A few pictures from the week that was.

There's been a few changes around here this week. Spook cut down some trees and a man in a digger came and cleared the lumpy bit away from the side of the house. Spook's heart did a bit of extra pounding as trees crashed to the ground and thankfully didn't hit the house - credit to his careful planning and winching.

Finn has been fishing every night this week. He came home with 3 big mackerel last Saturday and we gutted them in preparation for Sunday dinner. Spook found a good recipe in the Sunday Paper as the journalist obviously knew the mackerel had come in to Corpach Basin. Sunday dinner was ruined by truculent children faced with a healthy dinner. Potato salad in a grainy mustard and lemon dressing and carrots cooked with shallots in orange juice and white wine. Really yummy. You would have thought we were trying to poison them. Half a jar of mayonaise was smothered over the tiny sample of mackerel they had been presented with. Finn didn't come home for the next 2 nights dinner, but continued to fish - throwing the catch back in so that I wouldn't make him eat it. He ate at home the night there was pizza on the table, I note.

Finally he came cycling up the road with his rod and a heavy bag dangling from the handlebars. Hallelujah - we would eat fresh fish once more. NO, no, no. Two large tinnies of 'match size' Irn Bru (Glasgow fizzy drink).

Gobbled up.

Spookum.

Finn's Week.

That Fergie must be far away, and the other is very close to the camera.

Tractor Envy.

Happy Hippy's.

It has not been a very bloggable week, with too many late shifts and a bad temper! But we are flying the flag for the Kiwi's and they rewarded us with a good game against the Italians. It has caused some confusion with the neighbours who don't seem to be able to see it very clearly. My friends mother asked her why we were flying a skull and cross bones!

Spook spent all day Tuesday putting up the Saddlespan, near Aviemore. The Insider Festival hired it as one of their 3 stages. www.insiderfestival.co.uk Spook really enjoyed his day working away with all the preparations going all around him and had a relaxed lunch with them. He got onto the guest list and with a nearly free weekend, we hooked up with Aunty Al and Jamie and met up with Laura and Paddy for a warm and friendly festival in the magical Spey Valley. WE all had such a good time with really great company. It was a great introduction to a festival for the children although Meg had already been to Loopallu a couple of years ago. I was delighted that when a lady asked us if we had any 'skins', they did think to go and look for the midge repellent. Long may THAT continue.

The atmosphere was totally relaxed and when it finally got darkish, around 11pm, the coloured lights around the site were like a fairyland. The organisor was somehow involved with the children's TV production of Raven - a medieval style outdoor skills competition - and the theme of the festival was created around the props from the programme. I think some of the programme had possible been filmed there too.

The children and I made our way back to the tent around midnight. It never got totally dark and there was an orange half moon in the sky. The rest of our party made it home between 3.30am and 4.30am, having not quite managed to see it to the end, but having learnt some new dance moves.

We squeezed less than 24hrs out of the weekend of action, to fit it inbetween Megs work committments. WE picked her up after work on Saturday and had to get her back for 2pm on Sunday....a true Munro in the making!!!!

General Wade's Highbridge and a wee bit of his Road.

I seem to have clicked the wrong button the other day. That's not actually my polytunnel. But Nana did pot up some lovely doorstep flower pots for me. Unfortunately Nana's visit coincided with the big black dogs for a few days and they dug up some flowers after she planted them. They redeemed themselves by going for walks with her and looking as if they were willing to die for her. Those big brown eyes!

The cat knocked a flower head off and so did a child - it is not a flower friendly environment, but I hope to take a photo of the remaining blooms while they still cling to their stalks.

After days and days of sunshine, the rain arrived tonight. I daresay we need it, but it is not welcome.

The World Downhill Championship was on this weekend and we had 3 lovely Kiwi's camping in the 'garden' and living in the house when not throwing themselves down the mountain on their bikes. They were an absolute pleasure to have around, giving us the opportunity to work on our Kiwi vowel sounds and reminding Meg that she will be Southbound soon as she's old enough. Nana took them in her stride along with the dogs, (though thankfully they had left by then, leaving room for the cats to return.) We regaled the campers with horror stories of tic infestation and limes disease and showed them where to find the tic remover. They camped for 6 nights and didn't get one tic between them. Spook and I removed 2 each from our bodies in that time and are thinking of moving out of our bed and into the garden.

The Kiwi's think the sun shines a lot in Scotland.

Nana left today having had lot's of adventures and no tics.

Wow!!

A week of Nana's greenfingers and the polytunnel has been transformed.

Still Checking He's Not There.

No sign of the Bad man in the Nylon Trousers.

Spook and I got sick last week - too much togetherness. He had 4 days of a lurking lurgy and I had an intensive day of sickness followed by 2 days of queasiness. I'm not hanging out with him again, when he has that sick chicken look!!

However, we are returned to rude health. It's been a busy week with him putting the big tent up and down a couple of times, and doing long days trying to help solve the sticky situation at Inverness Pooworks.

Mum has come up for 12 days. We had a great day out on the road to Mallaig yesterday. It is a 45min drive through Harry Potter country, out to the coast. When I was a student, I took the train and a tent to Skye, but never made it as I saw the White Sands of Morar and got off the train early and camped on the shore. The big beach in the photo was my view, and there was nobody around. (ok, so I didn't have enough tent pegs and the swishing of the nylon in the wind all night made me think there was a bad man in waterproofs walking round the tent wondering how to break in - I was so happy to wake up alive!) I also met a girl on the train who got me a job in China, and met some fishermen who tossed a coin to see which carload could carry on drinking and use me as a driver to take them back to Glasgow, so it was an adventure, full of Glasgow humour and sweary words.

The wee flowers are called Thrift (Mum tells me). I like that as I think they got their name from their ability to live on so little. The Islands are Eigg and Rhum, and the jagged hills are The Cuillins on Skye, with the gentle hills of the garden end of the island in the foreground.