Category: St Mo’s

A cancellation – 7 February 2023

Posted on by Zogman

The plans had changed.

Yesterday Isobel phoned to ask us both to come to the house. This morning she phoned to cancel because she was suffering from a bad cold. We know what that’s like, having suffered from it ourselves lately and postponing was the right thing to do.

Instead of visiting Isobel, we we went to Tesco. Scamp had accrued quite a few vouchers and I had a couple from our Covid surveys. I checked them this morning just to see that they were still valid and was relieved to find that they were. Our trolley was fairly full when we reached the checkout, with about half going to the Foodbank and half coming home with us. A fair split, we thought.

Lunch for Scamp was sourdough bread with cheese. Mine was sliced rolled lamb from Sunday followed by sourdough toast. I don’t really like sourdough bread in its raw state, but toasted it’s a whole new ball game. Delicious and light.

In the afternoon Scamp was doing ironing and I was going out to walk in the little bit of sunshine that had appeared. It actually stayed for almost an hour and PoD was a view across the wee pond with a threatening black sky and the dark waters of the pond sandwiching a glowing golden strip where the sun lit up the dead grass of the park. I liked it right away.

Dinner tonight was Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce served with Potato Wedges. I added the last of my lamb to it after frying it off in the pan. I think I used up most of the good stuff in that piece of meat. I’ll be on the lookout for more from the same source the next time we’re in Waitrose.

After dinner Scamp suggested a dance practise.  It’s amazing how much you forget in a fortnight.  Everything had gone from my head.  Baby Waltz, Quickstep and Foxtrot.  I could remember all the start moves, but after that was a blur.  Thankfully Scamp knew what went where and when and we did eventually manage to put a shortened version of the routine together.  Whether it will still be there tomorrow remains to be seen!

Today’s prompt was The Pink Panther. Some prompts require a lot of thinking and planning then you get a fairly easy one. This was an easy one. I couldn’t say I’d never seen this film, or the cartoon series. The films are classics and the cartoons are too. I chose the easiest route possible and went for the pink cartoon animal.

Tomorrow Alex and I are hoping to go to the Kelpies. He’s coming to Cumbersheugh on the train and I’m picking him up at the station, then we’ll drive to Grangemouth where the Kelpies live, but I’ve another idea that might just work out well to test his new long lens. It depends on the weather.

So, tomorrow Scamp is intending to meet the rest of the witches for lunch and Alex and I intend to go somewhere to take photos!

Another Scottish Day – 5 February 2023

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It was a bright start to the day, but then it faltered.

After lunch Scamp walked down to the shops to get some stuff for dinner. While she was out I started on my dinner which was to be Rolled Breast of Lamb. Actually it was already rolled. All I needed to do was preheat the oven to Gas 4 and sear the rolled lamb in a pot, then put the lamb into a pre-warmed roasting tin and deglaze the pot with some wine. Next I’d to pour the sticky wine over the lamb, wrap it in foil and bung it in to the oven for four hours. I was just finishing when Scamp arrived back.

She wanted to start cleaning out the greenhouse and after she’d laid the contents of our tiny wee plastic greenhouse, I was called upon to choose what I wanted to keep, which wasn’t much. With that done, I left her to it while I walked aimlessly around St Mo’s for an hour. There wasn’t much to photograph, especially as the morning sun had now long disappeared and was getting ready for bed if the amber light on the horizon was anything to go by. I did get a couple of photos of some gorse flowers which I’d say were flowering far too early, but they don’t listen to me, they just do as they like. One of them became PoD.

Today’s prompt was “National Velvet”, an ancient ‘horsy’ film with Elizabeth Taylor. I made no attempt to sketch Elizabeth Taylor. Instead I drew one of the ladies I saw at the Christmas Fair last December in Glasgow, enjoying a ride on the carousel horses, which don’t look anything like The Piebald in the film. Also, the woman I saw on the horse looked nothing like the person illustrated here. I hope that clarifies everything. I liked the painting of the horse, but the proportions were all wrong. Carol commented that the woman looked like Mickey Rooney. I said it was probably the lady’s five o’ clock shadow that gave that impression!

The roast lamb was, even if I say so myself, absolutely beautiful. The crunchy bits, especially so. I’ll look for that in Waitrose the next time we’re there. Scamp’s lightly smoked salmon could have been lighter still, she said. Foodies! What can you do with them?

Spoke to Jamie later and heard more of the details of Simonne’s trip to Kobe in Japan. Long way for a two day conference, but that’s the way the world turns these days.

I finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir today, a Christmas prezzy from Neil and Hazy.  A great story, well told. Ok, maybe a bit heavy on padding in places but really thought provoking and well researched. At 465pages it was a bit of a mammoth tome for me, but really worth reading.

Tomorrow I was hoping to get out with Alex to take some photos and to see his new Sony 70-350mm f4.5-6.3 G OSS lens, but I’ve heard nothing from him, so maybe not. In that event, Scamp wants a trip to a garden centre, probably Torwood to get some seeds and some fresh seed compost.

Dull Day – 2 February 2023

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Phone call this morning to say that Andrew wasn’t well. Could we reschedule?

I think we were both looking forward to our discussion with Andrew today. We were also looking forward to seeing what shirt he was sporting and what jokes he’d slip into conversation. However he wasn’t well and there was no point in preventing him going home to his bed with a couple of paracetamol. We did reschedule.

That left a completely different day for us to deal with. In the end, the weather was the deciding factor. It was decidedly ‘not nice’. It was raining and the wind was blowing a hoolie, so we ended up staying at home. We did complete Wordle and today’s Spelling Bee. I checked yesterday’s Spelling Bee and it was ITEMIZING. Another win for american English.

After lunch I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got the PoD which is a collection of at least two different lichens and mosses. It was the only photo I took today that really deserved the name ‘photo’. I walked back via the shops and brought back a nice bottle of wine that we had with our dinner.

Dinner tonight was an experiment. It was to be veggie chilli, but it would be the first one to be made in the magic pot. I won’t say it was a great success, but it wasn’t a complete failure and it did prove that you can cook brown lentils in under 5 minutes, instead of 20. Impressive. We were missing a couple of ingredients, so that probably contributed to the lack of flavour and I’m hoping to put that right tomorrow.

Prompt for today was ‘You’ve Got Mail’. I’ve definitely not seen that film, but I produced a pencil and pen sketch that covered the idea of mail, which was good enough for me.

Tomorrow we’re hoping for a bit less wind and rain and a chance to go out for a walk.

Busy, busy, busy – 31 January 2023

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A lazy start, but that didn’t last.

After that lazy start and another chapter read in my book, we drove up to Tesco. Scamp wanted a gift bag and a card for a new baby in June’s extended family, no, not Shona, nor the other fella (heaven forbid). It was Ian’s daughter who had a 9lb 9oz baby boy at the weekend (do your own conversion you metric people!). We had bought a couple of baby things yesterday in Glasgow and apparently you then have to buy a gift bag and, of course you need a card. I gave the blue car a tank full of petrol, but thankfully I didn’t need to gift wrap it, or send it a card. I just filled the tank until it was full and it said “Thank you very much, I was thirsty.” We drove home because I needed a cup of coffee.

Next jaunt was to Calders garden centre, although it seems that at present they don’t have a garden as part of it is going to be a new restaurant and tea room. Scamp has always said that’s where the money is made these days. There were six of us crammed into a table that would comfortably have held four, but no more. Food was poor. Scamp’s soup had no taste of anything, she said and my baked potato was tepid and also had no taste or texture. The tea was ok! We were on a timer too, because Scamp had an appointment with the nurse at 2.30, so we had to leave earlier than we’d have liked. Bumped into Isobel who was having tea with her granddaughter and told her I was a “Cheeky So and So!” Who? Me? You must be thinking about someone else, Isobel!

Drove through pouring rain to get to the doc’s and waited while Scamp got an all clear for her chest infection. Next we were off to Tesco where we attempted to buy half the shop. Drove home and I just had enough time to grab a pair of boots and have a short walk in St Mo’s. Just one circuit of the pond and a short walk through the woods. It was in the woods that today’s PoD came from. Although I was focused on the larch pine cones, it was the sunset that held all the interest and the colour. Processed in three different apps. Lightroom, Photoshop, On1 and back into Lightroom. It was worth it, though, in my opinion.

Dinner tonight was Scrambled Egg on a slice of bread for Scamp and Mince with an egg poached in it, also served on a slice of buttered bread for me. A Larky favourite.

Tomorrow I’m intending to pick up Val and take him for coffee in Costa. Looking forward to some good technological conversation. Hopefully it will take his mind off his bad leg.

Writing and Seeing – 23 January 2023

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Being able to write legibly is a skill I’ve never learned properly.

I hadn’t realised how clumsy and untidy my handwriting has become. I write this blog every day and in addition I write emails and messages, but all these communications are done through a computer keyboard, never directly from pen to paper. Over fifty years ago and in a different life, I was taught how to print properly for my job as a draughtsman. For five years I refined my printing style and took advice from the journeymen I worked with (No women then, just men. Live with it!). When I look back at my writing then and compare it to my handwriting now, it’s difficult to see the difference. It’s just the same untidy scrawl. So that is why when I was writing a letter today it took about two hours and countless sheets of paper in the bin and it’s still not finished. Tomorrow I start again with a fresh sheet. Maybe there’s a moral there, or maybe not.

While I was struggling with pen and paper, Scamp was off meeting her ‘big sister’ for coffee and a long blether. Things were discussed and plans set. Both sisters seem to be reading from the same hymn sheet now and ‘wee sister’ will now be consulted, if she hasn’t already been.

After a lovely crispy ‘well fired’ (ie almost burnt) roll with cold meat, we got a call from Hazy asking how we were. Once we confirmed that we’d tested negative and that we were feeling a bit better, she went on to give us more details about their Spring Break and their Summer Holiday, now booked. Both looked great and reminded us of the family holiday we’d had almost two years ago. We hope the weather is kind to them on both occasions. The accommodation looks fantastic. She has agreed to help me with moving my journal, which is what the blog is written on, to a new version. Not a very big undertaking, but better to get an expert’s advice and Hazy is definitely the expert on these matters.

Later in the afternoon I told Scamp I was going out to get some photos and would have a look in Condorrat for a bottle of Benylin to sooth her cough. She had tried in Boots and they had none in stock. The chemist in Condorrat had one on the shelf. Not the ideal one she wanted, but it was better than nothing. This winter cold is really getting to everyone and everyone seems to have the same symptoms.

On the way back I got some photos in St Mo’s. PoD turned out to be a leaf dangling from a branch with the watery sun shining through it. Sometimes, as photogs, we Look, we Focus and we Capture, but we don’t See. I looked at the light on the leaf and the bokeh behind, but it wasn’t until I had the shot on the computer that I Saw the spider.
In too much of a rush. Not taking time to stand and stare.
Maybe there is moral there too, or maybe not.

No plans for tomorrow, apart from a hand written, legible letter. We’ll see how the day pans out.

An improving picture – 22 January 2023

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Still being cautious about saying we’re on the mend, but I think we are.

It was a dull kind of day, even for a Sunday. Not really a day for going out if you didn’t need to, so we both stayed in to watch Laura Kuenssberg attack MP James Cleverly but the irresistible force met an immovable object in Nicola Sturgeon later in the program. Interesting wordplay between them.

After lunch Scamp decided on Paella for dinner and we had very little paprika in the tin. Something we’re hoping to remedy next month. For today, though, a walk down to the shops would suffice. I walked the long way, going round St Mo’s first. There was nobody about, so it was safe to crouch down behind the litter bin to take some close up shots of some fungi that’s growing out of the side of it. Two sides, actually, one south and one west. Nothing at all on the north or east sides. Something to do with the way the wind blows possibly. I don’t know. Mr Google was stumped by the fungi and thought they were sponges which I must admit they do resemble. Carried on round but saw nothing to compete with the fungi, so one of them, the crunchy looking one became PoD. I imagine the hairs you can see are dog hairs, they certainly are not mine!

Paella was passable but nothing spectacular. We ate about half of it and the rest went in the bin. I didn’t fancy making arancini with it tomorrow, besides I’m wary about reheating rice and chicken.

Spoke to Jamie later and he encouraged us to do a Covid test just to be sure. I’d suggested that to Scamp on Friday when I was feeling worn out, but she was reluctant to do it. I think it was the memory of our own bout of Covid back in the summer and having almost exactly that same feeling. Thankfully we both tested negative tonight. Heard that Simonne will have to go to hospital to have her tonsils removed after they found a possible lump on one. Nothing malignant, and it’s not an emergency, some time in the spring.

It was a warmer day today as opposed to a less cold day. The temperature got up to about 8ºc which is almost tropical for January. Hoping for a similar sort of temperature tomorrow and maybe a chance to get out for a walk together. Scamp may be having coffee with June, but that’s not confirmed yet. It’s a wait and see thing!

The sun shone – 21 January 2023

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For a very short time, admittedly, but it was there.

Rumour has it the sun was there yesterday too, but I just couldn’t see it. Today, as you’ll have guessed was a better day. I’d even go so far as to say it was a much brighter day. A shower in the morning helped and a light breakfast (tea and two slices of toast, since you’re asking) helped too. However, Scamp didn’t think we were both fit or well enough to go to the dance class and reluctantly I agreed. It turned out that we weren’t the only ones to take a day off. According to Scamp’s investigations, only three couples appeared – there are usually between five and seven. Although we were feeling better, we weren’t really ready for an energetic Quickstep!

We did walk down to the shops to get paracetamol and fish fingers. As it turned out we didn’t need the fish fingers, we had potatoes, ‘rats’ and sea bream instead. It was almost pleasant to be out walking after yesterday the temperature was in the positive zone and in fact it’s actually warmer now than it was then. But, that won’t encourage me to go out for a walk at just after 9pm. I did go for a walk in St Mo’s when we were coming back from the shops and got a PoD that’s not earth shattering, but it’s been processed and posted on the same day it was taken.

Scamp’s sore throat seems to have gone but she has a sniffy nose and a bit of a cough. I just feel sore all over, but thankfully the cotton wool that had filled my head yesterday has disappeared overnight.

I think we may have an early night again tonight. Almost half way through the book Hazy and still enjoying it. He’s good at story telling, Andy Weir.

Tomorrow if it’s dry we may go for a longer walk.

Calendars, Hips, Eggs and Mince – 18 January 2023

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Buying bags, guessing their size and getting it wrong.

Today I wanted to post the calendars out to Jamie and Jackie. Hazy already has her’s and Alex will hopefully get his tomorrow. The plastic sealable bags we had were far too big and clumsy. So we walked over to the shops in the sunshine, expecting to just pick some up. Not that easy though. We thought the bags we chose, those brown padded ones looked the right size. We also got a packet of foldback clips. Don’t worry J&J, you’ll see what they’re used for. The whole shebang was Hazy’s idea and it works much better than that perforation nonsense. Anyway, bags bought, wrong size. Just a smidgen too small. The ’smidgen’ in question was about 4mm. Time for lunch and a rethink.

Lunch for Scamp was French Toast or Eggy Bread, if you prefer. Mine was a throwback to something my mum made, it was mince with an egg poached in the middle. Sounds disgusting? Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Even overdone, like mine was, it’s amazing. Every time I have it, I’m back in Larky instantly, aged about 8.

After lunch I drove up to the town centre and bought some ‘Goldilocks’ bags. Not too small, not too big, just right. Well, almost. They were a bit big, but not so big that you could get a piano and a pianist in them. Taped them up, addressed them and took them over to the post office then sent them on their way. They should be landing on your doormats soon, strikes permitting!

I walked through St Mo’s on the way back, but it was now mid afternoon and the sun had disappeared into the clouds, so there was very little worth clicking a shutter button at. That is, until I was almost home and remembered a bunch of Rose Hips that were a bit worse for wear, but looked very photogenic. I was just finishing with them when a dodgy looking guy asked me if I had a macro lens on the camera and I said “Yes”. Then he said “You’ll be able to get in close with that.” Never judge a book by its cover. That bloke obviously knew what he was talking about.

Talking about Books and Covers, I’m really enjoying Project Hail Mary. I can see how this could easily transfer to the big screen. I’m just about halfway through and managing to keep abreast of the physics, the centripetal/centrifugal stuff.

There were indeed very few photos worth keeping from my walk, but the Rose Hips won PoD easily.

Tomorrow I’m hoping Alex and I will manage a photowalk on the East Coast if the connections work.

Looking at Planes – 16 January 2023

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Yesterday my first box of coffee arrived. Today my next box was due.

I was expecting a delivery of coffee from Rave Coffee and it was being delivered by Royal Mail, who apparently weren’t on strike today! I wasn’t entirely hopeful, although Royal Mail are slightly better than their other half, Parcel Force. We should really have gone out for a walk earlier, but we waited to see if the temperature would rise above zero first. It did finally stagger above 0ºc and began to melt the snow that had appeared during the night. Scamp offered to stay at home in case the parcel came early, so dressed appropriately I took a camera, three lenses and a Gorilla Pod tripod to St Mo’s to photograph the snow. It was just the thinnest scraping of snow, but it changed the look of the park completely.

I walked into the woods and got a few shots. No deer today. Must be their day off. I did find an old oak leaf worn almost transparent, looking very nice with the sun shining behind it. A gang of Cladonia and a single pine cone on a branch vied with it for PoD, but the oak leaf won in the end. As I was walking home I got an email to say the coffee had been delivered. They had been as good as their word.

After lunch we drove to the Town Centre and headed for Barrhead Travel to see if they could magic some seats on a plane to somewhere warm, but there was a queue at Barrhead Travel and instead we went to Hays Travel over the bridge and down into the depths of Phase 4. The manky and run-down oldest part of the centre. We sat for almost an hour with Sandra who tried her best to get us a cruise that wouldn’t mean taking out a second mortgage. We looked at P&O, NCL, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and although some of their prices were in our range, none of them had flights from Glasgow or Edinburgh. Seats on the planes were the problem. Apparently we were just too late thinking about it for this year. Finally the poor woman, almost apologetically, offered Marlella as an alternative. They used to be called Thompson and their cruises covered the ports we were interested in.

Long story short, almost two hours after we walked through her door, we had a cruise booked. Not on P&O or any of the other big companies, but with Marella, a smaller company and on a smaller ship with new ports to look forward to exploring and some old favourites we haven’t been to for a few years. Not in August because it’s just too hot for us delicate flowers, but in the early summer. Best of all, we have flights from Glasgow! That was a struggle, but I’m glad we’re settled now. Scamp did all the research as usual and we’d actually looked at Marella last week. I couldn’t have done that amount of research without loosing the rag, so thank you Scamp for making it so easy. We’ve a few things still to do, but time to do them.

Tomorrow it’s back to reality and shopping in Tesco!

 

A walk around the pond – 15 January 2023

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It was a bright morning, but we didn’t get out. Although the sun was shining, it was cold outside and as we didn’t need to be anywhere or to do anything in particular we saw that as a reason to stay put. Scamp had a problem with her FitBit and we struggled with it for a while, eventually getting it to work fairly well, but not properly. We decided we’d been sitting too long and got the heavy jackets and coats on, then went for a circuit of the pond.

Once we were out and walking, it didn’t feel so cold, although once round the pond was enough for Scamp, so she went home and I stayed for another walk round and into the woods too. I got today’s PoD there. It’s the seed head of one of my favourite wild flowers, or weeds if you prefer, the Cow Parsley. I spooked a deer when I was out in the woods. It stood watching me for quite some time and I almost got my camera out of its bag before it saw me and loped off into the undergrowth. By the time I was coming home it was becoming much colder and it’s forecast to drop down to about minus three tonight.

We worked at Scamp’s FitBit again for an hour or so before dinner and I think we have resolved all the problems now, but my fingers are all crossed, which is why I’m finding it difficult to type this blog! These thing seem so simple when you see them outlined in YouTube, but they never are in reality.

Dinner tonight was the remainder of yesterday’s curry and as with all curries, it was better on the second day. The lack of salt wasn’t so noticeable and we had it with rice and a couple of flat breads.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and heard about their posh meal with baud. Simonne is off to Japan next month on business. I remember how lucky I felt when I got a full day off to go to a business meeting in Airdrie! While she’s away, Vixen is going to the kennels for a few days.

We have no plans as yet for this coming week, apart from a visit to a travel agent to, hopefully, find somewhere we can fly to from Glasgow or Edinburgh then have some quality time on a cruise ship. It might be a pipe dream, though!