Playing with Photography

Just a short one today. I start my new job tomorrow and I'm busy panicking over all the silly little things (Is there a microwave for heating up lunch? Should I wear the company polo shirt or a proper shirt? etc). I have managed to keep myself busy to try and stop fretting about what I know are silly things, and as a result its been quite an eclectic week!

My last day was Friday and I'd already organised it to be a half day. It went really quickly - one of the instruments was being difficult (clearly its going to miss me!) so I helped out with that in the morning and then took a really long morning break as I was handing out homemade shortbread to everyone. My new role is still in the same company, but its a completely different department and a different building, so I wasn't sure if I was going to get the big cheerio from the wing. 

I did get the big send off - the entire wing crammed into one of the labs and, despite trying to hide behind one of the instruments, I was presented with a card and some gifts (a multicoloured, multi-tool - is that not the best?! And a porg mug! And magnetic poo, but everyone gets poo, that's what happens when you work for the water industry!). Whilst I certainly didn't get upset or cry or anything, I could feel the emotionals trying to get me. I think its good to move on from a place before you grow to hate it, but I know I need a new challenge - still, there's a few faces there I am really going to miss.

Friday I also hosted Burns night for the family (sadly not many photos) and despite the fact that I despise haggis in any form, managed to pull together a feast that went down very well. As always, dessert is important to me and the crowning glory of the night was the apple and bramble pie I made. The hubby did the Haggis Hunting poem, which went down far better than Ode to a Haggis (which I always felt was far too long!) and I think we managed the right amount of tradition that it felt like a Burns Supper and not just a get-together.

Is it still #NoFilter when the filter is an external sheet of glass?

Yesterday I met up with a friend who has just gotten herself a D-SLR (canon, so sadly we cant share lenses etc as I have a Nikon) and we took Missy out on a photography walk around Dechmont. I've talked about the abandoned asylum before and its a great place to get some weird and wonderful photographs. One of the things she brought were glass filters that slot into a holder in front of your lens (I got to play with these as she needed the 58 clip on ring, and I was a 55), so we had tremendous fun seeing what colours did what. I knew previously that a yellow filter actually adds extra depth for black and white photography, so we put that to the test amongst other things.

It was quite fun to see that we both had a different eye for a picture - whilst effectively taking the same shot, we would frame things differently or spot different little oddities to focus on when going around the same building. Missy also showed off how good she is at having her picture taken, happily going were asked and patiently waiting for her reward. She did burn off a lot of energy chasing squirrels and bunnies too, so the whole walk wasn't spent bumbling about after us!

Today has been a sewing day - I have my next dance exam in February (Highland and National) and the Hornpipe outfit I'd picked up second hand was just all the wrong sizes, so I've dropping hems and nipping in seams for most of the day. I'm in a distracted mood, so really the job shouldn't have taken as long as it has! But I'm happy with it now, so its just a case of trying to get some practise in!

On a side note, I've been tagged in that 7 day black and white photo challenge thats been doing the rounds on Facebook, so I'll put them all together on here next week with an explanation for each of them!

Cairns Castle

Well, the winter weather hasn't let up, that's for sure! I've had friends and colleagues get stuck on the motorway and snowed in. Fortunately we managed to avoid the absolute worst of it, although there is still far more than my fair share of snow out on the street!

We were meant to be in Aberdeen this weekend, but with amber warnings for more snow (and a snowmageddon warning from the Lothian and Borders Police asking people not to drive) we just canned it and decided safe than sorry was the best protocol. As hubby has been cheated out of a weekend home, we decided to make an effort to go and do something nice, and found this little gem!

Castle Cairns is an odd little find and was more the centre focus of a lovely walk around and about the reservoir it sits upon. With it being sat literally in a farmers front garden, we didn't investigate too closely and instead were treated to mallards and a heron flying over the water. The views were stunning, it was that kind of snowy day where the sun is out and there is no wind, so the water was like glass and a beautiful myriad of blues.

We found a woodpecker trail on one side of the reservoir and a bird watching hut on the other. Looking through the observations diary (we added the heron, several ducks, three collies, a black lab and a very old border terrier along with our mutt) we were a bit disappointed not to have spotted a clearly holidaying Loch Ness Monster, which someone else reported. 

Above, one of the aforementioned collies. Missy had fun bounding about in the snow, although, as you can see, at knee deep, it was a struggle at points for her to get around. I literally followed in the hubby's footsteps and allowed him to break through the worst of the snow, which is tiring work! All in all a lovely morning spent in the snow followed by a well deserved pot of tea! 

First post of 2018!

As I said in my last post, this is a funny old time of year with work stopping and starting and the majority of people being on holiday. To bring in the bells we met up with some good friends of ours and, whilst their little ones gave up long before the clock struck midnight, as did Missy who snored away in her bed, we managed to see the New Year in.

With nothing being open on the first, we settled on going to the National Museum for a few hours – a surprise find as I have lived in Edinburgh pretty much all my life and never knew it was open the public holidays! The hubby was back to work after that and I spent the second getting stuck into some small craft projects, including:

I got the game for my Christmas (brilliant game, really good fun) and decided that I needed little bags for the tiles to go in, just because. And I'm planning on making a matching bigger bag for the box to go in, for the original mixing of tiles!

After that it was again and the first party of the year! My niece became a teenager (a part of me keeps dying every time I say that) and, as she’s daft on Pusheen, that was the theme for the cupcakes and the main cake.

I modified a blank template for the cupcake cases and, should anyone fancy making their own cupcakes, please feel free to use it and link back to me! Just print it on A4 with minimum margins and its good to go! I'm not gonna copyright it or anything seeing as Pusheen belongs to someone else!

Just a short one today, plans this week include rehoming all the baby plecs and the seond birthday party of the year (and yes, more cake!)

Hope everyone had a lovely time seeing in the bells!

A Break from the Festivities

Rain, just about sums up the kind of weather we had on Christmas day. It seemed that whoever is in charge of Christmas was running behind schedule as, on Boxing day, we woke up to about three inches of snow. Missy loves snow. So I feel like we did get out in the end for a lovely walk, even if it was a day late! (Queue snow photos for the rest of the blog!)

This year the hubby and I put our foot down and said that no, we didn't want to go visiting, we weren't going to be glorified taxis and we certainly were not hosting. Finally, on the year of our tenth Christmas together, we got to have it to ourselves, just us and Missy. I do enjoy seeing people on the day, but I will confess that to just wake up and gently trundle through the morning without panicking about picking people up for set times or that all the presents had been rounded up and were in the car, was pure bliss.

It's that weird part of the festive season for me - it being the three 'normal' days between Christmas and New Year. Its business as usual in the household as both myself and the hubby are back to work and I will admit to enjoying the shorter commute. Still, with another four day weekend around the corner, its tough to keep your head in the game and keep on top of work, the house and chores. We had our 'resolutions' conversations last night and I think I know what I want to do. Last year I made an effort to see friends and family more, and to ensure that the time spent wasn't just doing jobs for other people, but actually socialising.

So next year? Well, I begin a new job at the end of January. I want to use that as a chance to break bad habits, and to start taking better care of myself physically and mentally. I think it'll be tough to make myself take time out just to relax - there always seems more jobs needing doing, but I think it will be good for me to stop fretting, at least for five minutes. 

We'll have to wait and see how it goes. I've told Missy her resolution is to stay out of trouble (she did well this year, only one big vet bill), but I can tell from that little glint in her eye that her ambition to annihilate the grey squirrel population is still at the forefront of her mind...

Wishing you all a Happy New Year, and all the best for 2018!

Teepees and Christmas Cards

Just a short post today - knowing that this time next week it will all be over has put me in a panic. There's been lots of baking and all the little odds-and-ends jobs that are so easy to neglect have suddenly come to my attention. So this week has been spent mostly double checking presents, wrapping the last few pieces and writing out the Christmas cards.

Missy 'helping' with the cards

There's been a lot of craft work over the last few weeks - the cat re homing place we got Ziggy from for my sister were looking for some winter donations so I put together some cat quilts. And then I had to make Missy some quilts so she wouldn't feel left out! Hers are the bottom two:

I am particularly pleased with the Monster High one, I will confess! The other big project for Missy has been a tee-pee! Now, let me explain before you automatically label me a crazy dog lady, as Missy was a stray, she cannot be left alone with access to the bins, so she has her bed in the hall under the stairs (like a little Harry Potter doggy, but with way more space!). 

We do try every so often giving her the living room, but she just cant help herself and after a few days of lulling us into a false sense of security will just decimate the bins. And I mean decimate - rubbish will be strewn throughout the ground floor of the house, its like she knows she's going to get into trouble so just goes daft. The worst one was the icing sugar. Icing sugar has a magical property whereby an empty bag can make it look like its been snowing in my living room and turn a black dog completely white. That was when she broke me, it was too funny to be cross, but it took hours to clean fully...

But I digress. It basically boils down to the fact that my kitchen door is one of these silly folding doors, and as the style is no longer made, I am not buying 5 new doors just to replace it. So Missy has the hall and access to a nice sunny spot on the stairs when the weather is nice. I've always had a curtain over her 'bedroom' to keep it warm at night and, with the -12C we had last week, noticed she was actually pulling the curtains into her bed and curling up in them.

I will not have a cold doggy! So, with the aid of this tutorial and some very rusty math skills in order to scale the whole thing up to make one large enough for Missy, I present to you, her tee-pee!

And one with her just chilling out inside:

It did take a small bit of bribery to try it out, but once she realised her bed was there and that this was her new 'room', Missy has taken to it really well. She seems to have figured out how to open the flaps herself to cool it down during the warmer nights and also how to close it up herself and, when she's had enough of all the cheesy Christmas songs, has been putting going there of her own free will to chill out.

I have also realised its plenty big enough to be a photo prop for my smallest niece and nephew - I'm thinking of having them as Tiger Lilly and one of the lost boys, and for Missy, well, she'll have to be Peter Pan! Perhaps if they visit in the summer...

I'm hoping to get another post in before Christmas, but if not, have an awesome day however you chose to celebrate it!

Cramond Island

Apologies for the delay - I've had the in-laws visiting this week and its been a bit more chaotic than usual. Missy was pleased to have her uncle Flash visiting, although he is getting rather old and grumpy - at -8C today, I cant blame him for not wanting to play.

Yesterday was the only day we could all manage to go out together, so we decided to go for a walk over to Cramond Island. Locally it is well known as you can walk over the causeway at low tide and easily access the 1/3mile long island and it had strategic importance in both the World Wars - most obviously seen by the large concrete anti-boat booms.

It was a cold day, but clear and crisp. Both the dogs enjoyed getting in everyone's way and stopping for cuddles from every passerby and the humans of the group argued over whether we could see sand pipers or dunlins and everyone agreed on the oyster catchers. Its about a mile long walk to get to the island, and we were very aware of crossing times, as its easy to be caught out by the incoming tide and get stranded. 

We also all agreed on the heron!

We made our way to the highest point of the island where we got a good view of all the bridges (with three now at the same point, its rather unmissable!). All the signs have been removed, so we're assuming that they are getting updated to include the new crossing. The MIL was anxious not to get caught out by the tide (I perhaps should have saved my story about a friend-of-a-friend who had to be rescued by the coastguard after having a BBQ there until after we had visited the island) so we didnt loiter long. 

Flash is also feeling cold these days, and he was rather thankful of the open fire we found at the nearby dog-friendly pub. Missy conceded defeat and allowed him the prime spot, although it meant she could loiter beneath the table, so I think I'll call it a draw!

In other news, our sneak approach to Christmas seems to be working. We haven't had any anxiety problems yet and Missy has been quite chilled out. And here is a picture of her with the very special VIP we met the other weekend! (apologies for the cropping!)

How many pups get to meet santa?

Enjoy!

A wintry day

Well, we've had our first snowfall of the year and the nights are officially drawing in, so in my books, winter has arrived. Its not all gloom and doom, we have an action plan in place to try and help Missy get over her Christmas phobia and December is pretty much full up already with plans to see people and spend time with one another.

We managed a lovely winter walk up and around Cockleroy today. It was surprisingly busy around Beecraigs, but we had the hill to ourselves for the most part. The wind was bitter though! I thought I was going to get blown away and Missy just showed off and trotted around us happily. She loves the snow, all the scents sit fresh on top of it and, thankfully, we only lost sight of her the once. She came back to us a minute later looking mighty pleased with herself and out of breath, so she had fun!

In other news, our plecs have had babies again - slightly later than last year! We spotted the eggs straight away and got them into a nursery tank this time, so no need to try and stress out fishing tiny babies from the big tank. Its been tremendous fun watching them grow up from eggs, to larvae, to fry and now proper juvenile fish. We hadnt expected so many to survive, but out of the whole clutch we've only lost half a dozen, so out best estimate of 70-100 fish still stands. I already have a shop lined up to take them off us once they get a little bigger, so its all ok, although I am watching out in the main tank in case we get another cluster of eggs!

I'll leave you with the development photos of the babies and aim to be back soon - I've got some fun sewing projects on the go that I'm looking forward to sharing, and if all goes well, Missy is meeting someone special tomorrow!