Foggy

Tranent was in sunshine; Portobello on the edge of the fog ...

That's it!

The original plan was to climb the seven hills (upon which Edinburgh, like Rome, is built) during one calendar year. Somehow it morphed into climbing Blackford Hill once a month. And, this being December, as 2009 draws to a close ...

Back from the vet

The cats have been vaccinated and chipped ...

thereFore I shop

Possibly not the best image for Buy Nothing Day ...

November

As the forecast predicted: bright and breezy ...

Catching the early sun

Slice
Originally uploaded by Glaswegian

Half of the building lit, half of the building in darkness ...

the Observatory in autumn

 
A good day to be on the (blackFord) hill - unseasonably mild, I reckon - bright and clear ...

Words

Funny things - insubstantial, yet powerful ...

Light

 
... looking an other way ...

more darkNess

 
... taken on Gullane Beach ...

Winter is coming

 
... fewer people on the (blackFord) hill ...

Missing

... since Monday ...

QMU

I attended a green computing event last week - then went for a walk, and took this picture ...

no Photo

I should have checked before I left the office. But when I tried to switch on my camera to take a picture of Arthur's Seat - no response - or, rather, an all too brief, insubstantial response. So to-day's ascent of Blackford Hill is being recorded in prose, alone. Fortunately (for me), the wind had abated somewhat, and there was no rain. And I took a music player, listening to Shostakovich - mostly a plodding movement, appropriately accompanying my turgid progress up the hill.

Late August, beginning to feel the cold - autumn is on its way ...

Indicator

Back on top of Blackford Hill - quite breezy ...

It wisnae me

That's all I'm saying ...

too Much

On this hot, muggy day, I chose to turn back at the bottom of Observatory Road ...

Royal Observatory

Royal Observatory
Originally uploaded by Glaswegian

Chose not to ascend Blackford Hill itself to-day, but instead a neighbouring 'top', whence I captured this view ...

Moving on

... or trying to ...

Indicator

Thankfully, apart from an early sprinkling, the rain held off ...

Another view

Managed to ascend Blackford Hill again this week. What started out as a weekly activity has become monthly ...

Novelty

Son appeared downstairs, fully dressed, at a quarter past six this morning, so he's ready to go, and here I am, blogging, holding everybody else up - well, it makes a change ...

No go

Offices no more ...

Finished

A tiring and frustrating day ...

Moving

@Work - our old offices are to become a Learning and Teaching Centre ...

World Autism Awareness Day

To-day, I apologise for a plaintive little post - but I shall say this only once ...

When I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, nearly a year ago, I thought that my diagnosis would unlock resources that would help me through the various difficulties I was experiencing. In one respect I have benefited: I have found riches in the catalogue of Jessica Kingsley Publishers - books within which again and again I find resonance. And personally, I understand myself better. But I have been disappointed that no practical help has been forthcoming.

I am fortunate. I have a full time job, and a family. My impression is that, for those who have neither, there are places to go where people will help. But faced with the challenges posed by trying to cope, I find myself still struggling to craft my own solutions. I probably spend too much time in front of a computer - inside and outside of work - but am grateful for those tools which do make a difference. My latest discovery, through the auspices of computerAct!ve magazine, is the Chandler Project, which allows me to pile all the stuff in my mind into a heap.

But working, parenting adults with AS could do with some help, and find it difficult to go about asking for help ...

The cat

Is less scruffy than he used to be, we're told ...

An injured cat

Who's been in a fight ...

A confused cat

Who doesn't know that the clocks have gone forward ...

An ex building society?

Anxious for news of the Dunfermline Building Society which according to the news websites is about to be broken up, but which according to its own website is still doing 'business as usual' ...

The cat

has made himself comfortable ...

What happened to spring?

On the other hand, though, this is the kind of night when it is especially nice to be indoors and tucked up in a warm bed ...

Another cat picture

Catching the sun ...

Alarm cat

At 5 am precisely, the cat was scratching my bed. I wasn't sure whether he was hungry, or wanted out, so I took some food outside for him (a tactic developed when he was a visitor, and I wanted him to go out). So where has he acquired this sense of time? The only explanation that I can think of is that he hasn't been sleeping rough, but has been spending the night with someone who routinely gets up at 5 in the morning.

To begin with, when he started visiting us, we would make a point of encouraging him to go out in the middle of the evening, with time, as we thought, to find his way home for the night. But frequently, he would be on our window sill so early in the morning that we arrived at the conclusion that he had simply spent the night prowling.

So I wonder if some kind person was giving him shelter. There's been no indication around the town that anybody has lost a cat. I think that he's happy with us. And I'm hoping that when the clocks go forward, I'll reclaim an hour's sleep (or have I got the arithmetic wrong?) ...

Settling in

From our perspective, a week to remember. Our daughter was away at school camp. The cat has started sleeping on her bed, so I wondered how he would react when she returned.

The cat's first week with us hasn't been an unqualified success. He likes to have his breakfast at 5 o'clock in the morning, which is just about bearable during the week, but a disaster on a Saturday ...

Home

We discovered last weekend that the cat who has been visiting us for over a year hasn't an owner (or, at least, we couldn't find anyone who would admit to being his owner). He had been injured, and so we contacted Lothian Cat Rescue, who have been looking after him until yesterday. But yesterday, he became our cat. He wasn't exactly overjoyed to see us when we visited the shelter to collect him, but he's much happier now, although he's making it clear that he intends to remain fairly independent ...

Symmetry

No prizes for the photo

Auld Reekie Express
Originally uploaded by Glaswegian

But a unique occasion - Tornado on its first run to Edinburgh, hurrying through Wallyford Station - at the head of the Auld Reekie Express. For me, it was a short experience - a few seconds as the train rushed by ...

It rained

So I didn't take any photographs, but I did reach the summit of Blackford Hill yesterday ...

snowDrops

Wintrier

I had to be careful of my footing - snow, and mud ...

Perspective

Trig Point

I guess that the star shaped bit is for fixing instrumentation, or was ...

Blackford Hill

The light was incredible - almost horizontal sunshine ...

Little and large

I took this picture last week; but my resolve is holding, and I attained the summit of Blackford Hill again yesterday ...

Tonight, there is wind and rain - it's good to be indoors ...

Thanks for the weather, Heather

Unusually for us, we had a Saturday without commitments, so I thought of climbing Allermuir Hill, in the Pentlands. As the week progressed, however, it became clear that to-day's weather wouldn't be ideal. We went for it anyway, and managed to achieve the top just above Hillend, but it was extremely windy, so we didn't try to go further.

We weren't particularly impressed with the cafe at Hillend, and then had a fraught time shopping at Fort Kinnaird, but we're back home, and not too much damage has been done. But if anyone sees a pink glove somewhere in the Pentland Hills, please let me know ...