Last Day of Term

It's the Easter holidays and Ally, Davie and I celebrated it in our different ways. I enjoyed a curry from Shimla Pinks and watched an episode of Dirk Gently with James. A quiet but pleasant evening which suited us because we were both quite tired. Ally went to the Rangers "Legends" game which he thoroughly enjoyed; it was played by retired players who are all well known. The only goal was scored by Ally McCoist who, Ally tells me, put on a brief burst of speed that took all the other players by surprise. It was sold out; Gavin had predicted correctly that there would be a last minute rush for tickets because of the fine weather. Ally and his friend Callum were sitting beside my colleagues because Gavin had very kindly got them the tickets. David was also out for the evening; it was his last day at Belmont and he went over to Springfield Quay with his good friends Assad, Joshua and Stuart. They went bowling and then to the cinema to see "The Hunger Games" which he said was quite good. Then they had something to eat; he came home very happy with his evening. Both boys came into our room to tell us all about their evenings; I thought was really nice that they wanted to do that. 

Happy Birthday Alasdair!

Alasdair is 18 years old today! We had a birthday tea for him including Grandma and Cat, and it was good fun. Cat had made a birthday cake for him; it was a delicious chocolate cake and it was beautifully decorated too - white icing with Happy Birthday Alasdair piped onto it in blue and a little golden saxophone made out of icing. Cat had also brought indoor fireworks for the cake which were excellent - the smoke alarm went off! We all sang Happy Birthday. Cat is definitely Ally's girlfriend again.
Later I went to my EK book club which was, as ever, a really good laugh. When we discussed the book - American Wife - I mentioned how I had enjoyed the short stories. It was only when everyone else looked puzzled that I realised that I had downloaded the wrong book onto my kindle! There are evidently two books with the same title and the one I should have read is by Curtis Sittenfeld, about the life of a (fictional) American President's wife. The hazards of a kindle! I checked later and the Curtis Sittenfeld book is not yet available on kindle, so that's why only one novel appeared when I searched for the title, and I didn't notice that it was not the correct author! A very pleasant evening. 

Back in my hammock

Today I felt quite tired and found it hard to summon up my usual enthusiasm at work. So I was glad to head home and since the weather is still glorious I dived straight into my hammock as soon as I arrived. I got my hammock from John Lewis for about £70 in 2006 and I have certainly had my money's worth out of it. It has its own metal frame so it's easy to set up, and it's made of a nice dark green canvas. In our Scottish climate it is not a year round pleasure, but it is wonderful when I do use it, so comfy and relaxing. I love to lie in it and read while glancing up at the blue sky, with or without white clouds. Half an hour in my hammock restored my spirits.
A further treat was in store for us after tea thanks to Ally, who downloaded - guess what - the first (double) episode of Mad Men Series 5! It did not disappoint! 

I notice that Alasdair is very tall

Ally, who will be eighteen on Wednesday, has suddenly become very tall. James and I always used to refer to Ally and Davie as "the wee guys" because they were so tiny compared to Jamie (who is four years older than Ally and five and a half years older than Davie). But this evening I noticed that Ally is now slightly taller than James, who is six feet tall. I can't believe it - Ally has always been this wee skinny boy with curly red hair; I used to carry him around in my arms, and now he is a young man, still slim but quite muscly, and way taller than me. I also think that he is becoming more tolerant of me.
Today was another absolutely beautiful day, unseasonably warm with record temperatures for Scotland in March: 22.9C in Aberdeenshire and about 19.5C in the Glasgow area. It was a very busy day and I didn't manage to get outside apart from a short time at lunch time, but I think the good weather is cheering everyone up. I gave Caroline a lift home after parents' night and the sky was a beautiful gold colour around the setting sun.
This evening we watched the last two episodes of Mad Men Series 4, and it was tremendously good! Watching Mad Men has been great fun over the last three months and I can't wait to see the new series, which is just about to be shown on Sky Atlantic. Unfortunately we don't have that channel but I may try to subscribe to it online if that's possible. 

Basking in the Spring sunshine

Today was warm and sunny all day and I'm glad to say that we totally made the most of it. James and I had intended to walk another part of the Ayrshire Coastal Path but we ended up sleeping in a bit, partly because of the clocks going forward and partly because we were at a party last night at Lesley and Jonathan's. We had a great time at the party, however with the time change we ended up going to sleep at about two in the morning so no wonder we didn't get up early! So we went for a walk round Strathclyde Park instead and it was a very pleasant hour, although almost too warm. We picked up some herbs at a garden centre on the way home and James did some gardening while I rested in my hammock. I did hold the ladder while he put the trellis back up for my honeysuckle. Davie went to the Old Firm game with Gavin and to his delight Rangers won 3-2, he was full of the joys! Ally arrived home from his party (he had slept over) and washed the outside of all the windows with the long poles. We all had a barbecue later with Grandma, the first of the season! It was amazing to sit out in the garden in the warm evening sunshine. Let's hope that we have lots more warm days this year. 

Timber!

The weather was just lovely today; starting off cool and crisp and then becoming warm and sunny by lunch time. James and I had some errands to do in town, and I got him the watch that I have been wanting to get him for his 50th birthday, which he likes very much. We then had a pleasant lunch in Cranachan in Princes Square. When we got home Ally and Davie were sitting in the extension with the doors wide open to the garden. I was delighted, it's the first day this year that it has been mild enough to do that. James got my much loved hammock out of the garage for me and I had a coffee and read my current book for a while in it (Ramshackle by Elizabeth Reader, who I saw at Aye Write). Meanwhile James, Ally and Davie decided to fell the conifer outside the kitchen window. It has become far too big and was blocking views of the garden from the house. The three of them worked away and finally there was a cry of "Timber!" and the tree fell - partly on top of my hammock, which luckily I wasn't in at the time. Then they cut it all up and took it down to the dump. Amazingly one of our forks was found under the roots. It must have been there a long time because the tree roots had twisted it round into a strange shape. Ally said he remembers digging in the earth with forks when he was a tiny boy! A useful and pleasant day. I love being around the house. 

Fate rapping at the door

That's how Beethoven allegedly described the famous first four notes of his Fifth Symphony, three Gs and an E flat. James and I went to hear Beethoven's 5th at the City Halls tonight. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra were absolutely excellent and we really enjoyed the strong, exultant music. I thought that the symphony was very varied and it was good all the way through. James persuaded me to go for a drink in Metropolitan before heading home, which was a pleasant way to end the evening.