It's been snowing most of the morning.The first real snow of Winter is coming and will be here on and off over the next three days. It'll be over just as I go on holiday so I hope it stays around long enough to get some photography done with the swanky new camera The Lovely G bought me for Christmas. Earlier this week we had a little foretaste of what's coming with a couple of inches overnight Monday into Tuesday. I took the chance to get out and take some photos around the vicinity of the house. I stuck them onto my facebook page the other day but for some reason couldn't get them to upload onto the blog. Here are the some of them at last.
A Neighbouring cottage
Peanuts for Breakfast
The lane
Light filters through the trees
Unwalked
Toward the Kirk
Across the bowling green to the house {center}
I'm going to be working away until tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully G will be snug and cosy in the house. We are hoping to be able to attend a funeral on Saturday morning - a colleague is going to cover me for a few hours - but that will be dependant on weather conditions. After the weekend I'm on holiday, using up the last of my work annual holiday entitlement before I lose it on the anniversary of my employment. I'll have been working a year in just a couple of weeks. It seems much less than that.
Another shot of the house across the green.
I was on holiday for a week last week during which we had some welcome visitors come to stay. Hopefully I'll get some of those pics uploaded and a few lines about what we got up to later tonight maybe.
The piece that first got me into Vangelis' music.
One for a dark room, headphones and high volume.
Hullo ma wee blog,
The window of the bedroom is closed for the first time in as long as I can remember. Normally the only time it's shut is when we are away from home and the last time I can think it was possibly closed was almost a year ago, during the worst of last Winter's nightmare weather. Tonight as I lie in bed I'm grateful that it's not open. The temperature in the room is freezing in these few hours of the night before the central heating system kicks in to heat the house for the start of the day. {our heating system is LPG as we live in a small village not connected to mains gas which is a lot cheaper. This year our gas has gone up by crippling 55p a litre and - with only one supplier - they have us over a barrel.} The overnight temperature is forecast to get down to -6C but even that has failed to stop snow falling, except now it comes down as hail and it's this that has wakened me.
I lie for a while and listen to the sound of the hail shattering itself against the window in the howling wind. I would get up and have a look but I'm not brave enough to face it this morning, so I lie in bed and relish the warmth seeping across from my Lovely G close beside me. I run a hand across her hip and waist and slowly on up the slope of her ribcage to her shoulder, a soft but deliberate movement which elicits an intake of breath and a slow stretch from somewhere deep in her slumber. I smile and continue the movement, now gently using my fingernails to further mess with her dreams as my hand follows the dip of her spine back down to rest eventually at her hip again. A few moments later, as I drop off back to sleep, my fingers are nudged by a restless Jess who is lying nestled in the curl of the other side of G's body. I ignore her in the hope that she'll also drop back off to sleep but she has other plans and her nose, warm and wet, again nudges my fingers, followed a moment later by the tap of her paw. It too is warm and soft but insistent as it taps me once, twice and then a third time. I push my arm across G and search Jess' furry body with a gentle hand until I can orientate her in my mind and, having found responsive ears and neck, I begin to knead her shoulders and neck as purrs begin to pour from a satisfied cat. We remain connected by the lazy movements of my hand until we both fall asleep, the three of us together now under the duvet, safe from the wind and the brittle sound of hail on glass.
Some time later I wake again. The house is silent, not even the occasional tick from a radiator beginning to heat, so I know it's early. I lie for a while listening and then, as I often do, I get up to avoid waking the Lovely G with my restlessness and, stopping to pull on trousers, tee-shirt and jumper, I head downstairs to kitchen, coffee and computer. The clock on the oven says its 4.15am as I head to the table, cup in hand and press the power button on the laptop. As I've come down the heating has just come on and the hum of the boiler tells me the house will soon be warming up for the day. Waiting for the sign-in screen coming to life I press the light-switch on the wall to the left of my seat. The light outside over the patio comes on and I pull the vertical blinds slightly to the side to see what's been happening during the night. Outside snow - and proper snow this time - is coming down thick and fast in huge flakes, tumbling and whirling in eddies by the nearby walls. It looks like another three or four inches have come down and this will add to the four or five inches already there. The laptop screen turns blue and I sign in and head for my blog's dashboard to check if anyone has posted on the blogs I follow and to check if any comments have been left on 'Crivens Jings...'
After a while I again take a peek out at the patio and see snow still falling as thick as before. Impetuously I reach for a fleece and pull on my boots that are lying at the kitchen door. "What on earth am I doing?" crosses my mind as I step out into the snow and walk round the side of the house and head down the drive to where the streetlights are showing the end of the drive lies. The snow underfoot is soft and fresh and even in the darkness the snow gives off a kind of light despite the stuff coming down all around. I hear the gentle crump of snow compressing with each step and feel that I'm not actually walking on the drive but somewhere vaguely above it, not quite in control of my balance as I slip into holes left by previous and now invisible footsteps. I make a mental note to keep an eye out for the depressions ahead, those puddles normally that are a trap waiting for me hidden as they are under the snowdrift in front of me. I give the area a careful and wide berth and head on down the slight slope to the road. I step out of the drive and again find myself taking extra care at hidden ruts of frozen snow at the side of the road as I step out into the middle of the completely empty street. The silence is........ Well, it's complete, absolute, perfect. It's stunning! The sound of silence is....... stunning!
I stand alone in the middle of the street and no matter which way I turn I hear nothing. I resist a childlike giggle and the urge to shout something into the snow falling round me. It is only about 5.00 after all. I can't hear a thing. Even the sound that is a quiet but almost constant here - the A1 main East coast London to Edinburgh road noise - is absent. Usually you can hear lorries on the hill past the village at any time, day or night.
Nothing.......
I'm in a silence of snow.
I look back toward the house but I can't see it. I can probably see about 30 or 40 feet but not much more. I look at my fleece in the light from the streetlamp. It's covered in snow and my arms are completely white. If I stay out too long I'll be the best snowman for miles around. But the feeling is utterly beguiling. Soon though I begin to feel the cold seeping through the fleece and jumper and I know it's time to head back inside. I've not been out long but it's been enough and I turn to retrace my steps up the drive and around the house to the patio door at the side of the kitchen. I step inside having kicked the snow off my boots and I shake the snow off the fleece back out through the open door before closing it on the snowflakes that seem keen to follow me inside.
Time for coffee I think. But, as I sit down a few minutes later with the warm cup in my hand I can't stop the silly grin on my face.
That was braw!!!
Now I can wait for day to slip in through the night and the careful but exciting journey through the snow to Dunbar and my Lovely G's morning train.
Well, the snow is continuing to fall, our friend's flights to The Canary Islands have been cancelled and it may be several days before they can get an alternative, all schools are closed, there are no trains running on the East Coast line today and the main A1 from here to Edinburgh is blocked. So our friends are therefore trapped in Edinburgh for who knows how long.
All across Scotland it seems that chaos is King.
The impeccable 'Calvin and Hobbes'
The Lovely G and I have an extra day together and the house is warm. We renewed our supplies of wild bird food yesterday so the local bird population that has come to rely on us is being well catered for and have been entertaining us with their antics this morning. Nothing else for it but to make the most of the day. A spot of peaceful and perhaps reflective soup making is on the agenda for this afternoon.
I found this on You Tube this morning. It's appropriate for the weather.
I'm sitting at the kitchen table as usual and it's late on Saturday night. My Lovely G left me hours ago and is now fast asleep and snug in bed while I am slowly getting to the stage of cold between the shoulder blades that means that I am far too cold for comfort and also means that when I do eventually go to bed, that I'd better stay away from that aforementioned warm and snug flesh that will be lying temptingly beside me otherwise instant and severe retribution will descend upon my person.
Strange how several things go wrong at the same time. Although this week I, at last, got my car back from the repairers with a shiny new front bumper and skirt { they valeted the whole car so it looks a lot better than when it went in.} back home at the house though it seems like if anything could go wrong, it would this week. Firstly our built in microwave oven packed in, then the proper oven underneath and the next day our dishwasher - my 'beloved' dishwasher - died a lingering death. You can still hear it wheezing and trying to turn over but you know it's a hopeless case, it just doesn't know it's gleamed it's last load. Thankfully all are covered by insurance protection for repair so we had an engineer turn up to pronounce on our misbehaving 'white goods' {which is an odd thing to call them as most of them are silver}. A talented man, he resurrected the dishwasher, at least long enough to do one final load and for him to make a dignified exit, identified the malaise affecting the fan oven and ordered a replacement element and gave the microwave its last rites. Then our little phone system packed in so that only one of the three phones was working. Of course the one that was left working was the one that was furthest away from you any time it rang.
From upstairs.
Last night snow arrived. Although the East coast has been hit by widespread snow over the last few days, our wee corner avoided it and although there had been the odd flurry, it came to nothing. I knew as I watched the news reports of cars skittering and slewing down wintry roads that I shouldn't be smug, just grateful, but it's been hard - with a newly repaired front end - not to have been over pleased that others were suffering and not me. But last night the snow that had been promised all week finally came and the roads, untouched by any snow ploughs or gritters, have quickly become challenging. I took the lovely G to Dunbar station this morning for her train and hoped beyond hope for a thaw as we were planning to go through to Glasgow later in the afternoon for a concert, but several snowy hours later I decided that it was a daft notion to think of going so far in weather like this. I did however go to pick up the Lovely G from her Edinburgh office so we could instead go looking for a new microwave.
It was a complete white out as I left to pick her up, snow whipping horizontally across the windscreen or doing that maddening, demented straight on frontal attack on your vision that can make you feel disorientated. Within half a mile I was seriously thinking of calling ahead to advise that maybe she should just get on the first train to meet me in Dunbar and we go home and have the rest of the day in front of a roaring fire. The phone rang - my Lovely G does like to check I'm on schedule - and she listened without much sympathy as I explained in worried tones about how bad the road was, how little could be seen outside the window in front of my face. "Well it's perfectly OK here. The sky's blue and there's no snow anywhere!" came back at me with mildly disbelieving tones. Heartened by such encouragement I drove on for ten minutes in the same all consuming blizzard until suddenly and quite without warning, I emerged into a blinding white landscape under a beautiful sky, pale blue and lilac in the bright sun. East Lothian has a beautiful and dramatic landscape under ordinary circumstances, with its real contrasts of rolling farmland studded with the rocky outcrops of the volcanic plugs of Traprain and North Berwick Law's and just offshore, The Bass Rock, but coming from a literal snowstorm into a Winter wonderland, it was doubly so.
Absolutely breathtaking.
By the time I had passed Haddington the weather was all behind me and the road, although still only one lane of dual carriageway was relatively clear, I had a clear run into Edinburgh ahead. Despite all the amazing scenery around I was still anxious about the return journey, even more so as I looked at the huge black cloud behind me in my rear view mirror that showed what I had just come from. I knew I wasn't going to be in the frame of mind to concentrate on doing any shopping.
And I was right. But, that's a tale for another post, one of my ranty, grumping and curmudgeonly howls at the moon.
Looking back to the house.
Today although the snow is about five inches deep in the drive and drifts up to about a foot or so here and there, I'm quite mellow. That won't last though as I have a long standing arrangement today to take friends to the airport for a Winter holiday flight to sunnier climes. I can feel the apprehension rise even as I write this as the forecast is for more heavy snow today and having driven yesterday I know that despite claims of plenty of road salt in depots, the financial crises means that a minimum of work has been done on gritting the roads and the drive will be on a potential skating rink, so I'm bracing myself for a bum clenching couple of hours driving there and back.
Jings, it's been a wee while since I have taken the time just to blog about this and that. Our trip to the frozen northland - or Aviemore as it's better known - went well. There was snow aplenty all around and the weather was gorgeous. We chilled and took in some sights and did very little else.
We did take the opportunity to go and see my Dad's older sister, Aunt May, who is 87 and lives on her own in a small village near Elgin, which is only about 40 or 50 easy minutes drive north-east from Aviemore, rather than the 4 hours non stop from home. It was lovely to see her again and to find her in such good spirits. She has always been fiercely independent and is very self contained even though she is far from family where she is. We spent an enjoyable and, for me, thought provoking couple of hours with her and her beautiful and sociable cat.
The Spey, provider of salmon and fine malt whisky.
The Cairgorms, still deeply in the grip of Winter.
We went to Inverness one day, to see an ex colleague of the lovely G, driving past Culloden battlefield, which I always feel a sentimental pull towards, and returned laden with bounty from her new shop. Evenings were spent with good food, easy conversation and a few local ales - well, you have to support the local economy don't you? We took a drive one day up to the infamous Tomintoul, which is the place where UK road reports most often advise as cut off by snow and found that one of the main roads in had only been opened four days before we got there after several weeks closed. The lady in the local shop described how the snow plough couldn't clear one of the roads in to the village and they had to bring down a snow clearing machine from one of the ski slopes as some of the drifts were 14ft deep.
A corbie {crow} lands on a neighbours lum {chimney}
We got back a day earlier than originally planned as the cattery had called us to say that Jess had stopped eating after a couple of days and they couldn't get her to eat anything they offered. After a further couple of days of this she was taken to the vet and given a check up, some appetite stimulant and some vitamin E jabs to help. We found though that when we got her home she began to eat and now, after 3 days at home, is back to normal. We think it was a reaction to being on her own for the first time - bailey had always been with her before, and since Bailey died she has never been without me around the house for company. I hope it's not going to be a problem for the future though.
Light on the stream
The return also brought about my birthday - thanks for all the greetings on that folks - and as usual I got spoiled rotten. Unfortunately a family dinner on Sunday had to be postponed when the lovely G's brother took ill, but hopefully he is on the mend now. Feels like it was one of those nasty bugs that do the rounds every so often.
Fast Castle Head from the beach path.
One of my birthday presents was a replacement battery charger for my canon EOS camera. The original has gone missing and I can't find it anywhere. Still, now I have a camera again I hope to get out and about and take some shots of some of my favourite places around and about this lovely part of the country, especially now I have got myself a decent zoom lens to play with. I have been lacking any relevant photos to put in the blog sometimes. I think its great to show the places and time your talking about when you can and I've really missed having my camera.
{that'll explain the overkill of photos on this post!}
Bush on the way to the rocky beach
The start of the week is going to be taken up with my monthly duel with job center to make sure we get the insurance claims authorised - all the paperwork needs to be in tomorrow or Wednesday, and also with getting some info back to children's panel for my reappointment, as you have to go through background checks every 3 years when you are involved with children and vulnerable young people. I also have a couple of job applications to prepare for. I'm having another crack at the parole board as they are going to be looking for more members due to legislation changes too. So all in all a busy few days ahead. Hopefully there will still be time for the odd blog or two as well.
As the lovely G has departed in a workwise direction once more this week, all the better to keep me in the manner to which I have become accustomed in my stay at home lifestyle, I have not been as quiet as expected but have had to do a fair bit of driving in some of the worst weather I have encountered in all my years on the road.
My friend M, he of the twice broken leg, had to be taken to hospital in Edinburgh when his leg swelled alarmingly in the plaster cast. On being seen he was immediately told he was being admitted and given an operation as the leg was too badly damaged to be only in plaster. {Take a tip then folks and never break any bones in Fife - cos hospitals there don't know how to treat them properly}
This left us with a problem as his heart medication was back at home so I ended up doing a dash back to Dunbar with housekeys to collect medicines, clothing and other essentials driving back again to Edinburgh and got back home that night through perhaps the most atrocious blizzard I have ever experienced with cars skidding all around and just getting through part of the A1 as the police closed it off. M's wife who was with me was unusually quiet for some strange reason.
Just taking G to the station has had its challenges with icy roads untreated for days and fresh snowfalls on top, but with proper time and a bit of care its been done safely and now the snow ploughs are out, but with no grit for any of the roads. This mornings drive took more than 20 minutes rather than the usual 10 as the road conditions dictated extreme caution but its an enjoyable challenge non the less, although I wont be travelling if there is much more snow or continued lack of grit as it may get to the stage where the car might get stuck, but that will be assessed on an ongoing basis. I don't fancy being stuck in the car in the snow.
An hour later and I had to take Bailey in -8c conditions 20 miles to the vet for the second time in a week. She has rapidly lost appetite and weight. Last weeks blood tests showed anaemia but normal kidney and liver functions and a further few days of rest and close monitoring showed no real improvement. Today she has a high temperature and further blood tests showed some signs of an infection but all other signs are again stable but with the anaemia still unchanged. So antibiotics injected and pills, an appetite stimulant and advice to get back to the vet if there is no significant improvement over the next two days. He seemed genuinely perplexed and concerned. Its been hard to move without her trying to climb aboard for the last few days as she want to be held and stroked all the time. Hope this does the trick though. She's a great pal. Even now she is determined that I stop typing and pay attention and hands are being nudged and a whiskered faceful of purr machine is my constant companion at the kitchen table.
More snow is falling as I am posting this.
Wonder if its going to be a little or a lot. Another challenge for the morning. Ah well.
