20 December 2002
:: more frost
Here's another picture I took the other day, frost crystals on the shed roof. See the slight sunset glow there? It was taken at noon.
:: stitched up
Bertie update: He got his stitches out all right, but still has a bandage, which he has to wear until Christmas Eve. He squealed while the vet took the stitches out and she chastised him - but then realised he was crying because the receptionist was holding his leg too tightly. Ow, ow, ow!
I got some partridges at the butcher's yesterday. I went to a real old-fashioned place in Stockbridge, which has a grand display of pheasants, rabbits etc, all with their clothes on, as it were. The other old-fashioned touch is that the butcher is a compulsive opinionator, like a classic taxi driver. As I went in, he was conversing with another customer.
Customer: Yes, I've always thought guinea pigs would be delicious.
Butcher: Aye, especially the young ones that haven't run around a lot. No reason not to eat them.
Customer: They eat them in South America.
A nice young assistant fetched the partridges out of the display cabinet for me.
Butcher: Those are grey partridges those, they're the best ones.
Customer: Better than French partridges.
Butcher: Aye, they're no good, French partridges. See those over there? [Indicates birds in display.] They're French partridges, don't buy those.
Customer [addressing me]: Do you know why they call them French partridges?
Me: Because they come from France?
Customer: No! It's because they run [makes running motion with fingers].
Butcher: She doesn't know, she's a townie. It's amazing what town folk don' t know. Country people know it all.
The partridges look awfully wee. I got four just in case.
I've got all next week off, hurrah. It's not actually such a bargain - Christmas Day is a non-publishing day, so everyone gets Christmas Eve off. Whereas there are no non-publishing days the following week, so I have to work six days, including New Year's Eve. I'm hoping to get off by 11:30pm that night so Faye and I can see in 2003 in Princes Street, with fireworks and a dram.
There's a lot of grumbling by those working on Christmas Day. Usually it's a very short shift - everyone comes in early, works hard to get the paper finished and are off home by 8pm or so. But this year The Powers That Be have decreed there shall be two editions, with almost normal off-times, 9:30pm and 11pm. Plus it isn't clear whether anyone has arranged for food to be laid on. The canteen is closed and all restaurants, cafes, shops etc are shut. Merry Christmas, wage slaves! You can be sure that none of the Powers will be working that day.
I got some partridges at the butcher's yesterday. I went to a real old-fashioned place in Stockbridge, which has a grand display of pheasants, rabbits etc, all with their clothes on, as it were. The other old-fashioned touch is that the butcher is a compulsive opinionator, like a classic taxi driver. As I went in, he was conversing with another customer.
Customer: Yes, I've always thought guinea pigs would be delicious.
Butcher: Aye, especially the young ones that haven't run around a lot. No reason not to eat them.
Customer: They eat them in South America.
A nice young assistant fetched the partridges out of the display cabinet for me.
Butcher: Those are grey partridges those, they're the best ones.
Customer: Better than French partridges.
Butcher: Aye, they're no good, French partridges. See those over there? [Indicates birds in display.] They're French partridges, don't buy those.
Customer [addressing me]: Do you know why they call them French partridges?
Me: Because they come from France?
Customer: No! It's because they run [makes running motion with fingers].
Butcher: She doesn't know, she's a townie. It's amazing what town folk don' t know. Country people know it all.
The partridges look awfully wee. I got four just in case.
I've got all next week off, hurrah. It's not actually such a bargain - Christmas Day is a non-publishing day, so everyone gets Christmas Eve off. Whereas there are no non-publishing days the following week, so I have to work six days, including New Year's Eve. I'm hoping to get off by 11:30pm that night so Faye and I can see in 2003 in Princes Street, with fireworks and a dram.
There's a lot of grumbling by those working on Christmas Day. Usually it's a very short shift - everyone comes in early, works hard to get the paper finished and are off home by 8pm or so. But this year The Powers That Be have decreed there shall be two editions, with almost normal off-times, 9:30pm and 11pm. Plus it isn't clear whether anyone has arranged for food to be laid on. The canteen is closed and all restaurants, cafes, shops etc are shut. Merry Christmas, wage slaves! You can be sure that none of the Powers will be working that day.
19 December 2002
:: update
Well yes, it's been a while since Bertie hurt his foot. Over a fortnight -- he gets the stitches out tomorrow morning.
He was very drunk the day I picked him up way back then. The vet had given him a shot to bring him round as I had to pick him up early (before work), but he wasn't "awake" in the full sense of the word. The lift was stopping about halfway up the building, so to speak. He recovered after a few days and now he's totally stir crazy from being kept on the lead all the time. I've been putting chew deterrent on his bandages, which has worked a treat, and he has a little boot to wear too. He's worn through the stitching on that, so it has to have a plastic bag inside.
I've been busy being organised for Christmas -- I'm doing very well, I have very little left to organise and there are still five days left!
Faye arrived a couple of days ahead of schedule -- her British colleagues had convinced her Scotland was far, far away so she'd planned on taking a couple of days to come up. In the event she did it in one hit! The house was filthy - I was leaving cleaning till the last minute - but she didn't mind. I dragged the tree down out of the attic and we dressed it together. She also brought Christmas decorations and I already had a pine wreath, so the place is looking reasonably festive. (Bertie is also looking very Christmassy -- Faye brought him some more antlers, and these ones not only have flashing lights, they play Away in a Manger as well! Not a happy puppy!)
And at least the windows are clean - I managed to snag one of the local window-cleaners as he was passing and get him to do them. Only a fiver, and he even did the front door! What a bargain. He's going to come regularly from now on.
As you can see from the picture above, it's quite cold at the moment. The back yard hasn't defrosted for days and in some places you'd think it had been snowing, the frost is that thick. Last night a fog came down as well, which is still lingering. That's why the trees are frosted right up to the tops. Jingle Bells!
One wonderful aspect of the weather is that the frost bounces white light into the house, making it much brighter inside than normal in winter. Especially with the windows being so squeaky clean.
He was very drunk the day I picked him up way back then. The vet had given him a shot to bring him round as I had to pick him up early (before work), but he wasn't "awake" in the full sense of the word. The lift was stopping about halfway up the building, so to speak. He recovered after a few days and now he's totally stir crazy from being kept on the lead all the time. I've been putting chew deterrent on his bandages, which has worked a treat, and he has a little boot to wear too. He's worn through the stitching on that, so it has to have a plastic bag inside.
I've been busy being organised for Christmas -- I'm doing very well, I have very little left to organise and there are still five days left!
Faye arrived a couple of days ahead of schedule -- her British colleagues had convinced her Scotland was far, far away so she'd planned on taking a couple of days to come up. In the event she did it in one hit! The house was filthy - I was leaving cleaning till the last minute - but she didn't mind. I dragged the tree down out of the attic and we dressed it together. She also brought Christmas decorations and I already had a pine wreath, so the place is looking reasonably festive. (Bertie is also looking very Christmassy -- Faye brought him some more antlers, and these ones not only have flashing lights, they play Away in a Manger as well! Not a happy puppy!)
And at least the windows are clean - I managed to snag one of the local window-cleaners as he was passing and get him to do them. Only a fiver, and he even did the front door! What a bargain. He's going to come regularly from now on.
As you can see from the picture above, it's quite cold at the moment. The back yard hasn't defrosted for days and in some places you'd think it had been snowing, the frost is that thick. Last night a fog came down as well, which is still lingering. That's why the trees are frosted right up to the tops. Jingle Bells!
One wonderful aspect of the weather is that the frost bounces white light into the house, making it much brighter inside than normal in winter. Especially with the windows being so squeaky clean.
6 December 2002
:: uh oh
As I write this, Bertie is in Linlithgow, coming round from an anaesthetic. He's got stitches in the cut on his paw, which apparently is a classic greyhound injury -- it's in the web between his toes. I took him to the vet this morning as the home medication didn't seem to be having much effect. So now he's strapped up with a fancy-pants bandage and has yet more antibiotics. The damage to me, so far: £136.30. Kaching!! Still to come: two bandage changes (at least) and stitch removal in a fortnight's time, plus more bandages after that. Kaching!!
Good news: he's insured! Hurrah!
Bad news: the excess is £80! Boo!
In five minutes I have to drive to Linlithgow (again) to pick up a groggy dog. I'll take him for a sedate (or is that sedated?) walk, then off to work for a 3pm start due to early deadlines.
5 December 2002
:: time flies
I never did get back and finish that, did I? And now it's nearly Thursday (ten minutes to go) and Bertie's on to his next injury (cut paw, ow! ow!). He's being home-medicated -- a thorough sluicing with salty water, followed by lavender oil (it's antiseptic and he hates the taste, so doesn't lick so much). The dew claw injury has just about healed up; I hope the antibiotics are still active!
Where did I get up to in the travelogue? Flodigarry. So we stayed overnight and it was lovely -- the breakfast was superb, stewed prunes and apricots, mmm, and good coffee. It was raining, so we didn't do too much more walking, just around the grounds with the dog. Who had his photo taken by a tourist.
Then we drove back to Barevan through the romantically soggy landscape -- collecting more dog biscuits at the bridge toll. The highlands and islands really do look good in the rain, and at this time of year there's more colour around than in the summer.
Jenny and John had been coping with the farm work all right, and after Andrew had been round the cattle we whizzed off to see the latest Harry Potter. It was ok, though pretty dark in parts. There's one character, Dobby the House Elf, who I found particularly disturbing. He has a thing of punishing himself for mistakes and misdeeds by beating his head against the wall. In one scene, he said, "Dobby's been very bad. Dobby had to iron his hands." He held up his hands and they were bandaged. It's enough to give me nightmares, let alone a sensitive ten-year-old. But the rest was fun, especially the flying car and the quidditch match.
I came back the next day, traffic was fairly heavy so I didn't make good time. I had intended to go out, but crashed on to the sofa instead. Holidays are so tiring!!
This new job I'm in is frantically busy some nights -- like tonight. As well as revising everything and subbing some things and checking the pages and doing little odds and sods, I'm a general trouble-shooter and liaison person. I have to hold about six tasks in my head at any one time, prioritising and reprioritising as new problems come up. This can wait, that is urgent, the other might seem urgent to the person whose problem it is but can go fourth on the list. Meanwhile there was a party going on upstairs and some of the partygoers were standing at the atrium railing, sipping their drinks and gazing down at us beavering away.
But it's fun, I enjoy it. There's lots of variety and the time speeds along when you're busy.
Nearly time to go home, phew. Tomorrow I'm going to finalise arrangements for a lunch for our old foreign desk team: that will be fun! Five angry, opinionated people get drunk in working hours! Whee! I'll have to get someone else to walk Bertie that night; in this job I don't get a break long enough to go home in, and there won't be time between lunch and starting work. I'll work something out. Maybe I'll bring Bertie to work with me -- he can sleep in the car and I can walk him in the park.
Where did I get up to in the travelogue? Flodigarry. So we stayed overnight and it was lovely -- the breakfast was superb, stewed prunes and apricots, mmm, and good coffee. It was raining, so we didn't do too much more walking, just around the grounds with the dog. Who had his photo taken by a tourist.
Then we drove back to Barevan through the romantically soggy landscape -- collecting more dog biscuits at the bridge toll. The highlands and islands really do look good in the rain, and at this time of year there's more colour around than in the summer.
Jenny and John had been coping with the farm work all right, and after Andrew had been round the cattle we whizzed off to see the latest Harry Potter. It was ok, though pretty dark in parts. There's one character, Dobby the House Elf, who I found particularly disturbing. He has a thing of punishing himself for mistakes and misdeeds by beating his head against the wall. In one scene, he said, "Dobby's been very bad. Dobby had to iron his hands." He held up his hands and they were bandaged. It's enough to give me nightmares, let alone a sensitive ten-year-old. But the rest was fun, especially the flying car and the quidditch match.
I came back the next day, traffic was fairly heavy so I didn't make good time. I had intended to go out, but crashed on to the sofa instead. Holidays are so tiring!!
This new job I'm in is frantically busy some nights -- like tonight. As well as revising everything and subbing some things and checking the pages and doing little odds and sods, I'm a general trouble-shooter and liaison person. I have to hold about six tasks in my head at any one time, prioritising and reprioritising as new problems come up. This can wait, that is urgent, the other might seem urgent to the person whose problem it is but can go fourth on the list. Meanwhile there was a party going on upstairs and some of the partygoers were standing at the atrium railing, sipping their drinks and gazing down at us beavering away.
But it's fun, I enjoy it. There's lots of variety and the time speeds along when you're busy.
Nearly time to go home, phew. Tomorrow I'm going to finalise arrangements for a lunch for our old foreign desk team: that will be fun! Five angry, opinionated people get drunk in working hours! Whee! I'll have to get someone else to walk Bertie that night; in this job I don't get a break long enough to go home in, and there won't be time between lunch and starting work. I'll work something out. Maybe I'll bring Bertie to work with me -- he can sleep in the car and I can walk him in the park.
30 November 2002
:: I'm baaaack!
I've been back for a couple of days but as usual have been flying around catching up with practical stuff and not sitting down and writing about my hols.
Which were great! We went up to the farm on Friday after Bertie got the all-clear from the vet (and more biscuits). Had a great few days on the farm, including a lovely dinner out with Andrew's folks and his aunt and uncle. I got lots of presents and so did Andrew, so we had a little opening session every day. There was also a small drama involving Andrew's other aunt and the Cawdor estate drama -- for a few ghastly minutes she thought she was to be evicted from her cottage, which the estate owns, but it was a misunderstanding. Phew.
Sunday we left for Skye, had a great drive there, stopping for a late lunch at the railway station cafe at Plockton. The bridge tolls have to be the friendliest anywhere -- the attendant sweetened the £4.70 charge with a handful of biscuits for Bertie!
Our first stop was the B&B at Eabost West -- very comfortable.
View from the lounge (same as from the bedrooms):
Tasty breakfast too!
We had a good walk to wear that off, to the Coral Beach near Dunvegan Castle. There was a "no dogs" sign, but we decided it really meant "no terriers". Bertie behaved himself perfectly, apart from eating sheep droppings (ewww!) After a quick cup of tea in Dunvegan, during which it rained, we headed south to um, er, a place near Carbost, long Gaelic name where we scrambled around on cliff tops in a cold wind. Brrr. Next port of call was the Talisker whiskey distillery, where we were disappointed to learn that the next tour wasn't until 4.30pm, too late for us. But a group of Norwegian submariners just happened to be there having a private tour, so we tagged along with them. Very interesting, lots of fascinating smells and sights. We weren't allowed to take photos because of the firefighters' strike.
Then it was back to Moira's B&B to wash and dress and walk the dog. Then, hurrah! We were off to the Three Chimneys for our birthday treat (a major treat for me, as Andrew picked up the tab!! What a guy!)
It was the most extraordinary route to an award-winning restaurant, driving for miles down a single-track road keeping an eye out for straying sheep. But well worth the effort -- the food was divine. Here are some snaps:
My starter: Skye seafood croustade with scallops and lobster, mmmmmmm
Andrew's starter: black pudding with mushrooms and apple. It looks odd but he says it tasted sensational.
My main course: lamb, perfectly cooked, on leek mash with roasted root veg and a port wine sauce.
Andrew's main course: Scallops and monkfish, luscious.
We also had half a dozen raw Skye oysters each, fresh and delicious. First time I've had raw oysters for a long time.
I didn't take photos of the deserts because by then other diners had arrived, but I had a dreamy chocolate tart, which managed to be creamy, rich and light all at the same time, and Andrew had marmalade steamed pud and drambuie custard. The wine was a German sauterne, just off dry, very nice.
We were full as ticks after all that! It was the best restaurant meal I've ever had, wonderful.
Andrew was falling over, he drank so much ... no, he's trying to be artistic. "There's something wrong with your chin," he said. Yes, the famous family chin, glowing away roundly.
The next day we moved to our next accommodation, at Flodigarry, but first we went off down to Elgol, another looooong single-track road. At one point it was guarded by a fierce highland cow. We had to shout at her to get her to move. Bertie was very impressed by her horns and didn't even THINK about barking at her.
Then black north to Flodigarry, stopping for lunch at the Aros Experience at Portree and for a steep walk at the Old Man of Storr. I stopped before the top -- ran out of steam -- but Bertie and Andrew pushed on up to the Old Man. It was a rush because it gets dark at about 3.45.
The hotel was great, a real treat. It's quite expensive in season, but at this time of year it's almost cheap -- £35 each. There's a vast lounge with several sofas, a grand piano and a roaring log fire, a swanky dining room and a fairly scuzzy bar. There were hardly any other guests, so we got to have our bar meals in the dining room and had the lounge to ourselves. Bertie wasn't allowed down there, but he was exhausted so didn't mind too much.
Pics:
The hotel was built as a private house by a descendent of Flora Macdonald -- she used to live in a cottage nearby.
These were everywhere -- big mice, dressed up. Bertie was creeped out by them. So was I.
The bar is in the battlemented white bit you can see in the view of the house, on the right. It has a Moroccan theme -- the original owner lived there -- but the hotel owners haven't let that influence the decor.
Meanwhile, back in the lounge...
It was comfortable in a tatty, well-worn way.
Well it's 6pm and I've got to have a shower and walk the dog before I go out. I'll finish this later on ... maybe tomorrow night at work. Sigh.
Which were great! We went up to the farm on Friday after Bertie got the all-clear from the vet (and more biscuits). Had a great few days on the farm, including a lovely dinner out with Andrew's folks and his aunt and uncle. I got lots of presents and so did Andrew, so we had a little opening session every day. There was also a small drama involving Andrew's other aunt and the Cawdor estate drama -- for a few ghastly minutes she thought she was to be evicted from her cottage, which the estate owns, but it was a misunderstanding. Phew.
Sunday we left for Skye, had a great drive there, stopping for a late lunch at the railway station cafe at Plockton. The bridge tolls have to be the friendliest anywhere -- the attendant sweetened the £4.70 charge with a handful of biscuits for Bertie!
Our first stop was the B&B at Eabost West -- very comfortable.
View from the lounge (same as from the bedrooms):
Tasty breakfast too!
We had a good walk to wear that off, to the Coral Beach near Dunvegan Castle. There was a "no dogs" sign, but we decided it really meant "no terriers". Bertie behaved himself perfectly, apart from eating sheep droppings (ewww!) After a quick cup of tea in Dunvegan, during which it rained, we headed south to um, er, a place near Carbost, long Gaelic name where we scrambled around on cliff tops in a cold wind. Brrr. Next port of call was the Talisker whiskey distillery, where we were disappointed to learn that the next tour wasn't until 4.30pm, too late for us. But a group of Norwegian submariners just happened to be there having a private tour, so we tagged along with them. Very interesting, lots of fascinating smells and sights. We weren't allowed to take photos because of the firefighters' strike.
Then it was back to Moira's B&B to wash and dress and walk the dog. Then, hurrah! We were off to the Three Chimneys for our birthday treat (a major treat for me, as Andrew picked up the tab!! What a guy!)
It was the most extraordinary route to an award-winning restaurant, driving for miles down a single-track road keeping an eye out for straying sheep. But well worth the effort -- the food was divine. Here are some snaps:
My starter: Skye seafood croustade with scallops and lobster, mmmmmmm
Andrew's starter: black pudding with mushrooms and apple. It looks odd but he says it tasted sensational.
My main course: lamb, perfectly cooked, on leek mash with roasted root veg and a port wine sauce.
Andrew's main course: Scallops and monkfish, luscious.
We also had half a dozen raw Skye oysters each, fresh and delicious. First time I've had raw oysters for a long time.
I didn't take photos of the deserts because by then other diners had arrived, but I had a dreamy chocolate tart, which managed to be creamy, rich and light all at the same time, and Andrew had marmalade steamed pud and drambuie custard. The wine was a German sauterne, just off dry, very nice.
We were full as ticks after all that! It was the best restaurant meal I've ever had, wonderful.
Andrew was falling over, he drank so much ... no, he's trying to be artistic. "There's something wrong with your chin," he said. Yes, the famous family chin, glowing away roundly.
The next day we moved to our next accommodation, at Flodigarry, but first we went off down to Elgol, another looooong single-track road. At one point it was guarded by a fierce highland cow. We had to shout at her to get her to move. Bertie was very impressed by her horns and didn't even THINK about barking at her.
Then black north to Flodigarry, stopping for lunch at the Aros Experience at Portree and for a steep walk at the Old Man of Storr. I stopped before the top -- ran out of steam -- but Bertie and Andrew pushed on up to the Old Man. It was a rush because it gets dark at about 3.45.
The hotel was great, a real treat. It's quite expensive in season, but at this time of year it's almost cheap -- £35 each. There's a vast lounge with several sofas, a grand piano and a roaring log fire, a swanky dining room and a fairly scuzzy bar. There were hardly any other guests, so we got to have our bar meals in the dining room and had the lounge to ourselves. Bertie wasn't allowed down there, but he was exhausted so didn't mind too much.
Pics:
The hotel was built as a private house by a descendent of Flora Macdonald -- she used to live in a cottage nearby.
These were everywhere -- big mice, dressed up. Bertie was creeped out by them. So was I.
The bar is in the battlemented white bit you can see in the view of the house, on the right. It has a Moroccan theme -- the original owner lived there -- but the hotel owners haven't let that influence the decor.
Meanwhile, back in the lounge...
It was comfortable in a tatty, well-worn way.
Well it's 6pm and I've got to have a shower and walk the dog before I go out. I'll finish this later on ... maybe tomorrow night at work. Sigh.
20 November 2002
:: ouch
That's what it says on Bertie's new bandage, in several languages. Autsch! Aiee!! That's pretty much what Bertie was saying when the vet snipped off his broken dew claw. She made him a little muzzle out of a bandage in case he bit her, but I don't think he would have. He was really shocked that she hurt him though -- his pal! His chum! And I was in trouble too for taking him in there and not smacking her when she hurt him.
He came round after a lot of cuddles and biscuits -- at one point the vet was hugging him and crooning: "You're just misunderstood, yes, you're so unloved and no-one understands you, poor dog,"
"No-one feeds him either," I added.
"Noooo! You're starving and unloved and misunderstood, poor, poor Bertie," she said as he crushed up against her, trembling. I think it was a Vulcan mind-meld.
I don't know how Bertie managed to break his claw, but he probably caught it on something while running around manically on this morning's walk. We were at Blackness for the first time in ages, and he was really excited. We were just going into the woods when I noticed there was blood on his leg. He was very put out when I marched him back to the car.
Right now, full of biscuits, painkillers and antibiotics, he's conked out on the floor behind me. I have to take him back to the vet on Friday morning, before we go north, to have his leg checked out. It should be ok -- it doesn't seem to bother him too much to walk on it, it was just horribly painful to the touch.
Here are pictures:
That lovely bandage in full -- it's still reasonably pristine because I sprayed chew deterrent on it. Ewwww, yuck.
Injured dog writhes in pain while owner callously takes his picture. Actually he's zonked out on painkillers and waiting for me to carry on scratching his chest.
Otherwise, we're good to go! We're staying at a B&B at Struan, south of Dunvegan, for two nights, then one night at the Flodigarry country house hotel. Both my first choices were closed and it was tricky finding somewhere that's open and takes dogs. I'm leaving on Friday, after the vet visit. Friday night we're going to see the latest Harry Potter film, Saturday night we're going out with Andrew's aunt and uncle, then Sunday (after feeding the cattle) we leave for Skye. We head back to the farm on Wednesday, and I go back to Edinburgh on Thursday.
I'm really looking forward to the whole thing.
He came round after a lot of cuddles and biscuits -- at one point the vet was hugging him and crooning: "You're just misunderstood, yes, you're so unloved and no-one understands you, poor dog,"
"No-one feeds him either," I added.
"Noooo! You're starving and unloved and misunderstood, poor, poor Bertie," she said as he crushed up against her, trembling. I think it was a Vulcan mind-meld.
I don't know how Bertie managed to break his claw, but he probably caught it on something while running around manically on this morning's walk. We were at Blackness for the first time in ages, and he was really excited. We were just going into the woods when I noticed there was blood on his leg. He was very put out when I marched him back to the car.
Right now, full of biscuits, painkillers and antibiotics, he's conked out on the floor behind me. I have to take him back to the vet on Friday morning, before we go north, to have his leg checked out. It should be ok -- it doesn't seem to bother him too much to walk on it, it was just horribly painful to the touch.
Here are pictures:
That lovely bandage in full -- it's still reasonably pristine because I sprayed chew deterrent on it. Ewwww, yuck.
Injured dog writhes in pain while owner callously takes his picture. Actually he's zonked out on painkillers and waiting for me to carry on scratching his chest.
Otherwise, we're good to go! We're staying at a B&B at Struan, south of Dunvegan, for two nights, then one night at the Flodigarry country house hotel. Both my first choices were closed and it was tricky finding somewhere that's open and takes dogs. I'm leaving on Friday, after the vet visit. Friday night we're going to see the latest Harry Potter film, Saturday night we're going out with Andrew's aunt and uncle, then Sunday (after feeding the cattle) we leave for Skye. We head back to the farm on Wednesday, and I go back to Edinburgh on Thursday.
I'm really looking forward to the whole thing.
14 November 2002
:: flat tack
This new job certainly has the hours whizzing past. I start half an hour earlier, so for a start I'm having to alter my routine. Then I'm busy from when I sit down until now ... my break. I do prefer to be busy right through, and it's varied work. I'm beginning to learn some of the system's internal workings, which is most interesting.
Tomorrow is my last night on before I go on holiday for a fortnight. I've been pondering how to celebrate my half-century (how can I possibly be that old?) and it's taking shape -- I'll make bookings tomorrow. For a while there I feared it might be a misery-fest, what with the work crisis, but now that's sorted I feel fine about it all.
I'm going up to the farm, probably next Friday, then Andrew and I will go to Skye for a few days. We're going to stay at Dunvegan, hopefully in this B&B and have our joint birthday dinner at the Three Chimneys restaurant. Then we move to Glen Eynort, in a remote corner of the island for another night, then head back to the farm. Fingers crossed it all works out.
My cold is nearly all gone -- it was just an annoying sniffling one, nothing serious. Bertie cut his foot the other night charging around after rabbits, but that's healing up well too. He was beaten up by a staffordshire bull terrier the other day but wasn't injured -- apart from severely dented ego and bruised pride. The staffie's owner had to sit on it to subdue it. Meanwhile his other dog, also a staffie, was ignoring the boys' antics and trying to get me to thrown her "stick" -- a great big log. They really are strong dogs, eh!
I'm thoroughly enjoying my new sofa. It's sooo comfy! I can stretch right out on it and my feet don't touch the other end. It's a more tomatoey red than I remember from the shop, but that's ok.
Back to work again now...
Tomorrow is my last night on before I go on holiday for a fortnight. I've been pondering how to celebrate my half-century (how can I possibly be that old?) and it's taking shape -- I'll make bookings tomorrow. For a while there I feared it might be a misery-fest, what with the work crisis, but now that's sorted I feel fine about it all.
I'm going up to the farm, probably next Friday, then Andrew and I will go to Skye for a few days. We're going to stay at Dunvegan, hopefully in this B&B and have our joint birthday dinner at the Three Chimneys restaurant. Then we move to Glen Eynort, in a remote corner of the island for another night, then head back to the farm. Fingers crossed it all works out.
My cold is nearly all gone -- it was just an annoying sniffling one, nothing serious. Bertie cut his foot the other night charging around after rabbits, but that's healing up well too. He was beaten up by a staffordshire bull terrier the other day but wasn't injured -- apart from severely dented ego and bruised pride. The staffie's owner had to sit on it to subdue it. Meanwhile his other dog, also a staffie, was ignoring the boys' antics and trying to get me to thrown her "stick" -- a great big log. They really are strong dogs, eh!
I'm thoroughly enjoying my new sofa. It's sooo comfy! I can stretch right out on it and my feet don't touch the other end. It's a more tomatoey red than I remember from the shop, but that's ok.
Back to work again now...
8 November 2002
:: hot gossip
In case you didn't find it, here is the link to the story about Andrew's neighbours. This is the second episode -- it's rumbling on nicely.
:: sickly
Woke up with a sore throat this morning, really sore. I had a nice hot bath and wrapped up warm so I feel a bit better now. I hope this doesn't turn my weekend to mush. I haven't had a cold or anything for years.
Driving home last night I suddenly found my rear-view mirror full of blue flashing lights. I pulled over and immediately went into my "please don't give me a ticket" routine. I always get out of the car, I never sit there waiting for the cop to come up to the window. I'm unflaggingly polite, pleasant and cheerful. I admit right away to doing whatever it is they're pulling me over for, apologise sincerely and thank them for their chastisement.
I have never ever been given a ticket, and I've been pulled over lots of times.
This time it was speeding -- 50mph in a 40mph zone. "I didn't think I was going that fast," I said, "I thought I was only doing 45." That made them laugh, because of course it was still over the speed limit. Apparently I was "only" doing 45 but then I sped up as I went down a little slope just before the start of the open road.
The nice policemen made me get into my car and turn off all the lights. Then I had to turn them all on again -- parking, full, high beam, indicators, brakes. Everything worked. Then I had to pop the bonnet (I couldn't find the catch and one of them had to do it for me) and they checked the engine. Finally I was admonished and sent on my way.
One o'clock in the morning, you'd think they'd have better things to do, grumble grumble.
My last day in my current job! How strange. I don't have a last-day feeling at all.
Driving home last night I suddenly found my rear-view mirror full of blue flashing lights. I pulled over and immediately went into my "please don't give me a ticket" routine. I always get out of the car, I never sit there waiting for the cop to come up to the window. I'm unflaggingly polite, pleasant and cheerful. I admit right away to doing whatever it is they're pulling me over for, apologise sincerely and thank them for their chastisement.
I have never ever been given a ticket, and I've been pulled over lots of times.
This time it was speeding -- 50mph in a 40mph zone. "I didn't think I was going that fast," I said, "I thought I was only doing 45." That made them laugh, because of course it was still over the speed limit. Apparently I was "only" doing 45 but then I sped up as I went down a little slope just before the start of the open road.
The nice policemen made me get into my car and turn off all the lights. Then I had to turn them all on again -- parking, full, high beam, indicators, brakes. Everything worked. Then I had to pop the bonnet (I couldn't find the catch and one of them had to do it for me) and they checked the engine. Finally I was admonished and sent on my way.
One o'clock in the morning, you'd think they'd have better things to do, grumble grumble.
My last day in my current job! How strange. I don't have a last-day feeling at all.
7 November 2002
Tim is away from his desk and this is tinkling away tinnily as his mobile phone rings unanswered.
:: argh
This is how I feel lately -- though I hadn't thought of this chap's practical approach to it!
Today I had to collect Rona from the railway station, so it was probably not a good idea to start downloading the Windows XP service pack an hour before I had to leave. I got engrossed, and suddenly had five minutes to shower and get out of there. The download still had two hours to run. Blimey.
So I hurtled off through suddenly sluggish traffic, found a park, flew down into the station -- and her train was late. Whew.
Traffic was bad on the way home too, so Rona got the fast-forward tour of the house and facilities before I roared off. Bertie will be happy -- she was planning to take him for a walk. Gorgeous day, by the way, sunny and clear, with lots of golden leafy autumn goodness everywhere. I had to be in to work early for a meeting with the two blokes I'll be working with. Very interesting -- seems my course in Visual Basic was a good idea!
Ikea phoned -- the new sofa arrives on Monday, which is a day off, hurrah, so no complications with me not being there.
Right now I'd better do some work.
Today I had to collect Rona from the railway station, so it was probably not a good idea to start downloading the Windows XP service pack an hour before I had to leave. I got engrossed, and suddenly had five minutes to shower and get out of there. The download still had two hours to run. Blimey.
So I hurtled off through suddenly sluggish traffic, found a park, flew down into the station -- and her train was late. Whew.
Traffic was bad on the way home too, so Rona got the fast-forward tour of the house and facilities before I roared off. Bertie will be happy -- she was planning to take him for a walk. Gorgeous day, by the way, sunny and clear, with lots of golden leafy autumn goodness everywhere. I had to be in to work early for a meeting with the two blokes I'll be working with. Very interesting -- seems my course in Visual Basic was a good idea!
Ikea phoned -- the new sofa arrives on Monday, which is a day off, hurrah, so no complications with me not being there.
Right now I'd better do some work.
:: happy endings
Crisis over! I'm moving on to another job, still on the paper though -- details by email. I was offered a couple of choices (plus the option of staying where I am, with changed duties) and took the most interesting -- it's a temporary position with a small production team for four or five months. I get on well with them -- in fact I had dinner at the home of one of them on Saturday night -- so I'm happy about the move.
Best of all, I get to take two weeks of annual leave which I wouldn't have been able to take if there hadn't been any changes, due to lack of cover. Hurrah! I'm planning a wee trip to Skye.
I was worried about how two of my colleagues would fare -- one of them walked out on Monday (which I think he secretly enjoyed), the other is staying on, hopefully with his position unchanged. I'm carrying on with my old job unchanged to the end of the week, then I have a week on the new job, then two weeks off. Then it's practically Christmas!
I'm collecting my next guest, Rona, at the railway station tomorrow afternoon (this afternoon, seeing it's past midnight). She's staying until Tuesday, looking forward to that.
I was going to link to a story in today's Scotsman about Andrew's next-door neighbours, the Earl and Countess of Cawdor, but it's not on the website yet. Very exciting! Check it out later on, it's a fascinating family feud. The earl's lawyer is none other than our old friend Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw.
Nearly time to go home. What a stressful week this has been -- I was so distracted when I arrived at work yesterday (Tuesday) I left my headlights on when I parked in the garage downstairs. Luckily someone reported it to reception so I got them turned off before the battery went flat. I've got a long weekend -- Saturday, Sunday, Monday -- and I'll be able to relax and really enjoy it. I want to go for at least one good big long walk.
I went to see 28 Days Later on Monday night, a very scary movie. Scary because it was so real -- it's shot on digital video with a mix of experienced and inexperienced actors, so it had a gritty feel to it. Recommended for fans of scary films but not for the squeamish.
Best of all, I get to take two weeks of annual leave which I wouldn't have been able to take if there hadn't been any changes, due to lack of cover. Hurrah! I'm planning a wee trip to Skye.
I was worried about how two of my colleagues would fare -- one of them walked out on Monday (which I think he secretly enjoyed), the other is staying on, hopefully with his position unchanged. I'm carrying on with my old job unchanged to the end of the week, then I have a week on the new job, then two weeks off. Then it's practically Christmas!
I'm collecting my next guest, Rona, at the railway station tomorrow afternoon (this afternoon, seeing it's past midnight). She's staying until Tuesday, looking forward to that.
I was going to link to a story in today's Scotsman about Andrew's next-door neighbours, the Earl and Countess of Cawdor, but it's not on the website yet. Very exciting! Check it out later on, it's a fascinating family feud. The earl's lawyer is none other than our old friend Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw.
Nearly time to go home. What a stressful week this has been -- I was so distracted when I arrived at work yesterday (Tuesday) I left my headlights on when I parked in the garage downstairs. Luckily someone reported it to reception so I got them turned off before the battery went flat. I've got a long weekend -- Saturday, Sunday, Monday -- and I'll be able to relax and really enjoy it. I want to go for at least one good big long walk.
I went to see 28 Days Later on Monday night, a very scary movie. Scary because it was so real -- it's shot on digital video with a mix of experienced and inexperienced actors, so it had a gritty feel to it. Recommended for fans of scary films but not for the squeamish.
6 November 2002
:: still ok
But I still don't know what I'll be doing in the near future.
I'll send another email update soon. In the meantime I'm frantically busy it seems. Marian came and went and crammed a lot into her visit. It was too short, wah! But it was great to see her and catch up. Next guest arrives Thursday, cue several loads of laundry.
Today I hiffed out the old sofa, disturbing Bertie no end. Not that he sat on it or anything, but ... well, shouldn't that be inside the house rather than out on the street? He doesn't like change.
Oh, there's too much to report, too little time to report it in. But I will get there. Honest.
I'll send another email update soon. In the meantime I'm frantically busy it seems. Marian came and went and crammed a lot into her visit. It was too short, wah! But it was great to see her and catch up. Next guest arrives Thursday, cue several loads of laundry.
Today I hiffed out the old sofa, disturbing Bertie no end. Not that he sat on it or anything, but ... well, shouldn't that be inside the house rather than out on the street? He doesn't like change.
Oh, there's too much to report, too little time to report it in. But I will get there. Honest.
25 October 2002
:: I'm ok!!
I'm so sorry to have worried people with my cryptic message -- things are bad, sure, but I'm coping really well. "Despite the stress I feel calm and cheerful" I said, and I meant it. I do feel cheerful. I'm also angry, slightly apprehensive, distracted and sometimes impatient. It's complicated. But I'm ok, really -- you don't need to worry.
One thing that's cheering me is my computer -- absurd that it should please me so much but it does. It works! It works every single time I turn it on. The software has many useful and interesting new settings for me to play with. And there's still more new software to install and play with. The only thing is finding time to play with it. Bertie finds my interest in it troubling: Why are you sitting with your face to the wall? Is something wrong? He puts his head on my lap and nudges my elbow, then finally flings himself down on the floor.
If the weather's at all decent this weekend I'm getting out and about. Did I mention our Pentlands expedition last Saturday? I really enjoyed that. More, please! Not in sheep country though -- Bertie hates being on the lead all the time.
One thing that's cheering me is my computer -- absurd that it should please me so much but it does. It works! It works every single time I turn it on. The software has many useful and interesting new settings for me to play with. And there's still more new software to install and play with. The only thing is finding time to play with it. Bertie finds my interest in it troubling: Why are you sitting with your face to the wall? Is something wrong? He puts his head on my lap and nudges my elbow, then finally flings himself down on the floor.
If the weather's at all decent this weekend I'm getting out and about. Did I mention our Pentlands expedition last Saturday? I really enjoyed that. More, please! Not in sheep country though -- Bertie hates being on the lead all the time.
:: stuff
There's a lot going on at the moment that I can't talk about here -- let's just say it's become an extremely stressful week. I'll email people privately or phone (some of you already know what's happening). It's nothing life-threatening but it's keeping me frazzled.
Otherwise, weirdly enough, I'm hunky-dory. Despite the stress I feel calm and cheerful. Bertie has mysteriously become obedient -- yesterday he even stopped hassling some elderly dogs on command, and later on declined to bark at some boys. Next thing he'll be letting kids pat him ...
Time to go home now.
Otherwise, weirdly enough, I'm hunky-dory. Despite the stress I feel calm and cheerful. Bertie has mysteriously become obedient -- yesterday he even stopped hassling some elderly dogs on command, and later on declined to bark at some boys. Next thing he'll be letting kids pat him ...
Time to go home now.
23 October 2002
:: wee bugger
I got the bugbear virus today! Didn't get infected though, my antivirus software caught it. I installed the program yesterday and did a scan -- all clear. Then today when I downloaded my email, BING! It roared into action and deleted the nasty. Ha ha, my computer's smarter than the Aussie parliament's entire system.
So yes, the computer overhaul goes forward, slowly but surely. The best part is that I've got the printer, scanner and camera all working smoothly, all on USB. The printer goes faster! It's fab.
So yes, the computer overhaul goes forward, slowly but surely. The best part is that I've got the printer, scanner and camera all working smoothly, all on USB. The printer goes faster! It's fab.
22 October 2002
:: sofa so good
I finally ordered my new sofa yesterday, hurrah. In the end I got a three-seater rather than a sofa-bed (which was bigger than the two-seater but smaller than the three-seater), because I don't really need an extra bed and the three-seater is £200 cheaper. I got bright red slip covers, and an extra set of covers in natural, for summer -- the red ones would fade in the sun.
It arrives sometime after November 7, so I still have a couple of weeks left of discomfort. Oh, and to arrange disposal of the old sofa. I don't know if I mentioned but none of the charity shops would take it because it's not fire-proof.
So that's my big spending spree finished -- it was great fun while it lasted! Installation of the new software is going pretty smoothly. I installed new modem yesterday, so I'm back on line again. All the other hardware seems to be behaving better under Windows XP. I still have to reinstall all my programs, plus then partition the hard drive and install Linux. What fun! It's a pleasure to turn on my computer again -- previously it would stutter and stumble and give error messages and generally be annoying. Now it whizzes along in an orderly fashion. Yippee!
Today was busy -- I had to take the car in to the garage for a new tyre, so I flung Bertie in and took him for a walk afterwards. The weather is foul, it rained all night, so the paths are all muddy and/or flooded. But we met a gang of friendly labs & mixed breeds, so Bertie had a fine old time rushing around with them.
Back home I worked on the computer for a few hours, then showered & took Bertie back out into the rain. Met Pat with Amber and Kita, and she told me how they'd stumbled on an eagle the other day. She heard rustling in the undergrowth, thought it might be a badger -- but then out came this huge bird! It flew off into a tree -- Pat reckons it had some prey in the undergrowth.
After that I went back to the garage, collected the car and drove to work. It's still raining.
It arrives sometime after November 7, so I still have a couple of weeks left of discomfort. Oh, and to arrange disposal of the old sofa. I don't know if I mentioned but none of the charity shops would take it because it's not fire-proof.
So that's my big spending spree finished -- it was great fun while it lasted! Installation of the new software is going pretty smoothly. I installed new modem yesterday, so I'm back on line again. All the other hardware seems to be behaving better under Windows XP. I still have to reinstall all my programs, plus then partition the hard drive and install Linux. What fun! It's a pleasure to turn on my computer again -- previously it would stutter and stumble and give error messages and generally be annoying. Now it whizzes along in an orderly fashion. Yippee!
Today was busy -- I had to take the car in to the garage for a new tyre, so I flung Bertie in and took him for a walk afterwards. The weather is foul, it rained all night, so the paths are all muddy and/or flooded. But we met a gang of friendly labs & mixed breeds, so Bertie had a fine old time rushing around with them.
Back home I worked on the computer for a few hours, then showered & took Bertie back out into the rain. Met Pat with Amber and Kita, and she told me how they'd stumbled on an eagle the other day. She heard rustling in the undergrowth, thought it might be a badger -- but then out came this huge bird! It flew off into a tree -- Pat reckons it had some prey in the undergrowth.
After that I went back to the garage, collected the car and drove to work. It's still raining.
20 October 2002
:: that's odd...
I published a draft entry yesterday but it didn't show up on the web page today. Hmm.
Anyway -- soldiering on -- my computer isn't quite a broken mess, but I might need to get a new modem. I had suspected I might, because on reading various internet forums, it seems to be a common problem with Windows XP. Because it's very different from Win98, it needs new drivers for most hardware, and sometimes the manufacturer hasn't come up with a new driver. It's very annoying, but there you go.
I have a deadline to get it sorted out too, because Microsoft, in its desperate desire to counter software piracy, insists you must register WinXP within 30 days to validate it; if you don't, it stops working. You can apparently register by phone, but the line is permanently busy -- with people whose modems don't work, presumably.
Grumbles aside it's looking ok so far, though I don't like XP's "new look" -- it's very cartoony and bright. I'm sure I'll get used to it. There are some features that I really like -- thumbnail views of any photos in a folder, for example, that's brilliant.
I've got to do some work right now, chat later.
Anyway -- soldiering on -- my computer isn't quite a broken mess, but I might need to get a new modem. I had suspected I might, because on reading various internet forums, it seems to be a common problem with Windows XP. Because it's very different from Win98, it needs new drivers for most hardware, and sometimes the manufacturer hasn't come up with a new driver. It's very annoying, but there you go.
I have a deadline to get it sorted out too, because Microsoft, in its desperate desire to counter software piracy, insists you must register WinXP within 30 days to validate it; if you don't, it stops working. You can apparently register by phone, but the line is permanently busy -- with people whose modems don't work, presumably.
Grumbles aside it's looking ok so far, though I don't like XP's "new look" -- it's very cartoony and bright. I'm sure I'll get used to it. There are some features that I really like -- thumbnail views of any photos in a folder, for example, that's brilliant.
I've got to do some work right now, chat later.
19 October 2002
:: farewell!
That's my computer speaking. I'm about to reformat the hard drive, ha ha!! Either it will go swimmingly and I'll have a lovely new (software) upgraded machine with no annoying problems, or I'll have a broken mess. Tee hee.
My other bit of upgrading now in progress is my new phone. It all arrived in the post yesterday and I collected it from the post office today -- phone and software. The software was all as ordered, but the phone was a different model. I went into outraged consumer mode -- this is the second time this firm has mucked up an order, grumble grumble. I logged on, ready to send an outraged consumer email, but first I checked the specs of the phone I'd been sent. Oh .... it's worth almost twice as much as the one I ordered and actually has some rather good features .... hmmm.
I decided that if they want me to have this phone, instead of this one, who am I to argue? (And no, I didn't buy it through telephones-online.co.uk or rocom.co.uk.)
The handset has to charge for 24 hours before use, so I'm having to wait before playing with it. I'm using the answering machine that came with it though, but I haven't changed the pre-recorded message yet. At the moment a very posh woman says, "This is an answering machine. Leave your message after the tone." I'll be very surprised if I get any messages.
So, anyway, goodbye from clunky old Windows 98 -- this computer will be reborn as a dual-booting doozie, Linux and Windows XP! (I'll still be reachable by email -- just not on my days off.)
My other bit of upgrading now in progress is my new phone. It all arrived in the post yesterday and I collected it from the post office today -- phone and software. The software was all as ordered, but the phone was a different model. I went into outraged consumer mode -- this is the second time this firm has mucked up an order, grumble grumble. I logged on, ready to send an outraged consumer email, but first I checked the specs of the phone I'd been sent. Oh .... it's worth almost twice as much as the one I ordered and actually has some rather good features .... hmmm.
I decided that if they want me to have this phone, instead of this one, who am I to argue? (And no, I didn't buy it through telephones-online.co.uk or rocom.co.uk.)
The handset has to charge for 24 hours before use, so I'm having to wait before playing with it. I'm using the answering machine that came with it though, but I haven't changed the pre-recorded message yet. At the moment a very posh woman says, "This is an answering machine. Leave your message after the tone." I'll be very surprised if I get any messages.
So, anyway, goodbye from clunky old Windows 98 -- this computer will be reborn as a dual-booting doozie, Linux and Windows XP! (I'll still be reachable by email -- just not on my days off.)
17 October 2002
:: sdrawkcab
Just in case you were wondering, it's actually "Dogma I name Cilopraed." Which could be a clue!! If only I had Florian's phone number....
:: florian makes my day
I'm having a reasonably stressful day today filling in for my boss, but then a cheery young German who subscribes to the paper phoned up with a gem. He gets the paper by snail mail, so he'd only just caught up with our report on the "calling card" left by the Washington sniper: "Dear policeman, I am god".
"I don't know if you realise it, but you can read it backwards!" he gushed.
"Really."
"Yes, it says, 'dogma I man police read'. It's very interesting, isn't it?"
I laughed and laughed and laughed, then thanked him for brightening my day with his insight.
He wasn't bothered: "I know you probably get all kinds of crank calls!" he said, still cheerful.
His call really was a tonic, because the news all seems grim -- bombings, arrests, wider threats, the sniper still on the loose; even the director of the CIA is rattled.
I haven't killed my computer yet, but the new software is arriving tomorrow so I'll install it at the weekend and see if I can destroy it then. Ha ha. I had to get a new phone too, the old one has been playing up. It was extremely cheap and is very nasty and crackly to use. The new one is digital so should make for clearer conversations. Still haven't ordered a new sofa. I think about it every time I sit on the old one -- its bones are sticking out like an old horse.
Speaking of bony animals, Bertie has been acting up lately. He's started being aggressive to strange dogs. When I first got him he was timid and submissive, but as he's grown in confidence so he's become more bolshie. Yesterday we encountered a stray dog -- well, he's not stray exactly, he has a home, but he's let out to wander the streets on his own all day. So we met this dog and Bertie decided to challenge him. Nothing too physical, just lots of growling and shoving and posturing. And Bertie won! I was yelling at him to come, and once he'd driven off the other dog he came flying down the path, terrifically excited. He overshot me into the car park, and with me still yelling at him, went shooting past me back up the path. But now a jogger was coming along, and he understandably thought Bertie was running at him, so he stopped. Bad move! Bertie had lost his mind with all the yelling and running and beating the other dog, and started barking at the jogger. I told the guy to just keep running and he did, but he kept looking at Bertie, who took that as a challenge and followed him. "Keep your dog under control!" the guy snapped. I yelled at Bertie some more but didn't try and grab him -- he would have thought I was joining in the chase. Finally got him back and leashed.
Today we met a nice bouncy lab. His owner let him off the leash so he and Bertie could have a run around, and it degenerated into another growling, shoving match (also with lots of peeing). The other guy finally called it off after it looked like they weren't going to calm down. Bertie allowed himself to be removed from the scene -- he was about to lose the battle.
So -- I think I'm going to have to crack down harder on these challenges, otherwise he'll turn into a horrible bully. Oddly enough, his relationship with the dogs he met while he was a wimp hasn't changed at all.
And he's still scared of children, and sacks of onions, and street signs.
"I don't know if you realise it, but you can read it backwards!" he gushed.
"Really."
"Yes, it says, 'dogma I man police read'. It's very interesting, isn't it?"
I laughed and laughed and laughed, then thanked him for brightening my day with his insight.
He wasn't bothered: "I know you probably get all kinds of crank calls!" he said, still cheerful.
His call really was a tonic, because the news all seems grim -- bombings, arrests, wider threats, the sniper still on the loose; even the director of the CIA is rattled.
I haven't killed my computer yet, but the new software is arriving tomorrow so I'll install it at the weekend and see if I can destroy it then. Ha ha. I had to get a new phone too, the old one has been playing up. It was extremely cheap and is very nasty and crackly to use. The new one is digital so should make for clearer conversations. Still haven't ordered a new sofa. I think about it every time I sit on the old one -- its bones are sticking out like an old horse.
Speaking of bony animals, Bertie has been acting up lately. He's started being aggressive to strange dogs. When I first got him he was timid and submissive, but as he's grown in confidence so he's become more bolshie. Yesterday we encountered a stray dog -- well, he's not stray exactly, he has a home, but he's let out to wander the streets on his own all day. So we met this dog and Bertie decided to challenge him. Nothing too physical, just lots of growling and shoving and posturing. And Bertie won! I was yelling at him to come, and once he'd driven off the other dog he came flying down the path, terrifically excited. He overshot me into the car park, and with me still yelling at him, went shooting past me back up the path. But now a jogger was coming along, and he understandably thought Bertie was running at him, so he stopped. Bad move! Bertie had lost his mind with all the yelling and running and beating the other dog, and started barking at the jogger. I told the guy to just keep running and he did, but he kept looking at Bertie, who took that as a challenge and followed him. "Keep your dog under control!" the guy snapped. I yelled at Bertie some more but didn't try and grab him -- he would have thought I was joining in the chase. Finally got him back and leashed.
Today we met a nice bouncy lab. His owner let him off the leash so he and Bertie could have a run around, and it degenerated into another growling, shoving match (also with lots of peeing). The other guy finally called it off after it looked like they weren't going to calm down. Bertie allowed himself to be removed from the scene -- he was about to lose the battle.
So -- I think I'm going to have to crack down harder on these challenges, otherwise he'll turn into a horrible bully. Oddly enough, his relationship with the dogs he met while he was a wimp hasn't changed at all.
And he's still scared of children, and sacks of onions, and street signs.
13 October 2002
:: what I did today
Last night the sky was clear, after a few days of steady rain. Hurrah! But this morning a thick, chilly fog blanketed everything.
Scottish sunshine...
The bridge vanishes.
Sailors don't mind the weather -- the regatta went ahead regardless.
One nice thing about the fog was its effect on spiderwebs:
Bagpipers weren't bothered by the weather either ... the contest also went ahead regardless:
Scottish sunshine...
The bridge vanishes.
Sailors don't mind the weather -- the regatta went ahead regardless.
One nice thing about the fog was its effect on spiderwebs:
Bagpipers weren't bothered by the weather either ... the contest also went ahead regardless:
11 October 2002
:: too busy to shop
I've been doing housework, in honour of Jenny and her friend Bunty, who are coming for lunch tomorrow. It was meant to be today, but they decided it would make more sense to spend today sight-seeing around Edinburgh and come and visit me on their way home. Poor things, it rained steadily all day.
So anyway my house is spic and span, apart from the study which is always a mess. Creative clutter, you know. And I'm slowly grinding through my list of things to do. I took the old TV, stereo and chest of drawers to the charity shop for starters. This weekend's project is the computer and general dejunking.
Plus at least one long walk -- I thought I might try the Pentland Hills. I used to walk there a lot, but haven't since I've had Bertie. The hills are mainly farmland and sheep are roaming free, so he'd have to be on the lead the whole time. One time when a friend, Lucy, and I were walking in the Pentlands, her dog Jess shot off after a sheep -- it was right near the farmhouse too. Jess came back after a lot of shrieked commands, but Bertie wouldn't I'm sure. He's dying to make friends with a sheep! I'll take him on the flexible lead and see how he gets on. It really is lovely there and it's easy to get to. I miss it!
I've got a hard week next week -- three days standing in for my boss. It's one of the things I enjoy about the job, but it's also something I dread, because it can be stressful. The hours are long too -- 11am to about 9.30pm or 10pm. The following week I have a treat planned though -- a 90-minute massage from someone called Bavara. She sounds wonderful and comes highly recommended. I haven't had a massage for a few years, so I'm looking forward to this one.
So anyway my house is spic and span, apart from the study which is always a mess. Creative clutter, you know. And I'm slowly grinding through my list of things to do. I took the old TV, stereo and chest of drawers to the charity shop for starters. This weekend's project is the computer and general dejunking.
Plus at least one long walk -- I thought I might try the Pentland Hills. I used to walk there a lot, but haven't since I've had Bertie. The hills are mainly farmland and sheep are roaming free, so he'd have to be on the lead the whole time. One time when a friend, Lucy, and I were walking in the Pentlands, her dog Jess shot off after a sheep -- it was right near the farmhouse too. Jess came back after a lot of shrieked commands, but Bertie wouldn't I'm sure. He's dying to make friends with a sheep! I'll take him on the flexible lead and see how he gets on. It really is lovely there and it's easy to get to. I miss it!
I've got a hard week next week -- three days standing in for my boss. It's one of the things I enjoy about the job, but it's also something I dread, because it can be stressful. The hours are long too -- 11am to about 9.30pm or 10pm. The following week I have a treat planned though -- a 90-minute massage from someone called Bavara. She sounds wonderful and comes highly recommended. I haven't had a massage for a few years, so I'm looking forward to this one.
8 October 2002
:: upgrade
I've decided to go for a total upgrade: computer operating system, stereo, bed, sofa. I've already got the stereo, a JVC compact hi-fi:
My previous one was cheap, very cheap, and not terribly cheerful. The JVC wasn't expensive, but sound quality is streets ahead. Even Bertie has noticed: I put on some flute music and he woke up and stared nervously at the strange new howling boxes.
I've been meaning to get a new sofa and a new bed for ages. When I bought my flat, I paid the owner an extra few hundred pounds for some of the furniture, because I was poor and it was a bargain. So I have this worn-out stuff that was probably ten years old when I got it; I made a new loose-cover for the sofa and a new bed-frame, but now those are worn out too. Finally though, I'm replacing them.
The sofa is this one from Ikea:
But I have to wait two weeks for delivery ... and I haven't ordered it yet.
I haven't found a bed I like yet. I prefer slatted bedframes like the one I have (which is actually broken -- I fixed it myself but it's on its last legs, heh) but may go for a clunky divan base for reasons of comfort. What I'd really like is a wire-wove base, but they don't seem to have those here.
The other aspect to this furniture upgrade is getting shot of the old stuff. I phoned around charity shops today and found one that's happy to take the old stereo and TV as well as an old chest of drawers I have stowed away in a corner. But no-one will take the sofa, because it's not labelled as non-inflammable. I had suspected that would be the case.
This means I'll have to get the council's rubbish dept to cart it off. Happily I've been forewarned about their nutty bureaucracy: you can't just phone them up and set a date that suits you, oh no. They tell you when they will come. If that happens to be the day of your best friend's wedding, well tough -- call again in six weeks' time. That's right! You can only apply once every six weeks. So what people do is agree to the uplift date, then dump the piece of furniture on the footpath the day before. The other catch is that you have to say exactly what you want collected: you can't add something else later on.
It will be good to have a clear-out, I'll have a trawl through the house and see if there's anything else I can pass on to the charity shop. They don't collect from as far afield as my place but I don't mind dropping the stuff off to them -- I might even do it tomorrow.
My previous one was cheap, very cheap, and not terribly cheerful. The JVC wasn't expensive, but sound quality is streets ahead. Even Bertie has noticed: I put on some flute music and he woke up and stared nervously at the strange new howling boxes.
I've been meaning to get a new sofa and a new bed for ages. When I bought my flat, I paid the owner an extra few hundred pounds for some of the furniture, because I was poor and it was a bargain. So I have this worn-out stuff that was probably ten years old when I got it; I made a new loose-cover for the sofa and a new bed-frame, but now those are worn out too. Finally though, I'm replacing them.
The sofa is this one from Ikea:
But I have to wait two weeks for delivery ... and I haven't ordered it yet.
I haven't found a bed I like yet. I prefer slatted bedframes like the one I have (which is actually broken -- I fixed it myself but it's on its last legs, heh) but may go for a clunky divan base for reasons of comfort. What I'd really like is a wire-wove base, but they don't seem to have those here.
The other aspect to this furniture upgrade is getting shot of the old stuff. I phoned around charity shops today and found one that's happy to take the old stereo and TV as well as an old chest of drawers I have stowed away in a corner. But no-one will take the sofa, because it's not labelled as non-inflammable. I had suspected that would be the case.
This means I'll have to get the council's rubbish dept to cart it off. Happily I've been forewarned about their nutty bureaucracy: you can't just phone them up and set a date that suits you, oh no. They tell you when they will come. If that happens to be the day of your best friend's wedding, well tough -- call again in six weeks' time. That's right! You can only apply once every six weeks. So what people do is agree to the uplift date, then dump the piece of furniture on the footpath the day before. The other catch is that you have to say exactly what you want collected: you can't add something else later on.
It will be good to have a clear-out, I'll have a trawl through the house and see if there's anything else I can pass on to the charity shop. They don't collect from as far afield as my place but I don't mind dropping the stuff off to them -- I might even do it tomorrow.
3 October 2002
:: blue
This has to be the strangest story of the week: Senate candidate turns himself blue. I thought it was a leg-pull but it's true. This lady has the problem too, but she's blaming her doctor.
Maybe they should get together with the Sunny Delight kids and Peter Stringfellow ...
Maybe they should get together with the Sunny Delight kids and Peter Stringfellow ...
2 October 2002
:: books
There was a sale of review books at work this week and I scored some great bargains. The best book was The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker. It came out only recently and I'd been waiting for the paperback to be published -- so imagine how thrilled I was to get the £25 hardback edition for 50p.
It's a controversial book -- Pinker quotes rave reviews on his website but not everyone thinks it's a good book. Mary Midgley, a philosopher whose writing I enjoy, gave it a right good thrashing.
Another great book (and only 20p!) was the Rough Guide to Weather. I always wondered how hail stayed up in the sky long enough to get big, and now I know.
An even better bargain than the books was a French film, Betty Fisher and Other Stories: I asked how much the videos were and the woman said, "Oh just take it, I don't even know what's on them all." I wanted to see this film when it came out, but it was only on at the art-house cinema and I missed it. A friend told me the entire plot over lunch, and it sounded interesting if confusing. I haven't watched the video yet.
I've been doing some very concentrated computer work -- since fixing my irksome usb problem (I think), I've decided it's time I upgraded to Windows XP. My friend Kevin assures me it's much more stable than Windows 98, which would be nice. Because XP is very different from 98, I'm having to track down new drivers for my hardware and download them, time-consuming business. I should be ok with most of my kit, but some of my older software might not work.
The plan is to back up all my files, reformat the hard drive, divide it into two partitions and install XP on one and Linux on the other. (If any boffins are reading, I'll be sticking to the Fat32 file system.) The Linux version I'm looking at comes with office and graphics software included.
I'm quite excited about doing this, it's a major move. I've been wanting to try Linux for years, even did a Unix course to prepare myself.
It's a controversial book -- Pinker quotes rave reviews on his website but not everyone thinks it's a good book. Mary Midgley, a philosopher whose writing I enjoy, gave it a right good thrashing.
Another great book (and only 20p!) was the Rough Guide to Weather. I always wondered how hail stayed up in the sky long enough to get big, and now I know.
An even better bargain than the books was a French film, Betty Fisher and Other Stories: I asked how much the videos were and the woman said, "Oh just take it, I don't even know what's on them all." I wanted to see this film when it came out, but it was only on at the art-house cinema and I missed it. A friend told me the entire plot over lunch, and it sounded interesting if confusing. I haven't watched the video yet.
I've been doing some very concentrated computer work -- since fixing my irksome usb problem (I think), I've decided it's time I upgraded to Windows XP. My friend Kevin assures me it's much more stable than Windows 98, which would be nice. Because XP is very different from 98, I'm having to track down new drivers for my hardware and download them, time-consuming business. I should be ok with most of my kit, but some of my older software might not work.
The plan is to back up all my files, reformat the hard drive, divide it into two partitions and install XP on one and Linux on the other. (If any boffins are reading, I'll be sticking to the Fat32 file system.) The Linux version I'm looking at comes with office and graphics software included.
I'm quite excited about doing this, it's a major move. I've been wanting to try Linux for years, even did a Unix course to prepare myself.
:: weekend stuff
Another lovely weekend flies by, but at least this time I accomplished a few things.
1. Weeded the front garden. It was a mess. Now it's at least tidy.
2. Did some fruitful fiddling on the computer -- I'm still having problems with the USB connection (for the camera and scanner), but I may have sorted it out, with the help of the wonderful forums on the PC Advisor website. It's quite a good magazine too. I'm considering subscribing, but suspect the mag wouldn't fit through the letter slot and I hate being woken up by the postie dring-dringing on the door.
3. Posted Pinky's shopping to her. Lovely shoes, she has such good taste!
4. Got my hair done -- badly-needed trim and colour job. It's lovely to sit there sipping coffee and flipping through the latest Marie Claire. It would be a lot cheaper to buy the mag and sit in a cafe I guess, but then I wouldn't get Sandy's wonderful scalp massage.
Not a very long list, is it? Very enjoyable though. And I got some cheap videos at HMV's sale -- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Magnolia and The Man Who Wasn't There -- so that took up some time. The last one was the only one I hadn't seen before, so I watched that, and I've also watched half of Crouching Tiger, one of my all-time favourite movies. It's the sort of film you have to see on the big screen though -- the fight scenes are stunning.
I bought the videos during an abortive expedition to John Lewis to look at beds. I was mildly interested in this bed, which I'd seen in a brochure. But the Edinburgh branch is in the throes of a huge redesign and the furniture dept has been shunted off to a dim corner where they seemed to have mainly damaged stock and £700 mattresses. It was also horribly busy & I couldn't find anyone to serve me.
In the kitchenware department I looked at coffee makers. I want a filter coffee machine, but one that takes a paper filter. None of the coffee makers they had use paper filters, they have permanent nylon filters. I prefer paper-filtered coffee partly for the taste, but mainly because I've noticed that if I drink other kinds -- instant, percolated, plunger -- I get arthritic pains in my hips. With filtered coffee I don't have a problem. Some studies have noted a link between coffee, even decaffeinated coffee, and arthritis, so it's not just my imagination. I'll have to stick to my little plastic filter cup though, it seems.
So then I went back to the handbag department, where I had earlier found The Perfect Handbag. Perfect apart from the price tag -- £140. I almost put down my credit card, it was a close thing. Soft, buttery leather, mmmmm, stylish plain exterior with only one square buckle for decoration, comfortable strap. Sturdy zip, no horrid magnetised clip to wipe your cards. Lovely. Sigh. By my third visit (well, it was on the way!) the staff were started to ostentatiously tidy the bags next to me.
So I went and got cheap videos instead. And went home and had a filter coffee. And slept in my ricketty old bed. Harrumph.
1. Weeded the front garden. It was a mess. Now it's at least tidy.
2. Did some fruitful fiddling on the computer -- I'm still having problems with the USB connection (for the camera and scanner), but I may have sorted it out, with the help of the wonderful forums on the PC Advisor website. It's quite a good magazine too. I'm considering subscribing, but suspect the mag wouldn't fit through the letter slot and I hate being woken up by the postie dring-dringing on the door.
3. Posted Pinky's shopping to her. Lovely shoes, she has such good taste!
4. Got my hair done -- badly-needed trim and colour job. It's lovely to sit there sipping coffee and flipping through the latest Marie Claire. It would be a lot cheaper to buy the mag and sit in a cafe I guess, but then I wouldn't get Sandy's wonderful scalp massage.
Not a very long list, is it? Very enjoyable though. And I got some cheap videos at HMV's sale -- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Magnolia and The Man Who Wasn't There -- so that took up some time. The last one was the only one I hadn't seen before, so I watched that, and I've also watched half of Crouching Tiger, one of my all-time favourite movies. It's the sort of film you have to see on the big screen though -- the fight scenes are stunning.
I bought the videos during an abortive expedition to John Lewis to look at beds. I was mildly interested in this bed, which I'd seen in a brochure. But the Edinburgh branch is in the throes of a huge redesign and the furniture dept has been shunted off to a dim corner where they seemed to have mainly damaged stock and £700 mattresses. It was also horribly busy & I couldn't find anyone to serve me.
In the kitchenware department I looked at coffee makers. I want a filter coffee machine, but one that takes a paper filter. None of the coffee makers they had use paper filters, they have permanent nylon filters. I prefer paper-filtered coffee partly for the taste, but mainly because I've noticed that if I drink other kinds -- instant, percolated, plunger -- I get arthritic pains in my hips. With filtered coffee I don't have a problem. Some studies have noted a link between coffee, even decaffeinated coffee, and arthritis, so it's not just my imagination. I'll have to stick to my little plastic filter cup though, it seems.
So then I went back to the handbag department, where I had earlier found The Perfect Handbag. Perfect apart from the price tag -- £140. I almost put down my credit card, it was a close thing. Soft, buttery leather, mmmmm, stylish plain exterior with only one square buckle for decoration, comfortable strap. Sturdy zip, no horrid magnetised clip to wipe your cards. Lovely. Sigh. By my third visit (well, it was on the way!) the staff were started to ostentatiously tidy the bags next to me.
So I went and got cheap videos instead. And went home and had a filter coffee. And slept in my ricketty old bed. Harrumph.
27 September 2002
:: shopping
I did some shopping for Pinky today. Faye had sent Cathy a catalogue for Evans, the plus-sizes clothes shop, and I was picking up a pair of shoes Pinky wanted. I was supposed to do this last week and forgot in all the excitement. It got quite complicated, because the shop didn't have the slip she wanted and the internet site didn't have the shoes!
So anyway it seems like the only functioning branch in Edinburgh is at the Fort Kinnaird retail park, on the city's eastern outskirts. So today I drove out there. I thought I hadn't been before, but when I got there I realised I had -- I went to the bowling alley one time about ten years ago. It's definitely grown since then. It's enormous. Not only that, but the shops themselves are large. They're all the familiar High Street names though: Border Books, Comet, Boots, Gap, blah blah. There's a Pizza Hut and a McDonalds too. You could be anywhere in Britain.
Since I moved out of the city I've been to more shopping centres than in all the years before then, but it still feels like a strange experience. South Queensferry doesn't have any "proper" shops, it's all knick-knackeries and cafes, with a couple of supermarkets. I wish it was more like Stockbridge, which has several greengrocers, a deli or two, a butcher, a baker and a candlestick-maker. As well as cafes and knick-knackeries.
Fort Kinnaird also has a big cinema complex, and that reminded me of the one time I nearly saw a movie there. I was going out with a fellow from Fife at the time, it was one of our first dates. To get to Fort Kinnaird you have to drive through Craigmillar. This is one of the city's most deprived areas -- crappy council housing, lots of graffiti, bars on the shop windows etc. As we drove along the main street, my date became more and more agitated. Finally, he turned the car round, refused to go any further. I don't know what he though would happen to us: carjack? brick through the windscreen perhaps? I was NOT impressed. What he didn't understand was that Craigmillar is a really energetic community -- looks and money aren't everything.
While at Fort Kinnaird I lashed out on an impulse buy at Principles, next door to Evans: a black fake-fur gilet. It'll be lovely and cosy for winter walks with Bertie. I'll need the long sweeping skirt and Russian boots to go with it of course.
So anyway it seems like the only functioning branch in Edinburgh is at the Fort Kinnaird retail park, on the city's eastern outskirts. So today I drove out there. I thought I hadn't been before, but when I got there I realised I had -- I went to the bowling alley one time about ten years ago. It's definitely grown since then. It's enormous. Not only that, but the shops themselves are large. They're all the familiar High Street names though: Border Books, Comet, Boots, Gap, blah blah. There's a Pizza Hut and a McDonalds too. You could be anywhere in Britain.
Since I moved out of the city I've been to more shopping centres than in all the years before then, but it still feels like a strange experience. South Queensferry doesn't have any "proper" shops, it's all knick-knackeries and cafes, with a couple of supermarkets. I wish it was more like Stockbridge, which has several greengrocers, a deli or two, a butcher, a baker and a candlestick-maker. As well as cafes and knick-knackeries.
Fort Kinnaird also has a big cinema complex, and that reminded me of the one time I nearly saw a movie there. I was going out with a fellow from Fife at the time, it was one of our first dates. To get to Fort Kinnaird you have to drive through Craigmillar. This is one of the city's most deprived areas -- crappy council housing, lots of graffiti, bars on the shop windows etc. As we drove along the main street, my date became more and more agitated. Finally, he turned the car round, refused to go any further. I don't know what he though would happen to us: carjack? brick through the windscreen perhaps? I was NOT impressed. What he didn't understand was that Craigmillar is a really energetic community -- looks and money aren't everything.
While at Fort Kinnaird I lashed out on an impulse buy at Principles, next door to Evans: a black fake-fur gilet. It'll be lovely and cosy for winter walks with Bertie. I'll need the long sweeping skirt and Russian boots to go with it of course.
26 September 2002
:: poor bertie
I'm always spoiling his fun. There's this one table, a cheap Ikea side-table, that he chews. It's in "his" room, the spare bedroom. Soon after I got it, he gnawed on the corner, so I turned the table round so the gnawed corner was hidden. He gnawed on the next corner. I turned it again. Yup, next corner went. I gave up.
The other day I finally got a replacement table, same kind (only in cheapskate white rather than elegant birch), but this time I dabbed each corner with chew deterrent. Horrible stuff -- it was hard to wash off my fingers & I got a taste of it. The main ingredient is something called Bitrex.
Shortly after I put the new table in place, Bertie went upstairs. There was a brief silence, then a kind of stifled bark followed by loud gagging and retching noises.
The table is still as good as new.
The other day I finally got a replacement table, same kind (only in cheapskate white rather than elegant birch), but this time I dabbed each corner with chew deterrent. Horrible stuff -- it was hard to wash off my fingers & I got a taste of it. The main ingredient is something called Bitrex.
Shortly after I put the new table in place, Bertie went upstairs. There was a brief silence, then a kind of stifled bark followed by loud gagging and retching noises.
The table is still as good as new.
25 September 2002
:: terraserver.com
Satellite Photos, Aerial Photography, and Images -- Look at cities from outer space.
:: jam today, more jam tomorrow
I made some jam last week as well, from plums that came from trees at the farm. I gave a jar to Fiona and she's reported back that it's delicious (I haven't tasted it yet, I'm still finishing the last of the blackcurrent and some strawberry/raspberry another friend made). I only made five jars of plum jam -- originally six, but then it didn't set so I had to boil it again and a whole jar's worth boiled away -- because I only had five jars. I use jars from other things, like honey and pasta sauce, and hadn't managed to save up very many.
But! Today I discovered that Lakeland Plastics sells jam jars by the dozen, with screw-on lids. Hurrah! A bit late for this year's jam-making, but I'm thinking it might be nice to try making some marmalade. Once I've got a jam pan. Back on the internet I made an interesting discovery -- it may be cheaper to buy an old copper jam pan in an antique shop than a new one. The cheapest antique was a sturdy-looking one, beautifully blackened on the outside, for £32. The cheapest new one was a nasty aluminium job. Yick, and still £40. Stainless steel is about £50-£60, and copper? Fuggedaboudit -- £79.
I love making jam and people really appreciate it, because hardly anyone makes jam any more and store-boughten jam is mainly pumpkin and marrow, I'm told. So! I'll be cooking with gas next summer.
But! Today I discovered that Lakeland Plastics sells jam jars by the dozen, with screw-on lids. Hurrah! A bit late for this year's jam-making, but I'm thinking it might be nice to try making some marmalade. Once I've got a jam pan. Back on the internet I made an interesting discovery -- it may be cheaper to buy an old copper jam pan in an antique shop than a new one. The cheapest antique was a sturdy-looking one, beautifully blackened on the outside, for £32. The cheapest new one was a nasty aluminium job. Yick, and still £40. Stainless steel is about £50-£60, and copper? Fuggedaboudit -- £79.
I love making jam and people really appreciate it, because hardly anyone makes jam any more and store-boughten jam is mainly pumpkin and marrow, I'm told. So! I'll be cooking with gas next summer.
23 September 2002
:: I'm back!
Blimey, long time since I wrote -- apologies to my regular readers (hi Mum, hi John). I've been busy busy busy, either too busy to write (this past week), or busy doing things that aren't that interesting (the week before that).
This past week I was on holiday (back at work tonight, sigh) and had a great time. Ana arrived on Saturday and we met up for a drink on Sunday night -- her conference ran from 9am to 9.30pm, yikes. She stayed at the venue, a university hall of residence. The topic was medieval Spain, which is her specialty and she had to present a paper, which she was quite nervous about but which went really well.
On Monday I got stuck into the garden -- planted the onions, mowed the lawn, weeded furiously. It was the hardest physical work I'd done since getting out of hospital, so it was great to swing into it and feel ok afterwards. Exhausted, sure, but OK.
Tuesday's work schedule was even more gruelling: housework. Ugh. I cleaned and scrubbed and swept and dusted and mopped and vaccumed and polished. I changed sheets and washed dishes and wiped surfaces.
Then I packed my bag and Bertie's, loaded him into the car and drove into town to collect Ana from her conference and drove us all to Cawdor. We stopped for a coffee in Aviemore, and had dinner when we got to the farm at about 8.30pm. Everyone there was in good form, we had a great evening mooning over Ana's baby photos (Beatriz is nine months old) and talking our heads off. Ana and Andrew and I all shared a flat at one point, and he and I also know Ana's husband, Jose Manuel from back then. They're lovely, and I'm dying to meet Beatriz.
Wednesday was mad. After breakfast we had a long walk around the farm and along to Kirkton of Barevan (ruined churchyard). Andrew lay in the punishment grave for a photo op and Ana posed with cows because her Madrid friends could not believe a townie like her was going to stay on a farm. Bertie loved every single minute.
Next we drove (with Andrew as chauffeur, me in the back seat with Bertie -- "Hey! This is MY seat!") to Nairn to visit Jenny at the museum, where she's manager. Check out the picture of "Cawdor School Pupils with Mr Watson c1962" -- it could be Port Chalmers primary school c1962! Is that not Donald Knewstubb in the middle of the back row? And I'm sure one of those girls in the front row is a Hill.
After that we whizzed off to Cawdor Tavern for lunch -- yum. I had chicken escalopes with haggis, delish. Next stop was Cawdor Castle, which Ana hasn't seen before. I have, and Bertie was by now very bored with sitting in the car, so I took him for a nice walk instead.
On the way back we made a detour to Andrew's aunt's cottage and bumped into John there, who reported that all was well with the cattle. They're calving at the moment, and John swapped inspection rounds so Andrew could spend the day with Ana and I. Finally we got back to the farm. We meant to have dinner, but were all so full from the lavish lunch we just couldn't manage it.
So we talked until 7pm, which was when Andrew had to take on the evening inspection round and Ana, Bertie and I headed south. The plan was to visit a work colleague and his wife en route. They were renting a cottage at Insh, a tiny village on a back road near Kingussie. He'd emailed me a mobile phone number but it was out of signal -- a common thing in the Highlands. So we followed his instructions for getting there and we made it as darkness fell. And the colleague, John, drove up at the same time!
It turned out he'd given up on us and was driving to the pub for a drink -- but keeping an eye on oncoming traffic in case we were coming. He recognised my car, did a U-turn and followed us back. His wife had gone back to Edinburgh for a conference the next day. Their Cairn terrier Oz fell on Bertie with glad cries (he's only nine months old and loves big dogs) and they amused themselves running in and out of the house while we sat down to a cuppa and a chat. Great cottage -- it reminded me of an NZ crib.
We eventually got back to Queensferry at 11pm, whew. Next day I took Ana to the airport and then collapsed -- I was completely done in.
Friday I'd recovered sufficiently to get back out into the garden, this time to dig another new plot for the garlic -- the onions took up the whole plot I'd dug earlier. In the evening I went to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding with Fiona, an ex-workmate and a friend of hers. I enjoyed it -- very funny film, albeit full of stereotypes.
The last day of my holiday, yesterday, I bundled Bertie in the car and went to Tentsmuir, a beach/forest area we both love. He got into trouble for barking at some kids on bikes, but mostly it was ok. A lot of people were out picking mushrooms among the trees. I saw a lot of toadstools but nothing I would dare eating. On the way home I stopped in Anstruther for a fish and chip supper at the award-winning chippie there -- triple yum! It was superb.
This past week I was on holiday (back at work tonight, sigh) and had a great time. Ana arrived on Saturday and we met up for a drink on Sunday night -- her conference ran from 9am to 9.30pm, yikes. She stayed at the venue, a university hall of residence. The topic was medieval Spain, which is her specialty and she had to present a paper, which she was quite nervous about but which went really well.
On Monday I got stuck into the garden -- planted the onions, mowed the lawn, weeded furiously. It was the hardest physical work I'd done since getting out of hospital, so it was great to swing into it and feel ok afterwards. Exhausted, sure, but OK.
Tuesday's work schedule was even more gruelling: housework. Ugh. I cleaned and scrubbed and swept and dusted and mopped and vaccumed and polished. I changed sheets and washed dishes and wiped surfaces.
Then I packed my bag and Bertie's, loaded him into the car and drove into town to collect Ana from her conference and drove us all to Cawdor. We stopped for a coffee in Aviemore, and had dinner when we got to the farm at about 8.30pm. Everyone there was in good form, we had a great evening mooning over Ana's baby photos (Beatriz is nine months old) and talking our heads off. Ana and Andrew and I all shared a flat at one point, and he and I also know Ana's husband, Jose Manuel from back then. They're lovely, and I'm dying to meet Beatriz.
Wednesday was mad. After breakfast we had a long walk around the farm and along to Kirkton of Barevan (ruined churchyard). Andrew lay in the punishment grave for a photo op and Ana posed with cows because her Madrid friends could not believe a townie like her was going to stay on a farm. Bertie loved every single minute.
Next we drove (with Andrew as chauffeur, me in the back seat with Bertie -- "Hey! This is MY seat!") to Nairn to visit Jenny at the museum, where she's manager. Check out the picture of "Cawdor School Pupils with Mr Watson c1962" -- it could be Port Chalmers primary school c1962! Is that not Donald Knewstubb in the middle of the back row? And I'm sure one of those girls in the front row is a Hill.
After that we whizzed off to Cawdor Tavern for lunch -- yum. I had chicken escalopes with haggis, delish. Next stop was Cawdor Castle, which Ana hasn't seen before. I have, and Bertie was by now very bored with sitting in the car, so I took him for a nice walk instead.
On the way back we made a detour to Andrew's aunt's cottage and bumped into John there, who reported that all was well with the cattle. They're calving at the moment, and John swapped inspection rounds so Andrew could spend the day with Ana and I. Finally we got back to the farm. We meant to have dinner, but were all so full from the lavish lunch we just couldn't manage it.
So we talked until 7pm, which was when Andrew had to take on the evening inspection round and Ana, Bertie and I headed south. The plan was to visit a work colleague and his wife en route. They were renting a cottage at Insh, a tiny village on a back road near Kingussie. He'd emailed me a mobile phone number but it was out of signal -- a common thing in the Highlands. So we followed his instructions for getting there and we made it as darkness fell. And the colleague, John, drove up at the same time!
It turned out he'd given up on us and was driving to the pub for a drink -- but keeping an eye on oncoming traffic in case we were coming. He recognised my car, did a U-turn and followed us back. His wife had gone back to Edinburgh for a conference the next day. Their Cairn terrier Oz fell on Bertie with glad cries (he's only nine months old and loves big dogs) and they amused themselves running in and out of the house while we sat down to a cuppa and a chat. Great cottage -- it reminded me of an NZ crib.
We eventually got back to Queensferry at 11pm, whew. Next day I took Ana to the airport and then collapsed -- I was completely done in.
Friday I'd recovered sufficiently to get back out into the garden, this time to dig another new plot for the garlic -- the onions took up the whole plot I'd dug earlier. In the evening I went to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding with Fiona, an ex-workmate and a friend of hers. I enjoyed it -- very funny film, albeit full of stereotypes.
The last day of my holiday, yesterday, I bundled Bertie in the car and went to Tentsmuir, a beach/forest area we both love. He got into trouble for barking at some kids on bikes, but mostly it was ok. A lot of people were out picking mushrooms among the trees. I saw a lot of toadstools but nothing I would dare eating. On the way home I stopped in Anstruther for a fish and chip supper at the award-winning chippie there -- triple yum! It was superb.
8 September 2002
:: ow
I've got a blinding headache, but I'm not taking any paracetamol, no I'm not. In fact I'm pretty sure the headache is from paracetamol withdrawal. I've been taking pretty much the maximum dosage every day for nearly three weeks now. This morning I thought about taking some and decided against it. So far I haven't had any abdominal pain, just this headache. I'll take a codeine tonight maybe, if there are any twinges, and the anti-inflammatory pill. But that's it for paracetamol. Give my liver a break.
Yesterday I mowed both lawns, hurrah. Didn't get the onions planted though. Last night as I was walking Bertie down the road I heard a strange pattering in the trees across the road. Wow, what's that? I thought. Soon got the answer: torrential rain. It bucketed down! Not only that, but shortly afterwards a thunderstorm arrived, and raged through the night, right up to midday. So I didn't get the onions planted today either.
Yesterday afternoon's walk was a hoot: we met a couple of Bertie's young fans, twin girls who have an Alsatian at home so aren't afraid of big stupid dogs. They were intrigued by his fear of them, and begged me to let him off the lead so they could see him running. I explained about him barking at kids, then let him off.
They had a great time! The girls ran about shrieking and laughing while Bertie wore himself out chasing them. He barked at them at first, but soon ran out of puff. I don't know how therapeutic it was for him, he was absolutely terrified, but at least it reassured me that he'll never ever bite a child -- he wouldn't dare get that close.
Today I picked blackberries, there's a really good crop this year. Quite a few people are picking them but there are plenty for everyone -- there are several good stands at the park and some excellent patches at the back of the marina.
Yesterday I mowed both lawns, hurrah. Didn't get the onions planted though. Last night as I was walking Bertie down the road I heard a strange pattering in the trees across the road. Wow, what's that? I thought. Soon got the answer: torrential rain. It bucketed down! Not only that, but shortly afterwards a thunderstorm arrived, and raged through the night, right up to midday. So I didn't get the onions planted today either.
Yesterday afternoon's walk was a hoot: we met a couple of Bertie's young fans, twin girls who have an Alsatian at home so aren't afraid of big stupid dogs. They were intrigued by his fear of them, and begged me to let him off the lead so they could see him running. I explained about him barking at kids, then let him off.
They had a great time! The girls ran about shrieking and laughing while Bertie wore himself out chasing them. He barked at them at first, but soon ran out of puff. I don't know how therapeutic it was for him, he was absolutely terrified, but at least it reassured me that he'll never ever bite a child -- he wouldn't dare get that close.
Today I picked blackberries, there's a really good crop this year. Quite a few people are picking them but there are plenty for everyone -- there are several good stands at the park and some excellent patches at the back of the marina.
6 September 2002
:: more american opinions
While I'm about it, this -- Pax Americana with Michael Goldfarb : WBUR Boston -- is a link to something I heard excerpts from on Radio 4 this morning.
It was on a show called A World in Your Ear, in which they trawl English-speaking radio stations around the globe for interesting stuff. Today it was all about September 11.
The WBUR Boston site is particularly interesting, it's well laid out and has lots of links to all kinds of things related to the stories. As with BBC radio, you can listen to the programmes too, once they've been broadcast. Well worth a look.
It was on a show called A World in Your Ear, in which they trawl English-speaking radio stations around the globe for interesting stuff. Today it was all about September 11.
The WBUR Boston site is particularly interesting, it's well laid out and has lots of links to all kinds of things related to the stories. As with BBC radio, you can listen to the programmes too, once they've been broadcast. Well worth a look.
:: meanwhile...
Life goes on. I'm a bit tired, due to not enough sleep, due to Bertie's annoying habit of waking me up good and early so we'll get out on our walk at a reasonable hour. Midday is not reasonable, in his view. He realises it takes me a good hour to have breakfast and read the paper, so he usually wakes me up at about 9 or 10am or so (shaking his head so his collar tags tinkle, or whining if that doesn't work). Once I'm up he goes back to bed and sleeps until I say the magic words: "Are you ready?"
This morning, he woke me at 8.15am, which really is not on. But I had to get up early anyway, because I had an appointment with the chiropracter. So now I'm tired out.
Tomorrow's plan is to plant my onion sets (hope the rabbits don't like onions), mow the lawns and maybe go to a movie. Work on Sunday, and off again on Monday, followed by four days of work and then a week's holiday! Yay!
This morning, he woke me at 8.15am, which really is not on. But I had to get up early anyway, because I had an appointment with the chiropracter. So now I'm tired out.
Tomorrow's plan is to plant my onion sets (hope the rabbits don't like onions), mow the lawns and maybe go to a movie. Work on Sunday, and off again on Monday, followed by four days of work and then a week's holiday! Yay!
:: Drudge Report exclusive
Can't wait to read this in the Sunday Times this weekend.... Witty, savage -- and just what I've been thinking myself...
My favourite Mailer quote: "Clinton made a point of surrounding himself with people who might be 90% as intelligent as himself, but never his equal. Bush is smart enough to know that he couldn't possibly do the same, or the country would be run by morons."
My favourite Mailer quote: "Clinton made a point of surrounding himself with people who might be 90% as intelligent as himself, but never his equal. Bush is smart enough to know that he couldn't possibly do the same, or the country would be run by morons."
4 September 2002
:: back at work
Sigh, yes, I'm back at the coalface. I'm still taking paracetamol and a codeine at night, but I'm feeling 100%. Most of the floral tributes went into the bin today, apart from Mum's bouquet, which for some reason is still going strong. I picked out a few stems from the rest that were still ok and put them in with her bunch.
My real recovery started on Thursday, when I drove into town for a dental appointment. I left the car in the suburbs and bussed the rest of the way, not trusting myself to heavy traffic. It went ok though. I ended up walking a lot, did some shopping as well. I was a bit tired after all that, but not shattered.
Bertie arrived home on Saturday afternoon. He was pleased to see me, but wanted to go "home" when Colin left and seemed a bit confused for a couple of days. He's back into the routine again now though -- especially since we visited the pet supermarket yesterday and stocked up on treats. It's been good getting back to regular walking.
Also at the weekend I washed the car and mowed the lawn. For carwashing I used the hose I bought the day I went to the dentist. It turned out to be fiendishly complicated to fit all the bits on, so the whole operation took half the day. Again, it was tiring but not shattering.
Right now I feel like I could do with a nap -- it's 11pm, two hours to go before home time.
For anyone who's interested, here's a blow-by-blow of my hospital visit:
Day one: Caught the bus to town at some ungodly hour in the morning, walked through town to the old hospital. Made a tour of various departments before finding the right one. Stripped off in cubicle, donned chic hospital gown and was fitted with charming anti-embolism stockings by nurse. (Ironic given I was there for an embolisation procedure.)
The anaesthetist fitted me to the morphine pump and I lay around for a while on a trolley watching other patients coming and going. Finally I was wheeled into the theatre. Compared to the outer area this was a Star Trek set. I was offloaded on to a motorised table, next to a set of computer monitors on a motorised arm and under a huge X-ray camera, also motorised. All the personnel -- and there seemed to be dozens -- wore lead aprons or were behind glass in a separate control room, watching more monitors.
Dr Ingram arrived first and administered the local before making the incisions and getting the catheters set up. At least I think that's what she was doing. Before she set to work my table was whizzed back and the camera came down -- right in front of my face. After a bit Dr Gillespie arrived too and they really got down to business, which was threading the catheters through to the womb.
"You've got very weird anatomy," Dr Gillespie said. "Your arteries should come to a V, but they're like trouser legs."
"What he's trying to say is that you're a very complex woman," said Dr Ingram.
At one point Dr Gillespie said the catheter had "turned back on itself" and pulled it out. "Get me a Sidewinder," he told one of the nurses, and she went to a big cupboard full of long packets on hangers and brought him one. It seemed to do the trick.
After the procedure, the two doctors stood on either side of me with their thumbs pressed on to the incision sites for ten minutes, to make sure they didn't bleed. Then Dr Gillespie went through the pictures with me, showing me my wonky arteries and the big blobs of fibroids. It was very interesting and I wish I could have watched as it happened.
After that excitement I was flopped back on to a trolley and pushed back out to the recovery area, where I dozed away a couple of hours waiting for the ambulance to take me to my bed in the new hospital. The research sister, Helen Dewart, was with me through the transfer, must have been boring for her. Riding in an ambulance was odd -- you can't see out the windows so you have no conception of where you are.
But eventually I was wheeled in to the ward and slid on to the bed, where I had to lie flat for at least four hours. People kept asking me if I could eat. "I think so, I didn't have a general anaesthetic, and I'm very hungry," I'd say pathetically. "I'll just go and ask the nurse/sister/doctor," they'd say and disappear. Finally I was allowed to sit up and have some toast and soup. Delicious! After a little while longer I staggered off to the toilet unaided, trailing my little wheeled morphine dispenser behind me.
That night I slept like a log.
Day two: Pretty much a drug-assisted haze, with meals a highlight. In hospital the day starts early, about 6am it seemed, with a visit from the night nurse. Various medical personnel visited through the day: Dr Ingram; Sister Dewart; Dr West, whose ward I was in, and her entourage of students; the nurses.
I read most of the novel I brought in and chatted with my three ward mates. After they were discharged I succumbed to boredom and shuffled off in search of the machine that dispenses cards that work the bedside tv/phone combo. I didn't have the right change, so shuffled off further afield in search of the shop, where I had to buy something to get change. Shuffled back off upstairs and discovered the machine was out of £3.50 cards, so had to buy a £5 card. Shuffled back to bed, where I discovered the headphones didn't work right. Shuffled around the ward swapping headphones and found that mine were in fact the ward's finest pair. Sigh. Watched TV and dozed and read and ate. Faye's flowers arrived, a huge beautiful bunch with acres of cellophane and big ribbons.
There was a drama in the evening with the arrival of a young woman who I think was either miscarrying or had an ectopic pregnancy. She was very upset anyway, and so was her family -- husband and parents were all there. She was taken straight into the theatre.
Slept like a log again, after a slight hiccup. I hadn't used much of the morphine; so little in fact that the stent clogged up. I realised there was a problem after I clicked for my night-night dose and instead of drifting off I slowly become more and more alert. The nurse tried to clear it with an injection of saline, then called the duty doctor. She managed to clear it with an injection of blood-thinner, and gave it a click. Added to my earlier dose, still in the pipeline, that sent me off to dreamland like a mallet on the head.
Day three: A flurry of medical visitors in the morning, with a promise of early release. I called Leslie from the bedside bat-phone and she said she and Chad would collect me at about noon. And they did! I felt a tiny bit woozy, but walked to the van without any problem. Once home I even made them a cup of tea. Later in the afternoon I ventured out to collect some more flowers that had been left next door and also went down to the library.
So there you go: a big anticlimax given all the scare stories I've been given. I've been really very lucky as far as recovery goes, but I put at least some of it down to positive mental attitude. I think pushing the envelope a bit with gentle exercise and so on helps recovery by keeping the blood circulating.
Next step is to see Dr Gillespie again in a couple of weeks -- him or Helen Dewart, I'm not sure. Then at six months I have another MRI scan to see what progress has been made. I'm supposed to be keeping a diary of symptoms etc, but there hasn't been anything to report so far.
My real recovery started on Thursday, when I drove into town for a dental appointment. I left the car in the suburbs and bussed the rest of the way, not trusting myself to heavy traffic. It went ok though. I ended up walking a lot, did some shopping as well. I was a bit tired after all that, but not shattered.
Bertie arrived home on Saturday afternoon. He was pleased to see me, but wanted to go "home" when Colin left and seemed a bit confused for a couple of days. He's back into the routine again now though -- especially since we visited the pet supermarket yesterday and stocked up on treats. It's been good getting back to regular walking.
Also at the weekend I washed the car and mowed the lawn. For carwashing I used the hose I bought the day I went to the dentist. It turned out to be fiendishly complicated to fit all the bits on, so the whole operation took half the day. Again, it was tiring but not shattering.
Right now I feel like I could do with a nap -- it's 11pm, two hours to go before home time.
For anyone who's interested, here's a blow-by-blow of my hospital visit:
Day one: Caught the bus to town at some ungodly hour in the morning, walked through town to the old hospital. Made a tour of various departments before finding the right one. Stripped off in cubicle, donned chic hospital gown and was fitted with charming anti-embolism stockings by nurse. (Ironic given I was there for an embolisation procedure.)
The anaesthetist fitted me to the morphine pump and I lay around for a while on a trolley watching other patients coming and going. Finally I was wheeled into the theatre. Compared to the outer area this was a Star Trek set. I was offloaded on to a motorised table, next to a set of computer monitors on a motorised arm and under a huge X-ray camera, also motorised. All the personnel -- and there seemed to be dozens -- wore lead aprons or were behind glass in a separate control room, watching more monitors.
Dr Ingram arrived first and administered the local before making the incisions and getting the catheters set up. At least I think that's what she was doing. Before she set to work my table was whizzed back and the camera came down -- right in front of my face. After a bit Dr Gillespie arrived too and they really got down to business, which was threading the catheters through to the womb.
"You've got very weird anatomy," Dr Gillespie said. "Your arteries should come to a V, but they're like trouser legs."
"What he's trying to say is that you're a very complex woman," said Dr Ingram.
At one point Dr Gillespie said the catheter had "turned back on itself" and pulled it out. "Get me a Sidewinder," he told one of the nurses, and she went to a big cupboard full of long packets on hangers and brought him one. It seemed to do the trick.
After the procedure, the two doctors stood on either side of me with their thumbs pressed on to the incision sites for ten minutes, to make sure they didn't bleed. Then Dr Gillespie went through the pictures with me, showing me my wonky arteries and the big blobs of fibroids. It was very interesting and I wish I could have watched as it happened.
After that excitement I was flopped back on to a trolley and pushed back out to the recovery area, where I dozed away a couple of hours waiting for the ambulance to take me to my bed in the new hospital. The research sister, Helen Dewart, was with me through the transfer, must have been boring for her. Riding in an ambulance was odd -- you can't see out the windows so you have no conception of where you are.
But eventually I was wheeled in to the ward and slid on to the bed, where I had to lie flat for at least four hours. People kept asking me if I could eat. "I think so, I didn't have a general anaesthetic, and I'm very hungry," I'd say pathetically. "I'll just go and ask the nurse/sister/doctor," they'd say and disappear. Finally I was allowed to sit up and have some toast and soup. Delicious! After a little while longer I staggered off to the toilet unaided, trailing my little wheeled morphine dispenser behind me.
That night I slept like a log.
Day two: Pretty much a drug-assisted haze, with meals a highlight. In hospital the day starts early, about 6am it seemed, with a visit from the night nurse. Various medical personnel visited through the day: Dr Ingram; Sister Dewart; Dr West, whose ward I was in, and her entourage of students; the nurses.
I read most of the novel I brought in and chatted with my three ward mates. After they were discharged I succumbed to boredom and shuffled off in search of the machine that dispenses cards that work the bedside tv/phone combo. I didn't have the right change, so shuffled off further afield in search of the shop, where I had to buy something to get change. Shuffled back off upstairs and discovered the machine was out of £3.50 cards, so had to buy a £5 card. Shuffled back to bed, where I discovered the headphones didn't work right. Shuffled around the ward swapping headphones and found that mine were in fact the ward's finest pair. Sigh. Watched TV and dozed and read and ate. Faye's flowers arrived, a huge beautiful bunch with acres of cellophane and big ribbons.
There was a drama in the evening with the arrival of a young woman who I think was either miscarrying or had an ectopic pregnancy. She was very upset anyway, and so was her family -- husband and parents were all there. She was taken straight into the theatre.
Slept like a log again, after a slight hiccup. I hadn't used much of the morphine; so little in fact that the stent clogged up. I realised there was a problem after I clicked for my night-night dose and instead of drifting off I slowly become more and more alert. The nurse tried to clear it with an injection of saline, then called the duty doctor. She managed to clear it with an injection of blood-thinner, and gave it a click. Added to my earlier dose, still in the pipeline, that sent me off to dreamland like a mallet on the head.
Day three: A flurry of medical visitors in the morning, with a promise of early release. I called Leslie from the bedside bat-phone and she said she and Chad would collect me at about noon. And they did! I felt a tiny bit woozy, but walked to the van without any problem. Once home I even made them a cup of tea. Later in the afternoon I ventured out to collect some more flowers that had been left next door and also went down to the library.
So there you go: a big anticlimax given all the scare stories I've been given. I've been really very lucky as far as recovery goes, but I put at least some of it down to positive mental attitude. I think pushing the envelope a bit with gentle exercise and so on helps recovery by keeping the blood circulating.
Next step is to see Dr Gillespie again in a couple of weeks -- him or Helen Dewart, I'm not sure. Then at six months I have another MRI scan to see what progress has been made. I'm supposed to be keeping a diary of symptoms etc, but there hasn't been anything to report so far.
26 August 2002
:: top tip for successful recuperation
Keep taking the painkillers. The reason you're not feeling any pain is because the painkillers are working.
Yes, I got over-confident and cut down on the painkillers. This morning I took full doses of everything and lay very still waiting for them to kick in. The rest of the day I've been taking it very, very easy; reading, watching tv, sunbathing.
I had visitors: Richard and his wife (a lovely woman whose name completely escapes me for the moment), who are up from England for the festival. Richard's lived in New Zealand so he knew I'd be unphased by an unannounced visit, but his wife was astounded at how well I took it. "I'd be all over the place!" she marvelled. Yesterday John from work and his wife Penny and their wee dog Oz visited.
I also had a visit today from a nice young man who offered to replace all my windows for free. I said goodbye three times, but he was still talking when I shut the door.
I know I haven't gone through the whole hospital stay and what happened and so on. One day I'll do it, maybe tomorrow.
Yes, I got over-confident and cut down on the painkillers. This morning I took full doses of everything and lay very still waiting for them to kick in. The rest of the day I've been taking it very, very easy; reading, watching tv, sunbathing.
I had visitors: Richard and his wife (a lovely woman whose name completely escapes me for the moment), who are up from England for the festival. Richard's lived in New Zealand so he knew I'd be unphased by an unannounced visit, but his wife was astounded at how well I took it. "I'd be all over the place!" she marvelled. Yesterday John from work and his wife Penny and their wee dog Oz visited.
I also had a visit today from a nice young man who offered to replace all my windows for free. I said goodbye three times, but he was still talking when I shut the door.
I know I haven't gone through the whole hospital stay and what happened and so on. One day I'll do it, maybe tomorrow.
24 August 2002
:: floral tributes
Just logging on for a minute before going for a walk, to post pictures of the flowers from Faye and Pinky. I haven't taken a picture of the bouquet Mother and John sent yet -- it arrived yesterday.
Pinky's basket. She actually ordered a bouquet because she thought the baskets looked "naff", but I think it's pretty. The pink stargazer lilies are my favourite flower.
Faye's bouquet. It came beautifully swathed in purple tissue and cellophane, with a big lavender bow.
It has some unusual flowers in it too -- I don't know what this is.
Pinky's basket. She actually ordered a bouquet because she thought the baskets looked "naff", but I think it's pretty. The pink stargazer lilies are my favourite flower.
Faye's bouquet. It came beautifully swathed in purple tissue and cellophane, with a big lavender bow.
It has some unusual flowers in it too -- I don't know what this is.
22 August 2002
:: home safe
Just a quick note to say I'm back from the hospital and feeling great. I even went for a wee walk down the street to the library (which was closed); felt a bit woozy but otherwise ok. I spent most of the day lazing around in the sun, reading and watching TV. Faye and Pinky both sent flowers, which are gorgeous and fill the house with scent.
I'll write up the past few days over the next few days.
I'll write up the past few days over the next few days.
17 August 2002
16 August 2002
:: Uh huh
Elvis Bust 'Weeps' in Dutch Town
"The tears you can see started at 10 o'clock. When you taste it, it's salty. It's a miracle," he said.
He would say that, wouldn't he -- he's a 50-year-old professional Elvis impersonator.
In other Elvis news, I was listening to Duchess of Devonshire this morning on the radio (or "the wireless" as she would no doubt call it) spilling the beans about her Elvis obsession. She denies being obsessed, of course but she IS. You can listen to it here.
I'm ticking things off my "to do" list with great speed. Now I just have to mow the lawns and that's about it, which is great -- I'll have the weekend free and the weather's promising to be good. Note to self: try not to get sunburnt. Bertie leaves for his little holiday in Dunfermline ("Hedgehog Capital of Central Scotland") on Monday morning.
A bloke who left work six years ago is up from England "doing" the Festival, and last night he popped in to say hello. It was quite strange, because so much has changed since he left. Lots of people have left, most of our department in fact, and of course we're in a new building. We've also had about five or six new editors since then. Spooky.
He's leaving journalism altogether, and Britain -- he and his wife are off to live in France.
"The tears you can see started at 10 o'clock. When you taste it, it's salty. It's a miracle," he said.
He would say that, wouldn't he -- he's a 50-year-old professional Elvis impersonator.
In other Elvis news, I was listening to Duchess of Devonshire this morning on the radio (or "the wireless" as she would no doubt call it) spilling the beans about her Elvis obsession. She denies being obsessed, of course but she IS. You can listen to it here.
I'm ticking things off my "to do" list with great speed. Now I just have to mow the lawns and that's about it, which is great -- I'll have the weekend free and the weather's promising to be good. Note to self: try not to get sunburnt. Bertie leaves for his little holiday in Dunfermline ("Hedgehog Capital of Central Scotland") on Monday morning.
A bloke who left work six years ago is up from England "doing" the Festival, and last night he popped in to say hello. It was quite strange, because so much has changed since he left. Lots of people have left, most of our department in fact, and of course we're in a new building. We've also had about five or six new editors since then. Spooky.
He's leaving journalism altogether, and Britain -- he and his wife are off to live in France.
15 August 2002
:: nearly ready
I'm getting organised, gradually. Today I even wrote a shopping list. And a time has been set for Bertie's departure -- 11am on Monday. I'll pack his bags on Sunday. He has a lot of luggage -- a huge quantity of food, for a start, plus treat biscuits, towels, his duvet and sheepskin, some toys, a spare lead, a cheque for the vet in case he hurts himself, some videos, his Playstation ...
I went to the library today and got out some "light reading" -- The Wind Singer by William Nicholson, One for My Baby by Tony Parsons and something else ... a science fiction novel I think, I can't remember now. I ordered a couple of other books too, while I was there: My Lover's Lover by Maggie O'Farrell and Unless by Carol Shields. They don't have a marvellous selection at the local library, but if they have the book you want at another branch you can order it and they'll send it out.
I still have a stack of books to read at home. At the moment I'm enjoying The Snow Geese by William Fiennes. It's a wonderful yarn -- he follows the geese migrating from the south of the US right up to the north of Canada. He's excellent at drawing pen-portraits of all the people he meets along the way. And I've also started True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, and The Cold Six Thousand by James Ellroy. Oh, and Fifty in Fifty, a book of science fiction short stories I already had out of the library.
Piled up on the shelf, unread, are a bunch of books I got at the last review book sale here at work -- too many to mention. A novel, a couple of travel books, some philosophy, some popular science. The Snow Geese is one of them.
Time to do some work.
I went to the library today and got out some "light reading" -- The Wind Singer by William Nicholson, One for My Baby by Tony Parsons and something else ... a science fiction novel I think, I can't remember now. I ordered a couple of other books too, while I was there: My Lover's Lover by Maggie O'Farrell and Unless by Carol Shields. They don't have a marvellous selection at the local library, but if they have the book you want at another branch you can order it and they'll send it out.
I still have a stack of books to read at home. At the moment I'm enjoying The Snow Geese by William Fiennes. It's a wonderful yarn -- he follows the geese migrating from the south of the US right up to the north of Canada. He's excellent at drawing pen-portraits of all the people he meets along the way. And I've also started True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, and The Cold Six Thousand by James Ellroy. Oh, and Fifty in Fifty, a book of science fiction short stories I already had out of the library.
Piled up on the shelf, unread, are a bunch of books I got at the last review book sale here at work -- too many to mention. A novel, a couple of travel books, some philosophy, some popular science. The Snow Geese is one of them.
Time to do some work.
11 August 2002
:: nee naw nee naw
We had a fire alarm at work tonight. First of all everyone ignores it, even thought it's deafeningly loud and shrill. Then finally, grumbling, everyone gets up and puts their coats on and plays follow-the-leader to the special fire alarm stairwell, which disgorges us on to the street by the garage doors. We're supposed to collect across the road outside Dynamic Earth, but no-one did.
It was cold and it was raining. We stood around for ten minutes moaning, waiting for the fire engines. They didn't turn up. Finally someone poked his head over a balcony and said it was ok to come back in. The alarm was still shrieking away as we pounded back up the special staircase.
That was the highlight of the evening, can you believe it? Very slow day. I got horribly wet on both morning and afternoon walks. I did some stuff on the computer (see pics below).
Er, that's it.
It was cold and it was raining. We stood around for ten minutes moaning, waiting for the fire engines. They didn't turn up. Finally someone poked his head over a balcony and said it was ok to come back in. The alarm was still shrieking away as we pounded back up the special staircase.
That was the highlight of the evening, can you believe it? Very slow day. I got horribly wet on both morning and afternoon walks. I did some stuff on the computer (see pics below).
Er, that's it.
:: pix
Finally remembered to plug my camera into my computer and download some photos; ah the far-off days of summer....
No photo-trickery involved, the rapsberries really were this big.
Remember I told you about the bridges and the haar? Well here they are.
And here's Bertie on Blackford Hill the other day.
Finally, some floral studies, from the front garden:
St John's Wort (I think)
The rock rose
The rose climbing outside the kitchen window.
No photo-trickery involved, the rapsberries really were this big.
Remember I told you about the bridges and the haar? Well here they are.
And here's Bertie on Blackford Hill the other day.
Finally, some floral studies, from the front garden:
St John's Wort (I think)
The rock rose
The rose climbing outside the kitchen window.
10 August 2002
Computer Stupidities Here's one for Liz and Ken -- and anyone who's new to computing (you know who you are...)
7 August 2002
:: last links
Here are the last few:
........
Bad Science "Be very, very careful what you put into that head,
because you will never, ever get it out." Thomas Cardinal Wolsey (1471-1530)
.......
Places of peace and power Photos of pilgrimage sites around the world.
..........
The Olympians By jove.
........
Nosepilot This used to be a beautiful hippy trippy, dreamy piece of animation. Now it's an angry, bitter artist's rant. His work was too beautiful. Too many people looked at it. And then he got the bill...
.........
And finally: Vedas and upanishads
...........
Enjoy.
........
Bad Science "Be very, very careful what you put into that head,
because you will never, ever get it out." Thomas Cardinal Wolsey (1471-1530)
.......
Places of peace and power Photos of pilgrimage sites around the world.
..........
The Olympians By jove.
........
Nosepilot This used to be a beautiful hippy trippy, dreamy piece of animation. Now it's an angry, bitter artist's rant. His work was too beautiful. Too many people looked at it. And then he got the bill...
.........
And finally: Vedas and upanishads
...........
Enjoy.
:: deleting hocklinks
For a while there I was keeping a separate blogspot for my links, but I didn't use it much so I'm going to delete it. But before I do, I'll have a poke through and put the useful/interesting stuff here.
........
Greysweater.net because it's nice to get flowers Mmmm... the photolog.
.......
p h o t o g r a p h i c a . o r g Wow.
........
UBD E-Directory Street Search Now when friends and family move house I can track them down with ease.
The Best of Bread - Recipes Index I haven't baked any bread for a while...
........
WorldFactbook The CIA knows everything. (Or so we thought, naively, before 11 September.)
.......
UT Library Online - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection - Country and Regional Map Sites Brilliant, brilliant site. I love maps. This has historical maps as well as current ones.
.......
A List Apart: Practical CSS Layout Tips, Tricks and Techniques Might come in useful if I ever get round to a redesign (in between fixing the shed doors and painting every room in the house and putting in loft stairs and ....)
.........
harrumph! still crazy Another goddamned journal, with interesting photos, interesting links page, interesting life.
........
soygaucho.com My boss is an Argentine & has often told me about gauchos, cowboys of the pampas. This is a superb site, really worth visiting.
.......
Free Email Address Directory -- Not only web-based email but on-line storage, calendars/PIMs, forwarding etc and other resources.
.......
Kiwifruits New Zealand shop in London The temptation to immediately order 20 peanut slabs is almost overwhelming.
.......
OH LA! Oui! En francais!
Somehow it all sounds so much more sophisticated.
LES PETITS SECRETS DU MARIAGE DU SIECLE: "Il y a vingt ans, le 29 juillet 1981, le prince Charles épousait lady Diana Spencer, de douze ans sa cadette, en la cathédrale Saint-Paul à Londres."
Even poor old Céline Dion sounds interesting:
"Plus de 1500 fans ont fait le pied de grue dès l'aube devant la basilique Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cour à Montréal attendant que la chanteuse leur montre la création dont elle est plus fière : son bébé miracle, conçu par fécondation in vitro, après la découverte du cancer de René."
The English and Spanish versions are also online. Sigh.
.........
VICTORIA BECKHAM - OFFICIAL SITE! Strewth. I can't believe it's not a satire. So much purple ...
..........
the kat page I love these little games. Fluff the Kitty ... haw!
........
Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site Almost worth getting a GPS for ... looks like fun.
...........
kottke.org - home of fine hypertext products Another blog.
........
Patsy Cline: Patsified! A Celebration of the Legendary Patsy Cline! Crazy! Crazy for lovin' you!
.......
Aviation Safety Network: Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcripts Woop woop pull up pull up woop woop ...
........
- snapshot.auerweck.com - Peekshas, many peekshas
......
Les Photos de Villes How completely extraordinary. The French ... what are they like?
........
Worldwide Internet Music Resources: Song Lyrics; Libretti More song lyrics.
Songfile This used to have a searchable database with lyrics of more than 2 million songs, but I don't think it has any more.
........
Japanese Engrish Very funny -- but I think the funniest one is where someone has sent in a "haiku" from some Japanese stationery, mocking its silly English, and someone else writes in to point out that it's actually a Simon & Garfunkel lyric ...
..........
Matt Barrett's Greek Island of Sifnos Guide Next year ...
........
HowStuffWorks - Learn how Everything Works! This site is fantastic. I've just been looking at how USB ports work -- it's very clear and concise, with photos and diagrams.
......
Scottish words - illustrated Hilarious.
............
The Blue Roebuck will lead you into her World of the Goddess. May you share in Her ecstasy as you learn of Her many faces. In addition, The Blue Roebuck is happy to bring you Her Sacred Trees and the Ogham Alphabet.
Very interesting info on myths, lovely pics.
.........
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography & Film Great pictures ....
.........
Rescued Racers More greyhounds ...
...........
Linlithgow Canal Centre Ooooo -- this looks like fun.
........
:::::coolstop/2002::::: Coooooool sites.
......
Welcome to uComics featuring -- The Best Comic Site In The Universe! (It IS pretty good...)
.........
Guillaume Dargaud's home page I stumbled on this while looking for info on Antarctica. It has some fantastic photographs, many of which Guillaume provides in sizes suitable for downloading as wallpaper. He has an interesting little link where you can donate a bit to him via amazon.com if you do download any pictures.
The photos are stunning -- he climbs all over the world and has visited Antarctica four times, plus he's interested in all kinds of everything & has a cracking sense of humour.
........
HotSource HTML Help - Main - Tutorials and resources on HTML, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets, DHTML, CGI, Graphics Design, Ethics and Design, Publicizing and Promoting your Website, Frequently Asked Questions, and More from HotSource It does just what it says on the tin.
.........
laura Holder not com Another photographic weblog, this time New York.
............
Hunkabutta.com » » » A stranger's life in pictures Weblog with wonderful photographs, by a US techie type living in Japan.
........
Über: Better Than You, Daily. Magazine of some sort.
.......
McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Notes Toward a Restaurant Review for the Living Section of the New York Times Editor Dave Eggers, who wrote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
........
The Gazetteer for Scotland Names of towns etc.
...........
Bord Na gCon Irish Greyhound Board, the racing authority.
..........
Whitfield This place sounds absolutely gorgeous. Just the ticket for a relaxing holiday.
Pet Planet Or hey! We could go to civilised Europe, where people take their pets everywhere!
........
Operabase Wow.
The Aria Database - Information, translations, and MIDIs of famous opera arias for singers and music lovers Double wow and hurrah!
........
Welcome to the Embroiderers' Guild
.........
lantern waste: do you see what I see Tesserae's journal. I keep losing the link to this one for some reason, but it's interesting & well written.
and miles to go before I sleep More from Tesserae.
..........
Alex's paper airplanes I love the internet.
.........
Cat-Scan.Com Scan your cat! It's hilarious!
.........
DonationJunction.com Donate to good causes just by clicking on buttons ... it's easy and free.
........
File /asdfhjkl not found! Snort.
........
Love and Rockets I love these comics, I first read them around 1980.
More: The Unauthorized Love and Rockets Page ... this one has lots of artwork
.........
First Chapters from various publications:
First Chapters The New York Times.
Booknotes First Chapters C-Span (US non-fiction).
Guardian Unlimited Books | First chapters | First chapters The Guardian.
Washingtonpost.com: Style Chapter One The Washington Post.
Calendar Live - 'First Chapters' Archives Finally ... the LA Times.
...........
OK, that's the last 100 entries (less really, because a lot of links were broken). I'll do the rest at some point.
........
Greysweater.net because it's nice to get flowers Mmmm... the photolog.
.......
p h o t o g r a p h i c a . o r g Wow.
........
UBD E-Directory Street Search Now when friends and family move house I can track them down with ease.
The Best of Bread - Recipes Index I haven't baked any bread for a while...
........
WorldFactbook The CIA knows everything. (Or so we thought, naively, before 11 September.)
.......
UT Library Online - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection - Country and Regional Map Sites Brilliant, brilliant site. I love maps. This has historical maps as well as current ones.
.......
A List Apart: Practical CSS Layout Tips, Tricks and Techniques Might come in useful if I ever get round to a redesign (in between fixing the shed doors and painting every room in the house and putting in loft stairs and ....)
.........
harrumph! still crazy Another goddamned journal, with interesting photos, interesting links page, interesting life.
........
soygaucho.com My boss is an Argentine & has often told me about gauchos, cowboys of the pampas. This is a superb site, really worth visiting.
.......
Free Email Address Directory -- Not only web-based email but on-line storage, calendars/PIMs, forwarding etc and other resources.
.......
Kiwifruits New Zealand shop in London The temptation to immediately order 20 peanut slabs is almost overwhelming.
.......
OH LA! Oui! En francais!
Somehow it all sounds so much more sophisticated.
LES PETITS SECRETS DU MARIAGE DU SIECLE: "Il y a vingt ans, le 29 juillet 1981, le prince Charles épousait lady Diana Spencer, de douze ans sa cadette, en la cathédrale Saint-Paul à Londres."
Even poor old Céline Dion sounds interesting:
"Plus de 1500 fans ont fait le pied de grue dès l'aube devant la basilique Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cour à Montréal attendant que la chanteuse leur montre la création dont elle est plus fière : son bébé miracle, conçu par fécondation in vitro, après la découverte du cancer de René."
The English and Spanish versions are also online. Sigh.
.........
VICTORIA BECKHAM - OFFICIAL SITE! Strewth. I can't believe it's not a satire. So much purple ...
..........
the kat page I love these little games. Fluff the Kitty ... haw!
........
Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site Almost worth getting a GPS for ... looks like fun.
...........
kottke.org - home of fine hypertext products Another blog.
........
Patsy Cline: Patsified! A Celebration of the Legendary Patsy Cline! Crazy! Crazy for lovin' you!
.......
Aviation Safety Network: Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcripts Woop woop pull up pull up woop woop ...
........
- snapshot.auerweck.com - Peekshas, many peekshas
......
Les Photos de Villes How completely extraordinary. The French ... what are they like?
........
Worldwide Internet Music Resources: Song Lyrics; Libretti More song lyrics.
Songfile This used to have a searchable database with lyrics of more than 2 million songs, but I don't think it has any more.
........
Japanese Engrish Very funny -- but I think the funniest one is where someone has sent in a "haiku" from some Japanese stationery, mocking its silly English, and someone else writes in to point out that it's actually a Simon & Garfunkel lyric ...
..........
Matt Barrett's Greek Island of Sifnos Guide Next year ...
........
HowStuffWorks - Learn how Everything Works! This site is fantastic. I've just been looking at how USB ports work -- it's very clear and concise, with photos and diagrams.
......
Scottish words - illustrated Hilarious.
............
The Blue Roebuck will lead you into her World of the Goddess. May you share in Her ecstasy as you learn of Her many faces. In addition, The Blue Roebuck is happy to bring you Her Sacred Trees and the Ogham Alphabet.
Very interesting info on myths, lovely pics.
.........
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography & Film Great pictures ....
.........
Rescued Racers More greyhounds ...
...........
Linlithgow Canal Centre Ooooo -- this looks like fun.
........
:::::coolstop/2002::::: Coooooool sites.
......
Welcome to uComics featuring -- The Best Comic Site In The Universe! (It IS pretty good...)
.........
Guillaume Dargaud's home page I stumbled on this while looking for info on Antarctica. It has some fantastic photographs, many of which Guillaume provides in sizes suitable for downloading as wallpaper. He has an interesting little link where you can donate a bit to him via amazon.com if you do download any pictures.
The photos are stunning -- he climbs all over the world and has visited Antarctica four times, plus he's interested in all kinds of everything & has a cracking sense of humour.
........
HotSource HTML Help - Main - Tutorials and resources on HTML, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets, DHTML, CGI, Graphics Design, Ethics and Design, Publicizing and Promoting your Website, Frequently Asked Questions, and More from HotSource It does just what it says on the tin.
.........
laura Holder not com Another photographic weblog, this time New York.
............
Hunkabutta.com » » » A stranger's life in pictures Weblog with wonderful photographs, by a US techie type living in Japan.
........
Über: Better Than You, Daily. Magazine of some sort.
.......
McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Notes Toward a Restaurant Review for the Living Section of the New York Times Editor Dave Eggers, who wrote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
........
The Gazetteer for Scotland Names of towns etc.
...........
Bord Na gCon Irish Greyhound Board, the racing authority.
..........
Whitfield This place sounds absolutely gorgeous. Just the ticket for a relaxing holiday.
Pet Planet Or hey! We could go to civilised Europe, where people take their pets everywhere!
........
Operabase Wow.
The Aria Database - Information, translations, and MIDIs of famous opera arias for singers and music lovers Double wow and hurrah!
........
Welcome to the Embroiderers' Guild
.........
lantern waste: do you see what I see Tesserae's journal. I keep losing the link to this one for some reason, but it's interesting & well written.
and miles to go before I sleep More from Tesserae.
..........
Alex's paper airplanes I love the internet.
.........
Cat-Scan.Com Scan your cat! It's hilarious!
.........
DonationJunction.com Donate to good causes just by clicking on buttons ... it's easy and free.
........
File /asdfhjkl not found! Snort.
........
Love and Rockets I love these comics, I first read them around 1980.
More: The Unauthorized Love and Rockets Page ... this one has lots of artwork
.........
First Chapters from various publications:
First Chapters The New York Times.
Booknotes First Chapters C-Span (US non-fiction).
Guardian Unlimited Books | First chapters | First chapters The Guardian.
Washingtonpost.com: Style Chapter One The Washington Post.
Calendar Live - 'First Chapters' Archives Finally ... the LA Times.
...........
OK, that's the last 100 entries (less really, because a lot of links were broken). I'll do the rest at some point.
:: what is that strange fiery ball in the sky?
Mmm, yes, we had a day of sunshine that coincided with my day off. Sort of unbelievable. I made the most of it.
The morning walk was eventful in that first of all we met two lads who've decided Bertie must be cured of his fear of children, by them. They were excellent: they got off their bikes, ignored his wild barking and posturing, spoke to him gently and actually got him calmed down enough for me to get him on the lead.
Then we went down to the marina, where we met Lisa from down the road. She gave me a cigarette and we sat and smoked while her dogs splooshed about in the river. Bertie had copied them drinking from their favourite puddle, but romping in the river? No thanks.
Back home I mowed the lawns and did some very light gardening: dead-headed the roses and hacked off some blackberry infiltrating the honeysuckle. Had a long chat with Frances from next door. Then I went out the back and flopped down in my under-used folding chair with the crossword puzzle and a cold drink to soak up the rays.
Took the dog for a quick afternoon walk, then did some more lying around in the sun. Staggered back indoors much later, washed the dishes in a fit of shame (they were starting to smell) and was just contemplating what to cook for dinner when the phone rang. It was John -- he and Penny were coming to Queensferry to walk the dog, would l like to join them for a meal? Yes please!
So Bertie and I sauntered down to the agreed cafe, on the seafront. It's a new one, it has tables and chairs outside. It was busy, plus they were setting up a funfair across the road -- part of the Ferry Fair Week -- and the two dog-taming boys turned up, so Bertie was not a happy dog. John and Penny's terrier, Oz, on the other hand, was very well behaved, sat quietly under the table. We didn't discover until it was time to go that he'd been gnawing away on the furniture ... oh dear.
It was amazing how busy it was: the road was thronged with traffic -- including an annoying boy on a motorised scooter who droned back and forth in a "look at me" manner. At one point he was holding up some blokes on Vespas, who were beeping him: Hey, we've got real scooters, all right? Haw. And the footpaths were thonged too, and the cafe. Bertie got lots of attention -- a man with no shirt and lots of tattoos threw his arms around him and gave him a good cuddle: "There ye go, darling, ooooh ye beauty, lovely boy..." etc. Then he said, "Ye can tell he's no racing, he's fat." I laughed at that, because everyone else thinks he's really skinny -- only the experts can spot his lard-arse state.
So yes, that was fun. I walked J&P back to their car, at Dalmeny, and they gave me a lift home. At home I discovered a phone message from Fiona, who'd called to invite me to an Abba singalong! Wah! Never mind, I'm meeting her tomorrow (later today actually, as it's nearly 1am) at the same cafe as last night's meal.
Then Faye rang, and I talked to her for two hours! Blimey.
To backtrack a little, the weather was horrible on Saturday so I did go clothes shopping. I spent several sweaty hot hours at the South Gyle mall, ugh, but came away with good purchases, including a very pretty pink shirt and four bras. Four! My old ones were falling apart, literally.
Today's weather report: intermittent haar, hot and sunny otherwise. Some spectacular sights as the haar blanketed the river, leaving the bridge pylons poking out, the rest completely invisible. Then later on, after I started work, there was a tropical deluge. The skies opened and the rain thundered down.
I visited the podiatrist this afternoon for a follow-up on my insoles, she's pleased with progress and so am I. I thought last week they were horrible but my legs/ankles/feet/knees are so much better now. Everything just about is pain free, and when I don't wear the damned insoles I feel my ankles wonking around like dough hooks.
Oooh! Time to go home.
Weird website alert, before I go: I don't know if this is a piss-take or not.
The morning walk was eventful in that first of all we met two lads who've decided Bertie must be cured of his fear of children, by them. They were excellent: they got off their bikes, ignored his wild barking and posturing, spoke to him gently and actually got him calmed down enough for me to get him on the lead.
Then we went down to the marina, where we met Lisa from down the road. She gave me a cigarette and we sat and smoked while her dogs splooshed about in the river. Bertie had copied them drinking from their favourite puddle, but romping in the river? No thanks.
Back home I mowed the lawns and did some very light gardening: dead-headed the roses and hacked off some blackberry infiltrating the honeysuckle. Had a long chat with Frances from next door. Then I went out the back and flopped down in my under-used folding chair with the crossword puzzle and a cold drink to soak up the rays.
Took the dog for a quick afternoon walk, then did some more lying around in the sun. Staggered back indoors much later, washed the dishes in a fit of shame (they were starting to smell) and was just contemplating what to cook for dinner when the phone rang. It was John -- he and Penny were coming to Queensferry to walk the dog, would l like to join them for a meal? Yes please!
So Bertie and I sauntered down to the agreed cafe, on the seafront. It's a new one, it has tables and chairs outside. It was busy, plus they were setting up a funfair across the road -- part of the Ferry Fair Week -- and the two dog-taming boys turned up, so Bertie was not a happy dog. John and Penny's terrier, Oz, on the other hand, was very well behaved, sat quietly under the table. We didn't discover until it was time to go that he'd been gnawing away on the furniture ... oh dear.
It was amazing how busy it was: the road was thronged with traffic -- including an annoying boy on a motorised scooter who droned back and forth in a "look at me" manner. At one point he was holding up some blokes on Vespas, who were beeping him: Hey, we've got real scooters, all right? Haw. And the footpaths were thonged too, and the cafe. Bertie got lots of attention -- a man with no shirt and lots of tattoos threw his arms around him and gave him a good cuddle: "There ye go, darling, ooooh ye beauty, lovely boy..." etc. Then he said, "Ye can tell he's no racing, he's fat." I laughed at that, because everyone else thinks he's really skinny -- only the experts can spot his lard-arse state.
So yes, that was fun. I walked J&P back to their car, at Dalmeny, and they gave me a lift home. At home I discovered a phone message from Fiona, who'd called to invite me to an Abba singalong! Wah! Never mind, I'm meeting her tomorrow (later today actually, as it's nearly 1am) at the same cafe as last night's meal.
Then Faye rang, and I talked to her for two hours! Blimey.
To backtrack a little, the weather was horrible on Saturday so I did go clothes shopping. I spent several sweaty hot hours at the South Gyle mall, ugh, but came away with good purchases, including a very pretty pink shirt and four bras. Four! My old ones were falling apart, literally.
Today's weather report: intermittent haar, hot and sunny otherwise. Some spectacular sights as the haar blanketed the river, leaving the bridge pylons poking out, the rest completely invisible. Then later on, after I started work, there was a tropical deluge. The skies opened and the rain thundered down.
I visited the podiatrist this afternoon for a follow-up on my insoles, she's pleased with progress and so am I. I thought last week they were horrible but my legs/ankles/feet/knees are so much better now. Everything just about is pain free, and when I don't wear the damned insoles I feel my ankles wonking around like dough hooks.
Oooh! Time to go home.
Weird website alert, before I go: I don't know if this is a piss-take or not.
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