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.