Mothers Day Miracles

Mothers Day started so well with phone calls, cards and gifts opened.  Gerard wasn't feeling his best he had indigestion which had caused some discomfort throughout the night.  We went to Church as normal where Gerard left half way through the service, insisting that I stayed.    To cut a long and quite dramatic story short Gerard had had a heart attack.  The strong pain killers that he takes for his RA had masked the severity of the pain.  He was seen immediately at A & E, diagnosed, stabilised and taken by ambulance to the airport.  An air ambulance took us both to Glasgow where he was operated on the moment we arrived.  The skill and speed of all the health professionals  saved his life and for that I will be forever grateful.  I saw so many miracles last Sunday, a day that will be forever etched in my mind.  I am thankful that all is well and that we are now back in our cottage on our Island paradise.  Our three daughters came straight up to support us both.  The customer services at Easy Jet went above and beyond their duty to ensure the girls could get there.  I will be forever grateful to friends and neighbours who continue to support us.  I am so thrilled to tell a story with so many positive outcomes, and thank God that all is well that ends well.

I will catch up with you as soon as I am able but for now I am going to take some time to rest and recuperate from our ordeal and spend some quality time with Gerard helping to build up his strength.

See you soon.

Scenes From My Week

A busy week with most of the Spring cleaning now done, just need to get the windows done both inside and out.  A job for early next week.  There has been a noticeable difference in the temperature, each day a little better.  The days are now lengthening giving us more light each day.  The sun rising in the East giving the dappled sunlight in the front windows giving us some wonderful shadows and highlighting the need to clean the windows.   There have been some dramatic skies which you will see as we go through the week.

Dark clouds tinged with red, a sure sign that there is rain to follow.

Signs of the downpour as we have a drive, drying up and disappearing as quickly as it came.  Shadowy outlines of the Memorial Tower in its majestic position overlooking four parishes of Stornoway.

Then as the morning brightens up a stroll around the harbour to blow away the cobwebs and get some fresh air.

Another dash to the car as the rain clouds once again formed and started to let down their load, yes more rain.

But not before getting some craft supplies,  Harris Tweed remnants for card making and using on small projects.  Along with some huge balls of Tweed all ready to make a rug on my return from holidays.

Mega crochet is the project I have in mind.  Time will tell how this will work out, just need to find a crochet hook big enough for the task.

Finally I was asked about how I infuse my oils, so here goes.  It is a very simple method but very tasty and has many uses.

I warm the extra virgin olive oil, heat but do not boil and then add the herbs.  On this occasion I used shop bought herbs but generally I use herbs that I have dried from the garden.  Pour into bottles and let cool before placing on the cap and labelling.  Leave for a couple of weeks to work its magic and then strain though some cheese cloth or muslin if desired.

It is communion weekend for our Church so there are many services and fellowships to enjoy.  A busy weekend but hopefully one where I will finally catch the Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis there is a strong cosmic wind predicted which will hopefully create the spectacular phenomenon of the dancing ribbons of green red and purple.  We intend to stay up and take a drive to the Butt of Lewis.  I am going to do a little research now on the best way to capture some photos.

Have you any plans for the weekend?

See you soon.

Weekend (A Little Late)

Plans have been made, outfits chosen and then put back into the wardrobe.  Our impending holiday has had so many guises but the weather has made us re think.  We now have back up plans for anything planned for outdoors with the Grandchildren.  Layers, is definitely the way forward for clothing we will certainly get it right then taking on/off as required.  The long range weather forecast is not looking brilliant but we are ever hopeful it will change, as it constantly does.  We still have 3 weeks so we are ever hopeful.  Parts of Scotland are still on an Amber warning but again, we are hopeful that all the snow will have disappeared and we will have a clear drive down.

Saturday we had a stroll along to the local Charity shop where you are always greeted with a smile and a chat.  It is always a joy to have a mooch around and find a little treasure.  This time we were lucky with books.

I really enjoyed browsing through the Scottish Teatime recipes and found a cake that I had never tried before, a marmalade cake.  So that was made in readiness for afternoon tea.  It was delicious, a sticky glaze and then a lovely taste of orange follows.

I grated the orange rind onto the top and popped it back into the oven for a few moments but sadly it had burnt a little.  Fortunately it didn't detract from the beautiful taste of the cake.

Our friend and neighbour popped around for a visit so she helped with making a chocolate cake, which she took home with her to share with her family.  We did have some fun breaking in the chocolate, one for the bowl one for the mouth.

I also made a lemon curd pudding as I had some lemon curd that needed using up.

Some secret crafting was done for Mothers day which is next Sunday here in the UK.  We had a lot of fun together.

She made friends with Wilbur and Hector via Skype and enjoyed some of their antics, making plans together for when they visit.

I then had a very enjoyable couple of hours sorting out the Spring/Easter decor.  A little touch here and there to brighten our dreary days.  A little promise of what is to come.

A side table to welcome you in and draw your eyes.  Wooden eggs making another appearance on the twigs.  We have had those so for many years, a wonderful reminder of our time in Germany whilst serving in the Army.  The table runner a new addition that was made last year from some fabric picked up on a car boot sale. I love how the reflections and shadows can be seen throughout the cottage as the sun shows its dappled face during the lengthening days.  

Another tree that we usually use for Christmas baubles.

Each piece a wonderful reminder of bygone times, with some amazing memories to reflect upon.  Has your Easter/Spring decor made an appearance yet?

See you soon.

Scenes From My Week

 We have had a very icy week, with temperatures plummeting to all time lows in some parts of the Country.  The anticipated snow didn't arrive here on the Island.  None the less, we have had some cosy moments in the cottage with a roaring stove and candles giving it a romantic ambience.

Soup has been plentiful this week with several variations tried as well as the tried and tested.  I have been experimenting a little with the bread, trying different recipes but then gone back to what we know we like.

A multi seed seems to be the one we favour.  I had a request from one of our daughters to take some oils with me when we go down.  Basil oil and a mixed herb oil have been infused ready to take.

We have had the usual drive around taking in the local scenery.  This time we took a travel cup with us with coffee and sat watching the waves crashing along the shoreline.  The majestic sea taking on a life of its own, pounding, recoiling and once again thrashing into the rocks.  The Butt of Lewis is the perfect point to sit and admire the sea on three sides.

The single lane tracks can be a little hairy at times but at this time of year you have the road to yourself and can stop and start to admire the views.

Of course there has to be sheep...

...and a little sewing.  Hector's quilt is coming along nicely.

Slow but steady.

We have a cosy supper planned and a film for tonight.  Hopefully the weather is starting to improve where you are and Spring will finally emerge.  As always thank you so much for your uplifting comments and a very warm welcome to new followers.  I do hope you enjoy our little adventures through life.  Take care and stay safe and warm.

See you soon.