a change of pace

Well I managed to get a lot of my Scotland pictures up, but not nearly all of them. I didn't include a whole bunch of visiting, dining, drinking, and merriment. However, I'm sure I'll get back to it when life quiets down again. In the meantime we have had my folks over at our house for a week. It has been a magnificent time, and I'm going to just burst if I don't get some pictures of that visit up before long. So expect a change of pace in this blog space.

McFarquhar's Cave

We took a walk to McFarquhar's cave on the Black Isle. This is one of the places Linton and Duncan remember going with their dad as kids. It is a beautiful walk down an aisle of trees, and then a steep clamber to the beach. Once you are on the beach there is a big rock arch, and a cave tucked in the hill. The funny part is that Linton hadn't remembered the cave, and Duncan hadn't remembered the arch. So depending on who you asked McFarquhar's cave were two very different things.

Fran's Graduation

Just one more hometown post before getting back to Scotland. Fran graduated with honors from SVC this Sunday. What a complete ROCKSTAR!

She is in the center, waving.



Congratulations Mom!

Linton's Birthday

I have to take a quick break from Scotland posts. Why? The 16th was Linton's Birthday, and I have the pictures to prove it!

First the Majesto hunt that led to his birthday pressies.

There was a clue on the mop.


There was a clue on the dog.


Finally he found his pressies; they were in the trunk!


The cake was Lynn's chocolate cake aka the best cake ever.


Hey, when else are you going to use a meat cleaver in this house?



Happy birthday Linton!

Duncan & Fi's house

Not only had Marcus and Ellie been so gracious to have us over for a BBQ with a brand new baby, Duncan and Fi had only spent two nights in their new house before we became their first houseguest.

Isn't it great looking? I'm so glad we got to spend the night there.

Findhorn

After a long drive from Dundee that morning and a wee stop off at Dunnottar we got up to Nairn to see Duncan, Fiona, and Calum. Sheila and Daisy were there too, added bonus. After lunch we trooped off to Findhorn.

Dunnottar Castle

We swung by and snap some pictures of this great ruin, Dunnottar Castle. What a nice defensible position, eh?




Just another glorious sunshiny day in Scotland.

Dundee

We took a four-day road trip, and kicked it off by heading to Dundee. Only two weeks before our friends Ellie and Marcus had their baby girl, Eliza. (Welcome to the world Eliza; you're lovely!) To celebrate another gorgeous day in Scotland they started up the barbecue. We whiled away hours outside under the hot sun. Ellie and Marcus had more friends over, and as you can tell from the pictures Linton is a total sucker for babies.

Linton meets Eliza


Marcus & Linton


Linton, Ellie and Eliza


Their garden is so gorgeous


Kath and Frasier's son, Henry


Didn't I tell you he was a sucker for babies?


Camilla came by too!

Sitting

Mary has a wonderful new studio. It's an apartment space, but because of fire safety regulations the landlord can't rent to tenants who care to live there. Enter Mary and several of her artist friends. What a good deal all around!

Another thing I kept getting this trip is what a small place Scotland is. Okay, okay, theoretically I knew that already but these real life examples kept cropping up. For instance: Fiona, my sister-in-law, used to rent one of these rooms when she was a student. One of the very rooms in this apartment ... one of the rooms that Mary now paints in. Wild!

Mary and I arranged that we should have a studio day, Mary getting practice with her fabulous portraiture work, and me feeling like the center of attention. He he! Mostly it was quiet and meditative; I had a beautiful tree out the window to gaze at. I've never sat for an artist before, and it was a total thrill.

The previous study.


Colin custom shelving.




The monochromatic outline.


Getting color ready.



The portrait as we left it that day. And this only in a couple of hours! I was gobsmacked.

Walk around Glasgow

Snapshots of our first day stroll around Glasgow.