Honeymoon in Scotland

A few people have been asking me to get some of our pictures from our honeymoon up. Well, here are a few.

On our third day we drove down to Loch Lomond, and stayed a cute little place called the Oak Tree Inn. Not too far away from there was Balloch Castle, a small castle, I think we actually have houses here bigger than it. Behind the castle was this nice paved path. We started to follow it, even though it start drizzling.

Balloch Castle path

 After a short while, we went off the paved path, and onto a well used dirt path. That dirt path kept narrowing, and narrowing until it practically disappeared!

Balloch Castle path

After a short ways of not really knowing if we were on the path or not, we came to this beauty! It was a perfect example of a babbling brook. I could have sat and listened to the melody of the stream, and forest around me, and watching the water play over the rocks as it tumbled it's way downstream for hours.

babbling brook beside the trail around Loch Lomond

I came to realize how people could have been considered kidnapped by the Fae, as mesmerizing as this bit of nature was, to have seen it 200 years ago or more, I can only imagine how entranced, and ensorcelled people may have been by it's beauty

Plus we found this stump. I have named it as being a gnome home. Standing there long enough, you could almost swear you saw something darting in and out of the leaves, dodging rain drops, and human eyes. 

After a while of following this stream, we rounded a group of trees to see Loch Lomond. In all it's glory, a foggy, over cast day, with a slightly misty rain. I was amazed at how clear the water was!

I don't think I have ever been moved so much by what I've seen as to say that it moved me to tears. Until this. Looking out over the loch, seeing the hills in the distance, standing with my husband behind me, holding me. I started crying. I still cry when I see this. I truly felt at peace, at home, and it's a feeling I will never forget.

After we left Loch Lomond, we traveled up A82 and made our way to Inverness. The picture below is what we saw that was just so perfect, we had to stop and take a picture.

Ah yes, the petrol station, with the most animated lady I've ever met! We stopped to gas, and to grab a bite to eat, they had a little carnival cart outside the station to buy hot food from. We were just going to get some chips and be on our way, but a group of construction workers came up to order their lunch. These were three young strapping lads, and one of them ordered black pudding.

I asked "What is black pudding?" and this lady looked at me completed flabbergasted! Her eyes grew round and wide as saucers, and with a cry of incredulity she asked, dumbfounded "Ye've ne'er 'ad black puddin?" in her beautiful brogue.

"We'll no, I haven't" I said, trying not to laugh at her amazement. "They don't exactly offer it where I'm from". 

"Och, weel I'll just have ta fix that up now won't I? I'll make you and your darlin' a wee sample to try" As she set about making her 'wee sample' she chatted with the construction lads, and told them about a special for next week. One of the lads said they wouldn't be there next week and that their project was done and they were heading back to another part of the country. To this, the lady said "Och, weel, ye'll just ha to come back wi'out yer clothes on" and kept on cooking. After about 10 seconds of the construction guys, my hubby and myself looking at each other shocked, she stopped dead in her tracks, spun around to face them with her eyes huge and her mouth hanging open slack at the realization of what she said. "I didnae mean it like that! I meant wi'out yer work clothes, in yer normal clothes!"

The laughter that ensued had me crying, and clutching my sides. She was by far the most animated lady I've ever met. If I ever go back, I WILL be going there again. She handed us our 'wee sample' of black pudding, she had made a sandwich out of it, and gave us a whole piece to split for free. It was very good! No, you don't want to know what's in it. We got back in our car, and kept traveling north, continuing to laugh randomly at the little lady from the Glencoe petrol station.

Ok, that's all for now, need to go make some bread!

Faith, spirit, and nature

Some days, things just fall into place. You feel whole, connected. Your body seems to hum with an energy that is but isn't there. Something so beautiful and perfect you feel your eyes tear up, your heart swells, and an overwhelming sense of peace settles around your shoulders like a favorite warm blanket. 

Yesterday, the air reminded me of Scotland, humid, but cool and breezy. Scotland was the first place I truly felt this overwhelming surety of who I am, and what it means to be me. To the point my soul cried "This is home, I am home!". The sense that my spirit, my body, and my mind were in sync, and for a brief moment, even the stars and time could move nothing unless I willed it. I felt what I have long believed, in so profound of a moment, that it no longer was a belief, but became a soul deep knowledge. 

Yesterday, I had a similar feeling, not as strong, but an echo of what I had felt before. Even if we hadn't already planned it, I would have found myself outside and in the garden, or the woods. Barefoot, bare hands, sinking into the damp ground, with the breeze a gentle brush against the face. 

K came over, and we got the side bed weeded and planted. We were able to put corn, green beans, acorn squash, tomatoes, basil, carrots and onions in the ground. We will be putting some eggplant in as well in the side garden. The carrots, tomatoes, and basil are all showing, but nothing else will sprout for a while yet. I am looking forward to dinners made with freshly picked food, shared with loved ones. 

Some people may wonder why go through the trouble of doing all this when you can just buy it. Well, there's many reasons, but only a few are very important to me.

The most important is that for me, working in the garden is very spiritual. Some people pray, some people meditate, some dance, or use rhythm and find that solace the soul is looking for. Gardens, nearby woodlands, and rivers have always been my solace. There is a sense of wonder, a sense of peace when in nature. It's where we came from, before there were cities, before there were modern conveniences, we lived in and with nature. There is a harmony that I have not found elsewhere. When you let nature set the pace of life, life is more full. There's less stress, and it's easier to accept that what will happen will happen, and we can't control everything, as much as some of us may want to. 

Part of the spiritual aspect is all of the sensory input, that when I focus on it, or simply sit surrounded by it creates a very humbling feeling. As humans, we tend to forget how important the earth around us is and that in one way or another we all depend on nature. Getting my hands into the soil, knowing that what I have my hands in provides life to the plants that will be put there, and thus to me. The scent of the plants is to me the scent of life. The sound of the breeze, and the air around me that carries the sound of leaves rustling, or birds singing, lifts my spirit. 

Another reason this is so special to me, is that working with the earth reminds me of loved ones, and cherished memories. Memories that come bursting through the misty reaches of my mind to stand bold, front and center when I'm in nature. Remembering my mother, and my grandmother taking walks and pointing out different plants, with my mother sometimes explaining a medicinal use of the plant if she knew it. Memories of my grandfather carefully saving and cataloging seeds from his favorite plants, or taking the time and care to paint leaves of prized plants one at a time to protect them from some pest, or blight. Friends that I remember talking to their plants, encouraging them grow, and thrive, and the excited phone calls when a bloom appeared. 

http://tattoos-and-doodles.blogspot.com/2012/01/triskel-plant.html

Another is it fills a special part in my heart. My faith. My belief that life is sacred, and deserving of reverence. As a Druid, there is so much more than simply having a spiritual connection, there is an underlying, fundamental belief, in love, wisdom, and creativity, all of which I find in the garden. The proof that our lives are more connected than they appear on the surface. The peace that is present when all is in harmony. In my experience, some of the most wonderful moments of freeing the soul have been found setting roots into the soil.

All of this sums up to the fact that I do this because it's who I am. 

Spring cleaning, and memories of Scotland

It's that time of year when people generally start to contemplate spring cleaning. In today's terms, that can also mean cleaning out old files from the computer. I was sitting here going through some pics from (ahem) a little over three years ago on some of my old flash drives. I love randomly finding these little bits of our past, because I almost always end up pouring through every picture I can find, remembering the memories behind the pictures, and sometimes feelings (just a wee bit) nostalgic.

I think some of my favorite spring cleaning finds have always been pictures. Sometimes I find a receipts that jar a memory loose from the cobweb entrenched recesses of my mind, or a small trinket picked up somewhere. This is also why I generally take forever doing spring cleaning, it seems like every other thing I find stops me and drags me only semi-unwillingly down memory lane.

Today I found some old pictures of when we first moved in to our home, my first car, our early years dating, and a fondly remembered pet. I proceeded to spend time thinking about how we started pulling down the fake wood paneling in our house, the first month without living room furniture, and the cleaning!

It was rather disconcerting when we first moved in, because my husband (then boyfriend) and I moved in the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but he left that night to go to his mom's house about 4 hours away for the holiday. I spent that first Thanksgiving in the house cleaning and scrubbing the kitchen top to bottom. I remember being so frustrated that he couldn't have stayed home that year, and annoyed with work for not allowing us to take time off during the holidays so that I could go with him. But at least when I was done, I worked out all that irritation, and had a nicely cleaned, and sanitized kitchen. I'm glad too, because that year we hosted Christmas together!

One of the pictures I found was from our honeymoon just last October. It's of a petrol station we stopped at on our way from Balloch Loch Lomond area and the Oak Tree Inn, along A82 in Glencoe. Right across from the Police Station. They had this hot food cart there, like we normally see at fairs, and cultural festivals, and the lady there was REALLY animated. We had been on the road for a few hours at that point, and since we were headed to Inverness, had a few more hours to go. I'd say we took the scenic route, but really, I think every route there was the scenic route.

When we stopped to fill up, we decided to get a bite to eat to last us until we made it to Inverness. I ordered a basket of chips (or fries) and while hubby and I stood around eating, these three construction workers come up and order lunch. One of them ordered black pudding. Me being curious I asked what black pudding was. I got the most incredulous look from the lady running the food stand immediately followed by "What do ya mean what'tis blaack pouddin'? Are ya tellin' meh ya've ne'er had any?" (Sorry approximation of her brogue...imagine Braveheart but thicker) She also seemed like she spoke REALLY fast. So when I told her no, we've never had it before, she looked so amazed, like how can you live so long without having it?! look on her face. I think about a split second later she said "Och, tats Ookay, I'll gi'e ya's a wee sample" Well, while she was cooking it, she started talking to the construction workers telling them that they should be sure to come back next week since there would be a sale on something. They informed her that they'd love to but couldn't because this was their last day on the job there and they were going home. Still in the midst of cooking, she rattled off "Och, tats a'right, you'll just ha'e to coome back wi'out yer clothes on". Begin awkward silence, while she's still oblivious and cooking. The construction guys are looking at each other like they were asking how to respond to that, while hubby and I looked at each other, and I was thinking WOW they speak their mind up here! All of a sudden this lady froze and turned around to look at the five of us "I didna mean that! I meant in yer regular clothes!" I think her eyes were about to pop out of her head she had them open so wide. Everyone laughed and the moment passed. She then started going on about how the schools are teaching foreign languages, but not Scots Gàidhlig. After a few minutes the food was ready, and she presented us with our 'wee sample' which ended up being a full serving for both of us to split. It was good, a bit try, kind of unique, I can't really relate it to anything else I've ever had. I would happily eat it again, even though the other name for it is Blood Pudding because it's made with pigs blood.

I really had such a wonderful time in Scotland, I really hope I get to go back again someday, and hopefully for a longer period of time. I can always dream that hubby's job sends him over there for a month or two, and we're at a point that I can go with him. Oh well, back to cleaning,

Anyways, what are some of your favorite finds when you do a good spring cleaning?