Category: Family

Fathers Day – 16 June 2024

Posted on by Zogman

I remember complaining to my mum and dad that there were Fathers days and Mothers days, but when were the wee boy’s days. The answer came from both of them “Every day is wee boy’s day!” Funny how you remember these things.

Today Scamp was making breakfast in bed for me on Father’s Day. Tea, two Weetabix with blueberries and milk with a strawberry on top. Also on the tray was a glass of orange juice with a couple of carnations in a vase. Later in the morning I spoke to Hazy and thanked her for the prezzy which she always remembers and the card. I will enjoy some of the first packet tomorrow, hopefully, Hazy. We talked for a while about the books we’re reading and what’s coming up on our lists.

My father’s day present from Wordle was a score of 3. Best I’ve had for quite a while. I also managed to get one of the two available Pangrams which is also an achievement for me. Nice to know we fathers are appreciated by the New York Times!

The main task for me today was to repot my Venus Flytrap and my miniature Sarracenia pitcher plant. They’ve been waiting far too long for new compost and a wee bit of Sphagnum moss to retain the moisture. It didn’t take long and I’m sure they will both feel the benefit of getting their feet wet in now soil.

PoD was taken from just outside the back door, because the rain had been on from early this morning and looked as if it was going to continue for most of the day. I’ll admit to being lazy today and not venturing out into the wide world, but I’d no wish to get wet for no reason and today’s photo of a straggly Campanula fitted the bill perfectly.

Wrote to Alex who seems to have picked up another virus (not a computer one) just as Carol is beginning to improve. Hope you both feel better soon.

Dinner for Scamp was Salmon fillet with Ratatouille (AKA ‘Rats’) and potatoes. If you substitute a steak for the salmon fillet, you have my dinner. Dessert was the other half of yesterday’s Tiramisu from M&S.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and thanked him for his card. It seems the doc is not sure whether it is Whooping Cough that Simonne has, but they are treating it as that for now, just in case. Hope you feel better soon Simonne. Jamie and I also discussed what books we’re getting through and as usual, I didn’t really enjoy some that he suggested and vice versa. I think that’s quite normal for us.

Well, that was a lovely Father’s Day. I thoroughly enjoyed being pampered for a day. Great cards and prezzies. Thank you all very much. I don’t deserve you.

Scamp is going to phone the dentist tomorrow to get her new crown investigated, because it’s becoming more painful. Hope it gets fixed soon S.

More Food – 9 June 2024

Posted on by Zogman

No, that’s not a hungry mouth you’re looking at! It’s just that Scamp has been doing a grand job of cooking this weekend and it continued today.

Breakfast was just breakfast, but even then Scamp was the one who made it. Two Weetabix with Rasps and Blueberries for me and Bran Flakes and Rasps for Scamp. No milk for either of us.
Just kidding, of course we had milk!

Lunch was Healthy Shakshuka which is basically “What you’ve got in the fridge” with a tin of tomatoes and sweet and smoky paprika with a couple of eggs cooked in the mix. I’d seen the recipes for it many times, but never quite got round to making it. I can assure you I missed a trick there! It was absolutely brilliant. We ate it watching Laura Kuenssberg getting ripped into politicians of various stripes. A fearsome lady is Laura.

We spent most of the afternoon trying to get OneDrive to share a folder between Scamp and me. According to the cartoons on the Mickeysoft site it was simplicity itself, but unfortunately it didn’t work. I thought it might be because one of us was using a PC and the other was using a Mac, but I don’t think that was the root of the problem. I think it’s just that Mickysoft just doesn’t know how to play nice. Eventually we did get it working, but the road to success was a rough one with may potholes and dead ends.

By ’… most of the afternoon …’ I meant a couple of hours, although it felt like more than that. To give me a break from all the tech stuff, I took a walk in the garden and took a few close-up photos of the Foxglove flowers that are in full bloom just now. One of them got PoD. I thought it looked like Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, or maybe it was Laura Kuenssberg! I also potted up some chilli plants I’ve been growing from the seeds of last year’s or maybe two years ago’s chillies. They’ve been a bit mollycoddled, living in the warmth of the south facing window of the spare room. Tonight they are in the, not so warm, plastic covered greenhouse. I’m sure they’ll be tough enough for it.

While I was pottering and potting, Scamp was cutting away dead flower heads and then pruning back the overgrown vegetation in the back garden. When she was finished it just looked like the plants had been given a really neat haircut. She’s getting good at this sort of thing.

Spoke to Jamie tonight and heard all about their holiday on the coast.  Sounds like a lovely place to relax for a week.  He put us right on how to share folders and told us that the method we were using was almost the same as his at work.  Good to know that we’re on the right track with some things!

For dinner tonight, Scamp took charge again and made a stir-fry. I feel like a ‘kept man’ tonight! I’ve done little or nothing all weekend apart from drive us to and from dancing class yesterday and then moan about it.

Tomorrow we may go out some where and I’m hoping to make dinner. I’m the pasta cook and Monday is Pasta Day!

 

 

Another day, another lunch – 7 June 2024

Posted on by Zogman

This time we were meeting June and Ian at Nonna’s Kitchen in Dullatur Golf Course.

After a wee problem with the lifts, all four of us sat down to lunch. I ordered Lentil Soup with Pancetta Scamp had Mussels, June and Ian had Arancini. A bit of a wait, but all fine, except that mine had a whole pot of pepper in it. A longer wait, about 25 mins this time, brought us Mains which were Pasta Al Forno for June, Ian and me and Pan Fried Seabass Fillet with Asparagus and Red Onion with Pea Puree and Candied Pancetta. The Pasta may have been a mistake because it was pretty tasteless except for the Italian sausage. I ate less than half of mine. My American coffee was lovely, but Scamp said her latte was more. Baby chino than latte. Would I go back? Probably, but with better choices this time. Great views over the golf course if that’s your thing, but with the room less than half full the noise level from folk just chatting was overpowering. Some soft furnishings needed to dampen down the sound. You may remember the location from a wedding party almost ten years ago now, Jamie!

After getting June and Ian safely down to ground level in the lift, we parted company. They were waiting for a taxi and we were driving down to Lidl to get a bottle of Hortus Gin and some strawberries. Then it was back up the road in a surprise torrent of rain.

The rain soon disappeared and I went out for a walk. Took far more photos in St Mo’s than I did all day in Glasgow yesterday! That was mainly caused by having the camera on ‘motorwind’ mode, 25 shots at a time, to try to capture bees on the brambles again. They didn’t make PoD. That went to a family of ducks out for a paddle with mum. Eight mallard ducklings and mother duck. Daddy must have gone A – Hunting!

That was about it for Friday. We’re intending to go dancing tomorrow. Quite a small class, so there won’t be anywhere to hide!

Lunch with Shona – 4 June 2024

Posted on by Zogman

We were out to lunch at La Bella with Shona today.

Shona was running a bit late today, which was just as well, really because the roundabout at Broadwood had ground to a halt, simply because one of the lanes was coned off for grass cutting and the ‘Smart’ traffic lights weren’t smart enough to deal with two lanes trying to merge into one. This left us about fifteen minutes late, but Shona was late too, so nobody moaned. Nobody except me, that is!

Food in the restaurant was good. Starters were: Mussels for Scamp, Chicken liver pate for Shona and Arancini for me. Mains: Penne Amatriciana for me Mushroom Risotto for Scamp and Lasagne for Shona. Dessert was Tiramisu for all.
Like I said, food was good but I simply ate too much and am suffering for it now. Only myself to blame.

When we were done, Shona was going to get a new cover for her phone and, as we were already at the town centre, she walked there. We drove home.

The weather was strange today and it was all the fault of the jet stream again, according to the weather fairies. That and a cold front that was bringing in cold, gusty winds from the direction of Greenland. The sun when it shone was warm and comfortable, but then that cold north wind stole all the heat away.

I decided I’d take a risk and went for a walk in St Mo’s, well bundled up with a hoodie and a raincoat, just in case. The rain did come, but didn’t last long, thankfully and I was glad of the hoodie. PoD was a weather related landscape shot across the pond towards the hills in the north with what might be that cold front blowing in.

I think Scamp and I spent most of the evening trying to work out how to extricate a dozen photos from the clutches of Outlook. Wouldn’t it be great if two operating systems would talk to each other, but it will never happen I fear. Maybe tomorrow we’ll come up with a solution.

It’s been a long day and I’m off to bed. We had some rain today and we’re hoping for some more tomorrow, or else the hose will need to come out.

 

A Flaneur – 15 May 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Just a wee walk round Glasgow with my brother.

Since Scamp wasn’t in need of the car today, I gladly drove it to the station, parked there and got the train in to Glasgow.

I was early for once and went for a walk along Sausageroll Street and by the time I got back, Alex had arrived. We went for a coffee as is our usual plan of attack and then just wandered down Buchanan Street taking the odd photo here and there. Down into St Enoch’s and through on to the Clyde Walkway. We didn’t see any new graffiti since our last visit and while Alex took some shots of the reflections of the cathedral in the glass sided building next to it, I manage a few shots of the cathedral between two trees … until Alex walked into the frame and stood taking his shots. As it happened I’d got a couple before he walked into the frame. I also liked the lighting on a modern high-rise block of flats, posh looking flats beside the river. I changed them to mono later and that seemed to improve them.

It was a toss up whether we would continue along the side of the river or go and have lunch. I won the toss and we did lunch in Paesano, of course.

After lunch we walked in to George Square and took some photos of folk. Street photography it’s called. I’m not keen on it, really, but Alex is and he’s good at it. Something to do with his brass neck, I think! Thought I’d caught one bloke off guard, but then realised he was smiling, probably having taken a shot of me when I wasn’t looking. Alex was off photographing buses, of all things. Well, I shouldn’t criticise since I’m the one who photographs spiders fighting!
I got a photo of two blokes about my age talking animatedly, both with guitars on their backs. Either they were discussing the merits of nylon strings vs steel strings, or they were commiserating with each other on the poor results of their favourite football teams. That was PoD.

Another coffee and we were heading home. Alex to the bus station and me to the train station. The train was really busy but I got one of the last seats. Then an old lady (ie older than me!) got the one across from me. As she turned, I noticed she’d been ushered into her seat by a younger woman. I offered the younger woman my seat and although she refused at first, I told her I was getting off at the next stop and she thanked me and took the seat. When I was getting off, two seats became vacant and the lady turned and mouthed “Thanks again”. That made my day brighter. A good deed done.

Dancing tonight was the second part of the waltz and it was a bit more difficult than the first half, but with Kirsty’s breaking down of the steps it became easier and Scamp also helped keep me right. Next week we’re hoping to join the two halves together. Another practise tonight may have cemented the second half in my memory. Only time will tell.

Today’s prompt was A Glass of Wine. I couldn’t find a glass of wine, so I sketched one. Just a glass of red wine that had been enjoyed by someone or some people. It’s a pretty glass, or was at one time before being dribbled on, had lipstick marks made on it and had been generally abused. That’s what happens when you mix a clean glass with a good bottle of red wine and a group of people with a drouth (Scots word for a thirst). It was very nice wine!

No plans for tomorrow yet.

Coffee with Isobel – 8 May 2024

Posted on by Zogman

We were out this morning for coffee with Isobel.

I sometimes don’t join Scamp when she’s meeting Isobel, but I chose to today. As usual, Isobel’s conversation covered family, gardens and anything else that was interesting her at the time. She’s a mine of useful information about gardens and plants, so Scamp is often picking her brains about what to plant and when to prune. Me, I just go along for the ride and interject with some cheeky comments if I think I can get away with it, which isn’t often with Isobel. One thing she did say was that a the new Home Bargains had some great bargains in the plants section. When we left Costa we decided to go and visit it, because Isobel was going shopping in the town centre.

The new Home Bargains is enormous, taking in the general shopping area, a well stocked garden area and a cafe, although we couldn’t find it. The prices for the plants were very good, but you had to be careful to get fresh looking plants as quite a few of them were wilting. We picked a couple of plants that Scamp fancied, a miniature Gypsophila and a Foxglove. We went in to Aldi which is next door for a loaf and some soda scones. When we came out we’d spent less than a tenner! Result!!

Back home after lunch Scamp was working in the garden and I thought I should too. I split up a pot of basil that I bought in Tesco and made four pots with the plants. We also cut down some old broken solar powered lights. They seem to work for about a year then just die. If you put new rechargeable batteries in, they don’t last as long as the original ones. I reckon it’s ingress of water at the cable junctions that causes the problem.

I was getting coffee delivered today from The Bean Shop. I was disappointed in the coffee I’d got from Braithwaite’s in Dundee when we were there. Old Brown Java was almost exactly as its name described. It tasted old and brown. I don’t know where in Java it came from, but it tasted like it had been mouldering in a damp cellar somewhere. But I digress, as it turned out my coffee wasn’t delivered until about 7.30pm, by which time we were halfway through a new Waltz routine with Kirsty. Quite a small class today, but that’s often a good thing. It was tonight. By the time our hour was up we’d learned the first waltz and were promised the second one next week, all being well.

Back home I found my coffee in the bin shed, exactly where I’d asked for it to be put. DPD always delivers! So far, at least.

PoD was a single solitary American Cowslip – Shooting Star. Usually I get at least half a dozen flowers, but this year there was only one. I’d read that the plant only lasts for about five years and that’s about the time I’ve had it. I have seeds that I harvested last year, somewhere in my room. I’ll need to find them and hopefully grow a new batch of Shooting Stars for next year DV.

I got a lot of flak from some of the more PC members of EDiM in Flickr. Almost all the comments were about the dangerous weapons I was sketching. A pencil and a scalpel. Ok, I agree about the scalpel, but a pencil?? Some folk just don’t live in the real world.

Today’s prompt was A Scooter.
This is the exact scooter I used to have many years ago. It’s a Triang Mobo scooter. Mostly made from metal with yellow wheels, red chassis and plate and black rubber grips. I travelled miles on that scooter. When I grew out of it, I passed it on to my brother. I wonder what he did with it.

Tomorrow, if the good weather stays, we may go and visit the big horses.

Sad News – 17 April 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Hazel phoned this morning to say that Neil’s gran had died this morning. We had been expecting this news, because she had been in poor health for a few months. She was a lovely old lady and she will be missed by everyone who met her.

Alex phoned later in the morning to cancel today’s outing to Gouldings because the cough he has been struggling with for the past month or so is showing no signs of improving and he was hoping to get to speak to a doctor and have his chest sounded. That left the day free.

We drove to Tesco later in the morning just to get some essentials and for once what we got was the bare essentials.

After lunch Scamp fed the roses, did the ironing and planted some of her packet of fifteen Cerinthe seeds, also known as Honeywort and they were hopefully getting some sunshine in the front bedroom window sill. While she was working, I took an old lightweight Manfrotto tripod with a couple of cameras up to Fannyside in search of some interesting clouds to photograph. I was also carrying a couple of neutral density filters in an attempt to get some very slow shutter speed photos of the clouds scudding across the sky. I don’t know what I did wrong, but most of them ended up with circular reflections from the lens on them. Must investigate. I did get some normal exposure shots of some nosy sheep and a few landscapes, but PoD went to an old fencepost covered in moss and lichen.

Giovanni Rana tortellini for dinner. Today’s variety was Basil and Pine Nut. Then it was time for Kirsty’s class, the final section of the Tango. After a struggle remembering the last thing we did last week, we managed to bolt on the new ending and that was it done. Not quite as easily as that, but not the drama it might have been, although Drama is an integral part of Tango!

Tomorrow afternoon Scamp has an appointment with the dentist.

Recovery – 7 April 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Long day yesterday and a late night, so today would be recovery.

Late night yesterday after a lot of dancing, so today we would need some time to recover. Also there was a blog to write and post before I could get round to writing this. That’s what happens when you miss a day. So, here goes.

It was wet again this morning, in fact it was the rain on the window that woke me about 7am, then I went back to sleep! Dithered about in the morning solving Wordle and not getting a Pangram. Lunch was an omelette for Scamp and a slice of liver with an egg for me.

Then we watched another F1 GP from Suzuka in Japan. Horrible looking crash right at the start. I’m always amazed and impressed to see the drivers walk away from what looks like a scrap yard that used to be a couple of million pound racing cars. From then on it was a bit of a war of attrition. With the weak falling by the wayside. Glad to see Leclerc being bested again by Sainz. It begs the question again, why are Ferrari ditching Sainz in favour of far less skilled loser Leclerc? Answers on a postcard please.

Scamp wanted to hoover the living room and I just wanted out. I offered her a walk in St Mo’s but she declined. I took the A6500 with the weird looking LensBaby to get some unusual photos of anything that came to mind. What came to mind was a bunch of dandelions at the side of the path. Then I found a moth, a Welsh Wave (Venusia cambrica), I think, camouflaged on a tree. Both are on Flickr. But when I got home I saw the PoD. Today’s occasional bright sunshine encouraged the split rock, know as Terry, to display his orange flower!

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard about his map reading course in the wilds of the Lakes, and also about the progress being made with the house. Hopefully it will be ready soon, after a long wait.

Hoping for a dry day for a trip into Glasgow for lunch.

Happy Birthday Scamp – 24 March 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Scamp’s Birthday today.

A lazy morning for both of us. Lots of prezzies opened and lots of smiles. Hazy phoned in the morning and I gave them space to talk while I tidied up downstairs.

After lunch Scamp wanted to get her new plants into pots and distributed round the garden. I took a camera for a walk in St Mo’s. Not a lot to be seen, but I did get some photos of a bunch of dandelions sitting on a wall and with a fence to give them some extra support.

Scamp had requested that dinner should be, Chicken & Pea Traybake, to give it its proper name, The same meal we had on Thursday. I was chef, of course, but the real cook was the oven because it did all the hard work. Dessert was Viennetta. All washed down with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Jamie and Simonne’s Christmas parcel.

Spoke to Jamie later in the day and heard that the main works seem to be finished and now the push seems to be on to get the plastering completed. The hope being that when that is finished, they can move back it full time.

We watched the final episode of this season’s Death in Paradise. The story was dragged out even more than it usually is. Lots of old faces returning for this finale. Maybe this is, as one critic wrote, the Death of Death in Paradise. We can but hope.

I think Scamp enjoyed her birthday. I really hope she did.

Tomorrow we may tidy up some loose ends.

Driving in my car – 22 March 2024

Posted on by Zogman

We set out this morning to drive to Bishopbriggs to get 2 cans of green paint. We got back home four hours later with only one can.

Wild morning after a wild night. Strong winds driving rain and hail storms all day. Got to B&Q and found the paint. Unfortunately they only had one can of silk finish, but loads of cans of matt. We bought the single can and left with that, some sealing strips for the shower and some sealant remover, also for the shower. Scamp was also looking for some flowers for her tub that hangs on the back fence, but they didn’t have the mixed pansies she was looking for.

I suggested that we drop in at Calders on the way home to get some pansies there. Again, there were no trays of mixed flowers, just plain colours. When Calders took over what was the Tesco owned Dobbies garden centre they set about enlarging the shop and the plant area. Today it’s become massive. The down side is that the folk who used to work there have almost all left now and it’s teenagers who are in charge of the plants and most of them have little or no gardening knowledge. The old shop itself was a bit crowd, but now it’s crammed full of display stands, to the point where it’s becoming a fire hazard. If there was a fire in that building, it would only need one person to panic, stumble into one of these displays and the exits would be blocked. We both felt uncomfortable in it.

Anyway, no pansies were for sale today, so I coaxed Scamp into going to Torwood garden centre, near Falkirk, just another 10 miles or so along the motorway. We still didn’t get the pansies, but she did get some Tiarella flowers which, apparently we say at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens a few years ago. Pretty wee pink flowers. We also got a Geisha Orange azalea to replace one we had a few years ago and also a packet Cerinthe and also Basil seeds. We stayed at Torwood for our lunch. Just a bite to eat in the middle of the day.

We drove home through more rain and hail and pulled off just after Castlecary to go to Tesco for the makings of tonight’s Fish Curry the recipe courtesy of Jamie. Just as well we took the slip road off, because ahead of us the main motorway ground to a halt. This looked more serious than the usual late Friday afternoon moving carpark. But we were off the motorway and driving up to Tesco where I spent about 20 minutes wandering round the shelves looking for Edamame beans. I’d given up and went to the checkout, but asked the lady on the till if she knew where we’d find them. She did, and got a runner to go and bring a pot of them. I was so grateful for that bit of help and now we just had to drive home, almost four hours after we set out.

Back home the skies cleared and the sun shone. I didn’t have to be asked twice. I put my boots on and went for a walk in St Mo’s. Dramatic skies all around and the occasional shower of rain but I did get a PoD which is a view across the pond to more incoming rain clouds.

Scamp made the dinner and I processed the photos. The curry was very tasty but it’s been repeating on me all evening. Other than that and a lack of salt it looks like another keeper from Jamie & Simonne. Thank you.

Tomorrow’s dance class was hanging in the balance, but it’s going to go ahead. More driving, although today’s was self inflicted. Hopefully the weather will have calmed down by then.