Category: Family

Just a normal Sunday – 19 November 2023

Posted on by Zogman

A dull day with not a lot to recommend it weatherwise.

I spent most of the morning flicking through Flickr and for once enjoyed just looking through other folk’s pictures. I’m sure Scamp was doing Wordle and Spelling Bee, but I’d fallen out with both after Wordle had claimed that I hadn’t completed my 146th puzzle and sent me back to 1 again. I’ll not have that from these dastardly americans. I’ll just stop playing their stupid game and then they’ll be sorry.
I’ll start fresh tomorrow!

Lunch for me was bacon, egg, mushrooms, tomatoes and scorched Padron peppers. The only place I know I can get the peppers is Waitrose, so every time I go there I get a packet of them. Some of them are a bit hot, and there’s no way to tell if you’re going to get a hot one or a normal one. That makes them more interesting. Scamp had the more sedate egg, black pudding, mushrooms and tomatoes.

We watched what turned out to be a really interesting Las Vegas F1 GP. Lots of thrills and a few spills with the lead changing hands a few times before the inevitable happened and the world champion bullied his way to the front. As always it was the battle for 2nd and 3rd places that held the most interest and probably skill.

It was the first time the race had been held in Las Vegas and the lead up to it took more time than was really necessary, but I’m guessing it’s the American way to overload the race with the glitz and glamour. Because the race took so long to get started, it was late in finishing too and the light was beginning to fade when I finally walked over to St Mo’s for what I thought would be today’s PoD. As it happened, I got one landscape shot that was worth uploading, but PoD went to a grab shot I’d taken in the morning of a Rudbeckia flower in the garden. The plant has been flowering for about two months now and it’s survived high winds and torrential rain and is flowering still. While I was out in St Mo’s, Scamp was gardening, planting out some bulbs that will hopefully provide some much needed colour next spring.

I’d my apron on today to make my dinner. I’d bought a couple of short ribs at Waitrose and the recipe I was using said to brown them in a casserole for ten minutes. I knew I’d need a bit of protection from the spatter that would come from the fatty meat and I was glad of the protection the apron gave me. Then the meat had to rest while I made the slurry that would provide the base for it in the pot. Too many things to list here, but half a can of stout went into it too. Finally the meat went on top, the lid went on and it was set to cook for about 3 hours in the oven.

Scamp had chopped up onions, carrots and turnip and that made the veg part of the meal which we had with potatoes. I was too slow getting the meat roasted and the slurry made, consequently I had to cut the cooking time to two and a bit hours, but the meat was fine, and the veg went well with it. Scamp had a veggie version of the dinner and her’s seemed to be good too.

Spoke to Jamie later in the evening and heard about poor Vixen being upset having been in different kennels twice in a month. Poor thing wouldn’t know if she was coming or going. I’m sure she’ll settle down soon. Jamie and Simonne were meant to be doing a run today, but the weather was against it and Simonne wasn’t feeling well into the bargain, so they’d cancelled.

No real plans for tomorrow, although we need to get the CO2 monitor replaced before we get the boiler maintenance done. Also, I believe a visit to IKEA is on the cards for this week.

Friday lunch – 17 November 2023

Posted on by Zogman


Today we were booked for lunch with June and Ian.

First, Scamp was off to FitSteps class and because the sun was shinning after a cloudy, dull, dodgy looking start, I went over to St Mo’s to get some photos.  There were some nice beech trees glowing away in the sunshine and they are always worth a few shots. With a couple in the bag  after my first circuit of the pond, I turned and went back the same way.  It’s amazing how different scenery looks from the other direction and so it was today.  The trees I saw going were so much better with the sun coming from a slightly different angle. Also some cow parsley seedheads were catching the sun and I hadn’t noticed them on the outward walk.  Best of all was a little vetch plant that had managed to trap a waterdrop in one of its tendrils.  That was going to be PoD.

As I was walking back, I realised that time was getting on and checking my watch I found that it was just after midday.  Scamp would be home soon and I needed to make tracks.  I was going to send her a message when I realised I didn’t have my phone.  I was pretty sure it was in the house, pretty sure but not definitely.  So I upped the pace and found the offending article where I’d left it next to the computer.  Not lost, not stolen, just strayed.

When Scamp came in we headed over to Condorrat to have lunch and a blether with June and Ian. Friday lunches had become a monthly occurance for us four last year. Usually the Red Deer was our go-to place, but today we were trying out Brodens again. We had been there two weeks ago and it passed muster. I’d was sure it would be the same today, and I was right.  Lots of folk in the restaurant, well, lots more than there was last time, but the food was just as good, as was the Guinness! I think the other two were quite happy with their food today and I’m sure we’ll be back again. Steak Pie for June and Ian, Fish ‘n’ Chips for Scamp and Gammon Steak for me.  What’s not to like?! We were there for a couple of hours and then Ian booked a taxi for June and him while we walked home.

The water drop got PoD, but another two kept it company in Flickr.

I actually watched and enjoyed a Masterchef tonight. That’s not something I say very often.

Only two couples wanted to go to dance class tomorrow (Saturday), Millie & Ronnie and us.  Scamp got the message about 9.30 tonight to say that the class was cancelled due to lack of numbers. I was quite happy with that.  If there had been a class, there would have been nowhere for me to hide!  Scamp was disappointed and I feel sorry for her.  We are regulars at the class and although I accept Stewart’s reason, I don’t think it would have hurt them to have run an hour long class for the four of us.

So, no dancing tomorrow, but Scamp wants to do some shopping and I’m looking for somewhere that sells single CO2 detectors.

A rather full day – 16 November 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Lots of things to do and a tea dance in the middle.

Out in the morning. Dropped Scamp at Tesco then carried on to B&Q hoping to get a replacement for the CO2 alarm that packed in yesterday. Unfortunately, the only CO2 alarms they had were in double packets and I only needed one. They did have a single packet of CO2 alarms, but they were the same price as the double packet. Well, I didn’t expect anything better from B&Q. Drove back to Tesco and picked up Scamp and drove her home.

It was a bright autumn day and I was determined to get some decent shots with the new lens on the first decent day. I knew I only had an hour at the most to grab some images before driving to Glenburn for yet more dancing, so I couldn’t go far. So it was over to St Mo’s again to see if the colours would jump off the page for me, and thankfully they did.

The new lens didn’t let me down. Focus is quick and accurate. I’d little need today to resort to manual focus, but I’m getting used to the oddly placed focus ring and the A6500 did seem to lock on quite quickly. I still wasn’t sure about the edge sharpness or the corner detail, but a quick look when I got home was enough to assure me that Sigma had everything sorted. Time to put the dance shoes on.

It was a packed room today, but strangely, the floor wasn’t all that busy. We started with a Waltz Nioli and after a few mistakes I found my feet and rhythm and we had it beat. That might serve us well next week when Kirsty has promised a quick couple of tracks of that waltz to keep it in our heads and in our muscle memory. Next was Cha-Cha and we danced our version with very few errors. We were promised two Foxtrots next and I suggested we wait and dance the second one. But the second one turned into a Social Foxtrot, so disappointed, we danced that instead. That was almost the end of the ballroom dances and Stewart decided there weren’t enough folk dancing ballroom on the floor and announced that it would be sequence dances for the second half of the afternoon. A strange and poor decision in our eyes.

We danced a few of the sequence dances after the tea break, but I’d much prefer to attempt the ballroom dances. One of the reasons we come to tea dances is to practise what we’ve learned over the last week or two and although it’s not the real reason for the fortnightly dances, it’s a major part of them and just walking round in a circle to music isn’t going to entice folk to come back. Practising and learning from others you see dancing will make folk want to improve. Sequence dances have their place, but variety is the key.

We left a little later than our usual 3pm, but still managed to miss most of the traffic and get back fairly quickly. Simonne was on a sales visit to a few of the universities and pharmaceutical establishments in Scotland and was coming to us for dinner. After discussing whether we’d eat at home or book a table somewhere, Scamp chose to cook dinner. She arrived around 6pm and we had Chicken Thighs, Cauliflower Florets and Green Lentils. It was a tray bake and it worked really well. Dessert was Lemon Meringue Pie, also lovely. Afterwards we sat and talked about replacing the roof of their house and the problems that brought as well as catching up with what else they had been doing in their lives. A good night.

PoD turned out to be a path through the trees in St Mo’s.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending going to FitSteps in the morning. Then we’re hoping to have lunch with June and Ian.

A day in the Toon – 9 November 2023

Posted on by Zogman

A spot of lunch turned into a photowalk. What a surprise!

In the morning I had my annual retinopathy check at the health centre and thankfully the girl doing the technical stuff didn’t think I needed drops and I breathed a sigh of relief. I hate being blind for an hour afterwards and having to wear sunglasses in November. I nearly needed them Today anyway, because the sun was shining from a cloudless sky. I got the bus back home because Scamp was using the car. A quick cup of coffee and a challenging Wordle, then Scamp returned to pick me up and drop me at the station to get the train in to Glasgow to meet Alex.

I found him waiting for me at the bus station after I’d walked up from the train station. We took a few shots of the Pavilion Theatre and then went for coffee in an absolutely stowed Nero and made rough plans for the day. It was also a chance to pick Alex’s brains about a standard zoom lens for the A6500. As I thought, he picked my favoured lens as the one with the best results in his opinion and confirmed my thoughts on the cheaper one with the widest range as not worth considering. So, it looks like I’ll be asking Santa for a Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN lens. He used to have that lens and only parted with it to concentrate of prime lenses, ie. not zooms.

With the technical stuff discussed, we went for a walk along Ingram street following the good light, but never quite reaching it. It felt like when you see a rainbow and the nearer you get to it, the further away it goes! Eventually we tired of this game and went Paesano for a pizza lunch. That will be the third pizza lunch I’ve had this week. I was hoping I was hoping to continue my recent weigh loss success, but that looks unlikely now!

After lunch we continued to search for the good light eventually managed to track it down to Argyle Street. By then the light had lost a considerable amount of its former brightness and we started making our way back towards the bus station and home, but not before we had another coffee and then a walk around the Christmas market and entertainments that were being assembled in St Enoch’s square.

PoD was a photo opportunity I say on Sauchiehall Street (AKA Sausage Roll Street). A lovely bit of bright light on the girl and after swapping the bloke’s head for a better one, we had a conversation in progress. It’s now on Flickr as is my second choice of a view of a girl having alfresco lunch on the steps of the Royal Concert Hall looking down Buchanan Street (AKA Bucky Street).

I took the slow X3 bus home and was entertained by Kevin Bridges “We Need to Talk About . . . Kevin Bridges”. Absolutely brilliant! Thank you Jamie for the recommendation.

Tomorrow I’ve loads to do because I couldn’t be bothered to do it today. The story of my life.

Remember, Remember – 5 November 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, but was the day memorable? No, not really. Here’s what I remember about it.

In the late morning we drove up to Tesco at the town centre rather than the one at Craigmarloch. For some reason, Craigmarloch don’t sell Tesco Bran Flakes any more. Yes, they sell Fruit and Fibre Bran Flakes and also Kellogg Bran Flakes, but not their own brand. I wondered if the main Tesco in the town was hogging all the BFs, and so it was that we drove up to the heady heights of the Town Centre with the sole purpose of sourcing those cardboard look-alike breakfast cereals.

After wandering round putting loads of stuff in the trolley, we entered the cereal aisle and there they were! Three boxes of Tesco Bran Flakes, so we bought them all. Now we didn’t! Of course we only bought one, just on the off chance that they wouldn’t be as good as Scamp remembered them. Maybe they would have some secret additives, or be made from a different type of cardboard. Anyway, we guarded them with our lives until we got them home safely. I’m sure a taste test will be conducted tomorrow.

Back home and after lunch I chopped up a couple of lamb neck fillets and fried them with onions, dates, orange juice, five different spices (but not five spice) and tipped the lot into the slow cooker and set it to cook slowly for three hours. That would be my dinner tonight, Lamb Tagine. Scamp was having salmon and we’d share rice.

I took the A7 out for a walk later in the afternoon and, although there was very little of note to photograph, I did get some landscape shots of the Campsie Fells and some late afternoon sun shots around St Mo’s. One group of the Campsie shots went into the Lightroom mincer and came out as a reasonable panorama which made PoD.

The meat in the tagine cooked perfectly, but the dates were overpoweringly sweet, so note to self – use half the quantity in future. Other than that, it was lovely. It was a bit oily, but you must expect that with the cheaper cuts of lamb. Scamp’s salmon fillet was a bit smaller than she expected, but still made a decent meal with her fancy rice cooked with peas, peppers and mushrooms. I had the boring white rice this time, but I’ll maybe make the fancy stuff next time.
Dessert was Apple and Blackcurrant crumble topped with ice cream and it was our own apples and blackcurrants, too so that made it taste extra special.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard that while the roof repairs are going well, there are new problems that have been revealed. More consultations and more form filling, no doubt. But at least he seems to be enjoying the new job, even if he missed a day because they were marooned on their own little island after the torrential rain flooded all the roads!

Tomorrow morning I have a visit to the dentist to look forward to. We may go out later if the weather is kind to us.

 

 

 

 

Now that’s Dancin’! – 2 November 2023

Posted on by Zogman

A more successful day on the dance floor.

We spoke to Hazy in the morning and heard about Neil’s return to school and his new inhaler that makes a noise. A simple idea that sounds (no pun intended) like it will work! It was good to hear that they hadn’t suffered any damage from the gale force winds they’d had recently. Also good to know that Hazy and Simonne are willing to compare and contrast some holiday homes for next year. Hopefully they will find a good one!

Later I started the ‘new’ computer and after entering my password only about ten times, I think I’ve ticked all the required boxes at last. Touch wood, it seems to be settled down now, still the same operating system and version as it was before the crash, and it’s unlikely that I’ll try installing the update again. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because I’ve used the external SSDs to drive the computer that causes a conflict with the software the update is trying to inject into the system. If I want an update, I’ll have to do it the long way which takes about four hours. It’s not worth it. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it!

We drove to Glenburn Community Centre for today’s tea dance. Quite a small group to start with, then more and more folk joined in. We managed two tracks of Waltz Nioli and although they weren’t faultless, they were pretty good. We even did a couple of Joy’s Walz later in the afternoon and it was looking good too. Best of all, we managed two tracks of Quickstep! Something I’d never have thought I’d do. That was all down to a combination of Scamp’s and Kirsty’s teaching. Thank you both. These successes were won at the loss of the sequence dances. I just couldn’t get into the rhythm of them. Similarly, the Salsa we danced was pathetic. We used to be so much better than what we danced today. Still, progress was made on some hard stuff!

Back home I went for a walk, even although it was almost dark. I did get a couple of photos which were just presentable and no more. One heavily edited one made PoD. Along with it on Flickr are a couple of photos from Fannyside from last week. They’re much better.

Scamp and I are hoping to speak on the phone tomorrow to someone about the complaint we’ve made to the Ombudsman. It looks as if things are moving there.

Other than the above, not much planned for Friday. Scamp may find time in her busy schedule to meet June, Ian, Shona and Isobel for coffee after FitSteps.

 

Time to go home – 26 October 2023

Posted on by Zogman

It always come to this day.

Up at 6:15 to say ‘Cheerio’ to Jamie and Simonne and help them cram their rucksacks, bags, jackets and still sodden wellies into the car. Jamie just as efficient as ever had intended the drive south to start at 7:00 and it was 7:10 when they left. We sat for a while, then went back to bed for an hour or so to snooze before I made breakfast and we made plans for the day.

I’d already decided we were going out somewhere, anywhere, well not really ‘just anywhere’, but somewhere interesting or somewhere for lunch. We had to keep ourselves occupied, otherwise the house was going to feel empty. In the end, I chose the destination and I was sure Scamp would be happy with it.

We drove over to Cafe Bothy which has rebranded itself as Coffee Bothy unfortunately. I much preferred the original! Cafe or Coffee, the name is irrelevant, it was the food we were going for. It’s a busy place where you can never get a table right away, but the buzzer in Scamp’s hand buzzed after a much shorter time than normal and we had a corner table. Usually Scamp has Mac ’n’ Cheese and I have Sri Lankan Lamb Curry, but today I was making the big bold change to Mince ’n’ Tatties with Peas and Carrots but Scamp stayed resolute with her macaroni. As with all big changes, I wasn’t sure how it would work out, but the mince was just like my mum made and like Scamp showed me how to make and which I now make myself. In a word, delicious. Steamed carrots with a bit of bite to them and peas, well, just peas really, but fine for an addition of colour to the mince. This is also one of the few places you can get a two cup cafetière of coffee – decent coffee, Columbian or Java. Always Java for me.

After we paid and avoided the cream filled doughnuts, we went for a walk round the overpriced deli shop that is always an addition to cafe’s now and Scamp bought some fresh farm eggs. The farm is next door to the cafe, so the eggs are probably fresh. It was getting a bit dull and we felt that at 3pm it was beginning to get dark, but thankfully there was just enough light to grab some photos. PoD came from there and it was a shot of the Wallace Monument after a pylon and power cables were removed in ON1 and Lightroom. The colours in the trees really encouraged me to take the shot.

I bought myself a new computer mouse in Currys. It’s a Logitech silent mouse, not a squeak from it! My old Logitech Bluetooth mouse really need a new pair of microswitches, but they are difficult to lay your hands on these days. Anyway, it was probably as cheap to just buy a new one. It’s white, but that will never last, so I’m told!

Back home, the house did feel a bit empty, but after we’d turned the bed back into a sofa again the back bedroom looked like my room again. It’s just waiting now to get some stuff spread around it and it will feel like home from home!

We got a message from Jamie and Simonne saying they had a fairly uneventful drive south and they even sent us a photo of the house as it is now with its scaffolding in place. It even had a blue sky above it. The automatic headlights switched on in our car as we were driving home. By 4pm it was already evening!

The prompt today asked for ‘Remove’. My answer is a removal van owned and driven by The Man With A Van. Available for house clearances and disposal of unwanted goods in addition to removals, sometimes known as a Midnight Flit!

Cash only! No questions asked.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending to go to her FitSteps class, leaving me with the possible opportunity to start messing up the back room!

 

 

 

Climbing Higher – 26 October 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Today the climbers were off to Ben Lomond hoping to bag a Munro.

While the mountaineers were driving to Rowandennan to start the climb, we were happy to have and extra hour or two’s snooze.

The first thing we chose to do was have a quick practise of the Tango which I thought I had down pat. That’s all I’ll say at this time.

Afterwards we dragged ourselves out into the real world, and drove over to Tesco for the inevitable shopping. We did add a couple of extra things just for the visitors and just for fun.

In the afternoon I went for a walk in St Mo’s hoping the sun might shine through the clouds. It did, but only on the distant Campsie Fells, but not on Cumbersheugh. A mist had come down just after midday, but then a breeze made it disappear, leaving water droplets on some of the weeds. One weed in particular had a spiderweb with wee beads of water. That became PoD on a dull Scottish day.

The climbers returned after their trip to the peak of Ben Lomond. Munro bagged! Simonne had some beautiful photos taken from just below the peak but the photos from the actual Trig point were covered by mist and rain. It’s Scotland. It’s like that. They just had time for a quick shower before heading off to dinner with Andrew, Cat and the kids.

Dinner was Monday served on Wednesday, ie Pasta. Actually Penne pasta and a very nice sauce with three types of tomatoes: baby tomatoes, blitzed plum tomatoes and passata. Don’t know what I did right but we both enjoyed it and I doubt if I’ll be able to make it like that again.

While they were off eating again, we drove to midweek dance class with Kirsty and a chance for me to prove that I didn’t have it down pat after all. Despite all Scamp’s encouragement, I just couldn’t confidently get it right every time. Finally I asked the teacher to lead me through it and it worked. That doesn’t mean she is better than Scamp, just she explained it differently and probably hauled me round with more confidence. After that we got the entire Tango to work almost every time.

Today’s prompt was “Dangerous”. I could have drawn almost anything to fulfil today’s prompt of ‘Dangerous’. In the end I settled for a lion. A pretty dangerous beast by all accounts.
With that said, according to the BBC, it is only the 10th most dangerous creature in the world. The Mosquito is the biggest killer with Humans in second place. Makes you think!

We drove home through driving rain again and when Jamie and Simonne returned we sat and talked for an hour with a wee drink to mark what was really the end of a great week. Unfortunately Jamie was driving tomorrow, so he had to abstain from the drinking.

Tomorrow will probably be another early rise, but a sad one.

Climbers and Shoppers – 23 October 2023

Posted on by Zogman

While Jamie and Simonne were climbing the Pap of Glencoe, we went shopping. That was strenuous enough for us.

Jamie and Simonne were up around six and out by seven on the road to Glencoe to meet up with one of Simonne’s friends to climb the Pap of Glencoe, a steep climb up to the peak above Glencoe village. We’d never climbed it or even considered climbing it. We did, however, many years ago take the path up to the lochan above the village. Mountain climbing newer was one of our pursuits.

While the climbers were away enjoying brilliant sunshine and blue skies, we were stuck in the cloudy central belt. With no great scenic views around us and no signs of weather improving we went shopping. Just over to Tesco to get something for dinner and odds and ends of essentials.

Later, after lunch, Scamp went out and raked all the leaves that the strong winds from last week had dumped on our front grass and I took a camera out for a walk in St Mo’s and my PoD was leaves too. A few copper coloured beech leaves still clinging to a branch.

When I came back I drew a distorted looking hand scratching the panel off a scratch card to reveal what might or might not be a lucky ticket. The prompt was “Scratchy”. Not the most interesting of choices, but at least it was done. It should have been done yesterday, but I was too tired last night to get any drawing done and I went to bed early. Luckily I’d offered an ‘amnesty’ to the Inktoberists and took myself up on the offer too!
Later I completed today’s sketch which was the even more vague, ‘Celestial’. Two sketches done on the same day. Both reasonable and both in ink.

Next thing to do was to roast the chicken we’d bought earlier and await the return of the mountaineers. Scamp made a great job of the chicken which we had with with Suffolk potatoes (to make the visitors feel at home, even if they don’t eat potatoes normally) and a salad.

We watched a tedious American GP which became even more complicated when two of the leading drivers were disqualified for having the wrong kind of wood on the underside of their cars – or something like that.

Tomorrow we’re all having a day off driving and we’re going out east.

Right on time – 21 October 2023

Posted on by Zogman

We got a message from Jamie this morning just after 9am to say they were just leaving the hotel and they should be with us before 12noon.

Right on time the white Volvo appeared outside at 11.50. That’s Jamie. Always on time. After we’d decanted all the bags, rucksacks, jackets and boots, Scamp took the wee Yew tree they’d brought out into the back garden. Then we heard the stories about the floods they’d encountered on the way up and I was even more pleased that they’d decided to break their journey north.

After lunch which was a bowl of tomato soup, we drove to Colzium and walked the same route Scamp and I had walked last week. The burn was even higher today, of course because of the week’s rain we’d had and the big red acer at the top of the avenue in front of the big house was even brighter red, if that was possible. A photo of it made PoD.

Back home, Jamie and Simonne were getting ready to go into Glasgow to meet Chris and Yvonne for dinner, but found out that Uber don’t seem to like Cumbersheugh. Or more likely, the taxi drivers in Cumbersheugh discourage Uber drivers from picking up in the town. So it was the local taxi that took them into Glasgow!

Dinner for us was delivered from Bombay Dreams later in the evening after an irate phone call from the driver asking me to open the house door and turn the light on so he could see where the house was. I did as he asked and then he appeared very apologetic saying he’d been in the wrong street! Easily done in Cumbersheugh because when it was build it was numbered by writing all the numbers down on pieces of paper and sticking them at random on house doors. At least that’s how it seems. Who would be a delivery driver in Cumbersheugh?!

We watched Strictly on catch-up. Well, Scamp watched Strictly and I glanced up occasionally from my Inktober sketch. I don’t think I missed much.

The sketch prompt today was “Chains”. I tried steel chains and paper chains and neither of them interested me much. I eventually chose a key chain. The prompt asked for “Chains”, plural, but being a poor pensioner, I could only afford one on my key, and an imaginary one at that! That was my excuse.

Tomorrow we might all go out for a walk somewhere, or maybe we’ll point the hillwalkers at a local hill and let them get on with it!