Christmas Chess

My parents bought me a chess set for Christmas.  It is a good job we have a large lounge.  Both Cameron and Alasdair like playing chess so have two good opponents.

Millie Peach

A couple of weeks ago we had a new member of the family join us.  Her name is Millie Peach and she is a black labrador.

Millie has settled in really well and at the moment we are on a bit of a road trip with her.  We called in at Wigan and now down in Devon. 

Winter Walk

Yesterday we had a great day walking in Glendoll. During the day we experience a quick snow shower.  Unfortunately we ran out of daylight to complete Mayar but we had an excellent day. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Loch Faskally

 

 

Had a brilliant day canoeing on Loch Faskally with Sarah and the boys.

 

(Click on the play button below to see a video of our day)

 

 

iTeam

Sometimes I come across funny pictures that I just love. I am sure you have all heard that there is no I in team.

I used to agree but did say there was a me if you look hard enough (tEaM).



Now an i has been spotted so I thought I would share this with you.

Cameron in the Cairngorms

Cameron and myself have just got back from a camping trip to the Cairngorms.

Alasdair is away with the scouts to Lochgoilhead so we decided to go camping ourselves.

The plan was to go up a couple of Munros but unfortunately the weather was poor so instead we just had a low level walk.

We spent the night camping at Derry Lodge.

Cairngorm Camping

Last weekend I was camping in the Cairngorms with Perth High School.  We were doing a Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award training expedition.  Weather on the Sunday was fine but Saturday and especially Monday were a real challenge. 

3 C’s

Today I have been baking and decided to try a new 3 C’s recipe.  A chocolate cheese cake. 

The kitchen was really busy today. I also produced a chocolate sponge cake and chocolate brownies.  Just so I did not over dose with chocolate I also made an egg custard tart.  Good job our chickens are laying lots of eggs as 13 were used today.

Gardening The Easy Way

Today one of our friends Gordon asked for a hand in his garden.  He had hired a JCB to clear the bottom of the garden.  The advantages of the children playing on computer games and using joysticks came into its own today, as Cameron was better than both Gordon and myself. 

 

 

In no time he was digging holes, moving rubble and levelling the ground.

The One That Didn’t Get Away

We have recently been away in our caravan to Edzell. 

The campsite was in the middle of some woods and had a small course fishing pond which the boys loved.  Alasdair  and Cameron caught loads of fish but Sarah caught just the one which happened to be the largest but did not want to hold it. The fish was a mirror carp shown in the picture. 

 

 

Puddles in Perth

Today it has not stopped raining.  I think I need to invest in a boat or at least get the boys dinghy out of the attic.  Below is a picture of our local sports centre in Perth, complete with it’s new water feature.

Messing About On The River

This weekend was Alasdair's birthady and he wanted to go away for the weekend. We decided to take the caravan up to Blair Athol campsite and stayed the night.  The site had a river running along side it, which Alasdair spent most of the time messing about in it.



We enjoyed the site so much that we have booked to visit again as soon as the boys finished school. 
Why we were there the Athol Highland games were on, but the boys enjoyed playing in the river and riding their bikes so were not really interested in going to the games.
Blair Athol estate has its own private army which is the last private army in Europe.

Starwars Humour

I received this picture on Facebook and thought it was funny enough to post on my blog.  My children love Starwars but might not understand the joke as they probably won’t know the image on the left.  Sign that I am one of the oldies who used to tape top of the pops on a cassette.

Eggcellent Egg Custard

Alasdair was helping me with some egg custard the other day. Here is one he personalised for Mum.

Birthday Boy

Today Cameron became a teenager, so we thought we would go out to celebrate his birthday.  Where better to go than the first pub he ever visited, the Moulin Inn.  We took Cameron here for his first pint (milk) when he was just a few weeks old.  It is quite scary how time flies and the fact he is now 13 years old.

 

 

After lunch we went for a walk around Lock Faskally.