No Secret Santa for me!

Ally sat his LNAT exam today and came home in a bad mood because he thinks he has done badly. He feels that the essay choices were very difficult and took his dinner up to his room, slamming the door. Oh dear. EK Book club this evening was at Susan's - usually our Christmas celebration is at Rosemary's but her heating has broken so Susan very kindly stepped in at short notice. As usual it was lovely to see everyone again, and we had a good laugh. When it came to Secret Santa time however, Emma and I were left presentless! This was because two people couldn't make it who must have been our Santas! However it was just as much fun watching the others opening their presents - Rosemary seemed very pleased with the perfume and chocolates that I gave her, and she soon guessed that they were from me, probably because I was watching her so intently! I gave Elaine a lift home and we had a nice chat in the car. It's all getting very festive! 

Back home for Jack

A wild and rainy day today, the highlight of which was my furry boy Jack's return home from his overnight stay at the vet. I picked him up on my way home from school and I could hear him miaowing in his low voice in his cat carrier as I drove down the road, and he rubbed against my fingers when I stuck them through the grille. He has a shaven tummy and two shaven front legs, which caused Ally much amusement. Although clearly pleased to be home - he walked about and scratched his scratching post and climbed up on the radiator - he is not very pleased with us; there was not much affection this evening and he didn't want to sit on anyone's lap, not even James'. He is still preoccupied by his ordeal I think, after all from his point of view the whole thing was meaningless and unpleasant, but I'm sure that he'll soon get over it. Ally has his LNAT exam tomorrow, which is a sort of aptitude test for pupils who want to study Law. He has had preparation classes at school but I have no idea how he'll get on. And he's now talking of choosing History over Law, so who knows what he will decide! This evening I wrote all my Christmas cards and Ally posted them except the local ones which Davie will deliver tomorrow. Jamie phoned; he thinks his exams went well today and he is going to pop home tomorrow for a few hours before collecting his ballerina from the train to take her back to Dundee. This is the dancing teacher whom he met in Darwin, who followed him to Melbourne during the summer. The weather is still very windy and rainy outside just now but I quite like that when I'm tucked up in bed! 

Good news about Jack Cat

James took Jack up to the vet first thing this morning for his ultrasound. This was because the vet felt a small lump in his tummy during a routine check up last week. We have been quite worried because last year Jill had a lump in her tummy which turned out to be a malignant tumour, and after an unsuccessful operation she died. I felt responsible because it was me who gave the go ahead to remove the tumour when she was on the operating table; she seemed such a strong and healthy wee cat and I was over optimistic and thought she could be cured. With hindsight I regret this and wish that we had opted for palliative care. I miss her very much.
We were told not to give Jack any food since yesterday evening so he was very hungry and was dismayed to be put in his cage ready for the journey to the vet. According to the vet, Jack was very well behaved all day, until it was time for his ultrasound in the afternoon. First he had to get his tummy shaved and he certainly didn't like that; the sound of the shaver scared him. Then the final insult was when they put lube on his tummy - at this point it all got too much for him and he attacked the vet's nurse, which is not like our good-natured furry boy! The vet phoned me to get permission to sedate him, but because of his dodgy kidneys he would need to be put on a drip to wash out the sedative in case it damaged them, which means an overnight stay. She phoned James with the results while I was driving Ally over to the Craigholme Dance (yes, more socialising for party boy, which will have to be scaled down because I got a phone call from Hutchie today to complain about his lack of attendance and effort at some classes!) To our delight it was very good news! No tumour was found so the lump must have been a poo; James commented fondly, "Yes, Jack the cat is full of shit!" And good news on his kidneys too; there is not much change and although they will not improve, things are stable for now. Unfortunately we could not celebrate with Jack because he is still at the vet, I can't wait to see him tomorrow! 

Sunday afternoon by the fire

I had such a lovely long lie this morning because I banned James from waking me until 10! It was great and I woke feeling refreshed. Ally and Clarissa got up at about 11 (she slept in Jamie's room), it turned out that they had got home at 4.30 after clubbing in town using Ally's dodgy ID and advice by phone from Jamie about where to go! They had a great time. James and I nipped into town to get a couple more Christmas presents - we keep thinking that we have finished but then think of something else. That really should be us completely finished now! In the afternoon Forrest, Marjory and the children came round for coffee and we had a festive afternoon with them and Davie by the fire in the lounge, having a good chat and a laugh. It was a nice way to spend a chilly afternoon. Ally arrived home after taking Clarissa to catch her train, he was absolutely exhausted and is now in bed at the unusually early hour of 9.30! Grandma came round for Sunday night tea as usual and we watched the semi-final results show of Strictly Come Dancing, and then made our plans for Christmas dinner. Grandma has ordered an 11 lb turkey with two different kinds of stuffing and chipolatas. I have already ordered my big Christmas shopping, to be delivered by Tesco on the 22nd. Well, I'm off to bed via a pleasant soak in the bath where I will read my current book "Let the great world spin". It's a bit gloomy so far but I'm hoping it will pick up. 

A Christmas Ceilidh

I enjoyed our department night out on Friday night; it was very relaxed and catered to all tastes. We started with a meal in Bar Square then moved on to O'Neills where an Irish Band was playing traditional music. We then moved to Arta where I did a bit of dancing before leaving at about 12 when I gave Tina a lift home. When I got home I met Clarissa for the first time since I saw her in St Lucia; she is very polite and friendly. In the morning James, Davie, Grandma and I set off to get our Christmas tree from the David Marshall Lodge at Aberfoyle; this has been our tradition since before the children were born! It is part of the fun of Christmas to choose our tree freshly cut down from the forest, and then we have a soup and sandwich lunch. Usually we have all three boys with us but this year Jamie has an exam on Tuesday and Ally was taking Clarissa into Glasgow to show her the sights. There was no snow at home but as we drove north we could see that fresh snow had fallen; the roads were icy and the countryside was covered with freezing mist. The branches of all the trees were topped with a layer of snow which gave an attractive lacy effect. When we arrived at the David Marshall Lodge we thought that there were no Christmas trees for sale, but as we approached the building we saw that they were there, but many less that usual. This was because of the adverse weather earlier in the week, however more were being delivered. With Grandma's help we chose a fine nine foot specimen of Douglas Fir, then James and Davie lashed it on to the roof of the car and we went inside for a warming lunch. Home we went and James put the tree up in the lounge and Davie did a grand job of decorating it. I have so many happy memories of decorating the tree with our lovely boys with Christmas music playing and the cats playing with baubles and tinsel. Kyle and Cammy popped round to see David, they are all good friends. Meanwhile Ally had taken Clarissa on a tour of the west end including the university and the Botanic Gardens. They went for lunch in Brel in Ashton Lane and listened to some jazz there. In the evening the four of us went to Cafe Source in St Andrew's Square where we had a nice meal in the cafe before moving upstairs to the ceilidh. There were no problems getting Ally and Clarissa in - it would have been a bit of a dampener if they had been turned away at the door! Ally had ID "borrowed from a friend" - the photo looked nothing like him! The ceilidh was great, just what Ally wanted. The ceilidh band were excellent and the venue was all decorated for Christmas. He and Clarissa danced to every dance, she looked lovely in a gold dress and he was very smart in his kilt. James and I enjoyed it too (more than James thought he would I think, and I am very pleased that he came with us!) and we had a few dances, we slipped away when the disco started at eleven, leaving Ally with strict instructions to take good care of Clarissa and to get a taxi home. I also told him to phone me if he had any problems getting a taxi because this is one of the busiest nights of the year. I haven't heard from him so I will turn the phone's ringer up to loud so that it will wake me if I am needed. I am so so tired but I'm really glad that the evening went well. Next Saturday however we are going to have a quiet night in! 

A visitor on the train

Alasdair's friend Clarissa will be arriving late this evening by train from London. He has been working hard to prepare for her arrival by clearing out Jamie's old room, cleaning it, putting on fresh bedclothes etc. It is quite sweet to see him making all this effort. He has asked me not to embarrass him and is getting his hair cut today to smarten himself up. He first met Clarissa on holiday in St Lucia three years ago and they have stayed in touch. Earlier this year he visited her when he was doing work experience in London. He decided that her visit should include a ceilidh because she has never been to one. I searched on the Internet for Christmas party nights that included a ceilidh, and I came up with Cafe Source at St Andrews on the Square. Ally decided that since he and Clarissa are seventeen, they would have a better chance of getting in if James and I came with them, so I booked four tickets for their Christmas dinner and ceilidh for tomorrow night. When James found out he was not a happy boy; he had been looking forward to a quiet Saturday night at home, and he did a lot of muttering. However he calmed down eventually and I think he will turn up, let's hope it's a good evening. 

Extreme Weather

Late last night James heard on the news that there was severe weather warning for today but we had no idea how severe it was going to be! When we were woken this morning by "Radio Doom and Gloom" as I call Radio Scotland, the main news was that a storm was sweeping across central Scotland with winds of 80 to 90 miles per hour. The councils nearly all closed their schools or closed them early. What a strange day! In more than twenty years of teaching, the schools I have taught in have never closed until last year's Big Snow; occasionally pupils have been sent home early because of heavy snow but never ever because of wind! Our council closed all the schools to pupils, so when I got into work there were no classes to teach! I still had plenty to be getting on with, however at eleven we were all sent home! The reason we were told was that the storm was to worsen from midday onwards and the police had advised that there should be no travel. It certainly was stormy, with driving rain and huge gusts of wind, but the roads were open and it just didn't seem that different from many other stormy days that I have travelled to and from work over the years. I seem to remember regularly walking to school from the station in the 1970s leaning at a 45 degree angle against the wind! I suppose it was better to be safe than sorry; there were scary pictures on the news of a failed wind turbine with its gearbox on fire, massive waves at Largs and Helensburgh, and a school bus blown onto its side - mercifully it was empty because of the school closures. There were 165 miles per hour winds in the Cairngorms and there were trees blown down all over the place, and rail and air travel was disrupted. But it was such a strange day - I knew something would disrupt our beautifully planned prelim timetable!
While I have been writing this blog, Jack cat started chewing on a packet of Doritos that was lying open on the coffee table beside me. I told him to leave them alone but he wouldn't stop so I put my laptop aside and started to stand up to take them away from him; at this point Jack grabbed the packet with his teeth and flung it to the floor where a whole lot of doritos fell out and he started munching them - he was like a naughty toddler! Jack has been very suspicious of the windy weather, especially when the windows were rattling, and he has been enjoying watching the leaves blowing about from the safety and comfort of the back room.