Tattie Fortnight

Traditionally, here in the North East of Scotland, the next two weeks is where everyone, including children, went out into the fields and picked potatoes.

Nowadays we dont herd the kids and every able bodied unemployed person out there into the wet (usually), windy (definitely) and cold (most definitely) muddy fields.  

There is some sort of machine which extracts them while the driver sits in a warm cab and listens to his i pad or whatever.

So what do the kids do.  Well they have two weeks off school..  And many of the churches, and idiot volunteers, roond and aboot entertain them.

 This is one I made earlier.

As many of you know I organise Kids Activities at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, in the school holidays.

This time round the theme is 

Let there be Light.  

Along with Lighthouse making, there are pumpkin lanterns, lanterns, hopefully some reference to Divali, The Festival of Light, sun catchers, glitter, glue,  all great fun.  I hope.

Following my planning, obtaining supplies, I am there for the setting up and at the end the tidying up.  But while snotty nosed kids are in the activity area I am not.

I do miss it tho....... Specially story time at the end.

Apart from it being Tattie Fortnight around here it is also half term for the schools.  We get two weeks of it, but most of the other schools in Scotland it is one week only.  Then the second week we start with the English Tourists Kids.  So very busy at the Museum, shop and cafe.



As we move towards November our days continue to shorten.  At the end of Tattie Fortnight the clocks go back.  Lighter mornings for a while but dark much earlier at the end of the day.  Which means I have to be strictly organised in getting into the shedudio.

Not a potato in sight, unless thats what the hens have found.



 

Back to the drawing board.

After the excitement of earlier on in the week I have been  trying to carry on with recovering and TAKING THINGS STEADY.  Because thats what everyone is telling me to do - whilst asking me to do things......

School holidays commenced so Kids Activities at the Lighthouse Museum next Thursday and the following Thursday.  This time last year we had over 80 kids at each session.  Pirates being a popular theme..

 This April/Easter we are doing Castles.  Our Lighthouse is built on top of a castle.

So all things Castles.  I have amassed a great pile of cereal boxes.  These will be piled up together with lots of bits and pieces and double sided sticky tape, and the challenge is to make a castle from all said bits and pieces. ..... 

We also have shields, tiaras, dragons, helmets, crowns, etc. to be made.  The only thing missing will be ME.  Banned by my g.p. (doctor) from hordes of snotty nosed kids.  Huh.

Done all the planning, obtained the bits and pieces required, can't even tell the story at the end.  Not fair.  One real plus is we have the wonderful Adele who is to be me.  She is at University and learning how to be a teacher.  She is also one of the Lighthouse's seasonal guides and has leapt at the chance.  Hmmmmm.

Anyroads I finally got my mojo back.  After not lifting a paint brush for four weeks I was really worried I might never want to paint again but then out of nowhere I wanted to paint my granddaughter.  Now I am crap at people, prefer a four legged beastie any day, but I just wanted to okay?

The DP had caught her in this reflective mode which I loved.  So I had a go.  Its not finished by a long way.  But when shown the picture, she said, "Thats me."   I nearly wept, well I am quite fragile at the moment......

Then I did a bit more to the lurcher sitting in the middle of fallen cherry blossom (just so you know what all the pink and white bits are).

AND THEN I saw these...

Photos taken by Kenny Buchan, a local photographer, not the DP for a change.  Wow .

So back to the drawing board.  Oh, and I am raising a glass of red wine, for the recovery and taking it easy of course.....

Reflections.

Another year almost over.  Not one for New Year Festivities, I tend to be tucked up in bed way before midnight, and yes the wine has a lot to do with that!  I do know my failings after some considerable years.  But I am (almost) grown up now so can do what I like.

Traditionally the DP and his siblings commence to block up the phone lines as soon as Big Ben (in London) has chimed in the New Year.  And they all hit the Malt.  Cant stand the stuff.

This year the DP is being the Lighthouse Museum's Official Photographer at a wedding there.  So I shall be unplugging the phone before heading to bed.

The Happy Couple have today had to face pouring rain and gales.  Should set em up for life.  Now it is calmer and dry.  So their fireworks should go off with a bang rather than a fizzle.

Just hope they have warned the Shipping.

So, reflections on the year past.  

Well, its been a full one!

Kids Activities have been great fun.  We have done Pirates, Sea Birds, Halloween and Creatures of the Night - including Santa.

Kids of all ages had great fun.

Art group = educational.  Who wears silly hats and who doesnt.

Museum of Scottish Lighthouses.  Interesting.

Officially announced as one of three new trustees.  Still the only woman......

House is still standing as is the Shedudio.

Depicting beautifully the seasons.  Our wee hoose in the winter and the shedudio in the Summer.

All in all its been a lovely year.  Like everyone there have been downsides.  But now its time to look forward.  

I guess one major item of this year is that I have become an artist, still a small a....  But selling.  Still in pleasurable shock about this.  Along with this come the scary commissions.  

Bloody nightmare they are.

So this is on the drawing board for 2014.

As soon as I get permission from the photographer.  Although there is no way anyone would recognise it as being from that by the time I have finished with it.

FUN!  Lets hope 2014 is the same for all of us.