A Very Special Birthday

Happy Birthday to my Auntie Margaret!  I'm so glad you were able (and wanted) to spend your Birthday with us in Singapore.  It's a bit sad when you think that not everyone is together like they would be in the UK...obviously I mean it's a pity they aren't here, not that it's a pity we are here in the sunshine!

We started off by going to Prive at Keppel Bay as we thought it was so pretty my Aunt was sure to love it.  Turns out it was a good call!  The sun was a bit bright (i don't actually normally pose like this, i swear it's because of the sun)

 We all picked very delicious things and the service was fantastic.  Afterwards we went up to take the cable car from Mount Faber to Sentosa where we stopped long enough to visit the cable car museum and then headed back again to Harbour Front for a coffee.  Mark and I sat in Starbucks whilst my Aunt and Uncle did a little bit of shopping before coming back to meet us again.

PLEASE remember we spent the holiday doing very un-poses

We then went back to the house to have a Birthday Tea...no matter how much you eat through the day you NEED a Birthday Tea.  This was just a little one though as it was much too long a day full of nice things already.  If this is the standard of Birthdays here I can't wait for my own one....

Delayed Flights, or Perhaps NOT!

Today was another day where i went into hyperdrive trying to make the house pretty and presentable for our visitors.  Although i'd like to think its always clean and tidy there is something that comes over you when you have guests that makes you question everything.  Oh no, a single petal has fallen off the flowers, what a mess!  The tv remote isn't back in the exact position it belongs, they'll think we're slobs!  The pillows haven't been fluffed up to the exact same height, i can't handle this...

And so on and so on....

Mark 'happens' to be working in KL again (just as the visitors are supposed to arrive...suspicious, i think so!)  This is probably actually a real blessing for our marriage as if he was working from home i would probably be really nagging and moan at him to help (at the same time as huffing because things weren't done the EXACT way i want them).  So i can accurately say its a good thing he has to work away.

The down side is there was a little bit of a hiccup in our communications with my Aunt and Uncle.  You see, we thought that they were coming out today, but Thursday is the day they are leaving the UK, this means that after many a panicked phone call to Mark we found out they were only in Birmingham.  The poor people at the airline were starting to get really sick of our concerns that they had mislaid two passengers....vi

Oh well, this gives me more time to fuss over teeny tiny details and get things sorted about the house.  Oh, and i need little tiny paper umbrellas for their coconut drinks i'm making or thats it, they might as well not bother coming at all........

First Visitors Arriving

Today i have been running around like a woman possessed.  We have our first visitors, my Mum and Grama, coming later this evening.  Mark is currently in kl and i know that i am fussing over every little detail.  The beds are perfectly made, the rooms have flowers in them and not the slightest hint of dust through-out and i have scrubbed every square inch of floor.
The thing i am most worried about is that Mark is coming back with only an hour to spare before their flight lands...this, by the way, is a guess as the flight details and number my Mum gave me are totally false.  i have no idea what information she has copied down, but it sure isn't the flight details....ok, and breathe!
Well, thats my tea break over with, i had better get back to cleaning.  Hopefully more pleasant posts to follow or i may just run away!

Pit and Peak

Yay, my first week as a housewife (busy-but not how you’d expect) and my last week in the UK for some time…

Pit

·         Every amazing thing that I do I know that I'm not going to do again for a long time.

Peak

·         Staying at the Pittodrie House Hotel which I love for a very long weekend.  Having a great long walk with Daisy and then an afternoon nap, sandwich and delicious supper on my first day of being a housewife.  Daisy and I went trekking for 4 hours all around the base of Bennachie and came back very muddy, exhausted but happy.  I can’t think of a better send off from Aberdeenshire.

·         Having the girls over for afternoon tea on Saturday and getting very unexpected leaving presents.

·         Spending a whole day with my Mum on Monday and then getting some Chinese food for tea.

·         Getting a big hug from the friendliest woman at my Church.

·         Seeing my brother on Tuesday and having a good old catch up and talking rubbish to each other for ages like in the old days.

·         Having the most delicious afternoon tea with my Grama at my favourite hotel in Aberdeen, The Marcliffe.

·         Having lunch with the girls from work on Wednesday and finally getting the last of the Christmas parcels to the appropriate people.

·         Unexpected visits from family….always very, very welcome.

Three Days and Counting

Today I went shopping for the last of the Christmas presents, met my Brother, had afternoon tea with my Grama, made tea, tidied up for visitors, met friends and went down to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night by watching my Mum do a fire walk to raise money for the clients at her workplace....and breathe.

The last couple of days were always going to be busy and they really don't disappoint.  

I needed to get the last of the Christmas shopping done and wrapped up for dropping off for my Mum, Brother and Grama.  As they may just be reading this post I really can't say where I went and what I got, but let me tell you it was a little bit from all...over...town.  I'd set myself the goal of getting everything in one and a half hours, but seeing as I had to go and close an account and then deposit the money elsewhere in town the allotted time was almost used up just doing those tasks alone.  I managed to get everything I wanted to and didn't get very stressed as the main presents had been bought and all I needed to do was to get the last little things and stocking fillers for people.

Once I'd gotten everything I wanted to I rushed back to the apartment to wrap things up and them headed back into town to meet my Brother.  We grabbed a coffee and then headed to Church for my very last sermon there *sob*.  One of the very kind women there actually came up to me afterwards and gave me the biggest warmest hug which made me feel really quite emotional.

After that my Brother and I met my Grama who I was taking to The Marcliffe which is my very favourite place in Aberdeen.  Sadly it'll be closed by the time we get back so I will always remember the last time I was there!  Mark had taken me there two years ago for a Valentines weekend and it's the sort of place that spoils you as soon as you walk through the door.  Last time we were there we saw Alex Salmond the First Minister of Scotland, this time my Grama and I saw another Alex, Alex Ferguson. 

When my Grama and I got out of the taxi we went straight to the drawing room where we were seated and given our menus to pick the types of sandwiches and tea we would like.  We asked for a selection of sandwiches and went for breakfast tea and my Grama also got a hot chocolate as it really was quite cold outside.  I didn't mind whatever sandwiches we got, as my eyes were fixed on the scones and cakes....

Our taxi driver came back to pick us up a couple of hours (and many scones later) and I just about managed to roll in over.  Luckily I didn't have far to go in the taxi as I already knew I had to get organised for people coming over in the afternoon.  

It really feels like time is speeding up now that we are in the very final week before the move...

Our last Guy Fawkes for a little while

One of the great things about growing up in Scotland is that we celebrate Guy Fawkes night.  I'm excited about celebrating all the great things about Singapore, but this is one thing I will miss about the UK.

This is my last Bonfire Night for two years as I don't think the authorities in Singapore will be too pleased with me lighting a bonfire in the back garden and throwing potatoes into it!

My friends came over to our apartment so that they could come with me to see my Mum participate in the sponsored Fire Walk down at Aberdeen beach where the fire works display is held.  If we were staying in our old apartment we could have cartwheeled over to where my Mum had to go, but seeing as we had since moved we needed to leave over an hour before hand to ensure we were there in time.

Inspire

Mark was unable to go as he had invited a friend over, and because Mark had been working that meant that I needed to get the shopping in and make the supper.  Luckily we had found all of our 'lost' M&S vouchers so I was able to treat the boys!  Oh yeah, I mean it was all home-made.

I had invited some friends to come and see too so they came over once Mark was able to get on the phone and give better instruction's as to how to get to the apartment, apparently mine were none too clear.

The bus into town took forever which mean that I had to run from Broad Street all the way down the Boulevard to meet my Mum coming out of the pre-fire walk motivational talk (for a non-runner this is actually quite a bit to go!)

We all cheered and clapped so hard for my Mum when she did her walk.  It was actually a further distance than I thought it would be.  Although someone behind me in the crowd saw all of the volunteers and where they had to walk and casually stated they could do it.  When their friend told them to try and volunteer last minute they instantly said they didn't want to and they were going to do a parachute jump for charity instead (God forbid they do two things for charity, although I can't believe they would have done either.)

It was amazing and something I just don't think I would have the courage for.  My Mum wanted to make a get away after doing it and headed home whilst my friends and I stayed for a hot dog, some toffee and the fire works.  They lasted a surprisingly long time and made me really proud to be an Aberdonian.  

Good job it was such a clear night and great display as it will be my last Guy Fawkes night for a little while now.

My Mum

On Monday my Mum came over to our place at Mannofield to hang out and see where we lived.  This will be our last move and seeing as we are going at the end of this week we really are trying to squeeze as many visits in with family and friends as possible.
Mum came by bus mid afternoon so I was able to run some last minute errands.  We constantly run out of food with all this moving as it makes more sense at the time to get rid of what we have and do small shops instead of lugging around lots of tins and bottles.  I am also aiming (and have practically accomplished my task) to have every-ones Christmas presents bought, wrapped and handed out before we leave.  We may have a small family, but we want to ensure all of our friends have their presents too.
About a month ago I saw the most fantastic advent calender for my Mum while walking through Boots the Chemist on the way to get my inoculations.  This is nothing like the Christmas ones you get when you are little, this is the very much sought after Boots Beauty advent calender.  I was running late to get to my appointment when i first saw it so I had to find it on line.  Apparently there weren't too many left so I ordered it up and was able to pick it up on Monday.  I had to get some sun cream too and so was able to pick up everything at once.
When my Mum came out to visit I very proudly handed the box over (my Mum is a beauty guru and knows most products very well so I knew she would love it!).  Sure enough it was a big hit and good choice.
We had to get to an appointment so only spent a little time doing our own thing before we had to head to it.  When we were done my Mum suggested she order something from the Chinese takeaway down the street and Mark could meet us at Mums house.  
This move seems to have sneaked right up on us and I can't believe I'm now into the last week.  I'm only going to see my family a couple more times this year..

Autumn in Aberdeenshire

I am taking full advantage of this being my last autumn in Aberdeenshire for quite a while.  Our plan has always been to use up our holidays whilst in Singapore on seeing places we'd never seen before, so although I love this corner of the world, I wont be visiting for a little while.  

Although I've moaned about moving about so much in such a short space of time, most of the places we've lived in have been wonderful.  It's quite odd that this place is the cheapest of them all and its the 4 Star hotel.  We're in quite a predicament living in Aberdeen where hotels, even the worst of the worst, are expensive and you have to normally go over thirty miles out of town to get a place that will accept pets.  

When we thought we'd have to move down to Exeter for a little while we found loads and loads of lovely, inexpensive places that would accept Daisy dog.  However, we are here and I am making the most of it!

I love my walks with Daisy around the grounds.  We've been walking around the perimeter of the gardens, and then down to the walled garden.  There are still lots of apples on the trees and I'm finding lots of good conkers.

It's not all rest and relaxation though.  Today we managed to get some sweets to our old neighbours and visit my friends parents.  The weather turned horrible in the afternoon so we had to fly about the countryside in torrential rain.  My friend Catherine lives on the other side of the country, so seeing as we can't get there to drop of presents, and seeing as I thought I would be visiting and therefore bought heavy things it worked out quite well we could go visiting.  We bought some cakes from the baker and headed out to their cosy home.  Daisy came along too of course and played with their dogs and then we took them all out together.

I stayed chatting for longer than I should have as we had to rush back to the hotel as I was meeting Natalie and Holly there for afternoon tea.  I was glad they were able to see the hotel, but it was such a pity the weather had turned so awful.  The afternoon tea was actually not at all like it was the first time and such a disappointment.  It was so different, plain and made up of leftovers from breakfast.

Although it was upsetting that I had invited people to a place I thought would be nice and it was not, the afternoon was so lovely.  Holly gave me a wooden westie ornament and a really nice card.  Mark got a whiskey glass and some traditional Scottish cookery books (although I do think they'll be handed to be with bookmarks in them).

When I get back to Aberdeen I am looking forward to getting all my muddy clothes cleaned and looking good.  The one bad thing about hotels is that I can't just get my laundry done and all this walking has left me looking like a tatty scarecrow!