Month: December 2019

Week in Review – December 29, 2019

“Quine and Loon”

David arrived in Stewarton on Sunday evening in time for some of my Mum’s yummy steak pie.  Diana found the two of us waiting patiently in anticipation of the pie quite entertaining for some reason.

 

We enjoyed breakfast at the Millhouse on Monday morning, prior to David driving us up to Aberdeen in what’s known as a “Duber” service (David’s Uber).  We gave him a very good rating.  The Millhouse is much nicer than when I visited the previous discotheque incarnation more than 35 years ago.  The 4 hour drive (with a pleasant stop for coffee) concluded just in time for us to ooh and aah over the amazing rural views from Elspeth and David’s home before the early sunset.

That’s the Bennachie mountain range in the distance, and the highest peak, Mither Tap at 1,732 feet, on the left.  How would you like to enjoy that view from your kitchen every day?  A website says it should take about 2.5 hours to climb Mither Tap.  I asked David how long it took him – about an hour – sounds pretty typical of the speed he moves.

David’s younger sister, Suzanne, and her family arrived shortly after us on Friday afternoon.  They came even further than us – all the way from Brisbane, Australia.  It was funny to watch David looking down the road and judging the size and speed of each car to determine if it could possibly be Suzanne.  When they arrived, Suzanne said she knew she was at the right house because she saw the way David was walking through the window.  It was a real treat to meet the entire Ruff family of Suzanne, Alan, Rebecca, Izzy (Isabelle), and Alex.

From the left: Izzy, Alex, Michael, Heather, Struan, Rebecca, Bramble in the foreground

David was a good sport and took the girls out to enjoy the night sky from the hot tub.

The Ruffs headed off to the Lecht Ski Center on Monday morning,  in search of some snow for the girls – not much of that in Australia.  David took us to an excellent coffee shop – the Coffee Apothecary near Pitmedden, a short drive from the house.

The coffee selection and presentation were great, as was the chicken liver pate.  What a nice feature to have such an excellent place close by in such a rural setting.

Alex and Bramble in the back garden

After coffee and a snack, it was Bramble’s time to have some fun.  Who’s Bramble?  Sorry – the latest addition to David and Elspeth’s family, a red Labrador retriever.  David took us to Fyvie castle to give her a good run.  Another pet seemed to sneak in on the adventure – that crazy baby penguin certainly gets around.

 

 

Here’s a video of the exercise routine.  It helps when Bramble keeps an eye on the ball all the way to hitting the ground.  Diana survived a direct hit on the noggin with the tennis ball from the launcher shortly after this video was made.

Tuesday was a quiet and relaxing day.  David, Suzanne, Bramble and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood.  I wasn’t expecting to be doing quite as much “off-roading” through mud and long grass.  Wind power is popular in Scotland, with turbines seen all over the landscape.  We passed under a set used to power the ice cream making operation at Mackie’s farm, next door to Bonnyview.

Our hike lasted about an hour and we had worked up a good appetite by the time we finished.  Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was working their way slowly through a Christmas jigsaw puzzle.  I’ll spoil the excitement and let you know that the puzzle was ultimately completed on Boxing Day afternoon.  I hate to think how many man and woman hours were invested.

We expected an early start on Christmas Day with the young girls in the house.  They were exceptionally patient, and even waited through breakfast before heading to the living room to open presents.  There were lots of fun presents for everyone.  Here’s McD with one of the stuffed trophy heads we received from Elspeth and David.  Aren’t they hilarious?  They did generate some interest on the trip home as they peeked out from Diana’s carry on bag, even getting the once over by the Dallas customs team.

The girls enjoyed the colouring book, pens and charm bracelet kit that Diana picked out for them.

 

Elspeth, David and Heather worked very hard on a delicious Christmas dinner.  From the prawn and smoked salmon starter, through turkey with all possible fixings, through to Christmas cake and pudding (thanks Mum), everything was perfect.

The hilarity level went up a bit after dinner with board game time.  We played several rounds of a game, the name of which I can’t remember now, where you had to describe a thing without using the word.  The teams were evenly matched and so we kept having to play another deciding game.

That was followed up with a game of Cranium.  I enjoy the variety and silliness of this game – everything from clay modeling, to charades, to blindfolded Pictionary.  I was disappointed that nobody could guess my puppeteer work as I had Suzanne demonstrating how to milk a cow.  It’s really lovely to see everyone laughing and having so much fun.

The Ruffs left early on Thursday morning.  Not really that early to give David a good excuse for wearing his pajamas out to close the gate after them.

David and I used our time in the afternoon to coach Michael through enhancing a picture that we had jokingly titled the “Elf on the Shelf”.   I shared this with Brent, who in typical clever fashion, suggested “impaired on the stairs”.

We drove to the nearest decent sized town, Inverurie (Diana can do a decent Scottish accent on this one), for an Indian dinner.  Rajpoot was very good, with everyone really enjoying their meals.  The owner thought he was funny bringing me a kids dessert served in “Miss Pinky” – I had laughed when I saw them on the menu.

Our visit was drawing to a close and we did our best to organize our packing for an early start to the airport on Friday.

The airport is located less than a mile from where I worked my first job out of University at Gearhart.  The area has changed a lot since 1985, but the Four Mile Inn (a regular lunch spot back in the day) is still there and looks much the same.  The Aberdeen airport was small and pain free (other than not having jet bridges, resulting in us having to haul our carry on luggage up slippy metal stairs), and we were soon in some very comfy seats (particularly for a shuttle flight to Heathrow) and enjoying a massage.

The flight to Dallas was around 10 hours and a bit hot and stuffy.  I was glad to get home and stretch out.  I did catch up on some movies and enjoyed a TV series by Billy Connolly about traveling through the east coast of the United States.  I had been reading his autobiography (a present from Mum and Dad) on the earlier flight.

We got a much needed work out in early on Saturday (early to bed and early awake thanks to time changes) and then enjoyed coffee and a crossword in downtown McKinney.  We enjoyed reflecting back on how enjoyable our visit to Stewarton and Bonnyview had been.  We are fortunate to enjoy spending time with our family as much as we do.

We exchanged gifts that were too much to carry to Scotland on Saturday afternoon.  These penguins nest like Russian dolls.  One of several very creative gifts that Diana picked out for me.  She got another puzzle – this one double sided for extra fun.

 

I finished “Olive Again” by Elizabeth Strout this week.  I had recently watched a TV series based on the original “Olive Kitteridge” book, and starring Bill Murray and Frances McDormand.  I kept visualising them as I read this sequel.  It’s a bit of a depressing story as each chapter chronicles residents of the town and their interactions with the aging Olive, but Strout is an excellent writer who can create a very vivid picture of a character in just a few paragraphs.

 

I’m not a huge fan of Christmas music, so try to find twists on it that I enjoy.  As usual, New Orleans to the rescue.  Here’s a big band version of a classic carol.

And here’s a couple from a great New Orleans Christmas album:

I heard this more raucous and irreverent carol by the Pogues on the Scottish radio:

Week in Review – December 22, 2019

“Happy Birthday McD”

Gemma was our destination for Diana’s birthday dinner on Wednesday night.  The drive took about an hour, and we commented that if we were in Austin it would have been a 5 minute Uber ride.  The food was worth the wait with delicious baby octopus and trumpet mushroom appetizers.

The owners worked in restaurants in Napa valley prior to moving back to Dallas to open Gemma.  The lighter California touch on French and Italian recipes is very pleasant.  Diana enjoyed a generously sized pork chop and I had an excellent papardelle with braised rabbit.

Fortunately the drive home was much quicker.  We needed some sleep before packing up and heading to Scotland on Thursday afternoon.

Both flights were smooth and on time, resulting in a lunchtime Friday arrival in Glasgow.

Our taxi driver down to Stewarton was quite entertaining with stories of the Christmas gifts he had organized for his family members.  He also made me laugh when he reminded me of the “Horsey Huts”, where I attended primary three.

We had a very nice time relaxing with my Mum and Dad on Friday evening.  I had to find a guide to the Quality Street chocolates for Diana, so that she could identify the Orange Cream.  Can you guess what colour the wrapper was?

Saturday started with my favourite breakfast delicacy – Stornaway black pudding.  Where is Stornaway?  Here it is on the map – in the very North West of Scotland on the island of Lewis.  You can also see Aberdeen (where we’ll be spending Christmas) on the North East coast.  I wonder why the black pudding from way up there is so much better than any other that I’ve tasted?  Could it be something about the water?

Diana entertained herself by “helping” (she actually did quite well) with my Dad’s jigsaw puzzle.  It’s a Lowry painting, and very challenging.

David showed up on Sunday and was a good helper, while BP kept a watchful eye on the proceedings from atop Geoffrey the giraffe.

We were treated to a live view of the “crampons” that my Mum and Dad use to walk in the snowy and icy conditions.  Still not what we’re viewing as a great idea, despite all the locals siding with my parents.

Sunday’s outing was to the Eden garden center in Dundonald.  We enjoyed lunch in their cafe.  I was trusted to drive there and back – only once cautioned about my speed in a 20 mph zone, and fortunately the passengers didn’t react too negatively to me not noticing the road humps or “sleeping policemen”.

We perused the merchandise while waiting for a table in the cafe, and Diana thought she was funny pointing out the sign on the right hand side of this picture, until I pointed to the one on the left.

My Dad seemed to have a fun time at lunch:

We have certainly eaten very well during our first few days in Scotland – fresh Pittenweem salmon from the Friday fish delivery man, stuffed chicken breast, and my Mum’s special steak pie were all delicious.

The pictures from my company Christmas party were published and here’s one of us that we like:

Even with flying time and jet lag interrupted sleep, I still wasn’t able to finish a book this week.  I’ll try to be better next week.

I read that the Boomtown Rats, popular when I was in high school, and led by Bob Geldoff (famous for planning Live Aid in 1985), were performing in Glasgow next year.  That reminded me of this song (you haven’t lived until you’ve heard my brother in law David playing the intro):

Since the blog comes to you from Scotland this week, here’s one from our most famous band, Runrig:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week in Review – December 15, 2019

“Nothing to See Here”

Diana got a bit of a shock when a man attached himself to the 14th floor kitchen window with suction cups.  No reason for panic D- it’s just the external window cleaner that we had been warned about.  Does make for a funny picture though.  This would not be good employment for either me or my Dad.  Don’t these guys usually get lowered down in a bucket?  This one’s just dangling from a rope and holding himself still with suction cups.

 

The Austin “Trail of Lights” in Zilker Park has been a holiday fixture for over 40 years.  I drive by it on my commute each day and have been quite inconvenienced by all the traffic disruptions, so thought we should see what all the fuss is about this year.

The trail ended up being a lot of fun – about a mile walk through all kinds of light displays.  I enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh display.

All the trees along the river are different colours, making a great picture against the city skyline.

The one above is from the Ferris wheel that Diana was surprised to see me enthusiastically ride with her.

Wednesday was “Heroes Night”, celebrating military and first responders.

There was a fun band of military folks playing towards the end of the trail.

The festivities finished at the huge purple tree.  Apparently it’s traditional to spin around underneath until you’re dizzy.

McD looks a bit cold in front of the tree.  Good practice for Scotland.  Time to whisk her off somewhere warm with some good music.

Kevin Galloway was playing at Geraldine’s at the Van Zandt hotel – such a nice venue.  Galloway was front man for Uncle Lucius, a pretty well known band, for years but has recently opted for a quieter solo life.  He is a quiet singer song writer and was accompanied by beautiful cello playing.  I had to politely ask those folks in front to be quiet so that we could all enjoy the music.

Diana made a quick trip to Chicago on Thursday and Friday to visit a client.  She liked the hotel I recommended and enjoyed a lovely Christmas choir and orchestra performance in the lobby.

It was work holiday party time on Saturday night.  We took a picture by the apartment tree and then Ubered over to the Fairmont hotel for the festivities.

The organizing team did a great job on the party – pictures and spin art during cocktail hour, very good food (Diana commented that she enjoyed the butternut squash soup, and she doesn’t like squash), and an excellent band named Suede.

 

I was only on the job a few weeks last year at the party, and it was a lot more fun now that I know everyone.

The dance floor was packed most of the night – a sign of a good band that can read the crowd.  I even spun McD around more than she was anticipating.

The party continued on the rooftop into the wee hours.  A great time had by all.

 

The weather in Austin was amazing this week, with highs in the mid to upper seventies most days.  We enjoyed some excellent sunsets from the balcony.

We slept late on Sunday, and then made the drive to McKinney, arriving in time to be shocked with the nice lead the Cowboys had against the LA Rams at half time.  I had missed an amazing one handed touchdown by Jason Witten.  The Boys ended up winning handily, setting up a big showdown next Sunday against the Eagles to decide who makes the playoffs.

This review encouraged me to read “Nothing to See Here” by Kevin Wilson this week.

What a completely unique and strange book.  A very enjoyable and quick read and not like anything I’ve read before.  Here’s a synopsis:

“Lillian and Madison were unlikely roommates and yet inseparable friends at their elite boarding school. But then Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly in the wake of a scandal and they’ve barely spoken since. Until now, when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help.

Madison’s twin stepkids are moving in with her family and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: the twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a startling but beautiful way. Lillian is convinced Madison is pulling her leg, but it’s the truth.

Thinking of her dead-end life at home, the life that has consistently disappointed her, Lillian figures she has nothing to lose. Over the course of one humid, demanding summer, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other—and stay cool—while also staying out of the way of Madison’s buttoned-up politician husband. Surprised by her own ingenuity yet unused to the intense feelings of protectiveness she feels for them, Lillian ultimately begins to accept that she needs these strange children as much as they need her—urgently and fiercely. Couldn’t this be the start of the amazing life she’d always hoped for?”

I wonder if Wilson didn’t come up with the whole premise of the story just to support that cover picture.  My only complaint, as is sometimes the case with me, was that the ending just left too much unfinished and hanging open.

Here’s something from Kevin Galloway’s band, Uncle Lucius:

And a selection from his solo record:

I enjoyed this song from Bonnie Raitt this weekend:

Week in Review – December 7, 2019

“Pins Out”

Penelope and I made the drive down to Austin on Monday morning.  I was pleased to finish the trip with no back pain or other issues.  P was happy to get up some decent speed for once – she typically maxes out at 45 mph on my short commute to the office.

The pins were extracted from my finger on Tuesday afternoon.  The doctor says everything looks good, but my finger looks pretty ugly still – new nail required.   I did find this ornament in the doctor’s office quite entertaining.  That finger looks much better than mine.

The University of Texas was hosting an event to celebrate ground breaking on the new Moody Center – a basketball and concert venue to replace the 40 year old Frank Erwin center.  This event started right after my finger appointment and was a short walk away – why not?

The event turned out to be quite something.  Intro speeches by all the University brass and the “Minister of Culture” for the new Center – Oscar winning actor Matthew McConaughey.  Free food trucks from several Austin classic spots – I enjoyed an empanada from Four Brothers and a delicious green chile pork taco from Torchy’s.

Moon Taxi (an indie rock band) performed after the speeches and I thought they had a very pleasant sound.

The whole event is what would be called a langiappe in New Orleans.

 

I almost forgot to share a picture from the event.  I had my picture taken with the UT mascot – Bevo.  Turns out this is Bevo XV – who knew there had been so many?

Those cheerleaders seem quite excited to be getting their picture taken with me.  McD’s comment – I leave him unattended for a couple of hours and look what happens.

I enjoyed a nice long walk back home from the event.  Here’s a nice view of the Capital on the way.  Can you believe the tree in front of the Capital is fake?  It’s true – I watch them assembling it level by level.

Diana’s bus wasn’t due for another 45 minutes and so I made a minor detour to Antone’s to listen to some free Blues music – what a deal.

The band included Denny Freeman and Sarah Brown – a couple of our favourites.

I was able to drag myself away from the music just in time to meet Diana arriving on the bus.

We had a delicious dinner with Damon on Wednesday at the Odd Duck.  This is the last time we’ll see him before the holidays.  He was very effusive in describing the Frozen play that his daughters are performing in this coming weekend.  We just heard a recording and he had every right to be proud – beautiful voices.

I watched an inept Dallas Cowboys performance on Thursday night (at least until I fell asleep).  Such a disappointing game from a team with so much talent!

We enjoyed a good Austin evening on Friday – starting with the Rosie Flores Review at C-Boy’s Heart and Soul.  Rosie is 69 and belting it out and playing the guitar beautifully.  I love their cover of the Blind Faith song “Can’t Find My Way Home”:

Diana chatted up Wayde who has a new food truck on the C-Boys patio.  I laughed as he walked the waffle fries we ordered around every table asking – “Did you order these?” – a great advertising trick.  He was quite a talker and turns out a fire fighter when not operating the truck.

Here’s a cover of Springsteen’s “Luckytown” from Rosie:

I really like the feel of C-Boys Heart and Soul.  From there we made our usual stop just up South Congress at June’s, enjoying escargot and steak tartare.  From there it was a pleasant one mile walk back home.

On Saturday we did some minor grocery shopping and some Christmas shopping on South Congress.  There was a nice artist market set up by Guero’s and interesting gifts in some of the weird little stores.   It was a beautiful day to be out and about, with temperatures in the mid 70s.  We enjoyed an episode of “The Crown” in the evening.  This one was set in 1967 and featured Prince Philip’s mother being rescued from Greece and visiting Buckingham Palace – a piece of history with which I was not at all familiar.

Sunday included the usual standards – workout, coffee and crossword, and football.  No Cowboys but an excellent game between the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers in the Superdome.  San Francisco ultimately winning 48-46 in a thrilling back and forth game.  One of the best that I’ve seen in several years.  Now we’re both working on things we need to have ready for work tomorrow – very boring!

I’ve very much enjoyed “Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans” this week.  Dan Baum tells the tales of nine New Orleans residents from Hurricane Betsy in 1960 through Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Baum was reporting on Katrina and fell in love with the city that Hurricane almost destroyed.   His writing on the nine characters from different races, sections of the city, and backgrounds, captures New Orleans very well.  It really is heartbreaking to read the stories of Hurricane Katrina – particularly that the city survived the actual storm but was then let down by the levees and water management system.  Such a wonderful city that still suffers through so many problems.

All this talk of New Orleans has reminded me of the wonderful nights I’ve spent at Vaughan’s listening to Kermit Ruffins (features in the Nine Lives book as a kid at a backyard barbecue).

But let’s start out with a very catchy new song from the Lumineers that I’ve been hearing on the radio:

My Spotify Discover weekly took me to New Orleans also.  This song from Snooks Eaglin – a superb blues artist that I saw at the original Rock N’ Bowl weeks before his death and not too long after Hurricane Katrina.

The same Discover list had me back at the Kessler listening to the unique James Hunter from England.

And let’s have Kermit finish things out this week with a song I heard the same night as I heard Snooks.  Denny and Anne took me over to the broken down shack that is Vaughan’s to revel in Kermit’s genius.  The late, great Henry Butler was sitting in on keyboards.  What a memory.