The end of Summer?

Lovely day today following this sunset. Sat outside and read a book, swatting wasps.

One guest in last night, been before, otherwise he wouldnt have been here, I am not keen on singles for one night.... Mike went off bird watching for the day and as I said I relaxed on my patio.

Nice to have the odd day off doing nothing but what you enjoy.

Duck race - cancelled.

Not a duck like this one, but the yellow plastic efforts with numbers on their backs.

I do not think we should mention Rotary and Barbecue in the same breath. It does not pleaseth the Gods.

Last year we had a barbecue, which ended up with only the brave chef outside, everyone else was inside.

This year we never even got that far. The river burst it's banks and made it way too dangerous and any ducks launched would have ended up in Peterhead. So the barbecue was not even an option. We all stayed at home. In our case that involved watching bits of our big trees snap off in the gale force winds that accompanied the torrential rain.

As I mentioned we have had a break from b&b. Although we had some hectic cleaning of the parts that guests do not reach last week, as we had a viewing on the Wednesday.

Two female lumberjacks, well thats how they were dressed, and had their hands in their pockets just as if they were to launch into "I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay..."

Unfortunately, despite looking as if they could tackle anything, especially if it involved axes and hammers, they thought Greenbrae needed too much work. In other words it was just too big, but they darent say that as I had already ranted about people not realising that seven bedrooms, meant just that!

Did some baking. Note to self, do not bake a cake which calls itself a chocolate cake when there is no chocolate in the recipe only cocoa powder. Way too dry and not as yummy, despite 6 eggs and a gallon of sunflower oil. Mike is manfully having it as pudding for every meal. Waste not want not, despite having had a bout of sickness and tother from wasting not, way after its use by date of something, he still hasn't learnt his lesson.

Also been doing a fair bit of retail therapy. Still havent got the warm casual coat I am seeking, one where I do not look like a granny. Or too brightly coloured that I would scare the cats (well Mike actually - he has some aversion to seeing me in scarlet or canary yellow). But on every search trip I have managed to find other goodies. So I am well topped, well booted, and slippered.

Buying some new lipsticks in Boots the girl on the till gave me someone elses voucher off, as they had left it, wasnt that nice? Then when buying my wine I was asked if I was over 25, and the other woman on the next till said, "You should ask her for her parents i.d." So I asked if a death certificate would do. Little things please a lot!

Had a bit of a break..

Catching up with ironing, if you can call that a break.

Now I am a bit confused. What is the female equivalent of Fellow, doesnt fellow mean a man?
Amy is now a Research Fellow.

Beat off all the opposition, so very proud, but Fellow?

Dont turn right!

We have just had a family in from Canada. Dad was the driver and was very scared to be driving on the left instead of the right of the road. So much so that he was very reluctant to ever turn right in case someone hit him (?) It took him an awful long time to get anywhere as he preferred to do the left turn at every opportunity!
It made me think quite seriously about ones own preference in which way to turn when given the choice.
I think charge ahead would be my choice. But then I thought about the many times I actually decided to come home from wherever and would decide to turn in another direction just for the hell of it.
Usually its coming back from the supermarket, yawn, but then thats where I go most days. I can turn right and come homewards through fields on either side, sheep, cows, barley growing,
or I can turn left and it is totally grass fields with not much growing other than grass, but there are also trees, lovely hedges, wild flowers. In a very short space of time one can drive through totally different countryside. That is the beauty and wonder of the Buchan countryside. This is where I live and would not live anywhere else. This is not even touching the coast -ten minutes away. Cliffs, dunes, golden beaches, rock pools, so which way would you choose?

Back to work.

Sky last night. Bit more gloomy tonight, started to rain at tea time, fortunately after the Pipe Band Competition and Highland Dancing had finished. Which, yet agin, I missed. Went for a bit of a lie down and woke up two hours later. Presumably this is old age.

However, one of the dancers who won some is staying with us. Came all the way from Canada would you believe, with her family. With us for tonight and tomorrow night. Plus a couple from my neck of the woods, Yorkshire, visiting family for three nights. So back to ironing and cleaning rooms. Whoopy do.

Not much else to report. Have enjoyed our few days break and been doing a lot of cooking for the freezer.

All quiet on the most easterly point of Britain.

Oh to be young.

My two youngest daughters, Chloe on the left and Polly on the right. One week every year they are the same age. We will draw a veil over that fact!.

Chloe lives in Edinburgh and Polly lives in Lincoln. They met up on Hadrians Wall and shared a very small tent and a very small cooking stove. They walked miles and a lot of it in the rain. But you have no idea how proud I am that they enjoyed themselves and each other. Must have done something right. I often wish I had had me as a Mother. Mine wasnt much good.

All smiles now!

What a difference a few days of not HAVING to do ironing, beds, cleaning, smiling, (through bared teeth), washing bedding, trying to get it dry...... And some beautiful weather, 27 degrees at 5p.m. today would you believe. And no wind to spoil it either.
I have to admit to taking the medics advice of having afternoon naps also, which has helped too. Though mentally I do feel this is awful, awful, at 61 - not that old is it? But it has worked.

We are back to work today after 3 days 'off'. Still did our bedroom and bathroom and bathed the parrot and cleaned most places that dont get done when guests are in. But I didnt HAVE to. Which makes all the difference.

And a VICTORY with the Trade Waste People. I am going to print off the latest email and frame the bloody thing. "If you can cope with your trade waste in with your domestic waste......" Ha.
Unbelieveable after all these months of harrassment - someone with some common sense. Do you know I would have had to pay something like £142 for a bin that would have contained - well nothing actually.

We have as couple in tonight. Two couples tomorrow night, then a few days off. Jogging along. I can cope with that.

We had a potential booking for all three rooms for four nights, in the Autumn. A really good booking. Loads a money. But they were coming to shoot geese. Mike was counting the pennies aloud and I just gave him an old fashioned look. He then said, "I guess you are going to tell them to get stuffed?" I nodded and did so in a polite way. Now I do like my roast goose on Christmas Day, but that has been reared outdoors, had a happy life and been killed humanely. Not terrorised and probably only wounded by some idiot who thinks he can hit the bullseye on a dart board. And need I remind him indoors, we are members of the RSPB. And cheer when the geese return here in the Autumn. And we would be giving breakfast to people who would massacre them? I dont think so.

Sometimes...

I feel like I am going down a hole. Sometimes, I almost wish I was in a hole and then get covered over.

But then I invariably bounce back! Just as well.

Well we havent sold the house. The offer was withdrawn, as their buyers backed out.

As George at the Post Office said, "Thats not supposed to happen in Scotland. Were they English?"

On the one hand I felt quite touched that I was obviously accepted as a token Scot, despite my broad Yorkshire accent, and that it had to be one of the baddies from South of the Border who had done this to me. Well I dont know, nor do I know why they backed out. Our buyers are still desperate to buy our house, so , back to the waiting game. If they get another buyer we are away again.

I had my annual near death experience with the flu. Fortunately I was sensible and got antibiotics - I dont normally bother doctors with anything - but with my lung thing thought I had better. (While I was there I also sorted out the list of things I hadnt wanted to bother the doctor with, but seeing as I was there.....)

Fortunately I was really ill whilst we had booked ourselves some time off. But then have struggled to get back on my feet whilst having all three rooms full of one family, who although very nice, have been very, very hard work. Suffice it to say we do not normally have children under the age of 12. We had 3 of them, all under the age of 12 who ate more than their parents. And brought more sand in the house than there is on Peterhead Beach. Usually just after I had vacuumed. They depart tomorrow, after six nights with us. So the bank balance is good, but my health is crumbling still. And, no, we wont do that again.

Tomorrow will be better. Tonight I have at last eaten a proper meal. First in two weeks. Sipping a glass of vino. Not the first in two weeks.

In amongst all this my eldest daughter and my grandson paid us a flying visit. One nighter. Well I am so proud of her and her partner. Zac is delightful and charming. And this is not just the grandma speaking. This is the qualified NNEB, leader of playgroups, and teaching assistant caring for special needs i.e. behaviourally challenged (in other words parents are crap) kids. So there. Doing a grand job.

Oh, then today I went for me lungs checking. "The machines bust and you've just had flu, so we wont bother doing a blow test. See you next year."

Okay? But I did get the special cream for the resultant effect of the antibiotics. Tweet tweet.

Wheeeeeeeeeee!

Still not sunk in - but we have an offer on the house. Proper one. Now have to get better and start looking for another home. Moving out 10th December.

Groan

Where does the flu bug go in the Summer? Why of course it goes to Greenbrae. Every year for the past five years it has. Zapping me. I go to the docs and he says "Its not the flu season, but you have the flu." Fortunately I am rarely ill, but June or July every year I get the flu. I should be investigated scientifically. Whipped off to some research facility instead of having to carry on ironing, changing beds, cleaning... I must be the carrier!

Height of the season, bookings flooding in and me crashing out after every bout of ironing, cleaning, etc. etc. Fortunately (?) we had booked ourselves some time off in between all these bookings to catch up with the ironing, cleaning etc. So I have not had to fix the death grin on my face and greet guests but I have had to prop myself up to catch up with the ironing.

Mike has been brilliant, every evening he concocts some tasty snack that will tempt me to eat. So long as its not two doorstep sandwiches, I manage to eat.

If you are considering doing b&b do NOT unless in the main you are healthy.

I will be alright in a couple of days. Antibiotics have prevented the bug from attacking me lungs.
The energy will take a while to come back. But from tomorrow we are full for the next three weeks. So it has to!

Oh nearly forgot, another viewing on Thursday. Still waiting for our written offer, from the previous lot. Which we were told would be the end of this week...... It has been quite good having the flu as I have not been physically able to get too excited about a possible REAL offer.

Would be nice tho wouldnt it?

The other bit of news on the b&b front is that Lucy is now off loading every booking she has taken, is taking and is swamping us with people we have no contact with and no means of contacting them. Yes, the people who come to us are complete strangers but via email chat, or phone chat you get a feel for them, but this is getting ridiculous. I am concerned that any day now we are going to get a claim for commission from Lucy! As soon as I am better it is going to be "No more!" You start off taking them , even tho you have built in a breathing space, out of sympathy for Lucy but - this is now bordering on the ridiculous, NO MORE. Quoth the Raven?