insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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I’d rather die in a freezer than an oven
The hottest temperatures today will be the coldest temperatures in the not-too-distant future. The only way to stop the warming is to make our emissions zero. It’s not enough to reduce them. They have to be zero or the warming will continue. Even if we were to reach zero emissions tomorrow, the earth will continue…
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Willows Animal Sanctuary
Yesterday we visited Willows Animal Sanctuary just north of Aberdeen. They rescue abandoned farm and domestic animals and give them a home to live out the rest of their lives in peace. They’re a charity entirely dependent on donations and have struggled over the past few years, first with covid, now with the cost of…
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I knitted a dress
I’ve been slack at writing lately because all my spare time has been spent knitting. I need one of those stickers for the car window that says, “I’d rather be knitting”. I just completed my first dress and it has turned out rather well. It was knit in the round from the top down. Last…
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Robin Hood at Drum Castle
Last night we saw the Three Inch Fools perform a musical version of Robin Hood in front of the majestic 13th-century Drum Castle. It has been several years since we’ve been to open-air theatre thanks to covid and I’d forgotten how wonderful it is. This was probably the best one we’ve seen with with slap-stick…
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A pink kilt
I bought myself a second-hand kilt on Vinted. It’s a bright pink Harris Tweed 21st Century Kilt and has been worn only once by a piper at a breast cancer charity event back in 2011. Elizabeth Hurley was at the event and signed the underside of it. As with all second-hand clothes I wash them…
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Royal Deeside
It was Etienne’s last day in Scotland today so we took him to our favourite place: Braemar. On the way there we stopped in Ballater to show him Queen Victoria’s train carriage. And her waiting room with toilet. In Braemar we had lunch first then walked up Creag Choinnich. This next photo is a view…
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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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