Eats plants
We went for a lovely long walk in the forest near Braemar today then finished it off with a walk to the summit of Creag Choinnich. We don't usually do both walks in one go - we usually either do the forest or the hill but the kids were both keen today and we all… Continue reading A walk in the forest and up a hill
Welcome 2023 and happy hogmanay! Yesterday was a crazily busy day. It started early with cake-baking for Elizabeth's birthday. She turned 13 and I finally got to hand over the ant colony which is thankfully still alive. She is still pondering a name for the Queen and her empire. I made a chocolate cake which… Continue reading Elizabeth’s 13th birthday and a Hogmanay ceilidh
It's Elizabeth's 13th birthday this week so we'll officially have two teenagers in the house soon. She's been asking for an ant colony for months and months now so we finally caved and that's what she's getting for her birthday. Expecting delays with the postal strikes and public holidays I ordered it last week but… Continue reading Ant colony
We spent Christmas at home this year with friends and it has been lovely. The kids are definitely teenagers now as they didn't wake up until after 9am. Gone are the days of them jumping out of bed at 6am with excitement about presents. I think they were still excited but they also like their… Continue reading The 12 outfits of Christmas 2022
It has been three years since we last went to the pantomime thanks to covid. Although it did run last year they had to cancel after Christmas and our tickets were for New Year's Eve so we missed it. This year everything is back to normal and indeed covid seems like a thing in the… Continue reading Pantomime and Union Terrace Gardens
We went to Crathes Castle today for a walk in the snow. The kids got out of bed very late so we didn't get there until the early afternoon but this worked in our favour because unbeknown to us the castle was putting on a festive light show with Santa's grotto, rides, a craft market,… Continue reading Christmas at the castle
Duthie Park was looking quite lovely yesterday. I took these photos on my run.
I haven't watched the final three instalments of the latest Dynasty family drama on Netflix so this is just all hypothetical and I have no personal opinion whatsoever because I can't comment on something I haven't watched. But I am always interested in hypothetical ethical situations and so what if Netflix offered you £100 million… Continue reading When is it ok to trash your family on TV?
Another weekend disappears. Daniel told me last week that he didn't want to go anywhere for the next couple of weekends as he's studying for exams. He's so studious but then I was the same. He's taller than me now by nearly 2cm. We measured today. That happened very quickly. He's shooting up at a… Continue reading Crochet Audrey 2, Christmas tree, and Daniel is taller than me
There's lots of great TV to watch which is perfect for these cold, dark evenings when all I want to do is snuggle up on the sofa with my crochet. On the weekend I watched The Swimmers which is about two professional Syrian female swimmers who make the trip from Syria to Germany as refugees.… Continue reading What to watch on TV
Elizabeth danced at a local care home today for part of a school assignment which required her to do some good things in the community. She chose the tasks and for one of them she wanted to dance at the local care home. It was a really lovely experience and although I was just an… Continue reading Good deeds
Yesterday I was pondering on my blog whether any of my ancestors were suffragettes. My mother-in-law told me that one of her ancestors was a signatory on the women's suffrage petition in New Zealand to grant women the vote. She was Annabella Naumann (nee Macaulay, born in Glasgow) and she's even recognised on the New… Continue reading We don’t get to choose our ancestors
I got myself a wonderful tartan scarf in the suffragette colours this week. I was inspired by the woman who was ejected from Scottish parliament for wearing a scarf in the Suffragette's colours. Scottish parliament later apologised claiming it was a mistake but by then scarfgate had taken off and these lovely scarves have since… Continue reading The suffragettes and a tartan scarf
Early last month I gave a short talk at Aberdeen Climate Action's Climate Café where I shared my top tips on how to easily and cheaply reduce your carbon emissions. Taking action on climate change can sometimes feel overwhelming or even impossible. Many solutions are just not practical for the individual like putting solar panels… Continue reading Meals that start from 9 pence per person
We just had a wonderful weekend in Angus and in addition to the wonderful visit we made to Glamis Castle on Saturday Elizabeth brought home a trophy. Part of the reason for the trip was so Elizabeth could participate in the Forfar Highland Dance competition on Sunday. These competitions typically start in the morning and… Continue reading A weekend away in Angus and a trophy
Glamis Castle is famous for being the ancestral home of the former Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. It has been in the Lyon family since 1372. Princess Margaret was also born in the castle. Perhaps an even bigger claim to fame is as the setting for Shakespeare's Macbeth and also as a film location for some… Continue reading Glamis Castle
We're loving having Rocket. He's such a cool little dude. He seems quite happy in his new home. At least he never tries to escape even when the door is open. He likes taking food from our hands but doesn't like being held. He loves, loves, loves his wheel and is very fond of food… Continue reading Rocket the hamster pics and video
We woke to our first frost this morning. It's very late in the season to only be getting a frost now. It has been the mildest autumn since we moved here with most daytime temperatures in double digits still. For the first time I was a little sad when summer ended as I've so enjoyed… Continue reading Winter, recycled cashmere, and soup
Where did the weekend go? It's nearly November and autumn is in full bloom. I wish I'd taken some photos today as Aberdeen is looking very pretty in its autumn clothes. My tomatoes are just about dead but there are still a few fruits ripening. Two weekends ago I picked this from the greenhouse. And… Continue reading Scottish things, foraging, and a haircut
Watching the Tory government over the past few weeks has been like watching an elephant try to pick up marbles with chopsticks. It would be quite funny except that we all now have to pay the price of their blunder with higher mortgage rates which are likely to last for years. Just three weeks of… Continue reading Elephants, chopsticks and the economy
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