29th March

It's been a while since I blogged so here are some photos from our first week over here.

Well, it's getting close to the end of March.
Just a few more days and we'll be in April.

Is it March that's supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb?

If it is, it isn't.

Not here in Oregon anyway.
What's it like in Banchory?

Just as well, really, as my feet and legs blew up like balloons while we were in Newport Beach so some cool weather is going to suit me just fine.

Changing the subject completely. . .
Double layer chocolate fudge cake after tea tonight!!

It's Scott's birthday. . . ah the joys of birthdays - cake - mmmh :)

I swam 12 extra laps while I was at the swimming pool this morning just so's I could eat the cake with a clear conscience :)

Thursday 18th March

That's me just back from the tip. . . I'm mentioning this for your benefit, Kelly!
Our Skype this morning caused me to miss the bin men :(
So I had to lift all the rubbish into the boot of the car and take it to the tip myself!
Yuck.

Moving on . . . You know, I can't think what I've been doing since last Friday. How come it's been so long since I blogged?

Well let me think.

Sunday was Mother's Day and Gary took Carole and I to the cinema with a visit to Chequito's for lunch thrown in. . . Carole had salad with her chicken in a bun, but I chose chips.
I hardly ever eat chips these days so I reckoned if Gary was going to treat me, I should make it worth my while :)

I enjoyed 'Alice in Wonderland', though I'm not sure how much difference the 3D glasses made. I think you got more for your money with Avator.

Non the less, the gift was much appreciated :)

Talking about 3D glasses reminded me of the story Kelly told me this morning about the comedy act she went to see the other night at the Adelaide Fringe.

They gave you 3D glasses as you went in because, they said, there would be a 3D section in the show.

At the appointed time, they were all told to and duly put on the 3D glasses. At which point, the comedians started throwing things, like huge beach balls, out into the audience.

I'm glad to hear that others are as gullible as me!!

OK. What else has happened?

The washing machine engineer came on Monday and replaced the brushes in the motor of the washing machine which was why the drum wouldn't turn.

Interestingly, he told me I only have to use about half the amount of soap that the manufacturers recommend and he said that the reason my clothes are stiff when they're dried outdoors or on the pulley is because they still have soap in them because I've used too much in the first place!

So I'm going to use a lot less and see how I get on. . . I'll let you know.

The baby in the photos is Freya Rose. Anne's grandaughter.
Cute wee thing isn't she?


I've put them in because onTuesday, I went to the Garden Centre with Anne for a coffee and a scone in the morning. And last week when I'd met her for coffee, she had the wee one with her. That's when I took these photos.

Tuesday afternoon, I went and picked up Luca from Nursery and brought him over here for tea.

"Sausages, beans and mashed potatoes? Yes?"
"No!"
"What?"
"No like."
"If you don't eat your natural goodness then you can't have the chocolate milk in the fridge."
"Mmm."

Over to the fridge.
Open it.
Lean in and pick up the box of eggs.
"This is what I want to eat," said with a pained expression and a pleading voice as he held them out to me.

Boiled egg on the table, with top off.
"Nooooo, not like that! On a plaaaate!"

Get a plate.
Not sure what to do with it.
"Take skin off egg."
Spoon the little top bit out onto the plate.
"Noooo. Not like that!"

"Luca. I need you to show me what to do."
Child lifted the eggcup with the egg in it and placed it on the plate.
"Theeeere."
Satisfied.

He ate the egg.

Wednesday, I went to the hairdresser.
Ian said my haircut was nice, last night.
And Kelly said she liked it too, when she saw it this morning on Skype.
A wee bit darker again and shorter at the back.
I've no idea how it'll be to look after. . . might regret my decision after the first wash.
Fingers crossed.

Thursday, I've been for coffee to the Sheiling with Janice, Tina and Alison. And very nice it was, too.

And here I am back at where I started. . . just back from the tip.

Case almost filled. Will probably get over to Lucy's and realise I've left half my stuff behind.
Och well. It won't be the end of the world.

Just to finish, would you like to see the state of our road after the snow?
Dreadful isn't it!

Friday 12th March

Just a quick note because I'm heading out to meet Anne and Johanne at 10.30.

Anne's looking after little Freya for a couple of days so that her mum and dad can have peace to do their flitting.

They've bought a bottom floor flat in Torry. It's got its own garden which was the big draw since they've been living in a tenement in Rosemount on the fourth floor!


Still having trouble with this 'diet and lifestyle thing'. I ate half a bag of carrots yesterday afternoon fighting the urge to finish Ian's birthday cake and boy was I pleased to see Ian when he got home because tea was ready and I was starving!!

I wonder how many calories there are in a pound of carrots? :)

Just for you two. . . Lucy and Gary. Seeing as you weren't in yesterday's photo.


You are at the beach in Les Sables D'Olonne in 1986.
So that makes you 13, Lucy.

And I think you actually had your 11th birthday while we were there, Gary.
I always felt a bit sad when your birthday fell during our holidays. Bit of a bummer being born during the school summer holidays, really.

And Gary. . . I can see from the photo, you were just about to grow.
You always grew out first, got a little tubby and then you stretched and used up the tub.
Weird!
Eh Skinny?

Thursday 11th March

For no other reason than I like photos on my blog, here's one taken when we were in Norway. You must have taken this one, Gary, seeing as your the one not in the photo!
This was during your "I'm too old and sophisticated to go on holiday with my mum and dad!" phase, Lucy - hence the reason we don't see you either!

Thanks for the comment about 'Hurt Locker', by the way, Gary. I was dumfounded when I heard it had got that award. Nice to know I'm not alone! :)

It's half past seven in the morning and I've almost lost that stunned feeling. This morning I woke at seven with eyes that refused to open and that 'hit by a lorry' sensation in every muscle!

Can't think why as I was asleep just after ten last night.

Och well, never mind. The day is young. And I'm not going to eat as much as I did yesterday. I'm failing completely in my efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet. Still I've got till November to do something as that's when I get my annual check up.

Quickly change the subject . . . yesterday, the weather was beautiful and the snowy outcrops that still adorn our landscape sparkled in the sun.
Wished I'd had my camera with me to capture some of the images.
Of course when I say the snowy outcrops, I mean some of them. The rest of them are filthy and black; pocked with grit and soot.

Johanne, Myra, Elizabeth and I toddled down to Banchory Lodge yesterday morning for 'Coffee with a Purpose'!
It's a churchy thing. Once every couple of months they have a speaker come. The speakers are usually author's promoting their books.
The last time I went it was to listen to Paul Jones - you know he used to sing with Manfred Mann and yesterday it was Jonathon Aitken's turn - the Tory mp who went to jail.

Linda Bagrath was there. You know Ian's buddy Jazz's wife.
Johanne asked her how she had enjoyed her cruise and she wasn't very enthusiastic in her response!
Well that was a turn up for the books. . . Ian and I have over the last year been inandated with positive comments about what wonderful experiences cruises are and here is somebody who's saying otherwise.

Linda said that your every need is catered for on the ship but having to be back on board every night for your dinner by half five was a big negative for her. She didn't feel there was enough time on shore.

RS. . .
The bad news is he's getting up later and later again. Yesterday it was two oclock in the afternoon before he emerged.
"It's my body clock," he says.
He's got this theory that he runs on a 25 hour clock while the rest of us run on 24!!

The good news is he's got loads of work on just now.
One customer whose daughter's laptop he fixed, has brought him his own computer which he says is just out of a repair shop and isn't right and he's had a call from another person who had him recommended by a friend. Looking good.

Luca was over on Tuesday for his tea. He and Ross and I had a picnic tea on the back room carpet - just for a wee change.
I'd picked him up from nursery in the afternoon where I'd had to sign the Naughty Book (actually it's the incident book) because his lordship had hit another child over the head with a plantpot. Oh the embarrassment of it! :)
I'm assuming it was an empty plastic pot!!

Monday 8th March

You'll be glad to hear that I do not need to go back to see the dentist. No fillings needed. Joy of joys!!

The hygienist, however, was disappointed in the state of my mouth :(

More pockets in my gums created by the bacteria that live in plaque, she informed me and handed me a bigger 'between the teeth' brush to cope with the bigger spaces I now have between my teeth... I hate getting older!

This was my first check up after having 'gone private'. Remember, I got a letter from the dentist to say he was no longer taking NHS patients and that to be honest what I paid for charges within the NHS would be about the same as insurance. . . I took the easy option and transferred over.

Well, having checked my teeth for signs of decay and found none, he asked me to stick my tongue out.
"Why? You've never asked me to do that before!" I asked while chewing some of his fingers.

Seemingly now that I'm 'private', he is responsible for the care of everything in my mouth forward of the tonsils!

He checked my tongue - both sides - and my glands inside my mouth and outside... oh and he informed me that since I've never had them out, either my wisdom teeth never grew or I was born without any!

Well, I never!

On the way home, I took my car to the car wash and gave her the de luxe VIP wash at £6.50. This includes the wheels and the undercarriage!

She looks so good, I might make a start on the inside!! Might :)

Changing the subject, would you like to see my birthday photos?
Yes?
OK, here goes...

Preparation for the 'big fire' is all important -

- and obviously very amusing. . .


Then there's ignition - we actually have 24 candle power. . .

Then there's the serious business of trying to put out the fire . . maybe we should consider the fire brigade?

Exhausted after the effort of blowing out the candles, it was decided that once was enough!

And we finished with a rendition of 'Happy Birthday to Grandad!'

The following photos were taken later when Carole was getting ready to go out to her 'Hen Night'. Her boots were needing a little shine.
Well trained? :)

Well, it's twenty to twelve and I want Ross up before I go swimming, so I'll sign off till another time.
Wish me luck with the boy.

Friday 5th March

The temperature is well above freezing outside but it doesn't feel like it - I think it's the damp that's making it feel so cold!

I noticed the temperature when I took Ian along to meet his friends at the Douglas. They're heading up to Gary Grant's for a 'headbang'

... and I've just had the phonecall to let me know they don't need me to taxi them up there.

Thank goodness, I really didn't fancy going out into the cold again tonight.

I reckon we might wake up tomorrow to a lot less snow if this thaw keeps up :)
At last!! Here's hoping.

This is just going to be a short entry and when I finish writing, I'm going downstairs to watch 'Come Dine with Me' and then I'm going to have an early night... and tomorrow morning, I'm going to hoover!

Why am I telling you that?

Well my Dyson turbo head for my vacuum cleaner gave up the ghost just before Ian came home from Marakesh... it fought the good fight against Ross' hair for many years but in the end, it has had to admit defeat.

A wee reminder of how long the offending hair has grown.

And the new one I ordered has just arrived today - hurrah!!

I keep suggesting to Ross that he gets a haircut. I've even offered to do it myself but he's having none of it.

You should try washing the floors in here. Even after sweeping them, your washing cloth and your fingers become totally tangled up with long black hairs - yuk!

Thursday 4th March

Thursday night, just after seven thirty.

Ian is sitting downstairs watching the TV, Ross is in his room raiding and I came up the stairs to change into my jammies.

I thought I'd make a quick entry before going back down to give me time to look forward to the cup of tea and piece of 'rocky road' I'm going to share with Ian when I get back!

This anticipated joy is courtesy of Ross...
I noticed a cellophane packet when I was in his room getting his plate for the dishwasher and he very kindly offered the last remaining chocolate and marshmallow delight to me when I enquired as to what was in the packet!

I think he wanted rid of me... raiding takes all his concentration!

Ross spent part of the afternoon with Trish and Caroline next door. They couldn't bring up the internet on Caroline's laptop. Apparently they had inadvertantly switched something off! Quite understandable, I would've thought :)

He got a phonecall from another potential customer today just before I went out to my scrabble club - sounds good, doesn't it? But they only let me join so none of them would come last in the games!

Anyway, this woman who phoned lives near Braemar, but fortunately she's passing our door tomorrow so she's going to bring the computer to Ross.

And now the good news. A new series of Murdoch Mysteries has just started!!

Yes, I know you all know he's a Toronto police detective round about 1900 but just incase you couldn't quite remember I'm reminding you.

That's Murdoch on the left. The lady is the pathologist... great stuff! Look at the police uniforms!!
I'm recording it on to the Sky box so I can watch it while I do the ironing.

Happy days :)