Busy afternoon

 

And there's more....!! I'll be glad to see the back of it all..and more!!

This morning we had lunch out in the vegan restaurant in Ayr...I'd never been past when it was open!

After a good lunch, what better than a walk on the beach.esoecially as the view towards Arran was the clearest we could remember seeing.

I'm not sure what the development is at this pavilion..it has been "Pirate Pete's" for a while, a children's play centre. Thirty years ago my Pirate used to go to Country and Western nights there!!

..then shopping for a few supplies before heading to Nae Sae New in Mauchline.

The Oily One found two Haynes manuals he could use..and friend found a Portuguese painted clay kitchen luck charm ! (I'll photograph that tomorrow)

Back home....and friend is teaching themselves to throw....while the Oily One is fixing the flue....

Sky and progress

 

This was the morning sky at 7.35 yesterday....but the day before and today the clouds hid the sky and light hasn't filtered through for another half an hour.

Yesterday was cold all day but at least dry.

A good day for daughter and SiL to start their journey home.  Plus a good day for Oily One and friend to haul out shed contents to sort....

There is a long row of black bags full of rubbish.  And a heap of boxes of metal bits and other metal things to go for metal recycling. 

The sewing room is no longer chock full...I'll be able to move things around to paint the walls and sort things ready to go to a bike jumble or sell online.  The packaging corner needs reviewing....

A lot of progress has been made!

Today we may look at the kiln flue..but they need to review the weather forecast.

So far there are weather warnings from this evening, but mainly further north from here....

Sorting

The pile is twice as big now....

 I have been sorting clothes and shoes and books with Daughter.

SiL has been in the Bike room, doing tools and bikes and bits.

The Oily One and friend have been working on Pirate's shed....

There is much rubbish....a lot of metal to go to the artist blacksmith in the artists collective...quite a few things handed over as they can be of use to them.

Daughter and SiL leave tomorrow...my 15 year old autistic grandsons have been with SiL's 90 year old dad....they have been cooking and he took them to the Waterways Museum.   Great fun being had all round!!

The Oily One and friend are here for a few more days....when work will be a little less intense and stressful!!

Ticking over

 A spare day..as initially daughter was arriving today..so everything was geared to that! 

Dawn was a little cloudy

But dry...so the wash went in before breakfast and out as soon as the sun shone!

It was still cold for a while as until mid-afternoon it looked like this at the front...

Not snow, just cold and frosty 

But by mid-afternoon you wouldn't have known about it!

I had another session of patchworking this afternoon ...three of the four blocks done!

I can't just sit there....

Still cold

 It took a long time to sleep last night..,so I awoke to this.... before 8am!!

And an hour later...

It was bright sun but very cold all day.

This was as dusk was approaching. The road was like this all day.

I did tidy the workshop up a little so that I can get things done with the Oily One. Then retreated to warm up ! I was glad of the lambing gilet from Mountain Man and the warm boots from Pirate!!  The advantage of having partners who wore near enough the same sizes !!

Another hand delivered card today...I doubt that there will be many more.. although there may be some stuck on the post...cards have been taking 4 to 8 days to get here.

I've retreated to bed with diary, Duolingo, blogger and book !!

Quiet and frosty

 A nice quiet day.  Study tidied. Bedding ready for visitors..who will now all arrive on Sunday... hopefully the Oily One will stay a bit longer than daughter's two nights.....

I get the between the lines feeling that "it's your fault that you moved so far away".... forgetting that she eventually moved three hours drive away from me!!! And that we saw as many of them as we could every time we visited, two or three times a year....and it has never always been convenient to visit...

Was I supposed to pass up a chance of a life of my own....with the love of my life...after almost thirty sixty years of dedicating my life to their father and them...?  Hey ho.... families...who'd have 'em?!!!!

It has been nice having message conversations with friends today, from nearby and around Scotland and from New Zealand, and a long phone call from a cousin in London.

Then a beautiful sky at dusk with a crescent moon shining bright.

Lighter

 Same times.....a clear sky makes a difference!!

Then...

I've shuffled the living room around slightly..made a little more room in the middle so that the sofabed works ok.

Sorted more clothes and books into bags so that daughter and husband (arriving Saturday) and Oily One and friend (arriving Sunday) can choose anything they need.

Op shops aren't taking books anyway, mostly, and are too full.of clothes donations.

Tomorrow is the turn of my study....

Still dark

 

8.05....then 8.20....I know... impatience!!

Then at 16.20 it was dark again after a mostly dry but grey day.

I went to Prestwick on the buses...Ayr was full of people and traffic so buses were being delayed... Prestwick was still busy...

Today's exercise was walking halfway back.... better than standing at a chilly bus stop!! I need to keep those extra kilos off!!

Then to Lidl to top up a few things as there will be four extra bodies here not three!!

I'm glad that I went on on the bus instead of in my car. The place was ramjammmed!!

Recovering

 Just washday and pottering around sorting...and a walk after lunch.

Just a quiet day not seeing anyone.

Teaching young alpacas about going for a walk

Birds on the lines... only on this pylon...

And the bird on a card.

I think I've written all the cards...I might do a few more if I receive one from someone I've missed. There are only twelve cards up this year....and two were hand delivered.

I'll carry on writing and posting letters....having something tangible in the hand means far more than an email on a screen 

Solstice Day

 I stopped on the way to the gallery to post a letter in Maybole... now it has a bypass and lorries on the A75 on their way to the ferry are no longer shaking the high street buildings apart... literally.... there is hope..

I must go back again to take a few more photos.

Today was my last gallery duty of the year... thankfully....I don't really enjoy "peopling" !!

Then a big shop ( for me) not because of the holidays, just a normal 2-3 weekly one. 

I'd let some of the basics run down as well. Normally I keep one in use and one on the shelf...and when the one on the shelf comes out, time to refill the shelf ..except that I hadn't!

Back home before Christmas 6 so I missed the worst of the jams...

Time to light a candle for Solstice.

Think of those not with us....we used to celebrate every one, now it is four I've seen by myself. And a light for the future.

Pirate...born in the year of the Hare....and I've always felt, even before knowing him, that every day one is seen is a good day.

Round and round...

 A day out with friends today, I drove down to Alloway and went with her in her VW campervan to the Velodrome in Glasgow.

The Women's Track Fund session was on, last one of this year, from 12.00-15.00...all ages from about 8-68!! The coach sorted them by age/ ability and they had riding, and training races and all great fun. 

Free drinks and cakes,  WTF mugs and t-shirts selling and as spot prizes.

I took a dozen cycling themed mugs that we had been given over the years and they are selling them for the group funds. (More Stuff out of the door to a good home!!)

Badminton in the track centre as the riders start to warm up...and Celtic football club stadium visible on the other side of the road, through the high window.

Ticking along

 Not good news about the crown..it was just a cap..so not enough height of tooth to put a peg in for a new crown....so end of January he will smooth it off and a new tooth will be added to my plate. The root is behaving so it can stay as long as it does!

Apart from that, I found a new café...called Puck....which is the thing that the coffee grounds are pressed into for an espresso machine.  It is where the kitchen shop used to be....a marvellous place, source of kitchen and pottery tools!!

Work at home carries on with sorting and reducing.

I've filled most of the space with books from the living room shelves....and there is a large carrier bag of books to go, some possibly to my daughter.

Half an hour steadily on the turbo trainer..must do this more often!

It wasn't fit to go out for a walk, let alone a bike ride!

I know....we used to ride whatever the weather, almost... shopping, commuting, racing, training...or just for fun! Walking as well....

Now I don't have to.....

I still use the bus as much as possible...the car gets its regulation once a week outing to make sure everything is working ok, and not seizing up!!

As ever the last place you lose any excess weight from....is the first place it arrives!

I do not want to buy any new clothes!!