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Dull and Cold – 11 February 2025

Posted on by Zogman

That sums up this year so far.

Another lazy morning, playing games on our phones and tablets, but finally got our act together and agreed we should go to Waitrose in Stirling for some ‘messages’.

As usual, we spent more than we’d intended and overloaded the poor wee Blue car on the way home. I had intended stopping at Haggs, near Cumbersheugh, to get some photos looking down the Forth & Clyde canal, but the light was so poor, we just continued on our way.

After lunch I went for a walk in St Mo’s, carrying the A7 with it’s usual 24 – 105mm lens, but with the addition of an old 10-20mm Sigma lens I’ve had for years. It only connects to the A7 with an adapter, and the autofocus doesn’t work any more. It’s what photogs call ‘Old Glass’. The actual lens is still immaculate and I don’t mind having to manually focus it. I’d hoped to get a chance to use it today, but the light was too poor to do it justice.

I’d bumped into an old friend out walking her dog. We walked round the pond and discussed our ailments and folk we knew. I often think I’ve got the woes of the world on my shoulders, then I meet someone who has much bigger problems than me. It makes you stop and reassess your life.

When we had completed our circuit she said she was off to exercise her dog and I went for a walk in the woods, still hoping to find those elusive sixteen spot ladybirds that may still be sleeping in the moss at the bottom of the tree. Then I noticed a crack in the bark of a tree with a strange “Thank You” message carved into it. I’d seen the tree and message often in walks in the woods, but the split was new. I’m hoping it’s just the bark that’s split and not something more serious. I’ve often wondered what the message meant. That was my PoD for today.

Don’t know what we’re doing tomorrow. I may have to phone the optician in Larky to get my eyes checked now that the Mr Sharma’s drops seem to have repaired my eye.

 

Cold morning with rain later – 10 February 2025

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Not a good day for outdoor photography.

I did very little in the morning apart from fail at Wordle. Too many different options for The Word, and I chose the wrong one. Scamp then followed me to failure. I didn’t feel quite so bad after that.

It was a bit too cold to do any serious photography, but scrounging around I found a tub of shop-bought basil plants that looked interesting enough to make a decent photo with the rain splashed kitchen window behind. When the sun made one of its occasional visits, it showed off the texture of the basil leaves and made some nice bokeh splashes on the window. PoD captured.

We went to Kirsty’s dance class in the evening and worked our way round the floor with a few tracks of the waltz we’ve been learning. Next was the Foxtrot which is a much more interesting kettle of fish. It was quite a big class and a busy floor as a result. If the entire class had been there it would have been even tighter for space, but two couples were missing. We were more or less left to our own devices as Kirsty and Nicola were doing their best to help the less able. Wet drive home and grabbed one of only two parking spaces.

Dinner is becoming a late evening thing now that we’re going to Kirsty’s class at 6pm. Tonight it was based on Potatoes and Cabbage with a very neatly poached egg for Scamp and the remains of yesterday’s stew for me.

No plans as yet for tomorrow, but something tells me there might be shopping to be done.

Dull and damp – 9 February 2025

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Not a great day to take photos.

I can usually find something to take photos of, but today I was stumped … until I remembered seeing the green shoots of Scamp’s Cerinthe plants just breaking through the soil this morning. They had only been planted a week or so ago. Some plants are amazingly resilient. A PoD in the bag.

The rest of the day was pretty disappointing. Although I finally got a piece of technology to work for me. It’s fairly complicated to explain, but basically some clever person has devised a way to allow a Mac to talk to and exchange information with a Microsoft PC. I like it when someone makes it easy to do stuff like that, when it seems that everyone else in the world is doing their utmost to do the opposite. So far it’s working, but for how long, I don’t know.

We went for a walk down to the shops and I bought a chunk of rump steak in Aldi for almost half the price of a similar chunk in M&S. Granted the M&S meat was diced, but how long does it take to chop up a pound of meat?

We walked home and began to feel the first spits and spots of rain on our faces.

Dinner tonight was Potatoes and Cauliflower with a Cheese Sauce for Scamp and all the above with stew and sausages for me. Pudding was Rice & Prunes and that was lovely too. Sunday at the dinner table is becoming a time to discuss the coming week and that’s what we did tonight. What did we have to do, and what did we want to do? Two questions that rarely have the same answer.

Spoke to Jamie later and heard about the problems working with people, both those above and below you in the pecking order. I sympathised with him, having been in both those places in the past and not enjoying either.

Tomorrow we may go shopping. Real full on trolley shopping. Either that or visiting family.

Just another Saturday – 8 February 2025

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Out in the morning to drive to Brookfield for another dance class.

Today’s class started by going straight into the October Waltz. Not my favourite of the waltz genre, but I didn’t write the script. Until this year we had always started with a sequence dance to ease us into the work that was to come. It appears now that has changed and we go straight into the class proper. This waltz seems a bit disjointed and doesn’t flow as well as some others. That’s my excuse for making a mess of it. Some others were also struggling and I’m sure they have their own excuses too.

Next was the Jive which was a bit awkward to start with, but it started to flow a bit better after a few practise sessions. I’m still feeling that bits of aren’t quite right, and I think I need to look more closely at the videos we’ve taken in class and see where I’m going wrong. That’s one of the benefits of filming short sequences of the dances. I can look back over the steps and find out where I’m ‘wrong footed’ and where I’m just plain wrong. When we get up to do a jive routine, we always start with the Seven Spins which is Glasgow Jive. Maybe we should put that on the back burner for a change and attempt the Ballroom Jive that S&J teach. After all, we come to class to learn the steps, not to cause confusion dancing our own steps.

Third set was a Rumba and although it was familiar to us, Jane had added a few changes to the steps and we did manage to get through them, although when I was watching the more experienced couples I could see how clumsy my attempts were. We live and learn.

We finished the hour and a half with the Melody Foxtrot and then my least favourite, the exhausting Midnight Jive. After that we were free to go. Despite my complaints, I really enjoyed today’s class.

Drove home via the Kingston Bridge which wasn’t as bad as it sometimes is on a Saturday. Maybe neither of the Glasgow teams were at home today, or maybe I just picked the right lane to be in.

We needed some extra bits and pieces for today’s dinner, so we walked over to the shops later to buy some. The meal in question was Spiced Coconut Chicken Traybake. For once it looked just like the photo in the magazine Scamp was making it from. We both would have made small changes, but we were both in agreement that it was worth attempting again.

I took a walk over to St Mo’s in the afternoon and today’s PoD is a low level shot of the wildfowl on St Mo’s pond.

No plans for tomorrow as yet.

 

Note to self:
I think I’ve found where I was making mistakes with the Lightroom catalog I’ve been using since the start of January 2025. I may use the old 2022 catalog (from the Grey SSD) to create a new catalog just to see if it runs properly. It need a bit of planning first to make sure I don’t corrupt anything that’s running just now.

When the gorse is in bloom – 7 February 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Actually we call it Whin in Scotland, but the flowers are the same and the thorns are just as sharp, no matter where you are. That was PoD.

Scamp was out to FitSteps in the morning and I had a free hour or so. I used it up writing a letter. Two or three of my regular readers know that letter and where it can usually be found. This must be the latest it’s been written. Almost a month late. Shocking.

I’d just finished when Scamp arrived home complaining about the cold. Not something she does very often. I’m usually the one who feels the cold most. Even more this year with so many chilly nights. However, this was only afternoon and it was that east wind again that was responsible for the cooling effect.

After lunch, Scamp wanted to do some clearing out. It’s not spring, so it can’t be Spring Cleaning, but something was going on and cupboards were emptied and their contents unceremoniously dumped in the bin if they didn’t Spark Joy as Ms Kondo describes it. I admit, I did the same, although not as rigorously as Scamp, but I did put some unwanted odds and ends in the bin.

When I was tired of that game, I put my boots on and walked over St Mo’s, then down behind the school and over to the shops. It was to be pizza for dinner. I had misread the label on the pizza box and it wasn’t until I was home, I realised I’d bought, a Quattro Formagio and not the Quattro Stagioni I’d intended to. Not to worry, I was sure it would be fine.

Back home I made myself a cup of coffee (Decaf) and finished Bookshops & Bonedust. Another interesting fantasy book, not my usual read at all, but just as good if not better than the sequel, Legends and Lattes. Now I’ll have to dig through my book shelf to find something else to read, something totally different. Thanks again, Hazy.

We watched another episode of of a different fantasy, The Apprentice. This one was almost as bad as last week’s effort. I was sure this would be a double sacking, but I was disappointed.

Tomorrow I think we might be dancing in Brookfield.

Dancin’ – 6 February 2025

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Not a class, just a Tea Dance. Much more fun!

We drove over to Glenburn for this week’s tea dance. The first decent run the Blue car has had since its operation and it passed with flying colours. A much smoother ride than recent, although I was careful to avoid as many potholes as possible. Scamp was my ‘eye on the road’, warning me of any avoidable holes.

The class was about half full and we danced quite a lot of the ballroom and latin dances as well as the sequence dances. Lots of catching up with different folk we hadn’t met for a few weeks, some we hadn’t seen since before Christmas!
The tea dances give us a chance to practise what we’ve learned in Stewart & Jane’s classes and also the simpler routines we’ve worked our way through in Kirsty’s class. Today’s waltz was one we learned a couple of weeks ago in The Link. Really enjoyed today’s dance. Maybe because I felt comfortable with the dances we took part in.

We left early again, and for once we made good time, clearing the Kingston Bridge without stopping once. An amazing feat!

We came home via Tesco to allow me to post Jamie’s calendar which will be over a month late by the time he receives it. Maybe one more to go and that will be me finished for this year.

Dinner tonight was Bacon and Borlotti Beans. One we picked up from Jamie and Simonne, and still a firm favourite.

PoD was a photo of an orchid I treated myself to a couple of weeks ago. It was going cheap in Tesco and I thought it would look good on the kitchen window sill. It seems to enjoy its place there.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending to go to FitSteps and I’m hoping to get a letter written.

 

We went to Perth – 5 February 2025

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Just a day trip on the bus. Or to be more pedantic, three buses and a taxi.

We took the X3 to the Town Centre and waited for what seemed like hours for the M8 bus to Perth. We could have stayed on to Dundee, but we were late getting started, or to be honest, I was too tired to get out of bed and we missed a bus. Anyway, we walked into the centre of Perth and had a coffee and a pastry each. It was a lovely day if cold, but we were well wrapped up against it.

We walked over to the ‘Ship’ which is a viewing gallery that extends over the River Tay. The flood gates were in operation today. Two years ago the council was criticised for not closing the flood gates at North Inch, leading to properties in the area being damaged. Not so today. The gates were closed.

We continued our walk beside the North Inch Park for a mile or so, then faced the cold breeze that was blowing in our faces on the way back. I got some coffee in the Bean Shop and some Decaf tea too.

By then it was time for lunch, but we were just too late to get a table at The George which would have been our favoured restaurant and ended up in The Capital Asset a JD Wetherspoon. Not the best pub in the world, nor in Scotland, for that matter, nor even in Perth, but it’s cheap and there is always a wide variety of beers and wines. I don’t think they stretch to cocktails! Scamp had a Chilli Non Carne bowl and I had Fish ’n’ Chips. As Scamp would say, “It filled a wee space.”

There weren’t many folk around the town, probably because a lot of the smaller shops seemed to close on a Wednesday and the whole place had a haunted look about it. This was accentuated when we reached the bus station. It’s an old dilapidated building with a couple of tiny waiting areas. No shops. Not even a newsagents. Nothing. We walked to the train station where there was a Costa, but nothing else.

Our bus was a few minutes late, but there wasn’t a big queue for it so we got a seat easily. Lovely warm bus, but the driver went walkabout, leaving the engine running and the door wide open to a cold wind, when we got to Broxden park and ride. The throbbing hub of Perth’s transport system. Eventually he returned and off we went on our journey through the night. I was just thankful to be able to feel my feet again!

Inevitably the bus was late reaching Cumbersheugh Town Centre and we missed the connecting X3 by seconds. Scamp gave in and we got a taxi about two minutes after ordering it.

All in all, it was a great day. Good to walk in the sunshine, even if it was cold.

PoD went to Kinnoul Parish Church on the far bank of the Tay, positively glowing in the afternoon light.

I think we may be dancing tomorrow.

A lazy start to the day – 4 February 2025

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No need to rush out early this morning. The mechanic predicted midday for the car to be ready.

And he wasn’t far wrong. My phone rang just after 12pm to tell me the car was ready to pick up.

I got a taxi down to the village and paid for the repair then drove home to pick up Scamp so we could drive to Tesco to get some much needed food. We’d been starving for over a day with no transport to get us our usual amount of food. We also took a big bundle of clothes to the Salvation Army bin in the Tesco car park. Another tick in another box.

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk round St Mo’s and into the woods for a change of scenery. Lots of trees down in the woods, but many of them had been pretty unhealthy looking for years and, in a way the storm had cleared a lot of dead wood and hopefully this will give the woods a chance to regrow. PoD turned out to be an Oyster Mushroom growing in one of those fallen trees. Apparently Oyster mushrooms are edible, but I’m not intending trying them anytime soon.

I finally got round to making a sensible weekday dinner tonight, Pasta with tinned tomatoes, mushrooms (non poisonous ones) and half an onion and some chopped peppers.. A few flakes of chilli to brighten the taste and some concentrated tomatoes to give a bit of body. Sort of like a home made pasta a’ la arrabbiata. Scamp thought it was good, I thought it could have done with stronger flavours.

Also on a food note, we watched a Jamie Oliver episode on quick, healthy and cheap cooking. Both Scamp and I picked up some interesting topics on that.

We may be going out tomorrow. Somewhere away from Cumbersheugh.

An Early Rise – 3 February 2025

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The comedy!

The Blue car was going in to the car hospital to have some surgery done. Reluctantly I left it with the other cars while I went looking for a taxi to take me home. It came quite quickly for a Monday just after the school bells had rung. A very pleasant man drove me home and I handed him a couple of quid after I’d crossed his card machine with plastic.

I reckoned I had a couple of hours to finish Wordle and have a cup of coffee before going to the dentist. As it happened a had a bit more than those couple of hours, but I didn’t know that at the time.

After we’d collaborated on solving Wordle, Scamp asked me what time I was due at the dentist and that was when panic took over. I read the card the dentist had given me and it read 10:15am. It was now 9:40 and I hadn’t brushed my teeth or checked for hidden plaque and the dentist is half an hour’s walk away, so I was cutting it fine, but I strode out and got there with a few minutes to spare. The first receptionist said “You’re not on my list for today.” and I thought I’d won a watch. Then the other receptionist said quietly, “Yes, you are, but not for an other hour. Do you want to stay or go for a coffee?” Either way, I’d been caught.

I left the surgery and phoned Scamp to ask her to check on the card. She replied “Yes, it says 10:15 … but that was for November!” Somebody else confirming that I was a Numpty. She agreed to meet me in Condorrat to go for a coffee, which is what we did. She didn’t have any money, nor did she have her phone, but thankfully she did have the house keys. We had coffee, bought some rolls and then she walked home and I walked crestfallen into the dentists for the second time today.

The check-up showed that the penicillin I’d been doping myself with had done the trick. The soft squidgy gum was now hard and smooth and despite the lady dentist’s probing and rattling my big wisdom tooth I gave not a squeak. I left with a smile on my face.

After a roll ’n’ cheese for me and one with an egg for Scamp I wrote five notes to folk I knew well, who had sent me Christmas cards a favour which I hadn’t returned. They are sitting upstairs waiting to be posted, hopefully tomorrow. Another tick in another box.

Late in the afternoon I got a message from Jim Dickson to say that the car won’t be ready until tomorrow. One of the two arm bushes won’t be delivered until tomorrow (and NO, I don’t know what an arm bush is.)
That meant we’d need to get a taxi to and from dance class tonight. No big deal.

We arrived early and stood chatting with Kirsty until the rest of the dancers arrived. Firstly we went over the short waltz. I actually felt quite confident of dancing it, even after Scamp ceased whispering me the prompts.

Next was the Foxtrot which was a bit more difficult, but eventually it also fitted into a space in my ‘dancing head’. I even added the final part of the foxtrot and got most of it correct. The foxtrot still needs a bit more work, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to practise it during the week.

PoD was a photo I took earlier in the day. It’s actually a tray with a selection of cacti and some succulents. Carefully selected view point gave it a bit of mystery. It was actually placed on a shelf in the downstairs toilet with a bright sun shining on it from behind. Possibly too much information there, but it’s done now.

Tomorrow I’m hoping for a bit of a lie in and a healthier Blue car to drive.

 

 

 

Lazy Sunday Afternoon – 2 February 2025

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Thank you, The Small Faces.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and a Sunday in general, too. I did have a lot to do, but as usual, I sidestepped most of it and did the easy stuff instead. Isn’t that what Sundays are for? It certainly is for me.

After a light lunch, I went out for a walk, still searching for the elusive Sixteen Spot Ladybirds, but again I was unsuccessful. Maybe they are overwintering somewhere else. I certainly hope so. The walk only produced six photos, and two of those were rejected immediately. Luckily a hen blackbird decided it was time for a cooling splash in the bird bath and I grabbed a few shots of it, but then I was so excited to actually get some photos, I pulled the SD card too quickly and more or less glitched the whole thing. The camera was on continuous shooting mode (slow) and there should have been about a dozen shots there. Only two shots came out, the rest were unrecoverable according to Sony. Fortunately, one of the two was a fairly good, sharp shot and it got PoD.

Neither Scamp nor I could settle on what to have for dinner and we finally agreed on home-made Tomato soup and a pack of chicken pakora I’d picked up in Asda on our way home from dance class on Saturday. Not our typical Sunday dinner, but for some reason, neither of us was hungry and the soup was good. The pakora, not so much IMO.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard that things are calming down after a stressful week, for Simonne especially, losing Valioso, but also for Jamie, visiting Clive. Our thoughts are with them.

I’ve an early rise tomorrow. I’m intending to take the Blue car to Jim Dickson’s to get a bush fitted. Then, hopefully a taxi to Condorrat to drop me off at the dentist.