Heather and Ewan came round for dinner last night with Andrew, it was lovely to see them. I am beginning to get the hang of serving dinner to guests in the new kitchen, although it still feels strange to serve out the meal in full view of everyone. I made chicken cacciatore and it was nice but falling off the bone almost too much! Ally made Normandy tart with summer fruits for dessert and it was very nice. Andrew is about to start at Edinburgh University next week to study Law, which is a tremendous achievement. I have seen Andrew grow up from a cute baby to a very pleasant and intelligent boy and now into a fine young man. He and Alasdair have always been great friends. I am so pleased for him as he starts this exciting stage in his life.
This morning James and I went for a walk round Strathclyde Park, it was a fine day and quite warm, and we had a good chat on the way round. When we got home I read in my hammock in the garden for a while. It was Jamie's last day at home before starting his BMSc tomorrow at Dundee so he was pottering about, packing a huge amount of stuff into his wee car. Hazel and her sister popped round and they went cycling with Davie to the bike park. Meanwhile Ally was lunching with a young lady in town; we haven't met her yet, it's someone from his class at school. I think that her name is Catriona. In my effort to do some more home cooking I made a new recipe from my Avoca Cafe cookbook for dinner; chicken with soy, ginger and plums (from the garden). I enjoyed cooking it while listening to my music in the kitchen. It turned out rather well and we all enjoyed it including Grandma who was round for Sunday night dinner. We had a pleasant evening, we were all talking about our favourite film stars and Grandma said that she liked Gregory Peck. It is now lashing with rain, what a contrast to the warm day.
