End of year post

It's my birthday and also the last day of 2015. I have had a lovely day. When I went in to Davie's room to wake him he sleepily held out his arms to give me a hug! Then I went for a really nice lunch in The Bothy in Ruthven Lane with James, Ally and Davie. I laughed at what Ally said when James asked him why he had walked from Exhibition Centre station to Byres Road instead of taking the Underground from Partick to Hillhead. Ally replied "£1.40 mate!" Typical Ally, always thrifty! While we were at the restaurant Jamie phoned from his ski holiday in France to wish me a happy birthday; it was good to hear his voice; he is having a great holiday and has enough snow to ski on - just enough!

And so the year 2015 comes to its close. It has been a busy year, and like most years has had its ups and downs. The main issue for me continues to be work / life balance - I am truly dreadful about this and spend far too much time either at work or obsessing about it. On the other hand, at least my job is not boring! Although I am beginning to realise that a boring job could be very attractive. So I need to address this. I really, really have to address this.

There have been lots of good things about 2015. Most importantly the fantastic people in my life who have supported me. James is always there with advice which is not always welcomed by me, but is often exactly right. My three boys continue to be a joy to me, and I have a marvellous sister and some brilliant friends, who are much more loyal to me than I deserve. I have had the amazing experience of visiting Uganda, which has made me want to change my life. And I was so lucky to be part of the school Music trip to Germany in June. Our holidays have also been excellent - skiing in France in the spring with all of our boys as well as Aisling and Cat, and then our amazing road trip with David to the USA in the summer. And of course two fantastic weekends with Alison and Hugh in Boat of Garten and hill-walking weekends aplenty. I loved our trip to Amsterdam in August with Heather and Ewan - part of our 30th Wedding Anniversary celebrations. Many people would probably not have expected James and I still to be married after 30 years, including us! And I should mention our gorgeous kitties, Tom and Ruby who are such fun - just watching their antics cheers me up. My health has been a bit bizarre though! A detached retina, a cataract operation, and several bad falls culminating in a broken ankle! I would never have guessed that all that lay ahead of me this time last year! The good news is that all of this was well treated by the very kind people I have met in Gartnavel and Hairmyres so I am all patched up and ready for the New Year. 

I wonder what 2016 holds in store? 

Frankenstorm

The storms that assail the UK are now being given names alphabetically by the Met Office, in order to raise awareness of the dangers of extreme weather, apparently. The first one was Abigail in November. Tonight Frank (no. 6) is whirling around the house as I lie here in my cosy bed. I'm not sure if I would have realised that it was a storm if it hadn't been so named and announced on the news - I think I would just have thought it was a particularly wild and windy night. 

Anyway, earlier on it was bright and sunny and James and I took ourselves for a pleasant two hour walk around Greenock Cut. We had a good old chat on the way round and sorted out various topical issues such as the causes of all the flooding in Cumbria, the pros and cons of social media, and our next summer holiday. It was lovely to be out for a walk, and my formerly broken ankle was mostly fine. It started aching a bit towards the end of the walk, and this evening it was quite swollen. I'm not sure what causes this - can a bone be sore? Or is it the muscles around the bone? And why is it swollen? After all, I broke it three and a half months ago; surely it should be completely healed by now.

The cats were in fine fettle today, jumping around the house excitedly. We soon found out why - the dismembered body of a poor wee mouse was lying in the hall. It the first one they have caught for a while which accounts for their lively mood. I'm not sure that the unfortunate rodent found the experience so exhilarating. 

Fiddle dee dee

Today James and I took Grandma out for afternoon tea at the Blythswood Hotel then to the GFT to see her favourite film, which is Gone with the Wind. She liked the afternoon tea with all the wee sandwiches and cakes, and said that she would like to go there every week! And she absolutely loved seeing the film on the big screen. We were a bit worried at the beginning because we noticed that she had dozed off during the opening titles! However she soon perked up and remained wide awake for the whole of the film. I had forgotten how long Gone with the Wind is! Nearly four hours! However I enjoyed it very much; it was great seeing it at the cinema and it was both funnier and sadder than I remember.  Grandma said that she had a lovely day - mission accomplished! 

When I got home I was looking up information about the film and was struck by the fact that Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes) died in 1943 at the age of only 50; his plane was shot down during the war. However Olivia de Havilland (Melanie Wilkes) is still alive today at the age of 99. What different hands life deals us. 

As the sundial at Twelve Oaks (The Wilkes' estate) tells us, quoting Benjamin Franklin, "Do not squander time. That is the stuff life is made of." 

Replete

I have been eating solidly for two days. First of all Jamie made us a lovely breakfast of croissants and pains au chocolate to eat while exchanging gifts. Then we had tasty snacks and some Christmas cake at Marjory and Forrest's. We more or less managed to restrain ourselves until our massive Christmas dinner at 4.30 p.m. By the way this went remarkably smoothly - we didn't burn or forget anything - and James commented that after 30 years we have finally got it right! We had to pace ourselves and had a break between the main course and dessert, so we didn't finish eating until about 9 p.m. I had terrible indigestion during the night. I have referred to my delicate digestive system many times on this blog - it was inherited from my dear Dad (along with his shaky hands, which in my case is becoming more noticeable as I get older - and in the boys' opinion, hilarious!) Anyway, my Dad dealt with his digestive problem by avoiding spicy foods, not eating too much, and by dosing himself (and in fact the whole family) liberally with Andrews Liver Salts and also bicarbonate of soda dissolved in water. I always enjoyed the burping sessions that followed! 

Today I started with my usual healthy porridge and blueberries breakfast, but lunch and dinner both consisted of turkey dinner leftovers - and there is still some left over for tomorrow! 

Pause for denial

I was so happy this morning when all three boys came through to our bedroom with their Santa socks to open their presents. It's pretty good going that Santa still brings them presents at the ages of 25, 21 and 20! The boys were very pleased with Santa's thoughtful and personalised choices and we were all chatting happily. Overcome by love, I made an announcement which was meant to be "I know have been a rubbish Mum, but I hope you all know that I love you." However after I said the first part of the sentence the boys all just loudly agreed with me about being a rubbish Mum, and I didn't get the chance to finish the sentence! Ally then accused me of putting in a "pause for denial" which had failed - I thought this was very funny! I do love having them all at home. We went round to Marjory and Forrest's for a lovely family Christmas morning and Forrest said that us all getting together is the best part of Christmas Day - I agree with that! 

Christmas Surprise

James and I wrapped Christmas presents while watching It's a Wonderful Life on television this afternoon. It was rainy outside and cosy inside. Davie and Ally were both in town and when they arrived home I made risotto for tea. Then the doorbell rang. Guess who it was? Our Jamie, home for Christmas! He was supposed to be working tomorrow so we weren't expecting him until late tomorrow evening. But he found out yesterday that his shifts had changed and decided to surprise us! We were all delighted to see him and we have spent a lovely evening - the five of us all together.

Let the Festivities Commence

This weekend has rushed past in a flurry of Christmas preparations, shopping and dining. I'm still a bit worried about Grandma who doesn't look markedly better than she has over the last week. James took her to the cardiology clinic on Thursday, and they said she was doing okay. But on Saturday morning she was very sleepy and under the weather; she said that she feels panicky. She also seems a tad confused. She was keen to go up to the shops so I got her ready, but she had to sit down, exhausted, on a chair in the hallway as we prepared to leave her house so I nipped out by myself to get her a paper and something for lunch. After that she perked up and she seemed to enjoy our brief outing to a local retail park, but she's not great. This evening she came round for Sunday tea as usual and I was pleased to see that she ate a decent amount; she seems a bit better but we will need to keep a close eye on her. 

David arrived home on Saturday, having finally run out of parties to attend in Dundee. He came with James and me to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the IMAX cinema in Braehead. I found it to be very satisfactory - a pleasingly simple plot (as James pointed out, the plot is almost identical to the very first Star Wars film made - now subtitled Episode IV) and plenty of action. I just hope that Mark Hamill wasn't being paid per line of dialogue! 

Today we did a wee bit of shopping in town before meeting Heather and Ewan for our annual Christmas lunch. It has become a tradition to which I very much look forward. This year we went to Guy's in Candleriggs, as recommended by one of James' colleagues. It was not cheap but the food was excellent and the company was even better; we later walked along to the Metropolitan where we continued our convivial afternoon. It's so pretty with Christmas lights strung across the high ceiling of the covered courtyard of Merchant Square. We were joined for drinks on the cobbled terrace by Andrew and David and we all enjoyed much laughter and conversation.

Nights oot

I have had three Christmas nights out this week. More than enough I think, though they were all enjoyable in their different ways. Monday evening was the carvery with the Leavers' Group, which I have already blogged about. Wednesday evening was Christmas Book Group at Rosemary's. It's always great to catch up with my book club chums for a chat and a laugh and Rosemary made us a delicious supper. And this evening (Friday) was the School Christmas dinner dance. The food and hotel were noticeably nicer than last year's, and all the better for being five minutes from home, which meant that when I decided to leave I was very soon having a cup of tea with James and Ally. I'm trying to decide which one I enjoyed the most and I can't choose - they were each in different venues with different groups of colleagues and friends so I can't really compare them. They have, I'm glad to say, combined to make me feel more festive than I felt a week ago and I'm looking forward to a fun weekend - my version of fun that is, which is having a relaxing time with family and friends. 

Carvery

Good news about Grandma today; she got out of hospital this afternoon and is very happy to be home, although tired and still not 100%. 

I was out at a Christmas dinner this evening with the Leavers' Group which was a really nice occasion. I started by turning up at the wrong restaurant (despite clear instructions from my colleagues!) but despite this I wasn't all that late. The meal took the form of a carvery, for which type of cuisine I have a soft spot, due to fond memories of the Albany Hotel in the late 70s and early 80s. The Albany had the first carvery in Glasgow as far as I am aware and it was very popular in those days; I thought it was the height of sophistication! I no longer think of carveries as fine dining; however the food in the carvery at the New Farm this evening was tasty and plentiful. I had a festive and very jolly evening in great company and I was glad that I went along.  

Gang aft agley!

Well the rest of the evening did not go according to plan! Forrest took Grandma to the hospital this afternoon to change her meds (he found out that they had been dispensed wrongly, which we will of course be investigating further) and because as a result she was feeling none too well. By tea time he phoned to tell us that she had been diagnosed with a resulting heart issue and is being kept in overnight to monitor that her (now) correct meds are working and to have further tests tomorrow. We switched off both ovens, packed an overnight bag for her and headed to the hospital. Thank goodness Forrest found out the mistake - he is a star! I was so proud of him and Jamie as they discussed Grandma's health problems with the nurses, but what about all the wee old ladies who don't have people watching out for them? 

Forrest had been at the hospital since early afternoon so we insisted that he went home and the five of us stayed on for visiting time. Grandma was upset at having to stay in hospital but the three boys cheered her up with their chat while Janes and I got her some biscuits and magazines. She was tired but calm when we left, and we sat down to our roast beef dinner exactly two hours later than planned! And there was me just thinking that everything was going fairly smoothly. I just hope that Grandma is ok. 

O Christmas Tree!

All three boys turned up for our traditional annual trip to Aberfoyle to choose our Christmas tree. This was very nice especially when they are so busy - and we had made it very clear that they were not in any way obliged to come. James, Ally and I set off from Glasgow, and Jamie and Davie from Edinburgh. We arrived first and started looking at the trees which were laid out by size and type. When I saw Jamie's bright blue car coming down the slope into the car park I waved and shouted happily, thus inadvertently drawing the attention of the other people choosing trees, who all looked up at the car. Not realising that he had an audience, David chose that moment to make a humorously but nevertheless rude gesture at us using the middle fingers of both hands. Not my proudest maternal moment. We duly chose an attractive Norway Spruce and went for a tasty in the café at the David Marshall Lodge, followed by a walk down to the waterfall, which was great fun as we went to the bird hide, took pictures of the sculptures, and counted the elven doors that have been scattered through the woods with poems attached about each elf. We had such a lovely time, and we have now set up and decorated the tree and we are chatting and listening to Michael Bublé singing us Christmas songs beside the fire in the lounge. We are all feeling festive except the cats who are very uneasy about a tree being brought inside the house! 

A supposedly nice lunch and film

This morning was spent doing housework and general house maintenance and as a treat for James, I made him a very nice lunch consisting of bagels spread with cream cheese and topped with smoked salmon. I first suspected that something was wrong when I noticed James pulling faces and sucking his teeth in a disapproving manner. Needless to say I ignored this behaviour, and after a while James was forced to vocalise his feelings. "That was the worst lunch you have ever made me."  he declared mournfully. It turns out that he hates both cream cheese and bagels, and finds the combination particularly disgusting because allegedly it sticks to the roof of his mouth (as if that was a bad thing - I like it because you can savour it even more as it gradually disintegrates). "Next time just give me the smoked salmon" he moaned.

Later we had a few errands in town and found ourselves at the GFT at 5 p.m. just as a showing of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's "Sunset Song" was about to start. We had been deliberating about going to a movie in the evening but I had my doubts about seeing Sunset Song; I know the book very well and have also seen it performed on the stage and on television. It's not that I mind seeing a film of a book that I have read; it's just that I know this one so well that I knew there would be no surprises at all and that I was likely to take issue with some aspect of the interpretation. However James seemed very keen to see it and I felt quite touched because I assumed that this was because he knew of my love for the book. As I had predicted the film didn't quite live up to my expectations although the acting was all good. I didn't think it captured the hardships of Chris's life, it missed out a lot, and way the ending was filmed really disappointed me, because the book's ending is much better. All the same, I enjoyed it and was glad that I had seen it. James on the other hand absolutely hated it. I hadn't realised that he had never read the book or seen the play or television series so he had had no idea what to expect and found it very drear. So I thanked him for watching it with me - and it turned out that far from indulging me, the reason he had wanted to see it was because he had heard that the scenery was good while listening to his favourite radio programme "Out of Doors". And to think I thought it was for my sake! James has certainly blotted his copybook with me today!

Update on Sunday morning - James says that going to see the film WAS for me as well as the scenery!

Christmas card campaign

Our new carpet was delivered this morning. Unfortunately it was 40 cm (about 15 inches) too narrow for the room. I will draw a veil over the details of how this happened but suffice it to say that it was not the fault of our supplier John Lewis.

When a rather despondent James went over to visit Grandma, Alasdair had the idea of cheering him up by writing all the Christmas cards while he was gone. In thirty years of marriage I have always written all of the Christmas cards by myself. James helps out by printing address labels but it is still quite a time consuming task, usually taking a couple of evenings. However with Alasdair on the case we were like a well-oiled machine. Ally is certainly a good organiser! He got me to write the cards and he labelled the envelopes, put in the cards, and allocated them into piles for posting or local delivery. It was actually a pleasure and we were a good team. When James arrived home a couple of hours later we were just finishing and he was suitably impressed.

Update at midnight - not only has Ally posted the stamped cards but he has just walked for an hour around our neighbourhood and has delivered all of the local cards! What a boy!

Another film night

After a very busy day at Acme Sweatshop (a tribute to my American bloggy friend - I have been thinking of you a lot this past week Susan) I set off into Glasgow to join some pupils for another film night at the GFT this evening. It was the last film in their '80s season, and another film that I have never seen; "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." It was the kind of American film that makes me cringe - the kind of film where everything that can possibly go wrong, goes wrong. In this instance a grumpy businessman played by Steve Martin is trying to make his way home to Chicago for Thansgiving. However he runs into a hapless shower curtain ring salesman played by the late John Candy and they have a series of horrifyingly inevitable misadventures. However either I am becoming more relaxed about the genre in my old age (after all, Mr Bean's Holiday is one of my favourite films) or the undoubted talent of Martin and Candy won me over, because I found myself enjoying it. The ending was rather heartwarming and I was so proud of our pupils during the discussion at the end. 

When I got home Ally and James were watching an interesting documentary by Simon Sebag Montefiore about the history of Spain. He mentioned a Roman prefect of Seville called "Diogenianus" which we found hilarious in a Monty Python kind of way because of the way he pronounced it - we are very childish.

Christmas shopping campaign

James and I set off on a mission into town today to do our Christmas shopping with a strategic plan (list of presents) that we made while having breakfast in bed, and a steely determination to succeed. We marched into the fray from shop to shop undaunted by the wind and rain, unflinchingly making crucial decisions about our purchases. The list really helped. By the time we had lunch at Zizzi's we were two thirds done. Instead of lingering over coffee as is our wont, we pressed on to several more retail destinations but did not falter until our final sortie to John Lewis. We had something in mind for Grandma that we couldn't find, and I suggested one more sweep of the ladies' section. As we walked through the store I could hear quiet but unmistakable sounds of distress coming from James behind me - a sort of groaning and whimpering. I knew then that we were finished for the day. When shopping you have to know when to employ a tactical withdrawal and have a nice coffee at home with your troops. Which is what we did. Still, 95% of Christmas shopping done - excellent! 

The Proclaimers

We went to the Royal Concert Hall this evening to see The Proclaimers. We have seen them many times in many venues over the years and they are always great. Tonight was no exception - Sunshine on Leith and 500 Miles were highlights but all the songs were brilliant. Before the concert started a lady tripped on the stairs beside us and doused James and I  (and several other unfortunate people) in beer. She also fell heavily onto my recently healed ankle which worried me greatly, however it seems to be ok. We were stinking of beer when we got home and put our clothes straight into the washing machine - I sponged my poor bag as best I could. Ironically this bag was compared to a Mulberry bag on Saturday evening which delighted me. Luckily it's not a designer bag or I would have been distraught! I always ruin bags and shoes no matter how hard I try to take care of them.

In other news, this evening the government has voted to bomb Syria. 

Seasonal

It's wild and rainy outside - and yet when I arrived home this evening I noticed that it was strangely warm for the time of year. The temperature must have shot up during the day. I can hardly believe that we are in December already and I allowed myself to play All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey in the car as an acknowledgement that Christmas is coming soon. To explain, I self-ban unseasonal songs in the car - I never play "Mr Blue Sky" by ELO until the first properly warm and cloudless day of Spring, and I only play "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews during the winter. It would just be wrong to play songs inappropriate to the time of year. I would of course never judge someone else for doing so - even though they would be wrong! I also have songs that are only suitable for playing when I feel happy e.g. "Wagon Wheel" by Nathan Carter. Or for when I feel thoughtful e.g. "Pulaski at Night" by Andrew Bird. Or for when I feel a bit sad e.g. "I Hope You Meet Again" by the Saw Doctors which I first heard at a funeral and whose lyrics remind me of when my Dad died. Like many other people I'm sure, music is an intrinsic part of my life, linked to times and events. A song that I haven't heard for years can evoke a particular day twenty or thirty years ago or more. In fact the song "Bye Bye Blackbird" takes me back beyond my own lifetime to a summer in about 1926 or 27 - my Dad described to me that he heard a man whistling it in his street in Coatbridge and it was the first tune that he ever remembered hearing. So when I hear it I always picture that little boy hearing it for the very first time.