Good - it's Friday

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Perhaps it should be God Friday? I know we're having trouble getting enough workers for our weekend shifts today, tomorrow and Sunday (customer orders and consumer demand mean we have to produce every day bar 2 - Xmas & New Year) - particularly from our foreign workforce - Poles, Lithuanians etc. So don't complain to me if there's not enough mackerel in your local Tesco/Morrison's/Costco/Waitrose this weekend.

The great spring weather continues - and still no sign of rain. No doubt we'll complain when it does arrive, however. I hope I haven't now put a curse on the weekend's outdoor pursuits - golf tomorrow and hillwalking on Sunday. We've got Gary, Carole and Luca coming round on Sunday afternoon for Easter dinner - Luca will be in his element - that boy is seriously addicted to chocolate - must have been my Dad's sweet tooth passed down.

Last night, I put in the request for our summer 2012 holiday in USA. Lucy and I had spoken about Idaho and Scott has just been over there - it's the eastern adjacent state to Oregon - and he said it was worth a visit. Idaho stretches the length of Oregon and Washington state combined, having its southern border with Nevada and its northern one with Canada. To the east lies Montana and Wyoming, including some of Yellowstone National Park (Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo country!).

The problem is where to go? American states are like countries and travel can take a lot longer than you expect. Probably the most famous town in Idaho is the capital, Boise, but the exchange holiday resorts are usually more rural. Anyway, I've just requested them all for the time being - at least until Scott and Lucy tell me otherwise. Here they are - there's just 10 of them:

OK - so where are they all? Well, McCall is north, bordering the southern end of Payette Lake, and Hope is further north east of McCall on the north eastern shore of Lake Pend Oreille. Island Park is near the border with both Montana and Wyoming.

Blanchard is north, near the Washington state border, and Harrison is south of Blanchard, and also towards the Washington border. Ketchum and Sun Valley are fairly close together, in the middle of the state, parallel with Oregon.

Of course, like me, you all knew this already? No research was required - honest, injun.

We also received confirmation yesterday for a request that I put in recently for a time-share week that was about to expire in October this year. Interval International phoned me to tell me that a week at the Carrick at Cameron House, Loch Lomond (http://www.intervalworld.com/web/cs?a=1503&resortCode=CAK&parentResortCode=CAK) had unexpectedly come up in July and did I want it? I said yes of course - better to use it rather than lose it, I thought. It's from Friday 15th July for a full week. It's just 2 weeks before we head off to USA, so I won't be able to use it for the full week - we'll probably spend Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights there, but I'll have to get back to work after that. It's a 2 bedroom job anyway, so there's room if anybody else would like to use and/or share it? Gary has already said he can't make it then.

I think I've prattled on long enough now. To finish, yet another picture of Jo tending the back garden:

Oh - and finally a word to Ross and his pals to thank them for stomping round our house, slamming doors all over the place from about 2 am this morning - I so wanted to be wakened from my deep sleep at that time.

Before I was so rudely interrupted .....

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

This morning's posting finished rather abruptly when my car was ready a bit quicker than I had thought it might be. I was about to publish another rather sad photograph of the Tor-na-Coille filling station, which has now boarded up its shop and its pumps:

Looks more like Beirut rather than Banchory, don't you think?

Killing time

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

So, it's Monday morning and here I am, sitting at John Clark BMW, waiting for a new fog lamp to be fitted to my car. I hadn't even noticed it was broken until it was pointed out to me when it was in for service last week - no idea how it happened.

So I thought I would update my blog again. It's been another good week weather-wise - especially yesterday when it was really warm. When I came home from golf, Jo was out the back sunning and reading again:

I didn't join her - a brief spell on the balcony at the front was enough for me - I'd been out in the sun on the golf course all morning, so I'd had enough by then.

We got all our USA flights confirmed and paid at the weekend, and I decided to hire a car at LAX this time rather than face the horrors again of a 3 hour shuttle bus ride from the airport to and from our accommodation at Newport Coast. A convertible as well - can't you just see me driving along in the California sunshine with my hair blowing in the wind? If only.

Our first hill-walk of the year is planned for next Sunday morning, so no golf for me next week. We're planning to do one of the many walks up/round Bennachie. Hope my knees and my cardio system stand up to it all OK.

We watched Invictus on Saturday night - Clint Eastwood directed the film about South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup back in the 90's, not long after Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island. It was OK - a number of the scenes were shot in Cape Town as well as Johannesburg. There were a few from the Ferryman's brewpub on the Waterfront at Cape Town - I remember it well from our trip there in 2008:

My car's ready now - must go. Bye.