Sunday evening

I hope you all had a good weekend? It has passed rather too quickly if you ask me and I am not quite ready to go back to work. It is the same every Sunday evening. The hamster wheel is turning awfully fast at the moment but there is a faint glimmer at the end of the tunnel - Christmas. We'll be off for quite a while then. 

With my feet firmly on the hamster wheel - running - I didn't have a free moment to write a blog post, or read any either but I have high hopes for next week.

Last week was rewarding work-wise but really really tiring. We had a practical week for 65 doctors to teach them how to use microscopy to identify parasitic diseases. I learned a lot, too. I m now quite good at differentiating intestinal worms in stool samples by looking for their distinctive eggs. I have also made progress with telling different malarias apart in blood samples. I know, not a particularly useful skill in Glasgow but it was fun. I am not sure what next week will bring but my guess is, it is going to be far less fun.

The weekend was a whirlwind of activities with Muthaclubbers on Friday night, dog walks, dinner with friends on Saturday night, the Parade Artist art sale (for which I have been saving for months), Sunday sewing session and most importantly of all, Sam's 16th Birthday. He started celebrating on Friday with a single friend and plenty of money to get them teenage sized portions of take away meals. They planned an all-nighter playing computer games but I don't think they managed. The rest of us weren't that involved in his celebrations but Richard managed to cook the roast belly pork Sam had asked for. The Yorkshire puddings that were also on Sam's menu plan were frozen ones from the shop, surprisingly good (but not as good as the ones we had the night before at our friends' house).

The extension work is progressing slowly but steadily and an end is in sight. The worst is still to come, the laying of the floors, but I guess we'll just get on with it. We know have some radiators now and the kitchen has been dry-fitted. Delivery of the bifold doors is scheduled for next week. I have started accumulating bits and pieces to prettify the new part of the house. I know my priorities and it ain't big pots of white emulsion! I am looking forward to showing you my colourful additions to our ever-growing art collection and assorted accessories. 

You guessed right if you thought it was awfully cold in Glasgow. We had several days of sub zero temperatures. My duffle coat came in very handy. I took the photos on my favourite dog walk of the week, the Saturday morning walk. It has now thawed but I am hoping for more of the same. 

I can't think of anything else to write and I think it is time to stare into the middle distance for a while before turning in for the night. Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely week, my friends (new and old).  xx