Category: Flowers

We went shopping – 13 June 2020

Posted on by Zogman

We even travelled further than the statutory five miles, but don’t broadcast that.

It was a dull old morning with milk white skies the glowered over us. The hills were shrouded in the stuff, so the only thing to do was go out, and that’s what we did. But first the coffee machine had to be warmed up to dispense some Sumatran joy! A sudoku had to be started and some mind bending puzzles had to be completed on a new tablet. A big tablet with thousands of colours and big icons that deafened the eyes with their brightness. Scamp was getting used to her new toy. Me? I was wondering if I should get myself a new tablet too. My ‘new’ tablet is six years old now, stuffed to the gunwales with games and rubbish. I still use it because it has a lovely screen, but it’s getting slow, you can’t update the OS and, well, Scamp’s got a new tablet and it’s better than mine. Couldn’t quite square the ‘want’ with the ‘need’, so it ended up in abeyance … for now.

After coffee and puzzles, came lunch which was scrambled egg with smoked salmon on toast. Another cup of coffee for me and a white tea for Scamp then the decision – where to go. We settled on Kilsyth for a bottle of Hortus Gin from Lidl, some veg, some chicken breasts, pastries to go with another coffee, milk, chocolate raisins and beer, but mainly Hortus Gin! Scamp had wanted to go to the Kilsyth fish shop, but Lidl managed to supply enough fish to satisfy her. Dinner was discussed, but we settled on eating out of the freezer. Chicken Tikka curry with a starter of cauliflower pakora and fish pakora. Never made fish pakora before, but it turned out to be quite simple.

Before the dinner could be begun, there were photos to be taken. Walked over to St Mo’s then followed the path behind the school and found a great mound of Flag Irises growing there (I checked and Irises is the plural of Iris, just so you know). Managed to get a few shots of bees bums as they plundered the flowers, but the almost symmetrical yellow bloom got PoD.

Back home, dinner went well. I made the starter and Scamp did the main. Shared the washing up. The gin was just as good as I remembered it and just about the same price too. I commend it to you. Sketch today was “A Tree, A Branch or A Leaf”. I was late getting round to starting it and it ended up being a trio of of bramble leaves in autumn regalia. At least I think that’s what it will be. It’s still drying as I write this and won’t be posted until tomorrow, hopefully. In the intervening twelve hours or so the situation may change. Like the very wet watercolour, it’s a bit fluid!

Tomorrow we have no plans, but if it’s dry it may be a walk or it may be cycling. At present it’s still a mystery!

A Toy off the Rack – 12 June 2020

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Ah, but all is not as it seems. Read on dear reader!

I got a text message this morning from Parcelforce: “Sorry but there’s been a delay to your parcel and we are no longer able to deliver it today …”. Blah, blah, blah “… it will now be delivered next working day (Monday to Friday)”. Can’t say I was all that surprised, I’d read the comments about Parcelforce, but as it was the only option for a decent timeslot, I took it. Should have known. My only previous dealings with Wex, the supplier of the lens, was before the New World Order started and then I could get my stuff delivered free to the Glasgow shop. Of course, now the shop is shut and I have to rely on flaky Parcelforce. I complained to Wex and they agreed to reimburse me for the fiver I’d paid for next day delivery, but I think this is the last time I’ll buy from them until they use someone who can actually deliver the goods (no pun intended.). I live in hope.

So, if that wasn’t the Toy, what was? Well, Scamp started searching through Which to find a new tablet. Her old one only has 8GB storage and although you can bung in a 64GB micro SD card, the OS and most of the apps must go on the on-board storage. It’s daft, but true. Even a quarter of the way into the 21st century, we’re still living with these unnecessary restrictions. She did find one that suited her and her price range and we could actually get it today from Currys. We had to pay for it up front and then wait for an email telling us to drive to the nominated Currys to get the handover. It was all very hush-hush. You drive to the store and park in one of the bays. Send a message to Currys to say that you have arrived, adding the make, model and colour of your car as well as the last three characters of its licence plate. Then a black clad attendant approaches and tells you to open the boot. Another operative approaches with the item you’ve purchased and places it in the boot and tells you you are free to leave. I felt like switching on Sport mode and doing the smoking tyres take-off out of the area in case there were snipers or at the very least NPR cameras tracking our every move. It was all a bit like a dodgy drug deal (not that I’ve ever participated in such a thing, of course, but a friend of mine told me that …).

Safely home we unboxed the tablet and plugged it in. Thankfully it uses a USB-C connector. At last there’s a hint that someone is making technology for use by humans, not tech savvy nerds. With it plugged in and a smile on Scamp’s face, I walked over to St Mo’s with my Oly and the old macro lens looking for something interesting to photograph. The something turned out to be a Marsh Orchid. Not something rare, but it does look quite exotic. They grow on a lot of the waste land in St Mo’s.

Tonight was spent transferring data and apps from the old tablet to the new one. We’re almost there now and I think I might even treat myself to a new tablet soon too. My old one is getting slow. My ancient one is almost dead and suffers from even more problems than Scamp’s old tablet. Maybe I’m just dying to wear the black polo neck sweater and the dark glasses and talk in passwords again to black clad operatives outside Currys.

Tomorrow it looks like rain.

A wet, wet day – 10 June 2020

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I think from the outset that it wasn’t going to be a day for working in the garden, or even for getting some outside photos.

Today’s topic was ‘Draw your lunch’. For once a simple, yet difficult task. We take lunch for granted, it’s just something to fill your stomach until dinner time. It’s usually simple, often quickly cobbled together and sometimes it’s something to use up leftovers. It’s never anything you’d ever consider drawing, and that’s the genius of this topic. The other thing that’s unstated is that if it’s to be done properly, it has to be sketched in the morning, before lunch, and I needed that nudge to get started.

We were sharing half of yesterday’s second Quiche Lorraine, so I sliced it up and got started. I started on the last page of my A4 Seawhite sketchbook and even after having a telephone conversation with Scamp’s aunt halfway through, got it done in time to have lunch. I’d like to say I ate the evidence, but this time Scamp beat me to it and I ended up with the other slice! It was ok yesterday, not as good as the smoked salmon and broccoli, but today, eaten cold it was delicious. Maybe the flavours intensified with the time in the fridge. After lunch I posted the painting on Instagram and Facebook.

While I was talking to Isobel and then laying down the washes on the sketch, Scamp was off in Tesco, originally to get some soft cheese for tonight’s dinner. However when she came home with, I think I counted four bags worth of stuff, I knew she had had a great time buying Tesco!

With no sign of a let up in the rain, I adjourned to the Craft Room. The conversion from Painting Room to Craft Room involves removing the easel from the card table and replacing it with the sewing machine. I’d found a new and hopefully better pattern for a mask. This one was a more fitted mask. It seemed to work, but now we need to have three layer masks to make sure none of the little baddies get in. I’ve got another pattern ready to try to hopefully accomplish that too. Maybe tomorrow.

Dinner was macaroni with soft cheese, bacon, peas and basil. I managed to squeeze all that in and also make it taste quite good. It’s been added to the ‘worth trying again’ pile.

We are rather hoping the rain will disappear for a while tomorrow so we can get out for a while.

Out for a run – 8 June 2020

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On four wheels and then on two.

Scamp wanted some pots for the front garden and some compost. I wanted some Polyfilla and something to kill the bugs that are becoming a pest in the front garden.

When we went out, George was washing their car and cursing the bird crap on it. I gave him my anti-birdcrap spray and told him it worked well if you give it some time to soak through. They have a Toyota Aygo and I’d read good things about it. I asked him what it was like, knowing that he doesn’t drive, but his partner does. He said “It’s ok, but it’s a woman’s car.” Oh dear, wrong thing to say. Scamp was talking to Angela next door and both heads went up at the same time. “What did you just say??!” I think he was outnumbered and knew it. He changed the subject double quick.

We drove to B&Q, but the ‘Q’ in B&Q obviously stands for Queue, because this one stretched all the way along past Halfords. I think there must be a lot of Lockdown DIY fanatics out there, desperate for a chance to redecorate their entire house or, maybe even to build a new one. With all the money they’ll be saving by not going on holiday and all the spare time they have on their hands, why not? We weren’t that desperate, so we went to Calders instead.

Queue there was zero. We walked straight in and I got lumbered with one of their unwheelable, unsteerable and heavy low trolleys. They really are a nightmare, but I knew I needed one of these clumsy behemoths to carry the compost bags safely. We got the pots and compost and a bug spray to kill off whatever it is that’s destroying Scamp’s eryngium buds in the front garden. Loaded up the Juke and off we went home via the new shops. Scamp went to get lunch and I went to get some lock ’n’ lock storage alternatives and some jammy cakes and oh look, a Toblerone fell into my basket! Also noted that Home Bargains were selling the same bug killer for half what we paid. Bummer!

Lugged the compost and stuff in and had lunch. Then organised a photo of the car to draw later. Scamp had started repotting a rose and splitting up a heather plant, so I thought it was high time I was out of there and getting photos. Cycled to the off road path beside the railway and stood, resting my bum on the crossbar of the bike while gazing across to the Two Amigos (the two beech trees that used to be three) and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. Sometimes that’s what you need. Just some quiet time in the sun. No need for foreign holidays and the stress of air travel. Just some time in the sun.

Got back home and made Pesto Pasta for dinner. It was lovely at the time, but the garlic is beginning to make its presence felt now.

PoD was some foxgloves glowing in the sun. Three sketches added to the Lockdown Library on Instagram. All caught up and once this blog is posted I’ll be off to bed.

Tomorrow? Looks like it will be decent for most of the day, but deteriorating in the late afternoon.

On gardening leave – 7 June 2020

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This was going to be a day in the garden.

After lunch, Scamp was out first potting up her lavender and a lemon balm using the new potting tray. I was sitting in the sun, sketching cars to catch up with yesterday’s prompt. Today’s prompt wasn’t going to be possible because it was ‘Something Architectural’ and architecture is not a strong point in Cumbersheugh, but I knew I’d think up something.

Later in the afternoon it was my turn to use the new tray. It’s really just a big bit of grey plastic with a short lip on three sides and a bigger lip at the back. However it does a great job of keeping the place tidy. I used it to mix up some potting compost from some John Innes compost and some sharp sand, then I repotted almost all of the chilli plants. Some were really needing a bit more root room and some just looked a bit under the weather, so some fresh compost will hopefully help both lots. Also planted two rows of carrots. One row of normal carrots and one of stump roots. Also planted out some leeks we’d bought last week and kale that I’d grown from seed. Scamp planted the chard we got last week in a pot. I think the raised bed is full now with peas, carrots, leeks and kale. Put down some slug prevention wool pellets too.

Sat in the garden for a while afterwards just to take in some rays and plan our next moves in the tiny green space we call a garden. It also gave us a chance to appraise our successes and discuss our failures, few though they are. Then the clouds gathered and we went inside to make the dinner.

I make it sound as if I was a participant in preparing dinner, but really it was Scamp who did all the work. She had also made Poached Pears with Yoghurt Icecream which was our pudding. Main for her was Salmon with the usual veg and I had a Beef, Cheese and Garlic Truffle, a bit like a posh burger, but much, much tastier. Got it from the local butcher and I will certainly go back for more to be put in the freezer. Pudding was just as good as it usually is. This must be one of Scamp’s signature dishes, to use the phrase of the moment. I baked some bread, but we are still to taste it. Will report back tomorrow if I remember.

Spoke to JIC later and discussed the lockdown from his point of view, the problem of squirrels in his garden and Covid-19.

PoD was my meconopsis which has just flowered properly with a few buds in reserve for later in the week perhaps. You might be able to see today’s sketches on Instagram later, but they won’t be available here, or on Flickr. Not that good I’m afraid.

Weather looks like it will be warm again before it deteriorates later in the week.

The Fish Supper – 6 June 2020

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Isn’t it funny that sometimes the most basic of food, like a fish supper from a chip shop is the best thing in the whole wide world?

I suppose it’s the old folk’s version of a McDonald’s. It’s comfort food. In these days of reduced choice when we are all having to cook our own food, it’s the basic food we crave. It’s the food that takes us back to our childhood. For me it was a treat on a Saturday night to have a fish supper. Preferably bought at the chip shop and eaten on the hoof on the way home. Just brilliant. Later it was pizza that caught our eyes, but a fish supper is hard to beat. Must have lashings of vinegar and salt and then, if you’re feeling flush, a couple of pickled onions. Or for the really adventurous, a jar of mussels. Unfortunately the latter are now off the menu for me. Such a pity

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The day started earlier when we woke around 9am leaving me a decadent hour in bed to read part of the first chapter of Spook Street by Mick Herron book four in a six part series/serial. Finally dragged myself out of bed and out of Millennium London about 10.30am for coffee and Sudoku in that order.

Scamp wanted to go for a walk today and the day seemed very promising with blue sky and white clouds. Just the occasional sprinkle of rain to hold us in check. Finally we went out to Condorrat to find out when the chip shop opened and if we needed to phone an order first. It turned out that there was no desperate need to phone an order, so with that knowledge, we headed for Broadwood and the ‘exercise path’. In other words, the walk past the exercise machines. It was indeed a beautiful day and no sign of the rain that had been threatening. Took a few photos on the way, but didn’t really rate any of them.

Back home, I got changed into cycling gear and took the Dewdrop out for a test run. It behaved very well. I think there’s a slight issue with the front disk break, it may not be seated perfectly, but it’s nothing to worry about. The virtually new wheel is perfect.

Came home and the sun was still shining, so opened a can of Guinness and sat with Scamp in the garden discussing what needed to be done now that the first flush of flowers is over. Planning over a glass of stout is the best way to do it. Actually putting it into practice is probably another story … for another day.

Got changed and walked over to Condorrat again, this time with cash in our pockets. This must be the first time I’ve used cash in over a month! The fish supper surpassed my expectations. You may think this is just hyperbole, but believe me, food cooked for you outside your own house is a luxury these days.

A close-up picture of a lupin made PoD and I accidentally, on purpose forgot to do the required sketch. I’ll play catch-up tomorrow.

Tomorrow is not to be as good as today, but we’ll take what we get and say ‘thank you’.

Domain disaster averted – 5 June 2020

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You’re lucky to be reading this!

It all started with an email this morning telling me that my domain name (the bit that starts ‘dhcampbell’) had expired and if I didn’t do something about it, i.e. pay them money, I’d lose the website. Well, that was a nice thing to read on a Saturday morning. I checked the address the email had come from and it was genuine, so I tried to contact my domain name provider, but couldn’t find an email address for them on their site. I did find a ‘chat’ box, but that timed out after a few minutes. After waiting for 20mins on the phone to them, I gave up on that too. Long story short, I eventually found that I could log a return call from them and did that. Had lunch and then Scamp and I went out for a walk. A very quiet walk on my part. Came home and checked for a reply, but there were none. Then I found a message to the effect that the message that started it all off was not about my domain at all, it was about a site they’d held for me “as a goodwill gesture”! It would have possibly have been an good idea to tell me that some time in the last year. I got the phone call from the help line exactly on time and the person on the other end confirmed what it said on the message. A message that had only been posted at 3.08pm today. I think I now know why. I’m guessing their switchboard was jammed with irate callers wanting to know what the hell they were doing. I may be looking for another domain name provider soon.

Our walk in the afternoon was round St Mo’s pond and then Scamp told me she was going to go to the butchers to get me a steak for dinner and I was to walk round the pond again and get some photos. There was nothing really worth photographing today, but I went anyway. It was only on the way home I found today’s PoD when a bee landed on the Marguerite flower I was photographing and made it much more interesting.

Scamp potted up her new rose today and it does look very elegant. Beautiful big pink flowers and what a perfume. I think she likes it!

Steak was very nice. Just on the over side of medium rare. Juicy and just what I needed to calm down.

Quick sketch today of two garlic bulbs. Couldn’t find anything I wanted to draw, so I reverted to another list. An old EDiM list this time. Looks much better than the 2020 list, although it was written at a time ago when we were free, there were shops, great metal birds flew in the sky and every year we were allowed to go on holiday. Seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it.

Tomorrow looks a bit warmer and calmer than today. It was a bit breezy!

Out for a spin – 4 June 2020

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The weather wasn’t very promising, but we just had to get out of the house.

Drove to Torwood Garden Centre to get a pot for Scamp’s new rose. Ended up with a boot full of plants, compost and other ‘essentials’ Plus the back foot well was also being used as secondary storage. We did manage to leave some stuff at the garden centre for other folk, but not a lot. I shouldn’t complain because I got some leek plants and some chard which we did have seeds for, but were too late to sow this year.

Interesting to see their method for limiting the number of folk in the centre. Torwood is the best organised I’ve seen so far. You need to take a trolley in to the shop, you can’t go in without one. They have 30 trolleys and a maximum of two people can go in with one trolley. That way they limit the number of people in the place to a maximum of 60 at any one time. Check out is so much better than Calders. Torwood have two tills running and no big long queue. The path to the tills is clearly marked and when you get there, every step in the process is calculated and run with military precision. I was impressed.

We had bought a longer hose and back home, after lunch I assembled it. It was a lot more complicated than our old one and it gave us both a headache trying to roll it back into the carrier without any kinks. I think we’ve managed it, but it won’t be needed for a while because it rained nearly all day. This is only the start of the deluges according to the weather fairies, but we shouldn’t complain after all the hot sunny days.

Dinner tonight was Thai Chicken Stir Fry from the Muirhead butchers, but I made a mess of cooking it and it ended up too dry. I tried to blame Scamp, but we both knew it was my own fault.

PoD was a flower we saw at Torwood. It’s a Paeonia Patio ‘Kiev’. Too big and showy for Scamp and she’s probably right. It wasn’t a day for taking pictures. Sunny then wet then sunny …

Hoping against hope that the weather fairies will have got it wrong and tomorrow will be dry and sunny.

Went to see a man about a wheel – 1 June 2020

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Before I went to see a man about a wheel, I had a look at the upstairs toilet. It’s been a bit flaky for a while now with the overflow running into the toilet. Usually it stops after a few minutes, but this morning it just kept running. Not dribbling either, but running fast. As soon as water was coming in, it was going out again. Couldn’t find a stopcock in the toilet area, so had to turn off the water at the rising main. Long story short, the plumber is coming tomorrow, hopefully in the morning.

Phoned the bike shop to see what the progress report was on the bike wheel. Basically there was no progress because he couldn’t find the wheel. I said I’d drive over and help him look for it. His workspace is incredible. There must be well over a hundred wheels in this tiny little room, all waiting to be repaired, plus another fifty or so rims and well over a hundred hubs. He’s a great bike mechanic, but he is so disorganised, it’s a wonder he gets anything done at all and this coming from me, a master of chaos. I found my bike wheel right away and after some discussion he said he would start it as soon as he’d finished the one he was working on. Then we had a discussion about what was wrong with the world in general and teenagers in particular. He said he’d give me a ring when the wheel was ready.

When I walked down the lane to my car I saw today’s PoD. I had brought my camera of course, for just this eventuality. As it happened, the depth of field wasn’t as good as I’d hoped, but I actually like the hills slightly out of focus. It gives more prominence to the foreground which is the interesting part.

Back home Scamp was admiring the new rose she’d bought.  It arrived earlier in a big cardboard box about a metre high and about 30cm square at the base.  It really is an impressive rose and I’ve forgotten its name already.  Now the search begins for a suitable pot to put it in.  She was tired of sunbathing which she’d been doing all afternoon I think, and wanted to go for a walk. I’d been driving in a hot car for an hour or so and I too fancied a walk. We walked to St Mo’s and went round the pond once. As usual, too many people in too small a space. About a dozen teenagers sitting swearing and drinking at the start of the forest. I wondered what Big Al would have to say about that.

Tonight I was free to sketch anything I fancied. What I chose was my dad’s Bahco shifting spanner. A lovely big heavy piece of kit made of Vanadium Steel. It made a good model with curves, straight lines and lots of texture. This was Lockdown Library No 50.  The half century!

At 9.15 my phone rang. Big Al had finished the wheel and it would be ready to pick up in the morning. I think the man must sleep in that workshop.

Hopefully the plumber will come tomorrow morning and I’ll be free to go and collect my rebuilt wheel, then we may drive down to speak to Isobel.  However, the weather doesn’t look that clever tomorrow with rain forecast and a significant drop in temperature.

The early bird get the photo – 30 May 2020

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Out at around 7.30am because Scamp wanted a photo of her trio of azaleas and I had worked out that 7.30am would be as near as damnit the right time. It was … nearly. Took the photo and went back to bed.

Shock, Horror! No breakfast in bed today. Up before 8.30 and breakfast in the living room. Next, we’ll be having breakfast at the table, or is that a step too far?

After breakfast we went for a walk. What’s become our ‘new normal’ walk. Down around the football stadium and back up the hill. It’s a good mile or so and is not too busy. Apart from joggers, I think we only passed three people today. If we’d crossed the dam we’d have been dodging the socially un-distancing hordes. It was a pleasant day with a slight breeze. Enough to cool you without feeling cold. When we passed the shops the queues were extraordinary. It was a Saturday and it was warm and there were no other kinds of shops open yet, so I suppose it was just the desire to buy something … anything! We didn’t feel the need, so we didn’t join them at this point.

Back home for coffee and a plan for the day. Scamp wanted walk over and visit her sister after lunch. That would give me time to get today’s sketch of a geranium completed with a bit of luck. Luck was on my side for once and, although not as satisfying as yesterday’s painting, todays was ‘adequate’. That’s all, just adequate. I had just finished it and was sitting in the garden with a pair of bluetooth headphones on so I didn’t need to listen to ‘Brain of Britain’ next door proving that empty barrels do indeed make the most noise, when Scamp phoned to ask if she should get a chicken for dinner. Apparently the queues from this morning had decreased significantly. I agreed that it would be good and walked down to the shops to meet her. We just had a basket this time, so bought more or less what we needed and no more.

Still a very pleasant day and much more comfortable than yesterday. I didn’t think the azaleas would cut it as PoD so went out to find some beasties. Scamp went out to sunbathe. She has this enviable ability to tune out distractions when she’s reading because ‘BoB’ was still droning on to anyone who would listen and also to anyone who wouldn’t.

Managed to get a clean shot of a Common Blue damselfly. Isn’t it a terrible shame calling anything ‘Common’. We humans are so superior in their outlook aren’t we. Well humans in general are, but not me. I’m generous to a fault. I wouldn’t call anything or anyone ‘Common’.

Dinner was brilliant. Roast chicken with roast vegetables and potatoes baked in the oven, followed by real fruit cocktail, not your common tinned stuff!

Tomorrow, weather wise, we are expecting more of the same, but after that there may be rain!! Oh No! But the gardens need the rain.