Holidays so Far


While we are not getting the extreme weather being highlighted in the news for many of the northern states in the US,it has been rather interesting here. After days of almost constant rainfall many pond sized puddles have been created challenging traffic and runners. After a few days of peering out the window and wind driven rain and thinking,” no way am I going running in that!” I was tricked by what appeared to be a calm dry morning. It wasn’t too bad to start with, but the further I got away from the B&B, the more my confidence in that assessment deteriorated. The rainfall did not return, and the wind was a mere breeze,  but the path got muddier and navigating the perimeter of increasingly larger and deeper mud puddles was challenging. Despite my fancy ballet steps around the perimeters or my long detours, I ended with squishy soles and blackened socks and toes. Still, it was a fun run.


We got to experience a few interesting interpretations of some familiar holidays here in the last few weeks and one new one for me 


Halloween was very much like what we were used to seeing in the US, with decorations, trick or treating and kids running from house to house. The twist was that it was very low key, most of the decorated houses were not accepting trick or treaters. Certain neighborhoods were all about it though, lots of lights, some music playing and groups of kids chaperoned by parents ran from house to house laughing and skipping. For those areas, we felt transported back to a typical stateside Halloween. Since Susi and I weren’t able to experience a proper Halloween all the time we were in the states due to the locations of our volunteer jobs, it was great to walk through the autumn leaves on a cool, dark breezy night watching excited costumed children joyfully running from house to house.


Guy Falwkes night. Rather than trying to explain what this is all about here is the Wikipedia link for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes


So on the night of November 5th the celebration of his failure to burn down the Parliament is done with fireworks and bonfires. Here we heard fireworks to around midnight and assume there were bonfires around the area.


Christmas is coming and the lights were put up a couple of weeks ago, but much like a plot from a Hallmark movie, they won’t be lit until the Christmas Market this Saturday which is right outside our B&B. That should be great fun and if Susi and I were the starring couple, it would be the time for our almost kiss. 


As for our continuing quest for our rental home, things are moving sloooowly on. The sincere promise of a move in date has changed three times. The improvements they are making on the house are taking longer than they thought they would.  I know this will sound like a “I told you so”  brag, but on our last visit to the place, the promise was for a turn over for the following Tuesday. That seemed like wishful thinking. Now it is for the 25th. I figured even that is too early. I kept saying that the first of the month would be fine with us. Well, we are going on faith with a little wiggle room and have scheduled delivery of some furniture, a refrigerator and washer for the 29th. Stay tuned! It may actually happen. Here is a photo of a satellite image from a few years ago. The shed in the backyard and the fence are no long there and the whole yard needs some extreme care, but it has great potential. It should be a challenge. It’s the place on the left. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Weather is a factor

Image
Weather is always a factor   Occasionally we have some sun and everyone is outside. It’s great fun to see all the wee ones taking advantage of it playing in the water. Below is an ideal night for a celebration in Stonehaven for New Years. We watched the video in the museum there. As you can see, they had nice weather for the parade. The wands are made of wood. A ball of wax and paper to create the fire. Participants swung them around carefully to avoid igniting themselves and spectators as they marched to the harbor. There they each make a final high arching toss to throw it into the water. It would be great to be there but since that is impossible, we have a plan to watch it on the live link to watch it live on the web.  Click on the picture to go to the video. It pretty much rains most days. It just depends on how much. There are dry and sunny days  We are getting used to the fact that the weather forecast is not reliable for more than the current day and the accur...
Read more

Fall Running in Scotland

Image
  One of my favorite things to do in the morning is to get up and get out for a morning run. Ok, I confess that my heart is in it the night before but at sunrise the enthusiasm is diluted by the desire to linger in bed.  This Comorant is ready too!  My wonderful wife knows me well enough to remind me that it is to both our benefits for me to get up and out the door. I know she is thinking of my health as well as the need for her to have the two or three hours of peace and quiet once I am out of the house.  I guzzle down the rest of my coffee and spring into action. Once I have donned my running uniform and step out the front door, I realize how much I enjoy the time with just myself and the challenge of a long run in whatever atmosphere nature offers me. There is no “running” season here in Scotland as, except for some surprises, the weather is manageable. Fall, however is my absolute favorite in our landscape filled with a variety of deciduous and coniferous tr...
Read more

Fasching Fun and Blowy but not Snowy

Image
  Winter is not really winter to us. No Snow just Blown Rain!     I'm not sure if last winter was as impressive as this one has been. The locals say it has been wetter, windier and colder.  Since it seems to be unanimous and we have had more named storms than ever in recorded statistics, (the latest one started with the letter J). So there is sufficient evidence to erase any doubt that this is the case.  As a result, Susi and I have had fewer outside adventures. That is not to say that we have not had any but certainly there have been fewer outdoor treks.   Here is an example of the Blowy! This sycamore is about 40 feet shorter!   The wet and windy weather hasn't changed in the three months since I took this photo. Good thing Susi purchased a shoe dryer! It has been used several times for wet boots and running shoes. This is what a stately Sycamore should look like. Susi and I used the top portion as a bench to eat our snack. The trip to Germany i...
Read more