Category: St Mo’s

A grey morning – 12 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

A dull start to the day with mist and cloud blocking the sun. Thankfully the mist and cloud disappeared later in the morning and the warmth was there again, but with a bit of a cool breeze.

We were going shopping today, just a usual Monday shop for essentials and a couple of bottles of wine to restock our cupboard. While Scamp started the shopping, I drove the car to the carwash next door and gave it a wax wash. It cost a few quid, but less than five minutes later I was driving out in a sparkling, shiny car. No sign of the sticky residue from the trees we park under.

A light lunch and then I intended to read a few pages in my new book, but time and a snooze got the better of me and an hour later I wondered where the time had gone.

Scamp was working in the back garden, but I hadn’t much to do there, although I might plant a few more leeks and maybe some more kale later in the week to fill up the raised bed. Instead I went over to St Mo’s with the A6500 and a short lens. Wrong choice today. Not only were there damselflies circling the pond, but there was a dragonfly sunning itself on one of the horsetails. Far too far away for my wee short lens. Should have taken the long Tamron instead.

I found a pair of ferns in under the trees that looked to me like a couple of old style boxers, squaring up to each other. That got PoD. Lots of ducklings in the pond, keeping well under cover on the edges of the water under Mummy Mallard’s careful scrutiny. The pond is certainly coming alive. Warm weather works wonders.

Off to Kirsty’s dance class in the early evening. Only three couples including us, but we’ve now got a fair grip on the Tango we’ve been learning. There is still a tendency for Kirsty to teach short, tight routines, not making enough use of the fairly large hall we have at our disposal. We both feel she could open up the dance floor a bit.

Watched the final of University Challenge and watched our favourite team win by five points. We were both delighted.

We may go out somewhere tomorrow, just to get away from Cumbersheugh for a while.

Another warm day – 11 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Today was hot, but with heavy cloud at times. Actually, it was a nice warmth without the heat of yesterday and with a gentle breeze that yesterday lacked. There was actually just the hint of a threat of rain that never quite materialised.

It was a day that encouraged a lazy man like me to consider doing a bit of gardening. Gentle gardening, mind you. Nothing too strenuous, and with easily achievable targets, like potting up my chilli plants and helping Scamp to plant her home grown sweet peas and build a sort of plastic mesh to encourage them to cling to and pull themselves up with. I even found an old solar powered sprinkler for the bird bath that still worked, and gave tiny little splashes now and again.

Later I took the A7iii out with the Tamron lens and a Lensbaby Sweet 35 to St Mo’s to search for damselflies, but again there were none to be seen. Instead,I concentrated on some Hawthorn flowers and focused on one Buttercup in the grass of St Mo’s to use the Lensbaby’s strange distorted view of the world. The buttercup shot got PoD.

Dinner was a chicken breast done in the oven and served with a salad that was delicious. I don’t particularly like pomegranate seeds, but the light scattering of them in that salad worked wonders. There was a hint of Simonne’s excellent salads there. I’d say they were on a par with each other.

Pudding was a rhubarb crumble. Not our own growing, but hopefully it won’t be long before we get a second pulling of ours too. The ginger in the pudding was just right for me. Pure Goldilocks pudding!

Spoke to Jamie and heard about his week’s holiday. Such a pity that when we were sweltering in the sun up north, down south they were putting on extra layers and a pair of gloves. The wind coming in from the North Sea was to blame. Hopefully there will be gentler and warmer days ahead.

Tomorrow I believe we may be going shopping, probably just for essentials.

Shooting the breeze – 9 May 2025

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In the morning, Scamp was out to FitSteps and I was having a lazy half hour start to the day.

When she returned, Scamp and I had a late breakfast or an early lunch, either way we had some food, then we did some gentle rearranging of the pots in the garden

In the afternoon while Scamp was out soaking up some rays in the front garden, I spent half an hour and more talking to Fred. I’m amazed just how long it’s been since we last had a conversation, just shooting the breeze and putting the world to rights. I really should phone my old pals more often, and if they’re not responding to a call, at least send them an update text. It’s those things that keep us together.

By then the sun had moved round the sky or perhaps the world had turned and Scamp wandered round to the back garden, because that’s where the sun was hiding now. I changed into a pair of shorts on my milk bottle white legs and took the A7iii with a Sigma 105mm for a walk over to St Mo’s seeking some insect life, only to be disappointed because the insects were also sunning themselves somewhere else. I eventually settled on some shots of a dandelion with only four little parachutes clinging to its take-off plate ready to fly away on a gentle breeze. my favourite one got PoD. Yes, it is a bit of a cliché, but clichés have a place too.

When I returned, I was coaxed into planting out a row of Curly Kale and a pot of Leeks. My only contribution to the gardening work for the day, apart from chopping down some dangerous looking thorny roses.

After dinner which was Cabbage, Bacon and New Potatoes with Scamp substituting an egg for the bacon, we sat watching the sun go down behind the trees and the houses. We could have stayed longer, but it was becoming decidedly cool by then.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to go dance class at Brookfield.

Plants and Flowers – 6 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We met Isobel for coffee and gossip. Always a good mixture.

Drove up to the Town Centre, part of which is being demolished, thankfully not the part we were intending having coffee in. We were late because I’d forgotten my sunglasses, it being a very bright and hot morning. We haven’t had any rain for about a fortnight and even then it was just a splash and dash from the clouds. Not really what you’d call real rain. Anyway, I found my glasses waiting to be picked up on the radiator at the house and we were off again. Isobel had acquired a table for the three of us. I had a not too shabby Flat White and Scamp had a Latte which is really just a jug of hot milk with half a shot of coffee. We sat talking for about an hour and a half before going our merry ways.

Isobel was going shopping and I intended to take Scamp to the Kelpies. However, the road to the motorway was reduced to a single lane and there was an almighty queue down the Wilderness Brae for a couple of miles to the roundabout that would take us to Grangemouth. I took a quicker way back through Cumbersheugh and on to the motorway, cursing the deadheads in the council all the way.

When we were in sight of the Kelpies, Scamp suggested we go to Klondyke garden centre first. We’d been talking about that change of destination during the drive. Klondyke is a treasure trove for gardeners. Flowers of almost every kind and colour. Only, they didn’t have the kind I was looking for. I was looking for Scottish Marigold, but although they had loads of French Marigold, they didn’t have Scottish Marigold, AKA Calendula. They did have compost, wee pot plants, a set of three stackable triangular pots, a variety of vegetable plants, a basket of dahlia flowers and a big square pot that would hold a rose. We now have all the aforementioned articles too! We had lunch at the garden centre which is reasonably priced. However, to avoid the usual holdup on the M80 and to get the plants back to the house in a reasonable state, we had to forego the visit to the Big Horses. As we passed them on the way home, we gave them a wave and told them we’d come and see them again, soon. I’m sure Scamp will hold me to that promise.

A fairly easy drive home and got parked, then emptied the car boot into the back garden, because that was where the majority of the plants and flowers would end up. Scamp took charge of planting the new rose Schoolgirl in a decent mix of composts. It’s the second Schoolgirl we’ve got. This one might live in the back garden while to existing one will stay at the front. Some things will need watering soon, but they’ll survive for a few days.

A quick walk round St Mo’s gave me a PoD. It’s the gardeners nemesis, the Buttercup. Beautiful flower … as long as it isn’t in your garden.

Tomorrow it’s an early rise then hopefully a couple of trains will take us to Glasgow.

May the Fourth be with you – 4 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Just one of those days when we couldn’t wake up.

Eventually I opted to be the one who made breakfast, then after reading a new chapter in a very old Iain Banks book, Transition, a book I never read which I regret now, we rose and went to see what all the hullabaloo was, about with the Formula 1 sprint race in Miami.

It was actually quite an interesting race with crashes galore. Some of which were on the parade lap before the race even started. Admittedly, it was in the rain, but have these drivers never seen rain before?

With all the excitement finished for the morning, we watched Laura Kuenssberg rip a hole in Wes Streeting and Kemi Badenoch’s morning. Isn’t it great to see someone charge through politicians and get away with it? Don’t you sometimes think it would be good to do that too? It would brighten up any dull Sunday morning IMO.

Breakfast over, F1 GP over and politicians put in their place, I went out to plant two bags of potatoes. Can’t quite remember what they are, but they are purple skinned Arran something. If I remember, I’ll look the packet out tomorrow and tell you. I know you’ll all be dying to know!!

Dinner tonight was a tough steak for me with cauliflower and potatoes, but not Arran potatoes, and cauliflower with cheese sauce and potatoes for Scamp.

After that, I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got PoD which was some Hawthorn Flowers. Jimmy Mearns, my ex-headteacher once explained to me that the Scottish expression “Ne’er cast a cloot until May is out” had nothing to do with the month of May, but everything to do with the flowering of the May Blossom ie, Hawthorn Flowers. I’m not sure it really is the time to be casting cloots just now with the temperature local to us expected to reach 1ºc tonight. At least it’s not -1ºc.

No real plans for tomorrow, but Scamp wants to go shopping and I’m headed to the tip with a big bag of empty bottles to dispose of.

The first of May – 1 May 2025

Posted on by Zogman

We really should have been up early and washing our faces in the dew, but we’re probably beautiful enough and it would only make everyone else jealous!

Instead of an early morning face wash, Scamp drove over to the dentist for her six month checkup. I read more of Tainted Cup, a very twisted tale with the most complicatedly named cast I’ve ever seen. I wonder if Mr Bennett made up the names of all the places or if they have some meaning.

After a wash and brush up, it was time to go over to Glendale for the Tea Dance. Sitting with David and Carol and hearing about their adventures with their grandson from Kingston on Thames. In exchange we told them stories about the roads on Skye and the beautiful weather we’d had for almost a full week.

Dances were the usual mix of latin, sequence and ballroom and although we both struggled to get it right sometimes, for the most part we managed to cover the floor quite well.

Lengthy roadworks near the Barrs factory in Cumbersheugh meant a detour to Tesco on the way home to get dinner which was Bacon, Cabbage and Potatoes with Scamp swapping Black Pudding for Bacon. We’ll need to remember that if we’re going to Brookfield on Saturday.

I went for a walk round St Mo’s in the afternoon and got a photo of a wild flower that I couldn’t name, although I knew it. Finally I resorted to looking it up and it was a Plantain, but not the Plantain they have in Trinidad, the one they have in Scotland. Allegedly it is very effective at dealing with insect bites and stings. It is also much better than dock leaves to ease the discomfort of being stung by a stinging nettle too, but don’t quote on either of these remedies.

The Scottish Plantain made PoD, there being no competition for it here today. Note the bonus spider in the photo!

It was a fair bit cooler in the afternoon, compared to the last few days. The weather fairies were at pains to confirm that for the next day or two, the weather will stay cooler.  We’re just hoping for rain.

Scamp is hoping to get to FitSteps tomorrow and then I might go and collect my new glasses.

A day for sitting in the sun – 29 April 2025

Posted on by Zogman

I did go for a walk today, but didn’t find any damselflies. There wasn’t really all that much to see, but it was good to be out in the sun.

Later in the afternoon I walked down to the shops to get some peas for Chicken & Pea Traybake for dinner. I also brought back a box of ice lollies, just for fun. Scamp and I had nothing much to do, so we sat in the front garden and enjoyed the sunshine and the lollies!

PoD was a dandelion with half its parachutes blown away. Spreading the seeds for next year’s flowers.

Got a strange message from Adobe, telling me I had some illegal software on my iMac. I can’t see how that could be, since I have a subscription. Must investigate.

No plans for tomorrow, although Scamp has a lunch date with Annette.

Gettin’ New Glessies

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Off to Larky to get my eyes tested. Just a normal routine eye check.

I was a wee bit apprehensive about having my eyes checked after being told the during my last test that I was borderline for being able to drive. However, that was before Mr Sharma gave me the two magic bottles and instructed me with “This Bottle ONCE a day. This Other Bottle TWICE a day … This Bottle ONCE a day. This Other …”
Y’see Mr S, I did remember it. Your repetition method worked for me!

I needn’t have worried though, it was Euan doing the testing and I trusted him. As it turned out he hadn’t met Mr S, face to face, only corresponding through emails. Lucky man.

Long story short, I did need glasses, actually two pairs of glasses, one for reading and one pair for distance. At Scamp’s insistence, I ordered scratch resistant lenses! They should be ready tomorrow, or by Wednesday at the latest.

I couldn’t see well enough to drive after the eye dilation drops Euan had used and although it wasn’t really bright sun outside, I was glad I’d remembered to pack a pair of sunglasses. Because of the drops, Scamp had to drive us to Brookside garden centre on the outskirts of Larky. Just outside the wall if you know what that means! A flat white of decent coffee and a roll ’n’ link sausage for me, a latte and a roll ’n’ scrambled egg for Scamp. Now that we were fed and watered, we went for a walk round the plants and magically we walked out of the shop with a big box full of roses and other flowers. How that happened, I do not know.

I felt happy enough with my eyes, so I drove back home Scamp got busy planting all the new stuff we’d bought and I put my boots on and walked over to St Mo’s. I managed to get a Large Red damselfly. My first this year and unusually early in the season. It was earmarked for PoD, but was beaten to the line by a wee Amber Snail. Tiny thing. It was crawling down a blade of the now sprouting Flag Iris plants that abound behind St Mo’s school. The iris leaves are an almost luminous green in the spring.

It’s Monday and that means Pasta. Today’s pasta was Carbonara, and it was a good one. Plenty of taste from chopped up bacon and lots of Parmesan in the sauce.

Scamp’s smart watch is proving to be less intelligent than its name and has been playing up for a while. Now it seems that Google who now own the license are closing down the FitBit side of things completely, so she’s looking for a new watch. I’ve made suggestions, but she really wants to see what she’s buying, which makes perfect sense. We may go looking later in the week.

No plans for tomorrow.

Wet – 18 April 2025

Posted on by Zogman

Not a very bright and cheery day.

Such a shame after yesterday which started out wet, but brightened as the day went on, today was just dull and wet all day. Plus, as I’m writing this, it’s still raining.

Scamp was out in the morning to have coffee and a blether with Isobel. I was back home trying to work out how approximately 100 pieces could fit into the Lego tree. It almost worked perfectly. Of the 100 odd pieces, only one disappeared somewhere. It may be lying on the carpet upstairs, but I don’t think so. Whoever designed this Thing must have had a very clever and very twisted mind. It all works exactly as the instructions describe, but why make it so complicated? Still, it’s fascinating!

By the time Scamp got back, I’d just finished the tree trunk section, complete with two flexible vines that twine round the tree, and was starting the table that holds the flower pot. Another hundred odd pieces! I think that’s all done now and the next stage is to create the ‘stones’ that fill the pot, then deciding whether it’s going to be a tree in leaf or one with blossom. I’ll probably make both, I think.

Scamp wanted a birthday card written and posted by 4pm and after sitting for at least two hours, I thought that might be a great opportunity to stretch my legs because it looked like there was a short dry spell coming.

I walked over to Condorrat and posted the card in the afternoon and as it was still dry, I walked round St Mo’s – just one circuit, not wanting to tempt fate. The weather stayed dry, but I wasn’t impressed with today’s photos once I got home. So, for the first time in ages, I kept today’s photos and instead, posted one of yesterday’s as PoD. It’s a shot looking up at the South Portland Street suspension bridge in Glasgow, with the sandstone entrance behind it and the ill fated Virgin Hotel in the background. Three photos for the price of one!

Later in the evening, I watched and actually enjoyed Gardners’ World. It’s sometimes a bit dull and has too many little video pieces made by folk who just want to tell you how wonderful their gardens are. Time wasters, that’s all most of them are. Today had only a few of those, with the presenters doing the interesting stuff.

Tomorrow is Saturday and we don’t have a dance class because the teachers are still off sunning themselves in some foreign clime. Instead, we’re hoping to do a bit of reading in bed. We don’t have any plans for the day as yet!

It rained – 14 April 2025

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Today was a bit dull to start with, but so is going for the messages, and that’s what we were doing today.

The postman was early today and the post was coming through the letter box just as we were opening it to go to Tesco. Scamp’s appointment letter for her scan was amongst the junk that always arrives on a Monday, through the letter box. After a quick read through it, we felt a lot better. At last we had a date to work towards.

Drove over to Tesco and half filled a trolley with messages. Just the usual day to day shopping, like fruit, milk, bread and stuff. Nothing fancy, just the basics.

After lunch I wrote out a couple of cards, sympathy cards for Margaret from Warrington and another card for her to pass on to her daughter whose husband had died recently after a short illness. I put on my uncomfortable and expensive waterproof jacket and walked over to Condorrat to post the cards in the rain.

I had intended to walk down to the shops to get some veg to breathe a bit of life into our usual Monday Pasta dinner, but decided half way there that I’d just go home instead. The rain was getting heavier and it wasn’t a day for wandering around getting wet.

The Monday Pasta dinner wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be, in fact I was quite pleased with it. Another “What have we got in the fridge” dinner.

The PoD went to a little cluster of daisies on the football park behind St Mo’s school. All the wee flowers had closed up shop early because of the rain. I didn’t blame them. There’s another photo in Flickr of the bird feeder you sent me, Hazy. No takers from the bird yet. I think the Blackbirds in particular aren’t keen on eating above the ground, but it’s early days. An interesting idea. Thanks.

Tomorrow we’re intending taking Shona out to lunch. I’m hoping for a drier day!