Category: Flowers

Two in a row – 21 April 2016

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combo bTwo good days of sunshine in a row.  That’s what we in Scotland call Summer!  We decided not to waste it, so Scamp had the brilliant idea of taking the bus to Dunfermline in Fife.  No driving for me, so that put a smile on my face – for once.

Bus to the “Toonie”, then another less rattly and rickety bus to Dunfermline.  We walked down to Pittencrieff Park where we were accosted by the squirrel that stood there quite the thing in front of us and begged for peanuts.  Unfortunately for Tufty (reference to an ancient road safety cartoon) we didn’t have any, not expecting to be waylaid by a hungry animal.  We walked on through the park and strayed for a while in the greenhouses admiring the flowers and the goldfish pond.  Lots of hand painted mobiles that looked almost like puppets hanging in part of it.  I really should have taken some photos of them, but only now realised I hadn’t.  Oh well, a reason to go back again.

Had lunch in a Wetherspoon’s.  Cheap and cheerful – you can’t beat it.  Walked round the town and I added some books to my Bento booklist.  Why on earth Filemaker stopped supporting this excellent app, I’ll never know.  Filemaker Pro is a great piece of software, but it’s no use on an iPhone.  It’s a sledgehammer to crack a nut, whereas Bento is a nutcracker.  By that I mean it fulfils the purpose it was designed for.  I’m sure there is enough space for both of these apps in the world.  Filemaker, you made a big mistake there, and it’s not just me saying this.  Google Bento and just count the number of people worldwide who are mourning the cutting off of this software in its prime.

Bus back from Dunfermline and then the rattly, shoogly X3 back home.  Another lovely day.  Tomorrow isn’t to be as nice, which is a great shame.

Walking in the Sunshine – 5 April 2016

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combo bScamp had Elevenses booked with her sister and Lunch booked with a friend today, so I had the day to myself.

After a wee natter with Hazy on the phone, learning more about my latest apps (Thanks for the links the first one especially is just what I was looking for), I took myself off to buy my dinner (Steak pie) from the butchers.

With the sun coming and going when I got back, I thought it would be a shame to not take advantage of the light and went for a walk along the railway line. I’d really intended to take the Nikon, but forgot that I’d put the Oly in the car when I went to find my dinner, I only noticed when I got to Auchinstarry and thought that if two heads are better than one, then two cameras would be too, so I stuck the Oly in my jacket pocket (a tight squeeze with the 45-200mm lens on) and off I went, but not before getting a 15min sketch done of a strange wee house near the canal.  It wasn’t quite in the open air, I was sitting in the car, but I timed it and it wasn’t done from a photo or a tablet screen.

The weather was much kinder than it had looked with a bit of a breeze, but nice warm sun. The breeze was helping the clouds to scud across the hills and I got some record shots to be the basis of some possible paintings later. I liked the light on the robin which was sitting on a branch across the burn from me, at least 4m away and the picture above is a severe crop to the centre of the frame. The blossom is a bit of a cheat. The branch was actually hanging vertically downwards and I rotated it when I cropped it in Lightroom. That gave me a diagonal composition and also helped remove some extraneous branches that were getting in the way. Not a big cheat, but a cheat none the less.

That’s about it really. A pleasant walk along the railway to Dumbreck and back. Saw a couple of deer feeding, but they were in the middle of a little stand of trees and I couldn’t get a clean shot. I tried of course, but the results weren’t all that inspiring, so they went in the bin. I’m being a bit more ruthless with my thinning out these days. The external drives fill up at an alarming rate otherwise.

Snow – 13 February 2016

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt snowed today. We were meant to go to Embra, but we decided it would be better to stay local. We finally agreed to go for lunch to Vecchia Bologna, yes, I’ve mentioned it before. Anyway, we drove through a bit of snow to get there, had lunch, went to Waitrose and then drove through a full scale blizzard to get back. No matter how bad it got, you just have to keep repeating “The holiday is booked, The holiday is booked …” That gets you through a lot of stuff.

Built a lens tester to check that bloody Tamron. Results are inconclusive. I think it’s back focusing, but I’ll need to re-do it in better light. Basically I don’t think I care any more. It’s not doing what it should. I’ll send it away to Tamron and get them to check it. If that doesn’t make it any better, I’ll drop in and the camera down the stair and claim it on insurance – only kidding Mr Insurance Man (Fingers crossed behind my back).

It’s flooers today for a PoD (Photo of the Day if you hadn’t worked that out). I don’t know if the greater the number of flowers, the greater the depth of ennui. If so, I should have switched to wide angle and photographed the whole bunch. Hoping the snow stays until tomorrow when I’ll go out and get some black and white snowy shots. Tonight I had a bottle of Adnams Broadside. Thank you Jic for introducing us!

It Rained – 5 February 2016

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt rained all day. High point was going to The Cotton House for lunch. Other than that, it was a bit of a very damp squib. A trip to Robroyston couldn’t lift the clouds. Even the scones I made tonight were underbaked according to my own Mary Berry. I’ve got to admit they weren’t my best. You can always tell how bad it’s been – today’s PoD is flowers, always a bad sign. That’s it I’m afraid. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Galloping Gertie – 29 January 2016

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combo bStorm Gertrude gave us a glancing blow last night and early this morning.  Gusts approaching 80mph apparently and around 6.00 this morning it certainly felt like it.

The worst of the wind had abated by lunchtime and we went for a swim.  There wasn’t much pleasure in driving and with all the travel restrictions due to the wind, so a swim gave us a short run and a wee bit of gentle exercise too.

After we came back, I was tempted to go out and take some photos, but the wind was still there and it was pretty cold.  I decided to take some shots in the garden instead.  The viola is a pretty wee thing and is flowering well, even in this cold weather.  The birds were photographed through the kitchen window and turned out better than I expected.

Snow and more high winds predicted for tonight and most of tomorrow.  Should be interesting.

Forty years ago today – 16 August 2015

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

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

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

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