Wednesday 30 January 2008

Museum and Wagamama

Last Sunday afternoon, we decided not to try the beach again but to take advantage of some of the culture and sights in the city. We live 2 miles from the wonderful Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This was our first visit and I know we will be back soon! The museum is full of hands on activities for the children and something to suit everyone's taste and interest. It is also in one of the prettiest buildings in Glasgow. They even had a model of a Woolly Mammoth which of course, we love! So I think while the temperatures are hoovering around freezing, we'll stick to the indoor activities!

We also went to the boys' favorite restaurant, Wagamama (I think they just like to say the name!). It is an Asian Noodle House that is kid friendly with fast service and yummy healthy food! I would never have dreamed that their favorite would be one of our favorites as well! Expanding our horizons!

Ice

We took for granted many conveniences in Texas and one of those is the availability of ice for your beverages. We do not have an ice maker in our dorm fridge and we can sometimes buy bags of ice in the store (not always as it seems to be seasonal). When you ask where bagged ice might be in the store the associates usually chuckle! So what did our friends turn us on to to solve our dilemma? Ice Bags. You hold a bag much like a Ziploc under the tap, fill it up and pop it in the freezer. The little bags are perforated so that each one make approximately 18 cubes. Viola'! You now have ice. These bags can be found in the grocery store right next to the household paper goods in a box just like baggies.

When we were in Louisiana during the Christmas holiday, we had the luxury of staying at my brother's newly completed lake house. It's enormous and has no less than 5 Ice Makers/machines (an industrial one to boot!). So when Scott was filling the baggies last weekend so we could have a proper Vodka and Tonic, he noted that he "really couldn't imagine Uncle Chris filling baggies to get a few ice cubes!" He just might if he were here without an ice machine!

Wednesday 23 January 2008

West Sound Burns Supper

Is there such a thing as Edgar Allan Poe Night? Can you imagine attending a dinner to celebrate his life and his work? Maybe some Americans do. But I can't imagine that it would be anything like a Burns Supper.

We were invited to attend the West Sound Burns Supper to celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns, immortal Scottish Poet and Song Writer. It was a brilliant Scottish Evening with Haggis and Neeps, Whiskey, Bagpipes, a proper Scottish band and many toasts and speeches about O Rabbie Burns.

The best way I can describe it is to give you the evening line up and a paragraph from the program:

Introduction
Welcome
The Selkirk Grace (http://www.rampantscotland.com/poetry/blpoems_grace.htm)
Address the Haggis (http://www.worldburnsclub.com/begin/address_to_a_haggis.htm)
The Queen (toast the Queen)
Dinner
Songs (Burns' songs and other traditional Scottish ones performed by local high school ensemble)
The Immortal Memory of Robert Burns (speech)
The Young Burnsian of the Year Award (High School boy reciting Burns Poetry)
Poetry (http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Poems_Songs/tamoshanter.htm)
Recorder (young boy playing the recorder unlike any recorder music I've ever heard! Brilliant)
Toast to the Lassies (hilarious toast to the ladies)
Songs (again, Burns' Music and traditional Scottish music this time by singing group All Angels)
The Reply to the Toast to the Lassies (just like it says)
Songs (see Songs above except another famous singer)
The Star O Rabbie Burns (said song sung by audience)
Vote of Thanks
Auld Lang Syne (http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19331)

"Tonight we come together in friendship, old friends and new, to celebrate and pay homage to a young Scot who died more than two centuries ago and yet whose words are still so relevant today. True genius is of course timeless and on hearing the poems, songs and tributes to our national bard in this great banqueting hall we feel a sense of pride that it was a young 18th century Ayrshireman who wrote over 300 songs and 400 poems unequalled in emotional intensity and translated into more than 50 languages throughout the world." Brenda Ritchie, Station Director West Sound and West FM

It was a wonderful black tie evening full of Scottish lessons (when we could understand the speakers) for Scott and I and it left me feeling the need to brush up on my poetry! Check out the websites listed if you are interested in learning more about it! It really was fascinating! And yes, I tried Haggis. Not sure when I will try it again!

http://www.west-sound.co.uk/Article.asp?id=236082
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/709

Tuesday 22 January 2008

Beach Anyone??














It stops raining for 24 hours and we had the crazy idea that it would be a nice day to get outside and well, go to the beach? It's only 30 minutes away. I'm sure it's beautiful; rocks, green hills, islands in the distance......and it was but it's ............WELL, it's still January in Scotland!




Last Saturday morning we put on our long underwear, packed a picnic and headed to the West Coast of Scotland. It was a nice day (it was not pouring down rain and the temperature was above freezing) and we were itching to do a little more exploring. So off we went with our ski jackets, gloves and mittens and we headed West. The drive was beautiful; rolling green hills, old stone walls, century old farm houses and sheep!








We stopped at a beach in Langhouse and hopped out to play in the sand. The rocks were beautiful and the boys immediately started climbing! We collected shells and rocks, explored the seaweed piles and walked up and down the beach. It really was a "brilliant" afternoon but man, it is REALLY cold in January on the beach in Scotland. The boys lasted much longer than Scott and I. When we couldn't feel our toes, we drove to a park in the nearest town to ride our skateboards and enjoy our picnic but literally were frozen in 15 minutes so we headed home to our cozy house for our picnic!



We really must go back there in August, I'm sure it's lovely! When we went to dinner Saturday night (blog to come on that as well) and people heard about our day; they laughed in our face! We had a great day but I think we'll stick to the museums in the winter!








Pictures from Christmas in Texas and Louisiana





























Just getting around to loading the pictures and getting some of them posted! We had such a great time with all of our family over the holidays!










Saturday 12 January 2008

Happy New Year

Hello, hello and Happy 2008 to everyone! We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you are enjoying the New Year.

We had a great trip to the States over the holidays. We spent time in Arlington with Scott's family, caught up with a few friends in Dallas, and saw my family in Louisiana. It was a whirl wind trip full of blessings! We loved each visit and only wished there was more time with each family and friend. (If we missed you this trip, we want to see you next time!)

We are back in the swing of things with school and work in Glasgow and are settling back into our routines. We were excited to see our friends here and it felt good to sleep in our beds! The weather is positively miserable and everyone says this is how it will be for awhile. Today the high was 34 and we had a break in the rain for about half the day. Otherwise, it has been raining non-stop, super cold, sleeting, and the winds were 50 miles and hour one night. YIKES!

During the break in the weather today, we went to see the Tall Ship in Glasgow Harbor. It is a restored triple mast sailboat that was used 200 years ago. They have done a great job of restoring it and you can go on board and see what life was like for the sailors while they worked. We all loved it and enjoyed the outing even in the cold.

I will post pictures from the last few weeks asap and will do my best to update once a week! Thanks for checking in and God's blessings to each of you!