Cat haters - look away now.

Sith

Minerva

Thank God, not one of mine.

Over the last forty years I have not been without a cat for long.

Not a pedigree among them. However, I do think the colouring, therefore the breeding should be taken note of.

Tabby females are the best. Intelligent, loving, independent and most importantly calm.

Ginger cats are very tolerant, totally laid back, and a bit stupid.

Black cats border on neurotic.

At one time we had seven cats, never to be repeated given the choice. We had four of our own all ginger. We then rescued/rehomed an abandoned tabby female who had taken up residence in an unused rabbit hutch. We then got landed with two gingers from my father in law. All lived in total harmony in a small semi detached.

When we moved to Greenbrae we had the tabby female, Katya, and two Ginger neutered toms, Toby and Jigsaw. Who continued to live in harmony until they died. Three nice shrubs mark the spot(s) of their graves.

So, for a while, we were without cats. I then got talked into getting two kittens from the Cats Protection League, where, indeed, most of my previous cats had come from. Along came Sith and Minerva. Sith is black and Min is a tabby. And then along came Puzzle, also black via my daughter who had moved into a flat which did not allow cats. Well - its been one hell of a life since then. Puzzle is one weird cat. He is a stalker. And makes Sith's life a misery. He did stalk Min for quite a while but she just ignored him. Sith does not. Puzzle has been to the vets so many times after Sith has 'had enough'. I constantly have boiled water with salt in it to bathe Puzzles wounds and still he carries on. Indeed, I have been near the point of having him rehomed as he would obviously prefer somewhere where he was the only cat. And then and then another daughter beseeches me to take on her two - yep they are black. I think this could be the third world war just about to start and I really don't think I can take it. And not sure they could either. One things for sure - I am going to be taking slashed cats to the vets almost daily.

And remember the aim is to move to a smaller place than this, smaller than the semi which housed seven cats, who all got on and what we have now dont get on. So in my retirement I may well be building a shed in the garden in whichever house we move to for me or the cats. Or a blood bank, or get the vet to move in with me, and a hell of a lot of tranquillisers.

Oh dear...

Have got details today of a house that ticks all the boxes, and more.
But there is nothing I can do about it.
Bum.
Any suggestions?

What a difference.

Same view. Honestly. Isnt nature wonderful! Without any intervention from man or woman the cycle of life goes on. Okay, lots of nettles. Soup! Very tasty. Also home to bugs and butterfly eggs. Bugs feed the birds. In the nest box I have now seen some gaping beaks. Still mainly covered by a mound of duck feathers. But Mum and Dad Tree sparrow zooming in and out at regular intervals.

Very busy on the b&b front now. As it should be! This morning I ironed for two hours, cleaned and remade beds in two rooms. Reset up with homemade biscuits and clean crockery.

In the afternoon I went out to shop. Wow. Trip to Donalds Emporium for some replacement napkins and tea towels. One could get really excited.... hmm. Have I told you about Donalds? It is amazing. Tucked away at the back of Peterhead, a not very alluring shop window, in fact there isnt a shop window - but within -wow! Crockery, bedding, electrical goods, carpets, lino, oh I give in, anything and everything you can think of. Stacked high. Everything you could ever want. And when you go to pay they ask, "On account?" So far I have resisted that one. Also did Morrisons, no account offered there!

So tired, no Rotary tonight for me. Glass of wine and a bit of tele. And early to bed.

And still havent done the minutes for tomorrows meeting of the Best of Banffshire and Buchan Bed and Breakfasts meeting.........Ho hum.

Grumpy Old Woman.

This is how I feel today.

Cleaned and set up two guest rooms, cleaned everywhere else, baked biscuits, ironed.

Phone call from Alliance and Leicester in Mumbai or somesuch, I couldnt understand him and he decided not to understand me. As he wanted to speak to the Business Manager I said I was the cleaner.

Then a phone call from someone wishing to speak to the catering manager (?)

And finally someone wishing to speak to the Managing Director. Would I help with a survey for the Scottish Government. Beginning with, "How many staff do I employ?"

At least I know our web site is coming up on a search.

Oh, and the catering tonight is by Zanres Fish and Chip shop....

Nature report.

This is a tree sparrow. Different to the house sparrow, note the brown head and cheek markings. Suppposed to be on the rarity list - but not round here. Chestnut Johnnies was one description from one of our senior locals. Anyway, twas one of these who fought off the blue tit to take over the nest box wherein is the camera. Which then sends pictures to my t.v. Unfortunately the nesting habit of these is that there is such a mound of (duck) feathers we cannot see what is in the nest. Unlike the blue tits last year where we saw the eggs, the hatching, the feeding, the fledging(?) This time round all I can see are feathers. Underneath are presumably eggs, possibly naked chicks, and occasionally a tree sparrow crashes in and feeds or sits and all underneath the feathers. Hopefully at some stage we will see what is going on. Would be nice.

Our other piece of new technology is purely Mike's domain. It is a bat detector. According to him it is very successfull. We havent got any.

Sometimes you have to take a big step.......

First a big apology to our guests this evening. They are from across the pond but a bit further to the North than America. Canadians are totally different to Americans. I know one should not generalise. Indeed if any one asks me have I been to Ilkley Moor without my hat they are dead. Or come across with the "Eee by gum."......
Howsomever the couple we have in this evening are very nice, but for the first time ever since we have done b&b, instead of wandering down to the kitchen, or the sitting room, or the office to find one of us for assistance, all places much nearer to their room, they have headed off in the opposite direction to my/our bed sit at the far end of the house. I nearly had a heart attack when I heard the knock on the door, was it the drugsquad?!
I managed to open the door and squeeze out of its 2 inches gap I allowed and beamed a smile. Hoping no-one could see the 3 foot tall pile of house magazines I am 'sorting', bag of empty beer cans for recycling, clothes waiting to be hung up in the wardrobe, and cats on every surface.
He wanted directions to the restaurant we had suggested. I did wonder what hope he had in finding it as he hadn't found Mike who was crashing around in the kitchen, a lot nearer to his room than me.
Anyway, back to the big step. I hope my grandson gets the dressing up as a Goth out of his system. But then I am sure there will be far worse attire when he is in his teenage years. The way things are going it will be back to the brothel creepers. (Google it!)

Spring has sprung!

Bluebells all around our garden.

Rhodedendrons and my Rogersii - looks like a rhubarb, but it isnt. Apparently not to be grown in the North East of Scotland. Ha ha.

Two remaining hens, not laying no more, having a dust bath.

Ducks in the shade. Who are still laying.x.

What a difference to a few weeks back! No complaints. Although yesterday as the temperature mounted so did the clouds and suddenly there was a downpour which went on and on. (I bet this was just as people were about to light the barbie) Thunder and lightning strikes further North. Today the sun continued to shine down.

I was scheduled to pick up some senior citizens on behalf of Peterhead Rotary to go and have their tea - with entertainment. Unfortunately when I arrived it was to be told that I was not required after all. Two of them had chickened out. Huh.

So, no limit on my shopping time then. New Look, Dorothy Perkins and a few others had me zooming around looking desperately for some clothes that would be okay for an over 60 female.

(Of course it will now snow.) But its either new clothes or I will explode from overheating.

On the home front, we are now finishing off jobs before the surveyor comes to do the update for the home report. Plus I am deep cleaning guest rooms and moving all the furniture around = amazing what a difference this has created, rooms look enormous.

Tomorrow we have our first guests from over the pond...... I very often do want to shove them in the pond, but you never know, Betty Lou and JJ just might be really quiet and peaceful...but I am not holding my breath.

Is it a bird?

No. its not superman, its a micro light plane, flying through the smoke from the fire yesterday. We are back in business, full, all three rooms. Unfortunately all single occupancy. But then...
They should just help to pay the car tax, the surveyor re-doing his report and my car's MOT.

The joys of living in the country!

To be fair I cannot remember this ever happening here. Remember the carrots? All tucked up for the winter in their straw blanket? This year it was decided once the carrots were up they would burn the straw. Once the Fire Engine and Police had swooped in, which brought every child from miles around, the fire was allowed to burn on.

Back on the house front, fortunately still standing, our neighbour, Charlie, has completed our roof repairs and we are all set for an update on the Home Report. Our solicitor thinks once this is done we will have buyers queueing up. Hmm. So long as when they come to view we dont have another raging inferno and sirens screaming.

Guests.

That's why we do the b&b. All fascinating. The one this week works for the Marine something or other. Checking out the sustainability of the fish being caught. The picture shows some of the fishing boats at Fraserburgh where our guest was heading. A difficult job for him with all the restraints on the fishing industry.
When I eventually get round to writing my book the guests will be the main story. So many lovely people have stayed with us. Okay some were not so nice but thankfully in the minority.
But all have an interesting story to tell. Even the boring, unpleasant ones, and we keep smiling!

Next week we have a chap working at the Loch of Strathbeg, our local RSPB reserve. At the weekend after that the tourists begin in earnest. Ancestor hunting, exploring the area, in they come. All will have a story to tell.

I am still waiting for the visitor who wants to buy the house.......

Are you sitting comfortably?

Well I'm not! This is MY chair in our bedroom, (which is more like a bed sit.) When we have guests in the sun room/sitting room is for them to use if they wish. So I withdraw to the other end of the house. A very large room, with two patio doors and a window. There is the King size bed, wooden chest on top of which are stacks of House magazines, wooden tea trolley which has the t.v. and dvd, small table where I have my laptop and bits and pieces, wardrobe, and two arm chairs, which currently have a cat on. The other one of the three cats is on the bed.....
So no I am not sitting particularly comfortable.

A new regime on the food front has begun. It has taken me a while to get used to there being just two people who eat human food in this house. For years I have cooked for six and more. Cooking for guests became more and more stressful as one expected them to be even more critical than the offspring, (they never were!) And to be honest one of the offspring going vegan and another vegetarian did dint my confidence. So I have now begun to look at recipes that include food I like and does not 'overface' me. It had become easy to shove in the oven a joint, roast potatoes and serve with a bit of veg. But I am now discovering that smaller portions and tastier marinades and raw veg, crudities with a dressing do not overface me and are enjoyable.
So, hopefully I will not see the need to buy those good bacteria yogurty things to enable me to really sit comfortably.

Here's me...

...laughing at my own jokes again. And youngest daughter Chloe, staying with us for 5 days. As I said in my earlier post, she and Mike managed to get sunburnt two days ago, then the day after it snowed. But they have both been off every day sampling the delights of the North East of Scotland whatever the weather. Me ? Well I have just carried on cleaning, ironing, and cooking.

Getting down to the village and then the supermarket has been quite an adventure. Our road in that direction is only just a normal cars going in both direction road. This last few weeks the highways have been patching up the many pot holes caused by the severe winter weather. Just going off at a tangent slightly I am amazed that this wee road is getting the treatment as the letters in the local paper are increasingly virulent at the state of the pot holed roads through Aberdeen and main roads outwith - so why we get the star treatment I know not. Anyways, to get round the road works which obviously completely block the road and indeed it says ROAD CLOSED at each end of the road and just by our drive too, one has to drive up over a large verge and into the field, which had been ploughed into beautiful straight ridges. I am afraid I have flattened quite a few of the ridges, then back onto the road and then onwards. I do do this with my eyes closed. I am amazed that my car has not had its suspension damaged, but as it has its Mot due this month, if it turns out it has I shall be claiming from the council. The men doing the road are all lovely cheery chappies, who at one point shouted, "We'll let you through if you bring us some sweeties." Sod off.

The cherry trees at the rear of the house are all in full bloom, beautiful. Nest box that I can view is now bursting with eggs. And the bluebells are beginning to bloom. I am sure this is early. You dont tend to see blue bells in the snow......

Global what?

Yesterday it snowed.

The day before Mike and my daughter got sunburnt.

Sex and violence.

This was the image last year. We have a camera in a nest box which is fed in to my t.v. Clever stuff ey?
These are blue tit eggs. Which all hatched succesfully in 2009.

This year it has been a battle royal between the blue tit who built his nest, again in the box, and a tree sparrow. Time after time the blue tit zoomed in and chased away the tree sparrow. Then after viewing the blue tit making a lovely nest for his chosen one, he disappeared. Next time I checked there was a tree sparrow in there sitting on a great pile of eggs. The tree sparrows also have the other nest box in this area and a 'terrace' of nest boxes we put up for house sparrows who prefer to all nest together. Now somewhere I have read that tree sparrows are something of a rarity, well not round here.
So thats the violence bit. The sex bit is that it becomes increasingly embarrassing to look out of the window as every bird around is 'at it'. Even our two ducks who are both female......

We have at the moment a lot of goldfinches, I think a flock of them is called a charm, isn't that nice? The prettiest of our native birds I think. Greenfinches, Great Tits - we think they are nesting in the trees that line the drive and have convenient holes - Wood pigeons, now they really are the sex gods, branches crashing down, leaves everywhere and a lot of cooing. Blackbirds singing being territorial. Its all happening here.

On the Agricultural front Mike has been and gone and collected some more carrots. We already have freezer full of carrot soup in many variations and carrot cake. Any ideas what else you can do with carrots?

The next lot of carrots is being prepared for. Specially designed tractors trawling the ground for rocks and stones. As they drone up the sloping fields I remind Mike that just about there is our water pipe......

On the hillside across the valley the oil seed rape is blooming yellow and elsewhere around us green shoots of barley totally transform our view and all memories of snow are forgotten.

Well not quite - the latest weather forecast is that in a few days time we just might have some MORE. BUM.

I wish I'd looked after me teeth...

(apologies to Pam Ayre)
Out for lunch today with my friend. Cheese and Ham toastie, on brown, with side salad, yummy. Half way through I realised there was more moving around in my mouth than what had come from the plate. Well, what do you do? Too big to swallow, the mind boggles as to what might happen at a later hour, I coughed discreetly into my napkin and shoved it in my pocket. Counting up thats a quarter of my gnashers gone in one fell swoop of a sandwich. Fortunately the ones the public dont get to see. Just hoping what's left will still do the job.

On the house selling front we are having the Home Report updated as we have rectified almost all of the points highlighted by the (bloody) surveyor. Our solicitor thinks this will bring hordes of buyers in.

On the b&b front the bookings are flooding in. If nothing else I might be able to afford a new set of teeth.

Just give us a cuddle!

Nobody gave me one, so I made carrot soup, filled up the small freezer with it. Carrot cake also, two tins of it. Then I made some cushions from the fabulous material I bought from my friend who has finally cleared out her store and gone off to UAE. Lots more to make, runners planned and some upholstery and more cushions. All good therapy. Buzzing I am.

Far better than yesterday.

Dont let the b******* get you down!