Category: Journal
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Day 2 in London
Our second day in London started with more walking. Elizabeth and I wandered around before her school trio officially started at Somerset House for ice-skating. First we walked through a little park next to the Thames called Victoria Embankment Gardens. It was a lovely oasis in the middle of lots of tall buildings and bustling…
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An adventure to London on the sleeper train
Elizabeth and I are back in Aberdeen after a little adventure in London. She had a school Christmas trip there yesterday so we decided to go for a couple of days to have a look around. To add to the adventure we went down on the Caledonian sleeper train and it was pure luxury going…
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My second highland dance exam
I did my silver highland dance exam today. This is something most students do at age 9 or 10 so I’m only slightly over the hill. I dance with the Pam Dignan dance school and I think it’s wonderful that Pam gives everyone, young and old, the opportunity to dance, perform and sit exams. I’ve…
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Wholemeal pastry and a new prebiotic from M&S
I made wholemeal pastry over the weekend and it turned out pretty well. I made it with wholemeal spelt flour, olive oil and water – that’s it. It was impossible to roll out into a perfect shape but you can cut off the jaggy bits around the edge. Half of it lines the bottom of…
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It’s beginning to feel like Christmas
I’ve been trialling different recipes for Christmas with the hope of creating something absolutely scrummy that even hardened meat-eaters will enjoy. Last week I tried making a vegan wellington based on this recipe in The Guardian but with cauliflower instead of squash since my fussy family don’t like squash. It turned out really well. First…
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The Cat Dimension
Elizabeth is taking an EPQ subject this year which stands for Extended Project Qualification that’s equivalent to half an A-level. As part of that she’s chosen to code a game called The Cat Dimension which takes inspiration from our cat Victoria. This weekend she created the graphics for the cat using Victoria as the model…
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Snow, St Andrews, and foxes
We started our day today with a lovely train journey through snowy landscapes to visit Daniel in St Andrews. We’ve had snow in the north east of Scotland this week which has made everything very pretty. I took this next photo at Duthie Park yesterday. Here are a couple of photos from the train today.…
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Re-wallpapering the lounge
Last month I wallpapered the chimney stack in our lounge room but I wasn’t happy with the result. I did a poor job – it wasn’t straight – plus I didn’t really like the pattern. Today I did it all over again and I’m much happier. I could have tolerated the previous pattern had I…
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Elizabeth’s choreography for Elephant Sessions
Elizabeth danced her own choreography at the Forfar annual choreography competition yesterday. She chose the song Colours by Elephant Sessions who are a Scottish indie folk band from the highlands and who we’ve seen play live a couple of times now. We’re planning to see them again next month. Her dance had to be less…
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A bespoke pharmacy to control blood pressure
Did you know that the key to controlling your blood pressure lies not with prescription drugs but with a tiny microorganism that lives in your gut? I did know about this but wanted to understand the mechanism and it turns out to be fascinating. There are trillions of microorganisms living in our gut including bacteria,…
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Halloween murder mystery dinner
We went for a murder mystery dinner for Halloween last night. There was no requirement to go in fancy dress but dressing up is the fun part so we did. Ben is Sherlock Holmes, Elizabeth is Little Red Riding Hood and I’m some random Victorian lady, maybe Mary Watson if I have to choose someone.…
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Pigeon post
As regular readers will know we had Peggy the pigeon living in our laundry for about a week and a half. Initially I thought she had a head injury and just needed a quiet space to recover but I turned out to be quite wrong. I contacted New Arc Wildlife Rescue just north of Aberdeen…
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Elizabeth on stage at the Lemon Tree with Breabach and SC&T
Elizabeth joined the SC&T Youth performance group at the start of this year and my only regret is I wish we’d discovered them sooner because they’ve provided so many fantastic opportunities for her to perform. Over the summer she played at the music hall with Capercaillie, last week she played with SC&T as the supporting…
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Peggy the pigeon
When Ben and I were walking down to feed the foxes last Tuesday night – yes we’re still feeding foxes – we found a pigeon sitting in the middle of pavement next to a busy road. Pigeons are usually up high on a perch somewhere at night time so this was a clear sign something…
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A new fireplace, Ben’s birthday and home-grown produce
Last month we installed a log burner. I know what you’re going to say: “They’re horrible things that pollute the air!” and to that I say I know, I largely agree. But we got the cleanest one on the market, it replaced an old gas fire, and it’s not our main source of heating. It’s…
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A visit from Daniel, 11 years in Aberdeen, recipe for tomato soup
Daniel finally came home for the weekend this weekend, much to the delight of all of us. He said there were no events he particularly wanted to attend in St Andrews, so he came home instead. His halls of residence are very active socially, which has been wonderful for him as he’s made lots of…
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Rainbow salad and weevils in the hamster cage
Friday nights are our salad + roast potatoes night as I make a tabouleh and rainbow salad every week. The rainbow salad is proving so popular that I’ve started making it a couple of times a week and leaving a bowl in the fridge so people can help themselves. Elizabeth in particular loves it. It’s…
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Daniel’s first two weeks at University
We went to visit Daniel in St Andrews yesterday to see how he’s doing. It has been two weeks since he moved down there and he’s got one fresher’s week behind him and now a week of lectures. We couldn’t be happier for him as he’s enjoying it all so much. His accommodation is super…
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Officially vintage
I hit the half-century milestone today which makes me officially vintage. If I last another 50 years I can call myself antique. I wanted to have all my own hair colour back by 50 and while I’m not quite there I think I’m past the temptation to colour it. I’ve accepted the grey and am…
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Daniel goes to St Andrews
We installed Daniel into his living quarters at the halls of residence in St Andrews today and spent the day gathering the necessities including the traditional red gown, worn by students at the university since the 1600s. He looks very smart in it. The gown – we’re calling it a Wizard’s cloak – is not…
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