Category: Dancing

An Asymmetric Day – 6 September 2015

Posted on by Zogman

IMG_2708-Edit- blog--249One of those asymmetric days. The morning was all laid back and lazy after a late night yesterday. The afternoon followed suit with me doing very little except try to get a .bash script to execute so I can pull in WordPress entries into Day One entries. It all seemed easy, but it’s still not solved. May have to contact the writer to see what I’m doing wrong.

That was the easy part of the day. Late afternoon, we went dancing in the now upgraded and almost total darkness of the Garage. Do they think this looks chic? It looks shite to me. However, I expect it saves a packet on lighting. After that it was home to make the dinner – Chicken Curry if you must know. After that we watched a really boring F1 GP from Monza. For once I was glad it was only the highlights. If that was the highlights, I’d hate to see the boring bits! Then dishes needed washing and by that time the little hand on the clock was pointing to the 10 and the big one was pointing to the twelve and I still hadn’t done POD or Flickr or anything that I should have, so here I am at 11.12 finishing the blog.

Good Night

Forty years ago today – 16 August 2015

Posted on by Zogman

Forty years ago today our son was born.  It hardly seems possible that that amount of time has passed.  I remember the day quite well, but remember the previous day, the Friday even better.  Where have all the years gone?  Is it only us old folk who say things like that?

Today, after the obligatory phone calls and singing of “Happy Birthday”, we settled down to enjoy yet another day in the sun.  I was cooking dinner tonight and it was to be chicken curry.  It involved a fair degree of preparation as there was a curry paste to make from onions, garlic, tomato puree and half the herbs and spices in the house.  Tried blitzing the paste in the little hand chopper thingy.  That was too small.  Tried the Magimix (other food processors are available).  It was too big.  Thought I’d found Goldilocks with the liquidiser, but it was too big too and I gave myself a scare watching myself put my hand in to push the mix down while it was plugged in.  Swiftly withdrew my hand and counted all my fingers twice just to be sure.  The liquidiser wasn’t actually running, I hasten to add, but it was still a scary moment.  Finally went back to the little hand chopper thingy, which doesn’t actually chop hands, thankfully. Eventually was satisfied with the texture of the paste and it smelled like it should which was a big bonus.  Tried to bakeDSC_3386- blog--228 some bread and dropped the loaf just as it was going in to the oven.  Baked it anyway into a shrivelled loaf.  DSC_3385- blog--228Said “OK, I’ve had enough” and went outside to take some flowers pictures.  Liked the Gladiolus stem which looked like the Gladius, the Roman sword it’s named after.  Gave in to the pleas of the Violas and took their picture too.

Dancing at the Garage in the late afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Worked out with Steven and Jess (!) how to do the move ‘Lunes‘ from last week.  That’s not its real name of course, it will change this week I’m sure.

Came home and cooked the curry.  The agreement is that there is too much coconut milk in it, it’s too watery with too little chicken, but otherwise it’s fine.  Oh yes, and the curry paste is a keeper!

Burds – 19 July 2015

Posted on by Zogman

Despite it being colder than normal last night, I was too hot and couldn’t sleep.  So about 4.00am, I got up and had myself some cereal for a very early breakfast then went back to bed.  Even at that early hour, the birds were singing.

Finally woke around 8.30am and made real breakfast (more cereal) for us both.  While I was waiting for my tea to brew, I threw out a couple of stale slices of my lovely homemadeDSC_2969- blog--200 bread, for the birds.  This immediately attracted the corvidae population.  These scavengers are really taking over this year with crows, ravens, jackdaws and the ubiquitous magpies which I detest.  This is the first year I’ve seen so many of them.  They seem to arrive in masses to roost on rooftops all around us and, of course, grab any food that’s going.  I’m thinking of making a cage DSC_2966- blog--200that will cover the bread scraps with a mesh big enough to allow the smaller birds through, but prevent these black rogues from stealing any.  One of them sidled along the fence until it was within snatching distance, or so it thought.  Thankfully, I only have to grab the door handle and they are off on a sortie around the houses before returning for another look.  Actually, I don’t mind them as much as the pigeons.  The crow family are at least wild.  The pigeons live in a pigeon loft a couple of streets away and if left to it, can hoover up a whole loaf in no time.  Big fat rats with wings.  Not the brightest lights on the tree either.  My brother used to shoot them with an air rifle and said it took two or three slugs before they noticed that they were dead!

After the pigeon and crow watch, I restarted my painting, this time with oils.  I just painted on top of the acrylic (which was on top of a watercolour!)  As far as I can remember, you can paint oil on top of acrylic, but not the other way round.  If I get up tomorrow and find that the whole thing has slid down off the easel onto a pile on the floor, I’ll know I’ve got it wrong.  Anyway, I think it looks better and it’s has a much more tactile painting with oils rather than painting with acrylic – it’s like painting with soft butter – a strange analogy, but that’s the way I see it.

Salsa in the Garage tonight and it was really good and very hot.  We surely lost a kg or two at least.  Lots of people from our class there as it is Fair Monday tomorrow and the STUC is closed.  So no salsa classes this week unless we go to help with the beginners on Wednesday.  We’ll see.

Hoping to try out the bike carrier tomorrow if the rain stays away.

The Squeaky Wheel 18 June 2015

Posted on by Zogman

After  a bumpy night heading south from Venice, we had a bit of a swell on the sea this morning, but the sun was out and the sky was quite clear.  We were all at sea and heading for Kotor tomorrow.  In other words, a sea day.  Sea days can be as boring as you want to make them, or they can be interesting.  We sunbathed after breakfast for an hour until it was time to go dancing.  It was Rumba this morning.  We’ve both done rumba before and Scamp keeps reminding me that you have to start on beat two.  I nod my head and make concurring noises, but I’m sure she knows I don’t have a clue what it means.  I just follow her like I do with almost all dances except salsa.  Even there she tries to lead, but if she does, I mess her up by inventing new moves or more likely, new combinations.  Anyway, rumba passed with very few raised voices or harrumphs. Hmm, my spell checker seems to think that harrumph is a word!

The rest of the day was passed, as usual on a sea day with eating, drinking and more rumba.  Scamp went to a piano recital and I went sketching for an hour.  I really enjoyed the freedom of plein air sketching.  Messing around mainly with pen and ink sketches of people on the deck.  I did take some photos around the ship.  Mainly patterns of ropes and rails against the sea.  Scamp wasn’t impressed with the pianist, she said it wasn’t his best hour. 

By the time she got back, and we had a coffee, it was time to get ready for the Captain’s Ball.  That’s just a chance for the sycophants to arse lick with the captain and a chance for him to make a wee speech.  Scamp decided we would start at level 5, have a free G&T there.  Then  move up to level 6 where our restaurant is and have another free G&T there too.  Sounds like a plan to me.  We were just starting our first drink when a voice behind me, a Scottish voice, said “Nice kilt”.  I turned round and here was one of the officers in his dress uniform.  We got talking and he told us he was in charge of reception and he came from Maybole in South Ayrshire.  It’s a place we know well as we used to pass through it when we stayed in Newton Stewart.  He asked if we were having a good time on the ship and Scamp said “yes” and I said “no”.  Then we told him about the noises coming from the restaurant above us in our room.  He immediately said “Do you want another room?  I think we’ve got a couple free.”  We both looked at one another and said “Yes please.  Thank you very much.”  So to cut a long story short, we’re now in a room on deck 5 which is seven decks below where we were and there have been no sightings of elephants so far.  Great guy, and all because of a kilt.  His is Mc Gregor by the way. 

It’s true what they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!