Okay, okay, so I’ve not blogged for a couple of weeks. I know! I’ve been remiss, but there’s been a lot happening chez moi lately…okay, mainly housework and work and that kind of stuff, but the boy’s had an ear infection and we’ve not been having a lot of sleep lately and blogging was the last thing I wanted to do.

But I’m back now! Yippee!! Had a lovely email from Fiona Remnant from New Zealand regarding my DarkIsle books and how much her children loved them. She made me laugh when she said the family are now blaming any unwelcome smells on Klapp demons! We do that in our house too!! Hee hee. Thank you for the email Fiona!

So, what else have I been up to?? Hmmm, what to tell. As I said the boy’s had an ear infection and I’ve gone through a fair few bottles of the Magic Calpol. Took him to the doctor’s on Monday and she gave him a prescription for Amoxicillin, the banana flavoured antibiotic which I loved as a kid, but which he grimaces at and shouts ‘ew’ every time I put it near his still gumsy mouth (he has two teeth missing at the mo’). I don’t get it. I loved the stuff! Anyway, he seems to be mending pretty well. I had to keep him off school for a couple of days (the girl mysteriously went down with a stomach illness on one of the days, but had a miraculous recovery within ten minutes of getting home…a little jealous of the boy being at home methinks! A wee bit of the green-eyed monster rearing its ugly head?). Hmmmm.

Despite the earache, we all still managed to get out and about over the weekend. We drove into Dumbarton (former capital of Strathclyde and home to the wonderful Dumbarton Castle which sits atop Dumbarton Rock, which I think is a volcanic plug…anyway, if you’re ever in Dumbarton, it’s well worth visiting), through into Milton and up to Overtoun House, which is a Victorian mansion up the back of the town. It has excellent walks. I’d never been there before, this was my first time and the kids and it was fun exploring. Below are some pics taken on our walk…

I think Overtoun House is currently being used as a Christian retreat, but the gardens are open to the public and there were loads of folk taking advantage of the dry weather that afternoon. The house has a café which unfortunately was closed the day we went, which was a shame because we could have done with a cup of tea! The house was once a family home for the Smith family and a few decades ago was a maternity hospital and my brother-in-law was born there. Was definitely worth the trip and the kids loved the freedom of running around, finding wee nooks and crannies and generally having fun!

If you’re wondering why I’ve not mentioned the Scottish Referendum in any recent post, it’s because it’s such a highly emotive subject here. We’ve got two weeks to go to the actual day and things are hotting up. Everywhere you go, there are Saltires flying all over the place…I must admit I’ve been impressed by the number of enormous flags flying from high rise flats all over the place. I’ve never seen so many Saltires flying…it’s not something we as a nation tend to do, which is a shame because we should. There are also many, many ‘yes’ posters and not so many ‘no’ posters. I don’t know if this is because the ‘yes’ voters are more open about their views and the ‘no’ voters are not or if it means that most of the population plans to vote ‘yes’. We shall see. Anyway, people on both sides are very emotional about their views…I have friends and family some of whom will vote yes and some no. I know how I am voting and I respect those who have a differing view. However, I’m not going to air my politics here. I want this blog to be apolitical. I will however mention the odd bit and piece about the Referendum, an event I find both exciting and a bit scary. Two weeks to go and counting!

Right on that note, I am off. As usual I have motherly/housewifey things to be getting on with. I think I will start with a little cup of tea.

Til next time.

Dawnxxxx