Lucky

Today is Gorgeous's birthday...well, the anniversary of the day she came to stay with us.

We've had her for two years now! And she is completely and totally part of the family.

Today I am grateful for finding the wee kitten, that Meggie and I named Lucky, in our garden, two years ago.

If it wasn't for Lucky then we probably wouldn't have Gorgeous here now.

Meg and I found Lucky in the garden, being bothered by the magpies, a couple of days after we came home from visiting Mags in the Cayman. We gathered her up in a tea-towel and took her to the vet. Unfortunately, she was very sick, and I had to make the decision to have her put to sleep (with Meggie holding my hand!!!).

So, there was no getting away from it...we just had to get a cat!!! Fate!!

So, thank you, Lucky.

Gratefully yours.
xx

Happy Birthday Gorgeous girl!

The eternal student

Made scones for K today. And I have finally mastered it! Thanks to my on-going Home Ec lessons from my mammy!!

I now know to sift the flour and rub in the butter from a height, to add air to the mixture. I know to mix in the milk and banana (adds some sweetness - yum!) with a knife, not my hands, to avoid knocking out the air!! I also know to handle as little as possible and cut with a scone cutter for the perfect, light and soft scones!

So, today I (and K!!) am grateful for my ancestors, near and far.

Mam learnt the craft of baking from dad's dad!!!

It's actually quite amazing if you stop and think about where you learn stuff from!!! Reminds you where you have come from, and gives you some idea of where you are going!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Something in the air

Today I am grateful for the air I breathe.

Sometimes it can be too warm and stuffy. Occasionally full of the smells of the country - silage or dung! Sometimes, if I am very lucky, it can waft in with the smell of the sea, fresh and clean.

It can be cold and sharp, or thick and musty. It can be downright damp.

But where would we be without it?? And as long as we have air to breath, we are alive.

I breathe in...I am alive. I breathe out...I am home.

Gratefully yours.
xx

Off the rails

I've been feeling a little bit derailed of late.

Well, maybe not so much off the rails, but certainly stuck in a siding, uninspired and a bit disillusioned.

But, while out walking this morning I was given a timely reminder about the peace and joy to be found in living mindfully.

I was marching along, head down, thinking about something decidedly negative. I had to look up as I crossed a road, and there was a glorious, full, beautifully bright rainbow, sitting snugly over Ashbrook!

Pow!!!

Now, the downside, of course, was that it meant I was heading into the rain.....but even that didn't dampen my new-found spirit. The rain was soft and light, and it just splashed my face like an extra wee wake-up call.

So, today I am grateful, very grateful, for timely reminders.

It's time to get back on track!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

A woman's lot

Today I am grateful that I married a man!!

I wish the menopause would hurry up and be the meno-stop!!! I'm fed up of it!

But, much as I hate the mood swings, the overheating and the periods that you thought were over.....I'm glad I don't have to put up with the one I love going through it!!!!!

And dread the thought that I may still be going through it when Meggie reaches puberty! Can you just imagine the life poor K and Thomas would have then!! It may force Thomas to go into the priesthood!

With that happy thought I will leave you for tonight!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Rainbows

Don't you just love rainbows?? Specially when there is no rain! How good is that!!!

I have a crystal hanging in the window of my utility room (among other places!!) and when the sun shines in, late afternoon or early evening, the whole room is covered with rainbows.

It's the one time I can go in there and not see the two clothes horses full of damp clothes, the ironing basket that needs emptied (again!) , or the cat's litter tray at the back door!!!

And it always, but always, makes me smile.

Today I am grateful for rainless rainbows. Just as stunning, but without the down-side!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Peace and quiet

The thing I find most difficult during school holidays is the lack of peace and quiet in the house!

So, today, I am grateful for the few hours I get in the morning before the kids are up and about.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love and adore my bairns, and I admire their energy and zest for life....but I need a bit of peace and quiet every now and then!!

So it's just as well I'm keeping to my early morning habit over the summer. I get my walk and my quiet cuppa (or two!). I even manage, usually, to have my breakfast in peace...but after that! Forget it!!!

And if it's not my two, it's a hoard of pals, traipsing in and out.....mind you, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Anyway, I'm off to bed now, looking forward to my peace and quiet in the morning!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

It has it's uses

Today I am grateful for the rain!

No, I've not finally cracked...hear me out on this...

The last couple of days have been dead. No breath of air, just heavy, stale, warm air covering me like a thick duvet on a warm summer night. So by lunch-time today I had the stonkingest of stonking headaches. One of those don't move your head at all or it'll explode type headaches...and I forgot to buy Syndol when I was home, because, thanks to the lovely fresh North Sea air, I had no headaches when I was home!!!

Anyway, mid-afternoon brought the rain with it...gentle pitter-patters at first, leading very swiftly on to paddling-pool in the street in front of us type downpouring for the rest of the day!!!

But, oh, the difference in the air is palpable. It's fresh and cool again...okay, it's too wet to actually go outside to breathe any of it...but even to know it's there, my head feels better!!!

So, here's to the rain....I knew it had to be good for something!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Rainy days and Mondays

Today I am eternally grateful for child-friendly animated films!

I am also grateful that the new cinema is only 5 minutes away!!!

What a lovely way to spend a horrible rainy Monday afternoon!

We went to see The Lorax - a Dr Seuss story. I love the Dr Seuss stuff. It is always so colourful and has a good old-fashioned "moral of the story". I think kids today could be doing with more of that!!!

And, of course, the evening was spent with "Superstar"!!! Go Rory!!!!!!!

Oh, and by the way, yes...I did sleep well last night back in my own bed. No place like it!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Welcome home

Today I am grateful to be home, after a long 2 days travelling....okay, I know we had a few stops along the way, but it was still a long drive!!!

I am also grateful for the lovely welcome we got from Gorgeous! She is very obviously extremely happy to be home with us again. She has purred practically non-stop since she got home!

Here she is, eating snacks out of the bowl Meggie painted for her!

In fact, she is sitting on the unit behind me, nudging my face with her head, even as I am typing this!!!

And, boy, am I looking forward to going to my own bed tonight!!!!  In fact.....I'm off!

Gratefully yours.

xx

Short and sweet

This will be a short and sweet post again tonight, as am using the kids I-pods again!!!

Today I grateful for everyone who has made our holiday so special this year.

Sus and Lawrie,with a little help from Aya and Annie. Linds and Pete. Mags and her pink pad!!! Judy and May, who we love like family! Jill, Denis and Mike the yank! Kirsty, Keith, Hattie Hound and Miss Marble.

And, last but definitely not least, Grandma, who put us up,and, more importantly, put up with us for all the bits in between!!! We all love the bones of you, Grandma, and miss you already!


Skype you all real soon!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Summer time

The sun was shining today!

What a difference it makes to everything and everybody!

It was nice to take photos today that will have blue skies in them and not grey!

Also, we collected our ceramics today, that we painted with Mags. I am so chuffed with all of them! The kids were thrilled!

My interpretation of CB in the sun!

I had so much fun painting this, and will have a blue-sky memory of Cruden Bay even without today's photos!

Today, I am grateful for all of the lovely memories I will be taking back to Ireland with me.

Thank you all for making it such a lovely holiday for us.

Gratefully yours.
xx

Thomas's car - not an Audi though!!

Meggie's cat bowl!

Early risers

I have been enjoying my early morning walks down to the harbour here in Cruden Bay.

The village is actually quite busy at that time of day!

Many commuters heading to Aberdeen, leaving nice and early to beat the rush.

The Kindness Bakery van delivering fresh bread and buttries (yum!!) to the wee shop. (Note to self - Must remember to take my purse with me tomorrow!!)

Various dogs accompanied by their bleary-eyed walkers, heading either to the beach, or up the Ward Hill, for a blast of clean, fresh, salty sea air to clear the cobwebs.

The fishermen down at the harbour, checking nets and heading for home...yes, it would appear that I am not the earliest living being in Cruden Bay!!

And, my favourite early morning acquaintances, the herons!!

There is usually one guy wading about down by the Ladies Bridge. He likes to fish there when the tide is half out and the water is not too low or too high!

This morning I watched two fellas circle each other warily down at the mouth of the river. The tide was way out, and they were being territorial over fishing grounds, I think.

They were also having great fun with the gulls. First the gulls were dive-bombing them, as they stretched their necks up and snapped their beaks, then, when the gulls got tired of the game, they went over to the gulls to taunt them, strutting their stuff back and forth in front of them!! Quite hilarious!

I will miss them when I go back to walking in the city suburbs!! I'll have to make sure I go round by the bird sanctuary more often!!

Today I am grateful for the herons.

Gratefully yours.
xx

Spot my buddy!!

Rain, rain...again!!

What is there to be grateful for on a day that just poured with rain???

Well, for a start, I can be grateful that we only got a little bit soaked on our way to swim in Mag's pool! And it was so nice to be swimming in a lovely warm pool, looking out at the rain!

Then I can be grateful for the shopping centre. Where would we be without them on days like this??? I think half of Aberdeen had the same idea! It was hotchin'!!!

I am also grateful that my darling hubby didn't dissolve on the golf course....it was, I believe, a distinct possibility at one point!

And I can be grateful that, as I get dressed and organised for a night out, the sun has come out, beaming down at us as if to say "Boy, I needed that!!". I guess we all need to vent occasionally!

So, lastly, I am grateful that there is always hope that tomorrow may be drier.....and if it's not, then I will still find a whole heap to be grateful for!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Fun all the way

Oh, my goodness...what a busy day!  

 And what a lot of fun we've had!!! 

 Walking, ceramic painting, coffeeing, arty-crafty shopping, swimming and zumbaing!!! I'm shattered even writing about it!!

 And we mustn't forget Mag's pink pad!! We even had pink drinks and pink dinner (no, it's okay...it was salmon in a delicious tomato and cream sauce!! Very tasty altogether!) I think we will all sleep well tonight!! 

Today I am grateful for Mag's boundless, and very infectious energy!

 I am going home to download some groovy music so that I can regain my love of dancing, in the privacy of my own home!! And I promise to try not to embarrass my children....honest!!!!!

 Gratefully yours.
 xx

The generation gap

Who said there was a generation gap???

Mum, Meggie and I had a great morning today, indulging ourselves in something we all love....nosying around a craft and hobby shop!!

And none of us left empty handed!

It's lovely just to be able to do something like that. I mean, we must have spent an hour in that one shop, and no complaints from anyone about being bored, tired or fed-up!

So today I am grateful for the generation gap, and the fact that it's really not that big a gap at all!

And, as they say in Ireland, Meggie didn't lick it of the ground!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Tomorrow

The sun will come out, tomorrow.....Annie Warbucks didn't last long as weather-girl for Grampian TV!!!

But seriously...not really summer weather, is it??

And do I care?

No!!! I'm enjoying my summer holidays very much. I have now seen all my big sisters, as well as my mammy...and we still have 6 days left! Who cares if it's a wee bit damp and cool???

And in all honesty...I think Annie has a very good philosophy on life. Positive thinking at it's best! Never give up hope!!

I just hope it gets a wee bit dry for K's golf!!!

Today I am grateful for positive thinking!!!

Sure, if it wasn't for a wee bit of positive thinking, we'd all be having a very depressing summer!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

The end of the day

I have had so much to be grateful for today.

Sunshine and showers.
Coffees and cakes.
Craft shops and museums (the Grampian Transport museum in Alford rocks!!).
Linds and Pete.
A rainbow so low and close that we could almost touch it! Pure magic!
Good food, good films and good company.

But today I am grateful for the last thing I heard before going to bed.

Thomas heard it while he was cleaning his teeth and asked me what it was. From his description it sounded like a cat, but when I heard it I thought it sounded like some kind of bird.

We asked Linds, who told us that it was a peacock!! Wow! Cool! There were actually two of them having a good night conversation!

Something really different to remember from our lovely weekend in Lumphanan.

Gratefully  yours.
xx

I'm board

No...I didn't misspell bored, I really meant board, as in, today I am grateful for board games!

We are at Lindsay's today, and after feeding our faces with a delicious dinner, we sat round the table playing board games!

Now, normally, it's the boys who do all the winning, but they were knocked off their perch well and truly this evening...by Megan and Pete! The dream team. They won both Cluedo and Sorry!!! Linds and I just didn't have a look in!

It really was a great way to spend an evening, especially one that is really too wet to be going outside!

Megan can't wait to do it all again tomorrow....not so sure about Pete!

Gratefully yours.
xx

These boots were made for walking...

..and that's just what they've done!!!

I've niver been aff the heid o' the road a' day!!!

Last count it was 7 walks today! And Megan did 6 of them with me!

It was not a bad day for it. Early walk to the harbour. Small walk around the scheme with Meg. Two mile treasure trail around Ellon (which was brill! Really great fun.). Walk to harbour with Mam and Meg. Walk to May's. Walk home from May's, up the killer-hill. And last, but by no means least, longer walk around scheme with Meg, Thomas and K.

I am now officially knackered and heading to bed!!!

Today I am grateful for my own two feet...and my walking shoes!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

The same but different

I decided that I really needed to keep my routine for getting up and going for a walk in the morning. You know how easy it is to lose a good habit!! Even if being on holiday is a good excuse for not getting up at 6am, you can be sure that come home time I wouldn't be able to get back to it!

So, this morning I got up, grabbed Mam's umbrella at the front door, and headed for the harbour!

I'm sure I've said before how much I love routine. And, of course, we all love a bit of variety, especially on holidays! Well, today I had the best of both worlds...lots of familiar sounds, but different!!!

Seagulls screeching instead of magpies. Sitting in the sitootrie listening to the rain, only Scottish rain (yes, I'm quite convinced that it sounded ever so slightly different!). Cars rushing past carrying poor souls off to work, while I enjoy the morning air, but heading to Aberdeen, not Raheen!

Then there was the one sound I don't get at home in Limerick...the one sound I miss most in all the world...the swish swish of the waves rolling in over the beach. It is such a soothing, peaceful sound. The nearest I can get to that one is the sound of my own breathing...rhythmic, gentle, constant.

So, today I am grateful for the familiar....always the same, even when it's different!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Holiday heaven

Today I am grateful for holidays....especially my holidays!!!

I know that the kids sometimes wish they had somewhere more exotic to tell their class-mates about in September (this is the two who have been to the Cayman Islands and Cyprus in the last couple of years!!), but I love coming home for the holidays.

I am often asked if I miss Scotland, and my answer is always the same...No, but I miss my family. But, if I am really honest, every year when we come over the water and I step on home soil....I want to stay!

I almost forget from year to year just what a beautiful country this is. And it is still all so familiar to me. Now, the weather is sufficiently similar to Ireland that that makes no difference, but the scenery just does not compare. I mean, a mountain in Ireland is really just a wee hillock!!!

Yet another thing that is easy to take for granted, guys! Don't do it!! Revel in this beautiful country; the hills and mountains, the green countryside, the fantastic coastline, the fields of sheep and cows, and, yes, even the rain and fog!

I am looking forward to the rest of my holidays, and I intend to enjoy every moment!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Well worth it

We had a good day today...eventually!

After a couple of false starts this afternoon (places that just didn't live up to expectations!) we ended up in a forest, up on top of a hill beside Loch Ness, in the absolute middle of nowhere.

There was a play area for kids with climbing frames and obstacle course, lovely wooden walkways, with little stretches leading off to wee scenic cul-de-sacs, and the most magical tree-houses I've ever seen! I wished I had been wearing my runners and comfy trousers...I would have been in there like a shot!

The weather held for us, and we had a fabulous wee adventure.

Heading along the path leading back to the cars, I spotted just 2 or 3 beautiful wee red carnation-type flowers growing at the side of the path. Just beautiful.

Today I am grateful that we didn't give up after the first fall, but kept going. Our final destination was well worth it.

A life-lesson there, I think! Another of those "if at first you don't succeed..." moments. And I am guilty of giving up at the first hurdle far too often. Nobody said this was going to be easy....but nobody said it wasn't well worth it either!

Gratefully yours
xx

Anyone for hide-and-seek?

Distance no object

Today I am grateful that in this day and age, it is not a problem to cross the sea  and travel half the length of the country to see friends and family.

I am also grateful that I have the use of a decent laptop to write this on tonight, and am not reliant on the footery wee i-pods!!! (Which was, by the way, my own fault, for not being bothered to bring my own laptop!!)

Anyway, it is amazing to be able to just get into the car and drive. I am so lucky that, having left my homeland, I am not forced to never set foot here again. I guess in the past, it wasn't so easy. The world is so much smaller these days, and we all have so much more, it really is incredible.

And it is so great to be able to catch up with friends that I don't see from one end of the year to the next, and, of course, family that I don't see much more often! (Other than on Skype, which is, of course, another amazing modern piece of technology!)

Good times!

Take time to stop and appreciate it once in a while, and realise just how lucky we are.

Gratefully yours.
xx

Home ground

OMG...I am writing this on first Megan's,and now Thomas's I-pod!!! Eyes not focussing very well and fingers too big! Please forgive spelling!!! Today I am grateful to be on home ground,all be it still a long way from home. I am so looking forward to seeing every one. Gratefully yours. xx

Pit stop

When we travel to Scotland, we almost always break the journey, at the best pit stop in Ireland....Ann and Denis's!!

K's sister and her family live in Lucan, which is only about 20minutes from Dublin airport, and a good half-way spot between Limerick and Larne, for those travelling by ferry.

And, trust me, you couldn't find a better place to stop for the night.

Denis is a great cook and we always have a great laugh and plenty of conversation over dinner, with a few glasses of wine thrown in for good measure. And, of course, the kids are delighted to hang with their cousins for a while.

Tonight Megan is sleeping in with Emily....good luck with that!!! Thomas drew the short straw and has to sleep up in the attic conversion with us! I don't care...as long as they both sleep, I'm happy!

So. today I am grateful for the best pit stop in Ireland. God help us if they ever decide to move!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Fresh air

Today I am grateful that I got two loads of washing (almost) dry on the whirly outside.

Holidays tomorrow, so had to get last clothes washed for packing! (Well, washed for ironing, for packing! But that's tomorrow's job!)

Both kids bags were full, mainly because their rooms had been tidied and it was amazing where clothes were appearing from, mostly in need of a wash!!!

Of course, the clothes horse was already full of damp clothes that are just not drying at the moment, so, thank God Summer decided to pitch in and help me out today!

Glorious morning, but I was at work. Got first load out when I came home at lunch time and second load washed and out by mid afternoon. Then, as you would expect, it started spitting rain!!! But I was not about to drag it all back in again with no-where to hang it, so I decided to tough it out. Thankfully the rain didn't come to much, and by 8pm I was able to take it in in an almost dry state, and smelling lovely and fresh!

It really is time I got a tumble dryer!!!

And, by the way, it is now pouring rain again!!! Thanks Summer!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Smooth as silk

Oooh, I do love a visit to the hairdresser!

Today Thomas, Megan and I all got our hair cut!

We took Thomas to his barber first. His hair is so long over his face at this stage that she had to put clips in it when she was cutting it, which Meggie found quite amusing! And it was quite funny when she asked Thomas if he wanted his fringe shorter or longer!!! And even funnier when he said "longer"!!!

Then we went to the girls hairdresser, and Thomas sat with his book while we were pampered.

I just love the feel of my hair when I come out of the hairdresser. Not so keen on how it looks, mind you....I love the cut she gives me but not the way she dries it!

And Meggie's just looks and feels gorgeous! So soft and silky, and shiny!!! She had about 3 inches taken off, which has made her look very grown up. It's still below her shoulders though! I'm not ready to let go of my baby yet!!!

So, today I am grateful for beautiful, soft, silky hair. I only wish it would last!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Room to play

I decided recently that there was no point in keeping the spare bed-room neat and tidy, and made up as a bed-room, for 12 months of the year, when it's only used as a bed-room for a few weeks a year.

So, it is now officially a play-room...and not a moment too soon!

It's working out quite well, as it happens. All the kids clutter is kept in one place, and they are tasked with keeping the room tidy enough to play in. And with the lovely (!!) summer (!!!!!) weather we are having, they are spending a lot of time up there.

The other good idea was to put the x-Box up there, so the lounge can now be an adult zone in the evenings!

I do miss them though....ah, who am I trying to kid!! Viva la play-room!!!

Today I am grateful for dedicated spaces.

Gratefully yours.
xx

Laundry

Today I am grateful that my work surface in the utility room is clear of laundry!

I ironed 9 shirts this morning, as well as assorted t-shirts, trousers and handkerchiefs.

I made several trips upstairs with loads of clean clothes and blankets for all of us.

There is one load of washing on the clothes horse, but it is mainly our swimming togs from yesterday, which (thank goodness!) will not need ironed.

I am truly grateful.

Gratefully yours.
xx

The Best Exotic

Seems like we are all of one mind!

All been watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

What did ye all think? I loved it. It gives me hope for the future!!!

But I think it holds a lesson for us all, irregardless of age.

Go for it. Dream. Don't take "no" for an answer. Never think you're not good enough, or not deserving enough. Live every moment! It's never too late.

What other good films have you guys been watching?

We are planning "Ice Age 4 - Continental Drift" over the next few days. Will keep you posted!

Today I am grateful for the medium of film, and all we can learn from it!!!

Gratefully yours.

xx