Friday 27th February 2009

Another blog devoid of pictures I'm afraid. I just haven't had the opportunity lately - apologies.

I made my first endeavour at cooking a healthy meal last night. Carole is generally, erm, intrigued by my culinary attempts, but does complain that they're all high fat - which generally they are. As such, I cooked a low fat meal last night, and having never attempted such before I was a little apprehensive as to the how the concoction would turn out.

Unbelievably, it was edible, and even more surprisingly was even quite tasty. I think Carole may encourage this whim from here on in. What was it? Basically chinese chicken with mint sauce, roast sweet potatoes, and followed up by apricot cream on basil and pancakes. Nothing was out of a jar I'm proud to say, and the dogs were delighted too as, due to the chaos I cause as I cook, food tends to fly indiscriminantly around the kitchen leaving plenty of scoffing opportunities for the scavengers.

The mini scavenger - Sima - has been experiencing her first full days in the pound with Isis this week. Gladly we've been coming home at night to find Isis hasn't eaten her, or that she's spent the day deafening the neighbours, but there is a suspicion that she's having the odd "wet accident" on the bed in the kennel. I'm not looking forward to my job this weekend of cleaning it out....

After the meal last night Carole and I watched the film "The Prestige". A terrific film full of twists, and well recommended even despite the presence of the always appalling Hugh Jackman. Actually, thinking about it in hindsight, it could have been even better with a superior cast as the acting was pretty ropey throughout - Scarlett Johannsen was as bland at dry toast (when is she not?) and David Bowie (!) played a German. At least I think he was supposed to be German, but I'm really not sure....

And Luca? Apologies for leaving mention of him until the final paragraph. He was great as always. Carole had an early evening fitness class, so I raced home from work sharply to take him off her hands. Due to the meal I was cooking I had to take him with me to the supermarket to but the ingredients. It's hardly a hardship however, indeed I love taking him. A bit too much though - as Carole recently discovered quietness and poise are not considerations when Luca and I go to the shops. We basically spend the time shouting and singing at each other as we wander through, and I do have to ponder whether the men in white coats will one day be waiting for us. I doubt we are the most dignified of sights.

Unfortunately we spent too much time causing chaos last night, and didn't arrive home until well past his bedtime. As such, he was so exhausted he drank his bottle and went straight to sleep - for the first time in memory he didn't even want a story. Poor wee guy!

**Useless fact of the day - You will die from lack of sleep sooner than you'll die from starvation. 10 days is about the maximum number of days you can go without sleep whilst one can go a few weeks without food**

Wednesday 25th February 2009

First point of order - Kelly's pink hair. Good lord. Is this a reaction to turning 30 shortly? Am I allowed to mention Tracey from Big Brother?

I'm kidding Kelly! Keep it!

I'm presently in the middle of watching "The Notebook" on my MP4 at lunchtimes. I've invested 45 minutes of my time into watching it now so will continue to the end, but I'm not impressed(despite the positive reviews it received upon release). To call it wet would be an insult to a pond.

Things are shaping up for a busy weekend this week. I think I may be in the office on Saturday morning, followed with a trip to Pittodrie in the afternoon, and concluded by a night out "on the lagers". Sunday may be a little more lax however, as we'll be sleeping off our hangovers in the morning (sans Luca who will be agitating his grandparents in Banchory), followed by lunch at a hotel (the freebie I'd previously mentioned) and brought to an end watching the cup final on TV. Just bliss. Sounds too good, something will go wrong with this plan...

Speaking of the meal, I'm going to haul myself to the doctors prior to our holiday this year, in order to set up a consultation with a nutritionist. I still can't figure out why I struggle to put weight on, and am starting to suspect my high fat diet is - perversely - a cause of this. Perhaps my metabolism has adapted itself to cope with the regular intake of chocolate, pies, muffins, etc and I need to change to a healthier diet. IE, vegetables, pulses, lean meats, etc. Just a thought, but I'll let you know the results when I do. At this rate Luca will be wider than me before he's five years old.

And that gently leads us into an update on the wee man. He's been in the wars again. He had a fall yesterday morning, and caught his ear on the radiator. Apparently there was blood everywhere, and Carole got it on her top and face when she tried to console him too. Obviously the offer of a chocolate button immediately eased his pain, and he looked absolutely fine by the time I got home.

His face is also getting very dry (after the surgery), more so than usual. It looks like we'll, for caution purposes, have to ensure we find a factor 200 suncream before boarding him to Tenerife.

"Kisses" is his big thing just now, and most particularly at bedtime. Once you've lain him in his cot and edge toward the door he'll bounce up and shout "kisses", and (if you venture near) will soak you with one of the wettest kisses since "The Little Mermaid". This game can go on for some considerable time, and I counted 14 kisses in succession last night. It was like bathing in a gooey bean and chocolate smelling swimming pool.

I was going to post pictures of Carole and I in our "sumo suits" today, but unfortunately her email with the images hasn't made it through. A shame, as it would have been the first time you'd seen me with any weight since around 1992.

**Useless fact of the day - In 1992 there was a recession similar to today! GDP declined by 1 %. Combined effect of the recession raised unemployment to 2.87m - more than 50% of them out of work for more than 6 months, and a third for more than a year. Businesses collapsed at a rate of about 1,200 per week**

Monday 23rd February 2009

Back to work today after my four day weekend, and slowly coming to the realisation that spending time with Luca is rather preferable to working. He was making us laugh yesterday, Caroles very careful when it comes to the words she teaches him. If he's passing wind then she's taught him to call it "trumping". My vernacular is slightly different though, and not spending as much time with him I'm a little less careful. Indeed yesterday, as Luca and I both "passed wind" within seconds of each other I told him that "Daddy and Luca are farting". This one phrase erased two years of hard work by Carole as the one mention of the word "farting" engraved the word into his brain and he proceeded to use it endlessly. His poor mum stood face to face with him shouting "No Luca, it's trumping" only to have "farting!" yelled back at her time after time...

He's a clever boy.

He's also got a new favourite song. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". I was forced to sing it around 15 times in succession yesterday. The "bee um bum baway" bit cracks him up every time.

Carole cooked a proper Sunday dinner for us last night. Salmon and Holandaise sauce with roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. It was great, I think we don't eat enough roasts! We will actually have another roast next Sunday though - for free. We've still got a Christmas gift sitting about which is a free lunch at a local hotel (a relly nice place), so the freebie lunch will go down rather well after our Saturday night on the beer.

As long as mum is willing to look after Luca for a couple of hours longer than intended?

I also have to mention the film "Watchmen" is out this weekend too, so we'll need a babysitter again at some point in the next week - I do like to impose.

Finally, my opinion on Dad's potential retirement - it's too soon, you'd get bored. A 3 day week sounds the most appropriate compromise, as it'll allow you more time for golf/squash/televisual grey matter burning but keep a semblance of routine in your lifestyle. Kelly can probably advise more concisely, but I understand the loss of routine is what hit's hardest upon retirement.

**Useless fact of the day - In the early 21st century, 25% of one's adulthood can be spent in retirement. Because the average life expectancy in 2002 is 76 years, those retiring at age 65, on average, can expect to spend 18 to 20 years in the role of retiree**

Sunday 22nd February 2009

Lunchtime today, and here's Luca gazing up a me with his begging eyes. Just out of shot is his mum, with her hand in the "shoshlit" cupboard. Hence the polite, but rather desperate look in his eyes.

We didn't give him any "shoshlit" (chocolate to those not versed in the English to Luca translation book), and this is possibly what set him off on an (already) infamous rant. He dedided he didn't like the variety of food we presented, and decided to trash the kitchen table, throw the food around and generally tantrum "in extremis". As such he ended of the "naughty step" until he sorted himself out.

To be fair, he was tired after an excessively busy morning. The main section of which was taken up by swimming, this his first session in weeks. Reassuringly he's starting to look forward to the pool (or "big bath" as he calls it) now, and although still nervous is gaining confidence. He still won't exit my arms for a second, even in the baby pool, but as familiarity increases this will surely follow.

We haven't ventured far this weekend. Yesterday the vast majority of the day was taken up by things we've been meaning to do, but keep putting off. Namely clearing out the shed and loft. It was terrific fun (!), but gladly it's now out of the way. Luca, as per, helped throughout. He loaded my car up with the rubbish we'd accumulated, and also came up to the loft with me to reorganise that too.

I had to love and leave Carole early afternoon though, as Aberdeen had an important "New Firm" derby at home. It was a great game, but dad must now be kicking himself. He's now missed the last two games, which have accumulated a grand total of 9 goals.

Later in the evening, Carole and I watched "Wall-E" on Blu-Ray. A surprisingly affecting and issue-lead film, which had us engrossed right through to the final credits. Even the enforced delay half way through - Guthrie and Fergus pitched up to see Sima - couldn't decrease our enjoyment of a genuinely momentous piece of cinematic gold.

On the next blog I'll feature pictures of Carole modelling the new pink tiger slippers I bought her today. Do I even need to describe the look on her face as I presented them?

**Useless fact of the day - WALL-E has achieved highly positive reviews with an approval rating of 96% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It grossed $533 million worldwide, won the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, and is nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature**

Friday 20th February 2009

Carole informed me that Liz almost had a coronary upon reading yesterday blog, so here's a few pictures taking merely an hour ago demonstating the short ones wellbeing!

The pictures also - partially - show the effect on his face from Tuesdays laser surgery. It's unfortunately quite difficult to see from the poor quality images on display (he utterly refuses to stand still for pictures) but this session went far deeper than previously, and as such have left far more noticeable, albeit impermanent, marks. He strangely still doesn't seem to notice though. Even though the middle picture shows him in front of a mirror, I've yet to see him examine his burns.

As you can see from his cheeky grins, he was attempting to help/hindrance me today in my duties. I was shifting furniture between bedrooms (word of advice - never try shifting 7ft x 4ft x 3ft wardrobes alone, as I've found to my chagrin) and no matter which item I was moving at any given time he would run behind it and shout "hiding!". Obviously this wasn't remotely infuriating.

He also took his first (conscious) excursion into the loft today. I had a number of items I needed to store up there so I lifted him up into the loft and passed them up to him. Obviously Luca loved this - strangely, but gladly, he loves tidying. He put everything in piles on either side of the attic, and showed no desire to come back down. After briefly considering the peace and quiet that would ensue if I just closed the loft door and left him to it, I (grudgingly) went up, grabbed him and carried him back down the ladder upside down.

Previous to this we'd been into Aberdeen to go to the libary and shops. It was all going swimmingly until we were checking our books out. The old man in front was chatting with him, and finished with giving him 30p to "buy yourself some chocolate". Although Luca had likely not understood the conversation before then, he fully understood the meaning of the last uttered word. He looked up at me excitedly, help up the coins and shouted "get chocolate!"

Yes, I tried manfully to distract him from his quest. Of course I lost though. Half an hour later, after innumerable voicings of "want chocolate" I relented and half a Dairy Milk was his.

Lunch was fun too. He demanded beans (as usual - we're getting worried he'll turn orange if he eats many more) but refused to eat them after seeing my fry up. "No" I said, "this is daddys"

Guess who ate the fry up...

He's fast asleep now after his mornings excitement, so I'm now trying to get the rest of my things done. I've been speaking to the morons insurance company ttoday, who seem surprisingly good. They're going to have my car collected, repaired and dropped back off. They're also going to have a replacement car (of similar stature) delivered to me in the interim. All very professional thankfully. However, I almost fell prey to one of the darker sides of todays society. The insurers asked me if either myself or my son had been injured at all in the accident. I regret to say I actually hesitated for a second before answering truthfully that we were completely unharmed. It briefly crossed my mind to attempt to claim compensation. I suppose after years of endless TV/radio/written media advertisements from "accident compnsation companies" the idea had somehow seeped into my consciousness. I feel ashamed I even considered it, even if it was only a brief second. How can I teach Luca the difference between right and wrong if I'm willing to consider something so inherently dishonest and morally ambiguous?

On a lighter note, I need suggestions for new albums. I recently obtained a copy of the new album by the Animal Collective, which has received widespread praise and approval across the music (and broadsheet) press - unfortunately it's a load of old tosh, written by a bunch a blokes with ideas far beyond their abilities. I also sometimes find it quite handy to hear the semblence of a tune in the music I listen to, so I guess I'm just overly fussy.... I need suggestions for something new to listen to as I wash bottles, and any genre will be considered and appreciated!

Apart from R'n'B. Kelly.

**Useless fact of the day - The top ten of Maxim magazines "worst albums of all time" included such luminaries as "Osmonds Family Christmas Album" by the Osmonds, "Monster" by REM (I actually quite liked that one at the time!) and "Ricky Martin" by Ricky Martin**

Thursday 19th February 2009

Here's a couple of photo's of Luca pre operation, taken only a couple of days ago. I did intend to provide some "apres" pictures today, but my intended schedule and intentions today have been thrown a bit by a car crash earlier.

I'm off work today and Friday to look after the wee one, so I took him through to Banchory first thing to see his Granny Jo. Unfortunately, as we travelled into Banchory the traffic started to clog slightly. We slowed down to a gradual stop, but unfortunately the idiot in the Volkswagen behind us didn't. A huge bang was heard as he clattered into the back of us. I spun round to check on Luca (who looked shocked) before quickly turning off the road and into the park. The moron followed us. I was terrified about Luca's state, so as soon as I pulled the handbrake on I swung around to check him. He was killing himself laughing! The little bugger was absolutely fine! I was still furious though about the potential harm to Luca that could have resulted and after jumping out the car literally ran toward the moron. He obviously realised my irate state immediately and was holloring sincere apologies as I covered the ground. Thankfully I came to my senses before doing anything daft, though it was worryingly close as the red mist had descended. A natural reaction when your kids wellbeing is compromised I guess.

After taking his details I had a proper look at the cars. The front of his car was entirely caved in - I can't believe he was able to drive it away - but unbelievably the only (apparent) damage to mine is scratches. I guess the bonus of a 4x4 is they're built solidly. I'm hugely thankful for this, as it makes you realise how well protected Luca is in there. And he's the most valuable thing I own.

After calling Carole - who spent a few minutes ensuring my adrenaline reduced before driving off again - I continued onto Arbor Court. Mum had a check of Luca too, and again the conclusion was that he was absolutely fine, and probably was barely aware of what happened. Indeed, had the noise not been so loud neither Luca or I would hardly have noticed. It was surprising how little movement there was within our seats at the time. Sima was certainly aware though, as she threw up immediately after impact!

After a late breakfast, mum, Luca, Sima and I went for a walk to the park, which was punctuated by much chattering, as well as the realisation that Luca (at full pace) is now almost quicker than his Granny Jo!

We came back to Inverurie just after lunch (and naughtily shared a bar of chocolate on route - Luca is almost addicted to chocolate and we're trying to keep his intake to a minimum. It's like dealing with a heroin addict!), and put him straight to bed on arrival home. However, it's now 3pm and he's still shouting for dad so this rest may be rather short lived. We also said goodbye to Grandma Liz at the train station this morning too. A real shame, as she's been a pleasure to have stay, and Luca's going to miss her a lot. I did cook a meal for she and Carole last night as a thank you, but as it was a tad (cough) overcooked it probably came across as more of an insult!

**Useless fact of the day - Scientists studying the human tendency to follow another's gaze have linked the behaviour with that of lemurs, it emerged yesterday. Psychologists at the University of St Andrews said the action is a practical, food-finding skill dating back to the time of the first primates. Previous studies of our closer relatives – apes and monkeys – found they could follow the direction of another's gaze but failed to use the ability for a purpose such as locating nourishment. It has now emerged lemurs display the same skill as us**

Sunday 15th February 2009

Due to work/illness/Valentines, I haven't taken any new photo's lately, so you'll have to suffice with a three day old photo of Sima beating up Isis (again). She's growing like a good 'un now.

I write this whilst enjoying the rare blissfull peace of an empty house. Carole, Liz and Luca have undertaken a shopping excursion into Aberdeen. They were originally going to go on Wednesday (the day after Luca's surgery) but Carole get's extremely defensive of the little boggle eyed one, and can't stand the thought of people staring at his scars. Although I'm not troubles by the same issue, I do understand where her hesitancy comes from.

I was woken this morning by the humpty boy - he came through to the bedroom and announced (at the top of his voice, natch) "daddy's in bed sleeping". Indeed, this was announced so loudly I almost expected Lucy to call to ask why I'd slept in so late.

Although this call would be rather unlikely, with the previous paragraph more prevalently showing my ability to wildly exaggerate, the reason for my extended sleep was two-fold. Firstly, I'm still not well (violins play quietly...), and secondly was that this was allied to a busy Valentines day. Unfortunately, and certainly for the sake of my health, I'd organised a busy day. We started with a 3 course lunch at the Meldrum House Hotel, followed by an afternoon at "Lochters" (an outdoor activity estate - our events encompassed Karting, Sumo Wrestling and Archery), which preceeded a trip to a 3D cinema and finished with tickets to the theatre ("Witches of Eastwick" starring Marti Pellow). All were highly enjoyable, with a notable mention going to Meldrum House - outstanding does not give their food justice. Although I think Carole mostly enjoyed the coffees in the drawing room in front of a freashly kit open fire. Genuinely luxurious.

Liz had a great time with Luca while we were away too - it's not often she gets her youngest grandchild to herself. It's also not too often Carole and I take a day together too, and we're very grateful!

Now my wallets empty (I cleared out the mothballs in preparation for Valentines), the rest of this month will be quite quiet. Ish, we've one more night out this month - a night on the beer with a couple of friends. Touch wood I may have recovered from my man-flu by then.

I've just read dad's blog, and been reminded of those terrible programmes he/we used to watch. Some of those on his list - such as 3-2-1 - should have been left in the memories of time! My favourites would be:-

Match Of The Day

The X Files

Coronation Street

The Manageress (bet no-one remembers that one)

Never Mind The Buzzcocks

Millenium

Frasier

Prisoner Cell Block H (in my student days - it's expected)

Film ...... With Barry Norman (Jonathan Ross isn't even in the same ballpark)

Smallville

Family Guy

30 Rock (very new across here, and only shown at strange times - though I assume Lucy and Scott will know it well?)

With my brain still operating in autopilot, I must sign off - I hope everyone had a great Valentines, and I'll update again on Tuesday with pictures of Luca apres-operation.

**Useless fact of the day - 30 Rock has been a critical success, winning several major awards including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series both in 2007 and 2008, the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series, the Producers Guild of America Award for Producer of the Year in Episodic Comedy Series, and a Peabody Award, as well as achieving the top ranking on myriad critics' year-end best of 2006 and 2007 lists**

Thursday 12th February 2009

Another day, another insult. I had to brave a visit to our warehouse today for the first day this week. Badly timed (I had run out of "gophers" to do my donkey work) as my face is a mess today. I've got a bit of an eye infection going on, and it's so deformed the eyeball looks like Tony from Coronation Street has been putting contact lenses in with Freddie Kruegers glove.


And yes, although the insults were actually quite witty that's beyond the point. I will have my revenge...


I've been to the doctors and been prescribed all the drugs I'll need, but I may still be a little bit ugly on Valentines day.


I know Caroles thinking "Still? It's been almost 34 years now and you're still not pretty!"


I thought Luca's hunger had returned this morning. He drank his milk in seconds, and followed that up by eatling not only his own toast but mine too. Or so I thought. Due to my running in and out the kitchen (trying to get myself ready for work whilst trying to feed him - see, men CAN multitask) he'd been quietly slipping pieces to Sima every time I walked out. I only caught him on the last occasion, and the look on his face simply said "rumbled!"


I could have done with my toast too, having lost almost three quarters of a stone since becoming ill at the weekend (!). Yes, unless someone bakes me more Dundee cake soon I will look like Skeletor on the beach next month. Honestly Liz, I'm not hinting.


**Useless fact of the day - Valentines Day was formed just after St Valentines beheading for refusing to deny Christ. He then wrote a letter to his beloved (ironically believed to have been a bloke) which was signed "From Your Valentine"**

Wednesday 11th February 2009

The only reason I can surmise as to why I'm posting a blog today is to give myself a (brief) break from the chore of work. In truth I don't have much to report!

Following my previous entry, life has literally been very, very quiet at home. I'd thought after Luca and Caroles recent virus related misadventures that I'd done well to stay fully fit. No such luck. I left work early on Monday feeling like death and p***ed off with it - I'd originally intended to take the whole day off after waking looking like a character out of "Time Bandits" (one of the films monsters, not one of the midgets obviously) but after receiving texts from colleagues advising they weren't coming in ("it's a bit too snowy") I dragged myself up. Am I the only one who thinks there's a frightening lack of responsibility or duty shown by many individuals to their work? Hopefully the one positive thing the country's current financial crisis will achieve is ensure work shy staff (across each sector) who have been basking in the previous knowledge that they were secure will be weeded out and discarded to where they belong.

Yes, I'm a martyr, and the rant is now concluded.

More prevalently, Luca's shown great improvement. His spots cleared as quickly as they had arrived, although unfortunately (in his granny's opinion) it wasn't chicken pox. We'll just have to keep attempting to find methods of infecting him with this before he gets too old. His moods have improved immensely too, although he's not eating as much as he was. He's also starting to show a great awareness of his surroundings, and those around him too. He came home with Carole yesterday to find his dad lying on the sofa with the duvet cover on top. Normally when he sees me he insists on playing, and usually roughousing. However, on this occasion he stood and looked at me for a minute before saying "Under". He then proceeded to crawl onto the couch and under the duvet with me, where he stayed for most of the evening (watching TV and playing cards)until it was time for his bed. It was actually very cute, and very out of character for him - we think he noticed his dad wasn't well and made a conscious decision to be gentle and quiet.

Morover, I appreciated it.

That said, there isn't a lot else to report - although Australia could have sank into the ocean and I wouldn't have noticed these past several days!

And before I sign off, I have to mention Mum's blog. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time - getting stuck in the snow whilst travelling in completely the wrong direction is so, brilliantly, typical Mum! We do love her for it.

**Useless fact of the day - The oldest surviving love poem till date is written in a clay tablet from the times of the Sumerians, inventors of writing, around 3500 B.C**

Sunday 8th February 2009

As many of you will already be aware, our home is being littered with more bugs than a meeting between a well known Muslim Labour MP and a known terror suspect (news circa February 2008). Carole's thankfully on the mend, but I've come down with something nasty which has resulted in me sleeping 16 hours out of the last 24 (I'm possibly just evolving into Ross...), while Luca has contracted chicken pox.

Actually, we're only 95% certain that it's pox. As you can see, I attempted to take pictures of Luca this morning to demonstrate his spottiness, but due to the lighting and his absolute inability to stand still for a second you're merely left with photo's akin to those taken of ageing Hollywood actress on a Vogue photoshoot. You'll have to take my word that he has spots all down the left side of his face and neck, as well as a couple on his right leg. Allied with his burnt toes and the cold sore still evident at the corner of his mouth you can rest assured he won't be entering any "bonny baby" contests in the near future....

Yes, he is still beautiful to us though. Carole does pull a bit of a funny face as she says it though...

The third photo is a rarity, as it doesn't feature Luca. Carole took this shot yesterday as watched TV. This is a pretty common picture of the pup, who fends herself the oddest nooks and crannies to have a sleep in.

Due to the aforementioned bugs, we've had an enforced quiet weekend. Thankfully our TV was returned on Friday which was lucky as none of us were in a fit state to leave the house yesterday for any extended period. That said, I took a brief drive with Luca yesterday morning to pick up a snow shovel, sand and food. Our street is verging on impassible, so it was important that I cleared paths in both our front and back gardens. My cars 4x4 capability has been a relative godsend these past few days.

Mum is coming over tomorrow - many thanks! - to look after the wee one. It's just not advisable to put him in nursery at this juncture. I may join the wee man on a day off tomorow if I continue my descent into "man-flu"

Back to the football for the conclusion of our Sunday afternoon, Manchester Utd have just kicked of so tot ziens

**Useless fact of the day - Chickenpox typically produces a mild fever and an itchy outbreak of blisters on the scalp, face, and torso. The blisters dry and become scabs in 4 to 5 days. The blisters occur in successive crops that can produce hundreds of scabs. An infected person is contagious from 1 to 2 days before the rash appears and until all blisters have formed scabs**

Friday 6th February 2009

If you were thinking that dad was exaggerating about the seriousness of the conditions on our roads yesterday, take a look at the picture above. This was taken during the early hours of the morning, just a few miles from our house (located from a news website). I took a couple of photo's yesterday from my car too, and I'll post them later tonight.

The roads are much clearer today, however we've just received word that the roads around Huntly (approximately 25 miles north of Inverurie) are about to be closed again! Indeed, it appears heavy snow falls have re-started in Inverurie also, so if it continues in this fashion then today may be painfully brief.

Although I was home yesterday I was still on the phone to the office for much of the day. I also decided - wrongly perhaps - to keep Luca off too. He was in full "little bugger" mode, and being disobedient was apparently a game he enjoyed! Dad bailed out before lunchtime (Luca had been really excited when he's initially turned up - "Randa, Randa!"), and Carole spent much of the day in bed so Luca and I were left to go head to head.

Predictably he won.

I did manage to watch some of a comedy movie with Carole though - "Pineapple Express". She loved it, I hated it, so I can't really say whether to watch or avoid!

Tonight, weather permitting, I'll be playing football while tomorrow will bring (dependant on the state of Luca's cold sore) another trip to the swimming pool. As always I'll be bench pressing and doing bicep curls beforehand in order to ensure Luca doesn't squirm out of my arms at the mere sight of the pool!

Sorry, both statements are incorrect - I will not be doing weights (still far too lazy right now....) and Luca's pool habits have been improving exponentially. When it comes to Mr Unpredictability though, you never know what he's going to be like. What I do know though is that much of his misbehaviour is conscious decisions taken to wind up his mum and dad! Another thing I need to work on is his vocabulary. He's started to make statements as oblique questions. "Chocolate for Luca, yeah?", "Pick me up, yeah?", "Bottle of milk, yeah?". We need to figure out how to address this and ensure his use of language is correct, yeah?

**Useless fact of the day - The recent snow storms in the UK are now officially the worst in 18 years**

Wednesday 4th February 2009

After seeing dads photo on his blog this morning, a sense of familiarity came to pass. Do you see the resemblances of the two pictures above? Scary.

The snow has eventually arrived into the North East. I woke this morning to the vision of a white-out, and it hasn't stopped snowing yet - Its been five hours since I woke. Hopefully it will stop soon so I can get home tonight!

Hopefully mum has been able to drive (or slide) her car from Banchory to Inverurie this morning. She's popping through to give Carole a hand, as both Carole and Luca are both deteriorating faster than public confidence in Icelandic banks. If you've read previous blogs you'll be aware of Luca's cold, cough and burnt toes, but he's now developed a rash on his face. Carole is very poorly too, and even had to go to bed before Luca last night. Her tonsils are the problem, and her throat was almost closed this morning. Both patients will be going to the doctors once mum arrives so I'll have to wait for the resultant prognosis from that.

As such, I guess I'll be cooking tonight. Well, how much worse can I make things....

Finally, I've just downloaded and am in the process of watching "Gone Baby Gone" (incredibly harrowing) and listening to the "Bon Iver" album (bleak) - each superb, try to catch both

**Useless fact of the day - The singer Mark Almond (of Soft Cell - remember "Tainted Love"?) was once rushed from stage and his stomach pumped....Actually, no, I can't tell this story. If you are not easily offended email me and I'll email the rest to you**

Tuesday 3rd February - PART 2

As promised earlier, here's the video of Luca chatting about his family (after an extended period of naughtiness obviously...)

**Useless fact of the day 2 - During their heyday, Status Quo toured Australia. While travelling across the Australian wilderness on their bus between gigs they ran over a kangaroo. The band exited the bus to ogle the dead animl, before deciding it would be funny to put a leather jacket and hat on it and pose for pictures. However, after only a couple of snaps it transpired the 'roo hadn't been killed, merely stunned, and it suddenly burst into life before hopping off into the distance, leather jacket and all. Everyone found the fact the kangaroo would spend the rest of it's life hopping around in a leather jacket hilarious until they realised the bus keys were in the pocket of the jacket**

Tuesday 3rd February 2009

No, it's not Sima - that would be a bit premature as Christmas is still 332 days away! I'm without any recent pictures or video's as a write this, so thought it best to find a picture of what Sima will look like at Christmas. Well, we did do the same to Luca at Christmas 2007, so I see no reason why we can't similarly mentally scar the pup!

And referring to our mentally scarred child (no, not really, he doesn't remember and we won't show him the pictures until he brings his first girlfriend home), Luca's a little better but still has some way to go. He woke this morning coughing, and again didn't eat much of his breakfast. His toes seem much better however, so there are improvements showing.

I took Sima out for another walk last night, accompanied by Isis for the first time in a week. Sima's still having trouble with her nerves, hence the reason recently to take her out and concentrate on her alone. Although hardly a metropolis, there is always traffic on the roads in Inverurie, and she cowers and refuses to move if it gets too heavy. Unfortunately last night I got my timings wrong! I took the dogs out late enough for what (I hoped) would be a quiet time of night. The problem was, I hadn't remembered that the local football side had a Scottish Cup match against Premier Division oponents - possibly the biggest game in their history! Of course we stepped onto the roads just as the game finished and 2500 supporters, on foot and in cars, roared alongside us. Obviously Sima almost (literally) defecated herself, while Isis acted in the opposite way and just wanted to say hello to everyone. Still, we managed to draw away from the main thoroughfair eventually, and to look at things pragmatically it was a test which Sima passed - in a fashion.

Just for the records, the Loco's (our local side) lost the game three nil.

The UK is going through an unnaturally late snowy season just now, with conditions extremely bad in certain areas. All buses in London city were cancelled yesterday, the first time in modern history. However, we must be relatively protected, as Inverurie and Dyce (where I work) haven't been too badly affected. We're getting regular blizzards, but sleet seems to prevent the snow from hanging around too long. Weather reports indicate that it will have cleared by the time Liz travels up to stay with us next week though.

I will post another entry tonight, as I have a video of Luca in the house misbehaving as he drinks his evening bottle. He mentions almost all of our families (Max, Braeden, etc) so it's worth seeing. When viewed though, please pretend to ignore his pronunciation of his Aunt Lucy's name however....

**Useless fact of the day - The lead singer of popular 80's/90's band "Faith No More" (they did the huge selling cover of "Easy". Remember it? It go's "Oooooooh, it's why I'm easy, yeah, yeah yeah yeah, easy like Sunday morning, yeaaahhhh) is renowned for his hotel "antics". When staying in hotels on tour, he has a bad habit of unscrewing the rooms hairdryer, having a "number 2" in it and screwing it back up. For the next guest to enjoy as they dry their hair...**

Sunday 1st February 2009

Todays entry is a brief one, created mainly to show a new Luca video we took this morning. He does like to help, though the pants on the head thing will need to be discouraged.


Carole and I hit the hay at a reasonable time last night, due to the impracticality of watching DVD's on our "mini-me" TV. The strongest muscle in my body is presently those in my brow from all the squinting.


Unless our main TV is back from the manufacturers before next weekend, we will be looking for babysitters and going out. That said, we've two or three weekends out coming across this month - a rarity!


We came to the conclusion that following yesterdays fiasco with Luca (most notably his resemblance to a George A Romero movie character during his less well moments), it will be wise to cancel his swimming today. Doubtless a urine infested council pool would not speed up his recovery time. Carole, however, is much better today and it presently at her fitness class, though it's likely on her arrival home she'll collapse faster than Britains finance sector.


**Useless fact of the day - The UK's finance sector is the the section of Britains economy expected to be hardest hit (job loss wise)**