Thursday evening update

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Unexpectedly a lovely day today - even in the sea-surrounded Broch it was over 20C. I'm at home now and have just booked our next holiday - to go and see Kelly and Chris over Christmas/New Year, when it's also our 40th Wedding Anniversary. And guess what? - Ross is coming too!

Malaysian Airlines this time - via Kuala Lumpur, and we're having a 2 night stopover there on the way back - at http://www.shangri-la.com/kualalumpur/shangrila/.

When I got home tonight, I noticed Luca had a plaster on his elbow - he had fallen in the street. He was pretty quiet and when Jo nipped out to the shops, I never noticed him falling asleep at first - I thought he was still watching the cartoons - but then I spotted him reclining on the settee, propped up by his other elbow and with his eyes apparently half open:

Spooky, eh? Jo says Gary was just the same - she used to go over to him and shut his eyelids - just as the undertaker does with the dead.

The dentist smoothed off the rough edge on my broken tooth yesterday so that it doesn't catch my tongue, but I have to go back for a full appointment to get it repaired properly. Apparently the tooth had 2 old fillings and it split right down the middle of them.

The roof surveyor is coming out next week to assess what needs to be done to the flat roof above Ross' bedroom and to look at the pitched roof above ours at the same time.

Do you remember the complaint we were having with Santander? Well, yesterday, completely out of the blue, we received a bunch of flowers:

Very nice - but even this was a cock-up. The investment, the complaint, and all the correspondence are all in Jo's name, but the flowers and the apology were addressed to me:

Can't they do anything right?

News now of a big challenge coming up over the Christmas holidays next year - 2013-14. With all the athletic training apparently going on in our (extended) family, Scott has given notice that they - the Lesinas, Scott and Lucy - are going to be taking on Kelly and Chris in a race up Scolty Hill!

Of course, Gary and Carole could be contestants as well by then! Watch this space. I'll be keeping a fatherly eye on this one - particularly as I did the official Scolty Hill Race (http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0049) when I was older than any of my offspring and their partners are now!

Tomorrow, Brian Hanson arrives at lunchtime and is staying overnight, with golf planned for tomorrow afternoon and Saturday morning - hope the weather behaves.

Last word - a thought for Jo - it's 21 years ago today that her father - Granda Bill to most - died.

Bad start to the day

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Yes - today hasn't gone too well so far. Jo was up at 4 am - I didn't hear anything, but I understand there was a huge thunderstorm then - that didn't waken me, but Jo getting up did.

The knock-on effect was that the flash floods caused by the storm have closed, not just Banchory G.C., but also Meldrum House, where I was supposed to be playing in a  corporate event this afternoon. That's the course attached to the hotel where Gary and Carole got married, and I hadn't played it for a number of years, so I was really looking forward to playing it again today. Ho hum.

Maybe just as well, mind you - I played a tie last night and I've got a medal tomorrow, plus I'm still a little stiff from Sunday's walk, so a day of rest won't do me any harm.

I also had a dentist's appointment this morning - or at least I thought I did. I'd made the appointment to look at the tooth I broke on holiday by phone on the way back from the airport last Monday, but when I turned up this morning, I was told I should have been there yesterday! I was sure she'd said Tuesday, but I was a bit tired and jet-lagged, so it's possible I did get it wrong. Anyway, it's now re-scheduled to tomorrow.

Sleeping again

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Yes - I think my sleeping pattern is pretty much back to normal again. Each night last week, I got about an hour more than the night before, and then, this morning, I slept in a bit - never awoke until ten to seven. Mind you, I think this was mostly brought on by a fairly stiff walk I did yesterday - my first outing on the hills since the Lake District last year. (details on http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.co.uk/) - it demonstrated that I badly needed the exercise as it's only just over 4 weeks until I'm going back there again for another walking weekend.

Yesterday was the first time I had walked with my orthotic wedges in my walking boots. I had wondered how it might be, but it seems the wedges are still working as I don't have any of the awful pain I used to get after walking - only the usual stiffness etc - plus a bit of discomfort on the soles of my feet - a relatively small price to pay. Of more concern is my cardio condition - I know I'm not very fit now, as my exercise has tailed off with each passing year - but it was certainly a struggle up the last bit of Pressendye yesterday. My main concern is holding back my pals, who have to wait for me to get my breath back before I start off again.

Enough of that - what else has happened since my last posting? Well, I golfed on Wednesday night again - nice to see all the lads again. Also nice to watch a bit of live Olympics at the right time of day/night - but it's all over now. It'll be interesting to see what the aftermath is like for the economy and the country, but it certainly seemed to go very well.

On Saturday, I drove down to Johnstone to play with brother-in-law Brian in his club's Members' Invitational event. I didn't play well, but Brian was pretty steady. He's coming back up this week to play in Banchory's Invitational - we'll see how he does up here - like me at Cochrane Castle, he's never really done well when playing Banchory.

Jo came down with me and spent the afternoon with Mary, and the two of them popped out to see Julie for a brief while.

After yesterday's walk, Gary, Carole and Luca came over for tea - that was nice. Luca's now staying with us for a few days, so Jo will be kept even busier. We handed out the holiday presents, including an Oregon Ducks t-shirt for Luca. Of course, we bought American size, which turned out to be a bit on the large side for little Luca just now:

Luca was amused - as was his Gran. He's grown since we were away - but not that much. I don't think he's going to be a footballer - at least, not an American one! I guess the t-shirt is one for the drawer just now!

Luca's latest creation with the play bricks was photographed - he was very proud of it and wanted to make sure we had a record of it:

This week? Golf tie tonight, then (corporate) golf outing at Meldrum House tomorrow afternoon, followed by our pre-penultimate midweek Quaich golf on Wednesday, and more golf on Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday - whew! I've got a lot of catching up to do.