Open Sunday

An Open Sunday is the best - don't misunderstand this - I love having visitors and getting out and about, but I also really love a long lie in ...

Today is an Open Sunday.

Wake up to no alarm, in this case in time for the 8 o'clock BBC Scotland Radio News. I choose to rise first and get the OJ. And scoot back to bed. Dispense the vitamins; we talk about whatever's recent: the visit from (step)son Marcus and Rory McIlroy's incredible US Open Golf performance; I check the iPad Scrabble to see if Jennie has made her move - she has - my letters stink; I download and get into Saturday's 'Globe and Mail.'

We then both go down: Himself organizes the toast with delicious home made marmalade (not mine!) and I prepare the lattes.  And scoot back to bed with the lovely tray of goodies.

It's a peaceful day.  This is the view from my pillow (I had to take it without flash):

We get up in our own time and I go into the spare bedroom (aka the Yoga Studio) for my 20 minutes with 'Namaste' and my yoga practice with Kate Potter. I really could not manage without it.  I practice every day (and then don't have the guilts if I miss, but my body craves it so I seldom miss when we are home). Lately, thanks to my cousin Teresa, I also add on 10 minutes of Pilates: 10 minute Solution.

Here's my view from the floor and what I can reflect on during meditation:

My thought today: 22 year olds. I wonder what it's all about. Rory McIlroy, alive and at the top of the world of golf and volunteers as UNICEF Ireland Ambassador; Terry Fox (his mother's Obituary was in the Globe), dead of cancer - has it really been 30 years?- and yet his influence and his Marathon of Hope remembered to this day - $550 million raised world wide. 

Himself has caught up with household admin and is enjoying an old Western on TV.

Yes, Open Sunday is about us.

I love it, and you know what: that's what it's all about today!

Goodwill Consumer Services

Before I get to my topic ...

My mother had a self explanatory phrase: "I must have taken my stupid pills today."

Well, indeed someone must have snuck a handful of them into my morning's oj that's for sure: nothing was where it 'should' have been; countless trips upstairs, downstairs and into rooms wondering why I was there; lost glasses on head; went to the supermarket for soup and arrived home with none after having lost the car in the supermarket parking lot, and finally I got in the car on the wrong side - but I can (just) be forgiven that one.

So, what's that all about?  I used to multi task with ease and now I must focus exclusively on the task at hand; for example, while getting dressed in the morning, I cannot stray and consider the day ahead.  If I do think about something else, I could stand indefinitely in front of the closet  ... We are so not amused.

So, what's in the box?

It was a great box: Christmas in June...

AgaRangemaster came through and sent me a lovely box of goodies. Now, I feel much better about the new cooker not quite fitting where the old cooker was. (See drama recap in May "Out with the Old ...") No mention of the second tea towel and the cook book, but never mind, they may come along later. 

Thank you, AgaRangemaster!

We've named the cooker 'Enterprise' (as in Starship). It's absolutely fabulous - nearly as good as having an Aga, and as you can see, the modified install works and looks just fine.

Terra Firma

Himself, Keith and I are back after 10 days at sea and the house is still swaying.

Look for the Canadian courtesy flag - and yes, all the tell tales are smartly flicking away.

We started with a sail up the Sound of Mull for a night at anchor in Loch na Drooma Budhie (aka Drambuie), then over to the Isle of Canna where we had a wonderful meal at the Canna Restaurant and a nasty night in high winds. Keith hauled up a whole load of kelp in the morning.

The next day, a quick nip over to the Isle of Rhum to finally take the tour of Kinloch Castle (my nose imprints are all over the windows; it was amazing to finally see the interior). 

Kinloch Castle has a short yet colourful history. Among the many unique features that the castle has is a very special music player called the 'Orchestrion'. The Orchestrion is essentially an organ driven by electric motor that plays perforated card rolls. It was originally made for Queen Victoria, who subsequently died before receiving it, and as the house was already completed, it had to be squished under the stairs! Make sure your volume is up; it is hilarious!!

And then a vicious sail on to Loch Moidart, on the mainland of Morven, which has a very scary entry. We stayed two quiet nights at anchor to enjoy exploring the ruined Castle Tioram and the lovely Silver Walk along the loch.   

We carried on back down to Sound with a great sail to Loch Aline for another walk, this time in the sadly neglected gardens and the wonderful woodlands of the Ardtornish Estate.  We met Alan Davidson who has the enormous task of cleaning up fallen trees after the huge winds we experienced a couple of weeks ago.

A short sail the next day took us to Loch Spelve where we bought £4 worth of fresh mussels; Keith cooked them on board and there were way too many for the three of us - d e l i c i o u s!

It was a great 6 hour sail to my favourite anchorage at West Loch Tarbet, Jura where the wind howled and screamed and the boats strained at the anchors all night. I was disappointed to have to run away but the conditions were fierce.

So, we upped and battled our way to the Sound of Islay where the tide was with us and whipped down and over to Craighouse, Jura in no time.  Mercifully we had a mooring; the skippers could get a reasonable night's sleep and we had a nice meal in the pub where we unexpectedly met up with friends.

The next day we goose-winged all the way up the Sound of Jura to anchor in the lovely Ardinamor Bay (with a very, very, very shallow entrance).

We waited for hight tide the next morning and then negotiated the challenging Cuan Sound to return back to base at Dunstaffnage Marina just before the rains came pelting down.

We passed by NBH.