Christmas Cheer.

Kinross December 2010.

 

Lots of Love   Joan.

My 2010 ‘Books Read’ List.

Last week I talked about the books I have read this year and how I was working on a list our of my personal journal so now I have finished it for those of you that are interested here it is.

 

  2010 Book List.

1  The Brass Verdict.  By Michael Connelly
2  The Associate. By John Grisham.
3  The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
4  Doors Open. By Ian Rankin
5  Whispers of the Dead. By Simon Beckett.
6  Shafted by Mandassue Heller (did not finish)
7  Fever of the Bone  by Simon Beckett
8  Last Rights by Harlem Coben.
9  Double Eagle. By James Twining.
10 Long Lost by Harlem Coben.
11 Forbidden Places.by Penny Vincenzi
12 In Silence by Erica Spindlar
13 The Lost Symbol  by Dan Brown
14 Absolute Scandal byPenny Vincenzi
15 The Common Lawyer by Mark Himenez
16 Hold Tight by Harlan Coben.
17 Another Woman by Penny Vincenzi.
18 A Darker Domain. By Val McDermid.
19 Theodore Bone by John Grisham
20 Deliver us From Evil by David Baldacci
21 Caught by Harlan Coben
22 Accused by Mark Gimenez
23 The Chosen One by Sam Bourne.
24 The Best of Times by Penny Vincenzi

             **************************

 

I enjoyed all of those book with the exception of the one I did not finish. Dan Brown’s latest offering (The Lost Symbol) I found very disappointing. If asked which one I enjoyed most I would say it was ‘Forbidden Places’ by Penny Vincenzi.  It was a wartime tale about girls living and working during the last war it was a great story and all 800 pages were full of great story telling. All Penny’s books are nearly 800 pages but they are all so good.

Hope you are having a pleasant Sunday before Christmas its snowing heavy here again so we are tucked up here in the cosy house.  That’s it for today till next time take care on these bad pavements and roads.  Love Joan.

Only 9 More Sleeps.

It seems ages since I updated here well there really has not been a lot happening, we are still up to our ears in snow and still freezing. I so wish the news/weatherman would stop calling this weather a cold snap or spell it has been been like this since the middle of November hardly a snap, we have had lying snow for three weeks it is so bad we now have a tractor going round the streets taking the snow away it is piled so high all along the roadside where people have been clearing their driveways etc..

Every night this year I have sat in bed and written my journal it is not a diary it is a spiral bound notebook. One thing I have done at the top of a page where I have started a new book I have written the title and the author.  At the moment I am copying all the titles on to a sheet to paper so I can save it on my PC I have been amazed just how many books I have read by a large variety of authors not got the final total yet but sure it will be interesting to me to find out.

Like everybody we have been trying to get ahead for Christmas, the cards are posted the tree is up and most to the food shopping and pressies bought just got to go out and find something for Stuart. We did buy the Wii as our Christmas but will have to get something for Christmas morning for him to open.

You may remember a few years back we bought single beds as I am such a bad sleeper, well we had single quilts too earlier this week I had had enough of  bits of me hanging out from beneath the quilt freeezing you know the bits I mean so on Monday we went out and bought two new double quilts, wow, what a difference its like sleeping in a cloud only thing is it makes it hard to get up in the morning I am so cosy. Only this is we are not matching cover wise at the moment but I have so many double quilt covers and single ones come to that I will wait for a bit,

 Thinks that’s about it for now if I don’t get back before Christmas I hope you all have a Very Peaceful and Happy Christmas.

                        Love

                Joan.

Snowed in……

Good morning I thought I should put pen to paper so to speak and let you know what is happening up here the frozen north. We have almost 2 feet of snow and there is not a lot of movement other than neighbours digging themselves out. Everybody round here is off work nobody can get out of the street. I think one or two hardy soles tried earlier I just hope they can get back. Living in a small rural town nobody actually works here they all travel to work. There are papers today which has pleased Stuart no end, he had withdrawal symptoms yesterday when there were none, there has been no bread either. yesterday or today. People seem to panic dreadfully. We have enough to last a day or two yet. I tried to do my usual online shop this morning but cannot get one till Sunday, won’t let that happen again. Every time the snow goes off we say that must be the end but it comes on again, just when you have got the paths clear. Our neighbours have been fabulous clearing our driveway our car and putting down salt and sand. It does seem strange people doing things like that for you but we are the old ones here. Stuart will be 71 in January and I will be 68 on Thursday but feeling very fit, but if we go to help we get sent inside again. Wonderful neighbours are such a blessing. A few weeks ago we bought one of those Wii game machines and are doing the fitness program on there every day, we are on week three and what a difference it has made to us suddenly our legs are working full speed again I can run upstairs no bother at all, what a super invention it is exercising in the warmth of you lounge is the bees knees. The snow is still falling, never known it to stay so long with no sign of it going and when it does it will take a long time to melt there is so much of it. Thank goodness we have a little shop within walking distance it is so handy. Take care and keep warm,

Love Joan.

Monday morning.

Busy busy and another Grand Day Out.

Hello, it has been a while but we have been very busy with one thing or another. We have had the decorator in to do the lounge and as my stairs are open plan that means going all the way up with the decorating the top hallway included, so you can see it is a big job.  Stuart is not able now to do these things like he used to so we have to get someone in to do it for us, it does make things very expensive but since we both don’t smoke now we don’t need to have it done as often as we used to.

By Wednesday last week it was such a lovely day and the house was back to normal we thought we would have one of our ‘Grand Days Out’.  It was a beautiful November day blue sky and sunshine all the way.  We first went over to Gleneagles and the views from the top were spectacular with the snow on the mountains in the distance.

Looking down Gleneagles.

This is the famous Gleneagles Hotel and golf course home of the Ryder Cup in 2014.

After our run down the lovely glen we had morning coffee in Crieff.  Onward and forward after our refreshment we travelled up The Sma Glen where snow was lying at the side of the road we thought this was very early this year.

Schiehallion from Loch na Craig

Scheihallion [right] Ben Lawers 

 

Loved the way the sun was lighting up the Larch trees.

 

Someone left this little guy behind he looked a bit lonely.

As you can see we had a great day weather wise and the scenery was great too.  It was great to get away from the smell of paint especially as I have a bad cold just now.  Till next time take care.   Love

                                               Joan.

Yesterday.

Hello, sorry it has been such a long time been caught up in other things at the moment but thought you would like to see what we saw yesterday just round the corner from where we live.  There has been a very early and very large influx of Waxwings this Autumn all over Great Britain. Usually they don’t come in till nearer Christmas.  These little birds have flown over all the way over the North Sea from Scandinavia and beyond. Here are some of the pictures I managed to get.

The count yesterday was 67 but we have heard of larger flocks around the country.  Waxwings feed on mainly rowan berries as you can see, we have plenty of those up here at the moment but at the rate they are eating them they won’t last long.  If you are out and about in your village or town and you see flocks of birds in the berry trees about the size of  our Starlings take another look you may be a lucky as we were yesterday and see some of these beautiful birds complete with lovely crest. Till next time.   Love

                                Joan.

 

Trials and Tribulations.

Good Morning, it has been a long time since I updated you on what’s what. The main problem has been Live Writer mine disappeared for some unknown reason to me. I tried and tried and in the end messed up my pc completely. I had my PC engineer in yesterday and she had to take my laptop back to factory condition so I have lost an awful lot of photographs graphics etc, the good thing is that I have also lost all the junk that had collected over the past three years.  So hopefully it will be ok now.Since I got back online I discovered that Live Writer launched a new edition of their writer so maybe the old one does not work now.

Last  Friday I had  an accident at home I picked up a pot with a metal handle that had been over a naked  flame. I saw the nurse and doctor and was referred to the burns unit in Dundee.  They took the to roof of the biggest blister and then removed my very tight wedding ring with the aid of gut wound round my finger and a lot of force and pain. My knuckles were skinned in the process but all is well now.

We are off for a short break up to Grantown on Spey next week so I will have to take a lot of pictures.  I do have some of my older ones on a memory stick so all is not lost but don’t want to put them all back on my nice clean computer.

We have also had the decorator on doing our bedroom so that is looking nice now lounge is next when we get back.

That’s about all for now am supposed to have wifi where we are going so maybe will write to you then. Till next time take care.

It's Been a Funny Old Week.

It has been a while in fact nearly a month since I had anything to say have been racking my brains so have been making some notes the last few days so I might have something to say.

It has been a funny old week weather wise sunny one moment and then a cloud burst, as we used to call them that was before we got 'Severe weather warnings' all the time they seem to happening everyday just now, it is the way August is, sunshine then heavy rain you just don't go out without your umbrella.

On Thursday we took a trip to St Andrews it is a long time since we have visited there, what with our holidays and The Open Golf it would have been far too busy for us even just now it was very busy on Thursday. We had two very heavy showers when we were there and it was hard to get into a shop to shelter as many people did not have coats on etc. On our way home we had some lovely skies so I thought I would share them with you today.

 

Would believe we did not have a spot of rain from these clouds we seemed to go around them. It was super watching the mini storm going over our heads waiting for the clouds to burst.

Later that evening everything calmed down and I took the next two from a bedroom window.

 

There is no filter or any colour added to these this is just the way it was 'Wonderful' I stood in awe.

Thats about it for today hope you have a great weekend till next time, Take Care, Love,

 

 

Joan's Musings is Five Today.

Hello, it is five years to the day I wrote my first entry in Joan's Musings over on AOL. I thought it would just be a passing fancy but here we are all those years later and I am still trying to amuse you with my tales of this that and the other. I try to take good photograghs for you to see my lovely country throughout the year hoping it will make you want to visit someday. Being retired and living a very quiet life sometimes it is difficult to find something interesting to say but I do try and if I think of something that may interest you I jot it down for my next entry I find it helps me a great deal. I have checked back and this is my 660th entry counting the 497 I did on AOL that's a lot of writing and I have enjoyed every moment of it except when things go wrong and I lose my entry into cyberspace, that can really get to me but I have found that using Windows Live Writer life is a lot simpler you get to put your pictures in where you want them and you don't have to write backwards so to speak.

I hope there is enough cake for everyone just help yourself to a slice and wish Joan's Musings Happy Birthday and here's to the next year. Until next time take care. Love,

Then and Now.

Good Morning, you may remember in the entry entitled 'Squelchy Saturday'  I was telling you about the gravel pits that have been made into a nature reserve.  I said I wished I could find the old pictures I took back in the '80 when the paths and the planting were first done.  We were looking at some pictures the other day when I found this one so I have scanned it for you to see......

1987 do you see the tree in the front of the pictures well watch for it in this next one...................

July, 2010.Now you can see how the reserve has grown it has been a joy to watch it develop, when we first saw it we never thought it would turn out so well, and the tree, look how big it is now.

That's it for today but 'Joan's Musings' will be 5 years old at the weekend so I will return then with the birthday cake. Till then take care and get the champers on ice.  Take care Love Joan.

Its Golf This Weekend

Good Afternoon, here we are again its Thursday, the 15th of July the first day of the British Open at St Andrews and we have the best seat in the house in front of the TV. Its not a nice day there at all, misty and wet but no wind so the course is being murdered at the moment we need some wind maybe once the tide turns.  July is such a busy month sports wise  between The Tour de France, Grand Prix, Golf, the tennis at the end of the June, Stuart is having a ball, and I watch over the top of my laptop.

Have not been out and about this week we have only had one and a half nice days, Monday we went to Perth and Tuesday morning we sat out in the garden with coffee and scones (home made).

Does anyone have a good muffin recipe I have never tried them but would love to. Think I will make a Tea Loaf today one of my favourites and I have not made one for ages but we have been trying to watch our weight but it would be nice to have a tasty bit for all this TV watching we will be doing the next few day.     That's about it for today hoping for a home win but we will see. Till next time Love Joan.

 

Squelching Saturday.

So here we are on the Saturday of T in the Park and its been raining all morning heavily at times.  It also rained yesterday until late afternoon and then we had a sunny evening and one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen here, the sky was blood red, so I don't know what happened to the saying 'red sky at night being shepherds delight'. It must be so miserable standing in a field with the rain pouring down, but I suppose something that is ok if you are young does not appeal to someone of my age lol.

On Thursday we had a lovely day and we went back to Birnie and Gaddon and I managed to finish the photo walk I started with you last Saturday.  This time the camera was well charged up to here is the rest of the walk.

There is a meadow up on this point of the walk all sorts of wild flowers are in full bloom and there were many many butterflies too.

I took this picture to show you how near we live to this part of Scotland you see the hill in the background well I live at the bottom of that so it not far at all. We are so lucky to live in this beautiful part of the world even if it does rain when it shouldn't. Speaking of the rain this is the first substantial rain we have had in 2 months. 

This is a photograph of Birnie the other loch, this is the original loch, Gaddon was made later so this one is more mature although Gaddon had caught up now the trees and shrubs are all very thick just now you have to wait till you get to a viewpoint that has been cut out of the vegetation to see the water.

 

The Mute Swans after much arguing with their neighbours have raised three cygnets. We say a very funny thing happening as we walked on Thursday there was a coot and a Great Crested Grebe nesting on floating platforms and the grebe was stealing sticks from the coots nest I was waiting for a big fight but the coot just sat there minding her own business we did have a good laugh at that.

 

 

Just about back to the car park here after about one and a half miles.  It is one of our favourite walk at any time of the year and we usually do it on the 1st of January weather permitting.

That about it for now off to watch a mountain stage in The Tour de France. Take care. Love,

                                               

Its T time again.

 

Can you believe it's T in the Park time again. I scanned this photo from a leaflet we received this week to let you see the size the festival is.  It has grown and grown.  we are expecting over 1000,000 festival goers.  All our roads around Balado will be closed from Thursday till Monday afternoon, it does make getting about a bit difficult. It is strange all this money coming into our little town  and yet there is no money for plants for our flowerbeds in the centre town a few dozen plants are not all that expensive. During the winter the council has been round a dug up all the shrubberies to save on maintenance and just left them empty and bare it all looks very sad and this is just the start of our cutbacks. There has been a big furore as a fully mature beech hedge was chopped down by mistake.  It will be replanted in the Autumn but how long will it take to replace what we had.

I seem to have deviated  from the subject of the festival Stuart and I may try to go out on the back roads to get some pictures to show you but it is very difficult the last time we went near we were stopped by the police and that was not very nice you would have thought we were trying to get in free God forbid.

In my last entry about my latest walk I was asked if it was wheelchair friendly yes it is a wee bit of an incline but no steps and there is a shorter walk taking in just one loch. Hope this clears up this for you.

Think that's about it for today so till next time take care and I hope the weather stays dry for everybody coming for the festival. 

                                                       Love,

                                                  

                                                

 

Come Walk With Me Again.

Good Evening we were out in the car today and had a lovely walk around Birnie Loch and Gaddon Loch.  I have mentioned this place before it is a disused gravel pit that was turned over to the council in 1991when it was all planted up with trees and shrubs it looked very strange at first but now it is all matured it is a wonderful nature reserve a great wintering home for birds and waterfowl. the site was gifted to the people of the county by the owners there is still work going on close by so hopefully the reserve will be extended when the gravel runs out.

I just wish I had a picture of it as it was in 1991 but did not have the wonders of a digital camera then.

So come walk with me around the loch on the lovely July day.

This the view from the car park a lovely spot to have your coffee that is if you have remembered to bring some.  We did not intend to be here so I was not prepared.

Not many ducks about today as they are in moult now and hiding in the reeds getting ready for the winter ahead.

This is the start of the path around the Gaddon Loch the trees have grown so much here you cannot see the loch until further up the path.

This is where a little viewpoint has been cut out, when we stopped here a Mute Swan sailed in with here 3 cygnets, it was as if she was showing them to us, that is one of the babies as they sailed away.

A Damsel Fly newly hatched was among the insects and butterflies that were flying around the grassy slopes. 

A little bridge that links Gaddon to Birnie. Gaddon is on higher ground and is more wild and windy.

Some of the wild flowers that were growing along the  path.  At this point you would have heard a bit of a scream as the batteries on my Fuji camera packed it in so we will have to finish our walk another day. Have had a lovely time writing this and showing you one of our favourite local places so till next time take care,

                                                  Love