Category: A Toy off the Rack

Busy, Busy, Busy – 26 April 2021

Posted on by Zogman

Actually a fairly relaxing morning. Afternoon not so much.

In the morning I worked at the computer for a while. I wanted to see if I could handle the programming of the catalog for the new photo app. It looked remarkably easy in the tutorial, but, as with most ‘easy’ things, there were a few twists and turns on the way to success. However, after an hour or so’s work I think we have a more elastic, less restricting framework of a catalog. I still need to tweak some things and work out how to implement others. Let’s say it’s a work in progress and leave it there.

It was a dull day with the threat of rain. Actually the rain didn’t appear until late in the afternoon, but by then we were well into the biz. First to appear was the Tesco delivery and I must say we are getting into rhythm unpacking the crates and then distributing the contents to the various storage places around the house. Scamp wanted to clear out a cupboard next. It’s the one where we keep the extra duvets for visitors as well as the ones we use ourselves. Hard to believe that there are TOG 10 duvets in that cupboard. We usually restrict ourselves to a TOG 1 from late spring until early autumn, with a TOG 3 or 5 in the coldest winter weather. The heavier duvets were earmarked for the tip along with a bag of deflated pillows which were well past their use by date. In all three black bags full and a small bag of electrical odds and ends. I drove to the tip and dumped them.

Back home we were visited by the girl who encouraged us to stick a swab down our throat and up our nose. If we did it properly without choking or gagging too much we got to answer her questions which were carefully phrased so I didn’t have to admit to being in another house for 15mins. That was the visit to Val’s two weeks ago and she was only interesting in an hour long visit in the last seven days. I did tell the truth, but not the whole truth. With that done it was wander around for a while time before the next big visit.

The big visit was to Muirfield Centre near the Town Centre for my second anti-Covid vaccination. They really do have it very well organised now. No messing about. You go from one testing station to the next to a row of cubicles to ensure social distancing, then to the doctor or nurse who administers the jag. That when it went a bit wrong. I answered my name, DOB and postcode for the first time, elected to have my right shoulder punctured and then the doctor looked at the ampule bottle and said “Oh, this one’s a dud.” It was only part full, so he had to go and get another one. I was going to ask him if this was a common occurrence, but by that time it was all over and he was pulling up my shirt sleeve. All done.

You know that feeling you get in your jaw after you’ve been to the dentist and the anaesthetic is beginning to wear off. It’s a kind of dull not-an-ache feeling. I could feel that sensation just as I was driving out of the car park. Now the bloke who gave me my jag was wearing dentist’s scrubs and I don’t know if this was psychosomatic, but it was strange. Maybe something to do with the release of stress or something or maybe I’m just that kind of zoomer!

Back home, all done and dusted. Scamp had taken over the Monday dinner but kept it to pasta, the way it should be. It was Mac ’n’ Cheese. Lovely! Afterwards I did a quick walk round the garden for a suitable PoD and found the apple tree almost ready to flower after today’s rain. That would do nicely.

Tomorrow, Scamp is off walking with Veronica. I’m hoping to be experimenting more with Capture One or making fancy bread.

 

A day of comings and goings – 20 April 2021

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Arrivals and departures.

First arrival was along thin cardboard box addressed to Scamp. The postman didn’t want to damage it by pushing it through the letterbox, so I took it from him at the door. It was the April delivery of flowers for Scamp. Part of her birthday prezzy from JIC and Sim. Just like last time the flowers looked dry and wilted but this time we had more faith in the clever preparation and packaging. Scamp also knew how to feed them and water them after the surprise of the last bunch. This one was a mix of Asters, Snapdragons (which my mum called Map Maps), Stock, Solidago and Bupleurum. The last two, we had never heard of before. They were all immediately trimmed, watered and fed and are standing proud in their place between the piano and the display cabinet. One very happy lady is Scamp!

Next visitor was the DPD man to pick up my box of lenses and a camera. Handed over the box, he stuck on a ticket and gave me the other half of the ticket as a receipt. They’re now on their way to Brighton.

Half an hour later the third visitor was a lady bearing another box, this time for me. On the strength of the offer from MPB I’d bought myself another camera. Not ‘YET’ another camera, JIC. One went out today and one came in. The camera mountain remains at the same height. This is the updated version of the camera which was travelling to Brighton. An amazing box of tricks it is too. It can do summersaults while juggling three balls and walking on a tightrope. I’m still working my way through the user’s manual, wishing it came as an audio book! By the way, I’m about two thirds of the way through What Abagail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch. It’s read by Shvorne Marks. I’m getting to like the idea of someone telling me a story!

As well as all that, Scamp had been for a walk to Condorrat to post a birthday card. I’d dusted half the surfaces in the living room, taking great care to place all the Bus Stop Ladies back in their respective places and giving the wee green snake that hold my brushes a gentle rub over too. I’d also been for a walk in St Mo’s and got today’s PoD on the way back – taken with the new toy, of course.  I think it’s a Berberis thunbergii.  The leaves are beautiful in autumn. When I got back, Scamp had just finished clearing out the spice rack and had found jars in there dating back to 2005! Quite a lot of jars went in the bin today, as you can imagine.

Dinner tonight was a Scamp speciality, a prawn stir-fry. Nothing fancy, just things from the fridge and freezer that should be used up. That’s the best kind of meal. It was lovely.

We had a run through of the Bossa Nova tonight to ensure that I don’t make a complete fool of myself on Sunday. Although I wouldn’t say it was the smoothest practise we’ve had, it is beginning to flow a bit better now. Counting seems to help me. Just as long as I don’t do it out loud!

Tomorrow may be a better day than today which started wet and just became dull after that with the threat of more rain if we didn’t behave. If it’s good tomorrow we may go for a walk somewhere other than Cumbersheugh.

Cold damp and dull – 4 March 2021

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That about sums up today.

Sometimes it’s hard to get up much interest, especially when the sun isn’t interested in doing much work. I assume it is up there, above the clouds, but it’s shirking on it’s job as far as I’m concerned. Nothing but milky white skies and the occasional rain. I’m looking for Spring and not finding it.

Scamp wanted to go for seed compost today and the only place we could be sure of getting any was B&Q. We could have driven to Falkirk, to the garden centre there, but until the Littlest Witch decides we’ve been good enough to allow us to go to garden centres, we’d have to go through the rigmarole of ordering online and then using click and collect. Plus it’s not the same as being free to wander round the plants and look at things. At least B&Q for all its faults, and there are a fair few, has an outdoor section with plants and a selection of compost types and bag sizes. Scamp eventually settled on two bags of seed compost. One for immediate use and another as a backup for later use. We agreed that it’s still a bit early for planting seeds, better to wait until later in the month or possibly even until April. Scotland is always a bit behind the rest of the uk in gardening terms.

Before we went driving through Cumbersheugh to B&Q I thought it might be a good idea to put some petrol in Blue. It’s been so long since I filled the tank, some time last year I believe, that I couldn’t remember which side the filler cap was on. Yes, I know there is a sign on the dash to tell you, but that’s not much use when you’ve just switched the engine off. Besides, it’s something I really should know without a prompt. It was passenger’s side.

Back home and after lunch, which was ‘Gluey Soup’ (Scamp’s description) I went for a walk in St Mo’s with the stated purpose of re-photographing yesterday’s PoD using the macro lens. Perhaps it was that statement of intent that made Scamp decide that a day inside would be better than watching me grovelling around moss covered stones. I did find the source of yesterday’s PoD and as you can see, well hopefully you can see, you get a much more “up close and personal” view with a macro lens. When I was looking at the photos on the computer, later, I was amazed at the detail the new lens resolves. I really am impressed.

The light wasn’t good today, but I was finding some good subjects when I got talking to a bloke who just walks round and round St Mo’s pond. I’d just intended to pass the time of day with him, but instead we stood there for about half an hour talking, or me listening and him talking. Eventually when he left to continue his circuits, what light there had been had gone and I’d missed my chance of more macros. Hopefully the light will be better tomorrow.

Phoned the garage today about the horn problem and the car is booked in for next Wednesday. That will mean a drive to Stirling, breaking the rules set by the Littlest Witch and the rest of her lying cohort, at least that’s the way they are portrayed by the media. While Alex Salmond is held up as a shining light of truth. Aye Right!

Tomorrow, hopefully, we might get out for a walk … together.

A wild, windy and wet day – 23 February 2021

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That’s quite enough alliteration for today thank you very much.

Despite the hammering rain and the wind, Scamp wanted to go for a walk down to the shops because we were running short on fruit. It wasn’t so bad when we were out, until we realised we had the wind at our back, but on the way home it was literally in our face. I’d thought I might take a detour through St Mo’s on the way back, but I decided that was not the thing to do in the rain, and besides we were carrying two bags of messages and my detour would have left Scamp with both, so we just went home.

I did go out a short while later when the rain stopped. The rain might have stopped, but the wind felt worse and unbelievably I was almost blown off my feet. Scamp keeps on telling me I’m getting thin and I just laugh, but maybe this once she’s right. I’ll have to stock up on steak pies and fish suppers to increase my BMI and lower my centre of gravity. I took a few photos, but nothing really stood out. Luckily I’d taken the opportunity of a grab shot on my way out. I’d seen this little dog’s collar with the red bow a few days ago and meant to get a photo. I did today and it became PoD. The rest of the shots were almost all out of focus. I was all for sending the lens back, but then relented because with the weather conditions we’re having, it’s hardly a fair test of the lens’ ability. I’ve got 30 days to make up my mind.

Spoke to Hazy later in the day and it seems that they are settling in to their ‘new’ place quite well. No activity from any river dwelling spirits yet though. If that means nothing to you, try reading the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch

Tonight Scamp got her jag. Same one as me, Astra Zeneca. So hopefully that will take some of the stress out of life for a while. Boris the Bungler made his Roadmap out of Lockdown public yesterday and Nic the Chick made her proclamation today. A couple of nice wee sarcastic jags of her own at the London Lad. Also a more sensible and cautious path out for Scotland. I don’t really mind how long it takes (within reason), just as long as it works.

Today’s prompt was “Miami” and I couldn’t think what to do for it. I finally settled on Miami Vice, the ’80s version of Crocket and Tubbs. Drew a machine vice and put a Miami logo on it. Don’t tell anyone, but if you look carefully you’ll see that I spelt Miami wrong! Twice! I could have altered it digitally in the photo but an eraser was quicker in the end!  The Palomino Blackwing pencils are really soft.  They must be about a 6B and it takes very little to smear them all over the page.  That’s why it looks so dirty.

Tomorrow seems like a re-run of today, if slightly calmer. We may go for a walk somewhere, or we may not. I’ve baking to do.

It rained – 19 February 2021

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All day.

In the morning I started today’s sketch. My thoughts are that although it’s good being able to draw under the daylight bulb in the ‘drawing room’, it’s much better to work with natural daylight, even if it is a poor light at times. Also, if I get the drawing done early then hopefully I’ll get to bed at a reasonable hour.

It worked today. The topic was ‘Yoga’. Many moons ago I did go to a yoga class run by a police sergeant in the gym of a Larkhall school. I became quite addicted to it. When I retired I thought I might take it up again, but the classes were always booked solid and eventually I gave up trying. Maybe once we are out of lockdown I may try again.
As you can see, I couldn’t settle on a subject, so this is a page from my sketchbook and I think the two poses fit quite well. That was a tough prompt, but quite enjoyable.

The furthest we went today was down to the shops for milk. What exciting lives we lead. I didn’t even risk a walk in St Mo’s in case I got the new toy wet (although it is ‘weatherproof’ but probably not ‘Scottish weather proof’). Instead, I took today’s PoD in the warm and dry of the kitchen. It’s a tiny little Narcissus that came in a posy of flowers that Scamp had tastefully arranged in a vase. An old vase that belonged to my mum. It was a six second exposure on a tripod and I really liked it. Great detail in the petals.

Dinner came courtesy of The Chippy in Condorrat. I walked through the rain to get one small fish supper (Scamp’s) and one large fish supper (Mine). They tasted great but I knew I’d be getting the repeats of them all evening and I was right. Might need some Gaviscon tonight to fight the inevitable heartburn.

Found my first tick tonight. On my leg just below the knee, on the sock line. Looks like walks into the wild wood of St Mo’s, or anywhere else for that matter, will be off the cards until at least autumn.

Tomorrow looks like more rain, so we might go out if we can find a dry half hour.

Testing the new toy – 18 February 2021

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Before we got to that, there was the subject of some shearing to be done.

It didn’t take all that long to reduce my overgrown locks to a mess pile on the painting room floor.  I managed most of it myself, but had to rely on Scamp to do the tidying up at the back.  I remember one of my colleagues at work saying that his grandfather stood in front of a mirror with scissors in one hand and a small mirror in the other and cut his own hair.  His acceptance of this skill always bemused me.  He said, “Of course he was a blacksmith, so he was used to it.”  Used to what, I always asked myself.  Are all hairdressers failed blacksmiths or are all blacksmiths failed hairdressers?  Answers, as usual, on a postcard.  Anyway after the hair had been cut to my and Scamp’s satisfaction and the hair hoovered up, I started today’s Sudoku feeling much lighter.

It was a bit of a dull day.  Not really encouraging us to go out for our daily walk.  In fact it wasn’t until late in the afternoon that I took the new macro lens for a walk in St Mo’s.  I found yesterday’s orange ladybird hiding in a crevice in a tree and that made PoD.  Walked to the shops and bought some stuff for tonight’s dinner which was a rehash of Tuesday’s chilli.  Tonight’s was better, but not as hot as a chilli should be, despite the addition of more chilli paste.

Today’s prompt was “carrots”.  Being a generous person, I gave them three carrots.  Subjects for painting should always be in odd numbered batches.  Don’t know why, but odd numbers of items are always more interesting than even numbered ones.  I eventually moved away from the sketch book and painted on cheap Flying Tiger 300gsm watercolour block.  I was happy with the 3 carrots.

Tomorrow is Friday and we’ve no plans.  Hopefully not as dull a day as today.

The postman only knocked once – 6 November 2020

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But that was enough, at 8.15am, to get me out of bed.

He was just walking away as I opened the door, having left my parcel on the doorstep. He gave me a wave as he headed back to his van and was off before the door shut. It must be really hard for delivery men and women these days, working such long hours and with tight schedules to keep. The parcel contained a used tripod head I’d bought from WEX in Norfolk two days ago. It’s a bit scuffed in places, but is a solid piece of kit, better quality than the one I was going to buy in Glasgow. Best of all, it cost a fraction of its value when new.

I made our breakfast while I watched two blackbirds, one cock and one hen, having their early morning bath in the garden. Took the breakfast back to bed and we read for a while, waiting for the day to brighten up. I’m now on my second last Slough House book, having finished “To be taught if fortunate”. It got four stars Hazy because of the ending and because of the inclusion of 30 pages of her first “Wayfarers” novel. Thirty pages too much padding.

After our dragging ourselves out of bed and having a cup of coffee, Scamp went out to tidy up the garden and I took the Sony out for a walk in St Mo’s. There was blue sky for a while and even some sunshine, but I had the feeling the weather just wasn’t trying too hard today. Nothing really struck me as interesting enough to make a PoD.

No lunch today, because we were heading out later in the afternoon for a late lunch at The Cotton House in Longcroft. Since we were booked for 2.30 we were eating off the a la carte menu instead of the lunch menu. We didn’t mind, because we realise that the lunch menu is a sort of loss leader, but the a la carte is where they make their main profit. Also, there would be things in there we’d never had before! as it happened we didn’t end up being all that adventurous. Scamp had Thai Fish Cakes for starter followed by Chicken Chop Suey with Fried Rice. I had Gyoza Dumplings as starter and then Salt and Chilli Chicken with noodles. Once you throw in the Prawn Crackers, this was a fairly substantial lunch and one we both enjoyed.

Drove home into a beautiful sunset that would have made an excellent photo if only I had brought one of my multitude of cameras. Besides, we’d had a lovely afternoon and it would be a shame to waste it by boring Scamp to tears with me wandering around taking sunset shots.

I’d ordered an adapter to allow the tripod head I’d received this morning to fit onto my tripod. It hadn’t arrived when we got home and when I checked, it was due to be delivered about 5pm, just about the same time the Tesco order was due to come. You guessed it, they arrived at exactly the same time.

Just to test out the combination of tripod + adapter + tripod head + Sigma 105mm macro lens, today’s PoD is an Alstroemeria flower taken with a 4 second exposure at f8. It’s not brilliant, I know, but it shows the combination works and it’s a lot better than any of the shots I took this morning. That probably tells you just how bad they were.

No plans for tomorrow.

Just walkin’ in the rain – 20 October 2020

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Locked to the house again this sometimes sunny morning until yet another parcel arrived from Amazon.

After the wait and after lunch and after the sun had disappeared again we decided to go for a walk just to be out of the house. Of course it rained as soon as we closed the door, but we’d agreed we would just get wet. Drove to Auchinstarry and parked at the park. After we crossed the road the rain came down even heavier. Even so, walking through an archway of autumn coloured trees was very nice. I’d been dying to try out the new 18mm lens and this would have been a good place for it, but I’d the long lens on the camera and wasn’t going to change lenses in heavy rain. Got a few moody shots of wet weeds and a nice one of a thorny bramble stem, you can see it on Flickr.

I was keeping a weather eye on the time as I had an appointment at the makeshift clinic in the town hall at 4.30 for my flu jag. I thought we might manage to get along the old railway to Twechar and back along the canal towpath by about 4pm, but it didn’t happen. The pathway was blocked by by a fence and a council notice said no through road. Apparently they were rebuilding the pathways. Luckily we had the opportunity to cross over the plantation and back via the canal. That’s where I did manage to change lenses with only a single drip on the rear element of the new lens. It was quickly blotted off and we were in business. Took a few shots of the trees across the canal in their autumn garb and one of those became PoD. Then the rain came down again. I must go back soon on a dry day to get some quality shots of that avenue of trees.

Back home and just enough time to dump the photos before I went out to get my flu jag. Five booths operating and no waiting. In and out in a flash. Scamp made a veg stirfry for dinner and it was lovely.

Watched Bakeoff and sketched today’s prompt which was Coral. We’ve a few wee pieces of coral we picked up possibly in Tobago and possibly in Corralejo in Fuerteventura. Their source is immaterial, they were coral and that was good enough for me.

We’re hoping for a slightly drier day tomorrow and maybe the chance for a walk again.

Comings and goings – 19 October 2020

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A busy day and a wet one, very wet.

Scamp was out in the morning with Veronica for coffee @ Calders. I was left to my own devices. I’d great plans for what I’d to do. Heavens I even left myself some To-Do notes last night. They didn’t take long to achieve and then there was still an hour or so left. I was waiting for two DPD men, they’re always men here, so let’s not have any complaints on that score. Take it up with DPD if you really want. Two DPD personnel, one who would hopefully be bringing my coffee order and one who would be taking away my Nikon D7000 to MPB who have agreed to pay me a fraction of what I bought it for many years ago. But as they say, all things must pass. The third person I had to wait for was the Amazon person carrying an 18mm lens for the Sony A7ii. That’s ultra-wide, but not fisheye for those who understand such things, all three of you. I sat down to struggle through a sudoku that had been bugging me since last week. Then the DPD man delivered my coffee. Life’s too short to drink bad coffee, so I was saved that ignominy. Postman delivered the news that I am booked for a flu jag tomorrow afternoon. With some time to spare, I phoned Fred for a wee chat and discuss the situation with flu jags. He got a letter this morning at 11am telling him he had a flu jag at 11.35! We’d no sooner started setting the world to rights when Scamp phoned to say she was on the way home and did I need anything for lunch. Sorted lunch and got back to sorting the world with Fred.

After lunch the second DPD man came to take away the Nikon. I was brave, I didn’t shed a tear. Scamp suggested I wait for a dry spell and go out for a walk. That’s what I thought I was doing, but I was no sooner out the door when the rain started again. I was out now and I was wet. No point in going back. Just go and get properly wet and get some photos too. I did get wet. I thought I’d got some photos too, but when I got back it looked like I’d about ten sets of three photos. Like trios, all the same, then another set of trios, all the same, but different from the first if you get my drift. Worse than that, they were all crap. All except the one you see here which I resurrected. (It’s a Larch branch with the needles starting to change colour before they fall.) Thank goodness for decent software. Think Silk Purse – Sow’s Ear. It took a while to work out what had gone wrong, but I think I’ve got it sorted now. This is the most awkward camera to get a handle on. Nothing is easy.

It was almost 7.30pm when the Amazon man knocked on the door. What hours to these people work. It almost makes me ashamed to buy things from Amazon. Of course you could argue that I’m keeping these people in a job, but at what cost? Lens looks good and does what it advertises. Ultra-wide and with autofocus and auto exposure but without the fish-eye effect. Means nothing to anyone but me and three other undisclosed photogs.

Sketch tonight was a really rough doodle that followed on from yesterday’s doodle. Not impressed with it, but what else do you draw to complete a prompt like ‘Dizzy’?

Tomorrow we’re hoping for a few dry spells. There will probably be one between 4pm and 5pm when I’ll be in the Town Hall. If there’s a chance of a dry spell earlier in the day, hopefully we’ll be out making the most of it.

Off to see David – 18 October 2020

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He’s a hard man David. He stands there every day, wind, rain or shine.

We couldn’t agree what to do today. Scamp thought maybe we could walk round Glasgow Green. I wasn’t all that keen. Various other venues were discussed at length before we settled on a visit to Lakeland to get a flan dish for Scamp to make a flan in, strangely enough. That was it settled. We drove to Stirling and found the aforementioned flan dish and also found that Lakeland had fallen out with Dobbies which they used to be joined to. They had lowered the portcullis and were not receiving visitors from that shop. Dobbies had removed their outrageously expensive food shop and replaced it with a Sainsbury’s, which is probably why the portcullis was down. Otherwise the crafty Stirling folk would load their shopping basket at Sainsbury’s and waltz out through Lakeland without paying. I do hope Lakeland and Dobbies patch up their differences and exchange Christmas cards when the time is right. I hate seeing neighbours falling out.

With slightly more than the single flan dish in our bag (and paid for) we headed on to the motorway and up to see David Stirling. He was the man who invented the SAS and his statue is one of the most lifelike I’ve seen. It stands on a plinth with his greatcoat blowing in the wind and a pair of binoculars in his hand looking over to the hills he used for training his commandos in WW2. I had gone there because the view on a good day is tremendous. Today wasn’t a good day, but it gave me a chance to test and compare two camera lenses. None of the photos were going to win any prizes, but the difference in the shots was startling. Don’t worry, I’m not going to say any more on that score. Just let’s say the new camera is a STOATER!

Back home we needed potatoes for tonight’s dinner, so I volunteered to walk down to the shops and get them. On the way back I got today’s PoD which is simply two leaves stuck on a bush. You could almost say they were trapped on the bush and that would lead you neatly on to …

Today’s prompt was Trap and the sketch you see here is my answer to that request. There has been a bit of discussion going on at Inktober 2020 about the relevance of this year’s prompts, and some folk are saying they think it’s a good thing to have vague prompts. They make you move out of your comfort zone. I see where they are coming form with that argument but too many vague prompts make you think of simply giving up.

It was a sad day for me today. I packed up my old trusty D7000 ready to be uplifted by the man from DPD tomorrow to go to MPB to be sold to someone who would hopefully get the same amount of joy from it that I did. Look after the 7000 whoever you are and it will produce great pictures, just the same as it has done for me almost 23,000 times.

Tomorrow, it will be a day of comings and goings photography wise. Scamp is out in the morning with Veronica for coffee at Calders where I’m told not to go because they don’t serve what I would call coffee.

Oh yes, the Flan!! Wonderful. Worth the trip to Stirling to get the dish. Not any good for you Hazy, too many eggy weggies I think!