A Graduation and the Costa del Sol.... All in a Day's Work

Last Saturday - or was it the Saturday before? My days are all rather topsy-turvy right now - we began our day in London...

DR arrived off the train from Cambridge, where he'd spent a week at the Wilberforce Academy. A quick change later, and he appeared resplendent in his Morrison tartan kilt. 

It was the date for his graduation, and we were all - minus Catherine and John - there to join him in his celebration. It's not often we have everyone all spruced up, so I may as well show y'all some photos of us at our best :)

The graduation was held in the Barbican centre, so all the outside photos have a whole lot of concrete as the backdrop.

Anyway, we weren't there to view the architecture, but to celebrate ...

Calum enjoyed the day so much, and delighted in being able to share in DR's joy.

I love this photo of DR with the Builder,

and then the obligatory one with both parents.

Five years of studying, DR, all seemed very worthwhile all of a sudden! Indeed, according to yourself, the studies still ahead of you are now something to look forward to. It's amazing how success spurs us on to wish to learn more. 

Well, we may have begun our day in London, but we ended the day on the gorgeously warm Costa del Sol, and spent the next week resting, relaxing, and eating in warmth. 

Gorgeous, delightful, delicious warmth. 

Instead of my blethering on about DR's story, I think I'll give him a blog post soon where he can tell his own story. He, somewhat like me, loves to talk ;) 

More of the Costa photos will follow too. I wish to re-live the holiday, so you guys will just have to come along with me. Deal?

We're Home!

.....and boy, does it feel good to be home.

Here are some photos from Edinburgh, which was fabulous for so many reasons...

 

Emma's school orchestra had a concert and so we were able to hear and to see them play,

 

and then go out for late night coffees (for the mums) and juices for the girls.

Edinburgh is also good for..

 

  Katie going to the hairdresser and having her her cut short.

Eek!

 

for going out to dinner, 

 

and then going ice-skating,

 

and, of course, for shopping until you drop.

I did tell you that there would be a surprise on Friday. Well, there is, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for me to tell y'all!

We'll call it Saturday Surprise and then it feels like it was supposed to be on Saturday.

Phones, Animals and Kitchens

Yesterday, whilst driving down the east coast between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, Catherine's mobile rang.

The conversation on Catherine's end went something like this:

Cath: "Awww. Awwwwww. Awwwwwww."

Silence.

"Wow! Aww. Twins. Oh my pet."

Silence while she listened to conversation from the other end

Cath:  Oh. Oh dear. Right. In the kitchen.

My ears tune in at this point. For a moment earlier in the conversation, I reckoned she must have been talking about a newly born lamb. The first newly born lamb. 

But now she's mentioning 'The Kitchen'. My Kitchen, I presume.

Yep, you guessed it. I'm away just over 24 hours, and already there are animals in my kitchen.

I can't make up my mind whether I ought to get home. Quickly. Or whether I ought to stay away even longer.

Animals. Kitchens. My kitchen. These terms are not supposed to be used in the same conversation...

Anyway, here are some of the scenes passing by my eyes while I had to endure the thought of the aforementioned animals, kitchens etc

 

Llamas. Furry Llamas. Very odd looking creatures, but lest I offend any llama-loving friends, I'm sure they are delightful creatures. Delightful, but quirky.

 

Fields ploughed and ready to be planted. What a wonderful feeling it must be for farmers to see their seed sprouting in a few weeks' time.

 

Further south, and along the east coast the soil was so red. The difference in such a short distance was amazing.

 

Rows and rows of polytunnels. They my be used for strawberries, but I'm not sure about that.

 

Crossing the Forth Road Bridge, with the 

Forth Rail Bridge beside us.

Our Trip 1

Inverness is for ...

the castle

 

...with the monument to Flora MacDonald

 

for meeting friends ...

 

and for Birthday cake made by friends.

Emigrants from Lewis

In the post Emigrants from Lewis, I told you,


"My Mum's aunt, for whom she's named, left on the SS Marloch in 1923. She died of TB, in a hospital in British Columbia, not long after she arrived in Canada. In another post, I'll tell a wee story about her, a couple in our church and an amazing meeting in Stanley Park, Vancouver."


Well, bear with my whilst I tell a wee story.


In September 2001 (yes, that unforgettable month), my Mum and I were in Canada for two weeks. We spent the first week in the wonderful Ontario, and the second in Vancouver. In the middle of our week in Vancouver, my mum's cousin, with whom we were staying, suggested we go and take a wander through Stanley Park.


My Mum, her cousin - Muriel, Muriel's son - Don, and I spent a couple of hours strolling through this gorgeous park in Vancouver. Towards the end of our time there, we decided to visit a small Gift Shop, and took our time browsing the souvenirs there. We then visited the .... er, Ladies' / Restroom / Toilets / Taighean Beaga / Facilities (whatever they're called where you are!).


Now rewind two hours...


Unbeknown to us, as we entered the park, a man who was sitting on a bench close to the entrance heard us talking. This man was from Edinburgh and recognised our Lewis accents immediately. His wife and friends - a couple from Lewis - were in the Gift Shop while he sat enjoying the sunshine, and when they re-joined him he told them there were some Leodhasaich (people from Lewis) in the park. Asking how he could be sure, he smiled and said knowingly, 'I heard them talking'. If you've ever heard someone from Lewis speaking, you'll know that their accent is, ....well, it's, er, easily recognised, shall we say!


The couple from Lewis thought little of it, dismissing the information with, 'it'll be nobody we know anyway'.


(Not the most reasonable conclusion to reach if you're from Lewis, but there you go.)


A couple of hours later, he saw the Leodhasaich again and said to his wife and the other couple with them (from Lewis), 'Oh, these folks from Lewis....they're just away into the Ladies' / Restroom / blah blah..... 


The Lewis couple decided to hang around near the toilets...... eek - I need to re-word that.


Let's see: they thought they'd wander around admiring the flora and fauna whilst remaining close to the Facilities. 

You with me...?


They hear the door opening. They wait. Will they recognise the people? Or will they feel like total prats watching and waiting at Toilet doors?


Mum and I emerge. We see them. We are speechless. I mean totally gobsmacked. Standing in front of us is a couple who are not only from Lewis, but from Ness. Not only are they from Ness, but we know them really well. Really well. They're in our church. The man and the Builder were buddies for years. 


It was surreal. 

Did I mention we were speechless. This was Mum and I. Speechless is something we don't do too often, I can assure you.


When we did manage to speak and get over our combined shock and hysterics, we began introducing our cousins, telling how long we were in Vancouver for etc etc.


Our friends from Ness then told that they has been further North in B.C. looking for the grave of an uncle of his - the man after whom he was, in fact, named....John Smith.


"John Smith?" said Mum. "Was he in Vancouver around 1924?"


"Uuuh...yes he was," came the slightly stunned reply. "How do you know that?"


"Did he die of TB in a hospital here in B.C.?"


"Er, yes."


"Well," went on Mum, "my auntie - after whom I'm named - left Lewis on the SS Marloch . She found her way to Vancouver, but had developed TB and was in hospital. I have some letters that she sent home in 1924. In them, she speaks of a lovely young Christian man from Barvas - a John Smith - who is also in the hospital. She speaks highly of him, and says that they have wonderful fellowship together."


Both my Mum's aunt and this man's uncle died in the hospital and were buried in B.C. My mother never knew who this man of whom her auntie spoke was until she met our friend in Stanley Park that day.


My Mum and this man had spoken hundreds of times in Lewis, but they had to be in Vancouver, in Stanley Park that very day to share their stories.


This man had not known of the friendship between his late uncle and this fellow islander, Catherine. He was comforted to know that he'd had the comfort of a fellow islander and fellow believer in the weeks and months before he passed away.


How true that God orders our every step. In the tapestry that makes up every moment of our lives, each thread is perfectly woven by God. Not one moment is by chance.

 

I took this photo of the photo I had in my album!

Here we are in Stanley Park: Mum, myself and the two couples.

I had taken this photo as we came into the park. We were completely oblivious to the fact at the time, but the man in the foreground is the fellow who recognised our accents and so (humanly speaking, anyway!) the amazing events of the day began to unfold.

Sermon Recommendation and Some Memories

This morning, at worship, we read Genesis 25. The chapter ends with the account of Esau coming in from the fields and give to his brother, Jacob - in exchange for a plate of stew - his birthright. In giving this birthright, we are told that "thus Esau despised his birthright". (Gen 25:34)


We began talking of a sermon we heard two years ago in Grand Rapids, on this text. We were coming to the end of our amazing 4-week holiday in the US, and were blessed (I don't use that term lightly here) with hearing this sermon on the Sunday evening. Only eternity may reveal the true and lasting effects this sermon had on our children.


The sermon was preached by Dr Joel Beeke and can be found on Sermon Audio's site. Have a listen.

Old Holiday Photos

We never tire of reminiscing about our two family holidays to the USA.


The first real holiday we were able to have in 15 years came in the form of a 4-week holiday in the US. Yep, it was worth the 15 year wait!


I don't want to bore you with too many of our holiday photos, but here are some photos we managed to take of 'Welcome' signs. Bear in mind that they were taken from a moving vehicle, so no comments please on quality of shots!

We flew into Toronto, and spent some time in the wonderful province of Ontario before we crossed the border into the US.

We didn't stay in Delaware, so this was just a 'passing through'.

We didn't stay in Maryland either, but we worshipped there on both holidays. We have very happy memories of our time there.

We drove through New York state on both holidays: the first time, we drove from Niagara to Lancaster, PA; and the second time we drove from London, Ontario to Ocean City, NJ. 

The first time we went to the States, we stayed in Lancaster, PA for a few days. This was absolutely wonderful.

The last time we went to the US, we drove the length of Pennsylvania on our way from Princeton, NJ to Ohio. What a beautiful state! And loads of space! 

We reckoned if we just plonked ourselves somewhere, we could just stay and noone would ever know. What d'ya reckon? Do y'all think we'd have been chucked out by now?

Both times we holidayed in the USA, we ended our time in Michigan with friends. We have the most precious memories of all from our time in this state. 

Blessings shared

I am going to try and put this whole experience into words. I doubt the words will truly convey my feelings, but I shall try.

Probably THE moment of our holiday to Canada and the US was the moment - at almost 3 o'clock in the morning on our second full day - I opened the door to the house we'd been given in New Jersey.

Picture the scene. The previous night we'd only had 3 hours sleep, but we weren't able to leave London, ON until lunch time that day. (We had an elderly relative there we wanted to visit.)

And now, at long, long last, after 13 hours of almost constant driving, we had reached the coast of NJ and the house that had been so kindly lent to us.

We parked the car. All I could think of was flopping into a bed.

Any bed would have done. In fact, any floor would have done. Any horizontal space would have been bliss at that moment.

I climbed the stairs, put the key in the lock and opened the door to a scene that was beyond anything I could have hoped for. Apart from the fact that the house was beautifully furnished and decorated.....and it really was.....apart from that: It was all lit up. It was gorgeously warm. It was probably the most inviting scene you could have imagined in that situation.

I almost cried.

I could hardly believe how good God had been to us. Why do we find it hard to believe that our Heavenly Father is going to shower blessings on us??

The following morning, we opened the blinds to this scene.

I almost cried again! It was SO beautiful. I wanted to Praise God with my whole heart.

While I was musing on God's amazing love and goodness to undeserving sinners like us, I saw this posted on the fridge door in the house.

This spoke the words I couldn't articulate. I couldn't find the words to thank the family who offered us their holiday home. All I could do was pray that God would richly bless them for their kindness to us. We can truly say that for us it was, 'a place of peace, a desired haven'.

What a Heavenly Loving Father we serve.

I pray that whatever God gives us in this life, we will be just as willing to share it with brothers and sisters in Christ.

Lessons in Fashion

The day we went to the Statue of Liberty was damp and not at all warm.

I didn't want to be cold, and I didn't want to be uncomfortable. Now, I had shoes that were warm and not too comfy; and I had sandals which were VERY comfy, but not too warm.

My answer??

......you ready for this??

See below....

SOCKS AND SANDALS!!!!!!

Can you imagine the mortification our poor daughters suffered! They almost refused to be seen with me!

But this was my reasoning:

1. It was cold, and I didn't want to have cold toes.

2. We had to walk, and I didn't want to be uncomfortable.

3. We were m-i-l-e-s away from anyone we knew, so it didn't matter who saw me.

Oh the joy of being in your forties and not caring about fashion any more. I keep telling my daughters that one day - one day - they too will put comfort before fashion.

Yep, they might even wear sandals and socks ....at the same time!!

Of course, at the ages they're at, they are sure they will NEVER do such a thing. Mmmm.

Our Special K!

This is OUR Special K

with....... Kellogg's Special K !!

Some photos

Some photos

The Statue of Liberty.

We couldn't but think of the thousands that fled persecution in Europe to come to the USA. What this sight must have meant to them.

This was the New York skyline. It was very misty the day we were there, but this weather has its own beauty.

This photo shows the gap where the Twin Towers used to be. I am not going to attempt any words. There are none.

The Atlantic - New Jersey style.

Some of the gorgeous Pennsylvanian countryside.

(taken from the inside of the car, so please excuse the reflection!)

I have more photos of beautiful countryside in PA, in OH, in MI and in Ontario. Not to mention in Scotland. I'll post them later.

They really show how over-populated our earth really is. I think not.

Cultured Children

We had booked tickets to hear Cleveland Orchestra perform at the Severance Hall, Cleveland. We all dressed up in our finery, and were set for a wonderful evening of culture.

The music began. Calum was sitting next to me, and two minutes after the music began, he whispered:

Calum: 'This is beautiful'

Me: (smiling smugly at the thought of how cultured the children we'd bred were) 'It is, darling'

5 mins later

Calum: 'I'm bored'

Bored??

Me: (horrified) 'But you just told me you thought the music was beautiful'

Calum: (rolling of the eyes) 'I said the BUILDING was beautiful. The music is boring.'

Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

Where have I been??

So, where have I been??

Well, you asked! In the past week, we've been on a roller-coaster.

Our holiday plans looked precarious to say the least last week.

An Ash Cloud. Whoever had heard of such a thing?

Well, we'd all heard of it by last week. Not only had we heard of it, we'd followed every movement of it. Willed it to stay. Willed it to move more quickly. Willed it to do anything it wanted if it would just clear a path from our home to Glasgow, and from Glasgow to Toronto.

The first request went unheeded. We heard at the VERY last minute that our flight to the mainland was not going to happen. We heard at 2.45pm last Wednesday. The last ferry before our Glasgow-Toronto flight was leaving the island on Wednesday at............2.45pm. No kidding. We phoned the ferry company; asked them if the ferry had sailed; told them we had a flight to catch in Glasgow the following day; got in the car and flew.... sorry, I mean, we drove carefully and within the speed limit......cough..... to Stornoway. The ferry company held the ferry back 15 mins for us. Thank you guys. I will never again complain at the feeling of sea-sickness I get just looking at the ferry. I will never again wish I'd flown to the mainland rather than put up with the smell of diesel on the ferry. I will never again.....oh, I don't think I can make any of these promises, but for the time being, a big THANK YOU to Caledonian MacBrayne. For the time being, we love you.

Here is the ferry arriving in Ullapool

And thanks to the passengers, none of whom complained - at least to our faces - that their journey was delayed by almost 20 minutes.

We had to take the bus from Ullapool to Glasgow, and because the ferry had been delayed, we were going to miss the connection from Inverness. En route, I phoned the Inverness Bus Station and - you're getting the picture here - they delayed the bus for us!

Thank you National Express. I shall never again complain about buses.

I'm making too many promises here. Think I'll stop.

Suffice to say our flight left the following day. It was actually delayed 9 hours. Nine hours in an airport.

Problem? Not at all. A good book, comfy reclining chairs, the odd cuppa. I was made! How often do mums get to do that? It was great!

Costa del....airport! We took over the 'comfy chairs' section, and enjoyed the rest!

The flight did, eventually, take off, and this is a photo of the screen on the plane showing where we are.

As you can see here, we are still in UK airspace, heading Northwest out of Glasgow.

As I write this, we are on the I-80 (I think!) heading towards Michigan.

Since landing on this side of the Atlantic, we have visited an elderly relative in Ontario.

We have driven to Ocean City, NJ.

We have climbed the Statue of Liberty.

It was wet and misty the day we were here, but I always feel

this weather has its own beauty

We have driven through the most incredible and frightening thunder and lightening we have ever seen.

We have visited dear friends in Washington DC; we have been to a baseball game; and to a concert by the Cleveland Orchestra.

And all being well, very soon, we will be meeting up with dear friends in Michigan.

This is just a quick overview. More information on most of the above will follow!