Highland Madness - Day 5 and Beyond

Hi there....Hope everyone is enjoying their Easter weekend.  We are back home in Dunbar, all settled in and unpacked.  I am missing the Highlands and wish we were still up there.  But what is that saying?  "all good things must come to an end"?  LOL.  So here we are back in sunny Dunbar ( don't laugh, the sun was actually shining here today).  I guess I will backtrack to yesterday as I didn't put up a blog last night.  So here we go.

Leaving the Garve Hotel

We woke up and had breakfast at 8:30, with a departure scheduled from the hotel at 9:30.  We had to drive back into Inverness so the driver could fuel up the bus.  He told us that running out of petrol on a tour was cardinal sin # 2.  When we asked what cardinal sin # 1 was, he said cardinal sin # 1 is not colliding with another tour bus - from your own company lol.  Its ok to crash, just dont crash intow one of your own busses..hahahaha.  I loved his sense of humor.  He was kind of quiet, but when he did speak he always had this funny way of delivering his messages.  Anyway, after we fueled up we hit the road.  We headed home through the beautiful snow capped Cairngorm mountains.  It was quite scenic.  With it being a 4 day holiday weekend, the traffic was pretty busy going north as people were headed up for the long weekend.  We stopped in Perth at a garden center called Dobbies for lunch as they have a big cafeteria.  I don't know what kind of soup we had as my mom didn't really hear what it was called when she ordered it lol, but it was pretty delicious.  We had an hour at Dobbies so after lunch we wandered around looking at all the different plants and gifts they had for sale.  It was quite a nice place.  After we left Perth it took about an hour to get back into Edinburgh.  We had to say goodbye to everyone, including Kirsty and Derek who we had become good friends with over the past 5 days.  They sat in front of us and were probably around my age.  Anyway, they were a really nice couple and we kept joking back and forth.  It turned out that Derek (who is about 6 ft 5"tall) is a  HUGE Lakers fan and he was thrilled to know that I came from Los Angeles.  By the end of the trip, we had decided that we would swap places and he would take my ticket back to LA so he could go see the Lakers lol.  He said it was his absolute dream to see them play.  I guess he said he plays basketball over here.  I didn't even know that the Scots knew what basketball was hahahaha.

On the road home

After we said our goodbyes and tipped Mr Steve, we headed through St James Center to go get some coffee.  Our plan was to have coffee at Costa in the middle of the center.  That plan changed abruptly when we saw how many people were there lol.  The center was crowded with it being a holiday weakend and kids out of school.  So we headed into John Lewis where they have an espresso Bar and we got a seat and had a latte.  After coffee we headed over to the train station and caught the 4:30 shuttle home to Dunbar.  We were only home a short while before my Uncle George came to pick us up to take us up to the farm for dinner.  My Aunt Connie outdid herself again.  Dinner was delicious - we had pastry encrusted gammon steaks, mashed potatoes and veggies, and dessert was rice pudding.  Thanks for inviting us,  I always have a great time when I am there.  Did you see the pony this morning, Aunt Connie?  And if you did, were you able to keep a straight face? HAHAHAHA
So today my mom and I took a trip into Haddington.  They have a farmer's market every last Saturday of the month.  When we got there, there was a bagpipe band playing.  We wandered all the stalls, and then smelled some bacon cooking.  It was smoked bacon and smelled so delicious that we just had to have a bacon roll..LOL.  We also went into the Craft & Antique fair and wandered around there for a little bit.  we spent about 3 hours in Haddington before heading home on the bus.  we were home a little bit and then my mom and I headed into town for a couple of things.  We wanted to walk too because the weather was beautiful here today.  My dad stayed home because he was working on his 500 plus photos he took on his trip lol.  So be prepared to see photos from him sometime soon :-)
Just got done finishing unpacking my suitcase and cleaning up my room.  I have so much stuff I am going to have to hire a crate to send it all home lol.

Happy Easter

Well that was what I was up to for the last couple of days.  This week my mom and I will be working in the shop on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday as Val is shorthanded because of the holiday week.  Looking forward to that, makes me feel useful..lol.  Don't know what we are planning on doing on the days that we are free.  Maybe a trip to Edinburgh or Musselburgh or Berwick Upon Tweed.  Tomorrow if the weather is nice we are going to walk to Spott ( a town about a couple of miles from Dunbar).  Hoping its nice because I really need to get back into walking.  I did a lot of sitting this past week.  To everyone reading this in the UK, don't forget to set your clocks forward an hour when you go to bed tonight.  For my family in California, you will now once again be 8 hours behind us and not 7 like it has been for the past few weeks.
Ok I am done writing this novel now lol.  Have a very Happy Easter everyone.  Bye for now!

Highland Madness - Day 4

Dad at the War Memorial

Good Afternoon - it's Day 4 and unfortunately our trip is almost over - boohoo.  We had a wonderful day visiting Cromarty and Dingwall.
The day started for me at 5:30 am.  I woke up to snow on the ground, it was so pretty.  There wasn't a lot but it was enough to blanket everything in white.

Cromarty

Breakfast was scheduled for 8 am this morning, so before breakfast my Dad and I got up and took a walk.  Our plan was to walk up the road to the Black Water Loch and take some photos.  The only problem was that we couldn't get down to the loch to take photos lol.  So we turned and came back and visited the War Memorial that sits atop the hill.  It was beautiful up on the hill because you could look down on the village of Garve covered in snow.  We had another good breakfast - they sure know how to feed you on these trips lol.  Our coach left at 9:30 for the village of Cromarty.  The route the driver took was very scenic.  He passed through a couple of towns that I would have loved to have stopped in, but they were real small and he was lucky to get the bus through them lol.  Cromarty was a quaint little fishing village that sits on the shores of the Firth.  There is not much to do there but wander and enjoy the scenery, which I did.  Its quiet and peaceful there.  Lots of little cottages.  We went in for coffee and scones at a little tearoom called The Pantry.  Had the best scone, jam and cream ever.  Ok I say that about all the scones I have here hahahahaha.  After Cromarty we got back on the bus and headed to Dingwall.  Its a small town with some shops.  We had lunch there.  I had pea and ham soup and my folks had carrot and coriander.  We spent a couple of hours in Dingwall before heading back to the hotel.  We have a couple of hours before dinner so I am catching up on the blog and the photos.  I took 159 photos today lol.  Of course some of them I deleted because they weren't very good or blurry, but I do have a lot of good ones which I will get to uploading shortly.  Dinner tonight is Cream of Vegetable Soup, Traditional Steak Pie with fresh veggies and Peach Melba for dessert.  We are going to miss the service at this hotel, its first class.  Tomorrow we head home.  We leave the hotel at 9:30 with a stop somewhere for lunch around 12:30.  We should be back in Edinburgh by 2:30.  We will try to catch the 3 o'clock train home to Dunbar.  We are going for dinner to my Aunt Connie and Uncle George's cottage tomorrow night, looking forward to seeing them :-)
Ok thats it.  Have a great day/night and I will catch you on the flip side :-)

Highland Madness - Day 3

Good Evening or Good Morning - depending on where you be lol.  We had a real good day, a long one but a good one.  I set my alarm for 6:00 am but I must have switched it off and fallen back asleep as the next time I looked at the clock it was 6:38 am.  I got up, took a shower and headed down for breakfast.  I had

Scenery from bus

Weetabix and then a full breakfast - eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes and fried bread.  Yum.  After breakfast we got on the road for our long trip to John O'Groats.  John O'Groats is about a 3 hour drive from the hotel we are staying at in Garve.  We went half way and stopped in a town called Golspie for a pee break lol.  My mom and I ran to the co-op for some bottled water and crisps (chips for the americans).  Back on the bus and we drove about an hour and a half through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.  The rugged coastline of Scotland is amazing.  Fields filled with sheep and dotted with farms and cottages roll down to the coastline.  We got to John O'Groats around 1pm.  First we stopped at the Seaview Inn for lunch.  The driver had arranged for us (as a group) to have lunch there.  It was Scotch Broth followed by sandwiches and coffee.  You could have as many bowls of soup as you wanted.  After lunch, we drove down to the actual little village of John O'Groats.  A local man from the area got on the bus and gave us a short narrative on the history of John O'Groats, and pointed out and named all the islands off the coast of Scotland.  There really is nothing to the town of John O'Groats except a couple of tourist shops and some amazing scenery.  It was a beautiful clear day and you could see all the way across to the Orkney Islands which are 20 miles away.  I took some photos which will follow shortly.

John O'Groats Sign

After John O'Groats, we headed home with a stop in the town of Dornoch (another 10 minute pee break lol).  We got back to the hotel around 6 pm in time for dinner at 7pm.  So for dinner tonight I had Carrot & Coriander Soup, Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Jam Roly Poly with Custard for dessert.  I don't know how they cooked their roast beef, but it was the most tender beef I have ever had.  It literally melted in your mouth.
Tomorrow is our last tour day.  We will be visiting the fishing village of Cromarty.  I read online it has a lot of Victorian style buildings so I am looking forward to that.  Our driver also told us today that tomorrow we will also be going to another town called Dingwall.  Looking forward to seeing both towns.  Then Friday its back home to Dunbar.  Going to try and get up a little earlier tomorrow so I can walk before breakfast as I didn't do much walking at all today.
Have a good night everyone :-)

Highland Madness - Day 2

Inverness

Hi again.  Its day 2 of our trip and we are having a great time.  We all got a good night's sleep.  Well it took me a few hours to fall asleep as the first bed I chose had a mattress that slanted down to the left so I kept sleeping at an angle and I couldn't get comfortable..lol.  So I headed into the other bed which turned out to be better and I finally fell asleep.  My alarm went off at 6:00 am.  I had set it because my Dad and I had planned to go on a morning walk.  Got up and took a shower and got ready.  We walked down through the village, and up the country road towards the

Raining's Stairs

woods.  We were hoping that we would see some deer but oh dear no deer - just lots of sheep and a few cows lol.  We walked for about 2 1/2 miles amongst the light snow flurries.  It was a pretty morning and wasn't really cold.  Thats because the wind was not blowing..lol.  Once we got back, we went down for breakfast.  Breakfast was yummy.  We also had to choose what we wanted for dinner tonight.  They give you a couple of selections for your starter, main course and dinner.  They are extremely organized when it comes to the meals and the staff is on top of it and efficient.  After breakfast we got on the bus to go to Inverness at 9:30.  It takes about 45 mins to drive from Garve to Inverness.  Steve dropped us off on of the main streets and told us he would be back for us at 3:00 pm.  The first place we went was the Victorian Marketplace.  Its an indoor marketplace consisting of lots of quaint little stores.  I am glad we went in there because I found a little sewing shop that had some buttons I have been looking for for one of my sewing projects.  After the marketplace, we took off in search of Raining's Stairs (a request from my hubby).  Brian had been there back in 1990 when he went traveling up that way and wanted us to find the stairs lol.  Well we found them, and I climbed them (my Dad did too).  Once you get to the top of the stairs you get quite a nice view of the city.  I took some photos from up there which you probably saw in the photo album I published earlier.  After the stairs, my Dad took off to take some photos of the city and I went with my mom around the shops.  Actually I had some postcards I needed to mail so took care of that.  also found a huge craft store that catered mainly to card making and I was in card heaven lol.  They had so many unique things, totally different from the states so I picked up some stamps and paper.  After we wandered for a little while we met back up with my Dad for lunch.  We ate at a pub and grill but I can't remember the name lol.  After lunch, we had about an hour before Steve was coming back to pick us up so we wandered in and out of some charity shops.  Got back on the bus at 3 pm.  Steve put on some Scottish music.  There's nothing like listening to Roaming In The Gloaming while your driving through the Scottish Highlands passing rolling hills and field of sheep.  I LOVE Scotland and do not want to live anywhere else lol.
We got back to the hotel around 4pm.  We sat in the lounge and had a drink while I uploaded the photos.  Then we went up to the rooms to get ready for dinner.  We just got done eating, and once again dinner was delicious.  This time I had Leek & Potato soup for the starter, Ham with Peppercorn Sauce and veggies for the main dish and Highland Sherry Trifle for dessert.  My folks had Plaice Mornay (a type of fish) for dinner.
Now we are back in lounge, drinking and blogging lol.  Tomorrow is our trip to John O'Groats.  Its a long drive up there, and will be a long drive back but I am looking forward to it.  Look for photos to follow tomorrow.
Well thats it for tonight.  Chat with you all tomorrow.

Highland Madness - Day 1

Good evening everyone.  We have arrived safely at our hotel in Garve.  Had a great trip up here.  Thats  all for tonight - good night..........

Hahahaha just kidding.  You are not going to get off that easy, I have plenty to share.

Cottage taken from the bus

Well we got up and headed via taxi to the train station for our 9:00 trip to Edinburgh.  It was snowing when we left Dunbar, surprise, surprise lol.  We got into Edinburgh around 9:30 and we had about an hour to spare before the bus was picking us up so we decided to go into St James Center and have a coffee.  Well we got into the center and my mom went to go order the coffee and I went to Thorntons to get a bar of chocolate for my dad and some toffee.  No sooner did I pay for the stuff, the alarms start sounding in St James Center.  Everything starts shutting down and a voice kept repeating to please evacuate the center, this is an emergency...lol So we got our suitcases and headed out an emergency door with all the employees.  We weren't sure what was going on, but it turned out to be an evacuation drill lol.  So there we are standing out in the cold for about 15 minutes until they let us back in.  It was freezing cold and we were having snow flurries.  I felt real sorry for a couple of girls from one of the stores.  They came outside with no jackets or sweaters.  Once we got back in, the coffee was real good.  The girl gave us large coffees to warm us up even though my mom ordered medium lol.   So we headed the to bus station for our 10:35 departure and the bus was late..lol.  The driver was very apologetic.  He said that he had someone to pick up on the way into Edinburgh and they didn't show.  When he called their home he was told they had decided not to go on the trip.  Nice manners, the least they could have done was call.  Then into Edinburgh he hit road construction traffic.  Anyway, our driver Steve is really nice and the coach is big (its a Volvo, Brian lol).  We have the back seat with no one sitting by us so we pretty much have 6 seats to ourselves.

Garve Country Hotel

I was very happy when Steve told us that we were stopping for lunch in Pitlochry - one of my most favorite towns in the world.  We were there for an hour.  We ate lunch at Mackays Bar and I had the best Cream of Mushroom soup I have ever had.  After lunch, my dad stayed for a pint and my mom and I wandered down the street a little.  We got back on the bus, and had a two hour drive to our hotel in Garve.  The scenery was very pretty.  We went through snow capped hills, passing lochs and glens.  We arrived in Garve around 4 pm.  My dad and I took our cameras and went for a short walk.  There is a river behind the hotel called "The Black Water".  We walked along the river and stumbled across the Garve Burial Ground with old stones dating as far back as 1845.  There is a newer graveyard across the street.  A lot of the gravestones were really old and the words were worn out.  After the graveyard, we walked down a long country road.  Saw some cows and sheep along the way.  We turned and came back, crossed through the very small train station and walked back down to the hotel.  we got ready for dinner as it was being served at 6:30.  DInner was delicious 3 course meal.  I had Scotch Broth, Roast Pork with Applesauce and garden vegetables, and for dessert I had rhubarb crumble with custard.  Now we are relaxing in the lounge, having a drink.  Its the only place that has wi-fi so I guess I will be hanging out here every night lol.  My laptop is working good, but for some reason the iPad isn't connecting.
So tomorrow we are headed for Inverness.  Breakfast is at 8:00 am and then we are headed out on the bus at 9:30.  So look for more updates tomorrow.  I am about to upload a bunch of photos.  Of course I have to do it two at a time which is really frustrating.  So if you see me starting to add photos you may want to wait about 10 minutes before opening the album so I can get them all uploaded.  I think I have about 20 photos to add.
UPDATE: I may not add all the photos as the connection is real slow at the hotel.  I will add a couple of photos and see how long it takes.  If it takes too long you may have to wait to see more photos when I get home lol
Well thats all for tonight.  I will chat with you all tomorrow :-)

Mr Whippy Weekend

Hi everyone - hope you are all having a good weekend and are ready for the week ahead.  I know I am ready for this week as I am going on a fun trip.  But more on that in a few.

Square Dance Pillow

My weekend has been quiet but eventful.  I know I didn't blog yesterday so I will briefly touch on what we did yesterday. We actually did not do too much.  The weather was still pretty bad.  It didn't snow, it tried to a couple of times but nothing came of it.  The wind was awful - howling and very cold. My mom and I walked into town as she needed to visit the chemist (pharmacy for the Yanks in this group). Afterwards we headed to Val's flat (apartment) to help her out with some color choices.  Poor Val was trying to pick out fabrics for the pillow I showed her how to make on Friday.  She said she wasn't sure which fabrics and colors went together so my mom and I went over to help her out.  She actually had some different shades of browns put together that were perfect so she just needs to have some confidence in herself.  I know she is reading this - so Val - my words of wisdom to you are just trust your instincts and go with it lol.  It took me a while to figure out what goes with what, but eventually you will have the eye for it.  Live and learn :-)  We also had a nice visit with her hubby Euan and their dog Sasha.  We had fun playing on Google maps looking up Victorville at street level.  Showed them my house, Kristin's house and the Verizon building where I used to work.  Euan showed me their little flat that they have down in Cape Town, South Africa (lucky them).  After our visit Val drove us home so we didn't have to walk in the freezing cold wind (thanks Val).  The rest of the day was a chilling kind of day (excuse the pun..lol).  I managed to finish the front of my pillow I was working on (see attached photo).
Today was packing day for our forthcoming adventure.  I think I am all set to go.  Just a few last minute things to throw in the suitcase in the morning.  I face timed with Kristin and Kenley this afternoon.  The boys weren't there as they were with their other Grandma.  It was great to see Kenley walking around.  I guess she has just about mastered the art of walking.  Got to see her at the back door yelling to the doggies on the other side of the glass.  So cute :-)
We also had a visit from Daniel and Emily today.  They drove up from Prestonpans for a couple of hours.  Was great to see them.
Oh and I finally got my Mr Whippy ice cream after waiting for him to show up for a month lol.  It was so yummy and well worth the wait.  Thought we were going to have another one tonight but it was a different ice cream man lol.

Garve Hotel

So tomorrow we have to get up early.  The taxi is coming to take us to the train station at 8:30 so we can catch the 9:00 train into Edinburgh.  The trip into Edinburgh via train takes about 20 minutes.  We have to be at the bus station to catch our tour bus at 10:35.  We will be heading to the village of Garve to stay at the Garve Hotel.  My folks tell me that the bus driver will be stopping somewhere for lunch on the way up there and we should be at the hotel around 4:00.  Looking forward to the trip.  My camera is all charged and ready to take a lot of photos lol.  I am hoping that the hotel has wi-fi that works well so I can update the blog and share some photos every night.  If for some reason there is an issue and you don't hear from me this week, you will all just have to wait until I get home on Friday to update it all.  But I think it will be fine and I will be able to share each day.  The first actual day of touring we will be in Inverness.  I visited there a couple of years ago when I came out for my folks 50th wedding anniversary.  So looking forward to going back.  There is also nightly entertainment at the hotel each night.  The first night is a ceilidh - a scottish get together with music and dancing (no I won;t be doing the Highland Fling hahahaha), the next night is 60's and 70's music, and the 3rd night is a comedian.  This trip also includes dinner, bed and breakfast.  So its a great deal and we are all very excited about going on it.
So I will bid you goodnight.  Hope you all have a great week.  I know I will :-)
Night all!!!!

Holy Smoke...d Mackarel

Hello all.  I am back like the proverbial bad penny.  Did you miss me?  Haha!!!

Sewing Fun

 I hope everyone has had a great Friday, mine was awesome.  Today was sewing day with Val and Anne.  They come every fortnight for a sewing lesson/get-together.  This morning my mom was teaching them how to make fabric eggs that make pretty christmas ornaments.  I also showed them the pillow I am working on because they will be making that too.  Its a pretty simple design using the promise stitching concept and it turns out gorgeous.  I will take some photos of it when it is completed.  Of course I won't be putting a pillow in it to take it home as that would take up space in my already overstuffed suitcase..lol.  After Val and Anne left, my mom and I had some lunch then walked into town in the blowing ice cold wind.  Today is probably the coldest day since I got here.  Its freezing.  We needed to go into town to get some fish for dinner and some other stuff.  We got what we needed and headed home.  The wind was so strong and we were walking into it, so it almost blew us over lol.  
This afternoon I just relaxed and fell asleep watching tv.  My dad was gone all day to the records office in Edinburgh doing some genealogy research.  He just got home and looked like a frozen icicle :-)

Pretty Cath Kidston stuff

We just got done eating dinner and what a culinary delight it was.  My mom and I had smoked mackerel -
well mine was peppered smoked mackerel and my mom's was plain.  Yummmmmmmy.  We had new potatoes, carrots, snap peas and baby corn as side dishes.  And the peace de resistance was the German Donker bread that we managed to steal from some man at the Crunchy Carrot...lol.  Well we didn't really steal it, we bought it right out from under him.  We had this bread a couple of weeks ago when we visited North Berwick.  Its a dark German bread and its really delicious.  Anyway, the Crunchy Carrot is a local store that sells fresh fruits and vegetables, and once a week on a Friday they order special breads.  Well I guess some man named George (I hope it wasn't my Uncle George..lol) ordered the bread and hadn't been in to pick it up so she sold it to us hahahaha.  George is going to be very disappointed when he goes to pick up his bread lol.
And to finish off dinner my mom made my new most favorite dessert - meringue nests with Strawberry Angel delight and fresh raspberries. I can't even describe how good it tastes...lol.

Happy Birthday Simone

Ok well enough about food.  I suddenly realized that I didn't blog last night.  So a quick update on what we did yesterday,  My mom and I went into Edinburgh.  We were planning on going to the movies but changed our minds,  We did some shopping instead.  Our favorite find was the Cath Kidston store on George Street.  I could spend a fortune in that store.  She has a lot of floral and vintage looking products that I just love.  We also passed the Radley store and I saw a handbag in the window that I may just have to have. Of course, being Radley I will probably have to rob a bank to pay for it..lolol.  After our shopping adventure, we headed to John Lewis for our bowl of soup that we love to order there.  Yesterday was Carrot & Coriander.  I have to find a good recipe for it because I plan to be making it at home.
Well that's about it folks.  Please join me in wishing my sister-in-law a very Happy Birthday.  Simone - I hope you had a wonderful day and that my brother is taking good care of you on your special day :-)
Good Night everyone !!!

Lamb, Laughs and Letdowns

Well hello....I didn't post a blog last night so I thought I better post one tonight.  I hope this finds everyone well.  We are all doing great over here.  Today has been an easy going day.  My mom and I walked to ASDA to do some grocery shopping as we had invited my Aunt Connie and Uncle George over for dinner tonight.  Snow flurries were coming down as we walked to the store, but coming back it had blown over.  After lunch we headed back into town for some other errands - post office, a stop in at the charity shop for coffee with Val, the pound store and then home.  I got busy making a big pot of soup as the starter course for tonights dinner.  My mom was making a leg of lamb roast so she got busy preparing that.  When my Aunt Connie got here, we left to go to our weight watchers meeting.  What a joke and letdown that was.  The weight watchers leader is still gone on vacation and the lady that was supposed to be helping out while she is gone never showed up to open the place so everyone was standing around just waiting.  I swear this is the most disorganized group ever.  It's definitely not anything like my experience at home.  Maybe I should stay here and sign up to be a leader..lol.  Anyways after waiting about 20 minutes we gave up and came home.  Which now means that my mom and I won't weigh-in for a couple of weeks as next week we will be gone on holiday.  Oh well, two full weeks to lose some pounds hahahaha.

Empire Palace Theatre - Edinburgh (photo for my folks lol)

Dinner turned out great.  The soup went over well. And my mom's lamb was very tender - served with potatoes, turnip, carrots, gravy and mint sauce.  And she made a yummy Strawberry Creme Flan to top off the meal.  Needless to say we are all stuffed.   After dinner we just sat and relaxed and talked.  It was fun to hear them all reminiscing about parts of Edinburgh that they frequented when they were younger.  I had to do some internet research because they couldn't remember then name of an old theater in their neighborhood, and I was able to jog their memories when I found it on the web lol.  All in all, it was a wonderful evening (well asides from the weight watchers letdown).
Tomorrow my mom and I are headed into Edinburgh to go to the movies and lunch. Have a great Thursday everyone and I will chat with you tomorrow :-)

Snow Flurries

Well hi - its been a cold Monday here in Dunbar.  I woke up to a wet and windy morning.  I sleep with the window cracked in my bedroom as I enjoy the crisp air, as long as I am warm and toasty under my blanket lol.

Fun new class I am taking

Shortly after breakfast this morning, my Aunt Connie and Uncle George stopped by for a visit.  It is always good to see them, and it reminds me that I need to take a walk up to their farm cottage sometime soon.  It will be a nice long walk for me from Dunbar to where they live.  After they left, my mom and I headed into town to work at the shop. Before I got started for the afternoon, I quickly went along and completed my 10 minutes on the toning machine, stopped in at the co-op for some soup and visited a small craft store that I didn't know existed in town (thanks for the info, Aunt Connie lol).  We got quite a lot accomplished at the shop today and the afternoon just kind of disappeared.  Around 4:30 we walked home in the snow flurries.  Its trying to snow but the ground is pretty wet so not sure if it will stick.  Its supposed to be really cold the next few days so we will see what happens.
Got home and I made Cream of Cauliflower soup for my folks.  I either didn't put in enough cauliflower or I added too much broth, but it turned out a little thinner than I normally make it.  It was still quite tasty though.  Not bad for not having the recipe with me and just making it from memory.  Maybe some day I will be as good as a chef as my brother  - yeah when pigs fly hahahaha.
Tonight I have been watching the first episode of my online card class that I signed up for.  It teaches you different card techniques with patterned papers,and its a wealth of knowledge.  Can't wait to put some of the new stuff I learned to use when I get home.

New sewing project I will be working on

Tomorrow we were going to go into Edinburgh to see a movie but we have changed the plans for that to Thursday.  So tomorrow will be a "stay at home" day.  I have a sewing project I want to share with my mom's two friends - Val and Anne.  So I may cut out the fabric for that and get the sample started.  If it snows, it will be a perfect day to stay home and work on a craft project :-)
So that's it for today.  I hope everyone had a great St Patrick's Day.  Yesterday was also my 28th wedding anniversary.  Spoke with my hubby this morning via messages and he told me that we can do an anniversary celebration when I get home, if I get home hahahaha.  I think they are all still worried that I am not coming back.  You just never know :-)
Speak with you all tomorrow - night night!

Bundle of Energy

Good Afternoon everyone - hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday.  It will be a short blog tonight as I don't have too much to share.

Alexander & Eilidh

I just got home from a 3.25 mile walk.  It was overcast with the sun peaking through and there was no wind.  So it made for a nice walk.  That is my second walk for the day as I walked into town with my mom earlier this morning.  This morning it was raining though when we went into town.
This afternoon my sister-in-law Simone came down with her grandchildren, Eilidh and Alexander for a visit.  It was great to see the kids again.  Alexander was a baby the last time I was here, and now he is 2 years old and Eilidh is now 5 years old.  They are so cute.  Alexander took a little time to warm up to me, but he came around after I started to take his picture...lol.  He is quite a ball of energy, and didn't sit still for 5 minutes.  He was too funny.  EIlidh is more quiet and reserved :-)
Well like I said that is all I have for tonight.  Maybe I will have more to share tomorrow night.  Be sure to check back.  Have a great Sunday and I will chat with you all tomorrow :-)

Happy Feet

Hat Day

Ok I lie, my feet aren't that happy they are sore from all the walking we did today lol.  They were happy when we started out though :-)
Let's start at the beginning.I woke up early and did the usual breakfast and bath thingie.  Got dressed and walked into town to get my 10 minutes on the toning machine.  Then walked back home.  The wind was blowing hard and it almost blew me away a couple of times.  It was a also a very cold biting wind, so changed jackets when I got back to the house.  My mom gave me a thick wool jacket to wear that was quite warm.  So we bundled up, and my mom, dad and I headed into Edinburgh on the 9:56 am train.  When we landed in Edinburgh we started back up the Bridges again.  We needed to go to a fabric/sewing shop that we visited a couple of days ago for some stuff that we didn't get the last time we were there lol.  After we got what we went in there for, we headed down to Rose Street to have lunch at Milnes Pub.  I decided to be bad today and finally have my fish and chips...lol  I haven't had fish and chips since I arrived and you can't come to Scotland and not have fish and chips.  You should have seen the size of the piece of fish they gave me, it was enough to feed Jesus and all 12 of his disciples hahahaha.  My mother's piece  was even bigger.  Both of us couldn't finish it.  My dad had a vegetable patch pie which looked quite yummy too.  It was a pastry pot full of vegetables and gravy.  We came away from the pub with our bellies stuffed :-)

At the top of Fleshmarket
 Close

After the pub, we walked back down Rose Street to Primark to look at a couple of things.  Then we walked down Princes St to PC World so I could get a new pair of headphones.  From there we headed to the other end of Princes Street to John Lewis.  Had a latte at the upstairs cafe at John Lewis, then headed for the 3:08 pm train back to Dunbar.  When we got to Dunbar it was raining, so got out the umbrella (the first time my umbrella has been put to use since I got here lol) and walked home.
So that was my day,  Don't know what the weekend holds as we don't really have any plans.  Its supposed to snow again starting Sunday into Monday.  So I guess if I want to do a real nice long walk I will probably have get myself out tomorrow and do it.
Happy Friday to you all, and I hope you have a great weekend.  Bye for now !

Card Inspiration

HobbyCraft

Hello again - it has been yet another eventful day.  The hours just fly by when you are having fun...lol. Awoke at around 6:30 am.  Came downstairs and my mom was already awake.  So we had breakfast - egg, toast and a bacon medallion (1 ww point lol) and some mango (my favorite fruit).  After breakfast I took a bath and got ready for the day.  About 9:40 I walked up the road to the toning place to meet Val.  We were both scheduled for a double session.  I am excited to take my measurements in a week or so..  It will be interesting to see if I have lost any inches.  The machine really shakes your muscles..lol.  After our session we headed down to my folks house to pick up my mom.  My dad was getting ready to go with my Aunt Connie and Uncle George to a town called Duns, where my Aunt went to school.  So off we went to HobbyCraft at The Fort (a shopping mall) outside of Edinburgh.  What a fun store.  It's a little smaller than our Hobby Lobby, probably more the size of Joann's.  But they had a lot of selection.  Of course you know where I headed first - the card making section..lol.  Found some very cute stamps and paper, different from what I can get in the states.  They got my creative juices flowing and I have several ideas in my head on what I want to do with them, but of course it will have to wait until I return home to my craft room where I have all my supplies lol.  I probably could have spent a fortune in there, so I picked out a few things and forced myself to walk away before I picked up more items and put them in my basket lol. My mom and Val found what they were looking for too, so all in all it was a very productive visit to the craft store :-)After HobbyCraft we went to Thornton's Cafe for lunch.  I had Leek & potato soup.  It was really good.  I could pretty much live on soup.  It's cool that most places you can eat at over here, you can find homemade soup on the menu.  In the three weeks I have been here, I have tried all kinds of different soups - lentil, carrot & coriander, leek & potato, parsnip & apple, courgette & basil, cream of chicken, and probably another couple I have forgotten about..lol.  Bought some licorice toffee at Thorntons that is to die for.  I love licorice and I love toffee so the combination of the two is yum yum yum :-)

Duns Parish Church

After lunch we headed back home to Dunbar.  My mom and I caught up on some sewing for about an hour before my Dad, Aunt Connie & Uncle George returned.  Had a nice visit and a good laugh.  I guess my Aunt had her hands full with my Dad and my Uncle.  She said she wasn't taking them back out together ever again lol. 

So that's it for today's exciting adventure.  Tomorrow my mom and I are headed back into Edinburgh for a couple of things we need.  It will probably be a short blog tomorrow night because it will be a pretty short day unless something exciting happens when we are in Edinburgh lol.

Time to bid you adieu until tomorrow :-)

Walking Fool

Hi everyone - well we've made it to Wednesday.  Halfway through the week and the weekend will be upon us before you know it.  Not much to share today except that I did a lot of walking.  I got up early and went out and put 5 miles on my sneakers lol.  I walked through the woods, along the Cliff Top trail, through the town and back along through the neighborhood to get home.  It was a beautiful walk.  The weather wasn't too bad.  The sun kept peeking through and would warm me up and then it would disappear.  It was chilly in the shade.  After I got home from my 5 miles, I went back out with my mom to run some errands in town  so that was another couple of miles I did.  Then after lunch my Dad and I walked back into town again as I needed to get something mailed.  So all in all I probably walked about 9 miles today.  Whew, I will sleep very well tonight..lol.

Ocean View from the Cliff Top Trail

My Aunt Connie and Uncle George came over this evening as it is our weekly Weight Watchers meeting day.  We got to the meeting and our leader wasn't there (she left on vacation) and I guess they couldn't find anyone to fill in for her so it was just a weigh-in, no meeting this week.  I am very happy to report that I lost 4 lbs this week, for a total of 7 lbs lost in two weeks.  My mom lost a couple too, so she is at a 7 lb weight loss as well.  I guess whatever we are doing is working.  Sometimes I feel like I am constantly eating lol.  We must be eating the right things though because the weight continues to come off.
Tomorrow my mom, Val and I are going on a little trip to a couple of craft stores.  They have something over here called HobbyCraft which is pretty much like our Hobby Lobby in the States.  Before we leave for the craft stores, Val and I are scheduled for a double session at the toning place.  That means we stay on the machines for 20 minutes instead of the regular 10 minutes.  Once we get done with toning, we will head off on our  craft adventure lol.  Looking forward to it.  I will get to see what card making supplies they offer here in the UK.  I want to see what kind of stamps they have.
Well thats it.  I am just going to enjoy my glass of wine, relax and watch some tv before heading up to my comfy bed for the night.  Hope everyone has a good night and an even better Thursday. Until tomorrow, cheerio :-)

Memories

Good evening to everyone.  How are we all doing?  I had a great day.  Actually I haven't had a bad day since I got here 3 weeks ago.  Everyone is so friendly, and my folks have gone out of their way to be hospitable.  I can't thank them enough for putting up with me.  I really appreciate and love you.

If you look closely my dad has a blue arrow pointing at the
apartment that was my first home - 23 CausewaySide

So today started with a brisk (and I mean brisk - it was cold) walk up into the High street to visit the toning place.  I rattled for 10 minutes and then briskly walked back home lol.  We then got ready and headed on the 9:55 am train for Edinburgh.  My mom and I wandered on up the Bridges in Edinburgh. It's lined with a lot of little stores and charity shops.  We had fun going in and out of them all.  Found some good buys.  I got  couple of cute hats.  I have never been into hats before, but I am loving the ones I am finding here.  Of course if I return to California I won't be able to wear them as often as I can here.  Hmmmmm...one more reason to stay here hahahaha.  We had lunch in a little cafe.  This time it was Lentil Soup.  It was so good and hit the spot.  After lunch we headed towards Causewayside.  This is the street that we lived on when I was born.  I got to look up and see the apartment that I was brought home to after I was born.  While we were walking through the neighborhood my mom was telling me stories of when she used to push me around in my pram (now known as a stroller in America) and she would take me all over Edinburgh.  It was interesting to hear the stories.  I also got to see the church where I was christened.  Unfortunately it is no longer a church, its a lighting center in the old church.  I still took a picture which you can see attached to this blog.  It is truly a beautiful church on the outside. If you click on the photos in this blog, they will open bigger so you can see them better.  My dad has little arrows pointing at the apartment I was brought home to.  You can't really make them out on the smaller photos.
 Walking around Edinburgh feels like I am home.  I don't know why because I haven't lived here in over 40 years, but every time I am in this city I just feel comfortable, like this is where I am meant to be.  It's weird and I can't explain it.

Church where I was christened

After wandering around the bridges, we headed back down to Princes Street.  I needed to get some face cleanser at Boots before heading to the train station to catch the 4:30 train home to Dunbar.  All in all it was a wonderful day.  Tuesdays are our Edinburgh day (that's what my mom and I decided).  Girl time out for some shopping and lunch :-)
So this morning I mentioned that in a couple of weeks I may be taking a trip.  Well we are definitely going as the trip is booked.  We are headed on a 5 day/4 night coach trip up to the Highlands.  We leave on a Monday and return on the Friday.  We will be visiting Inverness, some other towns I can't remember or have never heard of before lol, and John O'Groats which is the most northern town that you can visit at the top of Scotland.  I am so excited.  I don't have to drive and can focus on the scenery.  I will be taking my camera and laptop so you can rest assured that I will be updating the blog every night with news and photos of our activities.  Of course this all hinges on whether or not the hotel we stay at has wi-fi lol.  My folks say most of the time the hotels have wi-fi, so keeping my fingers crossed.  So this wonderful trip is planned for March 25th.  I can't wait :-)
Well that's it for now.  I didn't think that I had much to share tonight but I guess I had more than I thought.  Tomorrow is a stay at home day.  Well not literally....lol...we will be going out for a walk, and to run some errands in town, and then tomorrow night is weigh-in at Weight Watchers (wish us luck).
Have a great day/night and I will talk with y'all tomorrow :-)

It's Monday Again

Edinburgh Map

Hi - I'm late, I know.  I wasn't going to write a blog tonight because I really didn't do a whole lot today that might interest anyone.  But my Dad said "What, you aren't writing a blog tonight"? LOL.  So here I am writing a blog.  I sincerely hope I am not boring you all to death.  You can always tell me to shut up.  I can't guarantee I will listen to you though hahahaha.
Anyway, its Monday.  Woke up to whiteness and blowing snow.  Not a lot of snow but enough to cover the garden and streets.  It was pretty.  My mom and I headed into town around 12:30 and ran some errands before heading into the shop for the afternoon.  Spent the afternoon throwing bags of clothes around, tagging stuff and chatting lol.  Also took some time out to run down the road to the Tone-It store to get my 10 minutes of jiggling in...lol.  We got back home from the store around 4:30'ish , and walked in to the aroma of roasted chicken.  So guess what we had for dinner? :-)
Now we are just sitting relaxing watching "Broadchurch"  Its an 8 week murder mystery mini-series.  And if you know me I love murder mysteries.  I think I should have become a forensic scientist, not a phone operator.  I missed my life's calling lol.
Well tomorrow mom and I are headed into Edinburgh.  Going to saunter up the Bridges, do some shopping and have some lunch.  I get to see my very first home.  The apartment that I was taken to when my parents brought me home for the hospital almost 50 years ago still stands.  So it will be interesting to see it.
That's it for now.  Nighty Night :-)))))))

Snow, Sleet and Sunshine

It's Sunday, it's Mother's Day and it's freezing...lol.  Hi everyone :-)

Perfectly clear

Hope this blog finds everyone well and in good spirits.  All is well here in freezing Dunbar.  We have had quite an array of weather here today.  I woke up to windy gray skies, which lead into a day of sleet, snow and sunshine.  More of that in a little bit.  First of all let me wish all the UK mother's a very Happy Mother's day.  I hope your families spoiled you rotten.  To my own Mother - as I told you in your card I am so grateful I finally get to spend mother's day with you.  I love you and appreciate you opening your home up and letting me stay here for a few weeks, months, ummm years.....lol...Ok just kidding.  However long I am here, I am very grateful.

ANd 5 minutes later - sNoW :-)

Well we didn't do too much today as the weather was kind of inclement.  We did decide to go for a walk because it looked overcast but it wasn't raining or snowing or anything.  So we bundled up - scarves, gloves and hats and went out and braved the elements.  No sooner did we walk about 5 minutes into the woods and it started to snow again.  Then it cleared up and the sun came out.  Further down the road it started to sleet and was pelting us in the face, then the sun came out again LOL.  And here I was thinking California weather was weird at times.  I think Dunbar has it beat.  We stopped in at  HallHill Sports Center on the way back to the house so my Dad could have a pint lol.  My mom and I had diet cokes.  He ended up staying for a second pint while we headed home to make some lunch.  After lunch, my mom and I started a sewing project I brought with me while my dad snoozed in his chair (I guess the fresh air, exercise and pints caught up with him hahaha).  The snow started to fall again, and came down pretty good this time.  It was sticking in the gardens.  The temperatures have definitely dropped as its freezing outside right now, so if it snows overnight we are going to wake up to a white Monday (keeping my fingers crossed lol).  We just got done with dinner.  Fresh scottish salmon, new potatoes, carrots and butternut squash - it was really delicious.  Now here I am catching up on the blog.  I have some photos from today's walk, not too many and I will upload them after I get this up and running.  Tomorrow I plan on visiting Tone-It, and then going to the charity shop to volunteer and hang out with Val and my mom (oops and Louise too).  On Tuesday my mom and are planning our weekly jaunt into Edinburgh and on Thursday we are going with Val to a couple of craft stores, and if the weather clears up a nice long walk somewhere one of the other days.  Have a great Sunday, and an even better week wherever you are.  Talk to you all soon :-)))))))

Family Fun

Mother's Day - UK - March 10th 2013

Hi - I am really late getting the blog out tonight.  Thats because we have had visitors for the past few hours.  But more of that in a few.  Woke up really early this morning because I was in bed so early last night.  I went to bed at 8:30 pm because I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I slept really well. But of course that meant waking up early.  And I woke up to gray skies, drizzle and my brother cursing me for wishing for rain lol.  He messaged me on FB at 6 am this morning to let me know he wasn't happy because he had to go golfing and it was raining and cold, and it was all my fault..hahahaha.  Anyway, got up and did the normal - breakfast and bath.  Around 11:30, my mom and I caught the bus into the high street.  Visited the fishmonger to pick up some sole for my dads supper tonight, and some salmon for us.  I love that they have a butcher, baker, fishmonger and vegetable shop in town.  It's like an old town feel.  After the fishmonger we wandered down to the Co-Op to pick up some groceries.  Caught a taxi home because of the rain and because we had several bags of groceries. After lunch I sewed for a little bit but noticed that the rain had eased up, and decided I was going out for a walk.  So I bundled up because the wind was still very cold, and took off on a 3.25 mile walk.  It felt good to get out and exercise and breath in the fresh air.  When I got back from my walk, my mom told me that my brother and his family were headed down for a visit.  We had a really good visit.  Fun times.  We decided to have pizzas for dinner, and I had a couple of slices of Spicy Chicken pizza that was quite yummy.  Gary, Simone, Daniel and Nicole left about an hour ago, and hopefully it won't be too long until we see them again.  So that's it for today.  We have no plans for tomorrow.  I will probably walk again.  Maybe down at the Cliff Top trail, or maybe I will walk up to Spott .  I hope everyone has a great Sunday.  Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the UK as tomorrow is Mother's day here.  Bye for now :-)

Sewing Circle

Highland Cow

Good Evening to everyone.  We made it to Friday.  Are you ready for the weekend?  We woke up to wind and drizzle and cold this morning - love it!  I am hearing that its raining and cold at home in California too.  we had a very nice day.  Val and Anne came over for their sewing lesson from my mom and we had a good laugh and fun time together.  Both ladies quilts are coming along nicely.  Today they learned how to sew all their rag time quilt rows together.  So they have now taken their rows home to complete, and then all that is left for them to do is clip the seams and wash the quilt.  I am excited to see them completed, and proud of them for what they have accomplished so far.  They were both telling me today that sewing has never been something they were interested in, and now both of them own their own sewing machines lol.  It's definitely addicting.  After the lesson, Val gave my mom and I a ride up into town so I could go jiggle on the machine.  I am really beginning to feel the muscles tighten.  Its almost like I worked out at the gym for an hour or two, but I didn't..lol.  Loving this machine.  After my 10 minutes was completed, my mom and I walked back home in the cold drizzle.  Got changed into pajama pants and pretty much stayed in for the rest of the day.  Did a little cross stitch, played on my iPad and watched tv. A nice quiet afternoon on a dreary day.  My mom made us macaroni and cheese for dinner.  Of course ours was made with wholewheat pasta and low fat cheese to bring down the Weight Watchers points value, and it was actually pretty yummy.  Won't be staying up late tonight as I am actually quite tired right now.  Not sure why, I really shouldn't be..lol.  Don't really have any plans for tomorrow.  I am going to get up early and hopefully get out and walk if the weather isn't too bad.  I dont get to go jiggle tomorrow as they are closed on the weekends.  So will start that back up again on Monday.  I might get to see my brother and his family tomorrow night or Sunday, as I think they are planning on coming down for a visit.  Next week our plans are to go on a couple of long walks if the weather is nice, and my mother and I will be headed into Edinburgh to take a walk up the Bridges.  And maybe a bus ride through to Musselburgh.
Well that's it for now.  Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend with their loved ones.  Be good and I will talk with you all tomorrow.  Cheerio :-)

Shake, Rattle & Roll

The awesome flab machine lol

Hi all - how's it going?  All is well here on this dreary Thursday evening in Dunbar.  I got my wish and it has been drizzling off and on all day.  No heavy rain, just a mist, drizzle, windy and cloudy.  Oh and cold..lol.  But you won't hear me complain :-)   Not much to report tonight.  My mom and I got up, had breakfast and walked to ASDA to get some groceries for tonight's dinner.  Then afterwards we walked into town to mail something,  visit the Crunchy Carrot for celery (ASDA was out) and the pharmacy.  I also stopped in at a place called "Tone It" to check it out.  It's a really interesting 10 minute workout.  Its a machine that uses vibration plates to tone your muscles.  Val (my mom's friend) has been going and was telling me about it as she has lost several inches.  You stand on the machine, and it starts shaking.  It starts off slowly, and picks up intensity.  You can feel every muscle and piece of flab on your body shaking lol.  Its a very weird feeling.  Anyway, I tried it out and loved it so I am going to do it for three weeks.  I have to go 4 times a week, so I will be walking up there to go shake and jiggle...lol.   We need to get these to the USA, I have never seen them before, and the Yanks would probably love them.

Kenley Harper

After our little jaunt into town, we headed home in the drizzle and made some lunch.  Caught up on some sewing, took a cat nap and made a big pot of Dutch Curried Pea Soup. Wanted to send a bowl to Val's husband and I know she is coming for a sewing lesson here tomorrow, so we can send some soup home with her for him.  Face timed with Kristin, Cole and Kenley.  Watched Kenley totally stand up by herself from a sitting down position and take a few steps.  That little sweetie is going to be running all over the place before her mommie knows it lol.  And then there's Cole - there aren't many words for Cole, he's crazy but oh so cute.  Love that little boy to bits.  Missed Cameron as he was at school :-(((  Will catch up with him next time.  Well that about does it for today.  Tomorrow, Val and Anne are coming for their fortnightly sewing lesson.  My mom is going to show them how to join their rag time quilt rows together.  I will head into town for my shake, rattle and roll session after the sewing lesson.  Also going to try walk a few miles if the weather is not too bad.  So until tomorrow, nighty night.  TTYS !

Les Miserables & Weigh-Ins

Les Miserables

The scale didn't make us cry this week

Good Evening everyone....getting a late start on the blog tonight.  Its been a long day, but a good one.  Woke up around 7 am and caught up on yesterday's episode of "Wild at Heart".  Had some breakfast and got ready for our trip into Edinburgh.  Caught the earlier train today as we were going to the noon showing of "Les Miserables".  Had a little time to spare before the movie started so we wandered around St James's Center (a shopping mall), then headed into the "The Slug and Lettuce" for a latte.  Yup that's the name of the restaurant lol.  The movie was very good, and I can see why Anne Hathaway won her Oscar for it, she was excellent. I have never seen the stage show, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it.  It was a long movie, so after we got out we were ready for lunch.  This time we headed into John Lewis's for a bowl of soup.  For those in the States, John Lewis is like our Macys or Nordstroms.  This time we had Courgette & Basil Soup (yum yum) with a fresh baked brown roll.  Courgettes are zucchinis here in Scotland lol  That's what they call them here.  After lunch we wandered around some more.  Hit Poundland again for some weight watchers goodies.  Then started to make our way back across the street towards Waverly train station to catch the 4:30 train back into Dunbar.  We didn't get rained upon in Edinburgh, but the weather is definitely a-changing as it has got chilly and there is a mist in the air (absolutely loving it lol).  It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so we will see.  Anyway back to tonight.  We got home and were only home a short while before we headed to our first weight watchers weigh-in since joining last week.  I am happy to report that my mom, my aunt and myself all lost.  I lost 3 lbs so I was real happy with that.  Back on track.  My mom did even more awesome than me, she lost 5 lbs.  Yah Mom :-)  We are having fun doing this together, and its nice to be there and support each other along this journey.  The weight watchers meeting is so different from the one I go to in California.  Not sure about the leader as she is easily distracted and never talks about the topic of the week lol.  She's nice though and she has a great name - Lesley !!!! LOL  So here's to another good week.  I think if we keep doing what we are doing, we will continue to steadily lose the weight.
As for tomorrow, not much planned.  I am going to try and go out and get some walking or running in. If its pouring rain I won't be able to go, but if it is just a little sprinkling then I am headed out the door, of that you can be sure lol.
Well that's all for tonight.  I will check in with you all tomorrow.  Have a great night!!!!

North Berwick Day Trip

At the North Berwick beach

Hi all - how's everyone doing?  All is well here in Sunny Dunny lol.  I saw that on a t-shirt in the high street and it made me laugh. The weather was pleasant today, but started to get a little cold later in the afternoon.  It's supposed to rain Wednesday through Saturday - FINALLY...lol.  I have been here two weeks and have yet to see any rain so I am looking forward to it .  People here probably think I am nuts for looking forward to it raining.  They don't understand that I live in the desert and don't see enough rain lol.  Well, my mom and I completed a 3.20 mile walk this morning, pretty much taking the same route I did by myself a couple of days ago.  While on our walk, we stumbled across a young deer standing by itself at the edge of the woods.  He stood and looked at us for a quite a few seconds, but took off into the woods before I could get my iPhone out of my pocket to try and get a photo of him.  He was cute.  After our walk, we got ready to catch the noon bus out to North Berwick.  The bus trip winds through East Linton, Tyninghame, and Whitekirk before landing in North Berwick.  I love the tiny little town of Tyninghame.  It's only one little street long but all the cottages on it are quaint and I want to live there.  We are going to take a long walk, probably next week,  out to Tyninghame.  They have a little tea room so we will walk to the town, have some tea (ok I don't drink tea, so coffee for me) and then walk back to East Linton and catch the bus home.  That will be a fun day.

Bunnie's Cafe & Deli

Anyway, we got into North Berwick and my dad took off down to the harbor to take some photos while my mom and I wandered through the town in and out of the little stores.  Saw a really pretty shirt that I probably should have got because it was unique and different,a nd I keep thinking about it.  I guess if I go back some day and it is still there, then I will get it because it was meant to be.  After wandering through town, we met my dad down at the beach.  We took some photos, and some nice lady stopped and offered to take a photo of the three of us together which came out quite good.  We wandered a little along the beach, and then headed back into town to get some lunch.  We ate at a place called Bunnie's Cafe & Deli.  The food was so good.  My mom and I had some Parsnip & Apple Soup with fresh baked German Donker bread.  Both were delicious.  My dad wasn't as adventurous when it came to the soup, so he had his old standby - a cheese and onion toastie lol.  Then all three of us had fruit scones with jam (no cream this time).  After lunch, my mom stopped in at the butcher to pick up a haggis for dinner tonight and then we had a short wait for the 3 pm bus to take us home.  We are back home now, and here I am catching up on the blog again lol.  I have already uploaded the photos from today's adventure, so I hope you will enjoy looking at them.  Tomorrow is another eventful day.  My mom and I are planning on heading into Edinburgh to go to the movies, and then tomorrow night we have our first weigh-in at Weight Watchers.  We are both hoping that we lost a couple of pounds, so will let you know how that went tomorrow night.  We've been pretty good this week, and have got a lot of walking in so keeping our fingers crossed.  So have a good night/morning./afternoon whereever you may be in this beautiful world.  Bye for now !!!

Its a leek and potato kind of day

Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland - Where I help volunteer on Mondays

Hi everyone - it's Monday - again lol.  It sure does come around fast.  I arrived two weeks ago today, and the days have just disappeared.  How come when you are at work, the days drag on but when you are doing something fun they go by so fast?  Well my monday was a nice one.  Got up and had some breakfast and a bath.  Got dressed and went for a walk, with a stop at the grocery store to pick up ingredients to make leek & potato soup for dinner.  After I got home, my mom and I left to go work at the charity shop for a few hours.  Was a fun afternoon with Val, Louise, and my mom.  Once we got home, I got busy making the leek and potato soup, and boy was it yummy.  I need to make it more often at home.  Oh I forgot I am not going home hahahahahaha.
Tomorrow we are going for a walk in the morning, then headed to North Berwick on the bus.  North Berwick is another seaside town about 12 miles from Dunbar.  It has a lot of charity and quaint little shops, so we are going to aimlessly wander.  My dad is going along too so we will do some sightseeing around the harbor as well.  So look for some photos tomorrow night.
  If you have been leaving me comments on my blog, they aren't showing up.  I only realized that after my brother told me that he was leaving me comments, but for some reason they are going into outer space somewhere....lol.  So if you have anything to say about the blog, leave me a message on my Scotland page on Facebook.  That way I will be able to see them and can reply to it.
Night all :-)