CANADA VISIT - SALMON ARM APPLES

Mary and Pat took me out to Peterson's orchard where we spent an hour buying some apples and reminiscing about the days when we had a similar orchard.

 

These photos say it all: our back yard had the same stack of Mac apples piled up in exactly the same apple boxes.

In the shed some of the the box end brand labels were arranged on the wall.

And, of course, the ladders.  My father was very tidy in the yard: "a place for everything and everything in its place".  Large ladders stacked together; medium ladders next them; short step ladders last in the line. I recall that picking bags were hung up high from hooks. Buckets?  Used but were for the cherries.

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Mary's new residence is in Andover Seniors Residence on Lakeshore Road.  Having booked myself into an AirBnB next to the hospital I simply went down to the CPR railway crossing and walked the lakeshore trail along to her place.  

As well as finding the excellent AirBnB I discovered that there is now a bus service which does several circular routes in and around town.

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Mary and her friend Mary M's thrown pots!

Andover Seniors Residence - very nice!  It's large and spacious and very new.  Mary has a small garden area adjacent to the kitchen in her little apartment.

ORKNEY VISIT SEPTEMBER 2017

We love Orkney! We were there in September enjoying their week long Science Festival based in Kirkwall organized by Howie Firth.  Iain gave a talk on 'Bridges'.  Lots of (other!) interesting speakers and mostly retired people who made up the audience.

The final event was topped off by this chap, Peter Higgs (of Higgs-Bosun particles), who was interviewed on the stage by Dennis Canavan, one of his old physics students*. A legend in his own lifetime.  Photo: CERN.

We stay in a cottage on a farm (Tenston Farm) on Mainland Orkney, near the Stones of Stenness.  Extensive new archaeological work going on there this summer.

These photos show the landscape... fertile soil, healthy animals, not many trees. Fields of barley were being cropped that week.

Eynhallow Sound on the east side of Mainland Orkney.  In the past we sailed through this narrow stretch of water between two islands.  Or rather we didn't sail but 'stood still' while caught in the 5 knot tide going against us. The engine showed us going nowhere fast at 5 knots!  Finally after about 40 minutes the tide turned and we were able to make out way forward!

On the west side of Mainland Orkney at Yesnaby it is possible to study the geology. When quarried the rock slabs can be: laid on the horizontal for roads and pavements, paths, stone walls, burial chambers; sloped as roof tiles; lastly, upright as 'fences', gate 'posts' and, of course, stone circles or monoliths.

 

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* Prof. Higgs shared the 2013 Nobel Prize for Physics after the discovery of the particle he predicted mathematically. Dennis Canavan [Scottish politcal figure], graduated in mathematical physics from Edinburgh University in 1967.

AUTUMN CLEAN UP

Lots of leaves these days...

A good way to keep Harriet and Ellie amused is to get out the broom, deck brush from the boat and the buckets.  They both love to be busy, busy, busy.

Iain built a woodshed which is just the business.  He chopped the various bits of wood we get from people felling trees.  He seasons it first; now it is stacked for the winter.  Happiness for me is a neatly stacked woodpile!

One pathetic sunflower! My Canada Goose wind-sock looks equally bedraggled.

An example of Scottish sunflowers.  The French must laugh their heads off at this... they who enjoy fields of waving yellow heads!

Table flowers from the James Watt Annual Dinner which are managing to stay upright on our front door entry area.

FAMILY PHOTO UPDATE OCTOBER 2017

Catch up time! 

We enjoy having visitors and no more so when former students of Iain's turn up.  What started out to be a Sunday dinner this week with one gentleman from Syria joining us ended up being a table full of folk from all the airts and pairts. 

We enjoyed seeing Nabil again and hearing about his life in Aleppo. He now has a grown up family. It was good to talk about his time in Glasgow 30 years ago.

John and Debbie from Calgary are visiting Scotland just now so it was good to have them join everyone for dinner.  John has taken many photos of us or our family over the years. (More of this in future posts.)  Here is one he took on Sunday.   I have just been pulled out of the kitchen so am appearing a bit florid!

John took this photo of Mairi and the gang.  Over the years John and Debbie have often hosted us, or Mairi, when we pass through Calgary. (Ellie, 2; Ishie, 10; Me, Harriet, 4; Mairi; Alastair, 8.

Rogue's Gallery Update: 

Ishbel and Alastair come to us early every Tuesday before school.  We are now into a routine: Ishbel cooks bacon, Alastair times the boiled eggs ... Yes, Typical Boy... here is he timing the eggs!

This is Ishbel's last year in primary school.  She starts secondary school next year. As Alastair goes into his last year at the primary school Harriet will start.

 Ellie, otherwise known as Miss Personality Plus.

Harriet.  John took this photo ... if you can catch her when she is not looking at the camera she is a great subject.  A natural beauty!

This is Indy (6) about a week ago on a California beach.   He has started school and Alastair (to whom we speak on Skype every week) says he has a very good teacher; he is coming on well!  They now live in Los Angeles.