7-4-17

We had a party at Mom's today. Here Kels is helping Nana in the kitchen. This is not a great picture and they don't look too happy, but they were. It was a great party. Lots of folks.

There were a lot of mommies and babies at the party and they were so so so cute!

7-3-17

Happy 4th! We went on the 3rd to Opelika to see the fireworks with our friends. We brought Sakura and Sta and Kels and Fossy.

7-2-17

I played piano at church again. This is getting to be a weekly thing and I'm getting better.

7-1-17

I framed this for Aza today, as she got a JOB full time as a hygienist at a really good practice! I'm so happy for her. This crosstitch she did will be hung in her new operatory.

6-28-17

The doctor was great. He has me trying two new meds I've never heard of, and he drew a bunch of blood for tests of all sorts. He also wants me to get a nerve conduction study back home.

On the way home we stopped at REI to look at outdoor stuff, then had dinner at this fancy French restaurant because we looked at the lunch menu and the prices were decent. Woah. Oh well, it was a good break and a nice, well deserved break from all our traveling.

6-27-17

On the road again. We drove to NC today for my doctor's appointment tomorrow at Duke.

I hope he has some insight into my facial neuralgia.

6-25-17

Sorry for the extended absence from blogging. My life got SO busy after returning from Scotland, I've been running like a headless chicken.

This is a scarf I started in Scotland and finished today. It will be a gift for someone. 

Today I joined a band and went to the first practice session. I like all the people in band, and like the music. Old timey stuff. It will be fun!

6-22-17

I was in a fog all day, not productive except for watering my plants. We slept until 9am to try and get on a regular schedule, but my mid afternoon I was a zombie and slept for a few hours. Dinner at Mom's house. Watched Better Call Saul and fell asleep at the end. In bed again at 10pm. It was a nothing day of semi-unpacking and laundry and staring off into space in my quiet house, trying to re-adjust my brain.

6-21-17 AKA the 30 hour day

Today we flew home, or started to at least. This is our last view... We flew from Glasgow to Dublin and had a decent layover with lunch at a neat cafe - I had a mozzarella panini. We boarded our 7 hour flight to Boston and knew that we had a 3 hour layover in Boston and would be getting home really late. However, upon landing in Boston around 6pm Eastern time (Midnight back in Scotland...) we discovered that our flight had been delayed, and instead of leaving at 9pm would be leaving at midnight.

Ok, so if feels like midnight and you find out you have to wait six hours in an airport before your next flight, which has a 2 hour drive afterwards.

I ended up putting my head on my knees and sleeping a while when the fatigue just overwhelmed me. Midnight came and we boarded the plane. I hardly remember it; I slept almost the whole way. We arrived in ATL at 2:40am and arrived HOME in our beds at 4:20am central time on 6-22.

Dan stayed awake the whole time. I was like a drunken drugged person and would not have made it without him. My Star app worked on my phone and you can see we were chasing the sun as we flew west on our 30 hour day.

6-20-17

 Today we said goodbye to Ullapool and started the drive back to Glasgow. I was very sad. It just felt like a sad heaviness to leave. We decided to stop at a castle on Loch Ness along the way, and discovered it had once been owned by the Grant Clan, my Scottish genetic claim. What a serendipitous event to stumble upon it.

We found our hotel in the outskirts of Glasgow, went to dinner, and slept our last sleep in Scotland.

6-19-17

Today we drove north to the ferry to Handa Island. It's a privately owned island managed by the Scottish National Trust (like a national park, but not really). We did a four mile walk around the island and saw thousands of birds nesting in the cliffs and in the grasses.

In the US there would have been an ugly railing here to keep people from falling off, but no-- not here. Just watch your step.

6-18-17

This is Loch Broom, which leads to the sea. Our room looks out onto this body of water. Doesn't this look like it's fake, it's so beautiful?

Today we did three things, and Dan did four.

He climbed a mountain while I drank coffee and tried to wake up.

Then we drove over to the end of some land and hiked out to a lighthouse. 

Then we hiked down to a gorge... see below, and crossed it on a swinging bridge.

Then we went out to dinner at The Arch and had another amazing dinner (last night's was wonderful too.)

Tomorrow will be our last day touring Scotland. Dan has some plans for us to go to some island by ferry. I wanted to go shopping at some art galleries. Hmmmm.... maybe I'll find a way to do both.

6-17-17

I gave my second paper this morning and it went over really well. Everyone in the room wanted a copy of my presentation and my paper. Someone from Switzerland and someone else from Scotland said they wanted to collaborate with me and bring me to their universities. I was really happy to have the conference end on that high note.

We hit the road around noon.

This is Ruthven, the ruins of a fortification built on top of where a castle once stood. We came upon Ruthven on our way from Stirling to Ullapool because I wanted to see where my great great grandmother Janet Kennedy and her 11 siblings and parents were from. We first went to the town of Kingussie, had lunch there, and were told that the town used to be over by the ruins.

So, I read that the town moved when the waters kept flooding it. I imagine this is where the old town was. The town moved across the river to higher ground. There is an old kirk (church) in town, and I think I can access records online and get more information about the family. It was REALLY cool to see a town I'd only read about.

Then we drove to Ullapool and checked into our B&B.

6-16-17

This is the view of the hotel on the campus of the University of Stirling.

I gave my first paper today and it went over well.

But I didn't want to stay for dinner because I felt really out of place and knew nobody going to dinner so Dan came to get me.

6-15-17

 I thought my conference started today but I was wrong-- which gave us a day to explore Stirling. We decided to really tour the castle. Here are some views from the castle. Doesn't that look like a painting above? That's the Wallace Monument.

This is the King's Knot. We got a LOT of walking in today and I got all ready for my first of two papers to be delivered.

6-14-17

Flying over Scotland.

We rented a car and drove from Glasgow to Stirling and checked in at the Neidpath B&B, which was very very nice. This is our view.

We couldn't get into our room until the afternoon so we napped on the couch a bit and walked around town a bit.

We had dinner here-- The Portcullis. A portcullis is a sort of door that lowers between two walls of stone.

6-13-17

And we are on a jet plane again.

This photo was taken as we were approaching Boston-- at which we had a five hour layover, during which time we thought it would be a good idea to take a bus into the city, where it was 90F, and where I decided to have a heat stroke- or something like it, and then, red-faced, drink three 500ml bottles of water in a row before we traipsed back to the bus in hot wind, to venture back to the airport and fly to Dublin where we landed the next morning.

6-11-17

It was a hard work week- getting caught up, meetings meetings meetings every day, and getting ready for the conference in Scotland too. My cousin Set drove through town with his wife and kids and cat. They spent the night at Mom's. It was great to see them all!

6-7-17

Working on a different colored scarf thing now with my Quince yarn.

6-6-17

We left Wisconsin and flew home today. After going through security at the Milwaukee airport, we got to experience some recombobulation,

Easy peasy flight and drive home.

The house smelled musty because it had rained all week.

6-5-17

Today we borrowed the folks' car and drove to Kopps to meet up with my friend Moonie and her kiddos. And get some frozen custard, of course.

6-3-17

It's Friday, so time for a fish fry in Wisconsin. We went out with Dan's brother and Jules and folks...

and as you can see I got the traditional fish fry with potato cakes and apple sauce.

6-2-17

Dan took an architecture class at OLLI and learned about this Frank Lloyd Wright- designed buildings (no, not that one in the picture) on the campus of Johnson and Sons (Johnson Wax) in Racine, Wisconsin. So, we drove down there to see it. Above is a statue made from a small model FLW created. The tower was really cool (below). The walls are made from tubes of glass. While the tower was in use, scientists in it developing products were subjected to wind and rain as it blew through the cracks between the glass tubes. We weren't allowed to take pictures in side, but it WAS COOL.

I had some sort of anemia heart palpitation weakness dizziness thing so I slept in the car while Dan and his parents went to the Racine zoo. Then we had lunch at a place called Kewpie and I got a migraine afterwards.

Later we went out for Wisconsin Fish Fry.

Lake Muskego or is it Lake Mukwanago. I can't remember. 

6-1-17

8am wake up

10am leave for ATL

12:30pm shop at IKEA

2:00pm arrive at airport

3:45pm flight to Milwaukee

5:45 land

6:30 dinner with in-laws!

5-31-17

Great work session today with two students. We compared two gear sets and voted for this one. Then we figured out how to connect the generator and light and turned the light on. It felt so successful! Wednesdays are full days. I meet with students in the morning from 9-11 then randomly meet with groups throughout the day, then have a full meeting with them all at 4pm with some tinker/work time afterwards. If felt rewarding today.

5-28-17

I'm making a new recipe with my lovely yarn-- it's a neck cowl thing.

5-26-17

Alabama magnolias are in bloom. Dan and I went for a night walk down to the park, up into the neighborhood behind it, then back to the museum, and back home. 

It was a good walk. 

Jes is fine. She stayed home from work all week recovering. Now she has a long weekend to continue recovering. I'll get to see her in July, and see Squirt in August when we go visit.

Aza has two job offers.

Our kids grew up and made good lives for themselves. We have an empty nest- not even a dog to walk. But we are full of pride at what our independent kids have accomplished. They have six college degrees between the three of them, soon to be seven. 

For a couple of 22 year old "kids" in 1985, pregnant and in college and jobless, we done good.

There is still a road ahead of us. 

Been married 32 years, we may have 32 more yet.

5-24-17

These were in our carport when I got home from work. I'd made them spring semester and there was only one person I knew who would have brought them to me. The Kraft Man.

 So, we walked around the corner to his house to thank him, and sat out on his back deck drinking beers. His house is FULL of his pottery, he has a full pottery studio in his basement, and he gave me two bowls. It felt like we had a neighbor.