Stop #2: Stirling

Stirling, the heart of the William Wallace legacy, a place of worship called the Church of the Holy Rude, and the Stirling pint, more than three times the size of an English pint of beer.  I have been without words these last two weeks, so my vacation stories will be coming to you via imagery. See the [Flickr set] or for more here







WE: What's the last thing you did for the first time?

My answer...

Original to be found HERE

The Weekend Exposure Project is a weekly community event, sharing thoughts through imagery. Read about the Weekend Exposure Project and play along.

MM: Living Room

This weeks Music Monday is brought to you by: Wednesday



Part of the wonder of Edinburgh was the utter madness that was the Fringe Festival. My stay was far too short, but in the first 20 minutes in the city I was handed a free ticket to see the duo Living Room. The show was simply divine and I am kicking myself for not purchasing the cd. They are made up of bass clarinetist Christoph "Pepe" Auer and hang drum player Manu Delago. The combination of the two instruments is mesmerizing. I can't find any track aside from this YouTube clip, but be sure to check out their individual websites as well as some other beautiful videos here.

First Stop: Edinburgh

Edinburgh took my breath away with it's proud, rugged, aged beauty from the moment my bus rounded the corner into the city center. Serendipitously, pipes struck in and I had the distinct feeling I was arriving HOME. I felt all warm and fuzzy, was immediately attached and in love. My stay was barely a day, hardly enough time to get to know the city at all, and before I could leave I was already feeling pulled back. Check the [Flickr set] If you are curious, there are some more images after the jump.

The buildings seem to bleed with Scottish pride although, with the exception of this one scribbling on the wall, the link with England is hardly alluded too.  

My short peek into the grounds of the Hollyrood House, the royal residence for the Queen in Edinburgh.  Truthfully, I was more interested in Arthur's Seat, an ancient volcano and lovely hike for beautiful views of the city and outlying areas.

And really, can you blame me?  I have been living in the flatlands for far too long and a gain of just a few meters elevation makes me swoon, darling.  The moment I looked up as alighting the bus  (alighting~you like that?)I was looking forward to this walk up the hill.  

The views and wild flowers were beautiful and I was thrilled as I climbed some of the rocks.  Climbing.  Rocks.  Oh, how I have missed that.  That's all I need for my birthday, people.  To climb.  Rocks.  Nature.  It doesn't take much.

At the bottom of Arthur's Seat, and directly across from Hollyrood House is the Scottish Parliament Building.  It looks more like an upscale, green apartment complex than the seat of government, but there you have it.  Google some more images of the place, it's rather interesting.

The rest of my time was spent wandering, rather aimlessly, through the cities streets and alleyways.  A stop into The Writers Museum was lovely and this scribbled on the wall caught my eye: To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.  ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Despite the smell of urine in some of these alleys, I couldn't help but romanticize them a great deal.

An exhibit of funny (and real) signs were on display in a plaza.  The Barf B&B was, by far, a favorite.

Free hugs were offered in abundance on the street during the Fringe Fest.  And yes, I got me some of that.

More photos will be posted, eventually, on my flickr account.  But darlings, I am snap happy, and it will take me some time to get through it all.  

Welcome Mat


Oh me, oh my, how I have missed my little home on the web.  I do have a million and then some stories to tell, pictures to share.  Oh, the catch up that lies ahead.  My two weeks went like this:  Edinburgh-Sterling-Glasgow-Dublin-Kinsale-Dingle-Kinsale-Cork-Dublin.  Whew.  With family, of course, and it was about the best time I could have imagined.  I am not sure how I will ever sift through all my photos without taking another week off, but I will surely do my best.

Any Irish I would chat with were appalled at the idea of me choosing to live in Germany, a place and people they view as cold, boring, and systematic.  This idea was on display as I walked home tonight past a previously abandoned restaurant which has in (nearly) two weeks been rented out, remodeled, and opened for business under a new name.

I feel excited to get back to blogging, sharing stories and whatnot, but for now it is time for sleep. Why is a recovery period always needed after a holiday?

Hellooooo.

Sorry sweet friends. I dropped off the map for a minute there, eh? Well, I won't be back for another week. Remember how I talked about my awesome brother and our trip to the Bagpipe World Championships? Well, I have grand stories to tell, but for now will just send you here to see how amazing my brother's band played. It has been an even more emotional and beautiful trip than I anticipated. Many stories will be told. All in due time, dear friends. I have lost, temporarily, the charger for my phone and camera, as well as the cables to transfer photos. But for now I have another week to spend with my sweet family in Ireland. I will get to the internet cafe on Friday to post a WE topic and will get back to regular blogging next week. I hope you all have a lovely week and look forward to a very detailed show and tell.

a certain familiarity

We are all connected, though it may not always be apparently obvious.  I am struck by this image this afternoon.  It brings me a sort of comfort.  We are never alone.

WE: What are you singing in the shower/car/in your head?

My answer...


use both hands..., originally uploaded by seventytw0dpi.

The Weekend Exposure Project is a weekly community event, sharing thoughts through imagery. Read about the Weekend Exposure Project and play along.

the important things....

Why is it that it's the things you don't want the kids to remember, they do?

The one phrase my kids keep repeating?  Zip it!

I keep playing the scenario over and over in my head, where the kids return to school after the summer break.  They tell all about the wondrous adventures they had at English camp and the teacher asks,What did you learn at English camp?  The only thing they remember?  Zip it!

I am shaking my head just thinking about it.

Summer Work Update

This time last week I was dead.  Or nearly dead.  I don't much remember.  Each day was a bit of one, big, chaotic mess.   The kids were loud.  They were cheeky.  Older than I preferred.  One gave me a bit of the creeps.  They refused to do anything that remotely resembled writing or crafting.  The thought of sitting in a chair for longer than ten minutes terrified them.  At least, that's the only logical explanation I can think of as to why we played football for what seemed like five straight hours every day.  Did I mention they were loud?  Even after spending a weekend doing what really qualifies as nothing, I was still not recovered.  

Okay, okay.  They weren't so bad.  It's only in retrospect and comparing them to this week that I see little devils running around in my recollection.  They were mostly very sweet.  They were, occasionally, willing to please.  They laughed at my jokes.  They understood my jokes.  They spoke in English.  They asked me for my phone number.  About 90% of the grief I was caused came from one boy in particular.

Can I tell you, though, what a difference the group makes?  The dynamic this week is completely different.  I am in heaven.  The work day is over, and I can still walk, talk, and I remember how to feed myself.  I think I have the sweetest group EVER.  They come in when asked, sit quietly for crafts and beg for more time when I ask them to clean up, they are nice to each other and include everyone in all the games, work hard, play hard, and they crack me up.  Seriously, I may be adopting twelve little German children.  I am having smashing time and am in shock that there are only two more days left (usually I am just begging for Friday afternoon to come around).  

Hopefully I will get a few photos up from the last two weeks.  Until then you will just have to deal with words, words, words.

basteln ~ to craft
Lärm ~ noise
suß ~ sweet, cute
gemein ~ mean, nasty

Music Monday: Islands Creeper


This song is from Islands second album Arms Way.  More of their music can also be heard on their MySpace page.  Go check them out.

What am I Saying?