ANOTHER late breakfast then I get some work done and invite some local folks to tomorrow’s garden gig/get-together.
It’s a nice day and fairly calm-looking on the loch so I inflate the paddle board and get out for a short paddle.
My latest brass prototype depicting the Milarrochy Tree is much better. I soak it in some patina fluid, rinse it off and give it a burnish with some steel wool.
Next, I make a wee acrylic stand then take it to the studio and take some pix…while I’m there I run through some songs in preparation for the garden thing tomorrow.
I have a few wee bits of ‘happy new year’ tells to post round my socials then we get up.
My prototype merch experiments need some tweaking so I do a little work in the office then we wander along to first foot Betty.
We have a couple of drinks with her as well as Shona, Ian and some other pals that drop by.
Looks like a nice sunny – but cold – day on Friday and as we haven’t organized a winter garden gig this year we decide to invite a few local pals and neighbours round for soup, stovies and some songs from my pal Duncan and myself.
I send out some invites to local pals while we watch the telly…
Loch Lomond celebrations on ITV’s This Morning show…
OOOFT…Hogmanay. Where’s all the years gone?
We enjoy a long lie and tune into ITV’s This Morning show to see ourselves celebrating (spoiler alert – not live, filmed a few weeks ago!).
After a (very) late breakfast I do some work on a brass coin I wanna try out. Margaret has to go to the village so I go along too and walk home int he wind and rain. Good to get some fresh air tho’.
The rest of the day and evening is pretty chilled.
We tune into Bill and Dorothy’s Hogmanay livestream from Florida to bring in the bells then watch Jools’ Hootenany. Then bed. Are we becoming party-pooping old farts?!?
WET, windy and horrible outside….doubt I’ll be venturing any further than the studio today.
After getting some online stuff out the way and pottering around it’s afternoon and Catriona arrives to drop off the kids. We’re babysitting tonight and tomorrow.
I finally make it to the studio where I spend some time laying plan for my 2025 acoustic album and related Kickstarter campaign which I hope to launch mid/late January.
MATTY heads off after breakfast and I get busy with the Ikea stuff I picked up up yesterday.
First up, the coat/shoe stand. It’s pretty straightforward considering the huge array of parts and varying kinds of screws, bolts and fasteners.
After a coffee and email break…oh, and a bit of cake too…I unpack the coffee table. Actually it’s a TV table but a perfect height and size to replace the well-worn current table. Slightly smaller too which helps make some space for the coat/shoe stand and also give us some more room depth-wise.
Despite being a considerably simpler item, it looks a pain to build. I go for a walk up the lochside and tackle it when I get back.
I’m finished and tidied up in time to wander along to Betty’s for an aperitif with Greta, Karen and Hayley.
WE HAVE a bit of a long lie then, after breakfast Matty heads into Glasgow and Mikey back to Dundee.
I check the Ikea website to see of I can find a better, more stable coat stand. The new one Margaret picked up has couped a few times with all the stuff we have on it.
I can maybe use the crappy one in the studio.
It’d also sense to replace the table/TV bench that sits beside it with something smaller.
I find what I need and decide that if I’m going to Ikea I may as well visit the Apple Store and pick up a new iPad. I’m keen to see if I can replace the cranky old laptop and ‘go iPad’.
Lesley packs the car and leaves for Edinburgh and I brave the traffic and go to Braehead.
It’s after 6pm when I get home. Matty’s back – we chill the rest of the night.
CATRIONA, Will and the kids head off after breakfast…about midday…and I get busy with some stuff on the studio.
Mikey and Matty follow on – they’re seeing their dad at Catriona’s and will be back later.
There’s a little admin and socials to get busy with then I play guitar for a while. Lesley and Margaret do a bit of tidying up and stuff on the house.
I go back to then house after they’ve watched Doctor Who and we chill until the boys get back. Dinner, blethers then a film – Kneecap – which we all enjoy.
UP EARLY to rinse the brined turkey and dry it off a bit while the smoker gets up to temperature.
Margaret’s hoping we can have Christmas dinner around 3pm so timing is everything!
Family gifts are a secret Santa kinda thing so we’ll wait’ ’til Catriona, Will and the kids arrive – but there’s a few ‘extra’ bis and bobs we exchange after breakfast. Then there’s heaps of other prep to get busy with.
Catriona, Will and the kids roll up soon after 1pm. We hang out and the kids play before Christmas dinner bang on time at 3pm. I’d planned to set up a family photo with everyone – including myself – but folks get antsy when. it looks lime it’ll take more than a minute so sadly the idea is abandoned. Personally I’m not fussed about a pic…but it’s an unusual occurrence for everyone to be in the same place at the same time and have the opportunity for a decent family photo and I thought folks would appreciate a nice family memory. Ah well, best laid plans.
We set up buffet-style with all the food on a big fold up table I usually use for pop up sales – that makes it easier to get nine folks round the dining table. Margaret and Lesley have done a great job with all the veg and trimmings, my cherry stuffing and smoked turkey hits the mark and there’s a beef joint too.
AFTER breakfast I edit some ‘Santa paddle’ into a short ‘happy Christmas’ reel for my socials and Margaret goes to Stirling to pick up a new coat stand following. last night;s collapse of the old one. She also gets some extra shopping in. just a little.
There’s quite a lot of prep for tomorrow (Christmas day) and Les arrives just in time for lunch.
One of my first jobs is to make cherry stuffing, Once it;s done and pretty much ready to go tomorrow start making a brine for the turkey.
When the initial brine is cooled enough I put it over the turkey, add more water, a cinnamon stick, some halved oranges and a load of peppercorn. Some ice packs on top of the turkey ensure it stays under liquid then the bucket is put in the shed.
Mikey and Matty roll up and we have a nice evening..and manage to have not to late a night. It’ll be chaos tomorrow when the kids get here!
