http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk en-gb thirteenmoons.org.uk 2010-8-31T00:00:00Z thirteenmoons.org.uk http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#74250 The Summer has limped along here at Thirteen Moons. We dont seem to have had much more than the odd day when it was vaguely warm. Our plans and aspirations for outside have been hampered but fortunately for us we have had a string of helpers this Summer. We have a volunteer from the HelpX organisation staying with us at the moment. Confusingly she is also called Dawn We have drawn the distinction between them as Boss Dawn and Slave Dawn....not very politically correct and all that but we never were the best at that. Slave Dawn has been a real asset to Thirteen Moons and for Dawn thats Boss Dawn and I. Slave Dawn has revamped the shop cared for our animals worked....well.....like a slave all for the meagre priviledge of staying in our dogfilled house. As I write the two Dawns are out unsupervised in Elgin and surrounds looking for bargains and escaping the Moons for a few hours. Clare has also been helping out mainly tidying and building outside. She is amazing and a font of ideas and... 2010-8-31 16:02:51 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#71121 It was our great priviledge to be invited to the Queens garden party at Hollyrood Palace in Edinburgh this month. We felt very honoured to have been nominated and then selected to attend. It was also a great excuse for a trip to Edinburgh for us seeing as we havent had a day off in ages. We took the train down and enjoyed the chance just to sit still for a few hours and to be alone for a while. I think we made the right decision as Edinburgh was gridlocked while we were there. We stayed in the centre of the city for one night before the party. We maxed our time there wandering the streets and exploring. It was the first time I had been in a city for a while and after 24 hours I was ready to get back to the country beautiful as Edinburgh is there are just too many folk in yer face The party itself was a strange affair and I did actually have cucumber sandwiches with the crusts off. Dawn and I couldnt help but marvel at the catering facilities put on for several thousand people while w... 2010-7-23 23:49:01 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#68787 Warm long days in Scotland are a delight. It sometimes seems that in this part of the world it has forgotten that it should get dark at night. Long days are great but also mean there is no excuse for putting your feet up. The jobs just keep piling up think and fast. Dawn and I have been struggling to keep on top of things as Thirteen Moons gets busier animls keep having babies and my nursing job keeps me on the go. We got to a point where we have had to say enough is enough....this isnt really fun just now. We were working so hard but feeling like we werent getting anywhere. So we have had to decide what we do.......do we quit let all this go........Damn you life you wont defeat us that easily So our alternative has been to look for more help around the place. To that end we have taken on a bit more help. Shona and Mary have joined the Moon Team. Both local ladies who not only help aboot the hoose but also are getting Dawn and I up to scratch with our Doric the regional dialect here ... 2010-6-25 04:28:31 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#65891 We were very honoured to be asked to host the wedding reception of Adam Taylor and Lesley Ford at Thirteen Moons on 15th May 2010. This was a new departure for us even though Dawn and I had our Handfasting ceremony in the Mill and also Emma and Ian had their binding ceremony at the summer solstice last year. This was to be the first semicommercial wedding we would host. Adam and Lesley arranged for a magnificent marquee to be erected by North of Scotland Marquees and the grounds of Thirteen Moons were transformed into an idyllic rural setting for their celebration. A hog roast was provided by a local butcher and flowers and music were sourced locally. The couple were determined that not only would their dy be special for them and their guests but also they wanted local businesses to benefit as well. This was exactly the ethos we promote at Thirteen Moons. The marriage took place at the beautiful St.Rufus church in Keith then the wedding party was piped to Keith Station where the Keith... 2010-5-22 10:11:35 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#61042 Tomorrow we have two guests coming to stay for a few months...we are getting two Tamworth piggies from Jim. This time we are going to be confirmed Fair Weather Pig Owners.......these two boys will join us in the Spring and say au revoir in the Autumn. We hope to have our piggies butchered and be available for sale later in the year so let us know if you are interested in some Thirteen Moons Magic Pork. The sun has been shining and we have been falling in love with this place all over again. Tonight we took Rhum and Magnifico for a wee walk up the hill. Twas really lovely and peaceful apart from Magnifico alternating between immobility and kicking his heels up and trotting down the road. The ducks and hens have been laying eggs again. The Spring is here. 2010-3-21 20:01:16 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#60678 We are open Hurrah I hear you cry......about time too Our Christmas break just went on and on curtesy of the worst winter for many years here in North East Scotland. We have survived floods snow and ice burst pipes power cuts and pestilence.....well not pestillence really but Dawn did have a nasty cold. It was the ice and snow that really got us. Our track became unpassable except in 4X4s or tractors and even then it was touch and go at times. Eventually the weather improved and we set an opening date for 2nd March. We had a Press day on the 1st which was well attended and the spin off was a couple of great articles in local papers and the chance to tell local people what we are up to here at da Moonz. We are so glad to be open again and seeing some familiar faces again and meeting lots of wonderful new people who excite and inspire us. Our other big news is that we have embraced the Social Enterprise structure for Thirteen Moons. We have appointed a Board of Directors an Advisory pa... 2010-3-16 21:56:26 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#57570 The thaw came and went and now we are back under the white stuff yet again. We have a horrible sense of Deja Vue as the fields disappear under a white blanket yet again and our poor animals shiver. Anyone who says we have not been through a proper Keith Winter may suffer a severe sense of humour failure on our part. While the shop has been shut Dawn has been making stocks of marmalade and chutneys and we have been planning for our reopening on the 2nd March. Our plan is to open 6 days a week Tuesday to Sunday 1000 1700 and having Mondays off. Our other big decision is to embrace the Social Enterprise aspect of Thirteen Moons and seek to push on with our social values as core dimensions to our business. We will shortly be opening up membership to Thirteen Moons. By becoming a memeber you will receive a regular newsletter and updates of all the events and happenings at Thirteen Moons and be able to attend our AGM when we will review how our trading year has gone and look forward to the... 2010-2-2 23:59:29 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#55699 We have been snowed in for almost three weeks now. Bella Luke and Liv are still here they were supposed to fly back to London on Hogmany but a combination of snow and ice have cancelled flights. So we are holed up. We have not been able to open Thirteen Moons since Christmas Eve it simply is not safe the car park is under at least 4 foot of snow and we are struggling to even get the doors of the cafe open We also have to consider the build up of snow on the roof which is getting deeper by the day. Times like these are double edged. The scenery is truly stunning the snow gives the landscape a magical quality but at the same time it is causing chaos for the local community. Whilst we make every effort to be a low impact business we are so glad of our 4x4 at times like these. It has let me get to work at Dr Grays and also to get out and do a few errands for friends and neighbours who are truly trapped. It has been great to have Bella Luke and Liv for an extended break. They hav... 2010-1-7 21:58:45 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#55436 18 Eskimo words for snow N.B Since English does not offer the necessary diacritical marks the spelling used here is an approximation. It is based on the Umingmaktormuit Inuit dialect. Since Inuit like German is polysynthetic it strings participles together tacking them on to the root word thus it is difficult to know where to stop. But I have listed 18 clearly differentiable words here. N.B These data are based on a 1979 article in The Straight Dope. akuvijarjuak thin ice in the sea anijo snow on the ground hiko ice generic expression hikuliaq thin ice ivuneq high pack ice kaniktshaq snow generic expression kanut fresh snow without any ice kuhugaq icicle manelaq pack ice maneraq smooth ice for the skating fans nahauliq snow bunting nilak freshwater ice peqalujaq rather old ice pugtaq drift ice qanik falling snow quahak fresh ice without any snow tsikut large brokenup masses of ice blocks tugartaq firm winter ice And of coarse which is NOT a typo kani... 2010-1-4 02:50:41 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#54266 Busy times at Thirteen Moons as we move towards the festive season. Dawn has bookings for over 50 Christmas lunches before the big day and Im sure we will be sick of the sight of turkey by the time we sit down for our lunch on Christmas day. The shop is looking fab with loads more gifts arts and crafts and clothing now in stock for some exceptionally talented local people. If you are looking for something a bit special and unique you will be spoilt for choice just now. Our pottery class has finished for a month or so. I will miss the Saturday morning gang and all the hilarity that accompanied the class. Their creations are being fired on the 17th so we are all looking forward to see them glazed and finished. However there is never a dull moment here and we have hosted a Soul Buddies workshop for kids and adults where old pairs of socks and gloves are transformed into crazyimaginative dolls and puppets. We also have had Sun Fyre offering Tarot readings and we have appointments avail... 2009-12-10 07:40:52 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#53407 2009-11-25 22:23:09 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#52426 Winter is here its official the clocks have gone back and we are having to scrape windscreens in the morning. This means we have changed our opening timesWe are now open Tuesday Saturday from 1000 1700. Whilst this may mean we lose some business we hope you will understand that it was our beloved huskies that bought us to Scotland and we are setting aside Sundays for racing through the winter season. Our first race being on Sunday 15th November in Culbin forest with the Scottish Siberian Husky Club. Its the first competative race for our pups and we are hoping they will run well. After all the recent upsets with our dogs it will be a relief and also somewhat strange to be out competing again. The business seems to be heading into winter in a fairly healthy state. We have hosted some events for various community groups including the Moray Moot and also a local sled dog group. We are really looking forward to showing The Age of Stupid on Thursday 26th November at 1900. This film is bei... 2009-11-11 20:10:22 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#51267 Samhain or Halloween is upon us and Thirteen Moons is dressed for the season. Oranges and black abound in the shop and our own mini pumpkin patch sits in the hallway. This is how we envisaged Thirteen Moons would run following where we are in the year reflecting the seasons and respecting nature. In the kitchen we have been cooking jams marmalade and chutneys using any excess produce to make delicious treats for the rest of the year. All these are available to buy in the shop and as each batch is hand cut and cooked every jar is unique. Dawn has been teaching some of our younger helpers to make preserves and you will find Royans jars of sunshine marmalade alongside Richards Cheeky Chilli Chelly. Perfect for a treat for yourself or as a gift. Our first advert went in the Knock News this month and we have started running the Pottery class every Saturday with Lindsey teaching small groups of budding potters. We are looking forward to seeing the first fired and glazed pieces from our tal... 2009-10-24 03:15:16 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#49539 There is a definite nip in the air the mornings have been cold and bright and we have been blessed with blue skies for the last few days. Despite my good intentions we have failed dismally to take the yurt down and have decided we will dismantle the beast at the start of November when we have a whole day to do it. In all honesty I do not think Dawn and I have ever been this tired before but it is a strange feeling because we are exhausted but happy enjoying our days in Thirteen Moons and all the great people we have met from all walks of life. As the weather cools so the huskies get eager to run. Dawn has been taking the pups out with Layla and working on getting them fir for the up coming season. It is an extra job but it was the dogs that bought us here to Scotland and we owe it to them to make time in our day for them. HexCruz and Voodoo have been getting faster and faster. We have decided that this year Dawn will run the girls at Aviemore so she is working hard with them and buil... 2009-9-27 21:22:41 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#48897 We are experiencing a bit of a resurgence of Summer over the last couple of days but there is definitely a nip of Autumn in the air. What a welcome relief after the downpours earlier this month. We even had guests sitting outside the last couple of days. Its funny how things go there must be some business academic somewhere who can explain why some days are busy some are quiet somedays everyone wants soup and then on another we only sell scones It is the mystery of running a tearoom and for Dawn and I who have been nurses all our lives it is somwhat baffling. The last couple of days have seen Dawns homemade jamschutneys and preserves fly off the shelves. Maybe it is that Autumn chill that makes people want to hunker down stock up and get ready for Winter or maybe they are just after a quirky Christmas pressie who knows Which brings us to our latest bit of domestic strife As a good husband and business partner I feel I should do all I can to help in Thirteen Moons so when Dawn left j... 2009-9-17 01:30:38 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#48656 Moray has been battered by floods. We made the National news for once as houses were left underwated and the power of nature over man was gain demonstrated. Here at Thirteen Moons we found our kitchen flooded all our fields were under water and our animals were all rounded up and hused in the staeding like some kind of ark. It rained and rained and the rivers burst their banks. People phoned round to see if anyone needed help we met on the bridge to watch the water pouring across the road while cars stopped and turned around or the occaional gungho type would plough through the torrent. It was a terrible day but also it saw the best of people coming out. Neighbours helping each other our landlords sending down tractors and sandbags to aid us. All we could do was stand and watch and wonder how long it would go on for. And ofcourse it eventually did stop and the water levels subsided and slowly things got back to normal. For us it meant mopping up and drying out. Returning animals to th... 2009-9-14 01:18:24 http://www.thirteenmoons.org.uk/page11.htm#48137 We have been open two months today and things have gone really well I think. We have met some lovely people learnt alot and despite all the hard work we have been able to enjoy the ride. Ironically the only reason I have found time to update this blog today is because we have been forced to close due to flooding which has been bad round here closing roads flooding homes and submerging fields. We are thankfully ok and although I am yet to get into the restaurant I think we have escaped significant damage by about 1 inch We have come up with a new slogan for the shop......Thirteen Moons we only close for disasters. Opening Day at Thirteen Moons We have received some lovely comments in our visitors book and we have loved the days when the restaurant fills up and there is a buzz in the place but equally on the quieter days seeing people bringing their books down chillaxing on the sofas and taking their time over a coffee or a Bobby Dazzler trademark pending is exactly how we ... 2009-9-4 13:39:31