R says the first day of spring is 1st March. I say it is 21st April. Today I think I am somewhat justified as we have a load of snow, and by the look of it more to come. This has definitely been the most severe winter since we moved here. Actually I quite like […]

R and I are running a conference in Glasgow during April and we are having a competition involving a cake. This is one very serious cake as it is designed to serve 300 people. This is one of the four layers – my Mum made me laugh when she said it looked like a rug! […]

I was clearing the loft out having acquired a very expensive skip on the basis it was better to do that than to have to be driving backwards and forwards to the tip in Helensburgh all the time. Our loft is only partially floored and carrying a box of books (I don’t use paper books […]

The cats and I gave R a home made valentine today. One side was from me with a Burns poem…. A Red, Red Rose O my Luve’s like a red, red rose,  That’s newly sprung in June:  O my Luve’s like the melodie,  That’s sweetly play’d in tune.  As fair art thou, my bonie lad,  So deep in luve […]

Here was R and I thinking spring was on its way. Unfortunately not as we have both had the back breaking task of clearing the 72m drive up to our house of snow twice in the last week. The poor little plants which had just poked their heads above ground have all been withered back […]

Yesterday we went to an excellent Burns Supper in the village hall. R was in full highland dress and I wore my clan (Graham through my mother) plaid with a pin. Today Schrodi decided to usurp the plaid which I foolishly left lying over the back of the chair, and has decided to be Clan […]

You couldn’t make up how stupid I was today. I’ve several identical white canisters labelled “sugar” and “coffee” and because we only use raw beans, we don’t need the coffee one. I put some salt in it because the package had leaked into the cupboard and it saved a bit of space. Guess what – […]

I’ve been informed that an Internet meme is that no one likes anything introduced to them after the age of thirty five. This is not true. I’ll freely admit that I turned 51 recently, and I like many things (not all things – I’m not a massive social media fan) introduced since 2002. I’m a […]

We had a sprinkling of snow overnight yesterday and when we went for our walk there was a fantastic rainbow. It was actually not only a double but a triple bow – but I don’t think the triple part shows up in the photos. Today is cold but sunny and we are seeing the first […]

In common with many people in rural Scotland we have no piped gas supply and are reliant on LPG for our central heating, water heater and gas fire. Aside from this, our only heating in the house is a propane heater I have in my office and an electric heater in R’s. So obviously it […]