Weekly Chat, 1 January 2012, Happy Hogmanay!

Happy New Year...Plus something silly up here in Ospreyland...long may it last!!!

Hallo all:  A Happy and Healthy 2012 to everyone, your families and friends!

A hectic few days here; OH and I planning a quiet evening (g-daughter and Delilah up at daughter's for a day or two) before they all pile in the front door again.

Thanks Diane for starting of the new year!

Hugs to ALL

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE FROM ME TOO !!

We didn't stay up last night .. very few people round here celebrate ... was woken by a few distant fireworks at midnight!

Back later for some replies I hope  :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.   off to church on my tod as OH didn't get in from work till 0220. Then we will both be going to the Manse fo lunch and OH working again at 3.00pm

HALLOOOO!!    Thanks to Diane and AQ for starting us off on the year, and the week.  And thanks for all your Good Wishes.   Perhaps we can hope for a record breaking year for Ospreys, in particular for our friends in Loch Garten.

(these lights are our little coloured lights in the trees outside, in our back garden over the season)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE. ALL THE BEST FOR 2012.

Stayed up til about 1 am and did the usual first footing tradition of going outside just before midnight and coming back in after the bells with my piece of coal, black bun and bottle of whisky. Lots of fireworks going off but it was all over by the time we went to bed. Watched BBC Scotlands Hogmanay program and as usual it was excellent.

We tidied up the house a little, wrote some correspondence, then went for a sherry with our newish neighbour next door - he is keen to integrate with all the neighbours so there were four of us visiting.  Very pleasant chat.  After that, an egg on toast for lunch, then I promptly fell asleep!   It gave me the energy to enjoy our evening with Friends and their daughter & boyfriend.   A lovely meal:  smoked salmon starter, fillet of beef with watercress for mains, then lemon dessert followed by cheese & bics, and nuts.  Very full!   We raised our champagne glasses to the sound of the church bells in the village pealing out, and watching the amazing London Firework display on TV.    Home by 1.30 am and fell into bed.  Had left poor Dog with the radio on loudly, so that he would not be too distressed by the fireworks.

A lazy day planned for today.  Lots of last weeks newspapers not read etc.  Also going to see Tomasz on the Skype, and wish everyone we know all the Best for 2012.  (its very mild here, but forecast to be colder tomorrow)

A quote to end with:

"New Year's Day......     Now is the accepted time to make good your regular annual good resolutions....   Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual"   ~  ~  Mark Twain

Wishing You All a Happy and Healthy 2012!

Thanks for Peter James info, dibnlib, I have now finished Dead Simple, which speeded up towards the end, just like TV detective stories, and was quite exciting.  I shall be working my way through his series in chronological order.  I have now started the Inspector Wallander book I got at the same time.  I also got an Inspector Zen story in the same Amazon order and that was good too, so I now have three new authors to start reading through!  Love your dog pics.

Diane, lovely for you to have a hawk protector.  We have had strong winds here and I can’t put the sunflower seed out because it just swings around, but the peanut feeder is a little heavier so all my sparrows have learnt how to swing on that.  The robin just flits in and out.  Well done on finishing your Things-I-Don’t-Want-To-Do list! And sorry you were embarrassed in the store.

Alicat, thanks for the pics of Bobbie enjoying her first Christmas, sweetie!

Hi OG, thanks for the “wave” instructions to OH and J, but now I have to make an admission....we made a very late decision to nip (about 45 miles) over to Caerlaverock yesterday so we were probably bypassing your town at the time, sorry not to be in touch.  However, since we have managed to get there so early (we usually leave it until last minute in Feb, when the geese are about departed) we intend to go again.  I hope that happens, but weekends always seem to be busy in January for some reason.  We arrived in time to have lunch then see the swan feeding, then walked down to the Saltcot viewpoint. We saw lots of Canada geese, Whooper and mute swans, tufted ducks and wigeon etc, but it was a bit murky.  The barnacle geese were way out on the merse so couldn’t really see them and OH forgot his binoculars so I had to share.  Mushroom soup was on the menu, yum, and tea and cake later.

Thanks and well done Lynette for the firework pics, lovely.

Alan, aren’t you supposed to go to someone else’s house with your coal?

I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. The past year has seen quite a few with health problems and I hope this year will be better for them.  It is a bright and brezzy day here and we have been out walking getting some colour in my cheeks.  Last night was on the whole quite but we had fireworks at midnight and Diesel required cuddles to reasure him everything was OK.

I got myself an IPAD for christmas and am now having to learn a new way of working as the touch pad is very sensitive and if you keep your finger on something too long it goes funny but I am slowly getting there.

I am going to SiL for a meal later on in the day so will be having a few New Year drinks.

Everyone keep well and prepare for another rollercoaster Osprey season.

Happy New Year everyone from a sunny Northern Ireland

!