insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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Turning 40
I’m turning 40 next month. If anyone wants to send me a present I like flowers and chocolate. The gym I signed up with for the purposes of teaching my kids how to swim offered to do a free MOT so I thought I’d do it given that I’m about to pass the threshold into…
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Can you lick your foot?
Elizabeth has a wart on her foot, probably picked up at the swimming pool. Last night we caught her licking it in the bath. Grossness of licking one’s wart aside, Ben said, “If only we could still lick our feet”. To which I said, “Speak for yourself. I can still lick mine,” and then I…
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Surviving a haircut and learning to swim
I took Daniel to get a haircut today at the first barber’s I came to on our way to swimming. The hairdresser was a short and muscular middle-eastern-looking man with tattoos up and down each arm. It all seemed to be going fairly well except that Daniel kept moving his head. He’s not the easiest customer and indeed for…
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Cycle ride to Torry Battery
On Sunday afternoon we cycled from Duthie Park to Torry Battery. The city side of the River Dee was almost entirely off-road cycle paths which is fantastic. After crossing the river at the Wellington Suspension Bridge – which is exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists – it’s all on-road unfortunately. The first part is also particularly…
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I met and an Automattician and one year in support
I met one of my co-workers today for the first time. Richard, who also works for Automattic, will be moving to Aberdeen with his lovely wife and daughter later this year. They have been in Aberdeen scoping out places to live and so they came over for a visit this morning. It’ll be so nice…
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Pedal boats at Duthie Park
The kids have been nagging me to take them on the pedal boats at Duthie Park for some time now. We finally did it this afternoon and it was really nice. The tiny bit of walking we did to get there and back was fraught with difficulty for Daniel who is engaged in an ongoing…
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True safety lies with design
Originally posted on As Easy As Riding A Bike: I shared some pictures the other day, in an attempt to convey a fairly simple message – that the safety record of the Netherlands for cycling is almost entirely attributable to the physical environment people cycle in, and that it isn’t down to exemplary behaviour (either of people…
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Skip showers for beef
I’ve been meaning to share the Skip Showers for Beef video which is very funny but has an important message. They’ve also got a website at: http://www.skipshowersforbeef.com A friend sent me a link to the Cowspiracy movie this morning and I’ve just been watching it. Most of it I am already aware of and indeed…
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Scary movies and the boogeyman
I feel like I haven’t written a blog post for ages. It’s just me and the kids here at the moment because Ben has disappeared off on one of his spy trips. I took them to see another film on the weekend. This time we went to Inside Out. It was supposed to be a funny…
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My work space
I just got one of those sit/stand desks. I was planning to get myself a desk after moving into our new home because the rental already has a desk and with all of our furniture here + rental house furniture it feels a bit like we’re living in a furniture store. However it’s school holidays at the moment…
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Allan Park and Newton Dee
Ben is away in Germany doing some maths at a maths institute in the Black Forest and so the three of us caught up with some friends today and went cycling. We cycled out to Newton Dee which is about 5 miles from Duthie Park along the Deeside Cycleway. Newton Dee is a village for adults with…
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My kids’ views on war
Daniel has been asking me questions about the world wars. We’ve been reading the Chronicles of Narnia and the children in the story were evacuated to the country from London at the start of World War II. I’m pretty sure this is what sparked his interest. I’ve had questions ranging from why did the wars start and…
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First-world kid problems, owls, and cargo bikes
This morning I found Daniel sitting on his bed looking very forlorn and crying to himself. I immediately asked him what was wrong and he said, “I can’t find a good mod”. A mod is an add-on for the computer game, Minecraft. This is definitely a first-world kid problem 🙂 There was an event on…
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Hair cut just outside the red zone
Originally posted on rachel.blog: We ventured into South City yesterday so that I could have a hair cut. South City is in the CBD just outside the cordoned off area, otherwise known as the red zone. I’ve never seen this part of town so quiet. My hair-dresser has been busy she says but one thing…
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An old photo
I came across this old photo of Elizabeth and Ben, taken by Ben’s mum just after Elizabeth had turned 2. It’s such a great photo that I wanted to share it again. Elizabeth is wearing a washable nappy. I thought she was fully toilet trained by the time she was 2 but my memory must…
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A new cycle path for Aberdeen
A new cycle route opened up in Aberdeen this week. It’s a shared walking/cycling path which runs right next to the River Dee. I went and checked it out today and it was just lovely. It’s hard to believe this is in a big city (maybe big is not the best word for Aberdeen?) because it’s…
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Scientific consensus and arguments from authority
A British science journalist who posts to YouTube under the handle Potholer54 has released another video and it’s just as entertaining and informative as all his others. In it he demonstrates how to pick fact from bullshit with a funny commentary. Why are people so easily duped? A couple of times recently I’ve received some scam calls…
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Teenage boys and lacy knickers
Ben’s mum and partner left this morning which was sad as we all had a great time last week and enjoyed their visit very much. Elizabeth in particular was very upset and even a bit teary as they departed. Then Ben left for Cambridge so I decided to take the kids to the movies to lift their spirits. We…
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Stromness to Aberdeen by ferry + train
My post yesterday about Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar was rather rushed because we had to dash for a long day of traveling. But both places were absolutely fascinating. Skara Brae was particularly good. How often do you get to see the house, including furniture, of a Neolithic human? All the walls were…
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