Tag Archives: #blogging

Liebster Award —–my first blogging award!

Posted on November 10, 2015 | 3 comments

leibster

The Liebster Award comes to me from Danica at Living A Beautiful Life (https://danicapiche.wordpress.com) Thank you very much!

I was delighted to be awarded this Liebster Award. My first blogging award!

Please take a moment to check out Danica’s blog. It’s a refreshing look at life in all its glorious randomness.

What is the Liebster Award?

The word “liebster” (originating in German) has several definitions:  dearest, sweetest, kindest, nicest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued.  In the current context, this award recognizes bloggers who share their story or thoughts in a beautiful manner to connect with their viewers and followers.

What are the rules for the Liebster Award?

The rules for the Liebster Award have changed over time and I’m approaching them with some flexibility.

Here are the rules:

  1. Post the award on your blog.
  2. Thank the blogger who presented this award and link back to their blog.
  3. Write 11 random facts about yourself.
  4. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter.
  5. Nominate 11 bloggers you feel deserve this award and who have less than 200 followers.( I’ll bend the rules slightly here if no one objects)
  6. Ask your nominees 11 questions.

My Liebsterly Nominees:

Karen Soutar (https://karensoutar.wordpress.com)

Ally (https://luckally.wordpress.com)

Dawn Mander (https://dmander.wordpress.com)

Mari Wells (https://mariwells.wordpress.com)

Kruti Mehta (https://10eveningflowers.wordpress.com)

 

My Random facts:

  1. I have an irrational fear of bananas
  2. I hate getting my hair cut
  3. I thrive on black coffee
  4. My first pet was a tortoise called Sally and she ran away
  5. The worst job I ever had was working for Wimpy, the burger chain.
  6. One of my favourite films is El Dorado with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum
  7. My first rock “crush” was Francis Rossi from Status Quo
  8. I love motorsport especially motoGP
  9. I’m a cat person not a dog person
  10. My mobile phone has over 10000 photos stored on it
  11. I’m a creature of habit

 

My Questions from Danica were:

  1. Would you travel to Mars?

Yes. Although I may need to stock up my Kindle with reading material for the trip

  1. If you could be born into history as any famous person who would you be and why?

I honestly have no idea! Most of the characters from history that intrigue me came to an unfortunate end! Probably a wife of one of the Roman emperors. Livia, wife of Augustus and Tiberius, perhaps.

  1. What is the longest you’ve gone without sleep?

About 30 hours. I did however go three years without a full night’s sleep after the birth of my son.

  1. You discover an island upon which you may build your own society.  You make the rules.  What is the first rule that you implement?

Honesty by all at all times

  1. If you could spend one week attending any special events (music/sports/ballet/show dogs/anything) what is your itinerary?

Rock shows, on the rail, every night!

  1. What is your favorite word?

I don’t have one. I do like unusual words. Cattywumpus being one that comes to mind. (Google it!)

  1. What would you like to be doing one year from now?

Lying on my favourite beach in the sun listening to the ocean

  1. What is the weirdest scar you have and how did you get it?

I don’t have any worth mentioning.

  1. What is the last song you listened to?

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

  1. Do you like thunderstorms?

Yes- I love watching lightning!

  1. What is a question that you’d be afraid to answer truthfully?

Hmm…good question! –What weight are you? ha ha

My questions for my nominees:

  1. What’s the last book you read?
  2. If you could click your fingers and transport yourself anywhere, where would you go and why?
  3. First record/CD you ever bought?
  4. You are hosting a dinner party and can invite 5 famous people (dead or alive) who would you invite and why?
  5. Favourite season?
  6. What advice would you give to your 15 year old self?
  7. What is your most treasured possession and why does it mean so much to you?
  8. First concert you ever went to was?
  9. Where is your favourite place to sit and write?
  10. What three things motivate you?
  11. Which book/song do you wish you’d written?

3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , ,

The First Annual Mother/Daughter Day of Culture

Posted on October 20, 2015 | 1 comment

Yesterday was the last day of the school October mid-term break here and I decided to spend it with Girl Child. Mother/Daughter time and all that stuff. Depending on teenage hormone level this could mean a suicide mission!

Fortunately hormone levels were under control. As a precaution though, I fed her tea and toast with Nutella for breakfast. A hungry Girl Child, hormonal or not, is a dangerous creature!

Our destination for the day was one of my favourite places in Glasgow. No, it wasn’t Starbucks or Café Nero! We were heading to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in the city’s West End.

I also discovered en route that it was Girl Child’s first trip on the Glasgow Underground. She’s still not convinced that even she couldn’t get lost on it!

glasgow-subway-map

Having hopped off the “clockwork orange” at Kelvinhall, we headed off towards the art gallery.

33

Currently there’s a costume exhibition on and, with Girl Child’s interest in art and design, it seemed like a good place to start. Being brutally honest here, I was a little disappointed in the exhibit. The website and promotional literature suggests it’s a more extensive display than it actually is. That said, the dresses are stunning.

dress collage 2

dress collage

Girl Child quickly decided that the faceless mannequins would make ideal Dr Who monsters! (She has a fear of masks and things like that) The bride was particularly creepy though so I couldn’t disagree with her.

P1070153

Having had our fill of frocks, we meandered through the rest of the building.

I love the building itself. It’s stunningly beautiful inside and out.

It was built in the late 1800’s (same era as the dress exhibition covers) from the proceeds of the 1888 International Exhibition that was held in Kelvingrove Park. It first opened its doors to the public in 1901. The sprawling red sandstone building is built in a Spanish baroque style (looks Gothic to my un-educated eye) with its main entrance facing out across Kelvingrove Park. (No, it wasn’t built back to front as per the urban myth.)

collage 4

The centre piece in the central hall is a huge pipe organ. I wonder what the acoustics are like?

58

Another striking feature of the main foyer is The Floating Heads modern art display by Sophie Cave. Each of the fifty or so white heads portrays a different emotion. Subtle lighting can make these faces decidedly freaky. Girl Child wasn’t a fan. Me – I love them!

collage 3

Another must visit gallery is the small room that houses Salvador Dali’s “Christ of St John on the Cross”. I fell in love with that painting the very first time my mum took me to see it when I was about twelve. It’s stunning!

56

There’s something for everyone in the museum. There’s something for all ages too judging by the plethora of pre-school age children rampaging through the natural history hall. But then again, you’re never too young to be introduced to a place like this.

After another subway ride back into the city centre and lunch in the Hard Rock Café (well it was right outside the subway station. It would’ve been rude not to!) we headed off to Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) It’s not the biggest art gallery but it is the most visited modern art gallery in Scotland.

I’m not generally a fan of modern art (apologies if this offends anyone). I like my art to look like something I can relate to. There’s something about most modern art that I don’t fundamentally “get”. However Girl Child enjoyed her visit and I got to see my first braille landscape painting (Girl Child thought it was a blank canvas – should’ve remembered your glasses, dear!). GOMA was deemed a hit all round.

collage 5

We’d been out for approximately six hours by this point and not a cross word had been spoken. Miracle!

After a detour into Schuh to get new laces for my leather Converse boots (HUGE thanks to the assistant who helped me find what I was looking for), we headed back to the station.

Tired and with the caffeine tank running on empty, we headed home on the train having had an almost perfect day. Perhaps we should make this an annual event?

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , ,

The Family Clock

Posted on October 15, 2015 | 2 comments

The last few weeks have seen a few subtle changes to the daily routine around here.

New school year for Girl Child. No major dramas….so far.

Start of university life for Boy Child. No major dramas ….so far.

It’s also a gradual move into the next phase of parenthood. A further step towards their independence. A further loosening of the reins.

Now they may beg to differ here but I think The Big Green Gummi Bear and I are reasonably relaxed with both of them. Yes, we like to know where they are, how they are getting home and when we can expect them back. Not unreasonable requests.

This is still largely under our control with Girl Child as one of us usually has to collect her from wherever she is. (Boy Child comes in handy for this too now that he can drive.) Boy Child is pretty much free to come and go as he pleases, within reason.

This is taking a bit of getting used to. I still can’t sleep soundly at night until I know he’s home in one piece. Fresher’s Week was a parental challenge and saw a distinct lack of sleep on my part. I’m not used to Boy Child sauntering in at three in the morning!

I’ve also discovered that it takes a hell of a lot of coffee to function after less than five hours sleep!

It’s a pleasure to watch them both mature into young adults. They’ll cringe if they read this, but they are both good kids and I appreciate how fortunate we are with them.

Boy Child’s late nights reminded me of a poem I wrote a few years ago. It’s been a while since I shared any poetry on here.

Enjoy!

Family Clock

A mental family clock ticks inside my heart.

Conscious of each family member

Not safe at home in the family heart.

Whether child, spouse or cat

My heart can tell where they’re at.

Once home safe and sound

Their personal “tick” settles down.

Whilst still out and about

Their clock ticks aloud.

With contempt the cat stares from across the street

And pads off into the night.

My family clock ticks on and on.

written 16/3/10

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Hanging Out In The Memory Bank

Posted on October 8, 2015 | Leave a comment

Sometimes when the “real” world gets too much you need to escape into the “Memory Bank”.

The “Memory Bank” is crammed full of precious memories from life.

Some of them are songs. Some of them are food. Some of them are photos

You get the hint.

For various reasons way too private and person to go into here, I’ve spent a lot of time browsing the “Memory Bank” over the past few days.

(And before any friends start to panic, I’m fine. No need to worry. I just needed to get my head round something.)

It’s been fun “hanging out” at the “Memory Bank” while recharged my emotional batteries.

Yes. Some of the memories in there are bittersweet. I’m not going to lie but even they have their own “vault” within the “Memory Bank”.

There’s a few sad ones in there too but I tend to skipped past that “room” in search of happier galleries.

Occasionally memories “skip” rooms as the “real” world twists and turns.

There’s been a degree of memory “sorting and filing” over the last few days too.

Before this becomes maudlin and I’m delving back into the dark recesses of my mind, I thought I’d share a few totally random memories from the dim and distant past.

I mentioned a moment ago that songs conjure up memories. One slightly reckless but precious memory springs instantly to mind whenever I hear the original Guns ’n’ Roses version of Paradis City. Before the intro is over I’m mentally transported back about eight or nine years to a hot sunny morning spent on the town beach at Cape May, NJ. The kids and I had been dropped off by mu uncle for a couple of hours on our own on the beach. I desperately needed a few minutes of music and “me time”. The kids were about six and eight at this point. While they ran off down the crowded beach and played unsupervised in the ocean, I lay in the sun listening to Paradise City on my son’s mp3 player. For those six minutes and forty eight seconds I too was in Paradise. (No children were harmed due to lack of parental attention at that time)

Meringues from a local bakery are another source of early childhood memories. As a wee girl, I remember visiting my mum’s old auntie several times a week. She was a fabulous old lady and she adore children. I must have made the mistake one day of saying I liked fresh cream meringues. On a regular basis thereafter until she passed away, she bought me a fresh cream meringue from the local baker’s. I clearly remember kneeling up on the chair at the table in her small flat, eating my meringue in front of the budgie’s cage. (I’ve no idea why his cage lived on the table)Poor woman sickened me of meringues. Forty years later and I still can’t eat another one but the memories of her kindness and eagerness to please are so sweet.

fresh-cream-meringue

The ”Memory Bank” is pretty stuffed full with photo memories. Mt phone is pretty full with photo memories. My sideboard has a whole section full of photo albums and there are many more in another cupboard and on the book shelves. My laptop too (and external hard drive) has more than its fair share too.

Yes, I admit it, I hoard photos!

It would be virtually impossible to share them all.

I’ll pick one.

Eleven summers ago I took the kids to the USA to visit our American family for the first time and, as part of the two week trip, we spent a day or so in Washington DC. I’d been there as a little girl and was keen to go back to visit places from my own childhood memories. Before we left home, Boy Child, who was only six at the time, had been playing a driving game called Midtown Madness on the X-box. As part of the game, he could “drive” around Washington, DC. Repeatedly he drove his vehicle of choice into the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the Mall. I commented that we’d see the pool while we were on holiday.

The day we visited the Mall, the pool had been drained for cleaning. Lo and behold, its base was covered in tyre tracks. You’ve never seen a little boy so happy to see “his” tyre tracks in real life.

USA 2004 122

Happy memories!

credits to the owner of the GnR video. and to the owner of the Google image of the fresh cream meringue

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Pigeon Fancying In The Sun

Posted on September 30, 2015 | 1 comment

Having headed off to Glasgow last Sunday morning to meet up with some special friends, I found myself with half an hour to spare before their train arrived into Queen St station.

So far it had been a pretty surreal morning. There had been a huge mix up between trains at Gourock station resulting in all the passengers doing three laps of the station and involving three trains. Bear in mind it’s a small station with only three platforms and one train an hour on a Sunday! The journey had progressed quite calmly and peacefully after that until the train was pulling into Glasgow’s Central Station and I noticed that the woman sitting across the aisle from me had donned a full Batman hood. “Ok, this is a bit weird,” I thought then noticed the teenage boy sitting opposite her was in full Batman costume. I assumed my caffeine levels were too low and chose to disregard them. On my way from the train, down the platform and across the concourse I passed The Penguin, three Jokers and a Klingon! A swift text home to Girl Child revealed the answer – Comic Con!

Whew! I wasn’t losing the plot after all!

A few minutes later I found myself basking in the sun in George Square, camera in hand. (Wish I’d had it handy as I’d walked through the station!)

Now those of you who are friends with me on Facebook and those of you who follow me on here may recall that I have a tendency to photograph seagulls. I can’t recall how it all began but it did involve a very bizarre conversation about how long they live.

Anyway, there was a distinct lack of seagull subject matter in George Square.

There were however plenty of their grey “cousins” hanging about. Yes, you’ve guessed it – pigeons! (For the record – pigeons in the wild live 5-6 years and 8-15 years in captivity)

They proved to be very obliging models as you can see and provided me with a few moments, alone and anonymous in the city with my camera, before I headed off to meet my friends for a fabulous day filled with coffee, good food, wine and  a lot of fun and laughter. All good for the soul.

tagged g1 tagged g2 tagged g3 tagged g4 tagged g5

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , ,

Expectant Book Baby Mummy…….

Posted on September 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

sparta dragon

I was talking to a friend this morning about how crazy, busy life can be. I had passed comment on the fact there was “me” and “her”.

“Her” goes to work in the salt mine five days a week. The salt mine has revolving doors at the entrance and the analogy I used was that, like Superman doing a swift change in a phone box, I leave “me” outside and pick “her” up on the way in. They swap places as I leave again at night.

Ok, I’ll confess, occasionally “me” sneaks out during the day.

Well, “me” has been busy.

Following hot on the heels of Book Baby aka Stronger Within, I’m now an expectant Book Baby Mummy again.

I think I’ve explained before on here that I’m a bit old fashioned with my writing approach. I prefer to write my initial draft out long hand.  The initial draft of Book Baby 2 has been nestling under the kitchen table ready to be brought to life for a while. (It was actually completed before I published Stronger Within.)

So now “me”s life is busy with typing up the first “official” draft of Book Baby 2.  A bit like a second pregnancy, I feel a little more prepared this time for the hard work that lies in the coming months.  Book Baby 2 is “due” in the Spring – all things going to plan.

It already has a title, Impossible Depths, and continues the Silver Lake journey with Jake and Lori.

Here’s a sneak peak inside –

Bright sunlight flooded the bedroom when Lori finally roused herself from sleep on Sunday morning. Instantly she knew she had slept late, but if a girl couldn’t have a long lie on her birthday, when could she? A single red rose lay on the nightstand beside the bed with a small white card tucked underneath it. On the card were a series of scribbled music notes and “Happy Birthday li’l lady. J x” written on it.

The night before both of them had worked on until after midnight, hence the need for the lie in. One of Lori’s deadlines had been pulled forward causing her to work flat out for three days straight as she tried to cram two weeks’ worth of work into four days.

Pulling on one of Jake’s discarded T-shirts, Lori lifted her rose and went through to the kitchen to put it in some water before it wilted. A bud vase already filled with water was sitting on the counter and under it was another card. This time the card had the same music notes drawn on it plus a picture of a sun. Curious, Lori put the rose into the vase and wandered through to the sunroom. Silence was filling the house and she felt confident that she was alone. In the centre of the sunroom one of the small occasional tables had been moved into the centre of the room and placed on the centre of it was a vase with eleven roses and another card. More music notes and a champagne glass were drawn on this one and a small pile of sand had been drizzled on top. With a smile, Lori wandered outside and across the deck to the edge of the path in her bare feet.

She spotted Jake immediately. Without pausing to dress or to fetch her cane, she very carefully made her way across the warm, soft sand towards the picnic blanket and her fiancé. As she drew closer, she saw he had a champagne brunch laid out for them. He was sitting on the sand with his back to her, facing the ocean and was playing his beloved acoustic guitar.

“Hi,” said Lori softly as she reached the edge of the blanket.

“Happy birthday, beautiful,” said Jake, as he turned to face her.

Carefully, he laid his guitar in its case and got gracefully to his feet. In two long strides, he was beside her and had wrapped his arms round her. “Happy Birthday,” he whispered before kissing her tenderly.

“Thank you,” replied Lori with a bright smile. “I never expected this.”

“That was the general idea.”

Taking her by the hand Jake led her over to the blanket, then helped her to sit down and get comfortable. While Lori settled herself, he popped the cork on the bottle of champagne, firing it towards the ocean. Bubble flowed over the rim as he poured them each a glass.

Passing her a half full glass, he said, “Here’s to many more birthdays, li’l lady.”

“To us,” she toasted, raising her glass to his.

Watch this space for more Book Baby 2 news.

If you missed Book Baby aka Stronger Within, you can still find it on Amazon

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Can We Hit The Pause Button For A Moment Please

Posted on September 17, 2015 | Leave a comment

Confession – no “proper” blog post this week.

The “real” world has been running at 100mph for days.The “creative” world has been dominated by Book Baby 2.

I’ve also been trying to get my new music review blog and associated FB page off the ground . (https://the525toglasgow.wordpress.com  and https://www.facebook.com/The525ToGlasgow if you fancy checking them out).

So apologies for the lack of a proper update. Normal chaos will resume next week….hopefully.

In the meantime, here’s some cute cats ( well isn’t that what everyone looks at online at some point!)

IMAG2012_1 IMAG2801 IMAG0001 IMAG0125

And as a random after thought….a grape mouse 😉

IMAG2585

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , ,

What The Hell Is That?

Posted on September 8, 2015 | 2 comments

Ok, I need your help here guys.

Last weekend, Girl Child and I set off on a leisurely meander to the local garden centre. (Being a teenager she doesn’t go for a walk. She endures the fact she has to be out in bright sunlight for more than a split second, bemoaning the fact that she is burning and has been forced into motion – slow motion!) As is my usual want, I had taken my camera with me. Well there has to be something along that stretch of road that has escaped my attention up until now!

We were half way back when I spotted it! Considering how short sighted I am, I’m a little bit pleased to have spotted it. However, compared to other examples I’ve seen locally in the past, this was a giant. It really was kind of hard to miss!

Girl Child paused- any excuse to stop walking- then declared her disgust at it and kept walking.

I stood for a moment, fascinated as I watched it feast on the vegetation. I swear, you could almost hear it crunching!

So what was it?

It was this.

tagged 1f

Possibly the largest caterpillar I’ve seen in Scotland! It wasn’t the bonniest one I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure. It had to be almost ten centimetres in length and about a centimetre and a half maybe in diameter. He/she looked to be a prime specimen.

But a prime specimen of what?

That’s where I need your help.

Does anyone out there know what this critter will transform into?

I’m guessing, this late in the year, it is destined to be some kind of moth. It seems too late for it to be transforming into a butterfly.

I searched Google but to no avail. I have now seen more caterpillar photos than I can stomach but I’m still curious to discover what the true identity of this critter is.

So HELP! Any ideas what this fine specimen of a very hungry caterpillar will become?

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , ,

Grandpa Bunny Bunny Does A Good Job

Posted on September 3, 2015 | 4 comments

As a little girl I was given the gift of a big blue book of Disney tales. I loved that book! In fact, I still have it.

Among the more popular Disney stories was the story of Grandpa Bunny Bunny. This is a lesser known story, originally published in 1951, about Grandpa Bunny Bunny teaching the younger bunnies how to “decorate” nature with stunning colours. This patriarch realises he about to “go away” as the story phrases it and prepares a special surprise  – a sunset.

Now, forty years on, every time I see a beautiful sunset or the occasional sunrise, I still think “Grandpa Bunny Bunny did a good job on that one.”

Here’s a few he’s created over the past few months.

IMAG0004_1

IMAG0800_1

IMAG2618_1

IMAG2629_1

IMAG2785_1

IMAG2810_1

IMAG2857

IMAG2862_1

IMAG2873_1

WaltDisneyGrandpaBunny_CVR

note- none of these photos have been touched up in any way. It’s all nature’s colours…or Grandpa Bunny Bunny’s artwork

4 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , ,

It’s Been So Long That My Hearing Has Fully Recovered…….

Posted on August 26, 2015 | Leave a comment

It’s been seventy two days since my last fix. I’m growing twitchy!

Having checked the calendar, there’s still seventy seven days to go until my next scheduled fix. Tragic!

If my maths are correct that is one hundred and forty nine days without a fix!

Far too long! Far FAR too long!!!

I’ll have completely forgotten my way to the 5.25 train to Glasgow by the time 12 November comes around.

Some of you are possibly scratching your heads and muttering “What’s she wittering about now?”

Those of you who follow this blog and those of you who happen to know me or even on occasion accompany me will have guessed.

I’m suffering from a severe drought of gigs! It’s quietly killing me. My hearing’s been almost perfect for weeks now!

The last was Tremonti at my favourite O2 ABC on 15 June.

My next scheduled gig is Crobot at The Cathouse, Glasgow on 12 November.

Daily I’m keeping my eye on the various social media sites for updates on long hoped for tour news.

I’ve scanned my O2 Academy app looking for potential shows.

I’m scouring the music magazines for tour news on a weekly basis.

(Yes, I know, there are countless bands out there touring and playing fantastic shows but a night out at a gig isn’t a cheap night out and I am perhaps being a little picky on economic grounds.)

My diary where I store concert tickets for up-coming shows is very, very empty. There are only my Crobot tickets for November and my Carnival of Madness tickets for Glasgow for February 2016 (still waiting for the Manchester ones to arrive)

Sighs sadly…….

So until things pick up on the live show front, it’s time to plug in the iPod (ok, ok, it’s always on), attempt not to download too much music (Can you actually have too many tunes?), explore new bands/albums and reflect on the memories of shows gone by.

Here’s a few of the special moments that are keeping me going.

music blog 1 music blog 2 music blog 3 musci blog 4 music blog 5

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,