Summer?

The other day I stepped out into the garden to enjoy the morning sun and the beauty of our miniature daffodils as they caught the light.The Mister placed our newly purchased compost bin in a good spot, presumably ready for this seasons grass cuttings and the like.

Fastforward to this morning and it's a whole different picture.....
Thankfully most of that snow has melted throughout the course of the day but other areas of Scotland have been hit hard causing chaos. It seems the new wellies I bought just before Christmas are getting more wear than I bargained on. Hmm. Not happy.

A couple of weeks ago a friend asked me to knit some 'Hug' scarves for her neices (in super thick Sidar Bigga yarn). I was happy to oblige but at the time pondered who would need a thick cosy scarf in April. Now of course they seem the perfect gift....I may even have to knit one for myself before the week is out!

Butterflies & Big Spiders

So, now as I write this post it is raining and has been for 2 days. However, when we did have that glimmer of hope that Spring was here and all was to be forever lovely..the Mister and I had a 'guid day oot'.

Yes, Tuesday past the sun was shining and having enjoyed our previous day at The Secret Bunker we opted to do something else fun. So we jumped in our motor 'Bella' and headed across the water to Edinburgh. Just off the city bypass is Edinburgh's Butterfly & Insect World and what a lovely little place it is. Having previously visited at the age of 9, I was glad to find it virtually unchanged (except perhaps for the stonking huge Dobbie's Garden centre next door).











You entered through the (well stocked and reasonably priced) gift shop and went into the immediate warmth of the greenhouses. It's a small place to visit but totally enchanting, like a tropical oasis. We found ourselves surrounded by greenery and butterflies of every colour and size fluttering around our heads. A running stream led into a pond which held the biggest koi carp I have ever seen and terrapins perching on the damp rocks. After taking in the sheer wonder of this room we headed onto the reptile and insect part of the building. My jaw dropped at the sight of a 16 ft python slowly slivering around its enclosure (we were told it only moved when it was hungry).

. Later there was a handling talk and we were allowed to hold a giant millipede (passed), a smaller python (which the Mister and I did) and a tarantula (I stood well back but The Mister had a go). The staff were mostly young but very chatty and very knowledgeable and their personable manner certainly added to our enjoyment of this place.

YIKES!!!

Secret Bunker

It's been quiet on this blog I know but I'm here now and ready to fill you in on what I've been up to since last posting.

After shaking off that horrible cold which kept me out the loop well and truely for a couple of weeks I have been slowly catching up with all the little bitty things that failed to get done. I have completed a fair few simple knitty projects which I'll share with you in another post but for now let me tell you about 'fun stuff'

The Mister has been a saint (as always of course) taking care of me whilst I was laid up and so it was great to have some quailty time together over the past week with a couple of good days out in our motor 'Bella'.

First off he took me on a magical mystery tour and we ended up at 'Scotland's Secret Bunker'. An innocent looking farmhouse conceals Scotland's best kept secret for over 40 years..an underground Nuclear Command Centre where central government and military commanders would have run the country had the world been attacked during the Cold War.

It was fascinating stuff descending 100ft down into a labyrinth of rooms resembling something out of an old movie...like James Bond.

(photo above by www.photographicdesigns.co.uk)

It was a really interesting visit but perhaps more suitable for grown-ups rather than a place to take kids.. it was amazing to think that this underground place existed for years without most of us Fife residents being any the wiser.

We rounded off the day by a quick detour home to nearby coastal town Anstruther where we visited the R.N.L.I shop and then had (award winning) fish and chips overlooking the harbour.

I'll tell you about another good day out in my next post..............

Happy 30th Bro

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BROTHER!!

Today is my little brother's 30th birthday. The photo above was taken on the day of his Christening when he was a just few months old and I was 5. Thinking back to a snowy day in March of 1980, I remember my mum coming home from hospital with a wizened face little mite and not being too sure what to make of him. All I remember was he was a boring 'new toy' because he slept all the time and I used to try and rouse him by shaking the pram ('gently' of course) everytime my Mum was out of the room.

Despite the 4 year 11 month age gap, it wasn't long until Mark caught up with me in the height stakes and on holidays in the mid-80's we were often (much to my disgust) mistaken for twins.

However whilst I retained my petite stature...the boy kept growing (and growing!). At 6 ft 2, he towers over my dinky 4ft 6 ins. Height aside I am still most definitely his BIG sister and never hold back from telling him 'what's what'!

Me & my brother today.

Sick

March didn't start well for me I'm afraid...I caught a cold. When this little Missy gets a cold it's never straightforward..a box of tissues and cosy pj's simply don't cut it. Due to having shoddy lungs every sniffle makes me fear at the whole debacle which may follow. I am aware that I'm prone to bursts of over dramatisation but not as far as my health is concerned...poor health just sucks.

So, I got the cold and then got myself to the doctors for a course of antibiotics and after 5 days of sneezing, sweating, shivering and coughing up junk..I have finally turned a corner. Hooray!

The Mister still has me under house arrest which is just as well as even a walk to the bathroom feels like a 10 mile trek (as oppose to the 5 metres it possibly is). Television is driving me crazy and knitting just doesn't seem to be an option right now. Farmville is proving as addictive as ever although the Mister has proved his worth as a great farmhand when I've been out of sorts during harvest time.

Thank goodness for the love of a good man..albeit a bossy one.