Australia Day is also my birthday. We went to morning tea with friends who are leaving town soon. Then they visited us to have a taste of the Tipsy Laird trifle, and later on I set up for hosting book club's first meeting for the year. It was a good excuse to make a nice Hummingbird cake, and as one of the attending bookclubbers had her birthday on the 25th, we shared birthday wishes and a candle.
On Sunday night we watched the men's Australian Open tennis final, between Novak Jokovic and Rafael Nadal. What a marathon! It was the longest final ever, a slugathon which lasted close to six hours. Jokovic won by a slim margin, and both players could hardly stand up for the speeches.
Now the tennis is over, we can go to bed a bit earlier. But hey, now the cricket's happening!
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Sunday, 22 January 2012
tea at the tennis
I'm not at the tennis - that is, the Australian Open - but we've been watching on TV, and enjoying the wins by Aussies, particularly Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic, who, as it turns out, will be playing Roger Federer tonight. The weather is hot and looks like it may produce some thunderstorms. Young Tomic (about to turn 20) has revered Federer since he was a youngster but is not fazed by the fact that he's going to play him tonight.
We are nearly at the end of January, and there is change in the wind. Laird Peter and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary a few days ago and his birthday, and my birthday is on Australia Day. The day before is Robbie Burns' birthday so we have ordered a haggis (which is now in our fridge) and will have my sisters and their partners here for a Burns' dinner. We will serve it with neeps and tatties and a whisky sauce. We are also making Atholl Brose (very interesting) and will serve Tipsy Laird for dessert. We plan to recite 'Ode to a Haggis' and provide some appropriate music for the occasion.
Just recently we purchased some new reclining chairs (we both have back and hip problems) so in a few weeks will have the most gorgeous Stressless chairs in a lovely shade of bright green.
My sister's dry-witted partner commented that he could see Laird Peter and I parked in our gorgeous chairs on our plots of land in Glencoe Wood. Now, there's a picture!
Ah, and if you're new to this blog, go and check out these gorgeous plots for sale at www.highlandtitles.com
Now, back to the tennis. Rafael Nadal, who just won against another Spaniard in straight sets is wearing our shade of green.
We are nearly at the end of January, and there is change in the wind. Laird Peter and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary a few days ago and his birthday, and my birthday is on Australia Day. The day before is Robbie Burns' birthday so we have ordered a haggis (which is now in our fridge) and will have my sisters and their partners here for a Burns' dinner. We will serve it with neeps and tatties and a whisky sauce. We are also making Atholl Brose (very interesting) and will serve Tipsy Laird for dessert. We plan to recite 'Ode to a Haggis' and provide some appropriate music for the occasion.
Just recently we purchased some new reclining chairs (we both have back and hip problems) so in a few weeks will have the most gorgeous Stressless chairs in a lovely shade of bright green.
My sister's dry-witted partner commented that he could see Laird Peter and I parked in our gorgeous chairs on our plots of land in Glencoe Wood. Now, there's a picture!
Ah, and if you're new to this blog, go and check out these gorgeous plots for sale at www.highlandtitles.com
Now, back to the tennis. Rafael Nadal, who just won against another Spaniard in straight sets is wearing our shade of green.
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
And a happy new year to all
We are now breathing easier after a run of very hot days (try 40+ celsius) which included New Year's Day. We had a lovely time with friends down on the coast, and spent a lot of time eating, drinking and laughing. Now we are home again and doing things that are pleasant to do in cooler weather.
Thoughts of Scotland are never far away, and with the arrival of a calendar from our lovely friends in Skye, we pine a little more.
A couple of days we watched a lovely movie called Blessed (with James Nesbitt) which was set on Skye, and of course, brought some mistiness to our eyes.
Now these misty eyes must go and watch the Dr Who Prom Spectacular (I think that's what it's called).
I am a fan, and have been a fan since I was a little girl. Thinking about all the scary characters and monsters from Dr Who over the years, here's some of mine:
Thoughts of Scotland are never far away, and with the arrival of a calendar from our lovely friends in Skye, we pine a little more.
A couple of days we watched a lovely movie called Blessed (with James Nesbitt) which was set on Skye, and of course, brought some mistiness to our eyes.
Now these misty eyes must go and watch the Dr Who Prom Spectacular (I think that's what it's called).
I am a fan, and have been a fan since I was a little girl. Thinking about all the scary characters and monsters from Dr Who over the years, here's some of mine:
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
no time for tea, but a bit of mulled wine would be nice
Lunch was lovely and we finished off with my elder sister's famous Christmas pudding.
It was fabulous to give and receive presents - including the ones from Santa - all the giggles and jokes and lovely surprise, all good for the soul. We watched several Christmas specials from the UK and that made us very sooky and keen to return. Scotland is high on the list, of course, particularly our little plot of land in Glencoe Wood.
And I must add, Happy New Year to all Lairds, Lords and Ladies, and the good folk at www.highlandtitles.com
The picture at the top is from the Skye ferry. Nice and cold. Wish we were there.
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
a celebratory cup of tea
Today is quite chilly. A bit unusual for this time of year. It is Australia, and it is summer.
We've shared afternoon tea this afternoon with graduating students from our Skene Street Specialist School. Only another week after this one and it's Christmas!
I've let myself get a bit wistful this afternoon, thinking of Christmas, and the one we had 2008/2009 in Cumbria. It was really chilly, and was fantastic.
That led me to Scotland, and I've found pics from our time there. A few today of Lady C keeping warm in a variety of ways.
Pictures tell stories.
We've shared afternoon tea this afternoon with graduating students from our Skene Street Specialist School. Only another week after this one and it's Christmas!
I've let myself get a bit wistful this afternoon, thinking of Christmas, and the one we had 2008/2009 in Cumbria. It was really chilly, and was fantastic.
That led me to Scotland, and I've found pics from our time there. A few today of Lady C keeping warm in a variety of ways.
Pictures tell stories.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
coffee for two
Yesterday we had our brunch on our own for a change. Saturday mornings of late have been happy occasions with family, full of laughter and craziness. However, we don't mind being on our own either.
The weather is still unseasonably cold, and we have the heater on! Time for a wee drink, we have decided. On Friday I was in Ballarat, and near the end of the day a work friend dragged me away from my computer, drove me to her home in the lovely forest, got changed into her carolling clothes and drove back into the centre of Ballarat for an hour of carol singing. Much nicer to stand listening to carollers in the sunshine, than hanging around work until time for the train home. We had enough time for coffee and cake before she drove me to the station. A lovely end to the week, so here's to the spirit of friendship, Anna.
Christmas isn't far away now, and we had a small sense of that today when our mailman arrived at the front door with his little daughter. The sweet little girl handed over my parcel and asked could she pick a flower. Of course! She eventually chose a pale pink geranium to take home to her Mum.
That's the best parcel delivery I've had yet!
Now it's time for dinner.
The weather is still unseasonably cold, and we have the heater on! Time for a wee drink, we have decided. On Friday I was in Ballarat, and near the end of the day a work friend dragged me away from my computer, drove me to her home in the lovely forest, got changed into her carolling clothes and drove back into the centre of Ballarat for an hour of carol singing. Much nicer to stand listening to carollers in the sunshine, than hanging around work until time for the train home. We had enough time for coffee and cake before she drove me to the station. A lovely end to the week, so here's to the spirit of friendship, Anna.
Christmas isn't far away now, and we had a small sense of that today when our mailman arrived at the front door with his little daughter. The sweet little girl handed over my parcel and asked could she pick a flower. Of course! She eventually chose a pale pink geranium to take home to her Mum.
That's the best parcel delivery I've had yet!
Now it's time for dinner.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
long time between cups of tea
I am still about. It's been busy with marking assignments (all of them long ones) and having a migraine that didn't want to go away. So here I am, hanging out for a cuppa, and it's cold and windy outside.
You wouldn't think that it is the first day of summer...
I now have a lovely little Christmas pack from www.highlandtitles.com for being an early bird blogger. The pack included a cool pen with 'Lady of Glencoe' inscribed in gold. There are other treasures too - a little Glencoe crest pin - very nice.
My big news of the week is that I won $200 worth of fuel from a local raffle! Whoo-hoo! Fuel is so expensive, so this is very welcome. Thanks must go to Laird Peter for purchasing the winning ticket.
Here's the Glencoe crest:
You wouldn't think that it is the first day of summer...
I now have a lovely little Christmas pack from www.highlandtitles.com for being an early bird blogger. The pack included a cool pen with 'Lady of Glencoe' inscribed in gold. There are other treasures too - a little Glencoe crest pin - very nice.
My big news of the week is that I won $200 worth of fuel from a local raffle! Whoo-hoo! Fuel is so expensive, so this is very welcome. Thanks must go to Laird Peter for purchasing the winning ticket.
Here's the Glencoe crest:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)