Category: Flowers

Preparations – 27 May 2022

Posted on by Zogman

One day’s rest and back to preparations again.

More washing in the morning. Thankfully, Scamp took charge of that. Then a fruitless walk for her over to Condorrat looking for roses. We have our own roses, but they are either too big or not quite opened yet, so not suitable for today’s task. Finally gave in and had lunch. Scamp’s attempt at making Crimpets with plain brown bread was a bit of a disaster. Maybe they weren’t pressed enough. Maybe they don’t work with ordinary bread. Maybe there was just a little bit too much filling. Whatever the reason, the Crimpet came apart in the toaster and it took a bit of jiggery pokery with a knife (the toaster was unplugged) to get the remains of the Crimpet out. Inedible was the word that sprang to mind. Glad I had nothing to do with it this time.

After lunch Scamp started the ironing and the first item to receive a pressing was my kilt. A kilt is a heavy garment and it took two of us, one manoeuvring it around the ironing board and the other applying the steam iron to get the creases out from where they shouldn’t be while leaving the creases in where they should. It didn’t take that long and the result once she was finished was amazing. Then I spent half an hour trying to work out how and where to put the kilt pin. It’s a fiddly little thing with a lock that doesn’t lock. I think I’ve got it sorted with a tiny bit of black electrical tape. The whole thing looks so much better now.

While Scamp started on the bulk of the ironing, I took the camera for a walk around St Mo’s. Once round the pond and a wander into the woods before I took a walk down behind St Mo’s school and found today’s PoD which is a Flag Iris just about ready to burst into the sunlight. The real reason I was walking this path was to go to the shops looking for roses. White ones or pink ones were on today’s list, so I got both just in case I chose the wrong ones, as is my wont.

Back home it was time for dinner which today was Scamp’s macaroni cheese with streaky bacon on mine. Toasting hot and delicious as usual. The wind that had been gusting all day had calmed down by evening, thank goodness. This is really strange weather for May.

Tomorrow we’re intending to take a run to Hamilton and perhaps a little further.

Wedding – 21 May 2022

Posted on by Zogman

The wedding wasn’t until 3pm, so we had a whole morning to fill.

We drove up to the tiny little parking place above what I heard a guide describe as “the healing spring”. We’d walked this path a few years ago, but it obviously didn’t make a great impression on me, because I couldn’t remember anything about it. It was a pleasant wee walk down around some hawthorn bushes and we did take a short detour that led us into a whole host of wild orchids. One of them made PoD. We thought the path would take us down to the shore, but it ended quite abruptly at a strange wee lochan of perfectly clear water. It was almost turquoise in colour. On reading about it later, it turned out that was the ‘healing waters’ and people would travel from far and wide to bathe in it and drink the waters, although there was no record of it having any medicinal properties. We chose not to bathe in or drink the waters and anyway we’d forgot our swimming costumes. There didn’t seem to be any way down from the lochan to the shore, so we walked back up the path we’d just come down, almost just in time to get back to the car before the rain started. Yes, we did get soaked.

We’d a couple of hours to have a quick lunch before we needed to get dressed for the wedding. The car was to pick us up at 2pm to be at the site for the wedding. June and Ian were to go first and then the driver would come back for us. That rain that started when we were waking back to the car had continued and got heavier when we were back at he house. Scamp and I were dressed when the car arrived to for J&I and Scamp went out in the rain to help June into the car. After that we had a while to wait before it was our turn. Eventually the driver arrived for us and just as we were setting off, I realised I didn’t know where I’d put the house key. Not having pockets in my kilt, and all the pockets in my dress jacket being sewn up still, I couldn’t think where the key would be. Eventually I found it had dropped in between my jacket and my waistcoat. It must have landed there when I was putting on my seatbelt.

So, we got to the wedding which was indeed in a barn, but what a barn. Carpets on the floor and seats arranged in rows. Family members at the front and also-rans at the back. Decorated with tassels, hundreds of them, hanging from strings on the rafters. A humanist ceremony with a Celebrant rather than a minister or an official at a registry office. This was much more relaxed and personal. I liked it.

From the barn we walked down a path lit with fairy lights to the marquee, in the sunshine. There we met with the new Mr & Mrs Macdonald who had gone on ahead. We were also able to have a glass of Prosecco and Canapés before being seated in the marquee. I had Scotch Broth with Texel lamb, peas and barley while Scamp had Artichoke & Spring vegetable soup, both served with sourdough rolls.
Our main courses were Curried lentil, sweet potato and spinach pie for Scamp and Moroccan spiced mutton & apricot pie for me with various sided dishes Boston style baked beans, Rosemary and sea salt potato wedges and Sautéed spring veg. Dessert, if you had room for it, was Four different types of donuts. I made room! Food fit for a special wedding.

After a decent time, the four piece band of fiddle, accordion, keyboard and drums got us all on the dance floor. Scamp and I did a few of the country dances, but as the night got older, the length and speed of the dances seemed to increase and we saw watching rather than taking part. June and Ian left around 10.30pm, but we stayed and even managed a very badly danced salsa when the band were on their break. After their break, the band continued, but the pace was now frantic. Soon, too soon, we were at the last dance which was an Orcadian Strip the Willow which must have been the longest, fastest and most out of control of the night. We had no wish to be part of it, but Scamp’s younger sister was keen to join in. Well done to her. A rousing rendition of Loch Lomond signalled the end to the festivities for most of us.

So, it was now time to go. Time to pack up and make our way through the dark (there are no streetlights here ) and in the rain to try to find our taxi which we were assured would be waiting for us. We missed it, but caught it again when it was climbing the hill with the Gillies family in it. We eventually got back to the house about 1am. I took the opportunity to download my photos to the laptop and have a browse through them while having a final G ’n’ T with Scamp. Got to bed just before 2am, so as you will already have gathered, this is a catch up.

Tomorrow (today) we will be recovering.

 

The runaway wean – 15 May 2022

Posted on by Zogman

Today we went for a walk round Chatelherault park in Hamilton.

It was my choice to go there today. We could have gone to Drumpellier, but Sundays are really busy there, even if you avoid the ‘conveyer belt’ and walk into the woods. Besides, it’s been a while since Scamp and I have been out for a walk in Chatelherault. Then I found out that there was a Craft & Design fair there today. That would make it a bit busier, I thought, but we’d still manage a walk round the many miles of paths in the park.

A Sunday morning drive and a walk in the park. That would be good. When we got there it became obvious that the C&D fair was a bit attraction because the main car park was almost completely full, but we knew of a better and much quieter parking area and it was almost deserted by comparison. Parked and walked up to the ‘Big House’, and I was right, the place was jumping. Lots of stalls and hundreds of people. Scamp found the stall she was looking for and they had the exact things she was looking for. With the deal sealed, we stood and talked the the husband and wife who run the stall and who make most of the articles themselves. We’ve known them for years and always catch up, finding out how their families are doing and updating them on how ours is getting on. We said our goodbyes to allow them the space to bring in more customers and I suggested a walk down past the steel sculptures my brother photographs so well. From there I was fairly sure we could do a circular walk to bring us back to the Big House again.

We walked down the path to the sculptures and passed a couple with a little girl on what looked like her first two wheeler bike with stabilisers. She was having a bit of bother getting the bike to stay on the path and the dad was giving instructions while he worked with his phone. When we were about half way down I could hear the mother shouting at the girl to slow down, but with the rattling of the stabilisers, it seemed that the wee girl was accelerating. There was no way she knew how to stop, she was just hanging on and she was going at quite a speed. I reckoned I could stop her without tipping her over the bars, so I stood right in her path and grabbed the handlebars as she rode right into me. Got her stopped and asked her if she was OK. She said yes! The mother was racing down the hill and caught up with us, out of breath. She apologised and just kept thanking me. The bloke was still standing at the top of the hill, still reading something on his phone. He said nothing except “You should have pulled the brake”. Some folk shouldn’t be allowed to have weans.

We got some photos of the sculptures, of David Livingstone, William Wallace and Robert Owen. Impressive looking chunks of rusted steel, but the numpty who decided they should put a seat behind them and spoil the effect was obviously not a photographer or an artist.

As I suspected, there was a circular path that took us back to the Big House and it was a lovely walk through bluebell woods. I took a few photos of the bluebells, but it was a single Celandine growing out of the path that got PoD.

When we got back to the Big House it was Scamp who found another line of stalls, but there was nothing there to interest her. We bought a couple of coffees from a van with a proper coffee machine installed and while I was waiting for them, Scamp bought a couple of pieces of fish from another van. Drove home with the air-con on full for the first time this year, I think.

Stornoway Black Pudding and an egg each for lunch, then I gave the car its first wash for ages. I used a spray to remove seagull crap and it worked a treat. Then a quick soapy wash and a rinse with water from Bobby’s outside tap.

My dinner had been defrosting since we went out this morning. It was 500g of really nice stewing steak, Scamp had brought back From St Andrews. Carefully cooked it under Scamp’s instructions while she did the washing and hung it out to dry. It was a strange day. It was really quite warm, but occasionally there would be a sprinkling of rain that never really got anywhere.

Dinner was lovely. Scamp was going to have some of the fish, but settled for Ratatouille instead. My stew was maybe a bit over cooked, but still tasted like the quality meat it was.

Spoke to Jamie later and heard all about their walking holiday in Yorkshire. It did sound interesting, but quite strenuous too. Another big week for him this coming week.

No great plans for tomorrow. Not intending to catch any runaway weans!

 

A wild day – 13 May 2022

Posted on by Zogman

Feeling a lot better today.

Yesterday’s paracetamol, Vitamin C and, of course, the hot toddy must have done its work because today was a different day. Different day outside too with gale force winds for a while.

We were booked for lunch at The Cotton House and arrived to an almost full car park. Partly caused by a builders lorry taking up about four spaces. I managed to squeeze the wee blue car into a narrow space, and we were good. Starter for Scamp was Spring Rolls. Just for a change, I had Salt and Pepper Spring Rolls. Not something I’ve seen on a menu before, but if you get a chance to try them, move on to the next item. Loads of fried chopped onions and fried chopped chilli with some horrible brown breadcrumbs, also fried, on top. All of this was covering the spring rolls. I ate the spring rolls and gave up on the rest. Main for Scamp was the long time standard in this Cantonese restaurant was Chicken Chow Mein with noodles. I had Cantonese Sweet and Sour Chicken with fried rice. Both were delicious, in fact, Scamp was finished before me for once. I’m usually the glutton, not that I’m saying Scamp is a glutton. Oh no, not me! We didn’t have a dessert or even tea or coffee. We just paid the bill and left, feeling full. I took their little tub of jelly beans. It’s the only restaurant I know of that gives you a tub of jelly beans with the bill.

Back home there was a card waiting for me. A birthday card from my brother. I sent him a message to say thanks, and that because it was a little late, it was a surprise. He wrote back to say that he’d posted it first class on the 6th of April. Five weeks to travel 20 miles. That’s even slower than an X3!

Scamp was singing with Cumbersheugh Choir tonight and was leaving around 5.30pm. I was actually thinking of going to the concert, but Scamp said it wouldn’t be all that interesting. She’s very honest about these things, so I took her at her word and stayed. Didn’t do much with my free time. Browsed the photos in Flickr and posted today’s PoD which was the first of the American cowslips to flower, Shooting Stars is their name and that’s exactly what they look like.  It was taken in a lull between showers and gales when there was relative calm in the garden.  Scamp’s new rhododendron, Nancy Evans came a close second. Both are on Flickr.

Apparently the concert was well attended and it sounded a lot better than Scamp had feared, but she still insisted that I wouldn’t have liked the way that the pieces were sung.

Tomorrow we’re intending to go dancing in the morning, but the rest of the day is ours to do with as we wish.

 

A bit of a wasted day – 12 May 2022

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Both of us lay in bed reading this morning after yesterday’s busy day.

Finally we did get up because Scamp wanted to go to Tesco to use up two of her Covid vouchers. One voucher was being spent on our ‘essentials’ like wine, gin and food. The other was going on real essentials that were going into the Food Bank box. Both vouchers were spent and a little more besides.

While she was out I was just mooching around the house with little to do and no real incentive to go out. I tried reading for a while, then managed to complete yesterday’s Sudoku (today’s is sitting beside me, unfinished as yet). It was one of those days that somehow didn’t encourage you get up and go and do something, anything! Eventually lunch solved that problem. I made myself an omelette and Scamp had a piece ’n’ cheese with spicy beetroot.

After lunch and having spraying myself with bug repellant I went for a walk in St Mo’s with one camera and one lens. It’s something Alex and I have been discussing and it does make you think about what you’re using and what you’re photographing. My lens of choice was the Lensbaby Sweet 35. I was hoping against hope that I’d find something interesting to photograph. That something turned out to be a Salmonberry flower. It became PoD. A little further along the path I found a couple of black flies making more black flies. It was a case of crawl on your knees and get as close as the little 35mm lens will allow. Actually it turned out ok. The only problem is that it was black flies on a black tarmac, so colour choices went out the window. You can see it on Flickr.

By the time I came home I was feeling a bit rough and decided to post the photos and write the blog early, then go to bed. That’s still what I intend to do. I’ve dosed myself up with Vitamin C and I’m going to have a ‘hot toddy’ tonight and go to bed after this is posted. It’s nothing serious, just a summer cold.

I made dinner tonight and it was a very nice Prawn & Pea Risotto. The risotto paddle really does work Hazy, as I’m sure you knew it would.

We watched the first episode of this year’s Glow Up. Absolute nonsense. Very clever nonsense, but you begin to wonder after a while if these people are real! If you haven’t watched it before, get it on iPlayer and have a good laugh.

That’s about it for today. Hoping to feel a lot better tomorrow. A long walk in the fresh air somewhere might help.

Rain – 9 May 2022

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It was one of those days that started wet and just got wetter.

We needed the rain for the garden. We’ve had a few weeks of what can only be called Drought recently. Last week that finally ended when the rain blew in from the west. However now we’ve had enough rain. The buckets are full and the garden is pleasantly refreshed. Even the grass and the woodlands are bursting with fresh green, which is a great sight to see. But you can have too much of a good thing. We need the rain to taper off a bit to let that other natural source of growth stimulation, Sunshine, start doing some good work. Let the sun shine in and let the rain go somewhere else where it will be appreciated.

Lunch was another version of Crimpet™ Thins. Scamp had cheese and beetroot. I had ham, cheese and beetroot. But while Scamp made hers the traditional way, in the toaster, I gave mine a 20 second zap in the microwave first. That gave enough heat to melt the cheese in the bread. More experimentation needed.

Because of that, and the unlikelihood of getting anywhere to take some photos today, I started doing a bit of sketching and painting. I’d really meant to make a start on EDiM (Every Day in May) on Flickr. The main site for it is on Facebook, but after a bit of a bust up with the woman who runs it there, I only post to the Flickr group. However this May is going to be very busy for us and it’s unlikely I’ll be able to complete the 31 daily sketches that are required. So with that in mind, I thought I’d do a couple of quick sketches just to show willing. They didn’t turn out very well, but it was fun trying.

While I was engrossed in my paint splashes, Scamp was doing the opposite, she was cleaning and tidying the bathroom. Like she says, it needed done and today was, if not the best day to do it, at least a better use of a dull, wet day. I know I should have helped out, but it’s a small bath room, too small for two people to work in without really getting in each other’s way. I left her to it and made dinner. Monday dinner is almost always Italian in flavour. Today it was Red Pasta. The pasta in the cupboard (today it was mixed) with a tomato based ragu containing shallots and red peppers chopped fine. It was deemed ok! Foodies! We love to discuss and critique everything we eat.

Eventually I gave in and grabbed a camera and ventured into the garden to get some photos of the rhododendron bush that’s nearly flowering … in the rain. That’s what gets photogs a bad name.

Tomorrow we may go looking for a pair of brogues for me. No mention of another dress for Scamp. That doesn’t mean something won’t catch her eye, but I never said that.

What an interesting life – 2 May 2022

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Some days are full of surprises and exciting challenges and some are like today.

The high point of the day was walking down to the shops to get potatoes, pineapple chunks, apples and oranges, then walking back. It was a dull day with occasional glimpses of sunshine, but only glimpses. It threatened rain for a while, but it seemed that even the clouds were having a lazy day and couldn’t be bothered to do the actual raining.

On the way back from the shops, the walk was brightened by a bush of little yellow flowers, masses of them making the whole bush glow. I always carry a camera these days and today was no exception, so the little yellow flowers became PoD. The photo doesn’t really do them justice.

We got a text from Jamie to say that he’d arrived home safely from his transatlantic trip. I’m guessing he was having a relaxing day too.

Dinner for me was a Lamb Truffle and Scamp’s was a Chicken Orchid which looked very pretty. I think I preferred mine because Scamp’s we agreed was quite dry inside and a touch salty. Mine was solid meat with a fair amount of wild garlic I think. Both served with Jersey Royal potatoes and cabbage. In retrospect, maybe dinner was the high point of the day.

We watched the second last episode of The Split and sat talking about it for about an hour afterwards, discussing what the final episode would bring.

Tomorrow two parcels are due to be delivered. Hopefully that will make it more exciting than today.

Change of plan

Posted on by Zogman

Driving to Perth for coffee. But …

I intended driving up to Perth today to get some coffee from my favourite tea and coffee shop, but on the way there I was calculating how much petrol I’d use and how much the drive would cost me. When I worked it out, it would be way cheaper to just order it online and pay the £3 delivery charge. So I changed my destination to Kincardine. At least I could get a walk and some different photos, plus free parking. The weather wasn’t great, with the rain clouds building from the west, but I got some interesting views, well, I think so anyway. The rain was just starting when I was halfway home, it hasn’t stopped. Kincardine did, however, provide today’s PoD.

I came home via Tesco to get something for lunch and some milk. No alcohol today. Now, I’m not saying that’s because Scamp isn’t at home this weekend, that’s purely coincidental!

Struggled with my Sudoku after the late lunch but it still remains unsolved until tomorrow. Couldn’t quite decide what would be dinner tonight. Would it be home made pizza or Golden Bowl. I eventually gave in and had Golden Bowl make me a fairly decadent Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls with Fried Rice. My only complaint was the fried rice was a bit soggy, but the sweet and sour was delicious. I know I’ll suffer for it tonight, but I don’t really care.

Finally finished Amongst Our Weapons. The little short story at the end was confusing, but added to the title, I felt.

I’ve just finished a photo swap with Alex showing our favourite photos from the last week or so. Really good to have someone to bounce ideas off.

Jamie sent some cracking photos of his day off in NYC. Beautiful skyline behind him on the boat. I really hope Time Square is equally good. You deserve it Jamie.

That’s it for today. Now I need to go and get the house looking more like a home than a student flat!

Tomorrow Scamp returns and expects everything to be just like she left it! It might be!

Old Friends – 28 April 2022

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Off to Clydeside today, not to be confused with Clydebank!

We were off to have lunch with Crawford and Nancy at Gouldings garden centre. We’d forgotten to collect some photos of Jamie and Simonne’s nearly new house, so after a mad scramble we managed to export around fifteen photos and put them on a tablet to take with us. That left us just a wee bit late, but we made up some time on the motorway and thankfully there wasn’t a queue to get over Garrion Bridge. C&N had waited in the queue and been shown to a table, so we could just walk past the queue waiting to be allocated a table and just waltz in, like royalty!

Food was just as good as it always is. Not fancy, Fish Cakes for the ladies, Fish for Crawford and Scampi for me, all served with chips and salad. Dessert was equally easy to remember. Three slices of Rhubarb Pie and one Apple Pie, washed down with coffee. We sat and talked about what we’d been doing, where we’d been going and what plans we had for the summer. Just old friends sitting talking and holding on to a table while the queue to get in got longer and longer!

Scamp had a music stand for Nancy and Nancy had some music for Sheila. Fair exchange etc. We said our goodbyes, hands were shaken, hugs were hugged and we went our separate ways. They were going to collect their granddaughter from nursery and we were going to the plant nursery to get some more flowers for the garden.

After that we headed for home. Scamp was itching to get her new plants into the soil we hope they’ll grow in and I wanted to plant my last two seed potatoes. We both accomplished our tasks and in addition I took on the task of turning the compost in the bin, just to make sure it’s well mixed.

I had half intended taking a camera for a walk round St Mo’s, but saw two pretty blue anemone flowers in a pot on the back step. That became PoD.

A good day with great company. Also some work done in the garden. Tomorrow we may go dress hunting again in the Middle East.

 

Going for the messages – 27 April 2022

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Scamp wanted messages. I suggested Morrisons at Falkirk. The suggestion was accepted.

We drove to Morrisons and left the car there while we walked back into town to try to find a dress shop called Frox. It didn’t seem to be where Scamp thought it was. What was there, was another dress shop which looked more like a wedding shop to me. Definitely not what she was looking for. Neither was Frox when we did eventually find it. In fact, every second shop in Falkirk town centre seemed to have posh frocks and require you to make an appointment first. We gave up on it for today and went to get the messages in Morrisons – no appointment required!

After we’d loaded the car we went back and had a nice cheap lunch in Morrisons. Roll ’n’ sausage for me, tub of chips for Scamp and two cups of coffee for less than a tenner. That’s good value.

Back home I planted two of our last potatoes in an old compost bag using some soil from the raised bed mixed with some stuff our home composter made. Both lots seemed perfectly useable, but both were very dry. A good soaking with the watering can ensured they’d be damp enough for a few days. Scamp was planting a couple of fuchsias we’d got in Falkirk.

Back home I got dressed for wandering around St Mo’s and took the Sony A7iii with kit lens and a wide angle and got today’s PoD which is a larch pineapple that’s beginning to look more like a pineapple now that its been pollenated and beginning to plump up. It is actually beginning to look like a pine cone now, although it’s a green one at present.

Sat and watched the first episode of Sewing Bee and despaired at some of the work the judges were praising to the highest. I could have done better! Just in case you’re reading this, Jamie, while we were in Morrisons I bought a box of Estrella and we had a bottle while we watched the Sewing Bee. Thanks for introducing me to a nice summer beer.

That was about it for the day. Another beautiful day that took a while to get going, but turned out well.

We’re probably going to meet Crawford & Nancy for lunch at Gouldings garden centre on Clydeside. Scamp wants more plants although she says she doesn’t know what!