Day 211 of 365

:: Look at the size of that fish ::

A trip to MacDuff Aquarium

Day 210 of 365

:: Too much walking makes Mummy very tired!! ::

Day 209 of 365

:: Not too old to play on the train! ::

Day 208 of 365

:: American measuring cups ::

Ruth and I must be on the same wavelength as this week I needed to know how much 1 cup was in "Real weight" and she had bought me these!!

Day 207 of 365

The things you do for love!! Adding kidney beans to the chilli as John likes them.

Day 206 of 365

:: Sniper ::

Jam Making

This is a really easy recipe for jam making that I was given by a lady I worked with many years ago at the Doctors. Thanks Anne :0)
2 1/2lbs Raspberries
3lbs Granulated sugar

Slowly bring the raspberries to the boil. Once boiling, boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the sugar.

Stir slowly until all the sugar has dissolved.
Bring back to the boil and boil rapidly for 1 minute. (Temperature should be 104 degrees C)

Skim the mixture and spoon into warmed jam jars.

Simple!!

I used 1 1/4lbs of raspberries and 1 1/2lbs of sugar and made 3 jars of jam.

Day 205 of 365

:: Raspberry Picking ::

What are you reading?

I'm just about to start The Peppered Moth by Margaret Drabble. It's a book my Mum lent me many moons ago and I've never gotten around to reading.

The story goes:
In the early 1900s, Bessie Bawtry, a small child with big notions, lives in a South Yorkshire mining town in England. Precocious and refined in a land of little ambition and much mining grime, Bessie waits for the day she can escape the bleak, coarse existence her ancestors had seldom questioned.
Nearly a century later Bessie's granddaughter, Faro Gaulden, is listening to a lecture on genetic inheritance. She has returned to the depressed little town in which Bessie grew up and wonders at the families who never left. Confronted with what would have been her life had her grandmother stayed, she finds herself faced with difficult questions. Is she really so different from the South Yorkshire locals? As she soon learns, the past has a way of reasserting itself-not unlike the peppered moth that was once thought to be nearing extinction but is now enjoying a sudden unexplained resurgence.

I've also just finished '206 Bones' by Kathy Reichs and all I can say is I hope she's a better forensic anthropologist than author. She fills her books with way too much technical, forensic speak and not enough actual story. I don't think I'll be in any hurry to read any more of her books. I think I'll just watch Bones on TV instead.

Day 204 of 365

New wheels for the Boy!!

Day 203 of 365

"Sunshine Daisies. Butter mellow. Turn this stupid fat rat yellow!!"

Not a memorable quote by any standard but one from good old Harry Potter!!

(OK, OK it was all I could come up with!!)

Day 202 of 365

It has done nothing today but rain, rain and rain. Not wanting to venture too far I opted for baking.

Today's offering - Chocolate Chip Scones.

Day 201 of 365

:: A bit of gardening ::

Day 200 of 365

:: Door Stop ::

There is only one annoying thing in this house when it's warm outside. It's not the flies or wasps that come in to say hi or the noise of nearby lawnmowers. No. It's the kitchen door slamming due to the windows and doors being open.

Brainwave - buy a door stop!! Or not. Having seen the price of them locally I decided that, as it was pouring with rain yesterday, I'd have a go at making one myself.

Take - One house brick from the garden, two pieces of leftover felt, some felt flowers from a swap on UKScrappers a million years ago and some embroidery thread.

Measure the size of the brick and add half a centimeter extra all round. Draw around some chipboard letters and chain stitch in different colours. If you like add extra patterns. On back piece add felt flowers. Blanket stitch all pieces together leaving one long and one short side open to get the brick in. Pop in the brick and blanket stitch closed.

Hey Presto - one door stop that costs about £2.00 to make

Millbuies

Sunday was the perfect day to take Moss for a walk around Millbuies . It was so quiet and only ruined by one fisherman in his boat shouting on his mobile phone!!! Why couldn't he leave it at home?

Now my sister is taking part in Shimelle's new class and I think the gist of it is taking your photos from different angles.....so here are my attempts at that. The one above is with the camera on a low wall........

This one is me holding it down low...........

This is me trying to get the "3" rule in the shot. (i.e A top, middle and bottom and a left, centre and right in your view finder). Hope that makes sense?

and finally.... a fuzzy background!!

This probably makes no sense to anyone (me included) but it's good to shoot pictures from different angles and see what comes out.

Day 199 of 365

:: Do you think they are trying to tell me something? ::

Day 198 of 365

:: Indian take-away for tea ::

Day 197 0f 365

It's the holidays so it must be "Hooky" time.

Day 196 of 365

Doing my bit for a good cause and recycling all my old DVDs at the same time!!

Day 195 of 365

:: Mackrel for tea ::

Day 194 of 365

Finally!!!! I'm back to posting my photo on the day I took it. It's been a very busy couple of months with one thing and another. Hopefully from tomorrow I can get back to leaving comments. Once I'm back from a spot of retail therapy in Inverness that is!!


Day 194 - Mum is almost a "Wee Granny" but not quite. Next time we see her I think Samuel will be taller.

Day 192 to 193 of 365

Day 192 - No trip is complete without a photo of the Scottish emblem. The humble Thistle.
Day 193 - Back home and Mum and I visited a textile exhibition at Baxter's Visitors centre when we went for a pancake. I loved this felted brooch so much I bought it for Mum as her jacket looked a little bare.

Day 189 to 191 of 365

Day 189 - Moss knows who's in charge when Granny takes him for a walk!!

Day 190 - A weekend in Edinburgh. Just John and me. Granny was in charge at home. The view from the hotel bathroom.

Day 191 - Saturday was Driech. You could just about see Edinburgh castle from Princes Street park.

Day 186 to 188 of 365

Day 186 - A little light dusting!! Trying to get rid of the plaster dust after decorating.

Day 187 - John's Father's Day present goes up on the wall

Day 188 - A Scottish country garden. The gardeners house on the Gordon Lennox estate.

Day 179 to 185 of 365

Day 179 - Marmite Cashew nuts - Delicious :0) Day 180 - Geranium

Day 181 - Glossing the woodwork. A job I hate.

Day 182 - Emulsion time. I'm much better at rollering!!
Day 183 - Mum arrived for 10 days :o)

Day 184 - Flowers from John xx

Day 185 - Rafael Nadal wins Wimbledon for the second time.