My head is spinning in so many directions today, I just don’t know where I’m going. It appears my brother and SIL have decided to give their marriage another go after being separated for almost 2 and a half years. He has never stopped loving her - that much is clear. However, she is the one who broke the marriage apart in the first place and was seeing someone else. Now, it appears the other guy is out of the picture and my brother is back in favour. I don’t know what to make of this but I guess there’s not a lot I can do about it either. It’s his life and if this is what he wants, then he’ll do what he feels necessary.

My parents don’t know yet and I have to pretend I don’t know either when he finally calls them later tonight. I’m not sure how they are going to take it because they have been very bitter about my SIL in the past. However, they will definitely not be happy when they find out the family are going to Florida in October since we weren’t allowed to take the kids with us last year. That is going to be a real kick in the teeth for them.

Now, I’m wondering if things are going to be the same as before when we only saw the kids when it suited her or if she will be more flexible. Without doubt, things are going to be awkward for a while.

I’ve mentioned in many of my posts that genealogy is one of my biggest addictions and it is something I used to share with Grandma when she was still with us. Recently, the website, Scotland’s People, updated their online birth and death records to 2006. You can do a search but you can’t access the images until the 100 year rule is over. Of course, ever curious, I couldn’t wait to play with the new records and it is so frustrating not being able to see the images which give you that all important info. It’s very strange to see your info there!

I really don’t know much about my paternal grandparents and I was shocked to realise Papa was 16 years older than Nana! I don’t suppose it makes that much difference when you consider many older men marry much younger women but it is the mysterious aspects that intrigue me. You see, Nana was pregnant when she married Papa and the child wasn’t his! I get the impression that it wasn’t a secret because my mum has often told me that everyone made such a fuss when my dad (the second child) was born and did not accept his older brother. My mum says Granny Emily Jane (someone I never met) was a total bitch about the whole thing and everyone thought she was an evil old cow. (Not my words!)

However, I’ve discovered Papa’s father, Henry, was actually married twice and Papa is actually the son of his first wife, Annie, who died. It’s so sad because all of Henry and Annie’s children died young, except Papa, of course. My dad and his brothers never knew about this and never realised Emily Jane was actually their step gran! I’d love to know the story behind it all! Nana was also illegitimate which makes it next to impossible to trace her line back any further. Her father was listed as James McKenzie, a farmer, but do you know how many men have that name in Scotland?

I also got quite a jolt when I noticed that my older brother was also listed. I knew my mum had lost two babies before me and that one of them had been named Robert but I wasn’t really expecting to see his name there at all since he was born so early. It’s a strange thing to think about how they decide whether a premature delivery should be registered or not. I haven’t told Mum that his name is there because she doesn’t really need to know that.

We’ve had another few days of torrential rain and winds which have been causing devastation up and down the country. Yesterday, the rain never stopped at all and as you can see from the video below, the River Carron which runs through my home town, actually burst its banks and many roads had to be closed.

River Carron

There was a brilliant photo of cows swimming to safety after the River Beauly burst its banks up North in the newspaper this morning. I was hoping to find a copy of it on the net but no luck so far.

Good evening, honorary Scots, and welcome to Caledonia’s Burns Supper. Burns Day has been celebrated in Scotland for over 200 years and of course, as with every tradition, the way in which it is celebrated is open to interpretation. However, key elements are usually the same and since the cyber cruise is famous around the world, we had pipers queuing up to take part. After extensive auditions, Hamish The Piper was chosen. So, laddies and lassies, please take your seats. (Claudie, keep your hands of the piper’s kilt!)

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I’ve been thinking about doing a scrapbook for a while now and I bought a kit a few months ago to make a start. However, I soon discovered that I didn’t really have that many good quality photos and I didn’t want to start printing a load of digital photos. After my parent’s Ruby Wedding last year, I was kicking myself for not having thought about scrapbooking their wedding photos as it would have been the perfect present. The only snag was the photos are all mounted on cardboard which would mean cutting them back and that was something I didn’t want to go ahead and do without permission. Anyway, I spoke to Mum earlier on and she says I could do what I want with them! So, I’ve just spent a fortune ordering an album and other stuff to decorate it. I can’t wait for it to arrive!

I actually have custody of the photos. LOL! It’s a long story but my parents nearly divorced when I was young and my mum tried to destroy her wedding pictures. My aunt stopped her and confiscated them. She had them at her house for years before she came across them again and passed them on to me. We also found a load more when we were clearing Grandma’s house in 2006. I’m really keen on presenting them in a positive way because they are the only photos I have featuring my dad’s parents and one of my great grandmothers. My dad’s family weren’t big on photos and they really didn’t have the money for them anyway.

K and Company, my favourite crafting people, also have this fabulous scrapbook set suitable for family trees and I think it is so beautiful. I’d love to do something like that but I really don’t have enough photos to warrant it! It must be fabulous to have cupboards full of old photos of your family and I don’t think some people really appreciate the treasures they have tucked away!

For many it was the first complete week back at work but it also proved to be one of the most difficult. On Tuesday night, the wind started to pick up and throughout the night it became gale force. I hardly had a wink of sleep the whole night as it rattled around the house and lifted stuff from the gardens. By the time, I forced myself to get up for work, the wind was still howling and it was so strong, it was literally suffocating me. Most of the houses where I live escaped unharmed but houses actually collapsed in some areas of Glasgow! Wow!

The new love for having a trampoline in the back garden also proved to be a hazard as many escaped their moorings (if they had any) and were blown across roads. Beware of low-flying trampolines was the latest traffic warning. Of course, fallen trees was also a problem and many roads were closed until they could be cleared. The biggest problem was in the closure of the Forth Road Bridge due to storm damage and that meant badly congested roads everywhere. Since my home town is located in the heart of Scotland, we suffered particularly badly and it took me almost an hour to get home in what should have been a 10 - 15 mins journey. It steadily got worse as the evening progressed.

The wind finally died down the following day and then it was back to freezing cold temperatures and ground frost. I had to cross the Forth Road Bridge yesterday through thick fog and it was so bizarre not being able to see anything! By the time we got to the other side, it was all gone and sunny!