Eats plants
It's Daniel's 16th birthday tomorrow - I can't believe how big he is now. He is turning into a wonderful young man. Yesterday he asked if he could vacuum his room. Although he's the first 16-year-old I've had I can't imagine this is a common request. He's kind, polite, considerate, has a wonderful sense of… Continue reading More skiing and a 16th birthday
I got myself a wonderful tartan scarf in the suffragette colours this week. I was inspired by the woman who was ejected from Scottish parliament for wearing a scarf in the Suffragette's colours. Scottish parliament later apologised claiming it was a mistake but by then scarfgate had taken off and these lovely scarves have since… Continue reading The suffragettes and a tartan scarf
Glamis Castle is famous for being the ancestral home of the former Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. It has been in the Lyon family since 1372. Princess Margaret was also born in the castle. Perhaps an even bigger claim to fame is as the setting for Shakespeare's Macbeth and also as a film location for some… Continue reading Glamis Castle
Ben has had covid this past week. He started feeling unwell on Friday night over a week ago. On Monday he took a lateral flow test and it was positive. He says he's felt achy, very tired, was a bit feverish and headachy for a couple of nights, and lost his appetite. He's much better… Continue reading Covid in the house, school camps, and Rocket the hamster
We had a delightful walk at the Linn of Quoich today. We walked upstream along the Quoich River further than we've gone before and I found myself having to stop over and over again for photos because it was just so pretty. It was very quiet too. Practically no-one else there. Daniel pooed on the… Continue reading Linn of Quoich
The UK is expecting a scorcher today with a possible high of 42C. This will be unprecedented if it gets this hot. Many people have asked how we're coping in Aberdeen but Aberdeen rarely gets hot and we've been hovering around 20C or just below the past few days. Today the forecast is for 25C… Continue reading Cool in Aberdeen
It snowed in Ballater today so we decided Knock Castle in snow was the place to be and we weren't disappointed. You can't beat a castle ruin in Scotland in winter snow. I got Ben doing a jumping shot this time. My jumping shot is fab. Look ma, no legs! You can go inside Knock… Continue reading Knock Castle in the snow
Today we think we saw a Scottish wildcat. This is another very elusive creature whose population has been decimated over the past couple of hundred years. It is critically endangered and although it once roamed all of the UK it is now found only in northern and eastern Scotland. If it is a Scottish wildcat… Continue reading Scottish wildcat
It snowed last night so it's looking like a white Christmas for us this year, hooray! It was a lovely sunny day today so we walked to Ruthven Barracks. On a natural mound, a stone's throw from the village of Kingussie is Ruthven Barracks. There was once a wooden castle here in the 1200s. It… Continue reading Ruthven Barracks, Kingussie
We did a hill walk up Creag Bheag today. We were lucky to have views in all directions from the top and it was so calm with not even the whisper of wind at the top. The landscape has been gloriously silvery all day again today and it really felt like we'd stepped into the… Continue reading Creag Bheag, Kingussie
We made it to the highlands! I've got holiday cancellation PTSD and before each holiday now I get paranoid that it'll be canceled too. The night before we left I woke up at 2am thinking I'd lost my sense of taste and smell. I went downstairs and tasted some salt, felt reassured that it tasted… Continue reading Gynack Burn, Kingussie
We're living in Omicron land here with the new variant taking over as the most dominant in Scotland as of today. Things change so rapidly. Last month the UK was in the best position in Europe to manage the virus over the winter. Then Omicron arrived. I'm not so worried about getting sick although I'd… Continue reading Omicron land
We've come to Dunblane for the weekend, a picturesque Scottish village in Perthshire, about 110 miles southwest of Aberdeen. The village is beautiful with lots of quirky shops and an attractive river running through the middle called Allan Water. There's also a cathedral that dates from the 12th century. There's a fake Banksy outside one… Continue reading Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries
It has been a while since we last went out to the countryside and I was starting to feel the pull of forests and hills today so we drove out to Braemar for lunch and a hill walk. Braemar was looking beautiful dressed in autumn colours. We were also lucky to see a space-themed knitting… Continue reading Knitting trail in Braemar
Yesterday we were invited to Duthie Park for a COP26 photoshoot. My contact with Aberdeen Climate Action invited me along as a representative of Aberdeen Cycle Forum so I took my cargo bike because it always looks good in photos. When we got there the photographer took exception to the fact that I wasn't wearing… Continue reading Banned from the photo for my views on helmets
The kids and I went to the Cambus O'May suspension bridge today. Ben is snowed under with work and couldn't join us unfortunately. The bridge reopened in April this year following major repair works after Storm Frank nearly washed it away back in 2015. It's a beautiful Edwardian suspension bridge built in 1905 across the… Continue reading Cambus O’May Suspension Bridge
We haven't been for walk in the country for a while. Saturdays are busy again with Highland Dance and Sundays is allotment day. Late this afternoon we decided to head to Crathes Castle for a walk. How many people who live in cities can decide late on a Sunday afternoon for country walk and then… Continue reading Sunday walk at Crathes Castle
Refilleries are popping up everywhere in Aberdeen; soon we'll need two hands to count them all. A refillery is a type of grocery store that allows you to refill containers with food and cleaning products as a way to reduce single-use plastics. It's heartening to see there's increasingly more choice for consumers because it means… Continue reading Refillosophy
Last Sunday we went to the Exclusively Highlands art, craft, and food fair at Kincardine Castle. This market travels around Scotland and sells exclusively locally made goods which is why I like it so much. There's stuff there you can't buy anywhere else and I always like looking at things people have made themselves. Kincardine… Continue reading Exclusively Highlands
Growing up in Australia has given me a healthy respect for dangerous wildlife. Sometimes it feels like every animal is trying to eat or poison you which is unsurprising given the country has more animals with deadly venom than anywhere else. I find it funny how the same animal in Scotland is relatively harmless. It's… Continue reading Levelling-up the animals
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