Post Holiday Insomnia

I am experiencing post-holiday insomnia, probably brought on by the seven hour drive back from holiday followed by the frantic unpack. Consequently I slept for about two hours, woke at 2.00 am or something like that, and haven't been back to sleep since. I could probably sleep now, but then who would look after Angus and Isla, and I would become nocturnal. I will just have to slog it out until later. So, in my sleep deprived brain I have decided to make use of the early daylight and catch up on my blog. Forgive any literary mistakes please, excusing them to fatigue.

I haven't been writing much lately, as you have probably noticed. In the interim, Angus has finally left pre-school and is VERY EXCITED about starting year 1. He has loved school so far and came home with a glowing report on everything which didn't involve concentration. Lack of co-operation? Come on, Angus is a born conformist; any lack of co-operation is almost certainly due to him not having heard in the first place or assuming the instructions didn't apply to him. Or he is off in his own little planet: literally, as I have explained before that he is currently interested in space, his obsession with dinosaurs having morphed that way via the asteroid that may or may not have finished them off.

Isla is still adoring Angus, talking far too much, (or singing, or humming), still being charming but also quite defiant at times, smiling when told off. She can be wonderful and cooperative, but loves pushing her luck and seeing how far she can go before she oversteps the boundaries: a healthy two year old attitiude if trying at times.

Despite my backward body clock, we haven't been to a different time zone on holiday, we have been to Torridon in Scotland again. Mind you, with the weather we had, it could have been a different country. From the weeks of drizzle, rain, storms and clouds which left to many of us fantasizing about foreign climes, Scotland was amazing. It is not the most reliable of countries for weather, but we have had an wonderful week and I have actually come back with a tan having spent a day on the beach which even involved swimming (it was really cold if you let your feet go too low!)

Here are a few pics:



We were staying near Sheildaig: a beatiful coastal village, but it has mean midges. Mind you, doesn't most of Scotland? In daylight it llooks charming.

    

Isla developed an interesting technique which seemed to involve unhinging her jaw, enveloping the entire marshmallow and then pulling it off the stick. Sometimes it went wrong.



Cooking marshmallows on the stoney beach near our house became a favourite activity started by Grandma. Both Angus and Isla loved it. The main problem was obtaining decent marshmallows in North West Scotland. The best supply was Lochcarron which is 15 (?) miles from where we were! Angus became quite expert at toasting them to a golden brown, delighting in giving them to Grandma.

Okay, I am going to give up. These photos are driving me crazy - it has taken an hour to do these four. They keep doing weird things and I don't have the sleep quota to work out what I am doing. Combine that with a rediculously slow internet (currently 280kbs on the speed test) and I have had enough. Maybe more to follow.