Change of season

The Andersons are all a bit unsettled with the change of season. Davie woke with a sore head this morning because he was too warm during the night. James and I have also been feeling warm, and we have switched off the heating; it's great not to have to keep the doors closed to keep the heat in. Jack is probably the most unsettled of all, he no longer needs to climb on top of the radiator to keep warm so he is wandering around the house napping in a variety of comfy places.
Ally's exams are over and he is loving it. He and Cat were giving the back room a fresh coat of paint today; Cat is very handy with a paintbrush! David is studying hard, he is nervous about his Biology Higher next week. Jamie is back in Dundee on an oncology placement.
As for me, I am still counting the calories and taking exercise as much as I can. Today I dug out a DVD that I bought a while ago and have never used, called "Now that's what I call Fitness" I jigged around for about 45 minutes while James was at his Mum's and was soon lashing with sweat. When I caught sight of my reflection in the window I looked like an elephant dancing. I will keep trying! 

A day of sunshine

It is summer! Or at least it is summer for a day! As I write this I am lying in my hammock catching the last rays of sun. The weather is absolutely beautiful with blue skies with a few hazy clouds up high and the temperature today reached 19 degrees C! Ally's last exam was today so I was thinking about him all morning, having to write four essays about Constitutional Law in three hours. He says that he hopes that he has passed, although he doesn't sound quite as confident as he was about his other two exams.
It is so relaxing and comfy here and I am about to read my current book which is about the history of architecture told through the stories of thirteen buildings. Jamie recommended it to me and I'm enjoying it. The garden is full of birdsong so our feathered friends must be enjoying the sunshine too. 

Studying and tea

It has been a day of much studying by Ally and Davie and it was a holiday Monday for me. Ally"s final exam of this session is tomorrow, and it's Constitutional Law which Ally tells me is a vast subject. He started the day a bit down but he has been working hard and has cheered up a bit. He emailed me all of his recent Law essays which I found to be absolutely fascinating, especially Family Law, which was like reading family gossip! I'm sure the novelty would wear off if it was my job to deal with these often sad cases day in and day out. I also quite like Contract Law, but Constitutional Law is very dry. I thought his essays were very good and we argued about some of his answers which was good fun.
Meanwhile Davie has been working on his Higher Biology which I know he is worried about, and has plugged away at it all day. I think that Study Camp at Easter was good for improving his study technique. I was very proud of them both for working away all day without complaint.
I went for a swim in the morning which I enjoyed although I found it quite strenuous - when I go swimming with the school I am looking after the pupils so I can't do lots of lengths, so today's swim was more tiring than I am used to! I popped into Morrison's afterwards for a few things. On the way back to my car I saw someone - presumably a shoplifter - being taken to a police car in handcuffs - it was not a nice sight. One of the things that I purchased in Morrison's was a selection of fruit teas. I was impressed by the lemon and ginger tea that I enjoyed at Heather and Ewan's on Saturday so I got some of that, and I also got some raspberry and pomegranate tea and some camomile and honey tea (for bed time). Heather and Ewan had pointed out to us that these infusions not only have almost no calories but are also caffeine free, so I am looking forward to trying them. I avoided black currant tea however, because when I drank some many years ago I vomited copiously shortly afterwards. I'm pretty sure that the black currant tea was not the culprit, but sadly I cannot dissociate it from the unpleasant experience, so it has never passed my lips since! 

Bats

I went on two walks today. The first one was in the morning, to Troon. James and I walked for an hour from the golf course along the beach up to the river and then back down right along the beach into the town of Troon. It was a lovely day for a walk; the breeze was noticeably warmer than it has been for the past week and the sea was navy blue with white foamy tops to the waves. We had a pleasant chat as we walked along. We had lunch in the Velvet Apple again and it was very tasty; I had sweet potato and rosemary soup and James had grilled chicken with coleslaw. Another half hour's walk took us back along to the beach to the car.
My second walk was in the evening after Grandma went home. Alasdair, David and I went up to the Heritage Park and walked three times round in the twilight. Again it was quite warm and was pleasingly quiet, in fact we were the only people there! We saw two herons flying back and forward across the water, but the highlight was the bats! There were dozens of bats flying in and out of the trees, flitting about and flying past us very low. There were lots of midges so I think they must have been feasting on them. I have never seen bats at the Heritage Park before and I have never seen so many bats in one place, it was amazing! 

Partaaay!

I was delighted to be invited to my god-daughter Jennifer's 18th Birthday party in a hotel near where she lives. First we had a delicious meal with the Black family at Heather and Ewan's local Indian restaurant. We have been there two or three times before and it did not disappoint! I was very hungry because I had been saving up my calories all day so that I could indulge myself. I hadn't seen Gail and Ian for years so it was nice to see them again, and we met their two very pleasant and well-mannered boys, David and Craig. Andrew was there too and his wee cousins clearly look up to him and enjoy his company. It was also great to see Ewan's Dad again; he reminds me a lot of my own much-missed Dad; just a lovely man. Replete, we set off for the party venue. The party had already started but numbers were small because it was still only about 8.30 p.m. and most of the young guests would be rocking up a bit later. Jennifer looked absolutely stunning; dressed in a little black number with her long blonde hair and perhaps the longest legs that I have ever seen! Her friends looked beautiful too but I have to say that Jennifer stood out from all the others - she is gorgeous. She was very happy and gave us a big welcome. We were gratified that the music in the first part of the evening was well known to "our generation" and soon we were up bopping away to all our old favourites. I was glad that my pupils had taught me how to dance Gangnam Style when we were at Inverclyde. The party goers seemed like a very nice crowd. Ewan's Dad did a really impressive amount of dancing for a man of eighty and even invited all the ladies at our table, including me, up for a dance. We had a great evening and most importantly so did the party girl.
Later on the music changed to a more modern and much louder sound and the numbers increased dramatically as more and more young people arrived. This was the cue for us to leave! We went back to Heather and Ewan's for a coffee. A splendid evening! 

Happy Birthdays

It is my dear sister Jennifer's birthday today. Unlike me she is a young thing still in her 40s. She has similar ambitions to mine regarding getting fitter, so for her birthday Russell has bought her a lovely new bike. I asked what she would like as a present from me and she has asked for a gel saddle. A good suggestion because it will be a lot more comfy! So Russell is kindly purchasing one for me (so that it will be suitable for the bike he has bought) and I will reimburse him. It's nice to get someone a present that you know they will like and use.
My preoccupation with presents was not yet finished however, because I then went into town to buy an 18th birthday present for my beautiful god-daughter Jennifer. I had already decided to buy her jewellery and I thought that something from Swarovski would be suitably sparkly and special. Oh how I agonised, looking at everything in the shop! But when I finally found a little heart pendant, embellished with hundreds of tiny Swarovski crystals, I was delighted with it. I hope that Jennifer likes it. 

Walking a lot

I have just had an amazing two days on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the Pentlands. Great company and great walking - and very welcome exercise for me at 11 km each day. I am very fond of the Pentlands after many expeditions there; the scenery is pleasant with rolling hills and reservoirs. On the first day we had some brief but heavy showers but apart from that the weather was bright and I have come home with a sunburned face! The pupils worked hard but as it was their first ever expedition some of them struggled a bit with carrying heavy rucksacks - and it was a cold night. However they all managed the walk - with only one or two minor emergencies for me to deal with!
On my return home I was planning a quiet evening but Ally (who has his Roman Law exam tomorrow) asked me to go on a walk round the Heritage Park with him after tea to clear his head. The thought of another walk, even a short one, was rather daunting but off we went and I really enjoyed it, we walked 3.6 km and had a lovely chat. And now? A luxurious bath of course!