Yesterday saw me complaining that, so far, summer was rubbish, but by the late afternoon there I was sitting on the back stoop, sipping a glass of cold, white vino and reading my book, with Vespa lying down by my feet both of us enjoying the sun. What a change 12 hours can bring.
And this morning, here I am getting ready to go to Glasgow for a meeting today and it's bright, sunny and, above all, warm... hooray! Though of course I wish I could stay at home and enjoy being out in the sun instead of going to Edinburgh, getting on a train and then being inside for most of the afternoon before I head back home, where I'll no doubt arrive by the time the sun is just heading off. Oh well... can't have everything.
Apparently tomorrow is going to be summer too, so that's good, except I have another meeting to attend, this time in Edinburgh in the afternoon, which means I'll have the morning to enjoy being out and about catching some rays.
After that, the weather is supposed to revert to being grey and cloudy with rain for the weekend and temperatures back to 11 degrees.
Please don't let summer doesn't consist of just 2 days... PLEASE.
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
Call this summer?
Well as you all know, Andy Murray lost. But nevertheless the French Open final was brilliant and I'm so pleased Wawrinka won. I have nothing against Djokovic, it's just that it's so lovely when the underdog comes through, and in style, to win. Onward to Wimbledon!
Meanwhile I'm pleased to report that Vespa is recovering well. So well, in fact, that all his pent up energy has been taken out on his toys which are now ripped to shreds... the joys, and expense of having a dog around the place. I won't go into the details of how his recovery from enteritis, followed by a day and a bit of constipation played out, but I'm sure you can use your imagination. Being ill during the French Open did mean that he was relatively quiet though and, in between severe bouts of cuddling, we did manage walks in the sunshine that appeared over the weekend along with high winds just to make sure it was still cold.
Sadly the sun has not lasted and we're back to full on grey skies and temperatures around the 12 degrees mark. And this is flaming June, with the emphasis here on the flaming, used totally as a swear word today. Where is summer? Please don't tell me we've had it... I don't think I could cope.
One of the good things though about the year trundling on at such a pace is that in November I'm off to South Africa for a holiday with my friend, Tracy. And the rate this year is going November will be here in no time at all. At least it's pretty much guaranteed that the sun will be out for quite a bit of the time and I have that to look forward to. I've not even worn a short sleeved T-shirt since I got home from Bangkok and have stuck rigidly to long socks and my warm jacket, which I seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time wearing around the house these days.
On that rather depressing note, I'll leave you for another day in the hope that by the time I pick up my blog again some warmth will be creeping into the Scottish Borders.
Meanwhile I'm pleased to report that Vespa is recovering well. So well, in fact, that all his pent up energy has been taken out on his toys which are now ripped to shreds... the joys, and expense of having a dog around the place. I won't go into the details of how his recovery from enteritis, followed by a day and a bit of constipation played out, but I'm sure you can use your imagination. Being ill during the French Open did mean that he was relatively quiet though and, in between severe bouts of cuddling, we did manage walks in the sunshine that appeared over the weekend along with high winds just to make sure it was still cold.
Sadly the sun has not lasted and we're back to full on grey skies and temperatures around the 12 degrees mark. And this is flaming June, with the emphasis here on the flaming, used totally as a swear word today. Where is summer? Please don't tell me we've had it... I don't think I could cope.
One of the good things though about the year trundling on at such a pace is that in November I'm off to South Africa for a holiday with my friend, Tracy. And the rate this year is going November will be here in no time at all. At least it's pretty much guaranteed that the sun will be out for quite a bit of the time and I have that to look forward to. I've not even worn a short sleeved T-shirt since I got home from Bangkok and have stuck rigidly to long socks and my warm jacket, which I seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time wearing around the house these days.
On that rather depressing note, I'll leave you for another day in the hope that by the time I pick up my blog again some warmth will be creeping into the Scottish Borders.
Friday, 5 June 2015
Strange things can happen
Poor Vespa has been ill. He's had enteritis, which has meant a trip to the vet, some tablets and paste stuff to help him get better. But worse than that, the vet has put him on a light diet of either pasta or rice. plain or with chicken, but as I didn't have any chicken (we're a pescetarian house) and I had a poetry reading to go to in Edinburgh and Mountain Man was away doing his stuff, I made the decision to go to Edinburgh and buy some macaroni and rice on the way (I didn't have any in the cupboard... well I did, but spaghetti or Thai sticky rice didn't really seem to fit the bill), see which one cooked the quickest and stop off at No. 2 Son's, do a bit of cooking and then head for poetry.
Vespa did not like plain macaroni. To give him his due he ate most of it, tho he picked out the tablet and spat it on the floor, which prompted him to get a small bit of bread-wrapped tablet, which he did eat, but he wasn't all that happy to have to go to poetry when his belly was a bit empty.
It was a lovely evening with my poetry tutor from the last course I took with The Poetry School, Ryan Van Winkle, as the star turn. I also got to meet Clare, one of the folk who'd been on my previous Poetry School course. It was lovely to meet up in person and we both enjoyed the poems.
When I got home I decided, as we only had hard boiled eggs in the fridge, to cook Vespa some rice and add a chopped hard boiled egg as I felt he needed a little something and as the rice was cooking I sent a text to MM to do a little bit of shopping to shore up our supplies on his way home from his meeting.
Vespa thoroughly enjoyed the rice and egg. He enjoyed his rice and chicken breakfast even more and, because he has to be fed every 2-3 hours, he also enjoyed his lunch and I'm sure will be very grateful for another 3 meals today.
Meanwhile I cancelled my plans to go to another thing in Edinburgh today and stay home and dog sit. MM went away this morning for a weekend doing his stuff in the Lake District, so it's just me and my pup, who, in between rice and chicken meals, will be watching the French Open.
Just before the tennis started I took Vespa for a walk in the woods. I felt we both needed to get out and as the temperature is rising slightly, it seemed the right thing to do. He loved it, but I had to laugh because we came across a couple of people walking their 3 dogs and as Vespa and the dogs were all bouncing on their leads trying to have a sniff at each other a deer passed about 12 feet away from us and not one of the dogs even noticed!
So it's now an afternoon in front of the tv with everything crossed for Andy Murray. You never know. I mean who'd put a bet on a deer crossing in front of 4 dogs and not one of them seeing or smelling it, so strange things can and do happen. Let's hope that the strange thing of Novac Djokovic being knocked out of a semi-final happens too, but I'm not putting any bets on that one!
Vespa did not like plain macaroni. To give him his due he ate most of it, tho he picked out the tablet and spat it on the floor, which prompted him to get a small bit of bread-wrapped tablet, which he did eat, but he wasn't all that happy to have to go to poetry when his belly was a bit empty.
It was a lovely evening with my poetry tutor from the last course I took with The Poetry School, Ryan Van Winkle, as the star turn. I also got to meet Clare, one of the folk who'd been on my previous Poetry School course. It was lovely to meet up in person and we both enjoyed the poems.
When I got home I decided, as we only had hard boiled eggs in the fridge, to cook Vespa some rice and add a chopped hard boiled egg as I felt he needed a little something and as the rice was cooking I sent a text to MM to do a little bit of shopping to shore up our supplies on his way home from his meeting.
Vespa thoroughly enjoyed the rice and egg. He enjoyed his rice and chicken breakfast even more and, because he has to be fed every 2-3 hours, he also enjoyed his lunch and I'm sure will be very grateful for another 3 meals today.
Meanwhile I cancelled my plans to go to another thing in Edinburgh today and stay home and dog sit. MM went away this morning for a weekend doing his stuff in the Lake District, so it's just me and my pup, who, in between rice and chicken meals, will be watching the French Open.
Just before the tennis started I took Vespa for a walk in the woods. I felt we both needed to get out and as the temperature is rising slightly, it seemed the right thing to do. He loved it, but I had to laugh because we came across a couple of people walking their 3 dogs and as Vespa and the dogs were all bouncing on their leads trying to have a sniff at each other a deer passed about 12 feet away from us and not one of the dogs even noticed!
So it's now an afternoon in front of the tv with everything crossed for Andy Murray. You never know. I mean who'd put a bet on a deer crossing in front of 4 dogs and not one of them seeing or smelling it, so strange things can and do happen. Let's hope that the strange thing of Novac Djokovic being knocked out of a semi-final happens too, but I'm not putting any bets on that one!
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Feeling low
Today was back to Guide Dog puppy training and for the second month in a row we made it through the whole class with reasonable behaviour - that's Vespa's behaviour not mine of course. Though when I come to think of it, I was pretty well behaved too!
As the weather has degenerated over the past few days back into winter, my mood has degenerated too and I find myself feeling pretty low most of the time. I can hardly be bothered to go out and it's far easier to sit and watch the French Open on telly than go out dressed in my winter gear. Thank goodness for tennis.
On Saturday Vespa and I did manage to get into Edinburgh for a fundraising event for Guide Dogs. It was in a pub in Rose Street and Vespa, along with his pal Paddy, had to sit around looking cute and being much admired by all and sundry. Vespa finds this part of his job very easy, though he does have the dreadful habit of sitting with his back legs sticking out which somehow detracts from his handsome features, but does cause a lot of laughs from the petting public.
I've had a couple of book reviews to do. Both of them are non fiction. The first one - Flirting with French - was ok, but not all that great and I think I did a great job of actually finishing it so I could write a proper review. The second one is amazing. It's called Age of Ambition: Chasing fortune, truth and faith in the new China. The only problem is it's quite a tome. Almost 400 pages of dense text with some amazing facts and figures. And I'm supposed to write the review pdq and I don't want to skim read it, but I think that's what I'm going to have to do in order to get the review written on time.
So in some ways, with the tennis and the book review to do, it's not so bad that the weather is crap. The only thing that's really suffering is my lack of exercise, which has been highlighted by my Fitbit. However, yesterday it looked like I'd done loads of activity as by mistake I left the Fitbit in the pocket of my pj's which I then put in the wash. Amazing what a wash cycle can do for the activity calculator! And I have to say I'm also pretty amazed that the thing hasn't decided to give up the ghost as it's not supposed to get wet and that's the second time it's found it's way into the wash. Better not chance a third time.
I've also had some work (on Monday) and some pleasure in the form of my friend's 60th birthday dinner (on Sunday), which was fun. Just as well there are these necessities to go out otherwise I could sit in my pj's all day with my hot water bottle, my book and the telly and not see the light of day apart from through the window. And just as well Mountain Man has been home this week to take the burden of dog walking on, while I moan and complain about lack of sunshine and warmth.
It can only get better can't it?
As the weather has degenerated over the past few days back into winter, my mood has degenerated too and I find myself feeling pretty low most of the time. I can hardly be bothered to go out and it's far easier to sit and watch the French Open on telly than go out dressed in my winter gear. Thank goodness for tennis.
On Saturday Vespa and I did manage to get into Edinburgh for a fundraising event for Guide Dogs. It was in a pub in Rose Street and Vespa, along with his pal Paddy, had to sit around looking cute and being much admired by all and sundry. Vespa finds this part of his job very easy, though he does have the dreadful habit of sitting with his back legs sticking out which somehow detracts from his handsome features, but does cause a lot of laughs from the petting public.
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| Vespa and Paddy with their Guide Dog chum |
I've had a couple of book reviews to do. Both of them are non fiction. The first one - Flirting with French - was ok, but not all that great and I think I did a great job of actually finishing it so I could write a proper review. The second one is amazing. It's called Age of Ambition: Chasing fortune, truth and faith in the new China. The only problem is it's quite a tome. Almost 400 pages of dense text with some amazing facts and figures. And I'm supposed to write the review pdq and I don't want to skim read it, but I think that's what I'm going to have to do in order to get the review written on time.
So in some ways, with the tennis and the book review to do, it's not so bad that the weather is crap. The only thing that's really suffering is my lack of exercise, which has been highlighted by my Fitbit. However, yesterday it looked like I'd done loads of activity as by mistake I left the Fitbit in the pocket of my pj's which I then put in the wash. Amazing what a wash cycle can do for the activity calculator! And I have to say I'm also pretty amazed that the thing hasn't decided to give up the ghost as it's not supposed to get wet and that's the second time it's found it's way into the wash. Better not chance a third time.
I've also had some work (on Monday) and some pleasure in the form of my friend's 60th birthday dinner (on Sunday), which was fun. Just as well there are these necessities to go out otherwise I could sit in my pj's all day with my hot water bottle, my book and the telly and not see the light of day apart from through the window. And just as well Mountain Man has been home this week to take the burden of dog walking on, while I moan and complain about lack of sunshine and warmth.
It can only get better can't it?
Thursday, 28 May 2015
A coffee plant update
I'm sure you must be wondering how the coffee plants are doing... well you have been, haven't you?
The answer is, not terribly well. I think the cold weather spell has made their leaves turn even browner than usual and we had to do a move around with them, which is something they absolutely hate. The largest plant seemed to be getting a bit burnt by the daylight bulb it was under because it was so tall, so we moved it and put the smallest one in it's place. The largest one is not amused!
At least they all have some new growth to go along with their brown leaves. The pic isn't a very good one, but it's the best I could do with very little time. I'll try and post a better one soon.
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Saturday, 23 May 2015
Memories
I got an email from my lovely friend, Binod, from Kathmandu yesterday. I've known him since he was 19. He used to work in his uncle's tea shop and is now a tourist guide. He's such a sweet guy and it's lovely to see him all grown up. While we were having tea with him in Kathmandu, I realised I didn't have my phone on me, so he used his phone to take pics. Then, of course, there was the earthquake and so it's taken a while for him to send me them.
I was also reminded that I'd received some pics from Mariko in Hua Hin from the night we went out to dinner, so thought I'd post that too.
And then there's some pics from my last couple of days in Bangkok, one of which shows the most amazing toilet, which was in my bathroom. It had a button you pressed to wash and dry yourself, a bit like an automated bidet. I thought it was fab!
Lovely memories.
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| Me and the lovely Binod |
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| Mountain Man gets in on the action |
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| Me and Mariko out for dinner. She was the teeniest therapist at Chiva Som. I'm around 5ft 6 and not wearing heels. |
And then there's some pics from my last couple of days in Bangkok, one of which shows the most amazing toilet, which was in my bathroom. It had a button you pressed to wash and dry yourself, a bit like an automated bidet. I thought it was fab!
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| The view from my table at breakfast at The Sukhothai Hotel, Bangkok |
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| A view of the pool from my sun lounger |
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| The amazing toilet choices. And yes, I did try oscillating! |
Friday, 22 May 2015
Back to bad
It's been a busy week in one way and another. Vespa is now fully recovered and, after a week of very good behaviour, totally let himself down today as we went off for a walk in the woods with Lynne and her 15 month old Guide Dog puppy, Tweedy. Tweedy is positively the best behaved pup around, who comes when he's called, walks to heel off the lead and no matter if another dog is around, is always at Lynne's beck and call.
Sadly the same can't be said for Vespa, who paid no attention whatsoever to any commands I issued, broke the tag off his collar and managed to tear a strap off the welly I was wearing. He just wanted to play with Tweedy and that was that. Also, when I was away and he was staying with Freda in Selkirk, he got to play with Fleur, another GD pup, who loves the water. She taught him all kind of tricks, such as finding the muddiest puddle and rushing into it to lie down and enjoy a mud bath. And so Vespa spend an inordinate amount of time today rushing in and out of the mud pools and getting as dirty as he could and encouraging Tweedy to roll him over and over just so he could get fully covered. This combined with a lack of obedience didn't make me a happy bunny.
Yesterday I had to go and get my ears syringed and do a hearing test ready to get a new hearing aid (the joys of getting older). It was absolutely disgusting what came out of my ears and I'm damned sure you're very pleased I didn't take any pics, suffice it to say I'm surprised I could hear at all with that lot down my ears. But what the audiologist discovered is that I have a middle ear infection, so now I'm on antibiotics. Not my favourite thing to be on.
Today, as I was getting ready to go out, I put my hat in a handy place so I could grab it and jam it on my head before setting off to the woods so my ears wouldn't be affected by the wind, but as Lynne arrived in her car Vespa started behaving like a maniac and I forgot it in my efforts to control him. Not a great start and made me an unhappy bunny to start with, let alone by the end of the walk. I also forgot to take poo bags, but luckily Lynne was armed, which was just as well as my naughty boy decided to have 3 deposits on our walk. Tweedy of course had none.
Vespa's today behaviour was in total contrast to the last few days, where he's been at meetings and even a Guide Dog coffee morning where out of the 3 pups in attendance, and he being the youngest, he was the best behaved. I was beginning to think things were looking up, but no... I was a bit premature on that one.
However, one of the great things about rushing about in the woods with another pup is that Vespa is now exhausted, which is just as well as I can now nurse my sore ears and rest my weary body and try to recover in peace and quiet.
Sadly the same can't be said for Vespa, who paid no attention whatsoever to any commands I issued, broke the tag off his collar and managed to tear a strap off the welly I was wearing. He just wanted to play with Tweedy and that was that. Also, when I was away and he was staying with Freda in Selkirk, he got to play with Fleur, another GD pup, who loves the water. She taught him all kind of tricks, such as finding the muddiest puddle and rushing into it to lie down and enjoy a mud bath. And so Vespa spend an inordinate amount of time today rushing in and out of the mud pools and getting as dirty as he could and encouraging Tweedy to roll him over and over just so he could get fully covered. This combined with a lack of obedience didn't make me a happy bunny.
Yesterday I had to go and get my ears syringed and do a hearing test ready to get a new hearing aid (the joys of getting older). It was absolutely disgusting what came out of my ears and I'm damned sure you're very pleased I didn't take any pics, suffice it to say I'm surprised I could hear at all with that lot down my ears. But what the audiologist discovered is that I have a middle ear infection, so now I'm on antibiotics. Not my favourite thing to be on.
Today, as I was getting ready to go out, I put my hat in a handy place so I could grab it and jam it on my head before setting off to the woods so my ears wouldn't be affected by the wind, but as Lynne arrived in her car Vespa started behaving like a maniac and I forgot it in my efforts to control him. Not a great start and made me an unhappy bunny to start with, let alone by the end of the walk. I also forgot to take poo bags, but luckily Lynne was armed, which was just as well as my naughty boy decided to have 3 deposits on our walk. Tweedy of course had none.
Vespa's today behaviour was in total contrast to the last few days, where he's been at meetings and even a Guide Dog coffee morning where out of the 3 pups in attendance, and he being the youngest, he was the best behaved. I was beginning to think things were looking up, but no... I was a bit premature on that one.
However, one of the great things about rushing about in the woods with another pup is that Vespa is now exhausted, which is just as well as I can now nurse my sore ears and rest my weary body and try to recover in peace and quiet.
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