Hogmanay!

Visitors for Hogmanay arrived throughout the weekend with cars full of goodies.

I was completely exhausted and did not do much but Michael and Pauline cooked and fed us, and Anthony tidied up as we celebrated NYE in a different way than was planned!

I am lucky to have them all around me!

A strange New Year but at lease I was not dead.
Click lovely Vincent for some Hogmanay images.
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Oh Really?

Well that was a time of it!

I was at PRI on 21st for a standard blood test for the high blood pressure and then went for a haircut in Perth with Anthony, only to get an urgent call from the hospital to come in immediately. When I arrived at Ward 4 I was fussed over and plugged into a range of machines and they started to pump litres of fluid into me. Thereafter there were sessions of insulin/glucose to slowly be injected at a rate of 1ml/minute in an attempt to remove the potassium from my kidneys. All this had happened because of the recent increase in dosage of a drug I was on and my heart was in danger of failing as the potassium levels were at 7.7 which allows you to knock at death's door.

The hospital were fantastic, food lovely even though my first night consisted of the night sister waking me twice to say my snoring was keeping everyone awake. Next night my room mates all got issued with earplugs and sleeping pills - oh the shame!

Got out on Christmas Eve after several visits from Ellen and Adam and Anthony and I was glad to be home. Had to return on 27th for follow-up tests, but it looks as if the nasty potassium has gone and I did not have to continue the potassium-free diet. You should look that up as in summary, as the consultant told me, everything healthy had to be avoided like brown bread, vegetables, lentils, coffee, chocolate. Basically everything from a seed or pod or that grew under the soil, including potatoes! What a nightmare!
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Wired up and feeling sorry for myself.

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All of these were going at once…

Adam came with me for my follow-up and we discussed going to the Red Brolly for a small snack (2 bacon rolls each…)
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Clan McInally + weekend

James and Margaret asked if they could begin her birthday celebrations with an overnight in Killiecrankie and we were more than happy to host. Gerry who I have not seen in 20 years came over from Canberra so it was nice to see him and for Anthony and he to chat about their Palestinian experiences. Pauline and her new beau arrived too and it was a full house. We also added Charlie the Apartment Guest to our dinner list and late night drinking…

We sat up far too late on Saturday night with log fires on and then after a long walk to Soldiers Leap came back to have breakfast as by then everyone was awake.

Great night! Click for more…
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A new game

In my old age I have decided to get out and about and have taken up the gentle (!) sport of curling.

I have joined the Toberargan Curling Team and we play and practice in the Dewars Centre in Perth once a fortnight. It is great fun. I have now bought my slippy/non-slippy shoe and broom. I am prepared. The cover for the slippy shoe sole is called a kipper, but it does not smell…
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Bonnetmakers & Dyers 2017

As Anthony was off fact-gathering in Palestine for almost two weeks, life could have been dull but the day he left Killiecrankie I drove him to Edinburgh and then headed to Glasgow as I was heading out that night with GeorgeM, Marie & Tony and Kathleen to the Bonnetmakers & Dyers annual dinner in the Trades Hall. My did we all look smart! I had remembered this time to bring and wear my Fan Maker Liveryman badge on its blue ribbon. The dinner itself was lovely and conversation flowed and then there was a millinery parade from one of the prize-winners - I joined Marie and Kathleen swooning at some of the creations.
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Click image above for more!

What a great night it was, and it was not over! We went to Rab Ha's for a quiet drink afterward which did not last long as we met up with colleagues of Kathleen and dragged them to a nightclub where DaddyG and I danced the night away! Home to Kathleen's at 3am to be woken at 11:00 by Paul delivering Grace…