My 500th Post & Friday Fill Ins

This is the momentous milestone of our 500th blog post. I never realised when I started the blog in 2012 that it would still be going six years later. I've always loved writing and journaling, so I see the blog as an online journal where I can share thoughts and moments with whoever cares to read it.

During these 500 posts we've shared our travels and days out, and our move from London to the Highlands of Scotland. We've said goodbye to cherished friends and welcomed new ones into our lives. Two precious furbies have travelled over the rainbow bridge but we also were lucky enough to adopt two gorgeous (crazy) animals into our family.

I've probably driven some of you mad with my soppy posts about my beloved, but he is the silent partner in this blog and I couldn't keep it up without his support, perfectly made coffees, and him taking on the role of my personal ideas man.

Today is also Friday so it's time for 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. My favorite subject in school was a toss up between English and Music. I've always loved reading and writing about things so that's why English was something I loved - it also helped that for at least two of my highschool years I had a really good teacher who was incredibly encouraging.

2. An extracurricular activity I participated in was the concert band - I played the flute. Then when I went onto secondary college I was in the choir - so all my extracurricular activities were music related.

The high school concert band - I've put a pink diamond on me

3. I want to learn so many things but the top two on my list would be to speak another language fluently and to play a new instrument.

4. It takes courage to challenge yourself to do something new, as there is always the risk of failure. One of the quotes that I try to keep in mind when doing something new is: 'A life lived in fear is a life half lived.'

Do you have anything that you'd really like to learn? Before you go, do hop over to our hosts blogs to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and try and use less plastic this week.

Pamela & Ken
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Top Ten Thursday - What's for Dinner?

Today it's a food based top ten, and we're listing our top ten go-to recipes for an easy work night dinner. This is one that I should have got Ken to write as he tends to sort out dinner during the week whilst I'm at work - he looks after me so well. This blog hop is hosted by Tamara at the blog Part-time Working Hockey Mom - why don't you join us in writing your own top ten list.

The temptation was to put coffee and cake as dinner foods, but I didn't think that would make me look very good. Something that is going to feature quite a lot in my list is toast, that humble staple that is usually a breakfast food.

1. Poached egg on toast. (this is how Ken delivered my eggs to me once - it made me smile a lot).

2. Baked potato with baked beans.
3. Scrambled eggs on toast - my beloved makes the best scrambled eggs ever.
4. Prawns with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and lambs lettuce.
5. Sometimes, like tonight, all I feel like is the very simple but very comforting vegemite on toast - a slice of Australia.

6. Vegetarian pizza.
7. Vegetarian chilli - again, my beloved makes a fantastic one.
8. Nachos with homemade guacamole, refried beans, salsa, sour cream, and lots of cheese - these are my speciality.
9. Fish Fingers - by themselves, in a sandwich, or with vegetable rice.
10. Vegetarian haggis with veggies - the one we buy tastes just like the meat version.

There you have it - I'm quite a simple soul and don't need lots of fancy foods to keep me happy. At the weekend we eat differently but that's because we have more time and have a chance to go out if we want.

What about you, do you have meals that you turn to regularly to make life easier on a work night? Before you go, make sure you hop over to Tamara's Blog to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with in their top ten.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and treat yourself to your favourite meal this week.

Pamela & Ken
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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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