A lovely place...

Up early as D and I both had appointments at the opticians for contact lens checks.

D sailed through his but my lenses need tweaking.  I have astigmatism in both eyes so the optician is going to try to get me better fitting lenses.  Tiny change in my prescription.  She will order the new lenses in and have me back to check them again.

From there we headed to Cafe Kisa's for breakfast.  French toast with streaky bacon and maple syrup.  Delicious!   We then went for a wander down the High Street.  There's a newish shop called Mòr that I absolutely love.  Saw a Christmas dec in their window that I fell in love with no you can't have too many Christmas decs!  Won't say what it is as I'm sure I will blip it at some point :-)

From there we went to Grace and Favours, another favourite shop.  Bought a couple of Christmas gifts in there.  

Then we headed the short drive to Cromlix, the beautiful hotel owned by Andy Murray, to buy a gift voucher for Afternoon Tea for Keith and Mairi 30th Wedding Anniversary.  We spent the weekend there for our Silver wedding Anniversary and it's such a special place.  There are plans to expand it.  I hope that doesn't spoil it.

Once home I set about making a large pot of Delia's leek and potato soup.  I love the ritual of chopping the veg and keeping an eye on the gently simmering soup, and of course enjoying the aroma filling the kitchen.

As the soup was bubbling away an exciting delivery arrived...my outfit for the Murder Mystery night we are going to later this month (it's a surprise birthday treat for my best friend)  Twelve of us gathering in a large house in the Scottish Borders, each playing a character and attempting to solve the murder.  

It is set in the 1930s on a train!  My character is Mo Lah, a Canadian dentist :-) I will be wearing black trousers, a white medical coat with a breast pocket full of dental instruments.  I will put fake blood on the coat.  I will also have a pair of pliers!  I ordered joke teeth and will start the evening wearing a pair but they are impossible to talk with so I also bought black tooth paint, so once seated at the table I will remove white fake teeth, to reveal a missing tooth.

Of course I couldn't wait to try out the black tooth paint and put it on one of my front teeth.  I didn't tell D and when he came into the kitchen about 10 minutes later he stopped dead in his tracks.  The expression on his face when I smiled at him was priceless! :-)  Went through to Alan's sitting room to let him see and he laughed so much he ended up having a coughing fit!  Great, that's the reaction I want on the night!

A short while later William, the pool engineer, popped in to check the pool (since it was serviced earlier in the week the water temperature is going down) I answered the door and had a five minute conversation with him.  He then checked (and fixed) the pool and I had another conversation with him and then waved him off.  It was fifteen later before I remembered I still had the bloody tooth paint on!! OMG!  I am mortified!  I thought he was looking at me kind of strangely! Hahahahahahaha!

So soup made and now in the freezer to be served at the family dinner on New Year's Day.  One tick on the festive food prep list :-))

My Murder Mystery character card and me modelling two toothy looks in extras, including the gap look that poor William was subjected to!!  Will reveal D''s character once he has his outfit sorted out :D