Scotland, ho!

Post by Debi

Last night, David and I participated in the Torchlight Procession which opens the annual Edinburgh's Hogmanay  (New Year's Eve) celebrations.  A bunch of people dressed as vikings alongside Scottish highlanders dragging a viking warship (which is later burnt), led what they are saying was a 15,000+ strong crowd all carrying flaming torches through the city of Edinburgh.  It started at the historic High Street (Royal Mile) and wound through Princes Street and up to the ancient Edinburgh meeting ground Calton Hill.

It was amazing to see so many lights!


Scotland has perhaps one of the richest celebrations of New Year's Eve, spanning three days--they even have their own name for it--Hogmanay.   According to RampantScotland.com:

It may not be widely known but Christmas was not celebrated as a festival and virtually banned in Scotland for around 400 years, from the end of the 17th century to the 1950s. The reason for this has its roots in the Protestant Reformation when the Kirk portrayed Christmas as a Popish or Catholic feast and therefore had to be banned. Many Scots had to work over Christmas and their winter solstice holiday was therefore at New Year when family and friends gathered for a party and exchange presents, especially for the children, which came to be called hogmanay.

There are traditions before midnight such as cleaning the house on 31st December (including taking out the ashes from the fire in the days when coal fires were common). There is also the superstition to clear all your debts before "the bells" at midnight.

Immediately after midnight it is traditional to sing Robert Burns' "For Auld Lang Syne". Burns claimed it was based on an earlier fragment and certainly the tune was in print over 80 years before he published his version in 1788.

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and auld lang syne
For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o kindness yet, for auld lang syne." 

An integral part of the Hogmanay partying, which continues very much today, is to welcome friends and strangers, with warm hospitality and of course a kiss to wish everyone a Guid New Year. The underlying belief is to clear out the vestiges of the old year, have a clean break and welcome in a young, New Year on a happy note.

Here's a short video we took (sorry it's a bit dark):

Have a Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2012!

Post by David

Happy July!
And that's another busy month come and gone in the wink of an eye.   Nothing for 't but to embrace it, try to remain in the moment, and enjoy the ride.

We've had two visits from family - Debi's niece Brittany and her husband, Brad came for a fun-packed, all-too-short visit at the end of May, and Debi's sister, Michelle who just left this morning after a whirlwind tour, including a 3-day trip through Glen Coe, Fort William, Skye, and Loch Ness.   It was great spending time with them and showing off our adopted home.  Scotland has been particularly sunny of late, which was great, as dear Scotia is so often painted in grey, dreary colours, especially back in the States.   It's a long journey to here from Portland, so I'm glad the weather was great for both their visits.




We toured Fife, Stirling, and Pitlochry, where we visited the Edradour distillery.   It was great to tour this small distillery that produces very small batches (they apparently make in a year what most distilleries produce in a week).

We also went to see several bands at Voodoo Rooms, which was great fun.  Michelle, Debi and I also went to see the Fleet Foxes last week, which was amazing.   The Bees (a.k.a. "Band of Bees" in the States) opened for them, and have become a new favourite of mine.

I set off for my social anthropology fieldwork project in the middle of Brittany and Brad's visit, traveling overnight to the Isle of Harris via Glasgow and Uig, Skye.  
I've wanted to go for a while, and have been reading all I could by Anthropologists, Historians, and locals but nothing could've prepared me for what I found there, and I'm still trying to process it all. 
I had some amazing encounters with people there (and one with a white-tailed eagle with a 7' wingspan, egads)!

It was a wonderful experience.   It was also my first time "wild camping" in many, many moons.
If I could do it all again, I would've taken a double-walled tent, more woolens, and moisture-wicking clothes.   Oh, and waterproof trousers.   Yeah.

Earlier in the month, she was contacted by execs at Ness, a small Scottish clothing company whose products she's loved since our arrival in Scotland.  Apparently, as she's sewn many outfits around their accessories and linked to their site on her blog, she's sent quite a bit of traffic their way.   Now, normally, a company would take the business and that'd be it.   But they wanted to make her an affiliate, and reward her for promoting their line.   We went to visit them at their Stockbridge offices, where they outlined the relationship they wanted to form with Debi, and gave her some great items from their current line.

We had a wonderful time there, and it's great to see a local company staffed by lovely, down-to-Earth people doing so well.   Debi lists some of her reasons for loving the company on her blog here. 

July looks to be equally busy, with a conference in Lisbon, a move across town to new digs, and the writing-up of my fieldwork all in the mix, joined (I'm certain) by other projects and happenings as the month unfolds.   Wish us luck!

More soon,
David & Debi


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Posted by David
(Originally written in January, just haven't been able to finish and post.  Apologies).

Exams are finally over and not a moment too soon!   Debi and I were both beginning to look a little frayed around the edges; time to retreat to a quiet place where we could unplug, recover from the stresses of Uni, the holidays, and work, and just enjoy being together.

We'd spent a few days at the Tower House in Dunning this time last year, and had really enjoyed it.   It's just a few miles northwest of us, in Perthshire.  

The Tower House and the adjoining building were once the family Chapel of the Rollo Family, attached to their sprawling estate house, Duncrub Park.

Alas, the main part of the building was demolished in the 1950s.

However, across the road from the Chapel and Tower is a house that was originally the laundries of Duncrub Park.   Standing at the edge of the property line, it's fun to imagine what the house must have looked like when it was whole.

Last year, the fog set in as we returned from dinner in town one evening.  I joked as we set out across the first field that we might disappear into the mists, as in an old Faerie Tale.   Debi, of course, wasn't very happy with me.

By the time we got to the middle of the field, we could barely see the road at our feet.  The mists were eerie in the woods, and the skelletal trees and the framework of the polytunnels on the farms took on strange forms.   We missed this fork in the road that would have led us to the Tower, and wandered off into the grounds along the dirt road.

We got far along, when I decided to turn back.   We soon saw the dark silhouette of the tower rising out of the mist - a strangely welcome sight.    As it turns out we were never in any danger - the road only goes so far past the house, but at the time, it was a bit...em...well, I knew we'd be fine all along.

Though I swear I heard some muffled chuckling off to the side of the road every so often.

The grounds are extensive - mostly divided into farms and a golf course.   There are some great walks along the property, and a nice path that takes you on a circuitous path from town to the main road.

The light is wonderful, and I did my best to capture it.

It's a short walk through the fields and woods to town, and we had a great dinner at the warm and friendly Kirkstyle Inn. 

We listened to music, read, worked on projects (see Debi's sewing blog) and watched movies.  There's also badminton and ping-pong next door, in the old Chapel, and that was a lot of fun too.
 All in all, a great, relaxing holiday.
Alas, it's back to work now...until the next getaway.
More pics below.



Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

YAY! It's my birthday.  This year I've got a very exciting list of things I want to do:

33 Things for My 33rd Year:

1. Sew or create 33 things this year
2. Learn new sewing skills (such as a bound buttonhole, matching plaids, etc.)
3. Enter a sewing contest on Pattern Review
4.Take a sewing class
5. Read several sewing books and magazines
6. Sew presents for friends and family
7. Sew a winter coat
8. Learn to knit
9. Go to Knit Camp 2010
10. Try out new features on my blog
11. Refashion 5 garments
12. Get better at sewing for short amounts of time more often
13. Sew one historical costume
14. Get a vintage haircut
15. Try out different vintage hairstyles
16. Attend conference this summer in New Orleans
17. Spend less of my free time on the computer
18. Write letters/postcards to my nephews/nieces/Grandma at least once every two months
19. Finish 3 house projects
20. Take a vacation outside of Scotland
21. Take a vacation within Scotland
22. Have a staycation
23. Watch classic movies from the 1920's-60's.
24.Travel with family and friends that visit Scotland
25. Visit at least 2 new historical places in Fife
26. Start swing dancing

27. Volunteer with local groups
28. Publish a journal article
29. Publish the report I have been working on at work
30. Start up date night once a month

Left over from my 32 things list:
31. Get UK driving license
32. Ride in a hot air balloon
33. Get kittens/cats

We're wishing you all a very happy Christmas and wonderful New Year!

posted by Debi

David and I met up with our friends Tara and Nick and their adorable 10 month old, Eisean to welcome the sun after the longest night of the year--Winter Solstice!  We drove part way up the Lomond Hill and were very happy to see the sun peaking out in the distance.  For me, it is always reassuring to know that the days are now going to start getting lighter and that we will be inching towards spring now!

The sunrise was beautiful:


And it was great to share the beautiful sunrise with our friends: