Some Pics

Just some pics that I wanted to post.

This is the view from Ullapool. There's a place in Ullapool that has the best fish and chips you have ever tasted!

On our trip to Lochinver we visited a place called Assynt which is home to Ardvreck Castle and Calda House. David said that they filmed some scenes from Highlander here at the castle.

Beach shot at Achmelvick...gorgeous!

Just Waiting

I have a little while before I have to go to the chiropractor and so I just thought I'd write a little blip. Things are well here in Stirling. Sophie was up for a week and so there was a lot going on. We went to Go Ape which is described as an aerial assault course. Basically, you're in a harness the whole time and you climb up trees and go from tree to tree in various ways - walking across wooden bridges, riding a zip line, or jumping off and swinging (the Tarzan move). It was fun but boring. There was a lot of waiting...waiting to climb up the tree, waiting to cross to the other tree, waiting because there were too many people on the platform (which is on the tree) and when you have to wait with people who are extremely annoying behind you (no, not David or Sophie but rather a Mother/Daughter trio who tried to tell you how to do everything even though you didn't want their advice) it can become a bit of a bummer. Best parts? The zip line across the valley and watching David (he's got a thing about heights - he says it's vertigo but really he's just scared and won't admit it!) It was slightly freaky to put your faith in to a piece of metal that would hopefully hold your weight (even though you've gained a few) and jump off in to nothingness. The caribiner was sturdy enough but my pants weren't and they split later that day...bummer.

Worked a half day on Friday so that we could have some fun and ended up going go-karting and to see Cats in Edinburgh. GO KARTING ROCKS! I love it. David had been before but Sophie and I had no idea what we were doing. Thought we'd be taking it easy around the course but David sped off right from the start (gee, thanks for waiting Davy) and when he lapped me and Sophie (with no regard for safety) bumping in to his own daughter's kart simply to prove his manliness, it really pissed me off and then we went flying around the course which, of course, is a blast. David won the race but I had the fastest lap time. I have challenged him to a re-match.

I love going in to Edinburgh because I miss city life and the normal things that you find in the city compared to Stirling - decent Pizza and salads, sushi, nice shops - it has become my new mecca. Cats was good but strange (maybe because it seems so dated?) It was fun going to see a show even though it was about Jellicle cats.

Warm Water Awaits

We have finally planned a trip. After 6 months of wanting to and waiting to plan a trip we have finally done it! 5 days in SF to visit the family and then we're off to Belize for diving and lollygagging. We are going to Caye Caulker which is a tiny island off of the coast, a place I never got a chance to see on my Mexico/Central America tour (ages ago) because Belize was a bit too scary (they had a Tourist Police Unit that followed us around because too many tourists were getting mugged and assaulted.)

We are staying at a place called Oasi, a wee inn (only 3 rooms) that I found by scouring Trip Advisor.

There are no cars on the island, only bicycles and golf carts...soooo totally my speed. I can't tell you how jazzed I am to do some really fantastic diving and, in particular, to see the Blue Hole. David is planning to get certified while we are there...I haven't had a diving buddy since my Dad abandoned me for golf!

Summer Antics

How do I catch up with a whole summer having gone by? With having finally gotten a job, I have been finding it hard to motivate myself to get my blog together. I'm tired and it seems that my weekends are packed with chores...yard work, cleaning, groceries, laundry, Newholme work. Like the rest of the world, I'm just tired. But I'll try to be better.

It has been a difficult summer, a sad summer. Thommy died and Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Let's face it...this summer sucked.

On a brighter note, Sophie came for a two week stay which coincided with a visit from the yanks. Hallelujah! I was saved. Just for a bit anyway.






David, Terry, Liz and the girls. We spent the night in Oban which is a small town on the west coast of Scotland. Notice that Kat Kat is wearing her princess dress even in the rain.

Here they are on a roller coaster when we went to the Safari Park. Notice that they're in the first (and best) car...way to go girls!

We finally got around to going to a pub! Once again, notice Kat Kat's attire.

The girls feeding baby Hammish. I've made peace with Highland set this summer.

Here's the story behind this picture and why I am swimming in freezing water when it's shit cold outside. There is a long standing tradition in the Callander family, that if you want to be able to go out in the boat by yourself, you have to be able to swim from a certain point on the shore out to island. Sophie, who is 12, is one of the few remaining in the Callander family that hadn't accomplished this task and so I stupidly said, "Well, if you do it then I'll do it with you." This was during the first few days of her visit and as the days went on, with her time in Scotland ticking away, she didn't mention it again. And neither did I. I was seemingly off the hook until David called me on Friday at work (Sophie was leaving the next day) and said, "she's going to do it." It was cold, it was raining but all the Callanders were in agreement that it was a good day for the family tradition to carry on. Andrew, David's nephew, was assigned to 'Sophie watch' as I haven't had the opportunity yet to display my great swimming abilities and I'm sure the Callanders were thinking that, under my supervision, Sophie was at high risk for drowning. Needless to say, we all made it and I actually enjoyed it. The unfortunate part of this story is that, even though Sophie can now go solo in the boat, she can't quite manage to get the boat in and out of the boathouse and so she is still shore-bound!

The glorious Castle Stalker on the way to Oban.

Puppy and gazelle at Safari Park (I was a gazelle too and Sophie was a guinea pig.)

I Have a Job!

Finally, it has happened. Someone hired me. Thank God for that! I will soon be a full time employee of the University of Stirling and I couldn't be more pleased!

Guess who...

The Animals Here Hate Me

I can't quite figure it out. I love animals. I even love insects and go out of my way to help them along every now and again. Stuck in the tub little spider? No worries, I'll save you! So why is it that it seems that the animals here are out to get me? I've been harassed by a donkey...remember the cute one that I posted on this site? A killer...nearly decked me and Sophie, David's 12 year old daughter who was almost trampled until I threw myself in the path of the beast. Last week I got stung by a wasp as I was sleepily crawling out of my bed and putting on my flip flops. What kind of animal/insect hides in a flip flop? Not exactly the way I wanted to wake up that day...and almost a week later, my foot starts itching in the exact spot where I was stung and now, of course, I think that it laid eggs in my foot or was carrying some flesh eating disease on its stinger - I know, crazy talk on my part but I have a really active imagination. The hum dinger to this whole animal thing is that somehow I've upset the local highland bull. I go running in the evening and end up going down this really peaceful, solitary road not far from here. On either side of the road are fields. The one to the north has the sheep, the one to the south has a horse and two highland bulls. It's a glorious setting for a run. On my last outing I was on my way back home, passing the bulls for a second time and one happened to be right by the fence. Normally they just stare at me and go on eating but in this instance one of them was giving me the evil eye. And as I was checking him out, he starts flailing his head a bit while he's glaring at me. Then he starts dancing around, kicking a little bit and yet he has not taken his eyes away from me and I am reminded of what an annoyed bull looks like from all the crappy bull fighting movies/videos I've watched. At first I knd of think it's funny but I realize at some point that he is really pissed off. Then I look at the fence which, in this particular spot, happens to be lying on the ground. SHIT. I don't know whether or not He realizes the fence is down but I suddenly start looking around for an escape plan should he come charging at me in order to gore me (because that's what they do) but I am on an open road. Can I outrun him? Probably not. Can I jump over the other fence on the north side of the road? Maybe but he might get a good jab at me before I'm actually over it and how will I get home if I'm bleeding to death from a giant gash? And because I don't have a magenta dress cape to throw him off, I start running like crazy only I'm not looking straight ahead because I need to keep an eye on the monstrous quadruped and I run straight in to a thorny bush and scrape the heck out of my legs. Even though it does no good and it's very childish, when I am finally at a safe distance I start yelling at the beast exactly what I think of him. What an asshole.