Transformation

Besides a "Welcome to Scotland, Nana and Scott" chalked sign, there is little physical evidence to remind us of Scott and Nana's visit. The house has been transformed into a winter wonderland! Enjoy the pics.

Living Room - before


Living Room - After

In flight

They're somewhere over the Atlantic or Greenland just now. Not quite home, but far from here. There are little reminders all through the house that they were here - the Welcome Nana and Scott sign on the chalkboard, the mostly eaten bag of Christmas cookies, the coffee table in its nighttime-making-room-for-the-sofabed position, the pile of one pound coins, the misplaced hairspray and abandoned cups of coffee - all signs that will disappear so quickly as the house is put in order again.

There's a fine line between them being here and being away. This morning I woke up and they were here. It's almost too much for the mind to grasp to realize the distance between us now when their visit felt more like the status quo. No matter how hard we hold on, dragging our feet, and savoring the moments, time pulls us forward. These are days the pond really feels like the ocean it is.

I'll be posting the entries to fill-in the gaps soon. Maybe not so important for following the journey that now can be told in person, but it will be a good excercise for my memory and theirs and a lovely reminder of a priceless visit. Thanks for visiting Scott and Mom!

Edinburgh

The banquet for our work went really well on Saturday night, and it was a great relief. Frank & I had been a little bit tense in preparation as we both had to speak that night and as it was the first fundraising banquet for an outreach coming up, we wanted it to go well so that folks would be encouraged. Nana and Scott has pitched in helping to get ready for it as well and it was the first time they had seen us in action for work, and even speaking in front of people. So it was a really special time to share with them.

Since we were a little peopled out and not moving so fast after a long journey down and back the night before, we missed church that morning and instead headed out to Edinburgh for lunch. Scott had developed an affinity for Costco hotdogs so we went there first since we wanted to do a shopping trip there for our Christmas presents anyway. It was a quick lunch and even quicker shop (got some new guest towels and mattress pad for the guest room so you can add a star to our hospitality level!) because we had to get cross town for Scott to go to his first real-life European football (soccer) match! It was the Hibs versus the Rangers at Hibernian and set to be a great match.

When we got closer to the stadium, there were streams of people so Scott and I jumped out and made our way to his gate. We had an extra ticket, so I was supposed to stand outside the gate and wait for our co-worker to come and claim the ticket so Scott didn't miss anything. Unfortunately, due to the heavier traffic on a Saturday than we expected, Scott had missed the kick-off, but not much more of the action. He said it was an amazing experience. No one, not even the ladies there, talked about anything but football the entire time. There was a 6 year old kid near him who knew so much about what was happening, and all the players that he was astounded. The language around him was rough, to be sure, even from the older folks, and there was a chant for everything. The crowd seemed to pick out players and referees to harass and would chant whenever that player touched the ball. And thankfully, for Scott being in the home crowd, the Hibs won, 2-1.

The indicate what a serious business football is here, there were heaps of policeman guarding the streets and all the entry gates as the people came to the stadium. I was outside waiting for our co-worker (who got lost and never arrived) and I saw a few folks kicked out for being too drunk. Scott said no alcohol was sold at the game and afterwards they emptied the Away stands and then let them out, directing them down specific streets, keeping them separate from the other fans. Frank had seen, while he was circling with Nana and waiting for me to come back, the street sweepers out once the game started to clean up the streets to keep stray bottles from becoming post-defeat weapons. It was quite an amazing operation!

Cold and sad that the ticket had gone to waste (it never occurred to me that I should have just gone in and enjoyed!!) Nana and Frank and I went to park the car in the city center and do some shopping. It was amazing to walk down Princes Street and see the Christmas lights up and there was even a choir out performing with the castle high above as a backdrop - stunning. Never before with visitors had we spent so much time out in the dark, seeing all the lights of Scotland. It added a whole other worldly experience.

We made a fun stop in Lakeland, Nana said that made up for our short visit to Costco as Frank escorted her around to discover their fun stock, and I provided some Starbuck's to warm us up and a cookie to fight the "sinking spells." For dinner we were reunited with Scott at Pizza Express, a fun and classy but not expensive pizza chain, and we heard all about the game and enjoyed our final celebratory meal together.

Afterwards we came home and packed, putting all the treasures lovingly in the suitcase. Nana's Christmas present was that I packed for and she just had to watch! I then kept her and myself up way too late as we sat on her bed and solved more of the world's problems. I don't think any of us wanted to go to sleep and have to count our last night.

Cleaning Day

Saturday is traditionally cleaning day around these parts, but today will have to do with a quick tidy. The dishwasher is still working though. I think it's been running non-stop for 2 weeks now. Breakfast was grits and eggs, made by my momma here in Scotland. Yum.

We are off early this afternoon for Kilmarnock to go to a fundraising event for work. Both Frank & I have to speak so we are gathering our thoughts, me here, and Frank down in West Kilbride. We'll reunite this evening and all come home together tonight. Tomorrow we'll do a whirlwind trip through Edinburgh which means Costco and Ikea for three of us and a football match for guess who.

Hope it goes well tonight, and we'll talk to you tomorrow. There's not so many more sleeps until they leave. *sniff*

Friday, the Day After

Sleepy from turkey, the house was quiet when I got up and contemplated breakfast. Not sure I wanted to plunge right away into turkey sandwiches, I surveyed the fridge and hatched a post-Thanksgiving leftover plan. We had some leftover butternut squash soup - in went the remaining pumpkin from the pies and some leftover cream. We had a pineapple leftover from the fruit themed party we had thrown last week - under the knife it went. We had, of course, leftover turkey and some cheese from the casseroles, a wee bit more pumpkin, and one hunk of thawed pie crust - voila! Thanksgiving Miracle Quiche. Your guests think you're a genius when you pull it out of the oven. Or perhaps it's their gluttonous stupor...

Thanksgiving Miracle Quiche

One pie crust
Whisk 5 eggs &
1/4
cup to 1/2 cup milk or cream
add handful of cheese and
a tablespoon or two of (cooked) pumpkin
spice to taste - mixed
herbs, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne

Layer turkey, green beans (or
whatever veg you have), steamed leeks or sauteed onions into pie crust and
pour egg mixture over it.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

After brunch, we prepared for some errands in Alloa and when we left we discovered that the hills (the Ochils) were covered in snow. We'd only managed a few rain/snow showers in Clackmannan and nothing had stuck so far. The hills were gorgeous. We ran the few errands we needed to quickly and then I drove toward the hills with a coffee shop stop planned as a bit of surprise.

When we arrived in Tillicoultry at a crossroads, the hills were directly in front of us and coffee shop options, all nice, were either to the right or left. After a quick, choose your fate, vote right or left we headed right. It was a divine choice. After Nana stopped panicking as the snow and slush grew heavier on the sides of the road and some on the road I think even she enjoyed the incredible scenery. I hadn't realized the road would grow steadily higher on our way to Glendevon through Dollar and yet it did and we were quickly in a winter wonderland. Hills and valleys stretched out on both sides of us and were blanketed in a good covering of snow. I got us safely to the Tormaukin Inn in Glendevon - a tiny hotel outpost with a warm pub/restaurant tucked in the hills - and we trampled through the slush toward the fire. It was the perfect stop to enjoy the change in weather.



Afterwards we shopped some in Alva right at the other end of the Hillfoots in the mill shops there and Scott watched a short history of the "wee" county of Clackmannanshire and its history of industry including coal and textiles. For dinner it was lots of casserole leftovers, a failed attempt at lighting a British Christmas pudding, and then a video'ed interview of Nana and her life. Nana and I then crawled on her bed and tried to solve the world's problems. Somewhere in the evening, I even managed to address my newsletters. Someone's gotta work around here...

Pictures...

After T'giving games








The table set








Nana and Becky in the kitchen









Scott helping for Thanksgiving










First of many bus rides to get home from Belgium








Scott climbing the dike in Holland

Glen walk at Seamill

Turkey, stuffed. People, stuffed.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. All the casseroles came together splendidly - broccoli, sweet potato, cornbread dressing, mashed potato with herbs, squash (with zucchini instead, lovely!) - and with cranberry sauce, green beans and turkey and pecan, pumpkin, apple and mince pies for dessert, it was quite a meal! We were joined by Mari, a lovely Atlantan now working in Scotland and our friends Andy and Gyda from church.

Frank left early to go to some meetings we had failed to realize were scheduled for today and he'll be away until Saturday when we see him again. Scott and I are catching up on some internet time and Nana has been napping, interrupted only by trips to the fridge...

Highlight of the day was snow falling in big chunky flakes and being blasted horizontally past our upper floor windows right as we sat down to eat! It's the first "snow" of the year!

Happy thanksgiving, everyone!

Back in the swing of things

Today I had to be at a work meeting in the afternoon and Frank and I had to get ready for the meetings and work on Thursday til Saturday. So after a little bit of pottering around in the kitchen with some Thanksgiving prep, Nana and I joined Scott and Frank in Bridge of Allan to see the office and meet up for lunch.

As we drove into Bridge of Allan, we spotted a now very familiar figure walking down the street in a tartan jacket. Very bizarre to see someone you know in a strange context.














After a quick visit to our office, Scott joined us from his morning exploration of BOA and an unexpected breakfast at Clive Ramsay's (he walked into the cafe rather than deli where he was going to get one of their amazing scones) and we walked down the block to the Old Bridge Inn. What a treat! We had a lovely lunch in this very quaint old pub/restaurant by their roaring fire. With its great service, yummy menu (we recommend the Culloden Haddock - smoked with pineapple, tomatoes and cheese on top or the Haddock and chips) and wholly non-smoking air it was a real gem to discover round the corner from our office. Nana described it as a truly Scottish experience.

After lunch, I did a few things at the office, put Nana to work cutting some flyers and found her some space to read a book for a few hours after, and then Scott and I went off toward Stirling so Scott could explore some more and I could go to a meeting. Scott spent more than an hour in the skateboard shop shopping for Ben and also talking football with a local. I think he astonished the salesman with his unexpected from an American knowledge of the local favorite pasttime.

After my meeting, I picked Nana up and we raced home to start the Thanksgiving prep in earnest. When Frank and Scott came home, they shortly were sent out to get a roasting pan and a few forgotten items. Nana and I made lots of casseroles and pies, and basically had everything ready except for the last pecan pie which would go in after we sat down for lunch the next day. We chopped, mixed and chatted, and Nana intermittently sat down in the hall to watch over the action and keep me company. Around midnight, we fell into bed with plans to get up at 7:30 and put in the turkey.

By the way

I'll be posting the Belgium updates in date order, below.