Panic over

Quiet Saturday morning. My mother came to the rescue in the bridemaid dresses scenario with her best mate, Morag, who just happens to have a daughter who owns a dress shop, for Wedding like occasions. Very handy. So Ka, the two Mums and Lynsey Ann went along on Saturday morning and picked some new dresses while I lounged infront of the tv watching the new Battlestar Galactica. Panic over. Thank the maker, as it will certainly make my life a bit quieter and bring the Wedding Stressometer back down to bearable.
On Saturday evening it was a quick bus trip into Glasgow for a great meal in Arta in Glasgow's Merchant City. A brilliant meal of 2 courses for only £7.99 each. An email offer I received last Thursday, probably through having booked on the brilliant 5pm.co.uk before. A brilliant website which offers great deals on all your local restaurants, bars and clubs regularly. However, I'm not sure the Polish staff knew about half the offers going on as they attempted to charge me £12.99 each for the meals after having delivered us with the wrong starters. Needless to say, I pointed out their error and they were all very nice about it. Ka read it as me chatting them up but I was only trying to get the deal I had been offered. We followed the meal with the traditional Arta cocktails downstairs in the lounge bar area at a candlelit table, surrounded by large staring statues and Narnia wardrobes. Arta is a very mixed bar with people of all ages enjoying a Saturday night tipple from teenagers and students to desperate housewives and David Brents. Some of which looked as if they had indeed escaped from one of the Narnia wardrobes. As time progressed the bar soon went from empty to jammed at which point we escaped to the club downstairs to a last drink before heading home for the bus.
Up, and straight to the gym on Sunday after Ka completed another dose of her beloved housework. A quick swim and a swelter in the sauna later, I then proceeded on to the hospital to see Gran Reid only to find the Symingtons and Millers already round the bed. Looking better and hopeful of an escape, Gran was sitting up in bed and patiently waiting for the Monday and the Doctor's visit which she was hoping would send her home. As the visitor numbers were already too many, I stayed only for fifteen minutes and headed off to the supermarket in order to buys eggs for the meatballs and spaghetti Ka was making for dinner that evening. Sharon, a friend from Art school, now living in LA and working for Dreamworks, was over on holiday visiting her Dad who has just turned sixty. While she was over, she made time to come over to EK and visit us. Sharon said it gave the the opportunity to show her new man definite proof that she is not alone in being a Scottish nutter. Another Michael. Mike the skydiver. Thankfully he turned out to be a top bloke and was very complimentary of Ka's meatballs. Sharon looked happy and gave the impression of having a far better time in LA now than she had been having on her last visit over here. We promised to visit LA and California soon. Ka, impressed with Sharon's new man, gave her the quiet thumbs up and nod as they left. Their next stop, Glen Coe and a trip to visit Claire up in Dundee.
While Sharon was away from LA and over here in Bonnie Scotland the usual glitz and glam of the red carpet in Hollywood was going on in the Oscars. Great to see Slumdog Millionaire get recognised to such a brilliant extent. The lovely Kate Winslet also got her oscar finally - not sure if she should have won against Angelina Jolie's great performance in 'Changeling' though but I've not even seen 'The Reader' so I don't really have the right to comment on that yet.

Headaches and children

Another weekend almost over! They whizz by like a chettah on heelys. Wish they wouldn't do that as it always makes us smack into the brick wall of another Monday morning. A bit of a quiet one again this weekend with more painting yesterday afternoon and then a movie last night. Chaz appeared at the door at around half eight with two carriers full of crisps, chocolate and corona and joined Ka and myself in watching the brilliant 'Training Day'. This movie I've been meaning to watch for at least two years and with Ka and Chaz settled down to watch. Denzel Washington was indeed great in it and deserved the oscar he received for the role afterwards. Conversations ranged from Costco, Corona's need for a good bit of lime, the Wispa bar to relationships (that old chestnut!) and redundancies.
This morning I awoke to a neighbour piling some empty glass bottles into the bottle bin downstairs, each clatter and smash echoing through the close up through our letterbox, down our hallway, in to the bedroom and directly into my right ear, through a slightly diverted route in the channels of my brain and out my left ear, continuing from then to the nearest wall and bouncing back off the brick, making a disasterous u-turn hurling back towards my right ear again. Trying to ignore the signs lighting up in my head telling me it was time to get up I did manage to go back to sleep until Ka woke me with a glass of orange juice. My head was aching and I had not thought I'd had that much to drink last night. In fact I know I hadn't. Six bottles of beer. That was it. Is that what it takes to gain a hangover these days? That's got to be a sign of getting old. Forcing myself up though I went straight to the gym and forced the alcoholic blues straight out of me and after an hours workout, a quick swim and a short time in the sauna, felt brand new again. I say quick swim because everytime we go to the pool on a sunday, for some demented reason, we end up going in when it's 'family time'. Yes, family time in the pool is when young kids flock in with their mums, dads, grandparents or all of them, to jump about on giant planks of polystyrene that the kids themselves only take up a fraction of space on. They glide these straight across the surface of the blue water, giggling and laughing whilst aiming straight for the side of your head. If it's not one of those butting into your body parts, or at least into your swimming path, your sure to get a ball or hoop of some description slung at you from the other side of the pool while the parents just jump about not giving a hoot. Sorry, I didn't realise I was really intended in life to be part some kind of aquatic fairground attraction. I'm half expecting a loud alarm to go off and Derek the lifeguard to come out from his viewing point with a stupidly large cuddly toy the next time a plastic beach ball bounces off my head.
Talking of fairground attractions Ka was driving today. Only kidding. Ka is a great driver, not at all like a dodgem... or a roller coaster. It is amazing how many a**e's you get up your rear bumper whenever they twig there's a learner infront of them though. You'd think a learner plate is a license to distress and agitate the attached vehicle for some drivers out there. This, understandably, stresses Ka out a little but not only do they put the rear end of my new car at risk but they also put their own car at risk, not to mention the other drivers behind them. Ignoring that though, Ka will undoubtedly be passing her test shortly.
We were dropping a painting off to Angela and Steven's today. A belated engagement present/early wedding gift. The grey rose seen here. We then went home to EK only to find the same Angela and Steven, with Morgan, in EK Sainsburys, suspiciously close to the alcohol aisle. After meeting our pal Martin, who is currently a security guard in the supermarket, and getting an update on the pregnant Claire, I managed to get myself a bottle of Jack Daniels for £13. I'll call it an early Christmas present to myself. Unfortunately there was a slight casualty in the trip as Morgan managed to fall flat on her face after I, yes me, told her to go and get her mum after she had spied her near the checkouts. She broke into a run on my words and ended up sliding down the floor of the CD aisle head first. She got up from the floor screaming and shooting blood from her mouth after puncturing her top lip in the fall. Needless to say I felt very guilty and will do for the rest of my mortal life no doubt. Hope your lip gets better Morgan. Martin told me determinedly that I would not be babysitting his child when it arrives. I nodded in agreement.

It's a cracker

Went in to work to the expected questions about the car this morning. Mary and Margaret having another heckle from their box. I explained that it'll be fine. No great emergency. They looked a bit disappointed. Finally returned Lost Ian's DVDs this morning. He gave me the whole series of 'Cracker' to watch around two months ago and I managed to finally finish it at the weekend. What a great series that was. Definately Coltrane's finest hour - why aren't they still making it?! Brilliant telly with so much depth put into the characters through the brilliant storytelling of Jimmy McGovern. Great. By the way, the reason he's called 'Lost' Ian is because that's the name he's given in the flat. Ka has never met him so he goes by the name of Lost Ian as, like us, he is a big Lost fan and records it for us every week as we no longer have Sky (after Sky decided they would no longer sell their channel to Virgin Cable back in '07). The same goes for Creamy Chicken John. John gave me a brilliant Aussie recipe for pasta last year, involving herbs, cream cheese etc which Ka has used on more than one occasion and as a result he is now called Creamy Chicken John. There are other names which I'm sure I'll write later but just can't think of at the moment or which I daren't mention!
Came home after work to find Claire (Montgomery) and Jane in with Ellie relaxing after a plate of Ka's meatballs and spaghetti. Nice. Fortunately there was some left, which I'll keep for myself till a later date. Had a bit of Ka's gorgeous lasagne in work for dinner, straight from the microwave. Have never been sure of microwaves. Work is the only place I use them, except from the occasional hot chocolate. Sometimes it's like Radioactive city in that work kitchen with all the microwaves droaning away at the same time probably damaging our brain cells with their cooking power.
Also watched the excellent 'The Matador' starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear at the weekend. Very enjoyable movie again with great characters. Brosnan played a blinder. A hired aging hitman stressed out with age, anxiety and maybe even guilt alongside Kinnear's straight guy salesman. I wasn't solely just sitting watching tv all weekend by the way. It just sounds like it... but the fact I have to drive whilst holding the door at my right shut is a definate hindrance.
I was hoping to get out on to the Scottish hills this weekend but it looks like work is going to get in the way of that now! It may have to wait till next week. Harry said he's going to pick an easy hill for us to climb. 'Easy'? Why easy? Does he think I'm not up to it? It must be about three years since my last Munro walk mind you... Ben Vorlich. 3232 ft high. That was a great day but tiring. Towards the end of the walk I think I was actually tumbling down the hill rather than walking.
Off work for a week next week though so hope to see some of the fringe in Edinburgh. There'll be plenty of walking then.
Claire's just left with a piece of lasagne for Martin. Hope you enjoy it mate, that was my dinner for tomorrow!