Wednesday 30 September 2020
Covid-19 Continues
Monday 28 September 2020
A touch of hypothermia
I went swimming again on Sunday afternoon in the estuary. Becky also went for a swim and after she left I decided to stay in for a while. The water seemed colder than yesterday but I soon got used to it. I saw a big fish flip up and back into the water; I think it was a salmon. And I noticed that I was being observed from the bushes by a pretty wee cat who reminded me of Floof. The ferry went past and the ducks were paddling about near the pond. I did notice that although I no longer felt cold at all, my hands were very numb which made it difficult to swim. Then Becky appeared at the river bank. She had noticed that I hadn’t passed her house on my way home and had come to check on me. I looked at my watch and realised that I had been in the water for more than forty-five minutes! As soon as I came out I felt very shivery and could hardly put on my poncho with my numb hands. My legs and arms had developed strange hues of red and blue. Becky very kindly walked me home and told me to have a hot drink to heat myself from the inside. On the way up the path we spotted two little roe deer watching us from among the trees. After I had warmed up a bit I had a hot bath which felt great. I sent a message of thanks to Becky; I will be more careful about how long I spend in the water in future.
Saturday 26 September 2020
Autumn cometh
Saturday 19 September 2020
September Swimming
Thursday 17 September 2020
Suilven and Canisp
Jennifer and I climbed Stac Pollaidh today. We deliberately took our time, stopping to rest whenever we felt like it, and as a result we got to the summit in excellent spirits. We chatted to several friendly people on the way. The views were tremendous even though it was a grey day. The last wee scramble up to the cairn was rather exposed but it was worth it and we felt a real sense of achievement. We decided to descend by circumnavigating the hill, and as we carefully picked our way down the very steep first part of the path I was quite scared of falling, so sat down on rocks several times on my way down to keep myself steady. As a result the seat of my trousers became a bit muddy and damp. Soon the path became more defined and we were able to stride along. I bent over, displaying my backside to my dear sister, and said to Jennifer, “Just how bad is my arse?” (referring to my muddy trousers). Jennifer replied in the same ladylike fashion, “You look as if you’ve cacked yourself!” Just then, something made us turn our heads to the left and we saw two of the friendly people that we had met earlier sitting just above the path eating their sandwiches. They had heard every word! Well, the four of us just laughed and laughed, it was hilarious!
Meanwhile James and Russ were climbing Canisp, a few miles north of us. They had a good climb although the last 200 metres were encased in cloud. We all felt that we deserved our massive dinner later, which consisted of Lochinver pies and mash followed by Jennifer’s famous and delicious bread and butter pudding.
Tuesday 15 September 2020
Golf by the sea
Saturday 12 September 2020
Brambles and Forest Bathing
It has been another rainy day in Ullapool so we decided to go for a walk in Lael Forest, reasoning that the trees would protect us from the wind and the rain. As it turned out, through good luck rather than good judgement, we managed to choose the driest couple of hours of the day for our walk. I quickly became overheated and soon divested myself of my waterproof trousers and jacket and stuffed them into my backpack. We climbed a short but steep set of steps to the forestry commission road, and before turning down to the forest paths, James suggested a short diversion to explore a higher area. Experience should have made me wiser, but I followed him like a little lamb and soon found myself edging along a path above a steep precipice, wading through bracken that was up to my waist, and creeping warily beneath a fallen tree that was only being held up by another tree, against which it was making alarming creaking sounds. However there were compensations. James picked lots of brambles for me, and they were absolutely delicious - a blend of tart and sweet. We ate handfuls of them as we made our way back down to the paths which wind through the forest. Lovely.
I read somewhere recently that walking through a forest, spending calm and quiet time under the canopy of trees, is a form of nature therapy known as “forest bathing.” It apparently originated in Japan in the 1980s and is called shinrin yoku. However I would contend (and my sister Jennifer will concur) that my Mum and Dad actually invented it in the 1970s when we used to wander through the forest in the Trossachs, often completely lost!
Friday 11 September 2020
Wind and rain in the north west
Tuesday 8 September 2020
Fajita Time
Christine and Gerry came round on Monday evening and Cat made tea for us all. She made a delicious meal of fajitas with lots of fillings including chicken, roast peppers and onions, guacamole, grated cheese and soured cream. We assembled our fajitas while catching up on news and chatting. Flora was heard shouting during the meal and then startled us by emerging from the sideboard cupboard, into which she had sneaked earlier when I was getting a tablecloth! Then Cat and Ally showed us their recent climbing photos which looked fantastic on the television screen. Scotland really is beautiful.
This evening I went to the bathroom after tea and just as I sat down Flora came jumping out of the laundry basket with a loud cry; I was so surprised nearly fell off the toilet! Cat and I had a girls’ night and watched several episodes of “The Bold Type” which I am now completely hooked on; I like the fashion, the stories and the language of these young New York people.
Sunday 6 September 2020
Unfortunate lawnmower incident
It has been a pleasant and sociable few days. We had a convivial lunch in Wetherspoons with Hilary and Steven on Thursday, then popped over to Milngavie for a coffee with Gordon and Sue on Friday. Last night Forrest, Marjory and Neil came round to ours for a Chinese meal. It was great to see them, however for some reason the meal did not agree with me and my tummy has been unhappy all day today.
Yesterday James went across to cut Grandma’s grass and when he came home he couldn’t find his glasses. After searching for them all round the house, he remembered that at one point while he was cutting the grass he had been hit in the face by a tree branch. He didn’t remember his glasses falling off, but we both went across the road to check. We searched under the tree and sure enough there were a few small pieces of glass on the grass beneath it, and, the conclusive evidence, a piece of one of the legs of James’ glasses! So when the branch had hit his face, his glasses had fallen off and then James had mowed over them with the lawnmower. Oh dear.
Heather and Ewan came round for a coffee this afternoon and it was warm enough that we could sit outside in the garden. It was lovely to see them. Later Ally and Cat arrived home from their weekend in Fort William where they had climbed five Munros over the two days.
Thursday 3 September 2020
Flora attempts a girls’ night
The weather has been very strange today; one minute it is warm with an almost completely blue sky, the next it is lashing with heavy rain! This has been going on all day. As well as reconnecting with the cats, we have been busy clearing out Grandma’s house which is a necessary but sad task. We have also been catching up with a few people whom we have not seen since before lockdown, in fact since before going to New Zealand, so that’s nearly seven months. On Tuesday evening I found out that Cat has never seen “Mamma Mia, Here we go again” - the second Mamma Mia film - so we all watched it and we thoroughly enjoyed it, although James fell asleep towards the end. Cat and I were in tears during the christening scene. I had forgotten what a good film it is; possibly better than the original. And then last night I persuaded Ally and Cat to play Bohnanza with me so that was great fun. Tonight we played Linkee and then Cat and I watched an episode of “The Bold Type” together; it’s a series about young women working in a magazine and I thought it was very interesting as well as entertaining, showing their experiences in today’s world. Since it had turned into a girls’ evening, Flora came through to join Cat and me and sat on the back of the couch. However she didn’t quite get it right because she faced away from the television!