Pancakes for lunch!

Amazingly enough it took the worldwide phenomenom of Pancake Day to get me to finally make some pancakes. I haven't had homemade pancakes since I came to the UK last April, and I'll tell you what...it's been way too long. I'm not a breakfast eater, and even though I like breakfast food, it's really easy for me to overlook it when I'm trying to decide what I want for lunch or dinner. So maybe this is the start of me having a personal pancake day on a regular basis. We'll see about that.

So what's up besides me rediscovering the humble pancake? Well, my housemate, another friend and I are getting ready to embark on our first car-less trip to the mainland! I just booked the bed and breakfast in Inverness, so on Thursday morning we'll hop on the Ferry to Ullapool as foot passengers, hop on a bus from there, and hopefully make it to our B&B still excited about our adventure. The catalyst for this trip was to see Avatar in 3D since our little cinema doesn't have the technology for that. Maybe I should check on tickets...

The soundtrack of life

Today was one of those days that my music throughout the day seemed to fit perfectly the situations of the moment. Has that ever happened to you? Where you're writing about something, or thinking about something and you realize that the music playing goes along? Well, that's what happened to me today over and over. I normally have my iTunes/mp3 player on shuffle, and sometimes take the coincidental playing of a song as a sign...there's something about the random play that seems to make it possible.

I also was tickled to find a free download of Fireflight's new single Desperate in my inbox this evening. I had toyed with buying it off iTunes since the album hadn't come out yet, but waited because the last thing I wanted to do was buy it twice if I ended up getting the whole album. What's funny about that? The album title is "For Those Who Wait." Hee hee.

Speaking of random...this is a picture of my first ever needle felted creature! (Inspired by this genius) And...according to my camera...I made him one year ago today! Happy birthday little creature :)

Peanut butter cups and pens...

I received two packages in the mail this past week and both were AWESOME! But one did make me a bit happier than the other...and that's because it was 1) a complete surprise and 2) edible. Someone from home decided to make my day and sent a box of homemade candy! Every year she makes these little pieces of heaven and distributes them to her friends. This year I was out of the country, but that didn't stop her from giving me a taste. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I got more than my fair share :)

The other package wasn't such a surprise...since I ordered it myself, but I was still pretty excited. I ordered a set of 10 Stabilo point 88 fineliner felt tip pens from Amazon (after being inspired by a classmate) and now my planner is oh so colorful. Happiness...

There and back again

I spent this week in Germany. Rehe Germany to be exact. Due to the weather and a busy schedule, that’s about all I know of the little village that I spent my week in unfortunately. Except for this gem of information. It snows just as much in Germany as it does at home, and the snow is normal. On my island it hardly ever snows, but when it does it comes in little balls that pound on all the windows of our house, car, and bodies if we’re unfortunate enough to be caught outside during the downpour.

I really don’t mind snow so much, as long as it’s quiet, and as long as I don’t have to be going anywhere. This was the case for most of the week, but on the morning of our departure I was less than amused by the snow. Our bus was an hour late to pick us up because they had to wait for the drive to be cleared. It’s a little difficult to roll with the punches when the punches are coming at 6am.

Of course, we did end up finally making it to Frankfurt airport, but even then it was an uphill battle. Things just seemed to take longer than normal. I got the pat down in security along with about 60% of the passengers, so that took awhile. Then our flight had a gate change and we had to board a bus that drove us from the gate to the plane sitting out in Frankfurt Airport’s equivalent of Tibet.

Did I mention that the snow was still coming? Yes, finally got into the plane and after hanging out for a bit with my trusty British Airways Highlife magazine (forgot my book at MacDonalds!), we got word that we’d be delayed while they de-iced the plane. I guessed that I could kiss my therapeutic visit to Accesorize in Heathrow goodbye since that was as much time as we were supposed to have waiting for our next flight.

On a lighter note...it’s pretty cool that I get to sit here and complain about flight delays in Frankfurt Airport. It’s also amusing that my plane was painted green with de-icer junk.


Once in Heathrow we headed straight for the customer service desk since our next flight had already boarded when we landed. The lines were short, our British Airways customer service man was nice, and we ended up walking away with an hour of eating/shopping time at Heathrow and a £5 voucher for our trouble. I had a middle seat in the substitute flight, but ended up making friends with the British/Australian business man on my right and had a great time chatting all the way to Edinburgh. Nice.

Country strolls...

So, I love walking. Maybe even more now than I ever have, but maybe that's just because the destinations here are nothing less than breathtaking. I can walk to the sea! Yes, all that stands between me and the crashing waves is common grazing land, the croft behind our house and approximately 6 gates. And although I would consider myself a social person, when I do set out on a walk alone, I for some reason prefer to complete the walk without seeing a single person. As this is not exactly a bustling area, my walking route hits this requirement as well. Perfection.

That's not to say that I am completely alone on my walks. I'm usually accompanied by a few bunnies, and of course...sheep. There are ALWAYS sheep sharing my walk. They don't seem to mind my presence all that much, but they do take notice...

A room with a view...

It's a balmy 40 F degrees outside, and it's looking like prime walking weather outside. I woke up to sun streaming in through my window, which shows how lazy I was about getting up this morning.

So here's something I meant to blog about right after it happened, but better late than never. Over the holiday's my roommate had friends come to visit, and true to the classic Lewis tour, we took them to the Callanish Stones. A popular tourist attraction, these stones are like our island's Stonehenge.


Of course, before you actually get to the stones, there's a the option of a restroom break...sometimes there's a line of course!


Now it's time to make good on my plans for a walk and go before anything happens to this gorgeous day. You never know...

Heb madness!

Came across this gem of a video depicting the madness of our ferry crew. With excitement like this going on, you'd wonder why I've only taken the ferry off the island twice. Unless of course you've taken the ferry yourself...