I've Done It!

I am officially a British driver! After several months of expensive lesson (which apparently paid off) I am now legally driving again as I just passed my driving test yesterday and am the recipient of a UK driving license! Hooray!!!

One of the best days...

For those of you who don't know, I have started taking riding lessons. I have returned to my equestrian roots after nearly a 26 year hiatus and am completely loving it. I go to a place called Drumbrae riding centre which is just behind the university where I work. One of my colleagues just started riding there as well as so we go together to our weekly lesson. Yesterday would have been my third lesson but when I got there, our instructor, Ron, asked if we wanted a lesson or to go on a hack (joy ride). Since it was another fine Scottish evening (sunny and warm if you can believe that) we decided to go on a hack. There really is almost nothing better than galloping through a Scottish forest and then coming out of the forest and watching the way the sun shines through the clouds in rays all over the countryside - sounds corny but it really it quite incredible.

Stay tuned as next week, Sonia and I have our first jumping lesson!

The saddest thing ever...

David, Sophie and I were at the lake on Saturday because it was a gorgeous Scottish day (pictures to be posted later). A gorgeous Scottish day isn't like a gorgeous day back home in California, they're better. Maybe it's because the light is different (and it really is quite different) or maybe it's because gorgeous Scottish days come along so infrequently, that we appreciate them a bit more.

Anyway, we took the boat out and had a lovely picnic on the shore on the far side of the lake. After a lovely lunch, Sophie and I left David napping on the beach while we went out for a nice leisurely row so that we could read our new InStyle magazine in peace. Glorious! Nothing better than rowing and reading about what I should pack on my next vacation. Eventually we went and picked up David, rowed some more, and went for a swim (freezing cold) - a perfect day. As we were admiring all the babies from the boat (baby sheep and baby geese) we spotted what looked like two giant plastic bags that were strewn on the shore. I was actually hoping it was garbage because the alternative was too miserable to think about. Lying on the shore was a dead swan and beside it was its mate, laying beside it just waiting for something to happen. Only makes it worse to think that swans are one of the few animals that mate for life. Wow, that really sucked.