Category: weather

Let it Snow – 23 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

This is probably the first snow of the year, and it’s still lying.

I woke about 6am and there was no snow. I surfaced again about 7am and everywhere was white. The temperature had risen just enough to be in the snowy zone. Not long afterwards, Scamp’s phone started ringing. Every one a cancellation. It only took about 20 minutes for the final decision to cancel today’s dance class to be announced. We didn’t have a lot of snow, but we were both more worried about what we’d meet on the way to Brookfield and even more apprehensive about the conditions we’d drive into on the way back. It was a relief to snooze or read for an extra half hour in bed.

The snow continued on and off for most of the morning. I tried another variation on yesterday’s photo of the birds. This time, just the arial antics of the starlings dangling from the cages with the suet blocks on the tree branches, but none of them were clear enough for me.

After a plate of soup with a slice of toast for lunch, the snow stopped for the day and I got today’s real PoD which was a water drop hanging from a branch of the climbing rose at the front door. For once I captured the water drop forming a lens through which I could see an upside down but clear image of the house behind ours. That was easily the best shot of the day. I had thought of going out to get some snowy pictures, but decided what I had would be good enough. Besides, it was beginning to rain.

Dinner was Kashmiri chicken curry from a Holy Cow concentrate that claimed it was a heat level 2 of 5. It lied. It was very, very hot. I don’t want to know how hot a heat level 5 would be. Probably hot enough to melt the plastic bag it came in!

We watched Franco Colapinto demonstrate how to completely destroy a £12 million F1 race car in about 10 seconds. When the camera turned to views of the mechanics you could read their minds that said “Bang goes any chance of a couple of beers tonight.”

We will wait until tomorrow before we make any decisions on where we’re going, if we’re going anywhere!

Another cold morning – 22 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Scamp caught the bus to meet Isobel in the morning, while I took the easy option and edited this week’s photos. I managed to pull four or five shots up from the depths of this week’s efforts. Usually I’m complaining about there being no direct lighting, but the harsh light from the low sun was a challenge in the last seven days. Never happy!

While I was making my coffee later in the morning, I spotted a blackbird pecking away at half an apple sitting on the compost bin. I grabbed my camera, but by the time I got back to the kitchen it had flown off. I left my camera waiting, just in case it came back. I think it might have because the apple was now lying on the ground. The blackbird might have gone, but five sparrows were now having a communal bath in the warm water of the bird bath I’d poured a jug of hot water into the frozen bird bath and by the time I’d had a quick look round the garden and replaced the fallen apple, the water was cool, but no longer frozen.

Once I was inside again and the coast was clear, the birds returned. I spotted half a dozen sparrows, a couple of dunnocks, two blue tits, a robin and a gang of rowdy starlings. Our garden must have been the only place for miles around where they could drink and have a splash. Poor wee things.

When Scamp returned, we walked over to Broden’s for what has become a Friday lunch. Not every Friday, but usually every second one, especially in the winter. Bumped into George Taylor in Broden’s, sneaking a pint after getting some messages!

When we were walking home there was just the hint of rain in the wind. The first rain we’ve had in about a week, which is probably another reason the birds find our garden a real asset.

Scamp took pity on them and hung up a couple of holders with slabs of fat and seeds inside. It wasn’t long before the starlings found them and started squabbling to be first to stock up on the food.

PoD was a robin. Maybe the one that was waiting impatiently for its turn at the bath.

The weather fairies are predicting wild weather when Storm Bert rolls in tomorrow bringing wind, snow, thunder-snow and rain. They have been warning about it for the last week, so we’ll take the warning seriously.

I’m not sure if we’ll be going to Brookfield tomorrow. It will definitely be a case of “It depends on the weather”

Another fairly early rise – 21 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Well, it was before midday. That’s early for us.

Scamp had managed to get an appointment to see the doctor about the tremor in her right hand. After examining her and checking her arm movement he told her to make an appointment to get some blood tests done, to rule out the possibility that it was her meds that were causing the tremor. Luckily we managed to get an appointment in the afternoon to get the blood letting done.

I also spoke to one of the receptionists about the results of the ECG I had done last month and found out it was normal, which is good. It must be the first time I’ve been described as ‘normal’. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or a slur! You’ll be happy, Neil. You were the one who convinced Scamp to set a date to get some awkward things done we both used “Neil’s Rule” today

Back home it was coffee time and also time for a slice of dumpling. A dumpling Scamp had made yesterday. Partly cooked in the slow cooker and partly nuked in the microwave. The smell yesterday was a powerful reminder of ‘clootie’ dumplings my mum used to make by tying the mixture up in a cotton tea towel and then boiling the dumpling in the pressure cooker, the biggest pot she had. I never liked the thick skin on the dumplings, but I do now. Isn’t it funny how your tastes change as you get older.

Scamp had a piece ’n’ egg for lunch and I had a smoked fillet of mackerel. It was lovely at the time, but it does repeat quite a lot and comes back on you, tasting more and more oily every time. I’ll maybe give it a miss the next time I’m looking for something ‘different’ for lunch.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s but couldn’t find anything interesting to photograph, then as I was about to walk home I saw today’s PoD through the trees. Someone managed to push a shopping trolley about half way across St Mo’s pond. The ice on the pond isn’t really very thick, but the water underneath is at least waist deep and very cold. Maybe the contents of the empty bottle gave them Dutch courage to try this dangerous game.
Don’t try this at home kiddies!

No snow yet here, but we are getting worrying weather warnings for Friday and Saturday. Maybe someone should tell the weather fairies that it’s still Autumn and not Winter for more than a week.

No FitSteps this week because the teacher has a bad cold. I think Scamp may be intending to meet Isobel for coffee at Costa.

 

 

Foggy – 12 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

A grey morning with mist and fog

I was off through the fog to the dentist in the morning. Just for a check-up, but I knew that I needed a filling and some work done on one of my front teeth. Too much to do in check-up time I have to go back … in January. That’s next year! At least the work was going to be done under NHS otherwise I’d be moaning about the cost as well as the wait. Thankfully the loose filling isn’t giving me any pain (touch wood) and it’s been loose since about January 2024, so no need for hurry! Drove home and the fog seemed to be lifting a bit.

We drove to M&S to get the makings of tonight’s dinner which was to be stir-fry. Then we went to Tesco for bread and milk and all the other stuff we couldn’t get in M&S.

After lunch I went for a walk in St Mo’s in the fog that was now descending again. PoD went to a photo of a bank of rushes with a tree almost fading into the background. I quite liked it. Lots of shots of desiccated cow parsley heads, bejewelled with strings of spiderwebs holding little raindrops. Very pretty and pretty cold too. Thank goodness for a down jacket.

Dinner tonight was Prawn Stir-Fry and even if I say so myself, it turned out really well.

We watched Bake Off and mourned the loss of another good baker and a great contestant. And now there were four! Next week is semi-finals week.

Tomorrow is to be foggy again and I’m sure I heard the weather man say it might be snowy next week. I’m not surprised!

Sunshine and flowers – 11 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

For once it wasn’t sunshine and Showers.

Spoke to Hazy in the morning. I think she liked the rhinoceros shoes that are destined for Grian. I did have a quick look, but no adult size shoes with attached sox could I find. The Van Gogh exhibition sounded amazing, Hazy.

As we were talking I was watching the light playing across the Alstrumeria cut flowers on a table in the living room. Once we’d finished our call with Hazy, I just had to take a couple of shots of them. Literally two shots was all I took, but the effect of that sunlight and shadows meant I didn’t need any more. Photo one got PoD.

I took the Down jacket out for another spin later. Just a walk down to the shops to get bread. It should have been bread and some cold sliced chicken for Scamp, but I completely forgot the chicken. It was one of those days when things went a bit wrong. Never mind Scamp I’ll bring some home tomorrow if I remember.

Dinner tonight was pasta all’Amatriciana. Pasta with tomato, onions, bacon and chilli flakes. I added some tomato concentrate to strengthen it and it worked very well. The simplest dishes are often the most difficult to make properly.

That was about it for the day. That bright sunlight in the morning sort of faded away in the afternoon and left us with the usual clouds.

Last week Scamp was at the dentist. Tomorrow it’s my turn. I know I need at least one filling. I’ll have to wait to find out what else she discovers!

 

Dancin’ – 9 November 2024

Posted on by Zogman

Almost forgot about the dance class today, but we did make it to Brookfield in time.

The torture started with Mayfair Quickstep, just to get us warmed up because it the Committee must be cutting back on the heating. Then it was in to the Hobie Quickstep and someone had formatted my brain, just after I formatted yesterday’s SSD. I couldn’t remember a thing. I used to say that I had a logical side to my brain and a creative side. I think I’ve spent so much time working with the upgrade to the iMac on my Logical brain, I’ve forgotten to keep up the dance practise on my Creative brain. That’s my excuse anyway.

After some gentle prodding from both Scamp and Jane, things began to slot into place and by the end of almost an hour, I was feeling more comfortable with it. It is a Quickstep, though and there’s a lot of fast footwork to get through.

Next was a Rumba. Much gentler than the quickstep, but more places to stylise your movements, hand, body and feet. None of these dances are as easy as they make them look on Strictly. Halfway through the class Stewart dropped the bombshell that there will be no class next week as he and Jane are going to Murryfield for the rugby. Oh Dear! What a shame! I was devastated, as you can imagine!! Not only that, there is a chance that we may be changing the venue for the Gala Ball from Perth to somewhere slightly newer. I don’t want to say too much yet for fear of jinxing it!
The Quickstep was a sequence dance, but the Rumba was a mix and match. Add, subtract and mix the figures to make your own routine. That makes it much easier, but you need a more structured approach to start with or else I would pick the easiest figures and ignore the more difficult ones. But it’s an interesting dance. Never as easy as it looks and always with the problem of remembering the terrifying “Sliding Doors” that used to haunt my dreams on a Saturday night after class. They were mentioned and demonstrated today, but I just covered my eyes and they weren’t there!

PoD today was a Calendula flower bravely bobbing its head in the cold breeze in the back garden. I wasn’t planning on going out for a walk today. Cold and gloomy with a layer of mist shielding us from the sun.

Watched with indifference the gyrations of the Strictly dancers. Criticising their attempts and giving them a lowly “5” for their poor footwork or blocky hands. I’ve no idea who will leave this week.

We have no real plans for tomorrow, but I might get myself a light, warm jacket to go to cold places!

Coffee and Glasgow – 7 November 2024

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On a beautifully clear autumn morning.

Today started with an email from Henry’s Coffee to say that my order of coffee beans was ready to collect. A quick calculation told me I could manage to drive to Falkirk, pick up the coffee and get back home before I caught the bus to Glasgow to meet Alex. Driving through Falkirk just before 10am was a delight. Very little traffic and a beautiful blue sky overhead. Picked up the coffee, but had to turn down the offer of a cup of the espresso blend with the owner as I was on a tight schedule. Got back home and then I was off to catch the bus to Glasgow.

Over a cup of coffee in Nero we made our plans for the day which was to get the bus to Kelvingrove and then walk up to Glasgow University where we were intending getting some photos in the Cloisters. I know, technically they are not cloisters, but I never did understand the difference. With that agreed I wanted a look at the new iMacs that can be ordered from tomorrow, but it was only the M3 models that were on display. Even they had eye watering prices attached. As and example, the Mac Pro starts at a quid short of £8,000 and that’s without a display! We looked, but were very careful not to touch!

Once the dream popped and we returned to reality, we caught the bus to Kelvinside and did walk up to the Uni. It was mobbed with secondary school kids who were working in groups. Some were measuring things, some were photographing things and some were analysing mosses and lichens on the buildings. None of them were causing mayhem, so they must all have come from posh schools. That lovely weather from the morning and the warmth it had brought with it had dissipated rapidly as we climbed the hill to the Uni. Now there was a cold wind blowing and it was woolly bunnet time. After we’d photographed our fill, we headed back to Kelvingrove Art Gallery for a quick lunch. Mine was a sandwich of Chicken and Pesto on Brown Bread with a glass of fresh orange. Alex had his usual of Ayrshire Ham with Pickles, also on the Brown Bread.

The light had almost gone by the time we left Kelvingrove so we caught the bus back to the city centre and had another coffee before heading our separate ways. Alex to the bus station and me to get a Yankee Candle for Scamp in Buchanan Galleries, then the X3 to The Shops for a couple of bunches of Alstroemeria flowers, also for Scamp.

It was Leek and Potato soup for dinner tonight and it was delicious. We watched and episode of Portrait Artist and for once, almost all the artists were spectacularly good. Scamp picked the winner.

PoD turned out to be a student striding past the Cloisters, although I was spoiled for choice with the photos I’d taken, all from Glasgow Uni.

Tomorrow, Scamp is intending going to FitSteps in the morning and then hopefully meeting her big sister. I am hoping to have a free morning that will probably be filled with a third attempt at installing Ventura into what’s probably a tired little SSD. It must be fed up with me by now.

 

Dropping in on the Kelpies – 6 November 2024

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Not a lot to do today, so a visit to the big horses was a good idea.

It all started when Scamp broke two clasps on two separate necklaces, one ancient one over fifty years old. The other one had been repaired at least once before, but not very well. She trusts a jeweller in Falkirk and that’s why we were going there today.

Once we’d dropped off the jewellery we drove down to Helix park to see the Kelpies. There was a thin mist forming in the valley and I was hoping I would get some atmospheric photos of the great beast rising above the mist, but it wasn’t to be. The nearer we came to them, the clearer the mist was, but we went for a walk anyway, but first we had lunch in the cafe. We had a window seat which was just luck, because the cafe was really busy. Nobody wanted to sit outside today on such a chilly afternoon. The food was cheap and mainly warming, although Scamp’s Mac ’n’ Cheese was a bit cooler than she’d have liked. My lentil soup was hot! But the slice of pizza I had was tepid. Foodies expect the best all the time.

We walked around the Kelpies. You can’t really call them structures or statues, they are so much more than that. I took a lot of photos, but my favourite and PoD was taken from inside the cafe looking out and it was of a tray with two cups and a jug of milk with everything else being just slightly out of focus … intentionally this time and in monochrome.

We drove home and I spent nearly an hour on the phone talking to Val. He seemed in much better spirits today. The last time we spoke he sounded a bit down. It was good to hear him almost back to his usual self. We’ve arranged to have coffee some time soon. Either at his house or at Costa.

It appears, from what Scamp can glean from Kirsty, that we may be moving the Wednesday dance class from the British Legion to a council run centre on a Tuesday. Most folk seem to be perfectly happy with the arrangement. It would make a great difference to be able to dance on a real floor, much bigger than the postage stamp we have at present.
Tonight’s class was a bit of a disaster. I still haven’t got the hang of the Paso La Paz. Too many changes of direction and too fast. I’ll be glad when we leave it behind.

I’m intending to meet Alex tomorrow. I’d suggested we revisit Paisley, but he wants to try for some photos of the trees and cloisters of Glasgow Uni. That might work quite well, because we will lose those leaves soon, and we can do Paisley another time.

An improving prospect – 5 November 2024

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A much nicer day than we’ve had of late. I think the sunshine helped greatly.

After a lazy morning, again, we went out for a walk in Drumpellier woods. We had to drive there first, of course, but it’s not far and if you ignore the obvious walk round the loch, the woods are lovely.

The sun had been bright in the morning, but by the time we got to the park it was dulling down a lot. It didn’t stop us, because we were out for a walk. Just five minutes into the walk I got PoD which was a wide shot of a swan hustling for food near the seated area where lots of folk feed them. I apologised to the swan because I’d nothing it would want to eat, but I took a couple of photos of it anyway. I was shooting into the sun, but although out of the camera the photo was a bit rough, some gentle persuasion brought out the colours in the water and the distant trees. We walked on.

I was hoping to see some deer, but it’s a long time since I’ve seen any in the park and I was disappointed today.. Drumpellier’s woodlands are a marvellous place to walk through. So many different paths to try out. We didn’t actually choose any of them, but have earmarked one at least for a day with more time on our hands. Instead, we walked round behind the biggest woodland and the sun returned to light our way. Eventually we came to one of the tarmacked roads and as we walked round the loch and back to the car the sun started to sink towards the trees. The days are feeling a lot shorter since the clocks went back.

Back home I joined battle with MacOS Ventura again. There was a large chunk of storage space just sitting there with no reason for its existence, so I tried to remove it, but it was outside my knowledge, so I formatted the entire SSD and started again. After about three hours and umpteen password insertions later the system was working again and had plenty empty storage space again. Hopefully it will run sweeter for a few months now.

Working my way through the intricacies of Ventura was difficult today with all the Woooshes and Bangs from Guy Fawkes Night. I must be getting old, because I have no time for these noise makers anymore. The rapid bangs of the explosions sound like machine gun fire. Folk with PTSD must have a terrible time during November.

Dinner was a pair of old favourites.Scamp had Bubble & Squeak and I had Cabbage, Bacon and Potatoes. Very nice.

Watched Bake Off and were not surprised by the person who left.

I’m intending to phone Val tomorrow to arrange a coffee day. Scamp has the dreaded Dentist!

The Last Dance – 3 November 2024

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Saying goodbye to The Salutation and Perth for a while.

Breakfast in the morning and then the inevitable final hour of dancing with about half of yesterday’s contingent. It was like a Tea Dance without the Tea. Fairly gentle workout after yesterday’s marathon. I remember watching a film, years ago, called They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?. The plot revolved round a marathon dance competition in Depression era America. In retrospect, that’s what yesterday felt like after a while. Today’s hour passed quite quickly and was a combination of all the dances we learned over the weekend.

We drove home, managing to avoid most of the roadworks this time and I was feeling just a little bit down, a bit flat after leaving all those other dancers. I’m sure a lot of them felt exactly the same. Arrived back home to drizzly rain. What a welcome!

The bags were emptied and dinner was discussed. At least, our dessert of rhubarb and custard wouldn’t taste of onions.

I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got today’s PoD which looked from a distance to be yellow flowers beside St Mo’s pond, but which was actually bright yellow leaves.

Spoke to Jamie in the evening and learned that their week had been uneventful and totally different from ours.

An early bed.

Hoping to sort out a computer update tomorrow.