Auld Lang Syne

It has come time to leave Scotland and take the short flight across the North Sea to the Netherlands.  This past year and a few months have been great.  Today is a day of mixed feelings. We enjoyed living in Scotland and especially the new relationships that we made with our new friends here.  It truly is a beautiful country.  Many days while driving to work, I would say to myself that I was "Driving in a Postcard".  Yes, the weather is rainy, windy, and cool......but that is part of what makes it so beautiful and green.

Leaving and the change that it brings with it are a part of life.  We will begin Chapter 2 of "The Big Adventure" in the Netherlands starting Saturday.  Starting over in a new country brings a renewed excitement and the anticipation of what lies in store for us.  I don't how we will be able to learn to love the Netherlands like we love Scotland, but we will give it a try.

There are three slide shows below with pictures of Scotland--through our eyes.  Take a few minutes and see for yourself what a beautiful adopted country we have been living in.  Everyone sees life through their own perspective.  The following pictures are Scotland......the way that we saw it, the way that we will remember it.  We will forever treasure the time that we spent here, the beauty that we were able to enjoy, and especially the friendships that were forged.  A part of our hearts will always be Scottish.

PS -We have been having a little bit of trouble with the Photobucket slideshows.  Evidently you can't see them if you don't have more modern tech  on your computer.  I don't know why I just know that we can't see the slideshows on Bud's older laptop but we could see it on our Mac.

Goodbye Scotland 1

Goodbye Scotland 2

Goodbye Scotland 3

Jake And Shannon Sittin In A Tree

K.I.S.S.I.N.G.


First Came Love


Then Came Marriage




Now Comes A Baby In A Baby Carriage

For My Sister!

You've been holding out on me!

So is this how you make all your spare change?

London - Part 5

Houses of Parliament - Where all things political happen!
It is on the River Thames.

It is also known as Westminster Hall and is officially a royal palace.

Perhaps one of London's most iconic images -

Big Ben!

The Eye of London.  This ferris wheel takes 35 minutes to ride,

however you can see most of London from it.

A view of the financial district. The London stock exchange has the distinction of 

being the only stock exchange that is open both when the US stock exchange 

and Japanese stock exchange are also open.

Another view from the Westminster Bridge.

I thought this was interesting - some kind of jack up rig.

Not sure what it was for - its quite small.

Some more great architecture.

 

I thought this was a very cool view of a street.

I don't know that name of it - I need to go back to London

when I have more than one day to see it.

The Royal Courts of Justice

The dragon at the entrance of Westminster.

It is an Inner London borough and was created in 1965
when Greater London was established

I did not know that!

Another view.

An interesting clock that was up on the side of a building.

St. Paul's Cathedral

This is where Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married.

It is a magnificent building.

Tower Bridge Most people think this is London Bridge,

which is not true.  London Bridge was sold in 1968 to Robert McCulloch 

and was later shipped to Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Better pictures of the London Stock Exchange and Financial District.

Have I Been MIA? I think so!

My last post was April 7th and then I fell off the face of the earth!  Actually I decided at the last minute to go to the States for a month.  Angus was having to travel a lot for his job so we thought it was better for me to visit our family than to sit in our tiny apartment for a month.  I will be flying back to Aberdeen at the end of the week, ash permitting - or should I say no ash permitting.  

I had three more London posts to put up; I have the pictures already but need to add  the words.  I have been lazy.  Now it almost seems too late, but I will put them up anyway.  I have not taken one photo while I have been in the good ol' USA.  I actually find that rather amazing.  Shame on me.

I got my foot operated on while I was here.  I was overdue to get this minor surgery done.  Glad to have that over with.

I drove to New Mexico to see my mother and siblings.  It was a great to visit with everybody.  I also got to catch up with some wonderful friends and old acquaintances.

My friend Mojo, along with my sister and sister-in-law introduced me to quilting and I feel I have an addiction coming on!  Sad thing is my sewing machine has been packed up in a crate since March 9th and is somewhere in the Netherlands, waiting to find our new home!

Best part of this trip was seeing my grandbabies.  They are growing by leaps and bounds!  I can't believe how much fun being a grandma has been.  Some days I am the most popular person around - at least with the little people.  It is going to be hard to say goodbye to them and my kids.  I cry every time on the drive to the airport.  It doesn't seem to get better with time!

Hopefully once I have recovered from the jet lag I will get back on the bandwagon and start blogging.  I have missed you all!