Category: Food

Drilling in the Sun – 17 August 2025

Posted on by Zogman

The whole thing started out because Scamp wanted a hook to hold one of her sweeping brushes for use in the garden.

I’ve had an old Black & Decker with two NiCd batteries for what must be 20 years now, if not longer. Anyone who has used NiCd batteries will know how quickly they lose their charge. I’d been looking for a better drill for some time. A DeWalt for preference. Today I got one. It feels better balanced than the Black & Decker and hopefully it will last as long as the old B&D, but with better electronics. And yes, Scamp did get her brush hook. Now she’d like “ A few more things done in the house.”
No Comment!

Both of us took the folding chairs out and sat in the front garden with a book and a drink or two until we had cooked enough. Then, when the heat got too much we headed for the back garden where there was more shade.

Dinner tonight was Sea Bass with Potatoes and Sweet Corn. Dessert was a Peach Melba Trifle from Lidl at the new Westway retail park. So much cleaner and cooler than the overcrowded one in St Maurice’s Gate. Badly named, because it doesn’t have any gates!

We spoke to Jamie later and heard about the Birthday Barbecue. Really glad you had a good time, Jamie.

PoD was a photo of “Kelly Anne”. A pretty pink geranium, closely related to Rozanne.

I’ve deliberately not mentioned computing today. I’m having a day off from it. Tomorrow I may dive back in and try to workout where I am.

Also tomorrow, I’ve a dentist’s appointment in the morning. Fillings will be the order of the day. Just in case she need to drill it out a bit first, I have a DeWalt drill she can borrow!

Connections – 15 August 2025

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Scamp was out at FitSteps in the morning as is usual on a Friday.

After her exertions in the exercise class she went to meet Isabel for coffee. I can’t believe we’ve been calling her “Isobel” for years and nobody told us we were wrong, but as Scamp says, it’s not a thing we really think about. Anyway, apologies to Isabel.

Isabel was joined in the coffee shop by Shona and I was so glad to hear that. Two women blethering would have been bad, but three would just too much. Guys, just think of all that cross-talk going on for an hour or so!

<Technospeak>
While the ladies were blethering over coffee, I was worrying over the new iMac. I keep my Lightroom catalogs on an SSD, and I wanted to try making the catalog more versatile, so that it could be used on two computers at a time. I was worried that if I was swapping catalogs between computers, the data would get corrupted, especially if the two computer were running different OS versions. Eventually I decided to bite the bullet and try it. Surprisingly it worked perfectly. Another problem solved.
</Technospeak>

Eventually the ladies broke up. Isabel was going shopping and Scamp and Shona were heading to Broadwood Farm for lunch. Thankfully Scamp phoned me just as I was finish the test on the SSD catalog and I agreed to meet them at the restaurant. Restaurant is maybe too fancy a word for Broadwood Farm. It used to be pretty poor, but recently after a fair bit of upgrading, it had some better menus and decent food. Also, because I was not driving today, I could have a pint of Tennents!

Scamp had Fish ’n’ Chips and Shona had Mac ’n’ Cheese. I was the odd one out, not having a ’n’ meal. Instead I had a Traditional Carvery, which was a couple of slices of turkey, a Yorkshire Pudding, with a couple of chunks of ham. It was fine for what it was. The cauliflower cheese was a bit lumpy and the stuffing was made from cardboard, I think, but it filled a space.

Shona wanted some drinks to take to Ben and I wanted a box of mini ice lollies. Scamp drove Shona home and I walked back home. It was another warm day again. I’m getting used to this heat now, just as long as it doesn’t go mad and climb up into the mid 30s Centigrade.

PoD was another photo of a Red Admiral on what’s left of the white Buddleia bush. I think that might be the last of those flowers until next year DV.

Tomorrow we’re not going dancing in the morning, but may go to the evening dance.

Another hot one – 12 August 2025

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Temperature reached 28º which is very hot for us Northern types!

We were going in to Glasgow to do some shopping today, but instead of driving in, we caught the train instead. I was looking for a pair of trainers and I think Scamp was just checking out my ability to walk past the Apple shop without going in! In the end I couldn’t find a pair of trainers that I liked and was willing to pay for. Instead, I tried on a pair of Scarpa Terra GTX walking boots. Exactly the same boots I bought in 2022. They have covered a few hundred miles since then, and were worth every penny.

We walked down Buchanan Street after I’d bought the boots and listened with a couple of hundred others to the massed pipes and drums of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo band. It actually was quite stirring music and it drowned out some terrible ‘singing’ from a few street buskers. All the pipers and drummers were in full dress regalia who must have been really uncomfortable in today’s heat.

We had lunch in Waterstones on Argyle Street and were surprised with the quality of the Tuna Croque. I must remember to introduce Alex to it sometime. Pity the coffee wasn’t quite up to the same standard.

We caught an absolutely mobbed train home. It was heading for Edinburgh for the final Oasis concert and had the feel of the crazily overcrowded train we’d been on after Christmas. Glad we weren’t going far on today’s one.

The temperature in the car going home read 31º, but that was mainly because we were parked in the full blast of the sun. Not that there was any shade anywhere in the car park.

We ended up sitting in the garden when we got back, drinking Soda Water and Lime and being surrounded by clouds of butterflies. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many butterflies in one place before and definitely not in our garden.

PoD went to a photo I took in Caffè Nero in Glasgow. It’s a combination of two photos and it took me a while to remember how to join two photos together to get the effect I wanted. However I did eventually remember and I was pleased with the final result.

Tomorrow we may go shopping. Nothing special, just Tesco shopping for the messages, to fill up the new fridge/freezer.

A busy Monday – 11 August 2025

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The big van arrived right on time at 9.30am and we were waiting for it.

John Lewis were delivering our new fridge/freezer today. It arrived right on time and the first thing the guy said was “It’s going to be a tight squeeze, through the front door.” I was prepared for that with my trusty Stanley cross-head screwdriver I removed the retaining bolts from the front door and that let me take off the outside handle and the inside one too, plus the big square section key.

That made all the difference and about fifteen minutes later the JL guys were back in their van after getting the new addition into place and removing the old one. One in and One out. Then they were off to another customer. I reassembled the front door and Scamp plugged the new fridge in and we left it to rest for four hours just as the driver had told us to do.

Next stop for me was the dentist for my annual checkup. Apparently my teeth are in good condition, but I’ve a filling to look forward to next week. I think I got off lightly.

After gazing admiringly at this big white box for four hours, we were ready to switch it on for the first time. Again, Scamp had the honour of switching the the fridge/freezer on for the first time. It started making an alarm noise, but we shushed it and told it to go to sleep for a few hours and it settled down.

We walked down to the shops to get some milk and bread and blueberries. I bumped into the guy who used to be the ‘Janny’ at the school, but who is now an assistant manager for the schools in the area. Glad to see him getting on in the world.

By the time we’d exchanged reminiscences and set the world to rights, Scamp was off, carrying the shopping. Despite my argument that it was really my job to carry heavy things, she chased me away and told me to go and take some photos.
That’s what I did and the PoD is a dandelion or a near relative at least, after the morning’s showers.

Tonight’s dance class with Kirsty was Rumba. We managed to get it working quite well, but not every time. Kirsty was happily teaching Scamp how to do the body sways that are such an integral part of Rumba. I just tried to remember the steps in the right order.

When we got back the new fridge/freezer was working silently in the kitchen. Scamp declares that she liked it. That’s good enough for me.

I think we’re maybe going in to Glasgow tomorrow, but for a change, I do’t think we won’t be visiting the Apple shop!

The Rose – 2 August 2025

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Scamp loves roses and this is one of the best.

The rose is the Comte de Chambord, a beautiful pink rose with a lovely scent, but watch out for those thorns. It made PoD.

Another day of fighting against the new iMac. I know you’re probably fed up with it and so am I. Eventually I took Scamp’s suggestion and spoke to somebody, somewhere, I have no idea where, but he, it was a man, has found me a slot in the Apple Store in Glasgow tomorrow afternoon. I’m taking a notebook with me which I hope will be filled with suggestions for solving the problems I’ve had, when I get home.

The rest of the day was a dull Saturday that turned into a comfortably warm one. Scamp and I took turns at watering the garden. First she watered the back garden flowers and veg, then I did the same for the front garden. I’m sure the flowers will appreciate the refreshing water and ‘The Compte’ will be one of them.

Lunch was going to be at Wagamama in The Fort, but we didn’t quite make it there and resorted to Fish Fingers, Egg and Spaghetti for dinner instead. If you have nothing else to eat, you won’t go wrong with FFE&S. Unless you are Hazy!

We watched the qualifying for the Hungarian which turned out to be a less than exciting way of passing an hour or so in the early evening. Hopefully the race will be better, tomorrow.

The new iMac is now all wrapped up ready to go to Glasgow tomorrow. Scamp may go to a utilities sale, also in Glasgow, looking for a good deal on a freezer, a fridge or a combination of the two while I speak to a ‘Genius’.

It’s a busy week coming up with Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday all spoken for in one way or another.

Sunday looks wet and Monday looks very windy. Let’s hope the flowers survive the week.

More flowers – 1 August 2025

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More work struggling against the problems of being a new iMac owner. Who knew something as simple as taking photos and writing about it could be so stressful.

Today’s target was to trim down and cut out some of the clutter that seems to have insinuated itself into the old iMac, meanwhile hoping that once I’d filled up and emptied the bin, it would have the sense to leave the rubbish there and not bring it back again using iCloud Drive. Why can’t it just be simple, like a ZX 81 was, back in the old days of ‘real’ computing? Ah, but I digress.

Both Scamp and I overslept slightly this morning and I won’t say she was late for FitSteps, but she could have been. Me? I made myself some coffee and started the machines, yes, both of them were on the table at the same time. I hadn’t realised that you could sit the old and the new side by side and control them to a certain extent using only one mouse. A lot of swearing was involved, but I did manage to, as Roger Waters said in ‘The Wall’, “Cut out the Deadwood”. Or some of it at least. There are another few Gigabytes still waiting to be chopped out, but when “Scamp returned and mentioned going out for lunch”, I put away my keyboard and shut down both the monitors. Food comes first.

I opted for Borden’s of lunch. It used to be The Masonic (AKA the Chib Inn). It was almost empty when we arrived and we feared that they might have been bought out or was under new management, but a pint of Guinness for me, and a glass of Red for Scamp proved that it was just a passing phase. This was confirmed by a Mac ’n’ Cheese for Scamp and a Steak Pie for me. Both went down well. They also prevented me from driving later, which also suited.

What I did do was book an MOT for Monday, just so I wouldn’t forget and be left without a car this month. I couldn’t be bothered going anywhere to get a PoD, so the close up of the Rudbeckia became PoD. Cropped to a square it fitted perfectly for the first photo of August.

Tomorrow we may go somewhere on the bus or the train, but probably not driving. I quite enjoy these lazy days.

Walking – 29 July 2025

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Today, we went for a walk around Colzium estate, but before that I had to face the ladies who like my blood.

It was time for my annual review at the health centre and the first stage of that is to give a sample of my blood for testing. Not something I look forward to, but I guess it is better getting it over with as soon as possible. So I was up fairly early to get it done.

After that the day was our own. After lunch we discussed what to do and where to go. I voted for a walk round Colzium estate in Kilsyth. It’s a fairly short circular walk with offshoots you can take if you’re feeling fit or if you feel the real need for exercise. We stuck to the easiest route we knew we could manage and had a pleasant walk up almost as far as the Tak Ma Doon road, a narrow, twisty road that’s not bad to drive in the spring, summer and autumn, but not in the winter especially if there is lying snow or ice.

We crossed the Colzium burn near the top of the estate and then walked back down the other side. There is usually a quite photogenic waterfall under the wee, old, bow backed bridge near the top, but there was very little water going over the ‘Falls’ today. We thought we’d stop in at the cafe for a cup of coffee on the way back to the car park, but found out that it closed at 3pm. It was now 3.15pm. Never mind, we went for a walk round the Walled Garden instead. It’s a bit overgrown now and really need a bit of TLC, but the flowers and trees are interesting. It also gave us a chance to have a seat. It’s easier coming down from the top of the estate, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Lots of butterflies again today in the walled garden, gorging on the Buddleia flowers.

When we walked down to the car we crossed another bridge over the same burn and I spotted two little saplings growing out of a crack in the bridge parapet. That made a decent PoD with plenty of out of focus ‘Bokeh’ to create a backdrop.

Not far along from that we chanced to meet one of Scamp’s ‘Witchy’ friends. Not real witches, you understand, just a nickname. Stood talking the family and then drove home.

Dinner was pasta with thin slices of bacon, a tin of tomatoes and a couple of frozen spinach balls thrown in for good measure. It seemed to go down well.

Watched this year’s final of Masterchef – The Professionals. We are always amazed at the lengths these couples go to to create their sugar and chocolate presentations.

Tomorrow I’m intending staying at home while Scamp is hoping to go out with the ‘Witches’.

Just a little rain – 27 July 2025

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Not torrents of rain, but just enough to keep the plants watered. That’s all we want.

Not a busy day by any means. A fairly easy Sunday. The most work I did was to sew a button on my walking trousers. I can never work out how to direct the needle into the correct buttonhole. It’s such a simple thing, but it evades me every time. I finally got it done and it’s in the washing bag now ready for a shower.

Scrambled egg for Scamp’s lunch. I also had a scrambled egg, but that was unintentional. It was meant to be a fried egg, but the egg had other ideas and eventually I gave in and let it have its way. I added a couple of rashers of bacon to keep it company. The bacon wasn’t scrambled.

In the afternoon Scamp an I went for a walk to the shops and on the way back, I took a walk through St Mo’s while Scamp carried the messages the remainder of the way home. She had some cleaning to do in the house and I was looking for inspiration. I ended up with just a couple of reasonable shots of what might be sycamore keys hanging from a branch. That became PoD on a dull day.

Dinner was Chicken and Pea Traybake which Scamp made for a change. It tasted better than mine, I think. Possibly it was because she used bigger chunks of leek and probably she’s just a better cook than me.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening halfway through a boring F1 GP from Spa. I managed to pick his brains about his coffee maker which I might splash some cash on some day in the future. I also explained my reason for getting a new computer. The old one I’m writing this on is really going downhill fast and it can’t be upgraded. Apple can be such a pain in the backside sometimes.

Hoping for a little bit more rain tomorrow and maybe another shopping expedition to Tesco. What fun!

A bunch of flowers – 26 July 2025

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It was a dull day and these flowers helped brighten it up.

Like I said, it was a dull day. We’d intended going to Dunfermline on the bus, but I hadn’t slept very well last night and Scamp told me to have another hour in bed. That hour became two and I knew we weren’t going to make Dunfermline today. I think it was all down to the dreaded
Buyer’s Remorse, in fact I’m sure of it. It happens to me a lot. After I’ve bought anything, I immediately regret it after the confirmation that the money has gone through comes in. In a couple of days it will be fine, I’m sure.

Instead of Dunfermline, Scamp decided it would be a good idea to cut the front grass because it looked like rain was coming according to both our phones and for once the phones got it right. Only a few minutes after she’d finished cutting the grass, the rain arrived.

After the rain stopped, I drove up to Tesco to get some messages. On Thursday, Scamp presented me with a cookery book, ’30 Minute Mowgli’, and some of the stuff was to make tonight’s dinner, which was Spinach and Chickpea Curry. Lots of spicy stuff but it did take considerably longer than the 30 Minutes.

Cooking took my mind off the Buyer’s Remorse and although the food looked a bit like the recipe’s picture, it wasn’t really impressing me. That was before we plated it and started into actually eating it. I thought it was really, really good, and Scamp agreed with me. Now I’ve a feeling we’re going to be taking turns at investigating the other recipes in the book. Why Mowgli? Because that is the name of the restaurant we’ve been going to in Glasgow.

The bunch of flowers were today’s PoD. The rose on the right is ‘Simply the Best’ the other two roses are ‘Golden Wedding’ and the bunch of white flowers at the back are Gypsophila.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Walking with the bees – 25 July 2025

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Other insects were also there. Some stingers, some biters and some that just buzzed round my head and deserved a good slap for annoying me.

Before that, Scamp was out early as usual on a Friday, to go to FitSteps. I decided to stay home and do some work for a change, mainly because it had started raining. Before she left for her class, Scamp gave me instructions for using the new liquid for the washing machine and when she left I emptied all the dirty washing into the washing machine and set it chugging through the load.

Next I’d some clearing out to do on the iMac. Just some old files that I no longer needed. The oldest were no longer suitable for the eight year old iMac, so must have come from its predecessor, the Mac Book Pro, running Snow Leopard! I think they must belong to the clockwork version. I also managed to check the security files, passwords and such. Before I knew where I was, the washing machine beeped to tell me its work was done for the morning. That meant I had to hang up the washing inside as it was still raining.

Lunch was a ‘Piece in Corned Beef’. I’d forgotten I had some in the fridge and didn’t want it going to waste. By then Scamp had returned hot and bothered after a heavy exercise session with Kirsty and the rest of the girls. She made some corrections to my handling of the damp clothes. I will write it up some time soon to ensure I don’t make the same mistake another time.

I went for a walk down to the shops by the convoluted paths round the back of St Mo’s school since the pupils are still on summer holidays. However it was the bees that grabbed my attention. I’d doused myself well with Smidge insect repellant first and walked down the narrow path with shoulder high wild flowers on both sides and it seemed that every plant was covered with bees searching for nectar and being covered with pollen as a result. I made the mistake of setting the camera to Continuous Shooting which means that if you hold the shutter button down, it will just keep taking photos until it has filled its buffer or you remove your finger. Even on ‘slow’ mode I still managed to capture 70 photos in a short time, most of which ended up in the bin. Today’s PoD was a White Tailed Bee feasting on a Creeping Thistle flower.

Dinner was beans, and chips with an egg for Scamp and a couple burgers with chips and jalapeños for me. A fairly decent dinner.

The rain had drifted by the time I was walking down the path behind St Mo’s and the sun shone for a while in the early evening. Not a bad day.

Nice to see where you are staying Hazy and Neil. Pity about the birds messing on the seats. Be more strict with them and tell them to clean up their act!

Possibly going to Dunfermline tomorrow.