A Wet Day – 4 October 2023

We knew it was going to be a wet day, but there was no respite today.

It was a dreich day and no mistake. It started during the night and continued all day. There’s not a lot more I can say about the weather, so I won’t.

Spoke to Hazy in the morning and we caught up with all that’s happening down south. Oh yes, and she was phoning us on her new iPhone 15. Not that I’m jealous or anything, but it does look good. Wish you health to use it Hazy and a new one when it’s done! We discussed Nelly, the Pleiospilos Nelii or Split Rock she gave in June. It’s changing its shape and Hazy thought it was going to flower, but on closer inspection it looks like it’s getting ready to split and push out two new leaves. I look forward to seeing that happen.

After we said “Cheerio”, Scamp and I had lunch. Scamp had a cheese sandwich and I had the remains of the lamb shank I cooked on Sunday. After carefully warming it in the microwave, I added some gravy granules to thicken the juices that had appeared in the bowl and made a decent lunch out of it. A toasted slice of rosemary and green olive sourdough finished off lunch. Rosemary and green olive sourdough? What would my mum have made of that? I’m sure she would have tried it, but would she have liked it? I think she would have. I don’t think my dad would have thought!

With Nelly still on my mind, I set up a tripod in the back bedroom and photographed that strange wee succulent. If you look carefully at the photo you can just see the spotted pale green leaves beginning its push up towards the light. That was PoD sorted.

I spent what was left of the afternoon sketching out my take on Dodge, today’s prompt. Yes it’s another cartoon, but it’s just for fun anyway. I never said I was an artist and maybe this proves it.

We drove up to the dance class in intermittent rain. I think this was our last full attempt at the Waltz Naioli. I’m feeling much more confident about it now and I think we could dance it in public now. It was a struggle at the start, but Kirsty is a very patient teacher who goes over and over the tricky parts of the routine. She’s nowhere near as patient as Scamp is though, but between them I can see the progress I’ve made. I didn’t want to come off the floor tonight, that’s how much I’ve enjoyed this dance. Thank you ladies!

Alex and I were supposed to be going to Paisley tomorrow, but the weather looks like a watered down version of today. The water being rain. So we’ve decided to meet in Glasgow, have a coffee and go for lunch. I think that sounds really sensible.

Just Chillin’ – 3 October 2023

Today we went in search of more white goods.

Scamp and I prefer to see our intended purchases with our own eyes, rather than believing the hype the so called reviewers give us. Nor do we really believe the photos we see in online adverts. So we took our own eyes with us to Currys in Bishopbriggs to find out what they had in the way of freezers, fridges and fridge-freezers.

Inside Currys it was like walking down a canyon, not that I’ve ever walked down a canyon, but it was what I imagined that would feel like. Great towering monoliths on both sides of us, nearly all the same shade of grey, probably the ubiquitous Space Grey. They had big freezers, small fridges and fridge-freezers with various different arrangements of fridge and freezer. They even had an AI fridge-freezer! I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with an AI fridge watching me every time I went in to get the butter. Would it know that I keep my Toblerone on the top shelf and only allow me to have one triangle each day? Would it count how many blueberries I put into my porridge? It’s a scary prospect.

We were just on a recce mission today. No money changed hands, no card was tapped and no PIN was typed in. Today was just about looking in the most convenient white goods (or should that be Grey goods) store to get an idea of what’s out there and would it fit into the available space. We got some answers and a whole lot of confused messages from Currys who seem to stick any bit of paper on an article and then presend it’s the God’s honest truth. Like the fridge that was labelled as A++ for efficiency, but on another sticker as E for efficiency. Personally I’d give Currys a Z for efficiency.

Scamp left to go shopping in the new M&S food store and I went to browse the ‘toys’ in Currys. I wasn’t really considering buying anything other than an SD card reader, but I did have a play with the iPads until I saw the price of them. That’s when I left without the card reader I’d come to buy.

We drove home through an improving weather picture and had a late lunch back home, discussing what we’d seen in the shop and thinking that we might go to John Lewis tomorrow to see what they had in the store.

The weather was looking a lot better with a fair amount of sun so I took my A7 out for a walk in St Mo’s. That’s where PoD came from. It’s just three trees with the low sun shining through them, but it was quite effective. Low viewpoint, low sun and an ultra-wide angle lens.

Today’s prompt was Path and I tried painting and sketching in ink but finally settled on a daft wee sketch that was done in about fifteen minutes. Easiest is best, sometimes.

Tomorrow is going to be wet. We don’t have any plans, but might go visiting JL to see what their chilling boxes are like.

Watching them Running Races – 1 October 2023

We were out fairly early (for us) to watch the Great Scottish Run.

We got the train in to Glasgow and were both amazed at the number of runners on the train, already dressed in shorts and vests. It was a lovely morning though and when we got to Glasgow, the start for the race at George Square was already thronged with folk. Some were the 10k runners who had already completed their race and were walking around with their medals dangling from their necks. Some were friends and family of those whose Half Marathon was still to begin. Some were just like us, folk who came to cheer on the runners, bang on the plastic barriers to make a noise and also to take photos. I was in the ‘take photos’ category.

We found a space in the barrier on the starting straight and watched the runners practising their starts before the race proper started. Then, almost exactly on time the gun went off and so did the runners. Elite runners first, then the ‘good’ club runners, followed by the less serious group and finally those just hoping to finish and be able to walk tomorrow.

I must admit I wasn’t as enthralled with the race as I had been with the cycle race a month or so ago. However I was impressed with the pace everyone set, even the less serious group were making a good show of things. Scamp, a marathon runner herself stood and clapped and banged on the barriers as well as shouting encouragement. I could see that she wished she’d kept up with her running, but it’s easier out in the countryside where we used to live. Not so in the urban area we’re in now. Not so safe either.

After we watched all of the estimated 20,000 go through the starting gate and face the hill up St Vincent Street I managed to get just four photos of the runners taking up the entire width of the road. And every shot was out of focus!!! Thankfully I didn’t know that until I got home. Maybe I should replace that shonky, unreliable kit lens. Some day, maybe I will.

We found a Cafe Nero that didn’t have a queue right out the door (almost, but not quite) we had a coffee and a pastry each to stave off our hunger pangs. Then we walked over the the Jamaica Bridge to watch the elite runners turn on to Clyde Street and head for the pastures of Glasgow Green. That’s where I got the shot of the floating runner from. Taken with that same shonky, unreliable kit lens!

After we’d watched the runners coming round that bend and saw one poor bloke being supported by an older man, maybe his father, and felt relieved when both of them started jogging on towards The Green. After that we headed home.

In the afternoon, and after lunch, Scamp went out to plant some bulbs we’d bought during the week and then went on to cut the front grass too. I knew I’d have at least one decent PoD shot among the 500 odd I’d taken, so I started moving folders around the SSDs to create enough space to allow me to archive the September photos. It took a while, probably a good hour or more. If I’d been using external hard drives, I’d still be working at it tomorrow too.

Dinner for Scamp was salmon with cauliflower and potatoes. I roasted a large lamb shank in the le cruiset in the oven. I got it in the butchers at Muirhead and it was pre-marinated in herbs and mint. Truly it was delicious with the same veg as Scamp’s. There’s some left over that I might freeze or just eat during the week.

Final east for the day was to do the first Inktober 2023 sketch where the prompt was ‘Dream’. You can see my rather hastily drawn sketch here. Not my best work, but I’m hoping I improve as I remember how to do this sketching lark.

Tomorrow we’re booked for lunch with June & Ian and Crawford & Nancy. Should be a lively lunch!

 

Curry for lunch – 30 September 2023

We couldn’t decide where to go today, but eventually settled on a curry in Hamilton.

Not the most exotic place to have lunch, but according to the sign, there’s only one Bombay Cottage, so we drove to Hamilton to have a curry for lunch. Scamp had here usual Cauliflower Shimla Bhaji and for a change I had Chicken Tikka rather than my usual Chicken Rogan Josh. I’d have it again. It’s not been a favourite of mine, mainly because the sauce can be really thin and really spicy hot. This one was much milder and I could taste the onions and spices in the sauce. The chicken was as moist as any I’ve had. The only down side was the naan bread which had too much ghee and was a bit bland. Scamp had asked for well done, but either the bloke taking the order wasn’t listening or he forgot. He looked as if he was half asleep.

Fed and watered, because the drinks were very watery, we headed home into a constant drizzle in what was left of the day. Not a great day for photographs, but I did a round of the garden when we got home and the picture of a teasel flower was PoD.

We watched Strictly at night and I felt it really dragged. A few ‘no hopers’ a few trying desperately to impress and the rest were there to get their faces on TV or were brought in to fill in spaces. I’m only watching it to see them dancing in the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool, now that we’ve been there!

That was it for the last day in September. Inktober starts tomorrow and that will mean an extra hour or so’s work for me sketching, scanning and posting my efforts, then answering inane questions from those who can’t read the rules.
“But why do we have to sketch in ink?”
“Because it’s in the rules”
“But why?”
“Because I said so.”
“But why can’t I use a pencil?”
“Because you’d probably injure yourself”
“But why can’t I just use my IPad”
“Because you’re now banned! Next!”
“But why do I have to …”

Sometimes it’s a pain being an admin. Sometimes it’s fun. ????

Tomorrow we may be going to watch the Great Scottish Run. Watching, not competing!

Dining out – 29 September 2023

Scamp was out to FitSteps this morning and instead of sitting on my backside, I chose to hoover (or Dyson) the living room and the hall carpets. Not satisfied with that, I washed down the shower cabinet and cleaned its filter. Then I could settle down to read a chapter of my latest book on my Kindle app.

When Scamp returned we discussed what to do about lunch and therefore what to do about dinner. We finally settled on going to Broadwood Farm which is part of the Stonehouse chain of pub restaurants. It was still windy this morning and there was just the threat of rain so we wrapped up well to make sure Agnes wasn’t on her way back to say a final “Cheerio”. The restaurant was almost empty, while there were a queue of cars waiting at the drive through at McD’s next door. I think I’d rather have the food in Broadwood than anything in McD’s, but it seems that I’m in the minority. We both chose fish ’n’ chips today and while it certainly wasn’t haddock or cod that ended up on my plate, it was well cooked and tasted fine. Scamp had a glass of red and I had a pint of Tennents to wash it down. We sat and talked a while after the meal and I watched the cars on the stop/start roundabout and was thankful for not having to go to work any more.

We walked home via the shops where we got a pizza to stick in the fridge just in case we felt hungry later and a couple of pineapple tarts to enjoy with a cup of coffee back home.

I had considered going for a walk in St Mo’s in the morning, but chose to to do some housework instead, so while Scamp enjoyed her pineapple tart and a coffee, I plodded round St Mo’s. I took a wee awkward Lensbaby Sweet 35 with the A7. It’s called ‘Sweet’ because of a ‘sweet spot’ in the centre of the lens while the rest of the image is intentionally blurred. The 35 refers to the lens length, 35mm. It’s another manual lens with no autofocus, but that’s one of its joys. A difficult lens to get a handle on, but once you understand it, it’s an interesting piece of kit. It got today’s PoD which is a branch of Berberis growing at the side of a path through the houses. It may have been planted by the council before the cost cutting began!

A glass or two of 19 Crimes red wine took the place of the pizza, but it can stay in the freezer until it’s needed.

We’re undecided about where to go tomorrow. It will depend on the weather.

Has she gone already? – 28 September 2023

We hadn’t even noticed she’d been, Storm Agnes. She must have passed us by.

Neither of us noticed an increase in the wind during the night. Perhaps the weather maps were right for once when they showed the central belt being storm-free last night and early this morning.

Scamp had a list of places to go this morning. First we were driving to the Muirfield Centre to pick up free tickets to a tea dance. Actually a tea dance that last for five hours! That would be a marathon. Can we go home for our dinner half way through and come back after but still get our tea at the tea dance? Just asking!

Next stop was Calders to book a round table for six folk, except they didn’t have a round table that would sit six. Five, yes, but not six. Probably an EEC ruling that’s still in place. While we were there, Scamp bought some bulbs in the garden centre. Not the electrical variety, but the ones you plant in the garden. Hopefully they’ll brighten up the garden.

Last stop was Tesco for the messages. Just the usual, a bottle of wine, a bottle of gin and some odds and ends of food.

After lunch I took the A7 out with a macro lens and got today’s PoD. It’s a spider wrapping up tonight’s dinner. I should really have gone further afield and got a bit of landscape, but the sky was clouding over and there wasn’t really any decent light on the hills, so spiders and webs were all that I managed.

Dinner was Bacon and Borlotti Beans, something I haven’t made for a long while, but it was deemed edible, in fact, quite edible which was good because it’s one of those dishes you have to constantly be in charge off. It would, of course, have been better if I’d been better prepared. Maybe next time!

That was about it for today. No real plans for tomorrow, other than having a drink on Friday night, because I’m not driving to Bridge of Weir the next morning. The teachers are swanning off being teachers on a cruise ship.

Fish Pie – 27 September 2023

That’s dinner sorted!

Scamp was making Fish Pie for dinner tonight. The fish came out the freezer yesterday and spent the night thawing in the fridge.

With the warnings about the impending arrival of Storm Agnes, I thought it would be a good idea to grab some photos early, so when Scamp said she wanted to post a couple of cards in Condorrat, I thought I’d join her on her mission.

There was only the slightest breeze when we walked over the motorway bridge, bought, wrote and posted the cards. On the walk back, Scamp went left, heading for home and I went right to walk round St Mo’s. There wasn’t much to see. Yesterday’s dragonfly wasn’t to be seen, nor were there any bees or butterflies. I sometimes wonder if insects and birds can sense the arrival of stormy weather. I did get some photos of pretty weeds in St Mo’s and a spiderweb with little water drops clinging to it from last night’s rain, but PoD was going to go to a yellow leaf lying on a bed of seed heads that were just beginning to turn from green to brown.

The making of the fish pie is a secret passed down by word of mouth through the generations of women in the family. Actually Scamp’s sister gave her the recipe, but the making was done while I was out walking round St Mo’s. When I came in the place smelled of cooked fish, in the nicest possible way, but the fish itself was hidden by a tablecloth, lest I catch a glimpse of it.

Lunch was yesterday’s “What’s in the fridge” soup and it had improved overnight as all soups do. Then I got busy turning my rough photographs into finished gems, or at least recognisable objects. While I was doing that, Scamp was assembling the fish pie. I asked her if she needed any help, but was dismissed with “No, it’s fine.” I know my place! The next time I looked, the fish pie was assembled, but again covered with a tablecloth. I didn’t dare peek!

The first slice of the pie was truly delicious, but the second slice was elevated to greatness with a slightly browned top, just like a good shepherd’s pie. Brilliant!

We drove up to “The Legion” for tonight’s class and as I suspected, Kirsty was intent on rubbing the rough edges off the Waltz Nioli. I recognised some of my mistakes and also the rough edges of my own dancing. I actually enjoyed the last track because we danced through our mistakes and finished the entire track. Not perfectly, but we didn’t stop once!

Storm Agnes is due to make landfall about 4am. Hopefully I’ll be in the Land of Nod by that time! No plans for tomorrow.

 

Out for a walk – 26 September 2023

A walk between the showers.

But first, there was work to be done in the morning. I decided that I’d make some soup for lunch. Not one of Scamp’s ‘Just Soups’, but more a ‘What have we got in the fridge’ soup. What I found was some carrots, a leek, a red pepper, a slice of bacon, a couple of kale leaves and in the cupboard a tub of broth mix. That should be enough to make a pot of soup, with some boiling water and a couple of stock cubes. After chopping the veg and grating one of the carrots, I brought the lot to the boil and then let it simmer for about an hour. It looked like soup and it smelled like soup, so it was soup. That was lunch sorted, and the rain was on. I chose to drive down to the shops to get some bread while the soup was simmering. I drove to the shops because the rain was getting heavier, straight down rain.

The soup made a fairly filling lunch and the rain went off. I was thinking I might chance a walk in St Mo’s, but a quick look over the Campsies told me that although the sun was shining and the streets were drying, it wouldn’t be long before the rain would return … and I was right. However, Scamp and I did get out later in the afternoon for a walk once round the pond at St Mo’s in sunshine. I almost managed to grab a shot of a dragonfly, only one shot before it flew off and that was out of focus. Such a pity. On the way back home I got a few shots of a bloke waking home along the path through the trees and that made PoD. It’s heavily edited, but I quite like the warm light and the streaks of light across the path. The light on the path is real, but the warm light is just pure Lightroom!

The rain didn’t return for a few hours, but when it came it was torrential again. We’re expecting more rain tomorrow and strong winds too when Storm Agnes visits us. I do hope the two who are holidaying in Wales don’t suffer too much from the stormy weather.

Another short practise tonight to rub more rough edges off the waltz and it’s beginning to look like it will actually be danceable soon.

No plans for tomorrow. Just making the most of a wild day, I think.

A day to recover – 24 September 2023

Today was going to be a much more relaxing day than yesterday.

No driving, no dancing and, as it turned out, neither of us went out any further than the garden. I did think about taking a walk over to St Mo’s, but the next time I looked, it was raining. That rain lasted most of the day and eventually dried up in the late afternoon. I did take some photos in the garden, but wasn’t impressed with any of them.

While I was out I found the Venus Fly Trap that struggled in the garden with the dry weather in June. We had managed to coax it back to health, but now as the temperature is dropping it’s coming in to the kitchen, to overwinter. Venus managed to make PoD. I think that was the highlight of the day, although my photo of the Lady of Shalott rose from a couple of days ago was awarded ‘Explore’ on Flickr. I was quite surprised, but happy to accept the accolade.

Dinner tonight was Fish Fingers, Tomatoes and Chips for Scamp and a Venison Burger with Mushrooms and Chips for me. Dessert was Meringue with Ice Cream, Passion Fruit and a dash of Passion Fruit Sauce for extra flavour. Not a bad Sunday dinner.

Tomorrow we’re intending having coffee with Isobel if we don’t get blown away with the wild wind.

A long day – 23 September 2023

A day that started around 9am and finished around 1am the next day, which means, of course, that this is a catch-up!

We started off at 10.15am heading to Brookfield. We had a quorum, but only just with four couples. Our dancing started off with Tina Tango, the music being Scamp’s favourite ‘Shivers’. Two tracks of that got us moving, then we moved on to Cha-Cha which I admit I struggled with, but eventually came to terms with. I remembered Janes warning to keep my feet just scraping the floor and not make clumpy noises, but I’d entirely forgotten the other nuances of the dance. Information overload was my excuse.

A couple of tracks of Mayfair Quickstep and then we went on to Joy’s Waltz which I almost had before the teachers swanned off for a fortnight ‘working’ on a cruise ship, then another week on holiday. We hadn’t practised it since then and it had dissolved from my memory. I just got angrier and angrier with my inability to remember what went where. Eventually, with Scamp’s patient help it all came back, well, almost all. But I’ll write down the sequences and practise them before the teachers return from their next holiday, ‘cruise work’ in three weeks. Then Joy’s Waltz will be a joy to behold!

Another two sequence dances and we were done for the day. Done dancing at least. After we drove home I intended driving somewhere to get a PoD, but I forgot my phone, so I drove back home and parked the car, then went for a walk in St Mo’s where I found a wee knothole about the size of £2 coin in the wooden boardwalk. A moss had colonised it and from above it looked like a tiny garden in an urban environment, but maybe that’s just me.

By the time I got that processed and posted it was time to get ready to drive to Crawford and Nancy for dinner. It was a good evening and night and dinner was good too. I tried to solve Crawford’s problem with connecting his iPhone to his Microsoft PC but eventually had to give up. I have exactly the same problem trying to get the Macs to connect to my Android phone.

We got home just after midnight after driving through some torrential rain on the M74 and as I said at the start, the day finished around 1am after Scamp had gone to bed and I’d had a wee whisky as a nightcap.

Tomorrow ( ok, today, but ‘tomorrow’ is traditional) we will treat the day as recovery from a full day.