Category: St Mo’s

Still working on the back room – 16 February 2026

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More tidying was the main topic for today, the back room is better, but it needs a lot more work.

I was just waking up, properly when my phone rang. It was the Health Centre to tell me one of the docs wanted to phone me on Wednesday about my latest bloods results. That’s never going to be a good conversation. No details were given, just that the doc would phone me on Wednesday at 9am. I tried to explain to the lady on the line that I don’t do 9am, but she gave me the rubber ear. So Wednesday it will be. I hope it doesn’t take too long, because I have people to see, places to go on Wednesday.

After that joyous start I looked at some of the puzzles and managed a 4 for Wordle which is pretty good these days. ‘Strands’ was tedious and complicated then I solve the Mini Crossword with almost no trouble. That was about it for the morning.

In the afternoon, Scamp encouraged me to go out for a while. I did, but it was under duress, however the weather was not nearly as cold as I thought it would be and when the sun shone for a short while it was almost like Spring. In fact, that was exactly what if felt like. Some trees are beginning to show the buds on their branches and with a bit of luck there will be flowers on the trees too.

I think my favourite Sony 24 -105mm lens is a goner. It makes screeching noises as soon as I gently press the shutter button. T the 16-35mm lens is beginning to sound the same death knell. I think I may have had the camera bag open during one of those torrential rain showers and some rain has found its way into the internals. Looks like I need to break open my piggy bank.

We went to Kirsty’s class tonight, but I just couldn’t get my head round the spin turns and the fishtails. Scamp did her level best to show me how it worked and once, just once it worked. Must try harder.

Watched another of the pot throwing competition and marvelled at the way these people can manipulate clay and produce flowers from it. I once made a slab pot at college and thought I was great!

PoD was a low view along one of the channels in St Mo’s pond. Lovely reflections from the sky.

Tomorrow we may go to Glasgow for a Special lunch.

Happy Anniversary Hazel and Neil

Hope you had a great day.

 

Dancin’ – 14 February 2026

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Today Scamp cleared the snow and frost from the car and I drove us to Brookfield for a dance class.

It was a cold start, but it was good to be driving under a clear blue sky and we made good time to the village hall. I think the clear sky was a blessing because the snow and low temperatures maybe kept some people from getting out too early. Much easier to just turn over and go back to sleep. But we’re both from hardier stock and weren’t bothered with sub-zero temperatures. We were going dancing.

First dance was House of Bamboo. I used to hate it, but now I just treat it as a bit of fun to get us get us out of our winter clothes. Next was the new waltz that Jane had concocted a couple of weeks ago. There was one turn I couldn’t get the hang of, but after asking Jane if she would dance me through it, she saw what I was doing wrong and that made all the difference. Much more secure with it now. Meanwhile Scamp was dancing with Stewart and picking up more tips on the same dance.

Next was Quickstep which we are working through, but both of us agree that we need more practise at home to keep it fresh in our heads. Fishtails are improving.

Final dance was Rona’s Rumba. Rona was a dancer in our class who passed away two years ago, around about now. She and her husband were great friends with Stewart and Jane.

Our Rumba, like the quickstep and the waltz, needs a fair bit of work to get comfortable with it.

As well as the ballroom dances, there were a lot of sequence dances that the teacher use to give us a break from the difficult stuff. Today they were used liberally!

Drove home via the Clyde Tunnel today because there was a lot of congestion on the M8. The Clyde Tunnel cuts off a fair chunk of driving and is useful for days like today.

I went over to St Mo’s later in the afternoon in my new boots that needed breaking in. They are not really new, they’re about six months old, I just kept forgetting (on purpose, maybe) to put them on, until last week when I found a leak in the left side of the old boots. Maybe their time has come.

Dinner tonight was a disappointing Golden Bowl. Tough Chicken Chop Suey for Scamp and equally tough Chicken Chow Mein for me. Maybe it’s time to give them a rest and look for somewhere else.

We watched the Skeleton Sliders from the Winter Olympics. Scary stuff!

PoD was  couple of dried up flowers from last year. Very fragile looking.

No plans for tomorrow. Snow predicted.

Dancin’ – 7 February 2026

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Out early as usual on a Saturday.

We drove over to Brookfield, a fairly easy drive to light traffic but clouds and occasional rain. What we’ve come to expect these wintry days.

The class started with a quickstep, but not one we already knew. Almost everyone else seemed to be happy with it and although we did bring this fact to the attention of the teachers, we didn’t get much instruction. Luckily I had Scamp to tell me what the teachers were doing and after I’d added in a few steps from Thursday’s Tea Dance, it began to come together, but teachers are there to teach, not to get partners to make up for their shortcomings. I don’t think Stewart believed we’d not done this dance before. For the first time in ages I wasn’t impressed with his teaching.

What I will say in his defence is that he did intersperse some units with a couple of sequence dances, mostly ones we knew. Given that we’d had a tough start to the day, I did actually enjoy most of the class I think Scamp did too.

We drove home with about a million others, all heading in the same direction as us at about 15 mph and in the rain again. It was a stop/start drive, but after half an hour or so the traffic picked up speed and thinned out. No rhyme nor reason to it. I’m sure you’ve all seen this feature of driving in the past. Nobody seems to be able to explain why the roads get snarled up and then just return to normal with nothing to explain it. I wish I could be in a helicopter to watch the changing traffic patterns from above. It would be an interesting thing to investigate.

I chose the M74/M73 again and everything went smoothly back to the house. Lunch was toast and beans. A simple menu that just hit the spot.

Later in the afternoon I went for a walk through St Mo’s and got a few photos, a very few. My favourite and PoD was two magpies discussing world problems in a tree. Magpies, the Darth Vaders of the Avian world.

We’d hoped to have a Chinese dinner, but Golden Bowl in Condorrat was closed until the 13th of the month, so it was Fish ’n’ Chips instead. Lovely fish, but too much chips. We watched the Olympic Snowboarding and Luge while we consumed our dinner, wondering why people put themselves through these dangerous looking games. Good fun to watch, but I can’t see it catching on in Cumbersheugh.

As far as tomorrow goes, we have no plans. Not ever Snowboarding.

Another grey day – 6 February 2026

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It’s becoming monotonous.

I’m really getting fed up with all this rain. Can’t somebody do something about it.

Scamp went out to FitSteps in the morning. While she was out I worked out the last few February I’d missed in the past week. That’s the problem with deciding to do a photo a day. You forget just how much time it takes.

I’d like to say we did lots of things today, but we didn’t. I went out in the early afternoon into the cold east wind that’s been blowing for the last week and a bit. I’d offered to do some shopping while I was out, and picked a photo of a weed of some description sneaking out from a metal cable support. I thought it looked interesting. Then I walked round the back of St Mo’s school and from there down to the shops and back home. It was just as I was reaching the house I realised those two photos would have to be the PoD for today.

Scamp made a curry from the Mowgli book, but wasn’t. Impressed with the finished article, saying there was a funny taste from it. We tracked that ‘funny taste’ down to a tablespoon of English Mustard I’d put in as stated in the instructions. I don’t know how the English can eat this stuff. I can’t even abide the smell of it. I think we’ll use a different recipe in future.

That’s about it for me for today. Hoping for a dry(ish) day tomorrow, just for a change.

Scrubbing the floor – 26 January 2026

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We weren’t down on our knees doing the scrubbing. We’ve got a machine to do that for us now!

In the morning we built up the Vax carpet cleaner. It’s a bit of a beast! With a lot of reading of the instructions we managed to get it built up. Then we added some water and a glug or two of the magic carpet cleaning stuff, plugged it in and started it going. It’ quite noisy and it was soaking the carpet, until we realised we could push it forward quite quickly, but had to withdraw it fairly slowly so the muck in the carpet was sucked into the chamber. In the end we were both impressed with the efficiency of this new technology. So far we only have a small bottle, but I imagine we’ll get a larger bottle before the end of the week. We were impressed by the amount of muck that was sucked into the dirty water container!!

After that we walked down to the shops to get something for lunch and also something for dinner. It was cold and a bit windy, but the weather fairies are warning us that it’s going to get even windier before the end of the week.

I took myself out for a walk in St Mo’s later and got a few photos, but even fairly early in the afternoon, the light was fading quickly. For a change I took the small A6500 with me. I usually use a nylon cord to suspend my cameras when I’m walking. I almost made the mistake of letting the A6500 dangle, but realised just in time that there was no cord on the camera today and caught it before it fell. Eejit!

Once round the pond was enough for me today. If there had been more light and it it hadn’t been quite so cold I’d have gone for a second round, but once was enough today.

We drove over to Kirsty’s class at The Link and completed the third part of the three part Tango routine. It was a bit repetitive in places and the constant turns were causing some of the ladies, Scamp included to become dizzy, so I don’t think the full routine will be danced very often.

PoD was a three holly leaves making a break for freedom from a nearby wooden fence.

I think we may be going shopping tomorrow, but as usual at this time of year, it all depends on the weather

A lazy day for me – 23 January 2026

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Not a lazy day for Scamp, she left for FitSteps while I was still working out what to do today.

I did eventually decide on a walk in St Mo’s. It was a cold morning, a late morning, but before noon, so that counts as morning. Alex had been showing off his hand warmers the other day and I decided to buy a pair from Amazon and a cold day would be a good test.

By the time I’d got myself sorted, Scamp had returned from FitSteps so I allowed myself an hour and a half or thereabouts to grab some photos. The hand warmers didn’t seem to be balanced properly to start with, but later in the walk I realised only one face of the heater works, the other remains relatively cool. I really should read the instructions first, but I never do. I think I was paying too much attention to the hand warmers and didn’t realise the camera lens was set wide open and therefore not at its most creative setting, anyway I did take some blurry photos of Cladonia lichen and a few shots of the hairy looking buds on a gorse bush. The gorse buds got PoD.

On my way home, I got a call from Scamp telling me that her appointment in Dundee had been brought forward. We had expected it to be between four and six weeks before her appointment. Hopefully this will bring good news.

When I got home we walked over to Brodens for lunch. Fish ’n’ Chips with a glass of wine for Scamp, Steak Pie and Chips for me washed down with a pint of Guinness. Apparently the restaurant has been taken over, but the food is just as good as it ever was. Long may it prosper in these changing times.

Back home Scamp was browsing the internet for a short holiday in the next couple of weeks. We have no hard and fast favourites as yet, but we’re hopeful that we’ll find somewhere warm to tide us over until summer.

We’re intending to go to Brookfield tomorrow if the weather is fair.

Another bright clear day – 20 January 2026

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Maybe not quite as good as yesterday, but by midday the clouds were clearing and the sun was getting through. Plus, of course, it wasn’t raining.

Scamp went out first. She was heading for Tesco and I was gathering all my bits and pieces together then headed off not far behind her. I was using the A7c and saw a lone berry on a tree on the way to St Mo’s. Turned the camera on and saw the message “Battery Exhausted”. I was glad I wasn’t far from home and could just walk back and grab my A7iii instead. If I’d been in the depth of the woods and seen that message, I’d have been saying ‘Sweary Words’. Lots of them.

With the cameras swapped over, and with about 80% charge in the A7iii I was good for an hour or so. I wandered round the pond and got a few shots, the first one being the lone berry on the tree! As usual I went half way round the pond then reversed my direction and went the other way. It’s strange that the view one way round the pond is totally different from the other direction. The proof is the PoD which I didn’t see when I was walking anticlockwise, but found it right in front of me when I was walking back, clockwise!

With some shots in the bag and a PoD taken, I walked home and bumped into Scamp unpacking the car. I was settling down to look at the photos when Scamp showed me her new box of ‘Rice Krispies’ which weren’t normal Rice Krispies, but some alien version with twice the amount of sugar. We’re both trying to reduce the amount of sugar we eat and I could see she wasn’t happy with these lumps of sugar. It was still light so I suggested I’d walk over to the shops and buy a proper box for her. Usually Scamp will disagree, as a measure of her annoyance, she gave in and allowed me to go search a Real box of Rice Krispies. She also handed me a winning ThunderBall ticket that’s been stuck on the fridge for far too long. So, off I trotted and redeemed the ThunderBall ticket for three new ones. Then I walked down to the shops and picked up the a box of the Real Rice Crisps. After that, calm returned to the house. We won’t find out if we’ve won a million pounds until tomorrow, but at least breakfast will a quieter affair.

The PoD was what looks like three leaves stuck together by the rain and backlit by the low sun. I liked it. If you prefer a photo of Oak Moss ( that isn’t only on oak trees and isn’t moss at all, look on Flickr).

We watched ‘The Night Manager’ (second series) and I’ll admit I became completely engrossed in it. Can’t wait until next week!

Tomorrow I’m hoping to meet Alex for a photo walk round Glasgow. I think Scamp has a meeting with the other witches.

 

Sunday – 18 January 2026

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Another late start, but it was the weekend, although we don’t really have weekends now.

Watched Lisa Nandy talking sense for the first time. Even Laura Kuenssberg seemed to be less contentious with her than she usually is with politicians. Even Scamp was impressed … well, a bit impressed, anyway.

After lunch I went for a walk over to St Mo’s.
Note to self: Don’t leave it so late to go for a walk. It was almost dark when I was coming home with very little in the camera. Eight frames is nothing to be proud of.

PoD turned out to be a bush of Gorse flowers. The other seven shots were a waste of time. Must get out earlier all this week!

Dinner was Sea Bass for Scamp with Potatoes, Sugar Snap Peas and some Corn off the Cob. If you swap Sea Bass for tough Rump Steak, you have my dinner.

Spoke to Jamie later and gave him and Simonne the praise they deserved for the hamper of fruit that appeared in our house on Thursday. Delicious Christmas, you two!

Hope Simonne’s first day in a new job goes well. We’re sure it will!!

Tomorrow I’m getting my crown fitted in the morning, then Scamp and I are taking part in a video appointment with a consultant from Dundee.

Dancin’ – 17 January 2026

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Out early to go dancing at Brookfield.

We arrived way too early. Quarter of an hour early, because the long straight along to Paisley was almost empty of traffic. I don’t know why, but it if hadn’t been for the 40mph zone where they are constantly repairing something, we’d have been half an hour early.

The first warm-up was the inevitable “House of Bamboo” which I must admit now that I’ve mastered it, is just a bit of fluff. A waste of time. Stewart likes it and thinks it’s great. I’m not a fan.

Next was the Feta Foxtrot – I have no idea where that name came from. It’s quite a ‘nice’ dance. Nothing too difficult or demanding. Of course my mind went a blank after I’d filmed it, but then with encouragement from Scamp, and strangely from Jane, we managed to do it with included ‘Sway’ which is a lean to one side or the other. The Sway actually added interest to the dance and I just know that Scamp is going to love it.

Next it was Blue Angel Rumba. I find it a bit of a clumsy dance with nothing to recommend it. We danced a couple tracks, I think, mainly to take our minds off the Feta Foxtrot with its Sways.

Next was my nemesis, the Samba. This really is an awful forward, back, back, forward piece of nonsense. Maybe if you’ve had a few shandies it’s great, but for non-alcoholics at 11am it’s not all that much fun. I couldn’t go forward for going backward. It’s just crap, that’s the only word for it. I failed miserably in my attempts to get my feet going in the correct direction. No, it’s not for me. The music we danced to reminded me of Soca but without the fun. I didn’t like it. Did you notice?

Another sequence track got me out of Brookfield alive. Having said that, I did enjoy a lot of the dances this week, just that awful Samba wasted it for me.

The drive home was the exact opposite of the drive to Brookfield. Stop, go and stop again. I don’t know what was going on ahead of us. Maybe an accident or a breakdown perhaps. Somebody ahead of us was having the worst Saturday of the year. I decided to try going through the Clyde Tunnel instead of sitting behind cars that were crawling along. It turned out to be the best option. Maybe a little bit longer in time, but at least the wheels were turning all the time.

Lunch was Fish Finger Sandwich for Scamp and a Piece ’n’ Banana for me. After that, I went for a walk over to St Mo’s in the late afternoon. The light was getting quite low but I managed to get a shot of a chunk of moss clinging to a tree. Nothing special, but nice colours and textures. An easy PoD.

Dinner was a Three Egg Omelette each. I thoroughly enjoyed it and although Scamp would have liked only two eggs, she managed to finish it. Dessert was a slice of Madeira cake with one of the big strawberries from Jamie’s Christmas present on top.

We watched a poor, almost comical, episode of Grantchester. Maybe it’s just me, but nothing satisfied me today. Maybe I should just go to bed and hope for a better day tomorrow.

No real plans for tomorrow, but some research needed.

Still busy – 13 January 2026

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This time it was preparations for a dinner.

We were having Crawford and Nancy over for dinner tonight and that means we were cooking and baking almost all day. It certainly felt that way, anyway.

Scamp had the difficult job of preparing the starter, main and dessert. I had the fairly easy job of baking a loaf. Both Scamp and I were working in the kitchen at the same time. Sometimes that works out well, but at other times it’s a disaster with one of us (me) stomping off in a strunt. This was one of the better days. Scamp’s soup had been made the day before, so the starter was sorted, but the main which was Prawn and Pea Risotto was to be made when the visitors arrived to maintain the freshness this meal deserved. The pudding, like the starter, had been partly made the day before and been kept in the fridge overnight.

It was really a relaxed start, and we even had time for lunch and an attempt at the NY Times puzzles, before the real work would begin.

I started the bread early, because the last couple of loaves hadn’t been a great success, I was being ultra-careful this time. I measured out the flour, yeast, salt, butter and water carefully and kneaded the resulting dough for the required ten minutes until it was smooth and ready to be set aside for an hour to rise. That left me with very little to do, so with Scamp’s permission, I went for a walk in St Mo’s and although I found some possibilities, I couldn’t find anything worthwhile. I’d left St Mo’s almost empty-handed and walked down to the shops for some odds and ends and was coming back when a lovely sunset was starting to build. Three of four shots later I had my PoD.

Back home Scamp was putting the finishing touches to the trifle which would be tonight’s dessert. It did look nice … tempting too, but I restrained myself. She had also started the main course and was totally control as only Scamp can be. My bread was rising nicely and was ready for the second stage of Knocking Back where you punch all the air out of the dough, dust it with flour and put it into a special wicker basket to do its second prove.

I left the loaf for an hour before I baked it at about 35minutes at Gas Mark 7 (that’s just to remind me because otherwise I’d forget) and basically it came out perfectly.

An hour later the visitors arrived and Scamp completed her main course and we sat down to a late dinner.

Everything turned out as planned for once and after a lot of talking and laughter, Crawford and Nancy drove home and I realised I hadn’t offered Crawford a ‘wee dram’ since Nancy was driving. I hope he wasn’t too upset. I’ll make it up to him.

We basically shovelled everything into the dishwasher then and went to bed.

Tomorrow we’ll do the rest of the tidying up, because we’re driving over to Larkhall for Scamp to get her eyes tested, while I go for a drive.

I’m sure you know this was a catch-up blog post!