insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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Greenhouse gases: not just a bunch of hot air
I saw this last week on the Australian Sydney Morning Herald site and it’s good and needs to be shared. It explains the greenhouse effect and how we can tell it’s us making the planet warmer in less than 4 minutes.
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Don’t swear at mothers cycling their kids to school
I was cycling my daughter to school this morning – she is only 6 years old – and a man in a van shouted at us, “You should have a fucking helmet on”. I was wearing a helmet. I was wearing a Hövding which is the safest most effective helmet you can buy. I understand that the man…
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10th Anniversary Party
About 10.5 years ago I bought a wedding dress to wear to my wedding which was 10 years ago yesterday. However I was 7 months pregnant at the wedding and the dress didn’t fit so I never got to wear it. Yesterday we had a party to celebrate the 10 years and I wore the…
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Party preparations!
We’re having a party this evening and I ordered Marks and Spencer catering which I collected this morning. The lady in M&S asked me how far away my car was parked and I had to explain that I would be taking it all on my bike. I think she thought I was nuts. But it…
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Our pets: stick insects
I had dogs for 13 years and before that a cat. When Freud died a few years ago it was such a harrowing experience that I decided I couldn’t go through it again. Not soon, anyway. I still miss him and our other dog Zeki. Now we’ve got four stick insects and these creatures are very low maintenance…
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Frozen
We had our first frost last week and there’s another heavy frost this morning. I went outside to take some photographs. It’s very pretty. I used to miss frosty mornings like this when we lived in Auckland. Here are my cyclamen surrounded by frozen leaves. Can you see the pink flowers? Despite the frost in…
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Let them be scared
I’ve been completely absorbed by the earthquake news coming out of New Zealand, like news of the three cows marooned on a tiny island of pasture: 3 cows stranded after New Zealand earthquake are rescued https://t.co/S9XWkhsbrl — TIME (@TIME) November 15, 2016 I am amazed by how much damage there is in Wellington given how far…
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Plant a tree in our grove
It’s our 10th wedding anniversary on the 26th November 2016 and we have started a grove of trees in the Scottish highlands as a way to celebrate. If you’d like to plant a tree in our grove then please feel free to do so. One tree costs £5 and all you need to do is visit our grove…
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Aberdeenshire in the autumn
These photos were taken in the woodland on the estate at Crathes Castle. We went to the Exclusively Highlands craft fair there today – I prefer buying locally made items as Christmas gifts rather than mass-produced stuff from China. It’s nice to know I’m supporting the local economy and at the same time lessening my impact on…
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A letter for Donald Trump from my 9-year-old
Daniel wrote a letter to Donald Trump. This letter is for Donald Trump. Dear Mr Trump. Can you please give Molly her water back. Please. This part is for Trump’s workers. Why did you listen to Trump and cut off her water and build a road. Why did you do it. Why why why why?…
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Some light in the darkness
Donald Trump has won the election. It’s an understatement to say I’m shocked. The majority have voted for a man who leads by bullying, fear, and intimidation. We can kiss the climate good bye – it was nice knowing you, planet, but we don’t care about future generations after all, it seems. We are impressed by wealth…
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The mighty bakfiets
I’ve started cycling Busby (bakfiets) again. I’ve had it with Harald (Butchers and Bicycles). We cycled to Newton Dee on Saturday and took both cargo bikes. The plan was the children could cycle themselves as far as possible and when they got tired we’d put their bikes in Busby and they could sit and ride in…
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How to keep your feet warm in winter
I get cold feet. I’ve tried lots of things like wearing thick socks and sometimes two layers of socks. I have lots of good winter boots but still I get cold feet. This afternoon I had cold feet and decided to crochet myself a pair of leg warmers. I haven’t owned leg warmers since the…
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A tartan skirt on a bakfiets
I had a request for a photo of myself cycling in my tartan skirt. Ben took this pic today. I love my skirt so much. It’s like wearing a woollen blanket.
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You’ve Been Trumped Too
Here’s the trailer for the You’ve Been Trumped Too documentary about Donald Trump. The full documentary was screened on Facebook on Thursday night after a crowd-sourced funding campaign. I didn’t see it because it was at a time suited for Americans which makes sense since they’re about to decide whether to make this man president…
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Government loses fight to poison the people
I’ll acknowledge there’s a bit of click bait with my title but it’s not so far from the truth. Yesterday the high court ruled that the British government’s plans for tackling air pollution are so feeble they’re illegal. Air pollution from motor vehicles kills 50,000 people every year and the government is required under EU law to keep pollution within…
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The Haemorrhoid bike seat
First there was the condom poncho. Now I bring you the Haemorrhoid bike seat. I just got this new seat for my bike. The fantastic bike shop let me try three different seats for comfort. This one was the best. I haven’t ridden any great distance on it yet so I can’t give a full review but…
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A witch at Castle Fraser!
I think I make a pretty good witch; the Wicked Witch of the West maybe? It was Halloween at Castle Fraser today so we went along to check it out. There was a bit of whingeing about hunger, boredom, and too many people but not from the children; they were very well behaved. As soon…
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The DanTDM Show!
At the DanTDM show on Tuesday Dan Middleton asked us all to keep details of his show secret. This is why I haven’t blogged about it. But I can share a few photos and details without giving anything away like the enormous queue outside Town Hall just before it started. I love living in Britain. The British have…
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Harald in lights
I got some fairy lights for Harald. What do you think? I think he needs more.
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