Lesina left-overs

So far just two - one planned, the other accidental we think:

Lucy's running shoes were a bit too muddy to pack after yesterday's race

Braeden's book might be missed - but it was maybe a bit large and heavy

 We're still eating our way through Xmas. Is this a very large chocolate or is it a simple example of perspective?:

Meanwhile, how's my knee? Pretty good generally, although I did have to go to the nurse the other day to clean out the end of the scar where I keep feeling pin-pricks under the skin - perhaps a bit of suture is stuck there? It's still not completely clear and I've now got some Magnesium Sulphate paste to see if that will draw anything out.

My knee bend must be improving ever so gradually. I can get on the exercise bike easily now and I even managed to drop the seat one notch the other day - although I've since had to put it back.

So that's it - exactly 9 weeks since my op, and it's back to work on Monday. Ho hum.

Hogmanay & New Year

It was Hogmanay and it come to 1:30 pm - or midnight Adelaide time, but there were no Australians to be found - but that didn't stop some from an early New Year's celebration:

Chris and Kelly returned later on and we all went out to the Derbar for their buffet:

We decided to see New Year in at the flat at Inchmarlo. Jo and I walked up there and were greeted by this sight when we arrived:

We stood on the balcony and watched the Tor-na-Coille Hotel's fireworks from a distance - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZuRtjRWvG4

It was back to in-house catering on New Year's Day - Jo's steak pie. Braeden performed his party trick at dinner:

I tried to arrange a family photo, but some folk can never sit still for the camera:

January 2nd brought another trip over the hill to Drumtochty to have a proper look at this potential wedding venue (summer 2016 possibly). It's a magnificent private house that you basically hire for 3 days or so, and they arrange the wedding there for you. Here's some of the views from inside the house:

It was also the day of the Lumphanan Detox 10K and Lucy and Gary were taking part, so, after dropping off Chris and Kelly in Banchory, I dashed up there to watch the race. I saw them off at the mass start:

(also in video format at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A70ra6YVoyg)

I then wandered round Lumphanan whilst they ran over the hills and through the mud in the fields. It's Macbeth country of course, and I came across this:

I also bumped in to these people:

Carole, Luca and Yoda had come to see Gary finish. It was another high quality field, won yet again by the amazing Robbie Simpson, who finished light years ahead of the rest. Gary did a respectable 44 minutes on what is a difficult, slowish course - I reckoned he was about 69th. Lucy wasn't feeling her best and took just over the hour, but she looked very cheerful at the finish:

Here they are together:

The Last Supper had to be a fish one, and Ross came along and enjoyed some of the left-overs and re-heats. The Lesinas were staying overnight with us.

This morning (Friday), we were all up at stupid o'clock and Jo and I drove them - and their considerable luggage - to the airport, and said our farewells:

One lot down, one to go - tomorrow (Saturday) evening. This place is sure going to feel different next week when it's just Jo and I again.

Saturday/Sunday/Monday

Whew - deep breath - Saturday arrived and no new visitors, so we were free to do whatever we wanted. Lucy and Gary were planning a run together and a return visit to the Laser Tag at the Beach had been promised to the boys, so the Lesinas took one car and headed to Inverurie, whilst I took the Australian branch south, heading for a quick look at St. Andrews.

We drove over Cairn o' Mount, but when we got to the bottom of the hill on the other side, we took a sharp left at the Clatterin' Brig and headed up Drumtochty Glen. Chris and Kelly have plans to get married in Scotland, probably in the summer of 2016, and Drumtochty Castle (http://www.drumtochtycastle.com/) is a potential venue.

We arrived at the private estate and there was a wedding on this weekend, but we carried on regardless. We came across a fairly grand building and Chris said "look - there's the castle" so they got out to explore:

Wrong! This is just the stable block!

We found the real castle eventually and Kelly and Chris had a quick look around and have since made a proper appointment to go back and find out more information.

There is an old church (St. Palladius Scottish Episcopal) on the estate and Kelly and Chris posed here:

We popped in to nearby Fettercairn for a quick coffee, but Miller disgraced himself and the rookie parents hadn't brought a change of clothes on this day trip, so we had to pop in to Tesco in Dundee to buy him a new outfit.

Eventually, we got to St. Andrews and the weather looked inviting, so we parked down by the beach where the famous scene from Chariots of Fire was filmed. As soon as we opened the car doors, an icy east coast wind blew in. We didn't walk far, but I did manage to get a photo on the Old Course:

We grabbed lunch at the first place Kelly spotted - in the basement of the newly refurbished Hamilton Grand (http://www.hamiltongrand.co.uk/hamilton-grand/index.html) building. After that, we took Chris on a quick car tour of St. Andrews - nobody was going out in that wind again!

There was a quick stop at the Lairhillock (http://www.lairhillock.co.uk/) on the way home to assess it as a potential wedding venue, but it was a bit underwhelming after the grandeur of Drumtochty.

On Sunday, it was back to the old routine of entertaining visitors from the Central Belt - this time, it was the Hansons - Brian and Mary brought their grandsons Sam, Tom & Leo along. Carole and Luca arrived as well, but Gary didn't make it - he'd spent himself on his morning run.

Brian, Scott, Chris and I made a brief escape for a couple of beers at the Tor-na-Coille, where the Hanson family were staying overnight, but here's some photos from the rest of the day:

Monday came and it was Luca's 7th birthday. We were joined by Guy and Julie who had been staying at Pitlochry overnight and had come over to pick up their boys and say hello to everyone. Here's the scene just after Luca blew out the candles:

and this is the video version:

It's Hogmanay today and it looks like we might be going out for curry and then back to Inchmarlo to see the New Year in.

Thursday/Friday photos

It's been all go here - after Xmas Day, nephew and niece Kieran and Meghan arrived on Boxing Day with their respective partners Julie and Ellis. Meghan was a little wary of handling Miller - she thought she would drop him! - but eventually she was persuaded:

Julie wasn't quite so reticent:

The following day, it was the turn of Barry, Dawn, Helen and Lauren to make the trip north. Although it's me holding Miller in this photo, generally Dawn was more than happy to make up for Meghan's reticence of the day before:

Here's one of Barry and Helen:

That's all for now folks - more later on FaceBook and Blogger - but I think I'll head out for a breath of fresh air before Mary, Brian and the boys arrive this afternoon and the whole circus starts again.