Thursday, February 23, 2023

Pumpkin.

Lots of activity out at sea this morning. The local news says that some Russian naval vessels have been seen 'snooping' around the wind farms off the Dutch and Scottish coasts. Sophie is up and in a talkative mood as she hears some jet fighters heading off over the coast with their afterburners on.

Yesterday was busy. The bookcases are put  in. Then, the one on the left is taken out. There is 'snagging ' to be done. The joiners fear they will be with us for a third day but somehow they manage to get all their work done by the time they leave. The electricians who had been asked to come and take down the old wall mounted picture lights don't show up. The joiners decide to do the electrical work themselves. Sophie is unhappy with the more senior of the two joiners. He has once again appeared without biscuits. She makes her disappointment clear by ignoring him and looking imploringly at the other.


Down on the beach a steady stream of fork lift trucks are trundling back and forth. They're digging up sand on the foreshore and dumping it on the dunes at the other end of the beach. There's an exceptionally high tide expected this afternoon. This is expected to coincide with strong gale force winds blowing onshore.


Sophie finds this activity to be tantalizing. We stand and watch . She is oblivious to the  wind whipping  around us. 


We head back into town via the eighteenth tee on the Old Course. For golfers this is the Holy of Holies.


A group from Milwaukee ask if I can take their photo with the R&A as a backdrop. It's a shame it's covered in scaffolding but they don't seem to care.


The Milwaukee golfers are staying in a friends apartment in the block that's been redeveloped by the Kohler family. With that pedigree I'm betting the bathrooms are good. Some of the apartments have mirrored, toughened, glass windows. This is perhaps a little over the top for a small  sleepy Scottish coastal town. One of the golfers calls Sophie 'pumpkin'. 


Overkill or exclusivity? There are now 24 Michelin starred restaurants around DC . https://washington.org/dc-guide-to/michelin-guide-dining-washington-dc



12 comments:

Lisa in France said...

Definitely overkill - we have 200 Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo, and they seem to be indistinguishable from all the wonderful non-Michelin restaurants in Tokyo. We are now about two and a half weeks away from our flight to France. We had our visa interviews at the French Embassy yesterday and, predictably, there is just that one more piece of paper they need. It will take us about a week to get it, so we are cutting things close, but I think it will work out. Meanwhile, we have workmen doing various things at the house in France. So far, so good, and we have a good project manager, but it has been an interesting experience. I managed to order the mandatory trash bins on Amazon France today, my first purchase there. I really don't want to buy from Amazon, but their strategy of using a uniform interface everywhere is really effective. In Japan, the Amazon format seems very austere relative to Japanese shopping sites, and people thought it wouldn't work, but after all, they are very successful here without making many local accommodations. I think they do let you pay at the convenience store rather than using a credit card, which is kind of a "must" here - credit cards have really never caught on in Japan.

Angus said...

Lisa - How exciting. Yes, there is always one more piece of paper but when you've got it everything works smoothly ! Such are the ups and down of French bureaucracy. Amazon.de was our lifeline in France. It has things that the uk and fr sites don't have or are slow to get. A good project manager is worth their weight in gold. Things are quite quiet in the economy at the moment so getting their undivided attention may be easier. Good luck with the documentation ! Will the wee fellow be allowed in the cabin with you or is he in the hold ?

WFT Nobby said...

The shelves are shaping up nicely but that older joiner needs to learn about 'Pumpkin's needs!
Cheers, Gail.
PS Wishing Lisa in Tokyo (soon to be Lisa in France?) a smooth move.

Lisa in France said...

Thank you for the tip on Amazon.de. We are working hard on getting Charlie into the cabin. I do have this feeling that it will all fall into place at the (very) end!

jabblog said...

Pumpkin, indeed!

Travel said...

Said in a kind tone of voice, accompanied by a biscuit, I bet she will respond warmly.

Stephanie said...

Surely "pumpkin" addresses Sophie's adorableness rather than any misperceived roundness of figure.

Coppa's girl said...

Pumpkin was surely meant with affection - and a hint of apology that there were no Jaffa cakes.
We too wish Lisa a smooth transition from Tokyo to France.
Angus, how high was the exceptional high tide, and did you manage to take any photographs? Hope no damage was done. I'm so used to the Med just slopping up and down a bit.

Anonymous said...

“With that pedigree “. Ha ha!
Lisa, hope the big move goes well.
Pumpkin is definitely meant like sweetie or Princess, not Sophie’s figure.

Bailey Bob Southern Dog said...

The bookcases look great! I love the first photo of ‘Pumpkin’ on the beach. Sending best wishes to Lisa and her family for a good moving experience to France. And welcome back Stephanie on a regular basis!

rottrover said...

Lisa - wishing you and he family a smooth transition. SO exciting!

So far our Los Angeles 'blizzard' has produced some scattered rain showers and a little snow on the hills behind our house. It's still very beautiful.

Sophie, my human calls me 'pumpkin' sometimes. She says it means I'm cute. Who knows?? -Osa

Stephanie said...

Thanks! It's great to be back.