Author: Rachel M
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Piping championships, highland dance show, cycle paths, gulls, and hamster
Lots has been happening here. Last Saturday was the European piping championships in Duthie Park which saw some 150 pipe bands playing. It was very loud and our brains continued playing bagpipe music long after they’d finished. There was also highland dancing, lots of activities, and a dinosaur trail in the winter gardens. I do…
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Newburgh seals
Daniel has been doing a terrific job of entertaining Etienne during the week while Ben and I are working. Today I took an extended lunch break and drove them to the seals at Newburgh. It has been several years since we were last here and I forgot out pretty it is. It’s about 20 minutes…
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Newton Dee and a hamster update
The kids cycled themselves to Newton Dee today, had lunch, then visited the playground. I think they enjoyed themselves. Daniel took these photo. I took Rocket to the vet for his monthly teeth-trimming. I’ve found a vet who has experience with hamsters and she trims his teeth once a month now. She was quite surprised…
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A walk at Crathes Castle
We took the kids for a walk at Crathes Castle today. I always enjoy coming here as there are so many walks you can do to suit whether you want something short or long. It’s also more pleasant on a hot day to walk in the forest. And of course it’s a bonus to have…
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Dinner and a swim at Banchory
The intrepid cyclist took off on an overnight trip to Banchory yesterday, cycling along Deeside Way and taking a small diversion to Drum Castle en route. We have a French exchange student called Etienne visiting us for a few weeks to improve his English. He arrived yesterday so we went out to Banchory Lodge hotel…
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Strathmore Highland Games at Glamis Castle
We gave Grandad a true Scottish experience today at the Strathmore Highland Games at Glamis Castle. There was highland dancing – which Elizabeth participated in – caber tossing, stone throwing, running, cycling, tug-of-war, and various other heavy weight competitions including ones I’d never seen before like throwing beer barrels and carrying whopping great hunks of…
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Lunch, a walk, and a swim in the Cairngorms
We’re just back from a tremendous day in the Cairngorms with Grandad. First was an early lunch at the Bothy which overlooks the Clunie River so you can sit outside and eat your lunch right next to this. We swam in it last year. Next up was a quick sticky-beak in The Fife Arms. Then…
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Grandad is here!
I haven’t seen my dad in over four years. He did plan to come for a visit in 2020 but then covid happened. He finally arrived this week and here he is sporting his new “Grandad” tshirt. We’re all absolutely delighted that he made it. Before he arrived there were discussions about how much taller…
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Rocket update and letting the “weeds” grow
I’m getting slack with my blog posts as it has been a while since I last posted anything. We haven’t been doing as many things on our weekends as Daniel has had exams and hasn’t wanted to go anywhere. There’s less to share when we’re not out doing interesting things. But that’s about to change,…
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I finished knitting a jumper
I finished knitting Ben’s jumper today. It took me quite a while but there was a lot of yarn to knit. I’m pleased with the end result and I think Ben is too. It’s maybe a bit on the large size but better too big than too small I guess. Victoria helped me tie up…
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Elephant Sessions
We saw Elephant Sessions live at The Lemon Tree in Aberdeen last night. It was excellent! Elephant Sessions is a Scottish indie-folk band and I would describe their music as a mix between folk and dance music. It’s entirely instrumental with Euan Smillie on the violin, Alasdair Taylor on the mandolin, Seth Tinsley on bass,…
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The magpie and Rocket
I recently got a large bird-feeding house with a high capacity because I was having to refill the tube feeders so frequently I thought this would last longer. However a magpie with a discerning palate has discovered he can flick through the seed picking out the bits he likes. He empties it in less than…
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Coronation of King Charles III May 6 2023
I made scones for the coronation today. These are vegan, salt-free, and scrumptious. I watched most of the coronation while I was knitting. It’s fascinating to see people who are not actors do and say things that would be more fitting in a historical TV drama series. The British are very good at retaining customs…
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One pot, pan, planet cookbook
We’ve been fairly house-bound of late as Daniel has been studying for his GCSE exams which started last week. He’s been studying so hard we’ve had to encourage him to relax and try not to worry about them so much. He’s coping tremendously well because I can remember how stressed I got about exams and…
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Home-grown and a Rocket update
This is my lunch most days. It consists of my home-made sourdough which I bake several times a week now. As well as avocado, beetroot, tofu and today I have home-grown radish and rocket. Not much grows at this time of year but radishes and salad greens do. I’ve also had a constant supply of…
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A beautiful wedding
We went to a friend’s wedding yesterday and it was marvellous. Weddings are wonderful things. What’s not to like about food, wine, dancing, and funny speeches? But weddings in Scotland are even better because they have ceilidhs. The ceremony was in the winter gardens at Duthie Park which was perfect. Aberdeen put on a beautiful…
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Hamster, home, and water leaks
A couple of people have asked me how Rocket is doing and he’s doing great. I took this video of him the other day rolling in his sand bath. This is just his travel sand bath as we had to take him in a smaller cage for our holiday so I used the smaller sand…
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Fettercairn Distillery
Earlier in the week we visited Fettercairn distillery which is in the loveliest of little villages, Fettercairn. Fettercairn has a general store, a cafè, a dress shop which was incredibly busy when I went in – it seems people travel from all over to visit it – and of course the distillery. The village has…
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House of Dun
We went for a tour of the gorgeous House of Dun today, a Georgian home built for the Erskine family in 1743 by the architect William Adam. In 1980, the 21st and last Laird of Dun, Millicent Lovett (nee Erskine), died without an heir and left the house and contents to the National Trust of…
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Photos of Glen Esk, Fettercairn, and Fasque House
This is a collection of photos of Edzell and surrounds from the past two days. This is the gorge in the River North Esk looking downstream towards Gannochy Bridge. Incidentally we think we’ve been pronouncing Gannochy incorrectly. It’s not like the potato pasta – ga-nocchi – but more like the thing you blow your nose…
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