Xmas & Anniversary

Yesterday was nice - not as hectic and exciting as when we had 13 for Xmas dinner last year, but nice all the same. Ross was a huge help to Jo with the cooking and preparation - he came round on Christmas Eve and was here again on Christmas morning when Jo was still at church. He introduced Jo to a couple of cooking innovations and they worked out well - the turkey was moist and tender and the stuffings and cranberry sauces were good, but the piece de resistance was the roast potatoes, made from the more crumbly King Edwards.

Ross, Jo and I had G & T's mid-afternoon while we awaited the arrival of the non-drinking Inverurie clan - Gary was on call, Carole's on medication because of her shoulder and, as far as we know, Luca hasn't developed the habit yet.

Smoked salmon from http://www.ugie-salmon.co.uk/. with prawns and home-made aioli for starters and Carole's excellent Lime and Chocolate Cheesecake plus a Chocolate log for dessert. None of us could face the cheeseboard after this - we never do.

The day had started with a FaceTime call from Kelly and Lucy did likewise after dinner. Here's some snaps from Christmas:

Table set for dinner

Ross on carving duties

The aftermath of a heavy dinner

Luca plays his favourite games

Some of the cycling stuff I got

Sadly, a blurry family image

Jo bought us all identical cardigans

The weather has been lovely - very cold and frosty, but dry and sunny. The frost patterns on the cars are interesting:

Jo and I vowed last night that we wouldn't do anything or go anywhere today - our 42nd anniversary - and we didn't. We even vegetated to Pinnochio this morning. Gary made a brief appearance at lunchtime - he was at work today but drove out to Banchory to take part in the Fun Run again. Jo and I have been telly-watching mostly, although I've been sorting out some IT issues with my laptop and backup.

That's it for now.

Xmas Eve

I awoke this morning with a very stiff left knee after yesterday's injection at Albyn. It's funny because I felt absolutely fine after the injection, drove home, then walked up to the Legion with no problems, but during the night it's stiffened up - it's like somebody has kicked me on the outside of the knee.

When the surgeon was doing the injection, he was on my left, whilst a nurse was standing on my right, trying just a little too hard to distract me with conversation about Australia etc. Of course, this led me to look left to see what Mr. Bidwell was up to and I nearly fainted when I saw the size of the needle - long and thick. He plunged it in and I thought it was going to come out the other side. Not surprised it's sore today.

The only thing I was advised to look out for was possible infection - a 1 in 500 chance apparently. If my knee swells up, gets hot or red and I feel ill, then head for A & E I was told.

The rest of yesterday was a bit of a non-event, although I did manage a couple of celebratory pints at the Legion with the squash guys. There'll be more of that today with the football group, who are currently playing the traditional Xmas Eve match to celebrate Dave Williamson's birthday down at DATA. I'll meet them in the Douglas when they're done.

That's it then - all up to date. We plan to FaceTime Kelly when we awake in the morning - she and Chris have his family over at theirs for Xmas. Then, in the evening, we'll do the same with Lucy.

The End

I'm sitting here in my Aberdeen office - my last day at work. I have nothing really to do so I thought a quick blog update would fill some time.

Some thoughts - why am I sitting here in a shirt and a tie? Won't have to do that any more - that's a plus. Some people have been in to bid farewell already - "how are you feeling?" - don't know how to answer that, but I do know I wish today was over and I could relax over a quiet beer.

Just had a couple of hours' chat with Michael and Francis, mostly speaking about the old days. I'd written a historical Timeline for future reference for them and it brought back some memories for all of us - some good, some not so good. I reckon that, in my years with the Clarks, I've been involved in one way or another with over 50 companies/operations. I could write a book.

There was further discussion about me returning briefly when we come back from Australia - just to review the Budgets and how to cover Forex for 2015-16. Michael said I had to come back anyway so they could take me out to lunch.

Dawn, Barry & Helen came up on Sunday - that was nice, but I forgot to take any photos. Instead, here's another one of our tree, fully decorated:

Jo did a nice job, didn't she?

Gary and Luca came over on Sunday as well and Luca stayed overnight with us, with Gary picking him up from work last night. Yesterday, I was out with our cycling group on a beautiful riverside run, although there was a bit of a climb to follow. I struggle up the hills - I'm always last in our group. I'm not very fit, but I guess the old bike doesn't help much when compared with the others, who mostly have new ones, with larger 29" wheels, front suspension, disc brakes and many more gears than I've got. Over the next couple of months I'll have a wander round the various bike shops and see what I can get.

Dick Taylor came riding up behind me yesterday and reckoned I have got my saddle too low and, as a result, I can't maximise the pulling power. When I think back to when I started cycling again to recuperate from my knee replacement, my focus was on getting maximum bend in the knee, so I wanted my saddle to be low, but I've never changed it since then. Something to consider and experiment with perhaps.

This afternoon I have my appointment at Albyn for the injection in my knee, after which I hope to have a beer with my squash-playing pals.

Then it's the start of a new life.