Every Picture Tells a Story.......

......here's ours from last night's concert  (tickets were a surprise gift for nothing in particular from my extremely generous and lovely eldest lad)...........after a very long motorway drive, our little car finally reaches its destination, Clydeside in Glasgow.....

....and just around the corner, our venue is in sight......

..... the marvellous new structure called 'The Hydro' which just opened on Monday .......

....looking for all the world like something straight from 'Close Encounters'.......

....The Armadillo building right next door.....

...and the BBC Scotland buildings just across the road......

 ....the little spots on the outside of  The Hydro are there to keep the temperature of the inside of the building cool in the summer months (a little over-optimistic thinking there on the part of the planners, perhaps!)....

.....ok,ok enough with the architecture I hear you say, so here's my youngest sister playing at being really excited to be at the gig (well she wasn't really playing, she WAS really excited!)......

......and here's The Maestro himself.....

 ....complete with an army of leggy and good-looking blondes who formed part of his band and backing singers.....

...then in a couple of interludes, in order for the artiste to go backstage and fluff up his hairdo, his daughter (one of many!), Ruby Stewart, took to the stage and belted out a great number....

 ....then back to the Impresario himself.....

.....and at the final curtain call to our hero singing 'Auld Lang Syne', hundreds of balloons descended from the ceiling, topping off what was a truly great evening. 

Today feels a bit flat by comparison but never mind, there's always 'Strictly' to look forward to later on!

Hope you're all having a great weekend and thanks for the precious comments which you left last time.

xxx

Diamonds Are Forever......

......so Happy What-Would-Have-Been Your Diamond Wedding Anniversary, Mum and Dad.xxxx

....and by way of celebration, I'll be rocking it out tomorrow night with.....

....Good Old Rodders, though not personally you understand, there'll be another 12,999 folks joining in too!

Happy Weekend, Toute Le Monde

xxxxxxxxxxx

Another Bit of a Do......

.........best describes the day which is about to unfold at work because for the last six months, there's been a.........

......being carefully planned with almost military precision.....and finally this week.....

.......the marquees went up......

.....the flowers arrived........

......lots of chairs were piled high......

....the lighting and sound systems were checked and double-checked......

........the glitterball was strategically placed, ready to throw out its tiny sparkles on the merry revellers who will be dancing the night away underneath it later on in the evening.....

...and of course, there will be cake!....

.....thankfully, the real bride and groom are a lot better-looking than these two characters!....and I won't pretend it's been easy these last couple of weeks, getting the house and garden ready for the upcoming nuptials.... it's been a tough old slog alright....but I won't go on about how exhausted I've been otherwise you may get the impression I'm old and doddery (not quite yet but getting there!)....so I'm off to have a bit of preening and make myself look presentable to enjoy the day, as a guest and not as an employee, I hasten to add.....perks of the job? and in the meantime, I'll leave you with these two and their little tune which appropriately describes the kind of day I'm going to have!

Have a great weekend, Everyone.

Ta Ta for now

xxx

Plum Tuckered Out......

....there are many aspects of my job that I dislike intensely......

...ironing being one of them (yes, that's the back end of the iron - it's pointed like that to save turning the iron around which in turn saves time(?!)









...and here's the whole thing just in case you're one of those people who like to collect photographs of irons, in which case I would advise you to seek professional help!lol....
....anyhoo, I won't bore you with the rest of the mundane stuff I do to earn a crust. Instead, why don't we concentrate on the things I DO like doing..........for instance...

....going for walks with my mate, Harris and his brother, Rhum (who was unavailable for a photo opportunity because he was chasing a rabbit at the time!)...

..........and taking my trusty shepherd's crook along with me to ward off any ferocious sheep I may encounter along the way!.....

......the 'little' hill in the background is called Traprain Law, at the very top of which a Roman tribe called the Vottadini camped out, quite a while back now.....but I digress.....

....some of the more enjoyable things I get to do is wander through the orchard......

 looking for windfall apples to pick up (large ones for stewing, little ones for the horses)....

....and there is nothing like the crisp and crunch and taste of an apple straight from the tree....

...some to be boxed up for using later on in the year, some for making apple jelly, oh joy!!, and some came home with me!

.......then there's the plums....lots of.......

....and sometimes they've got company......

......some for stewing.....

......and of course, some for jam...

.....lots of!

And there endeth a day in the life of me! Time for home now and some scones with jam.

'Til next time and Thanks for passing by last time - Great to see you and d'you know, you're ALL so lovely

 xxx

Capsule Winter Wardrobe............

....(dream on, says me but oh-so-lovely to look at nevertheless)....

...if I was paying a vast amount of dosh for a Stella McCartney Mohair Tartan Coat, I certainly wouldn't be immersing it in a pool of water - what a waste! I hope my bloggy pal, Betty won't do this with her fab new mohair wrap that she got for an absolute steal! Wander over and have a look, she's making tasty treats with different kinds of berries at the mo.

 ....and I love this natty little tartan jacket......

......or how about this g-e-eorgeous woollen check coat - not so sure about the model's po-face though, maybe she doesn't like owls!......

 ....and of course, no denying this is the way to go when shopping at your favourite supermarket!.......
 ...now this is more like it.....huge,warm,functional...right up my street!

 ....now I absolutely love this dress - well, it's only Dolce and Gabbana so you may not like it as much! I think my bloggy pal Shaz would like it too because she's mad about her lovely cats (you can't really see very clearly in the pic but the middle section of the dress makes up some kind of feline features, a tiger I think).

....this would make a welcome change from the flannelette nightie and fleecy dressing gown I'm more liable to be seen floating around the house in....

but in the meantime, since I can't actually have any of the above, I'm very happy with what I do have and this includes a very pretty little bee enjoying some lovely lavender, as painted by Betty, who also included some lovely-smelling lavender cuttings for me to plant. Thanks, Pal.

....and I'm also very happy that I received this.....

...another 'First' this year and this time for my Crocheted Fair Isle Mandala Cushion Cover (link on my sidebar and pattern from the lovely Sue - she who is a marvel with a crochet hook)which I subsequently donated to Marie Curie Cancer Care via a stall at John's Open Day (or maybe he's resting his weary head on it as we speak - if it didn't sell on the day his partner, Chris was going to buy it for him). Anyhoo, I was chuffed to bits to win again this year - only wish I could have collected my little prize ticket in person! 

In woolly news, I'm knitting something really big! details here - so far I'm up to 300 stitches and counting! Told you it was big....

...and you can keep your designer gear, give me wool and lots of it anytime!!

Hope you're all well and getting ready for Autumn/Fall which is just around the corner, by all accounts. Seems a little early to be saying 'Keep Cosy', so I won't just yet in case I'm tempting fate!

'Til Next Time

Ciao for Now

x

*Fashion Images courtesy of Vogue Magazine