Bits and Bobs about Western Scotland

I'm practicing Scotch/Brit speak, hence,

Here are a few bits and bobs:

• The Scottish have the finest cuisine that I have experienced in all my travels.  Every meal has been outstanding.

• Right now, black and white horizontal stripes are on trend - for both men's and women's clothing.  Red pants are also popular, but I am too shy to take a photo of anyone wearing them.

• There is a lovely glen on the island of Mull.  It is inhabited solely by sheep, and there is no electricity in the area.  The weather in Mull is mostly rainy year round. The council saw fit to install a bus stop/shelter in the glen.  Since there is no electricity, they installed solar panels on the roof.  When there is enough sun, the shelter lights up at night and is apparently quite lovely sitting by itself in the glen.  There are no people to take the bus. There was no way for the driver to stop the bus for a photo of the actual bus stop, but this is what a glen looks like.

• The weather is often dirty in western Scotland. Surely you can figure out what that means.

• If you are offered tablet, it means a piece of candy that resembles butterscotch fudge. 

• This is not tablet, but have you ever seen anything cuter?

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  Knitters throughout the world are nuts.

Whirlwind

The last three days have been a whirlwind.  If we weren't struggling with jet lag, the days would have probably seemed like normal tourist days. As it is, all we've seen and experienced have the potential to become a blur.

Edinburgh is not the largest city we've visited, but it certainly has a huge variety of sights to see.  Friday, July 10, we explored New Town (developed in the 1700s) and went back to Old Town (built in the 1100s) to see St Giles Cathedral.

However, the highlight of the day for me was the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden.

We had a guided tour from a wonderful man who taught us so many things about plants, soils, climate, etc....that we came away with our heads spinning in a pleasant way. One of the most interesting things he taught us was that in a botanic garden, each individual bed is like a library bookshelf, and each flower is a book.  The organization, like that of a library, is key.


Individual plants were intriguing.

Mistakes made by professionals make me feel good. This swath of meadow flowers were supposed to be red poppies to commemorate WWI and the red poppy fields of Flanders.  However, the seed company sold the garden the wrong seeds and the red statement turned out to be blue cornflowers and mostly yellow blossoms of some sort. It's so nice to know that experts aren't perfect.

This meadow was supposed to be the red poppy fields of Flanders.

Saturday, July 11, we met up with a small tour group and drove to St Andrews, the home of golf.  On the way, we stopped at the charming fishing village of Anstruthers where we had fish and chips worthy of the queen.  We were told she orders take away from the same shop when she's at Balmoral.

Fish and Chips worthy of the Queen.

Fish and Chips worthy of Taylor - only in Anstruthers.

We found many surprises at St Andrews.  The Open starts any day now so we didn't see much of the the golf course. Preparations for huge crowds are under way.  Since we aren't golfers we didn't care.  Instead, we enjoyed a lovely walk along the coast path, stopping to admire St Andrews Castle.

St Andrews Castle.

St Andrews Castle.

Further down the coast, we were able to walk among the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral, which was once the largest cathedral in Europe.  Cromwell had it sacked, so we only saw the remains.

St Andrews Cathedral.

Unexpectedly, when we stopped for a tea break, I saw "bread and butter pudding, with a proper custard" on the menu.  I've sworn off bread pudding in restaurants because it's usually quite nasty, but this one was worth every calorie.  As you can see, it was beautiful as well as delicious

Bread pudding worthy of Jamar.

The final stop of the day was Falkland Castle.  It is the hunting cabin of some member of royalty.   They can't afford to keep it up, so they charge people like us to come admire it.  I especially enjoyed the grounds. As you all know, I'm the happiest when I'm in a lovely garden.

This castle was really more beautiful on the outside than it was indoors.

A garden worthy of Jamar.

Next stop, Oban and the Isle of Iona.

Dazed and Confused in Edinburgh

Here we are, in Edinburgh.  We left PDX at 6 a.m. July 8, and arrived here at 6:45 a.m. July 9.  Do I need to say we are dazed and confused?  Our innkeeper at Ard-Na-Said (which means top of the arrow) let us stow our bags and gave us coffee.

Ard-Na-Said, our home away from home in Edinburgh.

We kept our sightseeing to a minimum today:

The main thoroughfare going in and out of Edinburgh Castle.

There are lots of charming nooks and crannies at the castle

A stroll down the Royal Mile

At the end of the day, we strolled over to the Salisbury Arms, where we had our first Edinburgh pint.

Cheers!

2015 Travel Season

Travel season starts on July 8 for Taylor and me.  While we are excited to continue exploring the world, our hearts will be with Solomon Pearson Dennen, aka Soup, in Taipei, Taiwan.  Born June 25, 2015, he is the light of our lives.

Travel Season 2015

We are leaving for Scotland, Cornwall, Jersey, Normandy, Brittany, Cambridge and London in two days!  I wonder if I'll see ukuleles over there?

Swirl at Last

Meet my finished Swirl.  I started this June 3, 2014 and finished it May 17, 2015.  This was a long involved project, but I love the finished garment.  I hope to get a photo of me in the Swirl before too long.

November 17, 2015

The Summer of Rogue Knitting

I've been taken with the Jane Thornley mode of free range rogue knitting all summer long.  Working with minimal instructions, color and texture has altered my attitude toward knitting.  I will definitely  use these new techniques in future knitting projects.

Midnight on the Rogue - a relaxed yet elegant shawl.  Gaye Lawson, a fellow rogue knitter, and I decided that this is the "opera" shawl, and the previous shawl is for more casual events.

I used odd yarns that I would not normally use.  The dark blue has thick and thin runs.  I can't imagine using it for anything other than a rogue.

I mentioned in the previous post, that I started Jane's summer mystery knit along.  I had no idea where I was going except that I was making a vest. Color and texture led the way.

I finished the vest as we drove, once again, through the Rogue River area, to Ashland Oregon.

I love the beautiful mess in my lap as I sipped my Dutch Bros coffee and admired the scenery.

Finished vest with vintage red glass buttons.