus alba) that just glowed in the sunshine. The brown seeds of the Yellow Flag Iris were coming into their proper weird shapes that looked like worms, so I took some photos of them too. The photos will become useful for those days when it’s raining or if I can’t see anything worth photographing. It’s always good to have a fall back.

We watched Strictly and although some of the dancers were worth watching, a lot of them seemed to have lost their interest. Maybe Christmas pantos and shows are dragging some of the contestants away.

No plans for tomorrow, but the grass will still be needing cut!

Keeping the wheels turning – 16 October 2026

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Some weeks the wee Blue car hardly turns a wheel, and then there’s this week when we found ourselves driving every day of the week!

Today we drove to over for lunch at John & Marion’s.

It was truly a wonderful day. Blue skies and good friends. Marion produced a lovely lunch that was worth the drive through quite heavy traffic. We also had a few rain showers too, but nothing too heavy. It’s nice to meet up for lunch, knowing that we’ll be driving in the light. Driving in the dark never used to faze me at all, but lately I’ve found it more and more a chore. Just getting older I suppose.

We spent most of the day discussing weddings and how much has changed from when we got married, a few years ago now! The up and coming wedding sounds like a good day and I think we’re both looking forward to it.

I couldn’t help but compare yesterday’s drag of a drive home from Glenburn with today’s easy run home from J&M’s. All the heavy traffic was heading the other way today and our lanes were quite calm by comparison.

I couldn’t decide what to use for today’s PoD, then Scamp suggested the knitted flower she’d laid claim to last week. It was an inspired choice. Just a drape from an old off cut from a piece of purple velvet and a bit of careful disguise of bits and pieces and we had a PoD.

Sometimes things create more difficulties than are really necessary and sometimes, like today, it just works!

Good Friends and Good Food. What’s not to like?

Hoping to go dancing tomorrow.

We went Dancin’ – 15 October 2026

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I had a few problems to work through in the morning, but between Scamp and me we got them fixed.

The problem solving meant that I had very little time to get ready to go to Glenburn for today’s Tea Dance. Scamp’s new haircut got a lot of positive comments from all the Tea Dancers. Why does she get all the praise? Nobody even notices it when I ‘waltz in’ with a new short back and sides! Actually they probably do notice, but turn away, hoping not to embarrass me.

It was the usual mix of dances. Waltz to start with, then a Cha-Cha, followed by a Rumba. With the occasional sequence dance thrown in to take us up to tea time. Lots of chatter because of Scamp’s haircut again and time for the guys in the room to have a blether.

We danced another mixed selection of dances in the second half. Scamp was being careful to keep a weather eye on the clock, but we’d forgotten that the children wouldn’t be at school this week, so we could be selective with our choice of dances.

We eventually exchanged our dance shoes for outdoor wear and drove out of Glenburn.

The traffic in the morning had been fairly heavy, but I made a bad choice of route home and got caught up in an even heavier collection of homeward bound workers. That meant about an extra half hour of driving in stop-go traffic. However we did eventually clear it and arrived home just a little bit late.

I went for a walk to the shops after we got home and that’s where I found today’s PoD which is Bindweed growing through some bushes. Pretty looking white flowers, but I wouldn’t want them in my garden. They are extremely invasive plants, and are difficult to eradicate.

Tomorrow we may go out for a run somewhere.

Grey Heron – 13 October 2026

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Saw a Grey Heron hiding in the pond at St Mo’s.

I just missed a couple of heavy rain showers today. It was a rushed day. We drove to Falkirk to get a new carpet for the kitchen. That was the high point. Once Scamp had chosen the size, colour and pattern of the carpet, we paid for it and drove back home again. One new carpet in, as another went out. I don’t know how old that ancient carpet was, but it disappeared into the skip at the Council Tip today.

One brightener of the day was seeing a Grey Heron in the shallows of the pond at St Mo’s. I managed to get a few shots of the bird before it spotted me and flew off. The one shot I got was just a ‘lucky’. As it turned out, it was the only shot of the bird I got before it flew away. It’s a couple of years since I’ve seen a member of Mr Grey’s family. I hope I didn’t scare this one away completely and he/she returns to the pond soon. The heron made PoD.

We drove over for dinner with Crawford & Nancy in Larky. It’s been a long time since we could all meet together and we really enjoyed the blether. We talked so much we forgot about time and didn’t leave Larky until just before midnight. We’ll suffer for it tomorrow.

No plans for tomorrow.

What a dull day – 12 October 2026

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I don’t believe the sun got out of bed today.

For once I was up fairly early today, waiting for The Gates of Midnight to land on the carpet. It actually did arrive quite soon afterwards. I was a bit disappointed at the state of this ‘new book’, but then, after some research, I found that the soft, seemingly hand cut look was what the author had intended. I’m glad I got the hardback version or I would have missed the hand-made effect! No, I haven’t started it yet, Hazy. I might start it later tonight.

Scamp had realised she’d forgotten to replant one of her Heuchera plant (Lime Marmalade) yesterday, so she managed to get it split into four parts and divided them up round the garden. I’m sure she felt better for that, especially because it didn’t rain while she was out. After that it was the usual start to the day with a cup of coffee and the puzzles, we had lunch which was toast and beans, mainly because the beans were just passed their sell-by date and it seemed a shame not to use them. Scamp had wanted to go for a walk in the morning, probably a walk round Colzium Estate, but on checking I realised the rain had started and neither of us wanted to go for a walk in the rain. The rain seemed to be on a start/stop routine, because it couldn’t decide whether to go for the full rain option or for the drizzle. It settled for the drizzle.

We eventually walked down to the Shops for bread and stuff. Just essentials, because we were walking, not driving. On the way back, Scamp took the shopping bag and told me to go and have a walk round St Mo’s and that’s what we did. I went for a walk round the pond and she carried the ‘Messages’ home.

PoD went to  spider looking for food to fill its larder.

There wasn’t much to see in St Mo’s today. The swans came over to see if I’d anything worth eating, and then left when they realised there was no food to be had. There were lots of spiders on all the trees and desiccated branches and one of them got PoD. After that I just made my way back home. By about 4pm, the little light there was had disappeared and we amused ourselves by searching for a new kitchen carpet to replace the old charred one that’s way past its useful date.

We may go looking for a replacement kitchen carpet tomorrow. That has to be a better plan than today’s.

A lovely morning – 11 October 2026

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It was a beautiful morning today. The light was shining across the front garden lighting up the Rudbeckia flowers which have become a bit tatty these days, but still catch the light.

I managed to grab a few shots of the Rudbeckia while the good light lasted, but it didn’t stay for long. Big black clouds began to cover the sun and I took as many shots as I could before the sunshine was lost for the day. One of the decent shots became PoD along with some well worn Hydrangea Paniculata called ‘Switch Ophelia’. They start off pale pink and end up months later a light brown.
So, that was the photo shoot for the day. Nothing really wild, but it was a tick in a box.

Scamp spent most of the morning and early afternoon pruning the plants in the front garden. It’s really looking good, especially since we’re well into October now. It’s still cold in the morning and for a few days there, we had some light frost. Most mornings now there is the hint of frost. It’s hard to believe that last year at this time we were sailing around the Mediterranean!

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard that their ongoing fight about the problems whit the roof of the house have been settled. Maybe not as amicably as they’d have liked, but at least it’s finished.

No real plans for tomorrow, but we’ll make the most of the time, because it’s going to be a busy week for us.

Triffids – 9 October 2026

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A day of mixed weather, but mainly rain.

It seemed that every day I put my boots on to go for a walk, the clouds would be waiting, massing on the horizon go drop some water on me. Eventually I gave up and walked out anyway. But first I had a Pizza to make.

I’d promised to make the pizza halfway through the week, but I managed to avoid the work every day … until today. I had most of the ingredients already just waiting for a chance to make a mess. I used an old recipe I’d had for years. I carefully measured the Olive Oil, Flour, Salt and Water. According to the recipe it would take ten minutes to knead the dough, but for some reason mine took about twice that. It did look nicely smooth without lumps by the time I was finished. I left it to rise for the required hour and guessed that would give me just enough time to do a walk round St Mo’s. I was just finishing the walk and on the way home when the rain started. Nicely timed.

The dough was rising nicely when I got back and I flattened it down to clear the air bubbles and left it to do its second prove and got the topping sorted out. Just some tomatoes a handful of chopped chicken and some tuna, with a blob of Burrata cheese. Gas was on and heating to gas 7/8 and we were ready for assembly. I reckoned 10 minutes would be a good starting point for baking, with the possibility of another 10 mins if needed. In the end it took nearer 30 mins total to bake it enough.

Thankfully, although the base was a bit wet, it all held together and most important of all, it was edible!

Scamp says I should make a smaller one next week to see if that improves it! My response is “How can you improve on Perfection?”!

PoD went to an indoor shot as the weather wasn’t going to play nice, and it was a pair of Sarracenia plants, Pitcher Plants sitting in the kitchen before I started baking the pizza. Otherwise they would have swallowed the pizza whole. Very hungry plants. They are not called ’Triffids’ for nothing. Always count your fingers after touching them.

Tomorrow we may go out for lunch.