Happy Birthday in more ways than one.

Eldest daughter was seen by the obstetrician yesterday morning. Sent home to wait for call to say bed awaiting her - so as to then get things moving. ....... I thought hmm you may have to wait a while.

We went out for our Birthday meal for the Dawn Patroller with friends.

Absolutely lovely, puds out of this world.
Then the phone rang. "Mum you have your second grandson."

She had gone home, had lunch, and then the waters broke and she was in labour, strong labour. So she didn't have to wait for a bed! She did it all by herself.

10lbs 2oz. Ye Gods. Theo. Welcome to the world.

Back to the more mundane. This morning Kevin the joiner arrived. 8.30a.m. while I was still on cloud nine.

I not only have a scrumptious grandson number 2 adding to scrumptious grandson number 1, I now have a beautiful dining room. But sod the dining room, I know which achievement this weekend is the best!

It's all too much. Glass of wine. Cheers to all.

Fecund Friday.

This is Orion at just after sunrise. All looks calm.

But we are having a very blustery couple of days. As the cats go out of their cat door the wind catches it and it makes horrible noises. Not so bad in the day, but at night not so good. I had to get up a couple of times and make it shut. Fortunately this only happens when the wind is in a certain direction.
Certainly the wind has also affected the sea. Although this weekend we have the Gathering of the Clans Surfing Competition. There were surfers out practising but a bit too far away for decent photographs.
The birds seem to love it. Young Great Black Backed Gull.
More mature GBBG
Herring Gull. All enjoying the wind.

You wouldn't get me surfing in that lot. Although my stress levels are well pictured here!

Well its fecund Friday as our eldest daughter is moving towards producing our second grandson.

Fecund means fruitful. It is also a day of celebration as it is the Dawn Patrollers birthday.

We are out for a meal tonight with friends. Mobile phone is charged. Whether I can manage to get myself ready and then eat something is a question. Certainly not bothering with the mascara as my hands are shaking far too much.

I know what! A glass of wine. That'll calm me down.

Tidy up Thursday!

Yesterday morning I ended up driving around for an hour and a half up and down country lanes, visiting the sea, seeing a seal, and lots more pink footed geese coming to spend the winter with us. Pictured above.

I had gone out to buy the paper, 3 mile drive to the nearest shop. On my return there was a large van blocking my entry onto our land.

"Give us a minute we are unloading the door."

So I tootled off. Did a circular tour and returned. Still a large van blocking the drive. So I tootled off again. I phoned Mike and asked him to let me know when I could come home. Meanwhile I finally got to drive up the roads I had always wondered where they went, including one with green grass up the middle which always worries me. But all was well. Then I got the phone call to say I could return.

At last we had a very large hole.

And eventually - a patio door.

Still to be finished off by the builders. Hope they aren't long about it as their is a very welcoming rodent doorway below the human doorway.

But it is well worth it as this morning, from our patio door we viewed this.

So with that uplifting view in my mind I cracked on with removing the dust from every, and I mean every, surface, despite keeping doors shut....Just trying very hard to get the joiner to come and lay the floor in the dining room before Christmas.

Terrible Tuesday!

My friend Isobel Gregory. You can google her. She is an artist. In a variety of media. She is also the leading light (a pun!) in The Friends of the Lighthouse Museum. Next week, and the week after we are working with 'The Bairns' on a Halloween themed activity morning.

What this woman can do with a bendy straw is just amazing.

She demonstrated a variety of activities that we, the other Friends of the Lighthouse Museum, are to do with the bairns. I sat there open mouthed. We all sat there open mouthed. We are to make ghosts from bin bags, floating ghosts from balloons, spiders, pumpkins, hovercraft ghouls(?) fireworks in a bottle, skeletons from the stuff you get as packaging in fragile things . All after a demonstration that would put Blue Peter to shame. If you dont know what the hell I am on about then have some sympathy. I watched this woman make all these things and I dont know what I am on about.

What concerns me a wee bit is that, having in the past run a playgroup, and had a daughter who stuffed a lump of blu tak up her nose, that most of the things we are presenting to the bairns to make things with Social Services would hold their hands up in horror. Plastic bags, small round things, scissors that would take pride of place on the operating table, et al. This Halloween theme strikes me with horror! Ho hum. I promise photographs of next weeks gory ghostly gathering. At least their Mother's will be present, the bairns Mothers that is, so we can always blame them.

Back to the start of this terrible Tuesday....
The plan was - builders arrive at 7.30a.m. Which meant I had to be up, showered and dressed at 6.30a.m. They got lost. Arrived at 8.30.

The drill or whatever they call it wasnt tough enough to get through our wall. So they disappeared again. Returning with a heavy duty effort that was plugged in to our electricity....
The joiner was due to arrive at 1p.m. and fit the patio door. The builders were still there. So he went away. He said the door would be delivered at 2p.m. and had to be put near where it had to go.
The patio door was not delivered. Nor was the skip to take away the bits of removed wall.

The builders covered over the hole and left.

Tomorrow the joiner is due at 7.30 a.m............More shock to my system.

A woeful Wednesday?

I don't like Mondays....

Why ever not! Well, yes, I am now retired so Monday is not much different to any other day. But even in the days of 9 till five I, think, I could still stay positive. Most of the time.

This Monday mornings sunrise.

Not seen by me, of course, but the Dawn Patroller. Me, I am still tucked up in bed.

Our grandson, Zachary, was shown a picture of a sheep taken by the Dawn Patroller. He got very excited as nearly three year olds do and shouted, "Donkey!" Which of course it wasnt. So we racked our brains to think of where we could get a picture of a donkey. There are quite a lot of donkeys in the North East of Scotland. Not sure why. Or how they fit into the agricultural scheme of things. My friend Lena has a few to keep the grass down on her acreage at her croft. These were by the side of the main road from here to Peterhead. And were very friendly.
Reason enough to keep them I guess.
And who could resist?
The above is our dining room window. Tomorrow, hurricanes allowing, this will become a patio door. All we need then is the joiner to come and fit the new floor and us to choose suitable viewing of wildlife and anything else really from a comfortable seat. Sitting on the new flooring.

This was the view from the Summer Hoose. As a miniature hurricane swept the rain across the field.

Then the sun came out again and the wind dropped.

Mondays are just as good as any other day. Depending on your state of mind.

Harvesting.

I rarely post pictures of my immediate family. But these two photographs are showing some of my harvest.

I have four daughters, each of whom I am immensely proud of. The first shows my eldest daughter, the second my third daughter.

Eldest is due to present us with our second grandson any minute now.

Third daughter isn't due until December. This picture is of her being a bridesmaid yesterday.

Memories come flooding back of when I gave birth to them. Then I remember having four under five and wonder if I should have been certified. Even so, it was far easier giving birth than now wishing I could do it for them!

Here is a spider harvesting !
And probably a few more, surely one spider could not have created all this? Webs on gorse.

Such beauty from such a small creature.

These three are in here as they are admiring the harvested crops! (And keeping an eye on the Dawn Patroller.)

While the rest of the U.K. has been basking in unseasonable sunshine and high temperatures, here in the North East of Scotland we have had grey skies, rain, but yes, a bit more warm than usual.

Hopefully the harvest is all now safely gathered in.

And what isnt yet, wont be long.

Downsizing !

Well all I can say is thank goodness we have a garage attached to our cottage.

To your left is a white box thing which is the central heating boiler. (Bag of sunflower seeds on top of.) Still leaves plenty room for a car. But....
When we down sized it was impossible to persuade the daughters to do the same. These boxes contain Barbies, cds, computer games, old school reports and, well, just stuff (the eldest is 30 the youngest 25). None of them appear to be able to part with anything.

The eldest daughter has a son and in the corner at the back of the garage we are now piling up with toys for when he visits. Also his brother (who is now overdue appearing by 9 days. )

Also another grandchild, a daughter due December, so storage for toys is a must.

Three cat boxes for three cats on the top shelf here. All three have to go for their annual check up and jabs. So we need three cat boxes.

Next to them, going right are the car seats for grandchildren and 'spare' pushchair. The eldest with partner and grandchild (and the one overdue) travel by train and apparently it is easier without a push-chair.....So long as there is one here.

This pile is stuff we intended to car boot. We have done a few car boots but the pile has not diminished much.

There is, in the garage, of course, tools, light bulbs, screws, nails, paint, bird food - four bins of it - two tea trolleys (no idea) lots of bags to go to charity shops, (so do it - deliver!), glass recycling boxes, can recycling and plastic bottle recycling, and lots of things termed as "You never know when you might need this." Two lawn mowers, strimmer, the Dawn Patroller's Bike....

On the plus side we did manage to get rid of an enormous amount of stuff from our previous home which included 6 zimmer frames (it had been in its past a care home) - and I still think they would have made good plant supports - a load of crockery, bedding, beds, (we ran a b&b), masses of books in Polish - it was a care home for Polish people - odd bits of furniture all on freecycle.

But we still ended up with loads of stuff.

Just moving the few miles further north from Aberdeen means that the regulars on freecycle think we have moved to the dark side of the moon and I have had only rare collections of some really good stuff from them.

For instance we had an absolute load of packing boxes, which are always being requested on the site. The couple who eventually braved the journey of 45 minutes away from Aberdeen were absolutely thrilled to have so many! And to have saved over a £100.

So on a rainy day like today has been I thought I would get in there and sort it.

I then made the more sensible decision to come back out again and open the wine.