Top Ten Thursday - Social Media

Today for top ten Thursday Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom has asked us to list the top ten things people need to know if they want to add us on social media. Think "no chain letters", I love puppy pictures, etc.

Social media, that thing that some people would not survive without now. Do you remember the days when we went without any contact with our friends because we were on holiday or they were on holiday, and we had to wait to hear what their week was like until we spoke on the phone or met up for a coffee? 

Here's my ten things you need to know to connect with me on social media.

1. Cats - I will often post photos of our cats, share funny videos and memes featuring cats, and encourage you to care about what happens to cats.

2. The Crowd Filter - something I used to tell student nurses is that you shouldn't post anything on social media that you couldn't shout out loud in a crowded place. 

3. Don't send me chain mail - I will not forward them and lots of these have viruses attached to them.

4. Follow then unfollow - this is something that is really annoying, when people follow you on instagram and then, when you follow them back they stop following you.

5. Spell Check - don't just rely on spell check when you are posting things as if the word is still a real word your computer may not pick up that it's the wrong one for the context. 

6. Bad Day?? - please don't just post random negative statements without saying what you're talking about. Not only is it frustrating , but your true friends will worry until they know that you are okay.

7. Share - giving a bit of personal information in your social media posts can make people feel more connected to you and what you are sharing. 

8. Be generous - comment, like, and share, or all three at the same time. If what you've read makes you smile or causes you to think about something then share that love.

9. The future - please don't tag me in posts which are offensive or inappropriate as potential managers do look at social media so that they can see what sort of social media footprint is out there.

10. Did I mention that if you follow me on Facebook, instagram, or blogger, then fairly regularly you will be exposed to cats. If you don't like cats then just shake your head and mutter under your breath about the crazy cat lady in the north of Scotland and move on. If, like me, you love our feline friends, then please stay longer.

What about you? Do you have really strict rules for connecting with people on social media? Until next time, have a wonderful weekend and connect with distant friends or family via social media.

Pamela & Ken

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Natures Beauty in the Highlands

The weather was absolutely gorgeous over the weekend so of course we had to get out and explore the countryside. Somewhere that we have driven past countless times but never visited was Burgie Arboretum, so on Saturday we went and discovered the natural beauty hidden up a very rough gravel road.

One of the houses we drove past had interesting things all through the garden and hanging in the trees. This tree had beautiful dreamcatchers and sparkly things that caught the sun - I loved it and think that we should do this to one of the trees near our cottage.

As we walked into the woodland gardens we were greeted by a sea of fairy wishes, otherwise known as dandelions or a way to tell the time.

Throughout the garden there were lots of bluebells out, mixed in amongst other wild flowers including daisies, buttercups, and forget me nots.

I'm now going to share lots of photos that I took to show you how stunningly beautiful the arboretum is - we'll definitely be going back as it's such a peaceful and calming place to walk.

The scent of the different flowers was intoxicating and the two of us spent lots of time with our noses in amongst the petals.

The arboretum is split into different areas and there is even a place for Eucalyptus trees - I felt right at home
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Very colourful signpost with the distance to other countries in the world - I was most put out that Australia wasn't there.

I'm in love with alliums as they are everywhere and so gorgeous in there purpleness. Alliums are basically an ornamental onion, and if we had our own garden I would have lots of these.

Selfie in the sunshine - I don't know what was going on with my hair on Saturday, it looks like it's trying to leave my head. It was a little bit fluffy. Ken looks totally bald as the sun was reflecting off his fair hair - he's actually got very thick luxuriant hair (that's my line and I'm sticking to it).

On our way home we stopped off for a coffee at Brodie Castle and the gardens are looking so green and lush - these beach and oak trees are stunning.

Here's hoping for lots more sunny days so that we can spend time immersed in nature. Until next time we hope that wherever you are in the world that you are having a good week.

Pamela & Ken
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P.S: The brats taking complete ownership of our bed - Lord Rocky Horror doing his yoga moves and Princess Cookie Cat choosing to sleep on my black work trousers rather than the rest of the bed.

Friday's Friendly Fill Ins

It's time for the Friday fill ins which are hosted by Ellen at 15andmeowing.com and Lorianne at Four-Legged Furballs who provide the prompts in bold and the rest is by me.

1. It is a real blessing to be living in such a beautiful part of the world and just this morning I looked out the kitchen window to see a young deer in the neighbours garden.

2.The best part of last week was visiting the Highland Wildlife Park where we got to see Hamish the young polar bear and the Scottish wildcat kittens. Wildcats are endangered so it's really lovely to see a new generation playing in the sun.

Hamish

Kittens

3. Every summer, I love seeing the purple heather blanketing the countryside - it's my favourite colour so Scotland is the perfect place for me.

4. Once upon a time, a guy and a girl met, became friends, and 26 years after that first meeting they are more in love every day, and have three furry children including a princess, a horror, and a dog that thinks she's a cat.

November 2015

What's been the best part of your week? Before you go make sure you check out what my fellow bloggers have come up with for their answers.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and do something to help the planet over the coming week.

Pamela & Ken

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Top Ten Thursday - May Scavenger Hunt

Today for the top ten we're doing another photo scavenger hunt with the list provided by our lovely host Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom. These are the ten items we had to take a picture of:

1. Yin and Yang - this is one my two cheats this week as I've had to use old photos. We came across this headstone five years ago at Nunhead cemetery in London. As the grave is for an actor it seems fitting to have the yin and yang symbol to represent the two sides of the personality or maybe the real person and the people they play in their various roles.

2. Outdoor Art - in one of the streets in Inverness there are several of these installations that look like the pavement has been lifted up by an earthquake.

3. Bus Terminal - the huge bus terminal in Nairn, the town we live in. It's in the middle of a car park which has take away shops on one side and apartment buildings behind where we are taking the photo from.

4. Heart - this lovely wooden candle holder was turned into a vase by my beloved this week, and it looks lovely with some of my favourite flowers in it.

5. Pink Blooms - beautiful rhododendron in our garden.

6. Clock Face - this musical clock is in the shopping centre in Inverness, and when the music plays all the animals plus Mr & Mrs Noah move around. I love that there is a kangaroo in the crows nest and how there is always a row of people watching it when it strikes the hour.

7. Mexican Food - homemade nachos.

8. Vintage - it's amazing how many modern things are being designed to look vintage, even cars. I found these kettles this week and think they look really funky.

9. Black - the only thing I could have for this is our own little black cat, Lord Rocky Horror, who earlier this evening licked the top off my portuguese tart. I'd looked away for a second and he took full advantage, living up to the horror part of his name.

10. Shoes - this is my second cheat photo, they are chocolate shoes which were at the Chocolate Show we attended in London in 2014.

Hope you've enjoyed my scavenger hunt finds and make sure you hop over to Tamara's Blog to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Until next time, take time to do whatever relaxes you.

Pamela & Ken

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Friday's Happy Fill Ins

Welcome back to the fill ins which are hosted by Ellen at 15andmeowing.com and Lorianne at Four-Legged Furballs who provide the prompts in bold and the rest is by me.

1.Happiness is being married to my best friend.

2. Ten years ago, I never would have pictured all the changes that have happened in our lives including leaving the NHS and moving to live in the north of Scotland.

3. Time spent with animals is the best medicine. More specifically time spent with cats, but I love all animals and of course I couldn't miss out Bramble Jelly, our lovely puppy dog.

                      Princess Cookie Cat                              Lord Rocky Horror & Bramble Jelly

4. Most people don’t know that I love an over the top disaster/action movie. Think 2012, The Day After Tomorrow,  and the gorgeous Vin Diesel in XXX - I can watch these films over and over.

That's it today, so until next time, be good and stay safe.

Pamela & Ken
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Top Ten Thursday - The Circus

It's top ten Thursday time and we're going to the circus - thanks to Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom for hosting this blog hop. As I haven't been to a circus since I was a child, I've decided to write about how our life is a circus, especially this week.

Let's consider the essential components of any circus:

1. Clowns - ours is one of those sad clowns that has his smile painted on upside down. My beloved had something wrong with his back so we ended up in Accident & Emergency - it took a lot of convincing and he wasn't impressed with all the waiting around.

2. Jugglers - The day Ken went to A&E I was due in at work and of course we had Bramble Jelly in the car as well. After walking Bramble my lovely colleagues sent me off to be with Ken and they took Bramble into work to be with them - I think she's turning into our mascot.

3. Clairvoyants - it's amazing how a person with medical knowledge can look at another person and, without any tests, say what is causing a problem. I had to do a lot of tongue biting when the "professional" told my husband that he'd had exactly the same thing in the past.

HOW DOES HE KNOW!!!

4. Bed of Nails - it's not a typical bed of nails but Ken decided to sleep on the very hard floor the night after his visit to the hospital to see if it would help him. It was very, very strange not having him in the bed with me. He only tried it for a night before coming back to the comfort of the bed.

5. Tightrope walker - balancing life when all I wanted to do was stay home and take care of my beloved is a little bit tricky. Thankfully my lovely colleagues are a great safety net underneath my tightrope and understand when I'm a little distracted.

6. Big Cats - thankfully real circuses no longer have animals, but our life has two big cats that create interesting moments in our lives. Princess Cookie Cat is still barely tolerating the newcomer, and Lord Rocky Horror is a little bit of a psycho, but in the nicest possible way. They do actually sleep in beds next to each other now without any growling or hissing from Cookie.

Princess Cookie Cat

Lord Rocky Horror

7. Strongman - my beloved is definitely a strongman in how he deals with being incapacitated, trying to do more than he should, but also trying to hide how much pain he has been in so as I don't worry.

8. Lion Tamer - Bramble Jelly is a great lion tamer, and if the cats start fighting, she runs in between them to break it up. She also wrestles with Lord Rocky and comes out unscathed - they're very funny together.

9. Illusionist - like Dynamo doing one of his incredible levitation acts, my beloved has improved and whilst I still think he should be resting more he's much better than he was.

10. Ringmaster - I'm claiming this title after the last week, but I feel I can hand that title back over to Ken now as he is much better at the job.

Hope you've enjoyed my interpretation of today's top ten - make sure you hop over to Tamara's Blog to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with. Hopefully I'll catch up with everyone's blogs over the next few days now that Ken is improving.

Be well.

Pamela & Ken
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