Category: Journal
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How to pick a lock
One of my talents, it seems, is picking locks. I must have inherited this from my convict great, great, great, great grandfather, Michael Burns, who was sent to Australia on the 14th April 1827 on the Marquis of Hastings. He was convicted of stealing jewellery and tried and sentenced in Manchester in 1826 at the…
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Snow in Aberdeen!
Yesterday there was lots of snow in Aberdeen and the Martin household was jumping with joy! It’s very pretty when it snows. There was much excitement in the school playground with snowballs flying in all directions. Somehow I managed to avoid getting hit. Today was a different story. It rained on the snow yesterday afternoon…
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Living without a family car
It has been three years since we dispensed with the family car and I don’t regret it, not even a little bit. Car ownership is governed by the same law that rules chocolate: when there’s chocolate in the fridge it will be eaten and when there’s a car in the garage it will be driven,…
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Snow, castles, and a squirrel mug
Snow or castle? That was the question we asked ourselves yesterday when deciding what to do today. Fortuitously, we got both at Castle Fraser. The snow we had this week hasn’t completely melted at Castle Fraser and we got a taste of it on our walk around the estate. Here’s the family portrait. And the…
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The Christmas markets and some new boots
The Christmas markets have opened in Aberdeen already. I’m sure they start it earlier and earlier each year. This year it’s a little bit special because it’s on the newly pedestrianised Broad Street. The Aberdeen City Council has been promising pedestrianisation of the city centre for about a decade now and finally they’ve managed to…
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Congratulations to Australia on same-sex marriage vote!
It’s not often that I read news coming out of Australia and feel proud to be Australian. Mostly, I cringe. But not this week. The results of the same-sex marriage vote were released a couple of days ago and it’s a 61.6% majority vote for YES. Yay, Australia! What does this mean now? Unfortunately it…
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Standing stones, pool, horses, and friends
These are the standing stones at Belwade Horse Farm which is a charity for neglected, abused, and/or unwanted horses. It’s near Aboyne which is about an hour south-west of Aberdeen, in the Cairngorms. We visited the place today with some friends. I’m fascinated by these stone circles which are all over Scotland. This particular one…
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Recipe: Vegan Protein Balls
I made some more protein balls and this time I made a note of the ingredients. These make a really nice mid-morning or late-afternoon snack when you’re hungry but don’t want to spoil the next meal. The coconut condensed milk is something I’ve discovered recently and it’s available at Ocado. If you’re in Aberdeen you can…
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View from the cycle path
It has been a while since I’ve posted a pic of the view from the cycle path but it’s time to make amends because the colours were so pretty on my ride this morning. There’s a lovely patchy blue/grey sky today and the landscape is full of autumn colours. I was at my plot this…
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I’m not rational
I took the How Rational Are You, Really? quiz on clearerthinking.org and it turns out I’m not very rational. This will explain why I recently bought a pair of shoes for looks rather than comfort. Although to be fair, I later returned the uncomfortable, impractical shoes and got a pair of comfortable, outrageous shoes instead. Apparently…
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Findhorn, Scotland
We spent the weekend in Findhorn which is a small, coastal village about a couple of hours north-west of Aberdeen. Findhorn is an interesting place because since 1957 it has been home to the Findhorn Foundation which is a spiritual, eco-community of several hundred people. Visitors from all over the world come to Findhorn to…
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The helmet brigade strikes again
There’s an article in the Telegraph that has got me all riled up. I’m not going to link to it but the headline is something like, “Teenager seriously injured because he wasn’t wearing a bicycle helmet”. Why do people think it’s ok to shame cyclists for not wearing helmets? Do they do the same to…
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Smacking to be banned in Scotland
It was announced today that Scotland is going to be the first part of the UK to outlaw smacking. This is great news. New Zealand banned smacking in 2009 as has most of the rest of the EU. Australia, as usual, is years behind everyone else; you can still hit children there. I told the…
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Arse trolls
Elizabeth has been reading Sophie’s World which is an introductory philosophy book for children. Recently she started talking about someone called So-crates and someone else called Arse-trolls. It took us a little while to realise she was referring to Socrates and Aristotle 🙂
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No pain, no gain
I caught a taxi home from the train yesterday. It was a very short trip and one we usually walk but I had Ben’s backpack (he walked straight from the train to the University) in addition to my own. Nevertheless I felt bad about sitting in a car when I could have easily walked. I…
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Vegan protein balls
I got some pea protein powder at the SFN Expo in GlasgowSFN Expo in Glasgow. Don’t ask me why. I guess I was inspired by the peanut butter balls they were making with it. They looked delicious. I’ve just made these: Ingredients: pea protein powder, cocoa, ground hazelnuts, sweetened condensed coconut milk, chia seeds, peanut…
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Glasgow SFN Expo
I was in Glasgow last weekend for the SFN Expo, an exhibition for anyone interested in health and fitness. WordPress.com had a stand at the exhibition and I worked there on both days. It was unlike anything I’ve attended for work before as I usually go to WordCamps or mathematics conferences which are technology-focused/academic events…
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Going native
For a few months earlier this year the kids learnt Scottish Highland Dancing at school. It’s a traditional form of step dancing but unlike Irish dancing, it involves upper body movements as well. It’s a competitive dance rather than a social or barn dance and almost always performed at Scottish Highland Games. Dancers typically wear…
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Ecocamp Glenshee
We are back from our fabulous glamping weekend at Ecocamp Glenshee. It’s about 2.5 hours by car south of Aberdeen through the Cairngorms. The drive was wonderful and part of it is along the highest road in the UK. Ecocamp Glenshee is wonderful for families as it’s safe and they have animals – llamas, chickens,…
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Glamping in Scotland
We’re having a short glamping trip this weekend and had a wonderful day yesterday with lots of lovely scenery, highland cows, llamas, and an evening sitting by the fire. There isn’t any wifi here so I’ll write more when we get back.
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