Tag: snow

  • Snow in Aberdeen!

    Last night I decided we were going to book a car today and drive in search of some snow. But when I woke up and looked out our bedroom window this is what I saw: Finally the snow has come to Aberdeen. Yay! The summer house in our backyard: I think the gnome in our…

  • William Wallace Monument

    We’re in the train on our way back to Aberdeen. Here’s what we can see out the window: Before leaving Stirling we walked to the William Wallace Monument. Is there anyone who hasn’t heard of William Wallace? Think Mel Gibson, Braveheart. Some famous battles were fought in Stirling because at one time it was thought…

  • Stirling

    Stirling

    9 years ago today I became a mother. Daniel’s birth was very quick and hideously painful. I did not get any pain relief for his birth because although I asked for an epidural, there was no anaesthetist available at the hospital in Christchurch to administer one. It was ghastly. But now he has grown into a…

  • Cycling in the snow

    What do you on a cold Saturday afternoon just as it’s starting to rain? Go for a bike ride of course. Only sissies are afraid of the rain. We cycled to Newton Dee as I was in need of chocolate – it has been at least a couple of weeks since I had my last fix…

  • Chains for shoes and Trotify

    A shop in Aviemore was selling chains for shoes to increase the friction on icy pavements. We bought a couple of pairs and they’re fantastic. Why doesn’t everyone have these? They slip onto the soles of your shoes and make a huge difference. No more slipping over for me. Here’s another must-have product: Trotify. I’m going…

  • Cairngorm Mountain, Aviemore

    Cairngorm Mountain, Aviemore

    We awoke today to the loveliest day I’ve ever seen. It snowed overnight, so there was a fresh coating of the powdery stuff everywhere, and then the sun came out and the whole world seemed to sparkle. We managed to get up to Cairngorm Mountain but only just as they didn’t open the road until…

  • Aviemore, Scotland

    Snows transforms the outside into one giant playground. Every hill becomes a slippery slide, every twig a potential arm for a snowman, and every flake of snow a potential snowball for tossing at loved ones. Kids love it, I love it. My long suffering husband doesn’t love it quite so much. Walking around is like…

  • More snow!

    It snowed a bit again last night and I was very excited when I saw it this morning: Ben was even more excited about it than last time: It was beautiful!

  • Snow and ice

    Snow and ice

    It snowed a bit late last night and then today the temperature didn’t go above 1°C so the snow froze on the roads and pavements creating a a bit of an ice-skating rink. I wasn’t sure whether to cycle the kids to school but I did and it was absolutely fine. In fact, I think…

  • Curling in Ballater and the Royal Station Museum

    This morning I went for a run around the golf course in Ballater. The roads and pavements in the village have icy patches which aren’t visible with the coating of snow they got yesterday and so it can be slippery running around the streets. The grassy golf course seemed a safer option. It turned out…

  • Ballater in the snow

    Ballater in the snow

    It snowed this morning in Ballater. I was ecstatic. An Australian in the snow is a bit like a puppy with a smelly leather shoe to chew. Ben was less excited about it. This is the Royal Station in Ballater, a magnificent building: The River Dee, which is lovely in all kinds of weather, was particularly beautiful…

  • Linn O’ Dee

    FossilCycle pointed out in the comments on my post yesterday that we were just down the road from the Linn O’ Dee when we visited Braemar. If you Google Linn O’ Dee you’ll see this is a place worth visiting. So we drove back to Braemar today, a drive I would happily repeat because the…

  • Santa, reindeer, and snow!

    I got my Christmas present early today in the form of snow! No, it’s not snowing in Ballater but we drove to the village of Braemar – a gorgeous, gorgeous place – and then up to the ski field at Glenshee. It was only about 30 minutes away by car but I was driving and so…

  • Snow!

    No, it isn’t snowing in Aberdeen. Not yet anyway but hopefully it will soon. However it is snowing on my blog because I’ve just switched on the snow effect which is available for all WordPress.com blogs over the Christmas period. Go to Settings > General in your Dashboard and scroll down to Snow if you…

  • A beautiful frosty morning

    I have been longing for some snow but there has been none. We haven’t even had a proper frost, that is, not until this morning and the first real frost did not disappoint me. I used to love frosty mornings when we lived in Christchurch with the sound and the sensation of crunchy grass beneath…

  • Where are the penguins?

    Yesterday I took the children to the snow and the beach on the same day. There are few places in the world where you can do this and I don’t count Auckland as one of them because the snow was fake snow at Snow Planet. Christchurch is just such a place though. Although the beach…

  • Mount Ruapehu

    We are back from our little adventure and it was a bit of a disaster because we were all so sick. We just felt rotten for much of the time and depleted of energy with sore throats, chesty, phlegmy coughs, headaches and all the rest. We’re still not right but have passed the worst of…