It's Been A While....

Well, life marches on here in Scotland, as it seems to be doing for everyone.  It's already been a year and a half since we moved, and sometimes it feels like we've always lived here.  It's amazing how quickly life picks you up and moves you along the months and years.

Since Septemeber 9th, this is what has been keeping me quite busy:

My little guy, Callum.  What a sweetheart, what a beautiful baby.  A big boy, too, and his sisters adore him.  I really enjoy sitting back and watching Callum and Cameron especially.  The way they interact, the way each of them lights up when the other is near...it's wonderful to see a brother and his big sister communicating in such a meaningful way.  This is definitely one of the benefits of a fairly big age gap between children. 

Day to day life here revolves mainly around getting Cameron to and from school.  Madison attends nursery (in the same building with Cameron) three days a week, and getting everyone out of the door on time is a daily challenge.  Sometimes I wish I could watch us from the outside on those mornings...maybe a different perspective might bring some humor to the situation!  But somehow I do manage to get us all there in one peice, and Cameron is thriving in school.  She is learning to read and loves her teacher, Mrs. Mcleod (pronounced Mrs. McCloud...I have no idea why). 

Oh, and she's taking gymnastics and learned to do this recently:

 

 

Wow, was she ever excited about showing me that trick!

 

Madison just turned four, and had a big birthday bash with 16 kids invitied (whew!).  It was worth it all, because she and Cameron had such a good time. 

 

 

 

I haven't been doing my exploring of Scotland since Callum's birth, but have resolved recently to pick it up again where I left off.  So last week, I gathered up my partner in adventure (David's Dad) and we headed off to Edinburgh for the day...this time with an extra little person on board.  This is what we saw:



 

This is Holyrood Palace, the official dwelling of the Queen when she's in Scotland.  There is a whole portion that you can tour, and it was so beautiful.  The ruins of an abbey are here, dating from 1128, while the palace dates from the 16th and 17th centuries (that bit on the left in the picture is from the 1500's).  Mary Queen of Scots stayed here in 1561...here's a picture of her bedchamber:

 

It was a great day back out there, looking at cool things.

 

I also visited the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling, which is the second oldest building in all of Scotland, founded in 1129:

 

 

My goal is to visit everything I can in the area this spring and summer, especially since I have a friend coming to visit me in April...a great opportunity to see new things. 

 

Hope everyone is well!

Life Ten Months In

It doesn't seem possible that it's already been four full months since my last entry.  Where do the months go?  June already...soon, we'll have been in Scotland for a full year. 

I am still happy here, and our recent trips abroad have confirmed that for me.  First, it was to Tenerife, where although it's interesting and a great holiday spot, I don't the think I could cope with living that close to the equator and the heat that goes along with that.  But it was good to see family and even though Madison inevitably got sick (someone, it seems, always has to get sick on any trip we take), Cameron had a blast and we did lots of cool things like whale watching, which is something I'd always hoped to do.








Our trip to America was only two days after our return from Tenerife, so it was difficult to get motivated for another long plane ride.  But we did it.  We flew into Toronto and drove four hours to my parent's house....a bit worse for the wear, but in one peice.  After a few days of mom's food and some good rest, we all felt back to normal and healthy again.  We stayed for eight full days...two for traveling, and the girls enjoyed every minute.  We even had some family pictures taken.

It's always nice to come back home after a trip, but it was especially nice to for me to see Scotland again.  Scotland in the summer is beautiful, although the weather hasn't warmed up yet.  Apparently we missed the summer when we were in Tenerife, as we were informed that it was properly hot here that particular week.  But I still don't mind the cooler weather.  The country is a deep green right now, and the trees are thick and lush.  The azaleas that grow wild here are all in bloom...pinks, purples, whites.  All the wild flowers are out in full bloom and I'm enjoying our walks together more than ever.  My garden seems to be thriving, which I can't believe because normally I can't keep a house plant alive.

I like the pace of life here more and the accessability to big cities and excitment.  I love the train system and how easy it is to get anywhere.  Driving here is more interesting, and I feel like we've finally really settled into our house.  I am feeling at home here in Scotland and quite content at the moment.  Now if I could just get someone over here for a visit so I can share my experience with this beautiful country (no offense to my Mom, who has been here once and is coming again after the baby to help us...I love how you're always willing to go go go!).
 

I went to the Old Town Jail one beautiful day & took this
from the top. 

And then there's the baby that's due in only 10 weeks.  My tummy seems to be the thing that's blossoming most of all in Scotland. I am now preparing for the baby's arrival, as we got rid of all things baby before moving.  Unfortunately, many of the things I had for the girls were second hand themselves and had seen better days, so it was time to get rid.  Luckily, I have a lovely friend who has offered to loan me all her baby gear, which has only been used once and looks brand new, saving us countless amounts of money (which will make David happy...those of you who know him will understand just how much).  I only have to get some odds and ends.  The girls are good and ready for the baby to arrive, and look at me in wonder every time they are laying against me and feel a good kick.  It's so nice that they're old enough, especially Cameron, to enjoy this process.  Luckily, Cameron seems to be off the kick that the baby is absolutely GOING to be a girl, and her name will be Suzie Snowflake. 

My latest adventure was a few days in London.  David used his air miles to get me a flight, and I booked a workshop with one of my favorite authors, Byron Katie.  I left early Friday morning (by myself...no kids!!!) and was at the hotel by 11.  After changing and getting lunch, I set off for a day of sightseeing.  I spent the day at the London Tower, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, and generally just hopping on and off the underground wherever my heart led me and having a look around.  David was in Austria and flew into London to join me for an anniversary dinner, then flew back home the next morning.  I spent Saturday in the workshop and had a wonderful day.


I think the best thing about this little trip for me was how fun it was to do it by myself.  David is such an experienced traveler that I never have to really think when we're traveling together, so this was a good way to remind myself that I can do it. Of course, what I really loved was the fact that just for one day, I didn't have to talk to anyone!  It was so nice just to be with myself.

I am looking forward to some weekend trips around Scotland this summer.  Really, this is the country I want to explore most of all.  Everything seems to be here...big cities, countryside, beaches, mountains, history...I feel so lucky to be here. 

Enjoy your summer!

The Six Month Mark

I can't believe it, but it has been six months to the day that we arrived, innocent and bright-eyed, in Scotland.  Six months later, we are tougher, stronger, and adjusted to life here.

Scotland is obviously still new enough to me that I'm still googly-eyed.  Driving to the grocery store and seeing the Stirling Castle and Wallace Monument won't, I hope, get old for quite some time.  The drives that we've taken confirm to me just how beautiful this country is, and we've not even seen much.  We have yet to drive north and see the aurora borealis, stand on the bonny bank of Loch Lomond, or take in the rocky crags of the Isle of Skye.  There is so much yet to explore.

I do believe that for me, the quality of life here is what has contributed so much to my contentment.  I've surprised myself and David with how easily I've adjusted.  It's the beauty of the country that makes me feel so happy, and the amazing opportunity to experience culture at every turn.  I'll never have to drive far to get that feeling of seeing something old that is so addictive for me.  Five minutes away is Dunblane Cathedral....the tower dates to the 12th century.  The rest of church was built in the 13th century.  That, for me, is all I need. 

My father-in-law is as interested in historic Scotland as I am, so I have someone to go everywhere with.  During the week, we've been known to take impromptu drives to castles, and one day even visited what is called a broch (pronounced bro with a long o, then the ch is a sound like you're spitting something up).  We walked through the woods and came upon the Tappoch Broch, which looks like this:

It's a round, piled stone structure with proper doorways and stairs.  This particular broch is apparently around 2000 years old.  That doesn't even seem possible to see something so incredibly old in the middle of the woods on an unmarked trail!

After seeing the broch, we stopped at Torwood Castle.  I walked around the perimeter of the building by myself, and must say that I was adequately creeped out.  If you've never been alone at a ruined castle, you may not know just how scary it can be.  You can almost feel the spirit of the people that once lived there.  This particular castle was interesting because in the 50's a local man bought the castle and spent the next 40 years of his life restoring it by himself.  I think that would make an interesting book!  In fact, in this photo you can still see the scaffolding on the left side of the castle, even though he died 15 years ago...creepy!

So, this is a place that constantly keeps me interested.  I really can't imagine ever being bored here.  Hop on a train and get anywhere comfortably and cheaply.  I wish America had a train system like this!

Now, for the down side.  I haven't had much luck in the friend department, but again, it's only been six months and it's not easy making new friends.  It takes quite a bit of energy, which I don't think I'm putting in.  There are days when I miss having a friend so badly it hurts.  Luckily, there aren't many of those days, so I just wait for them to pass. 

Certain food is really, really good here....steak pie in particular and cookies most of all.  But I find Scotland to be sadly lacking in good pizza.  I also miss good pickles and black olives with that particular American taste.  I guess there are just days when I miss familiarity. 

I also miss my hobbies back home that I haven't been able to replace yet.  The local YMCA in Madison was so amazing because I could work out and there were ladies there to watch the girls.  That made working out possible for me, and for one full year I religiously went.  Unfortunately, there are no gyms like that here, and it has made finding an opportunity to work out really difficult.  I also miss painting ceramics.

Overall, though, I have few complaints and find myself happy here.  It was the right move for me, for us. 
And the girls seem happy, too!

Snow and Other Pishy Weather

We have been here for four months already!  It doesn't seem possible.  Tonight, I want to write about the weather, since it seems a fitting topic this time of year. 

It appears that the Scottish love to complain about the weather.  That goes for people who aren't native Scottish, but who have lived here long enough to have inherited the complaining gene.  Even when it's sunny, they will do a preemptive complain about the rain that is forcasted to arrive next week.  When they hear I'm new to the country, I can pretty much quote them verbatim:  "So, how are you handling this weather?" 

What they fail to understand completely is that they are complaining to a northeast-Ohioian.  There is no winter weather that I haven't watched from my window, walked through, or driven in.  Cleveland averages 160 cm per winter of snow, and I would say there is more where we lived.  Here is some evidence of what I have endured:

Okay, so now you understand a bit better.  The house on right was ours, buried in snow.  The benefit of living in Scotland is that instead of seeing one of the images above for four months, you get to see this:

Now, okay, I know it's not always this idyllic, but having mountains and castles surrounding you does tend to spruce up the landscape.

And when they're not complaining about the two inches of snow, they are moaning about the rain.  I do see now that it can get pretty miserable weather-wise, but it appears that people here have built an entire identity around it. 

What many Scottish seem to forget is how incredibly beautiful their country is.  It is.  It's stunning.  I try to tell them this in between the "it'll pish down rain for days on end" and "you should have seen the amount of snow we had last year."  Sometimes people will listen.  I got my painter reminiscing about boyhood days and working at Stirling Castle as a teen.  I try to remind them, and sometimes they remember.  Of course, I know how easy it is to take things for granted, but perhaps having a newcomer looking with fresh eyes will help them to see what they have.   

And what I see is this:  every day it looks different here.  On rainy days, the mountains can be barely visible, covered at the top with clouds and fog.  It can look downright eerie.  Other days, the mountains are covered with snow, which makes them look completely different and gives them a definition that the green cannot.  The snow here tends to perch on the branches of the trees, giving them a celestial, icy appearance.  They look delicate and breakable.  Some days, I mistake the low-hanging clouds for the mountains, and realize that the beauty is in the fact that it's impossible to distinguish which is which. 

It is stunningly gorgeous here in any weather.

I will give the Scottish this, though....I've driven in a lot of winter conditions, and nothing's worse than driving when it's icy.  Scotland appears to get snow, then freezing rain a lot.  I watched out my window recently and happened to see a driver on my street slide right up onto the sidewalk.  There's a lot of black ice here, and that's never good.  But for goodness sake, brighten up, people!  It could be worse!  You could live in northeast Ohio.  Weather is just weather.  Enjoy what you have:  beautiful, bonny Scotland.

Settling In

Now that we are in our new hoose (I did that on purpose), life is beginning to settle.  The boxes are almost all unpacked, and it's beginning to look like we live here, not like we're staying for a few weeks.

Moving in was incredibly hectic.  The day the movers arrived was one I won't be forgetting soon.  The boxes just kept coming in....and coming in.  Since we had a finished basement in Madison, and since there are no basements in Scotland, I obviously hadn't accounted for the serious lack of space here.  By about four o'clock, the boxes were piled to the ceiling, the furniture was crammed in, and I was seriously sweating it.  The last straw was when they lugged in a huge armoire that I used down in our basement for a television.  "Where should we put this?" they asked, and we all couldn't help but laughing (me...I felt like crying, but I laughed instead).  At that point, I did the only thing I could do:  I started giving things away.  Lucky for me, one of the movers had just bought a new place and needed furniture.  I gave him a lot.  I even found out that he had a daughter and started giving him toys, too, whether he wanted them or not.

Of course, this got me thinking about "stuff".  I thought I'd done a fairly decent job before we left of purging a LOT of stuff.  What would I have done if I hadn't?  I wouldn't have been able to fit it all in here.  I also noticed how many things I've been lugging around with me since god-knows-when, like certain books.  My college yearbook weighs a ton, and I've been moving that damn thing around with me since I was 22.  I looked at it again and realized that out of 2,000 pages, I was on ONE of them.  A tiny little picture of me, and not even a good one. 

I brought over a roll-top desk that my parents got me for Christmas when I was a little girl.  I love the desk, but when it came in the house, I was cursing myself over and over for not bringing it to my parent's garage loft before I left.  Now I have this desk....and no where to put it.  Two rocking chairs....do I really need two rocking chairs?  Do we really need all those pillows?  How did we get so many shoes?  And the toys....my GOD, the toys.  My kids barely even touch them.  I'm not sure that Christmas shopping for the girls is going to hold the same appeal for me this year. 

So I gave a lot to charity, and will probably continue doing so with all these little things that I can barely stand to look at any more.  The buck stops here, after all.

Another shocker is the amount of work we'll have to do to the house.  Our last house was built just for us, so we didn't have to contend with holes in walls, bad paint jobs, and broken-down appliances.  I forgot just how lazy people can be when it comes to taking care of their houses, and especially with doing jobs around the house.  In the laundry room, there are two shelves on adjacent walls that were drilled in at completely different heights.  Now really....come on.

My favorite room in our new house, however, is the sun room (or the conservatory).  Windows from wall to ceiling, bright, beautiful.  It looks out onto our little backyard (sorry, "garden") and all the trees behind it.  I love to have my cup of tea out there in the morning.  My second favorite room is the guest bedroom, because now that my mom is back home, I can slip out of our bed when David is snoring and slip right into peace and quiet.  Ahhhhhh.

I am enjoying the new and making this house ours.  Eventually....gradually.....settling in.

Merging In

I have decided that moving to a new country and setting up your life is like merging into traffic on a highway.  It's already flowing without you.  You just get on the sliproad, step on the gas, hope that they move over and make room for you, and start driving. 

Life is going on all over the world, with or without me.  People are living their lives, experiencing what they are meant to do.  I am doing the same.

I haven't made any friends here yet, but I'm not worried.  When I am meant to meet someone I can have a deeper connection with, I'll meet her.  In fact, I have quite enjoyed my time alone.  Many days I take the girls to a soft play area, toting my ipad along with me.  They play, have a blast, and I get a cup of tea and read my books.  I have finished so many books since I've moved here, and as of now, I consider them to be my friends....my company.  Well, the books and my girls.

My girls and I are closer than we've ever been.  I am more in tune with them now, and I feel like I understand them better.  That's because we spend every day together and don't have many distractions.  I am stressed out less here.  I'm not sure why, but I am.  I like walking to the store for milk and bread, my girls tagging along beside me.  Cameron got a bike for her birthday, and we like riding it around town, Madison and I in tow. 

We love going for walks in nature, and that is a completely new discovery for me.  I never knew I loved walking and enjoying the outdoors so much, and the one I thought would enjoy it the least (Cameron) is the one who gets down-and-dirty the most (I love that she surprised me on that one).  We gear-up with our wallies, coats and hats, and we set off onto the trails, picking blackberries, splashing through mud puddles, and pretending to fish.  I pack picnics and we sit in fields overlooking the mountains and eat together.  I love them so much during those moments, and can appreciate them for the beautiful children they are.

I enjoy observing life around me and people-watching.  I like seeing how life is different here and how it's the same.  I realize, when we can go to the store and buy ipads, microwaves and blenders, that culturally, life is very similiar here to American life.  However, the pace of life, the people, the landscape....all very different. 

I can also appreciate how quickly humans adapt to change.  Just a few weeks ago, I was struggling with driving, with finding the grocery store.  Now, I not only know where the stores are, but I can manuever in and out of those tiny parking spaces with a confidence I didn't know I possessed.  When I get gun-shy about pulling out of an especially cramped space, I can actually hear myself saying, "Just do it, Trisha!"  It's quite cool.

So, I'm learning.  I'm watching.  I'm especially watching myself adjust to this place, and am in awe of how quickly and easily it's come to me.  It's like I was meant to be here, and when I go inside myself and look honestly, it seems that I've known all along how much I would love it.  And every time I merge onto that highway, stick shift in my left hand, I am reminded of how grateful I am that I've had the opportunity to join life here, in Scotland.

Just in case any of you are planning a visit to bonnie Scotland, I feel that it is my duty to prepare you.  When you are sitting in a pub in Edinburgh, drink a few pints, and feel like striking up a conversation with the natives, you'll be able to keep up with the best of them!  You can thank me later :-)

Slang
bairn/waine:  kids/baby
peelie wallie:  pale-looking ("The waine looks pellie wallie today.")
groceries:  messages
day care/babysitter:  creiche (pronounced "cra-sh" with a long a)
boot:  trunk of a car, or a bitchy woman
ken/I dunnie ken:  know, or I don't know ("I dunnie ken how she gets up so early.")
how?:  why?  ("How no?")
aye, right then:  not likely
blather (with a long a):  gossip ("That yin likes a blather, does she no?")
salad dodger/coffin dodger:  fat person/old person
auld yin:  old person
cheeky:  someone with a smart mouth (used to describe sassy children a lot).  Also used to describe someone with balls ("She had the cheek to charge me five pound!").
pished:  drunk
wallies:  you MUST own wallies to reside in Scotland.  They are the heavy, plastic boots you'll see everyone here wearing in the rain.  There are songs written about these ("If I didn't have my wallies, where would I be?  I'd be in the hospital or the infirmary")!  My girls are already suited up.  Pronounced with a long a.
mokit:  gross
boggin':  same as above
yooz:  short for "you all".  "How're yooz doin'?"
cheers:  bye or thank you.  Most people say this instead of goodbye on the phone.  You'll also hear it when you pay for something ("Cheers, thanks"), along with "lovely" ("Just punch your pin number in....lovely, thanks.")
shite:  shit
greet:  cry ("Trisha, the bairn's greetin'!")
hen:  an affection term that older women use ("Would you like some tea, hen?").  David warned me before I met his mother the first time that she would call me hen, and not to be alarmed.
howfin':  stinking
dreich:  pronounced with a long e, with the "ch" sounding like you're coughing up phlegm.  A lovely word used to perfectly sum up a rainy, gray Scottish day.
jag:  anything sharp.  It can describe a shot from the doctor, or something in your shoe that's poking you, in which case it would be "jaggy".
keech:  again, the "ch" should be said like you're coughing something up.  This word means rubbish, shit, garbage, and is very commonly used.  In fact, I turned a certain program on recently, and my daughter declared it "keech".
lorry:  semi truck
maddy:  to take a huff, or throw a tantrum.  This is not why we named our daughter Maddie, but the similarities are eerie ("She threw a right good maddy").
crabbit:  grouchy ("He's a crabbit bugger").

Good things (words to describe things that are good in life)
belter ("That lassie's a right wee belter!")
brilliant/pure dead brilliant
galto
berries ("That film was the berries, man.")
crackin' ("We looked at a crackin' hoose today.")
ya beauty:  this is what David's mom shouts when her football teams scores a goal...."Get on, ya beaut-ay!"  In this case, beauty is pronounced with a long a sound at the end.  Say it out loud now....it works, and it's fun.

Beer (yes, there is a whole vocabulary just to describe beer)
swiftie
pint
bellywasher
frothy fella

Words and phrases for sex: (turn your eyes away, those easily offended!)
shaggin'
ride ("She was a right good ride, that 'yin")
ball deep in the pipe (need I explain this one?)
gettin your nat king
hose
get yer hole

Words for female genitalia
fanny
fud
wee man in the boat
meat curtains
flange
fantan
axe wound

General insults
daftie:  dummie
pelter
roaster
ned
wanker
cunt (I know that's bad in America, but it's used quite commonly here)
tit
clown
radge: somone crazy (David uses this word a lot to describe our kids)
thrawn:  someone who is really stubborn (again used to describe our kids...."She's thrawn, that 'yin.")
bam pot: silly person
cow
muppet (I heard this one today while driving with my friend.  She got upset at a truck that cut her off in traffic and yelled, "Yae daft muppet!" Nice.)
foosh toosh:  not sure.  It's just not nice.

Everyday words
oot:  out
doon:  down
broon:  brown
toon:  town ("We're goin' oot to the toon to do some shoppin'.")
heed:  head

Okay, that should get you started at least.  If all else fails, start watching the great Scottish comedy "Chewin' the Fat" and that will get you right intae it!  Here's a clip for you.  Or you could always just come to Scotland and stay with the Lawries!  Cheers!