How to celebrate

No, not that celebration, the other one.... my step-grandson's 2nd Birthday!

For some reason a couple decided to get married yesterday, while we were off in sunny (but bloody cold) Glasgae, drinking champagne and eating BBQ while the delightful child seemed a bit overwhelmed with it all, but once his cousins turned up and he had an opportunity to jump on the bouncy castle his mother had spent many hours blowing up, he looked like he was enjoying himself.

We couldn't stay for too long as my Beloved had a date with Loch Ness and had to get off up to the Highlands. This weekend he's ministering to anyone who needs it while they complete the Monster Bike and Hike, and he needed to be up there for early this morning. So after our date in Glasgow we headed back to Edinburgh for him to pick up his truck and me to pick up the dog and get home. So off he went in one direction and me and the dog in the other.

Apparently he met up with a friend last night and revisited the climbing wall in Inverness where they spent a happy hour or so heaving themselves up and down, and then he went off for a night in the hills in his tent. I've already had a call from the happy camper to say it's a glorious day over Loch Ness and luckily I was able to say it was the same at this end of the country.

The dog and I have decided on a quiet weekend, where I have to catch up with some work and she has to catch up on some zeds, her favourite activity and one which she does extremely well.

An embarrassing start

Today my Beloved's new employee, who started last week when I was away, turned up for work. I'd completely forgotten she was coming and was languishing lazily in bed a mere five minutes before she came, so that on the reminder that her arrival was imminent, I managed to jump in the shower and was pretty much dressed by the time she arrived.

There was just one problem. I had promised my OU friends a photo of what I would have worn if I'd been able to go down to Cambridge this Friday. One of our number is having a weekend of fun in lieu of her birthday, which just happens to be on the same day as some royal event or other. It just so happens that it's my step-grandson's 2nd birthday that day too, so we will be off to Glasgow for a fun-filled day of jelly and cake. I had said that if I had been going I would've worn my fairy dress and photos were demanded, and as I'm off to Edinburgh today for the rest of the week, it was this morning or not at all and a promise is a promise.

I don't know about you, but if I'd just started a job and I was faced with my boss going, 'Yes, that's it... no a little more to the right... erm left... erm right,' while the boss's wife was parading in a mauve fairy dress while I was making the coffee I'm not quite sure how I would've reacted.

Suffice it to say I think Lesley will fit in rather well here as she took it all in her stride. I think it must have something to do with the fact that she has a Harley and is quite used to an incongruous dress sense!

It didn't work

Last night was the first for me of the outdoor bowls season as I was away last week when everyone else started. Having gotten on so well with the indoor bowls I thought I'd wing it well once the outdoor began. But it was not to be. I'd forgotten just how different the outdoor game is.

I've been playing outdoor for quite some years now, so it was with extreme embarrassment that I could hardly get my bowls to travel the required distance, not helped I have to say by it being damn cold out there and my hands were freezing. I had of course left my handwarmers at home in my nice warm kitchen, typical!

So today, once work is done, I'm off out there to have a practice, so that by the next time I play at least I'll be able to hold my head up.

Another plug

Last night I got a message from Andy, the father of the Hannah who's exam performance I attended a couple of weeks ago. Hannah has now finished her EP, which is part of her course, so if any of you would like to have a listen then you can find it here. I'm not sure if the amount of hits she gets will be part of her overall exam mark, but anyway, the more hits she gets the better it will be for her. So please spread the word.

I've also been asked to endorse someone else. This is on Linkedin, not a site I use a lot. In fact I don't use it at all. I'm sure it would be really useful if I had the time or the inclination, but I don't really like to be contacted by people I don't know to be their professional friend. I have a rule on Facebook and that is that I'll say yes to being anyone's friend as long as I know them, which seems reasonable, but I seem to get contacted on Linkedin by people I've never heard of. A bit like cold calling I suppose and I'm not a fan of that.

Anyway, I digress. I've been asked to endorse someone I do know, but I have a bit of a problem and that is, the course of theirs I took wasn't to my liking and I'm finding it hard to know what to say. In fact I gave very honest feedback at the time and am surprised to be contacted. I don't like misleading people so don't worry I won't be writing anything that isn't true, but nevertheless it is a bit of a dilemma and not one I like.

Happy Easter

It's been a funny old Easter as I only just realised it was actually Easter Sunday part way through the day. There's something about things like Easter that only really make sense when you have kids around and this year, the first Easter when No 2 son is in Bristol and therefore not within Easter egg dropping off territory, and because I was away I didn't have time to drop one off for No 1 son, neither of them got one.

My Beloved and I spent time in the garden soaking up the glorious sun, while trying to denude the garden of dandelions, which I think is going to be one of those neverending chores. In my week's absence my man has been out planting all kinds of goodies so hopefully we'll have a good supply of home grown produce as the summer really gets going.

Apart from that it's been time to get my next OU assignment together, which has caused me quite a bit of angst. But sitting out in the sun armed with my Roget's Thesaurus has meant I've cobbled something together. The sun certainly helped, must've warmed my brain or something. Anyway it's pretty much done which is a relief.

Tomorrow night outdoor bowls starts. I'm hoping my experience at the indoor bowls will have helped me to be a bit quicker off the mark than usual. I've found someone in the village who wants to start playing and is keen to practice during the day, so maybe this year will prove better than the last couple for me. I'm not sure the start will be that good tho as the weather forecast suggests rain tomorrow night. Typical!

A speedy return

I'm back from the Highlands and the only way to describe the whole experience was it was 'interesting'.

It started so promisingly as well, but rapidly deteriorated ending up with one of the tutors telling me in a rather condescending way that I was like Pollyanna. I think she didn't like my relentless cheeriness or something like that. The final straw for me was when she asked me my age and then said, 'Well m'dear, I'm ten years older than you and I'd like to give you some advice.' At that point I think I felt like hitting her - cheerfully of course - and then I got the Pollyanna comment. I obviously didn't want to let my audience down so behaved in a very Pollyanna-ish way, but I still felt like smacking her!

Win some, lose some I suppose, but I don't think I could possibly recommend the experience as more than an expensive way to be quietly yet forcefully condescended to!

Luckily the situation was retrieved by one of our number who's a film maker and had much the same treatment as me. She and I joined forces and soothed each others fevered brow, but it was a relief to get home.

Because it's Easter weekend I made the incredibly sensible decision to get up at 5 am and hike off down the A9 before the rest of the world woke up. It wasn't until I was just outside Perth that I was slowed down by the first caravan enthusiast of the day, which reinforced how sensible I'd been, and I managed to get home in record time. I do admit to speeding a bit but the joy of getting home to my Beloved and in time for breakfast was worth it.

Strange connections

Today I'm travelling North to Moniack Mhor for a week of poetry. It's funny how months ago when I booked this I was really looking forward to going, but now the day has arrived and I'd prefer to be staying put. I'm sure once I'm there it'll all be great.... at least I hope so!

I'm not sure I'll be able to post from there, so if not you'll get the full 'whack' when I get home on the weekend.

The programme is pretty full on so won't have much time to go off campus and see friends, which will be a bit odd. Going all the way up to Inverness-shire and not seeing anyone I know seems a bit of a waste, but there you go. Interestingly there is someone I know at Moniack Mhor. She's one of the organisers. I know her through my Beloved, my ex husband and Shirley and Andy. A real case of strange connections. It's rather a convoluted story, so will leave it til another time, but it reminds me of when I did a Reiki course many years ago and my Beloved's ex sister-in-law was on the same course. The fact that we were paired up to practice made it a bit awkward to start with, but when you have to concentrate on what you're doing awkwardness doesn't last long.

I've already spoken to and exchanged pleasantries with the organiser, so hopefully no awkwardness, no embarrassing moments... a good start at least, now there's just the poetry!