Day 2 & 3 Limbo Days

Right, the sun is setting on my 3rd and final Limbo day!  I think it's setting...maybe it's the fog rolling in...hmm.

Anyway, the point is that I managed to make it through 3 days in Glasgow staying upbeat about my situation.  Each day had a main event, and although I probably sound way to structured to some people, having a plan is good for me.  I like knowing that I made good use of my time.

Wednesday was Ikea day!  Yes, I've finally made it to the ultimate furniture store!  I can now join the general populace in shared admiration of the place.  It is very nice, but full of furniture that I will probably never get to buy...since I may never live anywhere near one of their stores.  I'm not gonna lie, that was a bit frustrating.

A Christmas Market

Today was local attraction day.  In every city I visit, my favorite part is exploring the area near where I stay, and doing this has made me really want to try city living someday.  Each neighborhood is almost like a little town in itself once you take a look around, just with better access to things.  We'll see about that goal...

The Big Mouth Coffee Co. in the West End gave me the best Vanilla Latte I've ever had!

Day 1: All the Time in the World

Today was the first full limbo day resulting from my travel woes & so far so good. No major adventures just yet, but I am venturing to Ikea tomorrow, so that should fulfil the adventure expectations of the trip.

So just how did I fill my time, you ask? Here's a quick action packed summary:

8:00am- housekeeping! Yes, that's right, at 8am I woke up to a knock on the door and a man's voice shouting "housekeeping!" Just as a key was turning in the lock of my door, I was conscious enough to yell "HELLO?" A stupid thing to yell, but what exactly is the protocol here?

10:00- the quintessential Glasgow taxi ride from the hotel to the flat. The driver had much to say about many things, but generally stuck to football, religion, woman drivers and the bloody English.

11:30- Chinese at the Buchanan Galleries food court! Nuff said.

2:30-3:30- Bookstore perusing, random window shopping, & trying on clothes I didn't intend to buy.

3:30-4:30- Starbucks, a book & an Irish Cream hot chocolate...it's been 7 years since I last had that pleasure, and I still love it!

4:30-6:30- The Chronicles of Narnia: the Dawn Treader 3D...enjoyed the experience, but definitely didn't judge it as cry-worthy film like more than one fellow audience member did (I'm not kidding!). Interestingly enough, there were no kids and quite a few other solitary movie-goers. By the way, it was my first theatre experience on my own!

6:30-8:00- Headed back to the flat, picked up a Subway sandwich with extra pickles on my way home... dinner!
Now- a Lord of the Rings marathon! I just finished reading the Fellowship of the Ring, so it was just a matter if time really.

I'm sorry if you all were expecting more detail ;)  More to come on the morrow!

To spare my island friends a bit of the intense pain of loss while I'm away,
 I left an ambassador to lend a listening ear.

Ach!

As I sit in a hotel in Glasgow, reflecting on the crazy "adventure" this trip home has turned into, I can't help but compare myself to the dozens of movie heroes and heroines that go to great lengths to make it home for Christmas.  Alright, alright, so the stress of my flight home being cancelled, and having to rebook for Christmas Eve may not be quite up to the calibre of the movies I've seen, but it's really just the beginning.

I have 3 days in Glasgow waiting for my flight home, and a lot can happen in 3 days.  Because I'd booked my island flight separately from the main event, I had to come to Glasgow even though I knew the chance of me leaving tomorrow was very very slim.  But somehow, knowing that a cancelled flight off the island can't stop me now is comforting.  One flight down...

And while I'm counting my blessings...here's another one: I will be staying in my neighbor's "city flat" for my in between days!!!  That's right, at least I will be able to while away the hours for free, and in an awesome location.  

Yes, I would much rather be heading home tomorrow, and am still sad that I will miss those days with my family and friends, but things could be much much worse.  I could be one of those crying girls stuck in Heathrow airport for 3 days that they've been interviewing for the news programs.  

Expect frequent updates as I make use of the £10 Starbucks gift card I bought myself last month :)  Over and out!

The Queen of Candy Necklaces

Here is the Queen of the Candy Necklaces, and she's mine!  A couple weeks ago I visited one of my Gaelic course classmates for a movie night (I LOVE MOVIE NIGHTS!), and this was waiting for me!  Let me give you the dimensions:  2' 4.5" x 3"

I was tempted to eat it straight away, but somehow have managed to leave it alone.  I've decided to save it for a rainy/snowy/cloudy day.  Judging from the recent headlines, that day is coming...and it's coming soon...  This weekend's supposed to be crazy cold and full of precipitation of the frozen variety.  I'm meant to leave the island on Monday to make my way home for Christmas, and I'm getting a bit anxious.

I'm going to make some soup.

Sheep Herding

These days I often say that I live a charmed life.  I said it when I was walking through the beautiful streets of Vienna.  I said it when I was shopping in an outdoor market in the Netherlands and realized that a pair of accordions were in fact following us around town.  I said it after singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music" on a green hill in Bavaria, Germany.  (I'd like to stop here and clarify that I did not sing the entire song, just that part.)

Anyway, today my charmed life moment came when we were confronted with this:

Sheep in the road is generally no big deal around here, I often see a sheep or two wandering in the road. However, an entire sheep herd, complete with 2 sheep dogs and crofter is more unusual.  These sheep were being herded by way of a major road, and the crofter couldn't have been more laid back.  I suspect that our picture taking and grins let him know that we were not feeling inconvenienced.  I'm sure he was relieved.

Now the sheep are on their way...without the sheep dogs?  

The crofter appears to be holding them back...

And here's where we take over!  Yes, we herded these sheep with our Ford (The Green Machine) for about 5 minutes.  I'm sure the crofter was impressed with our skill and technique.  Calmly and confidently we pushed the herd towards their destination.  When the crofter obviously decided that we must be free to go about our business, he sent the dogs back in to give us a way around.

I know it's too blurry to tell for sure, but there was sadness in their eyes as we left them.  

Take my word for it.

The Winter Glow

I have probably mentioned the narrow window of daylight around here come winter. The days are short and the nights are LONG. So long that it's easy to convince yourself that it's time to wind down around shortly after 4:00pm rolls around. For instance, yesterday, my housemate locked us in at 6:00pm because she figured that we'd be in for the night! We were.

Anyway, didn't mean to get carried away about the darkness. The topic for today is the light. Light in winter is precious, but it's also strange...in a beautiful way...well, to me at least. It's almost as if sunrise and sunset collide to make it. Enough talk, this is a show & tell post:

Sunrise* to Sunset**

*Obviously that sunrise wasn't insanely early, as I make it a point these days not to wake up insanely early

**The Sunset picture was taken at precisely 3:24pm

Thanksgiving at 9 Habost

This year's thanksgiving was my first Thanksgiving spent in Scotland, and it was pretty good...if I do say so myself. Here's some pics taken on the night...

Pic #1: Our heavy laden coffee table. Please mentally add freshly baked rolls to this picture.

Dinner was a bit weird without an actual table, but it's not like I've never eaten a Thanksgiving meal without a normal table. My dad's side of the family puts the kids at a gorgeous Korean Tea Table every year. I've long since grown out of that category, but that doesn't mean I don't remember the awesomeness of it.

Pic #2: Spreading the Thanksgiving cheer.

We headed across the street for the weekly Ness Melodeon Club get-together (I attempt to play the guitar with them), but this week came with food and the appropriate headgear. See mine? I felt like I was rediscovering my native american roots...I'm 1/4 Chickahominy on my mothers side.

Pic #3: Not only did everyone try our very American vittles, but they also voluntarily conformed to the dress code!

That made my night!

A Soup Discovery

Having chicken noodle soup when I'm sick seems instinctive after 20+ years of positive reinforcement. I think most Americans can relate. Remember the Chicken Soup for the Soul phenomenon anyone? That proves it, I am not alone here.

Anyway, rewind about a year and a half, and I'm boarding a plane to Scotland completely unconcerned about leaving the material comforts of home. Well, maybe at the back of my mind I'm wondering about Mountain Dew and Raid... My point is that I assumed that chicken noodle soup would be there when I needed it, in such a technologically advanced country.

Technically it was I suppose... just with an unidentifiable exotic tang. What is that? What is that tang? Whatever it is, it does not belong in my ultimate comfort food.

Enter Baxter's Chicken Broth.

It says Chicken Broth, but it should say Chicken & Rice Sunshine Soup. Thanks to the latest wave of sinus-related achy-ness, after a year and a half, I've discovered this perfect substitution. Yes, it's out of a can, but remember, I am American and that actually adds to its appeal.

What is the most Haunted city in England?

York! The answer is York! How do I know? Because the leader of the excellent York Ghost Walk said so.

So what in the world was I doing in York? Well, I decided that going straight to London and back would be a waste of a train ticket, so I tacked on an extra day and stopped off in York on the way home. It turned out to be one of the best ideas I'd had all month. Here's a few pics:

The old town wall is still in place...just in case?

York Minster was supposed to be the main event...

I ended up spending most of Day 1 in the shops instead...

I would not consider myself superstitious...but after the creepy ghost walk,

coming back to a convent felt pretty good. Something about knowing there

were nuns all over the place was comforting. I mean, who could get

spooked in a room named St. Luke's Room?

What can I say... I live a charmed life! Most of the time... Tonight, however, I feel a cold coming on and my yucky green tea is...well.. yucky.

Down in Jolly Old England

I've been in Scotland for a year and a half, traveled around Europe and into Ireland, but until last week I'd never been to England. But, lucky me, I had to make a spur of the moment trip to London to get my fingerprints digitally scanned. Yes, to get my fingerprints digitally scanned.

My Visa expires on January 6th, 2011, and since I'll be needing it to get back into the country on the 5th (after a much anticipated 2 weeks at home), I had to get right on it. Glasgow's Home Office didn't have an open slot until November, so I HAD to travel down to London. Score!

Here's some pics of my time at the British Museum in London:

Scarabs! Flashbacks of The Mummy made me recoil at first sight of these critters.

Another Lewis Chessmen Exhibit! The Isle is never too far away :)

This Egyptian game was possibly my favorite discovery in the Museum.

My sisters and I used to play what we thought was a good replica of this game...inspired by the legendary epic The Ten Commandments.

Next time in On This Side of Things- A trip to the most Haunted city in England!

Rail Trip!

A random London park

I am a packing list fiend. I, without fail, compile a packing list for any overnight trip I make. The only time I skip this step is when I use a list I've already made (and saved) for the destination in question. Of course, like most people, I still forget things somehow, and as I embarked on an 18hr trip to London yesterday, I forgot something I never thought I could.

A PEN!!! That's write (oops...). That's right. I found myself on a train leaving Inverness without a pen... Without a writing instrument of any kind!

Me! The girl that ALWAYS has at least 3 pens of different sizes and colors in EVERY purse/bag she owns. At least I did until I went OCD on completely cleaning out & storing away my backpack in between trips.

FAIL.

And...to intensify my pen craving, my London Trip novel of choice is Paper: The Dreams of a Scribe. Here's a quote for ya:

He was full of energy, invigorated by crime, ready for paper. But what paper could he use? Where were the luminous sheets of moonshine with the watermark of a star, where were the papers woven with silk filaments of the sun?

But all he had was prostituted straw.

Well buddy, we've all got our problems.

Airplanes...

Have I mentioned that I love airplanes? Well, I do, I love airplanes. I love the freedom that comes with being in an airport and knowing that it's possible to start your day at home and end up somewhere COMPLETELY different.

A couple weeks ago, I woke up at home, on the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis, and by the end of the day, I was in a B&B in Vienna, Austria. With very little physical exertion of my own, mostly just sitting and waiting all day. I ended up in another country, seeing road signs for exotic locations such as Budapest!

We were only in Vienna for 3 full days, but I'm quite proud of what I managed to see. Of course I'd like to go back, but I'm content all the same. Vienna was gorgeous! So warm! I could walk around without even a jacket most of the time, and that was possibly my favorite part.

Baking day!

So after a recent trip to Glasgow, where I was wildly successful in the shopping department, I decided to try and step up my frugality this month. I decided to focus on my food budget and try to get through about 3 weeks without buying anything but milk, lettuce, yogurt, and tomatoes.

In the average household, this would probably be almost impossible, but in this household, our kitchen cabinets are filled with a plethora of American muffin mixes, and our freezer is full of frozen meat we haven't used. I figured I could nibble away at everything we normally overlook.

If you hadn't noticed, bread was not on the list of things I could buy. So...

Using stuff that's just been sitting on our shelves, I made a loaf of bread and a few rolls! I've never been very ambitious when it comes to baking, but I was quite proud of myself when I popped this adorable loaf out of the oven.

Anyone have a yummy and easy bread recipe to share?

Fast cars and duct tape

Living in small towns and adorning cars with duct tape seems to be my lot in life.

Last weekend while my housemate and I were driving through the Barvas machair (common grazing land by the sea), a cow decided to straddle the very handy driving path that we were on. In response, I did what anyone would do, I rolled down the window and shouted at it. The cow did what any cow in its situation would do, it moved.

As I smugly pushed the button to roll the window back up, my moment of victory was completely ruined. The window got stuck halfway up! Ugh. And this is Scotland we're talking about! It rains all the time!

After a bit of elbow grease generously donated by a stranger, we got the window almost closed, but not quite. There's still about 4 inches of open space, and that's no good. So here's our new and improved vehicle looking more like one of my cars than usual.

And here's a blast from the past! My beloved Ford Aspire...

Fashion week

In an attempt to fit in a bit with the local fashion, I tried out some new things...

Am I a groupie?

Maybe... Maybe this is just the beginning of my future as a Treacherous Orchestra groupie! I do believe I've mentioned them before, and man did they leave an impression. An impression so strong that shortly after the epic HebCelt Friday night concert, I googled them, and found their gig list. It took about 12 hours after that discovery for me to decide that I would be following them to Glasgow, and I made good on that promise to myself this weekend!

However, this picture is actually of one of the opening acts Breabach, and sadly the only picture I have of the entire trip! My excuse for no Treacherous Orchestra pictures is letting my rapture win out against logic, but for the rest of the 4 day trip, I have no excuse.

Pictureless or not, it was an awesome trip and an awesome concert. We wrangled places right up towards the front, and I had a great view of the fiddlers, and the upright bassist (the sublime Duncan Lyall). In fact I was so close that I could almost make eye contact with the performers... Halfway through the performance, I glanced up at one of the fiddlers and was shocked to find him looking right at me. I did a double take (squinting in spite of my glasses), and he winked! He actually winked! I was mystified and confused. It wasn't until we were walking away from the venue that I got an explanation... I was apparently standing right behind his mother and sister! Nice.

It's Showtime!

Agricultural show-time that is...

I was lucky enough to get roped into helping out with the Barvas Agricultural Show this year, and despite the rain and flying insects, I had a great time! I was posted at the Art competition tables and had free reign over signing in and displaying artwork created by both young and old participants. Having never been to an agricultural show before, I'll admit that I was a bit apprehensive, but the island once again showed me just how laid back it can be. Not an art diva to be seen. Plus, helping out also meant that I could have lunch and tea for free!

After I did my time in the tent, I had a chance to wander about the rest of the show. It reminded me of a county fair honestly...just wet. Really really wet. I can't personally remember ever going to a rainy county fair, but then, summer rains are few and far between at home. Apparently it always rains for the Barvas Agricultural Show, and it almost sounded like people would've been disappointed had a sunny day broke the record! Well, almost...

Lucky to come from the Sunflower State...

When I was a kid, I remember disapproving of the Kansas State flower. I had no clue who actually chose our state flower, but I thought they were nuts. As I grew older, and actually laid eyes on the sunflower fields dominating the landscape through parts of western Kansas, I began to appreciate them a bit more. I remember being amazed when I saw them all facing away from the fading sunset waiting for it to appear again in the other direction. I decided that even if our flower wasn't the prettiest or best smelling flower, that I must have the best personality...which seemed to fit Kansas, if I do say so myself.

I'm wondering if I'll feel the same way about the Scottish Thistle before the end of my time here, but don't have high hopes. This Scottish "flower" is currently barring my way through our croft! I haven't been able to walk through it in about a month without being poked at every step...not pleasant.

HebCelt Madness!

As the title of this post suggests, the Isle of Lewis has been going mad this week with concerts every day and night, tents dotting the landscape, and a surplus of walking trousers and funny hats. The Hebridean Celtic Festival is on, and this year I actually made it to a concert in the huge tent on the Castle green!

Here are a couple videos of the night. Please forgive the poor sound quality, I blame the upright bass player Duncan Lyall (who incidentally I would marry if he asked.)

A few hours ago, I drove down south to Barvas with Murdo and Golly (the surviving molly) splashing around in front of the passenger seat. I'm off early tomorrow morning for Ireland, and I barely remembered that I'd needed to find somewhere for my babies to go. Just days ago, I was actually in line at the Post waiting to add to my electricity key when it hit me! It would've been a hectic Monday morning had I just remembered then...

Oh yeah, did you catch that?? ..."for Ireland"? Whoop whoop! I'm headed to Connemara to visit some friends tomorrow, and I'm beyond excited! I've been once before, but it was November and it rained every day, so I'm excited to see it in the 'heat of summer.'

Random pictures for the day:

The few from my front garden this weekend

And here are the first pages from my brand new art journal! This is the first art journal I haven't put together with watercolor paper, so I was a bit apprehensive. Turns out it's not too bad, but definitely not as easy to work with. Twas convenient and cheap, but probably not worth it in the end...

A family affair

Better late than never I always say. At the end of May, the Isle of Lewis was invaded by a group of Americans here for one thing, and one thing only. To see ME!

Mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and auntie Carlene all made the transatlantic trip and got their first taste of Scotland. It was great having them around because, lets face it, I miss them, but also because they reminded me that I'm not as strange as I thought I was. Many of my preferences and routines don't seem to be common around here, and as my roommate is from Georgia, not common in my house either. But when my family came to visit, and they made themselves at home, the answers were very clear. Most of my quirks seem to be hereditary, and somehow, that's great news :)

Better than camping...

This past Sunday evening, I made a last minute decision to brave the wilds of the Ness moor and join a friend in her family's airigh. An airigh (also known as a sheiling) is akin to a summer home for the people here on Lewis. When one wants to get away from it all...you leave your seaside house and go to the moor, where you will sometimes see more rather than less of your fellow islanders, but less of the modern conveniences that can sometimes complicate our lives.

I'd been on a brief visit out to what seems to me to be an village of sheilings, so I was very very very excited about staying there overnight. Especially when I was informed that there was a toilet of sorts. No trees for privacy out on the moor!

Once I finally arrived to the airigh (after taking the scenic and slightly squishy route), I made myself comfortable and had a great night! With a "wee blaze" going in the fireplace, a combination of candles and an awesome kerosene lantern, I felt right at home.

The next day I got the grand tour of the area which included a trip to the beach, multiple crossings of a cute little stream, mussel and winkle picking (kept me busy for hours), and ambling through the grass and heather barefoot. Definitely a good day, and I have a feeling that there's even more to see on my next visit...

Oh yeah...the Big News!

(Where's Murdo?)

So after a well deserved chiding from a devoted reader (aka friend and possibly bored office worker), I'm coming out with the big news!

I got my froggie AND he's still alive! Oh yes, he is still alive and kicking...literally. It was touch and go there for a few days...which is why I didn't write right away. He was extremely anti-social and I couldn't even get a picture of him! He wouldn't leave the castle I was nice enough to put in his aquarium, and didn't seem to care at all that I wanted to be friends. My last two frogs were extremely social creatures, so I was a bit worried about him. In an effort to bring him out of his froggie depression, I bought him some mollies to help him chill out. It worked! Within 24 hours Golly and Miss Molly got lil Murdo out of his castle.

Let me tell you, they may be little critters, but it was definitely worth it. I wasn't meant to be in a pet-less household.

So that was the big news. The next big news is... My family is coming on Tuesday!!! Wahooo!!!

PS. A recent (yes, you know this word is relative) journal entry...

Surgery Prep

After a successful run of 4 to 5 posts a month since the New Year, I failed miserably in April. Ach. But, ever the one to try and look to the future when the past isn't so good, here I am moving on with a new and exciting post.

By this time tomorrow, my macbook should have a brand new brain! Yes, a brand new 250Gb brain to replace the old 70Gb brain that, between you and me, has been lagging a bit lately. Since I installed Window's XP via Virtual Box to run a work program, I've been cramped for space. It's forced me to put most of my pictures, and all of my videos on flash drives. What a pain. Like my current macbook brain, I have limited memory, and I never seem to have my flash drives around when I need them.

I'm cloning my current brain at the moment and am forcing myself to get on with the rest of the process tomorrow since it's getting late.

I came home from a weekend in Skye today, so I might have some interesting pics to post later this week. Skye is honestly one of my favorite places to visit (and I'm not alone in that opinion), but luckily it doesn't have pull of any kind. That is to say, I have no interest in ever settling in Skye...but it's still a gorgeous place to spend a sunny weekend!

Alright, this is me, over and out. Tomorrow's first order of business is Macbook Brain Surgery! Stay tuned for the success/failure of that endeavor.

Also, I will be making an important announcement in the next 2 days...maybe tomorrow! Yeah, that's all I have to say about that.