And the WINNER is.............

WOOOOOHOOOOOO!  

👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻

Douglas Stuart just won the Booker prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain.  Did I mention he is from Glasgow, Scotland?  And that he is only the second Scottish author to attain this prestigious award?  I am beaming with pride with all of my Glaswegian compatriots.  

I was on zoom with my brilliant bookclub babes when this was announced, because of course I was, and only found out right upon hanging up.  Which then started a maelstrom of texts about my proud brethren.  These ladies that I love with all my heart, who had just helped me bake some scones that turned out the best yet in this cranky oven (I know they are different sizes, it was planned, sort of) were there to help me celebrate and planned to choose this as our next book, obv!  

   

It has been a week of celebration all around.  Since it is also the week that I finally got to the Mitchell Library.  The big beautiful building that most go to to research their heritage.  It hasn't been open, but recently came back, yet is only to shut down again.  But I managed to get there in between all of the covid chaos!

They won't let you in the front door, but here is the back door, full of scaffolding and severed legs! 

I imagine walking in the front door is amazing with a beautiful reception hall, but I have yet to see that.  The inside was blocked off a bit, but this was the area I hung out in.   

This is how I feel lately!

BUT, my favourite thing that happened this week was going to the Waterstones Bookstore to try and procure a signed copy of Shuggie Bain.  Because I totally NEED a first edition, signed copy of this Glaswegian book.  I mean it basically marks my move here.  There was a flush of thrilling rush from my WestEnd Girl's Club (yup, I have two new friends and am meeting my tribe!!!!).  They got me thinking that I could actually get the book.  They told me where and around when the signed copies were coming in, so I showered and got determined to give it the old college try.  

When I got to Waterstones on Byre's road, the place was packed with people milling all about.  With little time on my hands and my most American bottom line style, I walked up to a worker and specifically asked for the book.  At this time, I noticed a gentleman, standing near to me, craning to listen in on my conversation.  "Excuse me, do you happen to have Shuggie Bain?"  I proferred.  "Not yet, but they are supposed to be coming in anytime." she answered.  "Should I go and ask at the desk?"  I countered.  "Sure." she replied nonplussed and moving back to her shelving of non-Shuggie Bain books.  Much to my horror, and complete shock, eavesdropping man, who was closer to the desk than I, moved to get in line before me.  I'm thinking this is rude, but maybe he will see the error of his ways and I gave him the out when I asked, "Are you in the queue" (for I am trying to use the correct wording since there is no way I will get the dialect right).  "Yes," he replied and added somewhat sheepishly, "I'm after the same book as you."  Now I'm full out fuming.  Feeling like I'm back in corporate America as this white male over 40 has not only used my question to get an answer, then with full out audacity, gets in front of me in line to get the book EVERYONE in this bookstore, never mind city, wants.  

SERIOUSLY!  

What a tool.  

Once his turn comes up, which is right before me, as a reminder, he asks at the desk when the Shuggie book is coming in.  She says to come back in an hour, so he leaves, but I shit you not, stays to linger and listen to when I go up to the front desk.  So I delay a bit, exhausted with this impertinence, and I start to talk to the bookseller, as shyster man starts to leave the store.  

I ask her, "I heard you say (now I'm the eavesdropper - turnabout is fairplay) that the Shuggie Bain book is coming within the hour, yet unfortunately I cannot be here then, do you have a waiting list where I can pick it up later tonight before closing.  Now this is an important point, we are going back into lockdown tonight at 6pm in Glasgow (it is 1pm now) and bookstores will not be open again until Dec 11 at the earliest.  She says, sure, and rustles around in her pockets to come up with an errant scrap of paper to write on.  It is looking highly unlikely that this will lead me to a book later, but it is all I've got.  Luckily, rude man has left the building by now.  As I tell her my name and start to spell instead of speak the full name C.A.I.R.N as in Nancy and S as in Sam, she stops and says.  "That's my surname!"  to both of our utter delights.  She says it is rare here, but she knows some Cairns' in the south side of Glasgow.  I mention that we are surely related and we both have a great laugh, through our respective masks.  And then as if direct from God, like manna dropping down from the heavens, a fellow co-worker comes to the desk and drops off 10 copies of signed Shuggie Bain hardbound books!!!!  10 signed copies.....what in the literal F*&$?  What joy and euphoria I feel!  What amazing luck!  My goodness, here is the book, what have I done to deserve such a beautiful gift?  My next question without hesitation is 'can I buy more than one?'  I mean we are almost Cairns sisters at this point!  To which she says, "No," but not unkindly at least.  I hardly care (so sorry to you all who were thinking that you were getting it for Christmas), I am just thrilled that I got a copy.  I take a quick photo for the West End Gals and tell them to hightail it to the bookstore.  I then double wrap it in plastic, to be safe in my cloth backpack (because if it isn't raining now, it surely will be soon), and go on my merry way with a spring in my step.  Only to realize a block down the road, good thing that man was being so selfish, as if I had been first in line before him, I surely wouldn't have gotten the book!

so the real winner is.........

Ms. book reading Cairns

Happy reading everybody

ps.  That is my copy at the top of this blog, sitting on the kitchen table, ready to be wrapped and put under the tree for Christmas day.  Earmarked for none other than MOI!  

Halloween Walking Tour + Glasglow

 Jackson:

This weekend, my Mom and I went on a halloween walking tour. It actually took place the night of Friday the 13th so it was a perfect time for a scary walking tour around the city. We started off at the Glasgow Cathedral which is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland. We got to see the cathedral at night as well as the Glasgow Necropolis (meaning "city of the dead") behind the cathedral up on the hill. 

Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Necropolis

We walked down high street which is the oldest street in Glasgow. We learned about former prisons and public executions that took place in Glasgow, apparently they were quite popular at the time. We learned about a certain public hanging where over 80,000 people attended! We heard past stories of vicious murderers and learned that many street names in Glasgow were named after slave owners. 

We ended the tour at the high court in Glasgow. 

The next night, all of us went to Glasglow with Levi's friend Cameron. It took place at the Glasgow botanic gardens so we picked up Cameron on our walk there. When we got into the gardens after waiting in line, we began our walk through the Glasglow experience. There were a ton of colorful lights and speakers set up all around and it looked really cool. Near the beginning of the walk there were a ton of small torches stuck into the ground and a huge moon hanging from a tree.

Next we saw a ton of pumpkins that were carved by different schools around Glasgow. There were some huge pumpkins also. There were a ton of skinny lights above and all over the park, and spirals of circular lights that we got to walk through.

We continued until we reached a place where we could roast some marshmallows around some fire pits they had all together.  Which they called s'mores, but there were no graham crackers in site.

We continued and ended up under a tent and in a field there was this spaceship looking craft with smoke coming out of it. Around the edge of the field and path were a lot of automated lights that would shine all over the place and it looked really crazy.  You can see these lights from our Flat and all over the city, which was cause for alarm when it started and people didn't know what was up.  

Glasglow ended with a view of the Glasshouses with a ton of hearts covering the lawn.

It was such a fun week and was awesome to get out of the house and do something social!  

kitty crocker's week in review

What would a week be without having another burned banana bread to discuss?  Seriously, this oven, I can't imagine it is user error?!?!  🤷‍♀️😉 but I am happy to report it was still completely devoured in less than 24 hours.  Jackson was so dear when he said he liked it better that way.  Next time, it will be banana bread muffins, those have to be easier not to burn, right???  I don't know, but I still may have that skill.  I'll certainly keep you posted.    

The week started off with Crazy Sexy Chili ala Kris Carr which is a favourite of mine, but takes forever to make.  I think I have enough for the month now in the freezer.  

Also, Jackson stepped right up to make one of Levi's favourites, shrimp scampi, all by himself as Levi and I did parent teacher conferences on line.  5 minutes per teacher, when is that ever enough time?  But back to Jackson and his amazing chef skills.  It was absolutely fab!

We ended with a surprise and a new favorite dish for Levi and Jackson.  Although Friday's are normally free, I attempted to find something to use up the ground beef we had leftover.  I googled for help and came up with cheesy ground beef quesadillas that now Levi purports as his fav dish.  

I have taken to making a meal plan at the beginning of each week.  I barely even know myself anymore!  My favorite part of cooking now, other than the great food (if I do say so myself), is all of the 'reading' I am doing.  I continue to listen to book after book with all of my time in the kitchen.  Life is good!

Have a delicious week friends,

kc  

ps.  do I have to sharpen my knives all of the time?  I mean is that a thing?  Or do you think they are just cheap knives?  Inquiring minds want to know.......  

What a week...

That was a stressful week!!!  I don't know about you, but I'm overjoyed that it is over!

YUP, this is what it came down too!  This was Tuesday, election day.  

It seems that I really like rocking chairs, as the week gave no respite to me from worrying.  

After finishing two books, I turned to a lengthy one.  Anything to keep my mind occupied.

And then I started this.  😛

But have no fear, I ate enough to do multiple Kitty Crocker entries!!  Starting with eating all of the leftover halloween candy!  

Levi

This week was fun, I got to witness the election for next president of America and I got to do military activities with my group in CCF. This week after school finished, and CCF began, students got into formation as usual and got our uniforms inspected, mine was fine and I passed the test. After that, we got to go to the field and paint our faces green, black, and brown to try to blend in with the environment like trees and sticks. After we were done with that, we split into teams and hid in the trees and bushes and had the other half of our group look for us.  We did that 2 times per each side and I wasn't found in the first round or the second. (this mama was so proud of his accomplishments!)  We had been learning about SSSSS and M, which is an acronym for all the things you need to remember when hiding on the battlefield. Some were Surface, Silhouette, Shadow, and Movement. You cannot have shiny surfaces showing, like metals because the enemy would see the glint. You want to lay on grass or straw, not rocks. You should also manage your composure so your breathing is steady and won't give away your position. It was really fun, except for when I got home it took a while to wash off the paint on my face. This week has been very fun and I look forward to my 4 day weekend coming up on the 27th!

kitty crocker's cooking korner🧑🏼‍🍳

The oven and I are still not on speaking terms.  It continues to try and burn everything that I bake.  It is a temperamental beast!  Now what it doesn't understand is that burning is the old Kitty, NOT the new and improved Kitty Crocker, so we are gonna have to rectify this, mark my words, your days are numbered. Thankfully I have two willing children that are used to burned meals, and they eat everything up all the same.  🤪 

While I take this as a challenge, I almost cried with relief when Bookclub Gail soothed, "baking is really hard and exacting."  I've never been so thankful for the sympathy of my efforts & disastrous creations.  I can always depend on these friends to make me happy and feel like less of a failure!  Thx Gail!!

So the week was filled with firsts.  I made some lamb chops, and other than the moaning of working around the bone, they were a hit (mostly with Jackson though to be honest).  I have never gone through as much butter as we have 'whilst' living here!

I also tried blueberry muffins with yogurt, a new recipe, and those were a hit with the boys.  My secret is to freeze the blueberries first.  This not only helps them to 'not sink' to the bottom (at least that is what I've been told), but also prevents them from getting eaten in the fridge before I'm ready to 'stand up to the oven' and bake.  

I also managed a seabass, couscous, and sweet potato meal.  This was so easy and by far my favorite of the week.  (& more melted butter!)

Tonight I am attempting an eggplant curry.  Pray for me!  (okay, spoiler alert - it was just so-so).  Jackson and I liked it enough, but Levi disliked the eggplant.  I still like the vindaloo better, and Levi wants chicken!  I didn't have the cardamom it called for, so I've got to go and search that out now.

  

Three Month Check up

Did you know that we have been here 3 months already?!?!  Crazy how time flies.  We are really getting to know the city on foot and have found some awesome mom & pop grocery stores.  Walking to TK Maxx is awesome and dangerous for me, but the best part is watching the bond grow between the boys.  Being 5 years apart in age, they haven't had much in common in the past, but the tide is shifting.  Jackson and Levi often head out together at night to go to the local Sainsbury for sweets.  And this past Friday night, Jackson helped Levi with homework for a couple of hours.  Then the rough housing that seems more prevalent now as they grow more into the same size.  Maybe covid has helped, since we can't have friends over?  Whatever the reason, it is a new phenomenon and it has really warmed my heart to see this bond grow between them.  I'm ever grateful!    

Thanks for getting out and voting y'all.  I don't even care who you voted for, because I love you no matter what.  Life is good and I'm ready to have a great week and to finish that really lengthy book.   And of course, to challenge the oven to another duel, and maybe try NOT burning the next banana bread.   🤷‍♀️

ciao rigazza,

Kitty

 

PS.  Kamala, girl, you rock!   💪

A Scottish Halloween

It was a windy and blustery day, that was as ominous as it should be!  Our latest pumpkin was ready and I ceremoniously burned the seeds to make the day authentic!  I dressed up as Kitty Croker, and ate a lot of candy.  It wasn't our normal party on College Ave, but it was fun and spooky, nonetheless.  

Levi:  For my Halloween I got to hang out with our neighbors kid Emil (who is 5 years old) and played some games with him, Emil was over for about 2+ hours and it was fun playing games with him. I also got to enjoy the rain and pumpkins scattered across the steps of peoples homes. There were some pretty unique ones out there. It was rainy, but nobody can trick or treat anyway so it was one of the best Halloweens I've had! Since I clean bathrooms in the house I get paid and got to buy myself some candy at the local Sainsburys.  This Halloween was an inside one but that didn't mean it was boring, we also carved a pumpkin that was white! That was really fun to see and put out by our door. Me, Jackson and my mom got to converse with the neighbors for a while and learn about their new floors and other things like that. Nothing much happened but it was still a very nice relaxed Halloween. I can't wait until next weekend!

Jackson:  This halloween was a quiet one but we still got to carve a few pumpkins. We started off with one my Mom made which was a fish which was quite good looking:

Next we tried an evil pumpkin using toothpicks as the teeth which turned out looking quite vicious. Then a happier looking one with crooked teeth. We used all of the pumpkin seeds and roasted them of course.

Here's our evil pumpkin after a while, the mould comes quick in this country (and yes, that is how it is spelled here):

On halloween day we tried to make a harry potter pumpkin with the glasses and the lightning scar. It turned out pretty good and we placed it on the outside stairs next to our neighbors. 

This is Emil, our lone guiser - it is not called trick-or-treating here.  And they don't actually carve pumpkins, it seems they carve turnips?!?!  Unless somebody is pulling our leg??

kitty crocker's hallowed feast

Besides the burnt pumpkin seeds that I actually ate completely, I attempted a thai green curry dish with coconut milk.  I had found water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts, to help it along.  I paired it with some lovely Scottish water from the tap, gummy sweets from our neighbors, and a corn bread mix direct from Michigan.  It was a hit with the boys and enough to freeze for another meal in the future.  

All in all, it was a fabulous Halloween!  Complete with a visit from Batman himself.  

And just like that, it is November, and I kid you not, Levi has been playing Christmas music ALL DAY!

smh,  Kitty

RIP Sir Sean Connery -  the pride of all of Scotland

(or maybe this was just his halloween guise one year?!?)