insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
-
Cooling off in the Dee
The temperature has reached a top of 26C today. I think this is the hottest temperature I’ve ever felt in Aberdeen. We had no choice but to cool off in the river. We cycled up Deeside Way a short way and walked down to the River Dee near Allan Park. There are some nice swimming…
-
Crochet swimsuit, redcurrant jam, and an old video of Elizabeth
I crocheted myself a pair of bathers. I’m not sure whether I’ll wear them in public. The colour matches my skin a bit too closely and makes it look like I’m wearing nothing. It was fun to make though. Yesterday I picked some redcurrants and stewed them up to make jam. I used water, redcurrants,…
-
It’s more than just football
I watched some of the football last night. This might seem insignificant but it’s anything but. I’ve never watched a game of football in my entire life and never had the slightest bit of interest in the sport so for me to sit and choose to watch the game is a Halley’s comet moment. I…
-
Second jab side-effects and the ethics of vaccination
I spoke too soon in my last post about not having any side-effects after the second Pfizer jab. A few hours later I developed a fever, headache, aches and pains, and a swollen lymph node in my armpit on the vaccinated arm. After the first dose it felt like I had a marble under my…
-
Ripping the bandaid off
I had my second Pfizer jab last night. Aside from a sore arm and feeling slightly tired I haven’t had any other side-effects. I felt a bit tired after the first jab too and several days later developed a swollen lymph node under my arm on the side I was vaccinated. This went away after…
-
Swimming at Potarch Bridge
We went for a swim at Potarch Bridge today. It was smashing and I realised that it’s the first time I’ve been wild swimming in summer in Scotland. Usually I just do the idiotic thing and submerge myself mid-winter for bragging rights. After all, what’s the point of doing something if you can’t brag about…
-
Tomintoul
We went to the village of Tomintoul today. Many times we’ve driven through it and I’ve always thought it looked cute and wanted to linger but usually we’re en route somewhere and haven’t had time to stop. Today we made a special visit just to see Tomintoul. Tomintoul is about 60 miles west of Aberdeen…
-
The world needs more Bens
Sometimes I feel sad about the world. I read the things people say online and I feel despair. What hope is there for us? Some people try to do the right thing and reduce their impact on the planet but what good is it when everyone else is more interested in their taste buds than…
-
Covid-busting diet
We had a very healthy meal tonight from the How Not to Diet cookbook by Michael Greger MD. I love Dr Greger’s How Not to Die cookbook and we eat recipes from it regularly. This new book of his is almost too healthy and I’ve had trouble getting inspired by the recipes. I bought some…
-
Meatless Farm and Elizabeth’s biology poster
We had Meatless Farm burgers for dinner last night. I’ve become a Meatless Farm convert: they’re UK-based and much cheaper than the Beyond Burger but with similar ingredients. Both are made with pea protein. They taste delicious too and are good for a quick, easy meal when you don’t feel like cooking. As part of…
-
An adventure in Strathdon
There are two mighty rivers in Aberdeen: the Dee and the Don. Both start some 80-90 miles west in the Grampian Mountains and flow into the sea at Aberdeen. The Dee is quite well known thanks to Queen Victoria and Balmoral Castle which is in the Dee Valley. The whole area is known as Royal…
-
Gull dinner party
I baked another dud sourdough loaf which I threw onto the back lawn. A colony of gulls swooped in and demolished it all in less than a minute. Before the gulls arrived some local birds had a go. I got this one brave bird feasting right in front of Victoria our cat. I’m not sure…
-
Cat and cargo bike
Schools are breaking up in Aberdeen next week but our kids won’t be starting holidays until the 23rd July, about a month later. However they’re not missing out because the holiday time is made up at the other end of summer as they don’t go back until September, about month after everyone here. The online…
-
Cat pics, Delta variant, and fast fashion
After my post about Victoria scratching my face last week I was worried people might think we have a psychotic cat and although she’s prone to occasional acts of violence, she’s mostly a very lovable cat. She just likes affection on her terms. Here’s proof. She’s not very fond of being held unless she’s in…
-
Bon Accord Baths
I visited the Bon Accord Baths today: a previously council-run indoor swimming pool in central Aberdeen, constructed in the 1930s in Art Deco style. The council closed the pool in 2008 and since then the building has become derelict. The council tried to sell it in 2015 and amid a public outcry at potentially losing…
-
The tropics of Scotland
I woke up at 2-something last night to go to the toilet, I looked out the window and it was still light! There’s just no dark at the moment which is ridiculous. It’s light when I go to bed, it’s light if I wake up in the middle of the night, and it’s light when…
-
Sourdough bread, Discord, and the electric car
I finally made a loaf of sourdough bread that looks and tastes like sourdough bread. Most of my efforts recently have failed and ended up more like bricks than loaves of bread. But this one is almost perfect. It’s quite satisfying after many many failures to have one turn out more or less normal. The…
-
Picnic at Craigievar Castle
It was a very warm bank holiday in the UK today and since both the kids and I had the day off we went for a picnic and a walk. I’m not a fan of hot sunny days like this. Give me dull, muted lighting any day so I wanted a forest walk where we’d…
-
Highland dance exam
Elizabeth had her highland dance exam today. It all went well as far as we know but she won’t get any feedback for a little while as it was recorded and the judges will have to watch it. I took this photo of her waiting outside the dance studio in her full dance outfit. They…
-
Aboyne stone circle and Crathes Castle
Our first weekend of car ownership has been rather nice. We can be a bit more spontaneous. With the car club you need to plan in advance and book it. With our own car we can just decide on the spur of the moment to go out. Yesterday we had dinner with some friends in…
rachel.blog 