I'm B-a-a-a-c-k!!

I'm still recovering from jet-lag (a week later!) but thought you might like to see a few photos of my trip to Scotland. Warning: no knitting content ... but I promise there will be some in my next post, as I did actually find a knitting shop in Scotland (no small feat!).

Acres of heather, all in bloom.

This is the fishing village where my dad grew up ... on the east coast of Scotland, right on the border of Scotland and England.

That's the harbour, with the North Sea beyond, taken from the highest point of the local golf course. This is a deceptively beautiful sunny day ... the area has a climate zone unto its own. Gale force winds and driving rain are the norm. I gave up on having any semblance of a hair-do while away, unless it was nailed down with Joico Ice-Mist (wonderful stuff, that!). If it's windy, while raining, you don't hold your unbrella over your head, or you'll take off like Mary Poppins! You need to hold it like a shield in front of you, as the wind causes the rain to come at you horizontally!! Thankfully, those days were very few and we actually had quite mild weather.

The white house (life/coast guard) at the far right is at the end of the street from where I stayed with one of my aunts. My cousin & husband live at one end of the street; my aunt lives in the middle and until last year, my granny lived at the other end. Sure made it easy for visiting! It's the strangest thing to be related (albeit sometimes distantly) to just about everyone in the village ... stranger still to see your last name on many of the tombstones in the local cemetary.

This is the beach with the tide out ... the large white house in front is where one of my aunts lives. This house is over 200 years old and it is reported that Robert Burns -- the Scottish poet (think 'Auld Lang Syne') resided here at some point. My uncle was an architect and he redesigned the interior of this house as well as designing several homes in the area.

More to come!