Saturday 27 November 2010

Scott of Portree Reporting In.....

Well having just trudged back from our local emergency supplies outpost....today's emergency supplies being newspapers (we could be living in Alaska...not that much of a mental leap today and  the old boy would still want his Press&Journal & his Daily Depress courier delivered by huskies) bottles of Shiraz and Baileys and some Shitmas cards...I have to report it is pretty brutal out there :-l

Now the Shiraz is for the big fuck off Lasagne I'm making for tonight's repast...I made it for Julie and Peter's arrival in October...and let's face it the Bolognese element needs a wee bit of le vin rouge to give it the necessary mmm factor. However, there may be  a problem because you only need a couple of splashes out of 750ml bottle for the mmmmm and that leaves a dangerous 700mls kicking about in my kitchen! I love a good red but a good red doesn't second that emotion so if I'm not going to spend the evening with Armitage Shanks as opposed to Anne Widdecombe I will probably need to put it up in the loft! 

Baileys is pretty much my raison d'etre at this time of year.....and the Bolognese sauce is definitely  far better without it...so no sojourn in the loft for it ;-)

Shitmas cards....a necessary evil and one of which I can no further bear to speak or contemplate :-l

Have definitely noticed that extreme weather seems to make your local moody bastards feel the need to engage  you in conversation. Twice this morning, certain personages, who I've smiled at as I've passed all year round and got a complete ding, have been...well verbose doesn't even cover it...practically verbally incontinent about the 'terrible weather' etc etc.....another good reason to wish for the snow to do one!

I feel sorry for Natnook ...  she is up on holiday at the moment and is trying to catch up with some friends and therefore had to trudge all over Portree ....however, I have noticed she seems to be offered alcoholic fortification at every port of call which she has thought only polite to accept so that has made her various journeys more bearable.

Yasnook and Flowrinook have taken to hibernating in Yasnook's boudoir and I've not seen them emerge since 11pm last night...however once she discovers there's Baileys aboot this hoose..no doubt she will be down the stairs quicker than a rat up a drain:-l  As she accompanied her mother, in a blizzard, to the Co-op last night, I think she may be granted a few spoonfuls ;-)

Anyways...I hope wherever you are this weekend that you have plenty of warmth, chocolate, alcohol and other comfort items of your choice. Remember exercise keeps you warm so a quick limber up before Strictly is always a good start to the evening ;-)

NB: Can I just clarify that my Dad reads the Daily Depress as therapy...allows him to vent his spleen...repeatedly... about the 'Tory Fascist Rag' that it is and implore me 'To read this bit, Linda...' and he does love the crosswords!

Thursday 18 November 2010

These boots were made for walking....

As a longtime devotee of the couch, and in the knowledge that many of my FB friends are fellow lounge languishers, I am going to break  this to you gently.....I, Linda.....being of sound mind(?) and body and without the benefit of any healing hands or 'miracles'....am going to raise myself up and WALK!


After you've all read and re-read the above paragraph several times, availed yourself of a fortifying alcoholic beverage and speed dialled your chosen therapist, I will endeavour to answer the question that I'm sure is buzzing round your brains like a bumble-bee.....WHY ?

Well, I'm looking to kill 3 birds with the one stone here....we are nothing if not multi-tasking....and in a rare moment of insight and cerebral clarity...WALKING.. was revealed to me as the solution to my Dali-Lamas.

Firstly, and most importantly, I am missing my Mum big time at the moment... much more now than when she died in June. I can feel myself retreating into myself and, with 4 months left of winter climes left, if I don't do something now I will emerge in March as Portree's answer to Howard Hughes!
I can never repay the doctors and nurses who looked after my Mum in her final weeks but I  can & want to do something in my Mum's memory that will provide funds to continue to help other cancer patients and their families in the future . Hence the idea of doing the 5k for MacMillan Cancer Care in June, 2011.


Secondly, especially since becoming a carer ...but to be honest for a long time before that too..I feel my life has stagnated into a comfortable but, nevertheless, mind numbing rut! That definitely needs to change for my sanity and for the sanity of those around me! I need to get myself out of the house more & I need to have a focus/aim too and preparing for this walk serves those imperatives well.

Thirdly, after coming through, and out the other end of, being anaemic, I now feel much better and more energetic than I've felt for quite some time. I want to keep feeling this way and I want to get fitter so walking seems the ideal activity. I know some people take up running  in midlife  to keep fit but with my bosomage it is neither a safe nor attractive option and one does need to consider such factors as a laydee in her prime when choosing suitable past-times ;-)


So there you have it...my planned activity from now through to June. I wasn't going to start until the New Year but given my track record in adhering to New Year Resolutions I binned that idea tout-suite! I am just 'sourcing'..... I just love that word...it sound so 'on message'!... suitable shoes with the advice and guidance of you lot....some more helpful than others, Mr Oswald!!....and then watch out Portree....Linda has been let loose on the community...see her near a place near you anytime soon! ;-)

 


















Monday 8 November 2010

November...Not for the Fainthearted!

Well we are now into the second week of November and it hasn't failed to disappoint - wet, windy, gloomy days that throw in the towel about 4.30 and give way to...yes, you've guessed it...wet, windy, dark nights!
As my FB friends will know....I absolutely loathe the winter...yes..before all you winter fans protest...I know it can be nice being snug, safe and warm, stuffing our faces with comfort foods while the rain batters off the windows and the wind brings the joyous sound of your whirly-gig being snapped in half...but, for me, it is a very limited pleasure.

I hate the fact that every day from November through to March is just going to be a slight variation on this theme....looking from the optimistic angle....if I don't get completely soaked thru to the skin every time I go out I might dodge double pneumonia for another year...looking from the pessimistic angle....I do get double pneumonia but recover in time to 'celebrate' that Christian Capitalist Conspiracy at the end of December!

Hmmm..I'll leave the 'C' word for the time being(never fear followers, I will return to it)because I refuse to contemplate it until we enter the 12th month...and return to the joy that is November! Apart from shite weather, the enforced confinement and heating bills starting to soar...November means bonfires and fireworks....oh yes! 

Now, I'm not a complete killjoy...I save that persona for you-know-when.. and I actually quite like watching fireworks and have attended organised public displays before at Glasgow Green and here on Skye. Alas, what gets on my mammaries are the f*ckwits who seem to have a problem with the old adage 'Remember, remember the 5th of November' Yes..the 5th of November...NOT I repeat NOT the frigging 5th, 6th and 7th of November...if you want to let fireworks off of on any other date than the 5th I suggest you stick them up your arse and do us all a bloody favour. This time of year is a nightmare for pets and their owners...and as the proud owner of 2 felines..I can tell you...that whilst one couldn't have given a flying fandango..the other one hasn't been so traumatised since his 'de-bollocking' visit to vet!

However...to end on a positive note...I became a Mummy for the first time in November...November 15th, 1983 and whilst giving birth is not so much a joy but more a melon > polomint experience...the end result....Natalie...was, and still is, brilliant :-)

Right...time to blogoff..and venture out and brave the elements..our super-duper bio-mass wood chip fuel central heating system needs a large cash injection and I'm meeting a friend for a slightly boozy lunch...that is what I love about Chardonnay....not just for November...but for any time of the year ;-)