Farewell to Arabba

The journey home from Arabba yesterday felt a bit surreal to me, probably because I slumbered through a lot of it. We got on to a minibus at the ungodly hour of 5.30 a.m. but didn't leave the village for another half hour because some people from a neighbouring hotel had managed to leave a rucksack inside their hotel and then could not get back in to retrieve it because the doors had locked behind them. They managed to awaken a friend inside the hotel who was presumably on a later flight, who opened the door for them. I do understand that these things happen (it's the kind of thing I would do!) but I did feel that a pleasant apology to the rest of us on the bus might have been appropriate; however this was not forthcoming. I then dozed fitfully on the way down the mountain. I knew that we were still at altitude because when I half-opened my eyes I could still see high banks of snow at the side of the narrow, zig-zagging road, and I could hear the scraping sound of the minibus grounding as we rounded each corner. The next time that I woke we were in a lay-by on a dual carriageway in a wide valley, being transferred into a bigger coach, which was rather chilly around my legs, so not so conducive to sleep.
When we arrived at Verona airport after about three hours of travel, the first thing we saw was huge queues waiting for the Manchester and Birmingham flights. My blood ran cold. However when we went round the corner I was delighted to find almost no queue at all for the Edinburgh flight. This was a tremendous bonus because it meant that we had plenty of time to purchase much needed coffees and snacks before our flight. All went smoothly and our flight left on time. I still felt pretty tired though, so I decided to try to have another nap. I put my bag at the small of my back and reclined my seat; this position proved to be extremely comfortable and I had a really good sleep for at least an hour. Soon we were saying our farewells to Heather and Ewan after our brilliant week, and heading home. As we journeyed along the M8 in dreich weather we reflected on our scary journey through the snow in the other direction eight days ago. What an amazing week it has been. 

Back to Alta Badia

The weather was supposed to deteriorate today, but guess what? It was another beautiful sunny day with great snow. Ewan guided us over to the Alta Badia area where there were some long, easy Blue runs which were great for my speed and confidence. My favourite today had to be runs 9 and 11 (which were actually one big long run) down towards San Cassiano. The scenery was breathtaking and the skiing was fast and fun. A few times, strongly encouraged by me, the others would ski a nearby Black run and then rejoin me. This went very smoothly and meant that James, Ewan and Heather had the chance to really let loose. All three of them are extremely good skiers and have been very supportive and encouraging to me all week; as a result I have skied probably the best I ever have (although I have lots to improve on!)
Ewan has expertly and enthusiastically guided us around the valleys of the Dolomites for all six days, which has allowed us to make the most of skiing this vast area. Heather has discreetly kept an eye on me to check that I'm getting on ok, and showed me the best way down steep or bumpy slopes. It has been a wonderful holiday. After another lovely lunch (yes, dumplings again!) we made our way back to Arabba. On the last day of a ski holiday I always feel a certain sense of relief when everyone is safely off the mountain, but I also felt sad when we handed back our hired skis and went for a farewell drink at Peter's Bar.

Belvedere

With the excellent weather and snow conditions continuing, Ewan and James set off very early to ski the glacier at Marmolada. They had a great time; they not only had fantastic views but they got to the top ahead of the crowds and had a really good run down. Meanwhile, Heather and I met for breakfast and then had a lovely morning of skiing to and around the Belvedere ski area. We have passed through this attractive valley twice before as we skied the Sella Ronda, and in fact the first run down into it was where I took my first tumble yesterday. I was delighted to ski down the same run without any problems! We skied around the runs enjoying the views and chatting on the lifts, and then met up with the boys at about midday on their return from the glacier. As often happens on ski holidays there was a bit of confusion about precisely where to meet, resulting in a flurry of texts and phone calls. However all ended happily and we were soon reunited with our dear husbands!
Heather and Ewan decided to ski further down into the Val di Fassa, however my legs were beginning to feel tired and I decided that discretion was the better part of valour. James and I made our way back to Arabba where we had lunch in the cheerful and pleasant Gasthof Pordoi. I of course chose my beloved dumplings! By the time that we finished lunch, had a stroll around the village (that didn't take long!) and walked back to the hotel, Heather and Ewan had arrived back and we all went to the nearby Hotel Mesdi for our traditional après-ski drinks. Another great ski day was followed by a happy and pleasant evening.

Sella Ronda again!

I am delighted to say that we have completed the Sella Ronda for the second time today - this time clockwise! I am so pleased because I didn't think that I would manage it even once this week, let alone twice. The weather was still sunny, with not a cloud in the blue sky, and the views were just as spectacular going the other way. I managed to fall over on a fairly steep slope, which in itself was not a problem; I wasn't hurt at all. However I then made a very foolish mistake (which I do not intend ever to repeat.) Even though my skis were pointing correctly across the piste, I decided that it would be easier just to take them off in order to stand up, to save myself the trouble of awkwardly pushing myself up onto my feet while still wearing the skis. As soon as I did so, one of my skis started sliding down the hill on its side, and more alarmingly, I started sliding fast down the hill too; my boots just couldn't get a grip on the snow! To make matters worse, I wasn't sliding straight down - this would have been ok because the slope became more level lower down - I was sliding towards the edge of the piste and I had no idea what vertiginous slope might await me there.
However help quickly arrived in the form of the very friendly Lou and Lola from London. They retrieved my scattered poles and sticks, and stood below me to assist me in putting on my skis again. After that I could ski down fine but I was annoyed with myself for being so silly.
Not long afterwards I had another fall, but again there was no harm done and Heather and Ewan helped me to get my mojo back by planning an easy blue route into Selva. This really built up my confidence again. In the interests of honesty I should probably mention that I also knocked over a man who was standing at the edge of a mogul covered piste after lunch; I apologised profusely and blamed it on tired legs! Despite these few careless mishaps it was still another brilliant day!
We also had yet another fantastic lunch, this time at Boé Alpine Lounge, just a couple of runs away from our return to Arabba. Heather and Ewan described it as resembling the mountain lair of a Bond villain, and it did have that look! Inside it is beautifully decorated with close grained high mountain pine wood and has a warm feel. We were about to order from the self service counter when we noticed that there is also a dining room. We got a table right at the window with amazing views back over towards Corvara. In the distance we could see the Austrian Alps. I had .... dumplings of course! But these dumplings were really special; in fact they were the best that I have ever tasted. They had cheese in them, and were light and fluffy. I was also given some delightful apple juice made from local apples called Jonagold.
Back at the hotel I let the jacuzzi gently pummel my tired muscles before dinner. 

The Hidden Valley

Today (Tuesday) was one of the most unusual and memorable ski days I have ever had. We skied some very pleasant blue runs to Armentarola where we took a taxi to the large cable car that lifts you up to Lagazuoi. From here a big long red run takes you down the mountain and into the Hidden Valley. It is a beautiful run; it winds down the mountain past the five spiky peaks called the Cinque Torri, past the amazing hanging frozen waterfalls, and down to the river valley. As the slope flattened out I had to do a fair bit of poling along (good for my arm muscles!) until, at the very end of the piste we found a felt-hatted man waiting with two horses and a large sled with long ropes dangling from the back. We joined two lines of skiers, held on tight to the rope, and for €2.50 we were dragged by horse power for the final flat mile or so back to Armentarola. What an amazing experience. We made our way back towards Arabba, stopping on the way for lunch at Rifugio la Ciasota. This was another lovely restaurant - I'm beginning to think that here are no bad restaurants in this area at all, I had some lovely polenta with sausages and mushrooms.
Back at the hotel, and after an après-ski drink, James and I had a relaxing time at the jacuzzi before dinner.

Sella Ronda

On Monday it was James' birthday and we set off to ski the famous Sella Ronda, a circular trail around the Sella Massif which visits four valleys and traverses high passes. The weather was lovely. We did the anti-clockwise route, ably guided by Ewan and Heather. We all love the "travelling" type of skiing, where you make a proper journey and don't need to repeat a run, so this was great fun. The mountain views were truly spectacular and ever changing as we progressed around the circuit. We stopped for lunch at the Restaurant Al Sella, which was absolutely gorgeous; it even has a walk in, glass walled wine cellar. The pasta was cooked to perfection and was delightfully garlicky; mine had shaved truffle and coconut and tasted delicious.
I felt really proud to have completed the Sella Ronda, which I couldn't have done without the guidance and reassurance of Heather, Ewan and James. We celebrated with drinks at Peter's Bar where we sat outside under a heater, keeping warm by jigging around to the music. A delicious dinner at the hotel followed - James has had a really lovely birthday. 

Ski Sunday

I awoke feeling a bit nervous on my first morning of skiing. I always do. However I needn't have worried; James, Heather and Ewan, who are all excellent skiers, made me feel very comfortable and welcome as we all skied together. After a wobbly first couple of runs, I made a big effort to ski the best that I could, firstly by keeping going (rather than my old habit of grinding to a halt when the slopes get a bit steep or busy), and also by skiing parallel all of the time. With the others' encouragement I relaxed quickly and enjoyed the day very much.
We strapped on all of our gear and set off from Arabba at about 9.30 a.m. The weather was fine and the snow was excellent. It's a really interesting ski area with varied runs, all with the backdrop of the jagged limestone Dolomite mountains, which are dusted with snow. The runs are mostly reds, with a few blues thrown in. Because of the great snow conditions, the reds are currently fairly straightforward - apart from a few quite steep and bumpy bits. Luckily for James and me, Heather and Ewan know the area very well and guided us on our journey. Our destination on Sunday was the Alta Badia area, and we made our way there via many lifts and runs to our furthest point which was the Church at Santa Croce above Badia. When we got there we took off our skis and plodded up a short but steep track to the church. The views were lovely, although it has to be said that the views everywhere here are stunning in every direction! On our way back we had lunch in La Villa in a really friendly restaurant. I had the bacon dumpling soup which is so good that I would eat it every day if I got the chance. By the afternoon my legs were getting tired, especially my thighs which felt as if they were on fire. However I was not too tired to head down to Peter's Bar for some drinks outside (under a heater!) and some rather loud Euro pop music! When we got back to the hotel I popped down to the health suite with Heather and James to soothe my tired limbs in the jacuzzi, before a magnificent four course dinner. I felt so happy to have not only managed, but enjoyed, my first day on the pistes. 

Arrived at Arabba

Well, the past week has flown by and here we are at Arabba in the Dolomites, at the start of our ski holiday. The holiday actually started yesterday, with a hair-raising drive through to Edinburgh in heavy snow after work. With a 7 a.m. flight this morning, we had followed Heather and Ewan's lead in staying overnight at an airport hotel so that the early start would not be quite so brutal. We left early because of the bad forecast and James did a grand job of getting us to Edinburgh Airport safely. We checked in to the Hilton and then took the tram into the west end of Edinburgh where we met Heather, Ewan - and Andrew, who joined us for the evening - for a tasty meal at Wildwood.
Back at the Hilton I got a good five and a half hours of sleep (unlike James who woke too early!) and the four of us soon boarded our flight to Verona.
All went smoothly until our coach to Arabba was diverted to pick up some passengers from another coach which had broken down. This added nearly two hours to our journey, but as we discussed later, these things happen, it was nobody's fault, and sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Anyway the scenery was spectacular as the coach made its way up the zig-zag road into the mountains.
The usual ski holiday routine of hiring our skis went smoothly, in fact we were very lucky to arrive just before a big group of people so we didn't have to wait at all. Our hotel is really top notch, very Tyrolean with lots of wooden carvings, a roomy and very comfortable bar, and very smart rooms. Our dinner was excellent, with lots of choice and the food beautifully presented. After a nightcap we are ready for bed, tired after our travel day, and very glad to be here. 

Walking at Boat of Garten

Although our little bothy in Newtonmore had served its purpose well, we were delighted to travel to the comforts of Alison and Hugh's lovely home in Boat of Garten on Sunday morning. The rest of the group headed home apart from Ally and Cat, who arranged to stay on in the hostel for another night in order to bag some Munros the next day. As ever, it was great to see Alison and Hugh, and since the weather was dry we wasted no time in setting out for a walk from Kinchurdy Road in Boat to the edge of Aviemore. It was a very pleasant walk through trees and moorland; however the first part of the path was literally a sheet of ice! Luckily conditions underfoot improved after about 15 minutes. We went to a fantastic café called Route 7, which is strangely located in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Aviemore. However it's location had not deterred anyone because it was pleasantly busy and clearly very popular. After a delicious lunch we looped back towards Boat; when we rejoined the icy bit at the end, James produced his Spider ice-grips and attached them to the soles of his boots. He then strode confidently along the icy path while the rest of us picked our way along the grass at the edges! 

Birthday girl Alison made us a gorgeous dinner including her famous melt-in-the-middle chocolate puddings - they melted in the mouth too! 

The next day, snow was forecast but since it hadn't yet arrived we went for a walk in the other direction - from Boat to Nethy Bridge. Again we were delighted to discover that Alison and Hugh know a very nice coffee shop in Nethy, where we had a break before our return journey. I do think that a stop at a good pub or café really enhances a walk. 

Just before we set off home mid-afternoon, Alison found out that the A9 was closed in both directions due to a serious accident. We had to go home via Fort William, which added another hour to our journey. it began snowing, and it was beginning to lie quite thickly as we came over Rannoch Summit. However we made it home by about 7.30 p.m. - Ally and Cat had spent a big day on the hills and were two hours behind us. I was glad when we were all home safe. 

Burns Supper in the frozen north

After my disastrous attempt at skiing at Cairngorm, I met up with the others back at the hostel in Newtonmore for our annual Burns supper. They had all enjoyed their snowy walks; Cornel had accompanied Ally, Cat and James to Beinn Teallach. The Burns Supper was being held a bit early this year due to the date of the weekend having been changed. Bob provided a delicious broccoli soup as our starter, and then us Andersons swung into action with the main course. This was of course haggis, neeps and tatties. I had mashed the potatoes and turnip in advance so we only had to cook the haggis. Ally and Cat efficiently helped us to heat everything up and serve it out, and it was greeted with great enthusiasm. I had found some whisky cream sauce in a shop in Aviemore which went well with the haggis. Next was Kenny's delicious trifle, which prompted James to tell one of his favourite jokes, which he never tires of repeating! * Justin had brought a cheese board but by then most of us were too full to try it, which sadly often happens! A variety of whiskies were then produced and sampled. It was a most convivial evening. 

* Two men are staggering through the desert, almost dying of thirst. As they climb over a sand dune they see in front of them some market stalls. They crawl to the first stall and ask for some water but the vendor says "I'm afraid we only sell sponge, jelly, custard, and hundreds-and-thousands". So, the men crawl to the next stand and ask for water. The stall owner replies "Sorry, but I only have custard, sponge, jelly and hundreds-and-thousands". They crawl to the final stand and ask, in desperation, for water. The store holder tells the men "I only sell jelly, sponge, custard, and hundreds-and-thousands".

The two men set off into the desert once more, in search of water. As they are crawling from the market one man turns to the other and says "Is it just me, or did you find that a trifle bazaar?" 

Attempting to ski at Cairngorm

The weather has turned wintry again and when we went up to Speyside this past weekend there was snow on the mountains and icy ground in the valleys.
The first couple of nights we spent with the hill-walking club at a hostel in Newtonmore. It was basic, as expected in a hostel, but clean and functional with bunk rooms and a large kitchen / living area. While everyone else (there were eight of us) went walking on the Saturday, I decided to go skiing at Cairngorm. I paid £28.50 to ski only one and a half times down the mountain! It was good fun going up on the funicular railway, but I emerged into a freezing gale, with cloud so low that I could hardly see more than a few feet in front of me! To make matters worse, the snow was stripped smooth and stony by the wind, which made skiing most unpleasant and in fact very hazardous. On my second run down I fell right onto my face! I was sure that I had burst my nose but it wasn't bleeding and after a small sob or two I continued on my way. * I saw a poma tow disappearing upwards into the clag and asked the operator if it went right up to the top. He confirmed that it did, but warned me that  it was for "experts only." I assured him that I had used lots of poma tows before, however when I saw another skier being lifted right off the ground by the vicious tow, I quailed slightly.  Sure enough I was almost wrenched off my feet, but I hung on grimly and soon arrived at the top.  I had carefully put my bankcard in my pocket so that I could get a snack and a coffee at lunch time. Or so I thought. When I came to pay for my coffe and sandwich at the Ptarmigan restaurant, I reached into my pocket and instead pulled out a Costa Coffee card (it's the same colour as my bank card, hence the mistake). There was nothing for it, I had to put back my lunch and after venturing outside to confirm that the wind was blowing stronger than ever, I took the train back down the mountain and consoled myself with a nice steak sandwich in a cafe in Aviemore.

* My nose still feels bruised nearly a week later. 

Spa fun

I am tucked up in bed after a splendid afternoon at Stobo Castle Spa with Chanel. I haven't visited it since Heather took me there for my 50th birthday so it was nice to be back. It's a very good spa with everything one could desire. The large pool overlooks beautiful countryside, there are several scented steam rooms - we particularly liked the menthol one - as well as a sauna, hydrotherapy pool, and relaxation room. We started off with our afternoon tea, which the staff kindly allowed us to have early, when we arrived at 2 p.m. This suited us because we hadn't had any lunch. It was excellent; sandwiches, scones, and a selection of little cakes. There was so much that, regretfully, we couldn't finish it! The spa was very quiet on this dreich Wednesday in January, which was an added bonus.
Chanel had a "top to toe sugar glow" skin treatment and facial, and I had a water bed massage, we both enjoyed our treatments. And we both had good swims; I swam for 40 minutes which made up for my extra lunch time calories.
But the highlight of the day had to be the Ladies Toilets. For a start they were so opulently decorated that they were nicer than my whole house! And inside the toilet cubicle more delights were in store; not only was the toilet seat heated, there was a set of controls for directing jets of warm water to clean both your front and back bottom areas! I was intrigued, having never experienced such an opportunity, and of course tried out all of the controls, including the warm air blower which then dried the aforementioned bottom. Chanel also sampled the toilet facilities and when we were discussing the experience I asked her if she had completed the whole process. At least that's what I meant to ask her; what I actually said was "Did you follow through?", an unfortunate choice of words that sent us into paroxysms of laughter.
Add to this the strange mark (we hoped that it was chocolate!) that we then saw on one of the beds in the "silence only" relaxation room - leading us to make a hasty exit so that our giggles wouldn't disturb the other guests - and the unfortunate incident in the hydrotherapy pool where I accidentally soaked an elderly lady's beautifully coiffured hair, and it was no wonder that we had lots of fun.
There is a new cocktail bar upstairs which is very pleasant; decorated with a tropical theme of palm trees, pineapple and bananas, and we had a celebratory drink there. We were a bit late in leaving and to our dismay our lockers wouldn't open because they were on timers! Luckily the receptionist took pity on us and opened them without giving us a row. It was a really good day. 

Flora at four and a half months old

Flora, aka Floof, is turning out to be quite a character! Because Jack and Jill, and then Tom and Ruby, were the same age, they were kept in the house together until they were about six months old and then allowed to go outdoors at the same time, (after their ops to ensure they wouldn't create kittens!) So although they were interested in what was going on outside the windows, they had no idea that it was possible to go there. However Floof is in the position that while she is still not allowed out, Tom is able to come and go as he pleases through the cat flap. He has a magnet attached to his collar, which means that Floof can't follow him.
Floof SO wants to go outside! She watches Tom intently as he appears and disappears through the cat flap, and understands that it is a portal to the outside world. So she often goes and sits in front of it, no doubt hoping that it will magically open for her too. Sometimes she pushes against it to no avail, and meows in disappointment.
When I say "meow" I really mean her strange loud bleat. She is the loudest cat that we have ever had. Tom is almost completely silent (unless he has to make a journey in the car in which case he cries pitifully!) but Floof is very vocal. And if she bleats outside the door in order to ask to get into a room, she continues bleating once she is inside, as if to say "About time!"
She is very affectionate but usually her play turns quickly to an attack with teeth and claws, both to the humans of the house and the long-suffering Tom. He really is very good-natured and patient with her, considering that she is always jumping on him. She adores her big furry brother and is fascinated by him - as soon as she hears him approach she ignores anyone else and rushes to greet him. Tom seems to have got used to this, and does play with her, although he will give her a cuff with his big paw when he's had enough, and Floof is learning to respect this and gives him some space. Often I find them curled up together on the bed.
Flora also loves her less furry brother Alasdair and enjoys it when he uses the laser pen to make a red dot that she chases around the room. Tom joins in too. She can get very lively at night time and has been in trouble several times for jumping about on the bed when we are trying to sleep! The very first time that we gave her the run of the house during the night she ran up and down the stairs so excited and meowing loudly!
The strangest thing about Flora is her obsession with water. All of our cats have demonstrated an interest in running taps or the bath, but none of them on the same scale as Floof. Maybe she was a ship's cat in one of her other nine lives! She comes running into the bathroom when I am getting ready for bed so that she can play in the bath - I turn on the cold water tap for a short while and she frolics about, playing with the water with her nose and paws, and also staring up into the tap when it is switched off. She loves to watch the toilet flush and sticks her whole head down into the bowl, and then bleats to ask for it to be flushed again. And she follows me into the shower room and stares in through the glass of the shower, bleating loudly until I open the shower door a wee bit so that she can stick her head in to investigate. What a great wee cat she is; I have become very fond of her. 

Veganuary

Janet, Peter and Anne came for lunch today; we often meet up at this time of year for a New Year's lunch either in Edinburgh or here. It was a very cold day, the temperature has really dropped. A good day to sit in front of the fire and chat. Janet let me know in advance that Anne has become fully vegan this month for "Veganuary" and she had already arranged to bring her own main course (the rest of us had salmon fillets). So I double checked and altered the ingredients for our starter and dessert. The starter was carrot and orange soup, so I softened the vegetables using a vegan spread and I put in more herbs instead of a vegetable stock cube because the stock cube contained yeast. This sparked a debate between me and Alasdair over the nature of yeast - I thought that as a micro-organism it would be non-vegan, but we checked on the Internet and apparently it is classified as a fungus so it would have been ok. I had similar doubts about the bread that I was going to serve with the soup, and I chose sourdough because it was listed as vegan on a website that I checked - but Anne told me when she arrived that most breads are vegan anyway! It's only things like brioches, which contain milk, that are non-vegan.
The dessert was easy to veganise - I made cranachan using vegan sugar (which is not processed with bone char) to caramelise the oatmeal, and substituted the cream in Anne's cranachan with a soya alternative, which she said tasted good. The main course that Anne brought was tofu and spinach samosas with roasted vegetables - she offered one to me to try and it tasted delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed my foray into veganism.
It was, as ever, great to see Janet and Peter and Anne, and we chatted non stop all afternoon. When Grandma came for tea later there was some of the salmon left for her to try; Alasdair had roasted it with oil, parsley and lemon and Grandma said that he had made an excellent job of it! 

Errands

Distrustful of public transport, and reluctant to take the time to walk, I usually drive everywhere. However, spurred on by the demands of my new Apple Watch, I decided to do my Friday errands on foot in order to burn some calories. So I walked from the doctor's surgery to fill my prescription at the pharmacy, and then continued all the way to the other end of the Main Street to the Post Office to send a package to Jamie in New Zealand. To my surprise, I found my perambulations a to be very pleasant, apart from having to brave the clouds of smoke issuing from the small crowds of smokers who were hunched against the cold outside every pub. I had time to look around me and even spontaneously popped into the butcher's where I bought a steak pie and a piece of Clootie Dumpling for Grandma. *
When I retraced my steps I saw ominously flashing blue lights ahead. Ambulances were speeding towards what looked like quite a nasty car accident which had just happened across from the doctor's. I was annoyed at the increasing amount of people who were gathering to stare ghoulishly at the scene, so I strode past without rubbernecking. I did however check the Scottish news later and was glad that there was no mention of the accident, which indicated that there were no fatalities or even serious injuries. #
I am enjoying using my Apple Watch to track my fitness goals and I'm certainly finding it very motivating. It has only been six days since I started using it, but so far so good.

* The Clootie Dumpling was a huge success and Grandma pronounced it to be "just like home made!"
# Unfortunately I was wrong about this - I was sorry to learn the next day that a motorcyclist had been killed.

Cousins

Yesterday, sadly, I attended my cousin Doug's funeral in Dorset. This involved travelling from Glasgow to Southampton by plane, during so called "Storm Eleanor." It was certainly very windy, and the plane journey was bumpy, bumpy, bumpy - especially when we were coming in to land. I had lunch with Jennifer and Russell and it was so good to see them.
The funeral was very moving; Doug's three beautiful daughters are almost exactly the same ages as my three boys, and despite their grief they all did their Dad proud and spoke touchingly about him and his life, as did several of his close friends and of course his twin brother, David.
Of course all of his three brothers and his sister were there, and so were many of his cousins - there are quite a lot of us. It was genuinely nice to see them, some of whom I do see because they live near me and some of whom I haven't seen for years. It struck me that they really are a nice bunch and I must make a point of seeing them more often, rather than only on such a sad occasion.
I always remember that at my Aunt Rosemary's funeral many years ago - she was so young, much younger than I am now  - the chaplain said that she had "a short life lived well" and this really made an impression on me. I feel that this applied to Doug as well. Like Rosemary, he lived his life to the full despite being ill. His twin said that Doug would have been thoroughly embarrassed at the huge number of people who came to pay their respects to him yesterday and I'm sure that is true! But it was a very personal and fitting tribute to a fine man. On the way back to the airport and on the journey, the three of us cousins who were heading north (Kari and Janie and me) talked and reminisced about Doug and the rest of our amazing family. 

Complicated

James very kindly gave me an Apple Watch for my birthday on Hogmanay, which I am determined to use to help me to get fitter. With this in mind, I signed up for an online tutorial today, during which an Apple expert would give me instructions on how to get the best out of my watch. When the appointed time arrived, I signed in and a friendly and enthusiastic expert immediately phoned me. Her enthusiasm was soon to be sorely tested. She asked me to accept an invitation to view her own screen which she sent me. I couldn't see this anywhere on the screen and we were both mystified until she noticed that I had somehow managed to sign out of the online session. Her tone remained professional but I could detect that she felt a bit frustrated. We continued the session by phone but it was quite difficult because she kept telling me that I should be able to see symbols on the phone screen that I couldn't find. We did get a few things set up and she told me how to start and end a workout. At the end of the half hour session the expert sounded suspiciously happy when she told me that we were out of time, and wished me lots of luck for the future.

Happy New 2018

Here we are on New Year's Day 2018. James is preparing the traditional gammon joint for our New Year's Day lunch with Grandma, and Ally has just taken Cat to the airport for her flight back to London.
We had an excellent time on Hogmanay at the Grove in Lenzie, with Heather and Ewan. This involved a three course dinner accompanied by a singer (a girl with a beautiful voice), followed by the opportunity for some energetic dancing leading up to the bells - and dance we did. I hadn't been sure what to wear, and was glad that I chose my black and red dress, because everyone was dressed smartly for the occasion. The food was really good - I think that I would describe it as Italian / Scottish - and the service by the young, pleasant waiters and waitresses was very efficient. After dinner Ewan took James and me upstairs to show us the bar area and who did we happen to meet there but Graham and Nicky, who were celebrating the New Year with their children! They joined us in the restaurant and we all brought in the New Year together, singing along with Auld Lang Syne and Runrig's version of Loch Lomond. It was a very happy evening; celebratory but also relaxed - it was just right!
Later on, or should I say early - because it was by now the early hours of the 1st - we collected Ally and Cat as requested from the party that they were attending in Thorntonhall, and we arrived home at about 2 a.m. The roads were surprisingly busy; probably with people who, like us, were on their way home after the celebrations. I was very tired when I went to bed but felt strangely wakeful. This was due in part to my full tummy but also I felt quite thoughtful about what the New Year will bring. James doesn't feel that the 1st January is any different from any other day when it comes to making a fresh start, but I have always felt that there is something special about the New Year; "Out with the old, and in with the new"- it's a chance to celebrate our survival of another year, to take stock and to resolve to do better going forward - hence resolutions. My resolutions this year have to be to improve my health and fitness - let's see what happens!