An Extended Season, Giving Extended Beauty

Winter in Aberdeenshire is simply stunning.

These photos were taken in December of last year.

The Mither Tap, as seen from Pittodrie Estate, is stunning at any time of the year, but the low winter sun adds to the already beautiful scene.

This was taken at lunchtime on December 14th, so you can see that the sun doesn't rise too highly in our sky during the winter months.

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Niseach loves the snow. 

But when you throw a snowball and she excitedly runs for this ball, only for it to disappear, she appears somewhat perplexed at its disappearance.

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This week, just as many were expecting Spring to, well, spring, our winter was extended. This past week has seen the weather pattern named The Beast from the East arrive in the UK. England ground to a halt - little pets - while here in the North, we simply savoured the beauty once again.

I took these photos yesterday from our front door. No, I wasn't venturing any further right then, though I thoroughly enjoyed a walk later in the day.

It was so peaceful and serene after the snow shower .....

...until Niseach arrived on the scene.

'Peaceful and serene' are not words that readily come to mind where Niseach is concerned.

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Robins are always a delight, and we scattered seed here in our window basket to encourage this lovely fella to come visit often. He did, and we loved to see him every time.

(btw, the 'artwork' on the window panes is not grime or dirt, nor is it due to a lack of cleaning. This window sill is Niseach's favourite afternoon seat, and so the artwork is solely her doing. I knew y'all wanted to know that.)

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The following two photos were taken today, March 2nd.

I guess the extended winter reminds us that there are times in our lives when we expect certain seasons of our lives to pass, but God has different plans.

Maybe we expected to be out of Winter and into Spring already, but God has extended our Winter season for another while.

He will move us into another season in His time. His timing is always perfect. And there is always beauty to be found just where He has placed us.

At times like these, all we can do is 

'wait on the Lord, be of good courage (Psalm 27:14), 

'be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10), and

'rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him' (Psalm 37:7)

The next season will come. Meanwhile, it is our delight to love Him, trust Him, rejoice in Him, and rest .... 

"Come unto Me all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

One day, all our earthly seasons will have passed, and if we are in Christ, we will be called Home to our eternal rest. There will be no spiritual winters in our eternal Home!

Trauma

Last Friday was utterly traumatic for me.

I had to leave this little lady ...

and this scenery...

and head into the city.

Into the shops. You see, shops and I don't really get on that well. Maybe our problem is that we see so little of each other. I don't come visit often, so shops just don't have the opportunity to befriend me.

Anyway .... minutes after arriving, I saw this sign:

I thought all was well with the world until I discovered that Debenham's Personal Shopper wasn't willing to go traipsing through Aberdeen's streets to do all my shopping. Pfft, what's all that about? I didn't need anything in Debenhams, so the Personal Shopper idea was dead and buried.

Unbeknown to me, though, Debenhams have installed a Costa Coffee shop on their ground floor and so I decided this was going to be the best use of my time. Costa's latte and their Bakewell tart are simply delicious.

Having enjoyed my sit down, my coffee, and my tart, I really couldn't face much shopping. I went to one store - The White Company - bought what I needed and headed back to the car.

No kidding, that was enough for me. I looked at my list, proudly drew a line through one item, and headed home.

After all, how could I stay away any longer from .....

this?

Okay, so maybe y'all don't need to answer that last question.

Life Goes On ...

And so the weeks pass, and life goes on. 

I have come to the conclusion that every one who is grieving, or lonely, or sad ought to have a Niseach in their lives.

I do realise not everyone can have a dog, but neither am I being facetious. I'm not sure there can be better therapy than having a loving dog as company, and Niseach is as sweet and loving and, erm, needy, as any canine friend could be.

I wuv her. She is the perfect therapy for sadness.

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Dad came out to Aberdeenshire for a few days last month with Marina (my sister) and the family. We visited Barra Berries and enjoyed some fun ...

....and some fruity ice-cream.

It was so good having Dad out and having Marina and the troops here. I miss having them nearby, and feel terribly being away, especially from Dad, these days. 

I keep telling myself that God has a reason for everything in our providence, and our being on the mainland at this time is in God's plan, and is for a reason. It's very possible that only Eternity will reveal the reasons. I leave it at that.


While the folks were here, we went in to Aberdeen - to the shops - one day. I was heading towards the lift in Debenhams, returning to the car and minding my own business, when I saw these ...

You like? Yes, I do too.

But that's not why I'm showing you this photo. These boots were for sale in Debenhams, and the photo below was taken that same minute and shows MY BOOTS.

Well, I'd like to see what Marina has to say about this, I thought! My boots, which are about ** years of age (I daren't let her know) are practically identical to the ones for sale in August 2017 in Debenhams.

Hah! Put that in your pipe and smoke it, I told her! Seems I'm the one ahead in the fashion game after all.

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While we were up in Lewis, Diana, DR's girlfriend, arrived at Marina's house with this...

Now, those of you who know me know that there aren't many ways into my heart, but the ways there are all involve food.

Or dogs.

But food is good, and Hummingbird's Cookies and Cream Layer Cake is a definite way into my heart.

Oh boy, it was good.

Overall, I've found Hummingbird cakes to be spot on every time I've made them. And this one most certainly didn't disappoint.

That same weekend, Diana and DR climbed the Clisham (remind me to tell you about the wellies story - in another post), and took some stunning photos. Here's one of them.

Harris landscape is so different to Lewis - Lewis is flat, Harris most certainly is not! 

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Almost all the time, Calum Stewart reminds me of DR. At other times, I actually think he is DR.  As I sat in DR's flat this particular Sunday afternoon, I kept having to remind myself that this was Calum and not his older brother! They are so alike in so  many different ways. I can assure you, this Mum is not complaining. Not one little bit.

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I've written almost a whole post and haven't mentioned the Builder yet. Thankfully, my blog post is not an indication of his importance in my life.... honestly.

A wee story: a year or so ago, we were in Northern Ireland, and the Builder met this fellow for the first time. This fellow - we'll call him Thomas (because that's his name) - hugged him as they were parting. 

Thomas was then mortified that he had hugged the Builder - a man he barely knew!

We've had such a laugh at Thomas's mortification, but the Builder assured him that there aren't too many guys by whom he'd be happy to be hugged, but Thomas was definitely one of the few!

Friends are such a blessing, and friends with whom we have precious fellowship in Christ is a special kind of blessing. The Builder loves these guys so much.

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Calum Stewart and I left the mainland last week to come to Northern Ireland, and I couldn't help but notice this on the side of our aeroplane.

"Faster than road or rail"

Erm ... I should smile and say so. 

This ve-hi-cle had better chug along more rapidly than any car or any train on road or track. 

Our reason, of course, for going to Northern Ireland was to see this lady. All being well, the Builder will join us when she finally pops, and our first grandchild is born.

Yes, I said grandchild.

Yes, I squealed. Frankly, I can not wait!

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And so, as you see, life goes on. We have so many good things in life - things to be enjoyed, but from now on, they will be lived without Mum. 

Mum will not enjoy cake with us any more (she loved food rather like I love food); she will not have fun times in ice-cream shops with the grandchildren any more; she will not be with us in the shops again (she loved shopping - like Marina. Unlike me.) But of course, Mum has enjoyment right now like she never, ever got to experience here on earth. As the catechism she quoted so frequently during her illness says:

'The souls of believers are, at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection.'

Her body rests in the grave - a place Christ sanctified by resting there Himself, but her soul is in the presence of Christ right now. I want to spend more time thinking about this, but I have to confess that these past weeks have seen me spend much more time in sadness that I can't tell her about what Calum said, or what Marina and I ate for lunch, or the new shoes I bought (that even Marina approved of...:) ), or the fact that I was able to get all three washings dry outside, or what I'm making for dinner that evening. You see, there wasn't an aspect of our lives that we didn't blether to Mum about (Marina will say the same thing), and so there's not one thing I do or say or see or eat or read or hear that I don't think, 'Oh, wait till I tell .... '. 

Soon, all being well, Dad's first great-granchild will be born. And so our lives go on. One generation passes away; another is born. Soon it will be myself, and my body will rest, awaiting Christ's return. Family will grieve, and life will go on. How true the little verse that says:

Only one life, 

't will soon be past

Only what's done 

for Christ will last.

We'd do well to live with this in mind.

Niseach's First Wash, Cut, and Blowdry

Apparently, I was looking a wee bit shabby - or maybe it was 'shaggy' they said - and so it was time for a haircut.

Quite honestly, I was happy with the look, and given that I'm always hearing people waxing lyrical on the loveliness of shabby chic, I couldn't see any reason for me to endure the pains of a three-hour long grooming session.

But hey, who am I to decide on these things?

One final run-around in freedom, and off to the groomer's van it was.


Actually, I fell for the groomer. She was lovely and I could tell she thought I was lovely too. Frankly, how could she think otherwise, eh?

I got a thorough brushing, and then it was into the bath. I absolutely love being in the bath at home, but oh boy, this one was even better fun. It was deep, so my shaking only half-soaked my groomer. When I do that at home, Mammy get totally drenched. Such fun!

Seriously, what it this all about? I was so glad I couldn't see myself in the mirror at this stage: seeing Mum's photos after the event was bad enough. I think this...... thing .... was placed on my head so the sound of the crazy blower wouldn't frighten me too much. That blower was just a short mini-dry before the b-i-g  

l-o-n-g drying event took place.

As I said, I hadn't seen myself, so quite happily posed for the camera. Mammy says that ignorance is bliss, and though I'm not so sure about that, it certainly meant I smiled for the camera rather than hiding my face in shame.

Then came the drying and brushing. Wow, this took ages. Like, forever. (Don't tell Mum I said 'Like, forever', because there will be no doggy treats for me for the rest of the day. Well, or until I give her My Look. Works every time. Every. Single. Time.)

I tried to be as good as gold, and patiently stood for Lauren. She was amazed how good I was considering this was my first grooming.

I told her: 'I aim to please'.

 She liked that.

Finally, with 5 minutes to go, Daddy arrived. That meant Mum could go outside and take a photo from outside of Lauren's van. 

Three hours, but oh boy, did it feel good afterwards! I'm so glad they gave me this haircut before the really warm weather comes. 

I mean .... really warm weather is gonna come, right?

And here's the New Me. You like?

Guest Post ... from Niseach

I'm going to give you a glimpse into a couple of days in my life this past week ....

I woke up on Thursday morning to this.

And I thought Christmas had come early this year.

I could hardly believe it, because this white stuff had been on the ground a wee while back, but Calum was telling me that winter was pretty much gone, and now that the days are getting longer, we will soon be able to spend pretty much all day outside playing football.

Well, I love playing in the snow, except for one thing: it goes into clumps on my fur and when I try to take the clumps off, I hurt myself. The amazing thing is that when I come inside, and mammy wraps a towel around me, these clumps of snow all go and I'm just a wee bit wet.

I can't wait until mum begins homeschooling me and I'll get to learn why all this stuff happens.

Once I've been dried off a wee bit, I curl up in my corner for a snooze. Mammy always makes sure I'm cozy, and I don't push the blanket off me because I know she likes me to look cozy.

(Calum is teaching me how to make Mum feel good when she wraps us up and gives us loads to eat. Calum is a real pro at this making-Mum-feel-good stuff.)

He's also a real pro at going outside for a kick-about without me. 

When he does that, I jump up onto the window sill and put on my cutest, poutiest face.

And I wait for him to pity me enough to let me out to play ball with him.

I wait, and wait ...

And then I realise that he prefers playing football without me.

I'd almost fall out with him except for this ....

He takes me to the top of the world ...

I mean the actual top of the world ...

Or maybe it was another world altogether. Wherever it was, it was the best walk I've ever had.

Hope y'all enjoyed that wee insight into my life here in Aberdeenshire. Mum and Calum are always talking about how beautiful it all is. I'm sure it is, but I'm just happy being with them.