Things I did this week

17 April 2016 / darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

Red…

Hello. How’s things? Hope you’re all hail and hearty. What’s been happening in your world? Hope you’ve had a good week. This week I finished all my painting, but didn’t get round to cleaning the carpets…

…and yellow…

I did manage to finally clean out my study. It took me a couple of days. Unfortunately it’s become a bit of a dumping ground for everything plus the Guinea Pigs are in there and they are little mess makers in their own right.

…and pink…

The dog is VERY interested in the Guinea Pigs and we have to make sure she is never on her own with them. Although they are almost as big as she is, I think there’s a good chance her terrier instincts will kick in and she might kill them.

…and green…

The kids and I went a walk along the back of Helensburgh last week and it was fantastic. The walk takes you into the Duchess Woods and it was invigorating. The views were nice and the weather was dry, but blowy (the type of blowy that gives you sore ears and mussed up hair). Me and the boy searched for fairies in upturned tree stumps (the girl is just too old now for that) and the dog had a ball running into mud and feeling the wind pull her ears back like streamers. We then went to Helensburgh for some ice cream at Vanilla/I like Candy. We may have considered going to Dino’s, but the man was so nasty to my girl a couple of weeks ago (she was in there with her friend) that we are now boycotting the shop. In fact, we’ll never buy anything in there again. I hate it when adults think it’s okay to treat young kids badly. She asked him for a bag and he was really off with her.

…purple…

I’m still reading The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell and loving it.

We didn’t much else this week. We have taken the dog for walks, I’ve drank a few bottles of wine (well, I am on my holidays!) and did a lot of cleaning and washing (I think our washing machine is on the blink…just testing it now). I also managed to spill an entire bucket of bleachy water all over the kitchen floor (including over my feet)…took me about ten minutes to get it cleaned up properly (after I’d shut the dog in the living room as she insisted on tap dancing across the wet floor!).

…and orange…

I’ve finally started writing again. I have this idea mulling about in my head and I started getting it down this afternoon. Felt good. Hope I can keep it up.

…and bloooooooo…

Saw a few folk this week too including family and friends.

I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too!

But most of all I enjoyed having a wee bit of time to trawl the internet, read my books (I’m also reading Arianna Huffington’s Thrive) and potter about the garden a teensy bit (although the weather’s been a bit off this week…back to being bitterly cold).

Sigh. Back to work tomorrow. Oh well! Maybe some day I’ll be able to give up this working malarkey and be a lady of leisure (who reads a lot). Talking of reading, I also cleared out four bags worth of books which I donated to my local library. This is good for me as I never get rid of books. My personal library was getting out of hand, though, so I had to do it.

Right on that note, am away to continue watching Rachel Khoo’s cookery programme Little Paris Kitchen. Til next time!

Dawnxxxx

An Ancient Scottish Castle that Overlooks a Stunning Loch

20 July 2013 / darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

It’s sweltering today. Really hot. But that didn’t stop us piling the kids into the car and going up to Carrick Castle near Lochgoilhead and on Loch Goil today. We went via Helensburgh Coop for supplies for lunch and then drove up the long way – via Rhu, past Faslane naval base (and the peace protesters), through Arrochar and then on to the Rest and Be Thankful. At the top of the Rest, we turned left down the winding road that takes you to Lochgoilhead and then on to Carrick Castle.

I don’t know the history of Carrick Castle, but it’s a beautiful old castle that someone has been doing up for the past few years. I love it and would one day love to see inside it. It would be amazing to live in a castle.

We had lunch near the castle and then the kids played on the beach next to it whilst myself and hubby enjoyed the shade. The girl went looking for crabs (see pic of bucket, seaweed and little crab). The boy enjoyed burying his feet in the stony beach and generally running around having fun.

We then went into Lochgoilhead for some ice-cream and then it was time to go home.

It’s just past 7pm just now and it’s still really hot here beside the Clyde, so am going to sign off now and go and wilt somewhere in the house. I think I may wilt on the sofa in the living room cos Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is on and I just love those films, especially Harrison Ford. Yummy.

By the by, the book I’m reading just now – Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (the Bloggess) – is hilarious. I recommend it. It’s the first book in a long time that’s had me in tears with laughter.

Til next time.

Dawn xxxxx

Steam trains, marbles and ice-cream…must be a visit to the Riverside Museum.

19 July 2013 / darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

We went to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow today and had fun looking at all the lovely old cars, bicycles, motorbikes, boats and other forms of transport. I love the museum and all its things, but the displays I like the most are the old trams and the steam trains.

I’ve called the museum the Riverside Museum cos that’s its official name, but in my heart of hearts it’s still the old Transport Museum to me (that’s what it was called before it moved into its shiny new building down by the Clyde last year or the year before). I’m probably not alone amongst the folk who live in and around Glasgow!!

It was just me and the kids – poor hubby was at work – and I was quite glad to get the kids indoors for an hour (never thought I’d say that!!) cos it was so hot outside. We went there, rushed around the exhibits (cos my kids rush everywhere), had lunch, bought marbles (they conned me out of it!) and then left to buy ice-cream at the van outside the museum (it had to be a 99 for me!). We got home mid afternoon and I was exhausted…I think the heat must have drained me!

Anyway, it was a good day and we all enjoyed the exhibits. My fave bit…eating ice-cream outside! Yummy.

Dawn xxxx

Birthday on Millport

1 June 2012 / darkislethebooks / Leave a comment

Last week the entire family went over to the Isle of Great Cumbrae to help my sister Lesley celebrate her (in whispered words) 40th birthday. Of course I forgot to take pictures to use in this blog, so have been forced to use the one above that shows Millport in less sunnier weather.

Anyway, the day we went the sun was splitting the sky. We arrived in Largs (home of the famous Nardini ice-cream…yum!) around lunchtime to catch the ferry across to the island. Armed with folding chairs (which we barely got to sit on…more about that later), a picnic and lots to drink (non alcoholic!), me, hubby and the weans got on the ferry for the (what felt like) five minute trip across the water.

We disembarked at the other end – along with lots of other people – and caught the waiting bus down to Millport.

We met up with Lesley and the rest of the family at The Garrison House (former barracks/captain’s house built in 1745, which is now a community cafe, museum and centre) and spent a few happy hours under the shade of the trees, eating too much, chatting, watching the kids running around and generally having a nice time. We also paddled in the sea, something I’ve not done in Scotland for a long time. Yes, the water was freezing, but you soon get used to it! We had ice-creams all round and about 4pm, when the temperature was not even thinking about falling even slightly, we decided we were departing. Being a pale northerner, I had had enough of the heat and was desperate to get home and into the shade of a cool house. En route home we had the obligatory fish n chips in the car (it’s traditional in our family that on the return from a trip to the seaside we have fish and chips for dinner as a treat or in our case: two sausage suppers and chips for the kids. Heaven!).

I think the best bit of the day was the reaction my youngest had to the travelling. My boy was very excited: not only did he get to go on a ferry, but on a bus too. You forget that kids are so used to being driven everywhere these days, that a bus trip is about the most exciting thing to happen to them. In my day it was the other way round.

Anyway, we had an excellent trip ‘doon the watter’ albeit we didn’t jump on the Waverley to get there.

Dawn xxx

NB regarding the folding camping chairs which I purchased two of from ASDA the day before the trip specifically for going to Millport – no sooner had one of us (myself or my hubby) get up to see to one of the kids, buy ice-cream or do something else, than one of our family members slipped into our place. They did offer to get up, but I didn’t have the heart to shove my mother or father off of them or Lesley’s friend. The kids weren’t so lucky though! Wooohooo – evil mother laugh.