Autumn in Aberdeen

We're coming through probably the wettest period of our stay in Aberdeen, with rain on and off for the last two weeks. But we seem to always have a little bit of luck when visitors arrive. There are always a few days of glorious sunshine and pleasant weather. This time it was Fiona's Dad who brought it with him. He decided to drop in on his way to Germany from his home in Mexico.

His first day here was probably one of the nicer ones we've had all year. Blue sky, a light breeze and the trees in full autumn colours. While I had to work through it, Fiona and Roger took advantage and went for a walk out on the dunes, close to where Trump is building his new golf course. They took Casey with them and ran her ragged. I always like the dunes. With mountains and forest so close by, they are hardly the type of features you'd expect to have in the neighborhood.

Friday was spent doing some shopping, or buying rather. Mostly just those things that you find from the old house that are not quite right in the new one, or now have a reason to buy. We're settling in rather well, things are in their place and we have everything connected and attached.

On Saturday we hit the golf course and played 9 in nearby Inchmarlo. The weather was brilliant yet the course was deserted. It was like playing on our own private course. I started and finished poorly with some good golf in between, Fiona played steadily with some fantastic shots off the tee and excellent putting and Roger beat us both quite handily with his usual great play. The rain had left the course a little soggy in place and while it didn't affect play it made some of the hills a little treacherous. We all took a tumble, but Fiona was the only one lucky enough to find the mud.

On Sunday the rain came back with a vengeance and we were forced to spend a day indoors. Fiona and Roger stayed productive, covering some of the old dining room chairs. It was kind of astonishing how dirty the old tenants had let them become. Fiona had picked out a great tweed to cover them with and Roger gave us a lesson in the proper method.

Fiona and Roger hit the old Dee-side railway line today to take advantage of another nice day. They did a good 11 or 12 kilometers before hitting the pub in Peterculter for lunch. They had Casey begging for a break. After going nose-to-beak with an angry goose she was ready to go home.