insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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The dumbest of the dumb
It’s hard to see how the Donald Tump presidency will survive four years given the amount of lunacy and chaos he has unleashed in just three weeks. Sometimes I feel a bit sorry for him because he has become a laughing stock and I don’t think he realises it. Every week there’s something new and outlandish…
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Burn O’Vat
Someone recommended Burn O’Vat on my Scolty Hill post from last week and so we decided to check it out today. It’s a WOW place. How have I never discovered it before? It’s at the Muir of Dinnet Nature Reserve which is about 34 miles west of Aberdeen. There’s a terrific visitor centre there. The main attraction is the Burn O’Vat…
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I am fashion-forward
Earlier in the week I posted about how I inadvertently crocheted myself a Marge Simpson hat. My sister pointed out to me today that my fashion faux pas is IN. This is straight out of New York Fashion week 2017. Source: http://www.vogue.com/ You saw it on rachel.blog first.
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When crochet goes wrong
Not all the things I crochet are a success. In fact most of the things I make are dismal flops like the hat I just made which looks more like a Marge Simpson hairdo than a slouch beanie. I won’t be going anywhere in this.
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Scolty Hill
Next to the village of Banchory, which is about 18 miles from Aberdeen, is Scolty Hill. Desperate to get out of the house and into the countryside I suggested we go there after lunch and walk to the summit. It was a superb outing. The walk is about 1.5 hours and not too strenuous. There…
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Accessorising with snow
It was snowing when I dropped the kids at school today. I love it when it snows. Snow is not wet like rain and this morning I discovered it makes a nice hair accessory. As you can see I’m holding a Doctor Who magazine – there’s a story behind this. We gifted Daniel a subscription…
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The stick insects have been fornicating
Last week I discovered lots of little baby stick insects in our stick insect habitat. We started with four nymphs which I purchased on eBay last year and they ate lots of leaves and grew and they must have laid eggs at some point because now there are babies. I’m not even sure how many –…
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A new piano!
Yesterday I took possession of a brand new, second-hand piano. No, it’s not a Steinway but it’s still the best piano I’ve ever, ever had and I’m so happy. I did try to convince Ben that if we sold the house we could buy the Steinway but sadly, he was not to be persuaded. He’s…
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We must guard even our enemies from oppression
He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself. Thomas Paine 1795
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Pennan
Our day didn’t start so well today. The power went out overnight in the place we were staying which meant I didn’t get a cup of tea at breakfast. NO TEA! The horror! What’s the point of getting out of bed if there’s no tea? Consequently we left fairly early and went to Pennan. I was…
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I swam in the North Sea in winter
A couple of years ago I swam at Balmedie Beach. It was March and so I just missed out on being able to say I swam in the North Sea in winter. We’re currently staying at a secluded spot up on the Fraserburgh coast an hour or so north of Aberdeen and so I decided to…
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I played a £26,000 Steinway
I went into Gordon Bell Pianos in Aberdeen today to look into getting a decent piano. They have a £26,000 Steinway which they let me play. It was amazing. I can see why Steinways are so famous and expensive. I played several different pianos in the shop and this one was on a completely different…
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Robert Burns Night and Donald Trump
It’s Burns night in Scotland today. January 25th is an annual celebration of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns. In school the children tasted some Scottish foods and learnt one of his poems off by heart. Daniel has come such a long way since we first moved here. In our first year he protested vehemently about having to learn a…
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The Man from Snowy River: a film, a poem, and piano music
We watched another 1980s classic film today, The Man From Snowy River. This is an Australian film made in 1982 and based on a poem by Banjo Paterson. It’s an Australian classic which I can remember watching as a child. All Australians are familiar with Paterson’s poem and anyone who has had piano lessons in…
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The view from the cycle path today
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$5 million up for grabs!
I thought I’d share this. It appeared in my Twitter feed yesterday and even if you have no intention of participating there are some interesting questions there. How are we to solve the problems of today? Humans are good at solving problems but so far we’ve failed to address the problem of climate change despite…
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A taste for whisky
I feel like I need to embrace my new home country a bit more and learn to enjoy pure malt whisky. Ben likes the peaty stuff and so that’s what we mostly have in the house. I decided to give some of this a try, watered down with soda water. I’ve got my armchair, pajamas,…
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Newburgh seal colony, Scotland
About 16 miles north of Aberdeen is a little village called Newburgh. We went there for lunch today, to the Newburgh Inn. The food was terrific. I highly recommend it. They put on a typical Sunday roast pub lunch but there were a couple of options for vegetarians. I had a chick pea and sweet potato…
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Film review: Local Hero
We watched a 1983 movie called Local Hero this afternoon because we’re planning to go up to Pennan, where it was filmed, in a couple of weeks. I can’t wait. I find myself longing for the natural world and for peace and tranquility and so we decided to plan a weekend away to a remote…
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The view from the cycle path
The other week I wrote about how the view on my ride to Newton Dee is different all the time. Today it looks like this. The cycle path had a thin coating of snow which made a nice crunching sound as I cycled along it. What do you think of my hat? I got it…
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