Day 4. The other coast.

Of course, I suppose a country that has a coast everywhere but to the south really only has one looooong coast, but by "other" I mean west.

Today we took a long and leisurely drive to the northwest and through the uplands and southern highlands to Fort William. I have to say, not that I am an expert, but I think the most beautiful country in the world are the highlands of Scotland in the autumn. I was awe struck. Or as they say here, positively gobsmacked. I really have no words in my meager vocabulary to aptly describe the grandeur. Images of mountains and fog blanketed lochs, valleys of every green, gold and red hue imaginable, and air so crisp and clear -- memories that can keep my dreams full for the rest of this life.

Then there was the Jacobite train to Mallaig. More highlands vistas and of course the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Or also known as the Harry Potter train and viaduct. Very cool, but the scenery was just too much competition for Mr. Potter. Even the best CGI from Dreamworks (or whoever did it) just can't hold a candle to these lands. Mallaig is a coastal fishing village so the views of the sea and the rivers feeding it were nearly as spectacular as the highlands themselves.

On the way back we stopped in Callander for dinner and snapped a few pics of Hamish. Hamish McKay Denovan is a Highland bull. Cutest bull I'd ever seen. We're hoping to go back tomorrow time permitting to feed him and do some sightseeing in Callander.

So for now Hamish will have to feed our critter fix, and the scenes from today will have to feed our souls.

As for the pics, the best are on the camera so the blog will have to suffer (though the one of Lesley's dad Chuck and his reflection came out pretty good for a camera phone). Pics can't really do the Highlands justice, anyway. I did include the obligatory pics of lunch (more fish and chips) and dinner (more haggis).

Day um three?

More rest. Only woke at four this morning. That meant we were up for Chuck's home made breakfast. Yum. The man has a gift.

Went to St. Andrews today. Got to play around in the sea, visited St. Andrew's Castle and St. Andrew's Cathedral. Got pictures of the Old Course, of course. The Castle was way cool. Followed a mine shaft under it from when it was besieged. Very creepy.

Best part of the day was visiting Di Gilpin's studio. Di is a world famous knitware, pattern, and hand-spun yarn designer. We got to see some of her latest fashions and ended up buying enough yarn for an army of Scotsmen's kilt hose (though I think it's technically enough for one pair), a couple patterns, some knitted gloves... and a sweater that is just phenomenal.

Meeting Di and Kristen really was a huge highlight. Such genuinely nice people. I'm sure if it wasn't already growing dark we would have stayed much longer. I know Lesley was really touched.

Anyway, on to the pictures. As before, I have no idea what order the software will put them in, but all I got with the phone cam was the surf and coast, the 18th at The Old Course, and a couple of Di Gilpin's studio. :)

Tomorrow the Jacobite Train!

Day 2 Sterling Castle

Day 2 I think.

This jet lag is a killer. Got a full day in today, though. Of course, our day started at 2 am! :p

Spent the better part of the day at Stirling Castle and the nearby cemetery. Beautiful! Sadly, all my pics are on my real camera so all I have for you today are food pics. Breakfast (including black pudding and fried bread), lunch (fish & chips), and dinner (chocolate cake). :D

What are the odds this Blogger app uploads the pics in the proper order?;)

Day 1 (or how to miss half a day because British Air has seats harder than concrete so you can never rest and end up sleeping half the next day)

We slept until 1:30 in the afternoon. Ugh! But, not all was lost. Down/old town Stirling is a 5 minute walk from the apartment so we got a good 5 hours of sightseeing and shopping and eating in.

We found a tartan wool blanket in our wedding colors, and Les found some jewelry. Me? I finally got to try haggis! Yum! (The restaurant we ate at had a Wyoming license plate -- Co 17 -- on the wall. Go fig.)

Tomorrow we meet the woman that will marry us and hopefully see Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument.

Phone booth!

Haggis!

Magners! OMG I LOVE this cider.

Old Town

Our cottage.

We are here!!!

And pooooooooooooped!

Up up and away!

Bad sign that we are already exhausted and we haven't even left the country yet. Sitting in Denver International Airport wondering what to do for four more hours before our next boarding.

But... Excitement abounds! Tired in part because the critters knew something was up and kept us up with barking, meowing, and general attention-whoring. Other part is just the jitters from being so excited about the trip.

Conspirators

The Wedding Venue

When we originally decided on a Scottish wedding we had researched having it in Gretna Green. Gretna Green is a "traditional" Scottish wedding town. It lies just north of the border with England and apparently when English Parliament raised the legal age to marry back in the 1800s many young lovers would elope to Scotland where the laws were much looser. Gretna Green reaped the benefits and became known for these weddings. Scottish law at the time allowed virtually anyone to perform the ceremony, so the local blacksmith shortly became the go-to guy for tying the knot.

Neat story, but when I started asking around on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree forum (a travel forum) I was quickly informed that if a Scottish Las Vegas wedding was what we wanted then Greta Green was the right place to go.


A Scottish Las Vegas wedding was NOT what we wanted.

Our travel agent and friend Lisa was able to find the perfect non-Vegas venue for us: Ballochneck Country House. Located about 20 minutes away from Stirling (which is where we will be staying most of the time) this old Scottish manor is the perfect setting for a small wedding such as ours (eleven total guests including us).

The setting is just wonderful and promises to be very romantic. Not only will we have the wedding ceremony there, but also the wedding dinner, and Lesley and I will be staying in one of their guest rooms for two nights as a honeymoon. It's just a few minutes drive from Ballochneck to the Trossachs National Park, so I think I may try to convince Les to go take a ride with me (and weather permitting find a nice walk) the day after the wedding.


Be sure to check out their website linked above for better pics if you are curious, but here's one I thought fun. I downloaded a picture from the Google Earth satellite view of the manor/estate/country house (click it for a bigger pic):


Here's the menu that Fiona (the owner with her husband Donnie) will be preparing for the evening's dinner:

Garden Pea and Mint Soup

Paella Stuffed Tomato

Fillet of Aberdeen Angus Beef rolled in Black Pepper, Red Wine and Red Currant Gravy, with Dauphinois Potatoes and Vegetables

(and wine wine wine wine wine)

Light Raspberry Sponge with Cream Fraiche and Berry Compote

Coffee and Tablet

I don't know what half of that is, but my mouth is watering as I write this. :)

The ceremony is at 2:30 local time. I spoke with Fiona this morning and found out that British Daylight Savings Time ends the morning of our wedding so that could have been a real nightmare if we had missed that! It ends a week later here in the US so we get to go through it twice this year. Go figure.

Immediately following the ceremony we will have have champagne and canapes while we relax and take all the pictures our cameras can hold (the cost of a local photographer would have been prohibitive so we're playing the odds that with digital cameras in the hands of nine other folks that we'll get some shots worthy of an album and framing). Dinner will follow at 5:30ish (and my mouth is watering again).

I know nothing ever goes without a hitch, but in such a wonderful setting... who cares! Besides, it's the little hiccups that make for some of the fondest memories. Or so I keep telling myself. :)

I'm going too.

 

You bought my ticket to Scotland, too, right?

Always a bridesmaid never a bride . . .

Wedding Post

The dress and shoes:

Hobbes not included.

Wedding post

This is the wedding shawl that our dear friend Caron Sponsler made for Les. It's folded up because Les refuses to let me see her wedding day attire in its full glory (okay, not really -- it's folded up because it was easiest to get the picture that way). No worries, though. We'll be taking lots of pics to post on the big day. The jewelry are amethysts to go with the purple and green tartan gown she'll be wearing. Oh, and you ought to get a load of her shoes! Maybe next post... :)

Now, coming into an established family of kitties I knew I would be fighting an uphill battle in winning their affection, but I had no idea Ori would feel that I had stolen his girl.

"Oh the humanity! It's really happening! If I only had thumbs I could win my lady back."

No kidding. He's peeved. Peed on my jeans last night. Not just a trickle, either. Soaked em right through. At least he waited for me to take them off.

You shouldn't have...

Really. You shouldn't have. For me? All this. Aren't my people just so sweet. I know I deserve it all and more, but you really shouldn't have. I know I'm just so pretty that you couldn't help yourself, but this is almost too much. Almost. A bit more ham would have been too much. 

Wedding post... The Rings

Sitting in the safe awaiting the big day!

Wedding Countdown

As we countdown to our wedding in Scotland on October 30, we want to share the festivities with everyone. Here is Miss Kitty checking out our wedding cake topper. We have ordered a traditional Scottish wedding cake with pound cake and fruit cake tiers.

Miss Kitty approves of the topper but thinks she is much cuter and should be the one to ride in my suitcase.

Testing the new Blogger App

Les found the new Blogger app that we are hoping will allow us to update the blog while away in Scotland getting married. Figured I better test it first, though.

So... Here's a pic of Herman with an elk antler I found. Talk about a happy happy HAPPY dog. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Our New House

We decided to get all the stress over with right away. We bought a house, sold my house, are in the process of selling Al’s house and plan to get married in Scotland this October. Sigh.

Actually we didn’t plan to get a house this soon, but the right one for us and all our animals came up for sale. I am only in there right now with my animals. We just had the floors redone and Herman is not too sure about things but he was happy to pose for a potato ole.

Everyone seems to be adjusting well - even the fish (we have moved the 55-gallon fish tank twice now). Just wait until Miss Kitty meets Hobbes.

Moving

Is exhausting . . .

Patience

Rough Life

It's tough to be a cat in our house. You can't even tell we moved into a new house two weeks ago (more on our new house later). They act like they have always lived here.

We did have a few rough moments the first night. There was lots of howling and pacing and crying (from me). I finally decided they didn't need time to adjust by being slowly introduced to each room. I let them all out (for my sanity) and they have been happy ever since. They miss their outdoor cat run but we will build one later.

Fruitbat in the Flowers

You never know what invasive species you will find when weeding. (:

Fresh Sheets from the Dryer + Cats =

Hobbes's Secret

Looking at this photo of our lazy and fat tub o' orange and white fur one would never believe what I am about to relay, but I swear on a stack of Friskies Salmon pate (his fav) that it is all too true.

A couple nights ago as I am finally beginning to drift off to sleep after 3 hours of tossing and turning (sadly -- the norm these days) a thought strikes me... "Why hasn't Hobbes been poking at my nose?" You see, cats are creatures of routine, and one of Hobbes's routines is every night as soon as I turn off the reading light and settle in for sleep he insists on sauntering lumbering over to within inches of my face and poking me in the nose with his outstretched paw (often catching some skin as his claws sometimes extend -- very startling if I haven't seen him coming). But that night -- no nose pawing.

So, I sit up a bit and notice he's not even on the bed. Hmm. Lean over the side, and he's not on the dog bed, either (he likes it because it's not his, so he claims it and challenges any to usurp his princely throne -- none do). Okay, now I'm awake so I call him. "Hobbes. Hobbesies..." Nothing (really, he's a cat so I don't know what I was expecting). So up I get.

I check the kitchen table (his favorite day-time lounging spot -- lots of activity out the kitchen window). No Hobbes. The litter boxes -- no Hobbes. Then I remember he and Boogs have been curling up together in Simon's crate lately (again -- claiming their territory I think). Check the crate -- Boogs is there (looking peeved that I disturbed him), but no Hobbes.

This pattern goes on throughout the house for several minutes with my heart rate continually increasing and my calls surely sounding more appealing to a rotund house cat (so I was hoping), but Hobbes is nowhere to be found.

Now I'm in a panic. As a last resort I throw on my pants and shoes and grab a flashlight and head out into the backyard (knowing full well the only way out there for him would be down the stairs -- which he abhors -- to the basement -- which he avoids like the plague -- and through the dog door -- quite the step up for a 20 pound cat). But what the hell, it'll make me feel better to look and at least exhaust the options.

So out the door I go. "Hobbes! Hobbesies!" Nothing (duh). Around the side to what I think was intended to be a garden. "Hobbes!" No Hobbes. Back to the yard and now my flashlight is scanning the bushes and trees. Still no Hobbes.

I turn the corner to head up the stairs to the gate and frozen in the beam of my flashlight...
(This is my best drawing of his shocked expression -- one which seemed to say, "Crap! You're supposed to be asleep!")

He froze for a second and then darted (yes, darted --well, his front feet dart, and his back feet kinda bounce like the rear end of a Lincoln Towncar with a shot suspension) back down the stairs, past me, down the path to the back door and disappeared behind the dog door flap into the relative safety of the house. In my head I heard him saying, "Aargh! Caught! Crap crap crap!" all the way back upstairs.

Panic turned to unrestrained laughter. I am sure my neighbors thought there was a wounded seagull in their yard as I think my attempts at muffling my amusement were largely unsuccessful. His expression and less-than-graceful retreat reminded me of... well, he just looked so embarrassed. It cracked me up.

So our fat, lazy and sedentary Hobbes seems not to be so sedentary after all.

And yes, I am closing the dog door at night now. ;)

The Diagnosis

Miss Kitty has Feline Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex and has to be on antiobiotics for two months. I also have to clean her chin with medicated pads. You can kinda see one of the spots on the right side of her chin here.

Miss Kitty Recovers

Miss Kitty's biopsy went well and we should know the results Friday. She has recovered her appetite (it's hard to wait for you owner to fill up your bowl of food), and her stitches come out in a couple of weeks.

Miss Kitty

Has to have a biopsy done on her chin tomorrow. Send some positive thoughts her way.