Catch Up

I'm going to attempt to play a little catch up and include all the comings and goings that have occurred since Fiona's trip to Belgium and before our little jaunt last weekend to London.

Let's see ... what happened ... oh, yeah, the weather turned fabulous!

We've had a (by now) well documented slow start to spring, with both daffodils and lambs long delayed by late spring snow and frost. But the last month has been quite mild, with lots of sun and temps in the high teens and low twenties. They've even managed to land on weekends, meaning we've had several great barbeques in the backyard and a couple of trips into the countryside for walks. We've even started working on the back and front yards, putting in new plants and attempting to grow some of our own veg in planters and pots (Fiona's radishes are wicked awesome!). But, having been here a little while now, we are starting to have some of the same misgivings that our Scottish neighbours are voicing - what if this nice stretch of 2-3 weeks is our summer? What if June, July and August hold nothing but rain and misery? You try to drown out such thoughts while sitting outside and enjoying the weather, but it's always there. Maybe the key is to have just one more pint ...

One of trips a few weeks back was out to Craigievar castle, about 45 minutes east of Aberdeen. Guide books and locals say it is one of the more "magical" castles around; I guess that has to do with its very Disney-esque towers. It's been closed for the last few years as they did some extensive restorations. Although we didn't go inside, we did enjoy a walk on the grounds with a certain 4-legged nutcase. The fields were freshly mowed and there were great views of some authentic countryside. We sat on a bench over-looking a small valley, with the sun slightly filtered by brand new leaves on the maple tree above us and drank it all in. We must have sat there for quite some time. Had we brought our books and a pitcher of iced tea, we might still be there.

We've been doing a little bit of reading in the last little while, Fiona on her Kindle and myself with good old fashioned paper. We find we've settled into a groove where a Saturday spent reading outside on the patio is not considered a waste, and the more "exciting" things to do just don't appeal. Fiona's been reading the Stieg Larssen books ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", etc ...) Very disturbing, is her verdict. I've immersed myself in more historical work, including a very interesting book about the building of the CPR and the new one by Simon Schama about the abolition of the slave trade.

We've also been to the movies since Fiona bought me an unlimited movies pass for my birthday. I think we both enjoyed Iron Man 2, although we add our voices to the chorus of those who say it wasn't as good as the first one. Last night we watched the International, with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts - particularly prescient given the current banking crisis. A pretty good thriller, with an amazing running gun battle in the middle of the Guggenheim Museum. We also watched the Dillinger movie Public Enemies and were a little disappointed. It was alright, but nothing special. And if you're in the mood, Michael Moore's latest - Capitalism, a Love Story - will have you raging at your screen, no matter what your political leanings. That's a couple of good ones in a row for Mr. Moore, following on from Sicko.

Got to run, we're butterflying a leg of lamb so we can put it on the BBQ for dinner tonight. Including a little fresh mint and rosemary from the garden. Wine is at the ready. Drop by if you like, there's lots.