More Vocabulary

I complain quite a bit about the language barrier I experience here. Today I came across a couple of websites that highlight this problem, and help translate British/Scottish speak into something Americans can understand.

I thought you might find them humorous**:

http://www.rampantscotland.com/parliamo/blparliamo_index.htm

http://www.effingpot.com/food.shtml

A few examples:

"Pardon me - This is very amusing for Brits in America. Most kids are taught to say "pardon me" if they fart in public or at the table etc. In America it has other meanings which take us Brits a while to figure out. I thought I was surrounded by people with flatulence problems!"

The Ongoing Vocabulary Lesson

For english speaking countries, it never ceases to amaze me how different the American vocabulary is from the British, and the British from the Scottish.

Last week I bought a sandwich for lunch. The label said 'Ham, cheese and Pickle," which sounded straightforward enough. As soon as I bit into it, I realized that I was missing something. Where was the pickle? And why was there sweet chunky stuff in my sandwich? It wasn't awful, but I'm not sure I would want it again.

After consulting my coworkers and Wikipedia, I discovered that 'Pickle' in this country refers to Branston Pickle, which is sweet and spicy with a chutney-like consistency, containing small chunks of vegetables in a thick brown sticky sauce. Wikipedia informed me that this is a kind of pickle relish made from a variety of diced vegetables, including swede, carrots, onions, cauliflower, egg and gherkins pickled in a sauce made from vinegar, tomato, apple and dates with spices such as mustard, coriander, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, cloves, nutmeg and cayenne pepper with sugar.



But if this is pickle, than what is a regular old pickled cucumber called? It seriously took me a week of asking people to find someone who knew. Most of my friends made and face and said "I don't know. I would never eat that!" It turns out that pickled cucumbers are called Pickled Gherkins here, and they come in either sweet or sour vinegar. The mini-pickles are called cornichons.

And now I am craving a good ole Kosher Dill Pickle...

Thanksgiving

By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Fire and Ice

On Sunday our boiler managed to catch fire. Don't worry it wasn't a serious fire- just big enough to put our boiler out of commission once again. It was three long cold days, without heat or hot water, before we heard back from our 'too busy' landlord. The weather lately has been alternating between cold, wet days and cold, wet, and windy days. The temperatures seem to be hovering in the 40's and we are lucky if it get any brighter outside than dim mucky grey.

For three days our only sources of heat were each other, a small convection heater, the hot water bottle and the electric mattress pad, Ross and I thankfully bought on Saturday. The dishes piled up in the kitchen, waiting to be washed, and each day our wood floors got colder and colder. Our poor cilantro plant isn't hardy enough to deal with the cold and is looking pretty sad.

Finally some one came out and got the boiler working again. He also confirmed our worst fears- the boiler is corroded inside and needs to be replaced completely. The repairman guessed the boiler only has another 1-2 months left before it is completely useless. The worst news- He told our landlord all this months ago when he was called out for the first of 4 repairs on the boiler. She doesn't want to spend the money on a new boiler.

The whole situation leaves us in a tough place. We don't really want to move, but we are tired of fighting with a cheap and unresponsive landlord. We originally planned to stay put for another year, and had even started the process of writing up a new lease, but now it looks like it may be time to move on. Thankfully we haven't signed the new lease yet.

Unfortunately, there is nothing available in our price range in the neighborhood we currently live in. Over the coming weeks we are going to keep our eye out and in the meantime pray our boiler holds on a bit longer.

On a lighter note, preparations for our Thanksgiving feast (to be held on Dec. 5) are well under way. Two other Americans from our church are helping me split the cooking load. I am in charge of the turkey, however, and am finding that to be a whole new challenge in Scotland. For 12 of us, we will need at least a 15lb turkey, which isn't huge, but the ovens here are like 1/2 the size of the one's I'm used to. I am actually going to have to measure my oven and the turkeys before I buy one!

I also ran into a bit of a wall trying to find a folding table and chairs, which is apparently a foreign idea here. Sometimes I don't understand this country.

Miscommunications

I am really enjoying being back in the working world. So far I haven't had many problems adjusting to my duties, and for the most part, my days are without incident. However, every once in a while I run into some major language barriers, where I either misunderstand what's been said, or I just stand there in a cold sweat with a complete blank.

Yesterday, my supervisor was briefing me on an upcoming meeting that I am involved in. The meeting is a 'board' for the various programs in my department and I was given the instructions to read throught 'diet', student files, and programme guides to familiarize myself with what would be discussing in the meeting. Then I was told to, "Put the invigilators information and University calendar in the lever arch file" when I was done.

Unfortunately, my supervisor was busy and rushed off before I could clarify a few important details- like say, What is a 'board' or a 'diet' or an 'invigilator', or for that matter, a 'lever arch file'?

After a bit of researching (and asking around), I discovered the following:

An examination diet refers to the period of formal examination and the conclusion of an academic term.

As it turned out, the University calendar is really a catalog of the university, explaining the policies, procedures and degrees offered by the University for each academic year.

An invigilator is the person who presides over examinations. What we would call a proctor.

A lever arch file is the British version of a two ring binder with a lever that pulls open the rings.


Occasionally there are quite humorous misunderstandings. Like yesterday when my co-worker, who was looking out the window in our office remarked, "Look at those two tits! They're so small. Aw, they're lovely." To which my other two co-workers rushed to the window and heartily agreed.

After my initial shock, I managed to ask what they were talking about. Apparently, they were gazing at two young blue tits, which are not anything sinister, but are simply a small type of bird native to this area. My co-workers then went on to explain how there were Blue tits, Green Tits, White Bellied Tits, and Marsh Tits. Despite my attempts to remian professional, I couldn't help but snicker throughout their explanation.

Perhaps I am not so much of an adult afterall...

Update

Okay, okay... I apologize for not writing in a while. Here are our updates:


Ross
Sept. 25 was Ross' 31st birthday! We celebrated by going out to eat at an Indian restaurant, Balbir's. Unfortunately, some issues with the bank prevented me from being able to buy him any gifts or even a card, but I made up for that by baking him a huge batch of cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting- all made from scratch. (FYI- challah dough makes tasty cinnamon rolls.)

With classes in full swing, Ross' days are now very full. He teaches a course of research methods, which is required for all the second year students in his department. The course is done in two parts- a big lecture (with all the students in one room) and seminar groups (where the students are broken up into smaller groups to do practical work). This term, Ross has 120 students. Thankfully, he loves his job because teaching for 4-7 hours a day sure is tiring.


Planty Guy
Our wee cilantro plant is still alive and thriving. After weeks of surviving in his original container, Planty Guy was looking a bit grim, so I decided he needed a change of venue. The previous tenants left several clay pots sitting around in the garden- most complete with dead plants. Transplanting him proved a bit more complicated than I expected as we didn't have any gardening tools or proper soil. But it all worked out for the best and he appears to be pleased with his new accomodations. I am proud that I've managed to keep him alive this long!


Release the Word
We have gotten involved in the student ministry at our church, Release the Word. This year the focus is a bible overview, designed to help students develop good bible skills and to understand how the bible fits together and points to Jesus. Ross and I are helping to lead small groups. It was exciting that at our first study we had over 50 students show up! This week my small group grew from 3 girls to 10!

Jennie
After months of applications, I finally have a job! The position is as a secretary in the Dept. of Educational Studies at Glasgow University. It is only a 6 month post, but there is chance for the contract to be extended. And if nothing else, it is a great place to start. October 5 was my first day. So far I am enjoying it and I can't even tell you how good it is to be back at work. It is also really nice to start building relationships with people outside of church again.

Of course, working full-time has presented a new challenge to my time management skills and I am still figuring out how to stay balanced. The new job is the main reason that I haven't been on-line updating as much. Working means lots of little changes- Doing chores on the weekends, having less energy for socializing, and planning out meals in advance (I finally starting using our slow cooker- I love it!). I think I am actually starting to feel like an adult... maybe.

Product Names

Ross mentioned in an earlier post how I am often flustered by visits to the grocery store. Thankfully I am getting used to the Scottish random method of grocery placement. But part of what made doing everyday things more of a challenge was the different product names.

You never realize how nice it is to hear a product name and automatically know what it does. Here many of the products have names that put me off wanting to buy the product altogether, much less understanding what it does.

To help you get a feel for my problem- Guess what the following products do:

ReTardox
Deflatine
Cillit
Harpic

One from Ross

As far as I can see, Jennie uses this Blog to update you on the latest happenings in her life. You may or may not have gathered that part of her day-to-day life includes harassing me about what pet(s) we need. The latest required additions to our family are a dog, kitty, penguin, chicken, goat, and elephant. I'm definitely in favour of the latter since it would no doubt kill all of the rest of the animals, before embarking on a stampeding rampage through the leafy suburbs of the west end of Glasgow.

For one week only, then, you get my take on things. So what has happened in Scotland over the last couple of months? First of all, work has been pretty hectic. Arriving back from California, I quickly went to work rewriting the course I teach. Semester starts formally next week, and I am wondering if all the changes will be appreciated (or even noticed) by the students. Over the last two weeks I also took on some extra duties with the induction and enrollment of new students. Though a bit tedious, this work has paid for the flights we have booked to California in June 2010. We'll be back next summer, hopefully dividing our time between the action-packed, fun-filled town of Rescue and Orange County.

On top of work, our home is a real blessing. Our apartment is really nice, and the area is very beautiful. Despite receiving some fruity insults from the local taxi drivers, it's nevertheless a real pleasure to cycle to work past some really nice old buildings. My daily cycle to work takes me past the eye-catching University of Glasgow (built in the fifteenth century); the Kelvin Hall and Kelvingrove Museum (both traditional red-brick early 20th Century buildings).

Of course, Jennie is a real blessing too. It's been tough for her to adapt to the strange ways, customs, and cultures of a new country. The visits to the grocery store are a particular treat, often culminating in tears because British stores name things differently or have different weights and measures. Yet people have helped her adjust. My friends at church have done me proud, going out of their way to invite her to things and help her to settle in. And watching Jennie adjust to Scotland has been mutually rewarding for both of us. Seeing how Scots live and work and think, I think she understands a little more about me. And when I hear how America compares, I learn more about her. And I learn more about you too.

Let it Rise...

In honor of Rosh Hashanah, I decided to make Challah. It has been a while since I last made a yeast based bread, but I was really craving Challah and with nothing else on my schedule for Friday morning, I figured I could go all out.

Making anything in our kitchen, which is like 1/4 of the size of kitchen I am used to, is always a challenge. We have very little counter space, and with the kettle, toaster, knife block and microwave out, we have even less.

Still, I was confident I could make it work. Despite the entire kitchen being covered in flour, due to a slight mishap opening a new bag, the first steps worked out fine. And then as I was mixing the ingredients my largest bowl was getting fuller and fuller... It was at this point I realized that I had forgotten to halve the recipe. You see, the original makes 4 very large loaves and my one baking sheet and my oven aren't big enough to hold more than one large loaf. Having mixed in everything but the flour, I knew it was too late to start over, so I proceeded to mix in the 8 1/2 cups of flour just hoping my little bowl would hold it all(Yes, 8 1/2 cups!). The last 1 1/2 cups of flour had to be mixed in by hand on the counter because my poor little bowl was overflowing with dough.

Once everything had been mixed I remembered that this whole batch was going to triple before it was all said and done! Laughing, I pulled out every bowl I could find and put chunks of dough and left it to rise...

I really wish I had taken a picture of the mess of bowls and dough. Let's just say that next time I will make sure to halve the recipe!

Friend or Foe

It is no secret that I, along with most of my gender, dislike spiders. I find them creepy and intrusive, and the only thing worse than finding them in my living space is having them actually touch me. My family have been trying to convince me for years that my dislike of spiders is based on an irrational belief that they mean me harm, but to no avail. I still prefer to live in a spider-free environment, and proceed to kill or order the killing of spiders on a regular basis (only the ones that happen to be invading my space- it isn't like I hunt them out). In fact, my version of utopia may just be a world where spiders existed, but I never had to see or touch them.

When we first moved in I found a spider crawling around in our bedroom, but for days it evaded us. I became used to seeing it everyday and chased it into a cupboard or under the bed. Then one Saturday Ross killed it for me. Normally I would feel relief at this knowledge, but I had been thinking about Charlotte's Web that day and felt guilty that we had murdered what I was momentarily convinced was a friendly spider. But to spare myself any further intrusion or guilt, I decided it would be best if no more spiders came around.

Unfortunately, the spiders in Scotland did not get my memo to stay away. For the last couple weeks I have been finding thick black spiders much too frequently and concerningly always in the same place- our bathroom. All our windows are closed. Where are they coming from?!

My husband, the designated spider-killer, suggested my worst fear- that the spiders are coming in through our drains... My mind immediately flashes back to the nightmares I used to have (and sometimes still have) about creepy crawly things pouring out of the drains in mass and attacking unsuspecting humans. NOT IN THIS HOUSE, spiders! Shudder

Goodbyes, Car trouble, and Rainy days

Last week was pretty full for us.

Sunday & Monday we hosted the Emmerson's, a couple we've been friends with for years. Dave and Vicky are moving permanently to South Africa and we offered our spare room to them so they would have a place to sleep after turning over their house. They brought with them their little boy, Elijah, who is all of two months old and very cute. Ross got a little taste of parenthood when Elijah woke us all up crying at 4am! Seriously, it was a blessing to spend a few moments with them before they left. Dave and Vicky are the kind of people you want for friends- encouraging, generous, loving and fully submitted to the Lord. For the past couple years they have been doing ministry out in Shotts (a small Scottish village) with another of our friends, the Keys.




We also acquired our first car- a Felicia (thanks to the Emmersons, who gave us their car when they left). It is definitely used, but still has a few more months left in it and you can't beat getting a car for free! I suppose everything comes with it's own problems, and no sooner were we to be the owners than the car brakes locked. Dave Emmerson had to tow the car from Shotts to our house. We then towed it out to Motherwell, where they fixed the problem. Ross drove it back home on Monday night. Then Friday night we went out to the car, on our way to do our grocery shopping, only to discover the brakes hand locked again.

(No, the car didn't come with this graffiti on it. I just stole an old photo from Dave and Vicky.)

Thankfully Ewan, Ross' brother, and his dog, Molly, came to our rescue. In minutes Ewan hand the car up and running. Molly, on the other hand, was very little help. She merely left our couch smelling like dog. Molly may be cute, but she is one spoiled pup. Everyone in this family adores her and seems to give her whatever her doggy heart desires. While the boys were on car duty, I was on puppy patrol (meaning I had to entertain Molly in Ewan's absence). I quickly discovered her habit of whining until she gets what she wants, and she appeared quite put out that I didn't give her my cookie, and let her roam freely outside. Her retribution was to steal my spot on the couch as soon as I left the room. Cheeky girl!



The only other news is that the rainy season is officially upon us. This revelation came to me while I was carrying my groceries home in a huge down pour. Needless to say, I was soaked. Our whole entry was one big puddle as I rung out my jeans and hair. The box of crackers I just bought was nearly disintegrated by the time I got home. For the first time in my life, I was thankful for that extra plastic packaging they put inside the box! I wish I had thought to take a picture of myself- I seriously looked like a drowned mouse. But I definitely feel more Scottish when the rain doesn't stop me from carrying on with my normal activities.

Our First Plant

I recently took the big plunge and bought our first live plant. It is a coriander plant (that's cilantro to you Americans) that I discovered at our grocery store. I use a lot of coriander when I cook, so I thought it could double as something green and something useful.

Right now our planty guy sits in his designated area on our window sill in the living room. He is still in his store provided plastic pot, but I am planning on replanting him into something more suitable soon.



This is a big step, especially since my track record with plants is no phenominal (just ask Mom, who frequently blamed the deaths of her flowers on my poor water and tending skills.) I have no idea how we will manage to keep it alive, since I am fairly certain plants require at least some sun to survive, and this country is unlike to have anything but grey and wet for the next 6-8 months. Maybe I should buy it a sun lamp or some kind of incubation system to endure the winter...

Shish Mahal

For the last several months, Ross has been sharing an office with a girl named Eilidh (Ellie). Her contract with the University is up and, since she is expecting a baby, she opted not to renew it. She is very sweet, respectful and hard-working and an ideal person to share an office with, so Ross is sorry to see her go. He is especially sorry because he is not yet sure who they are going to replace her with.

Thursday night we went to a farewell dinner in her honor at an Indian restaurant called Shish Mahal. Shish Mahal is one of the best restaurants in the West End and the food is excellent. Ross has taken me there before and I always have the same problem- the menu is so big I can never decide what to try. This time I just decided to pick the first thing that drew my eye, which ended up being a creamy curry with ginger, cilantro and chicken. Being the first meal we've eaten out in over a month, it was a real treat. I could seriously eat their naan and spiced rice everyday! My only regret is not ordering a mango lassi.



It is hard to explain what it is like to spend an evening out with this particular group of academics, but it certainly gives me a taste of what Ross has to put up with on a daily basis. I have so much more respect for the strength of his character, seeing how his 'childish' religious beliefs and 'teetotaling' ways are a constant source of amusement to his fellow academics. It is a little depressing that a group of such intelligent people would rather drink themselves into a stupor than spend their energy on things of greater significance.

Becoming British...

This week I managed two pretty big milestones:

1.) I received my UK bank card in the mail

2.) I was issued my National Insurance Number (though I am still waiting for the official card)

These are significant for a number of reasons. At the top of the list is definitely the huge amount of time and paperwork it took to accomplish both of these tasks- there are WAY more bureaucratic hoops to jump through as an immigrant. I am told that having an insurance number is helpful when trying to convince employers that you are eligible to work, as there is a lot of confusion surrounding immigration laws/limitations. But, more importantly, they signal my official residency as I now have access to money, can receive a pay check and pay taxes! It also means I no longer have to ask Ross to do every little money related thing, but can take on some of that responsibility myself. If only I could find a job, both of these would be even more exciting!!

There are still a few things left on my list, in regards to settling here. For instance, I need to register with a local doctor's office, find an NHS dentist nearby who is adding patients, and eventually I will need to get a UK driver's license. Obtaining a UK driver's license is one of those long expensive bureaucratic nightmares, which in my case would have to include learning to drive a manual for the first time. At the moment we don't have a car (though we may be acquiring one in a few days), and I can drive on my US license here for up to a year, but I don't want to never be able to drive again. It will probably be a while before the driving thing is sorted out.

At least the public transport here is pretty good!

Behold Winter cometh...

There are two seasons in Scotland - Winter and July
~ Billy Connelly



Average yearly rainfall in Santa Ana= 12.92 inches; San Francisco= 25 inches.

Average yearly rainfall in Glasgow= 43.5 inches or 1104.8mm

I am settling for a very wet and cold winter. Yes, winter is coming (if not already arrived by the looks of the wet and grey looming outside my window). I have already had to upgrade my around the house socks from normal socks to my thick wool ones (Our flat is all wood floors- beautiful and cold). Next will be my snow socks and then I will be doubling up, I am sure!

To make things even better, our boiler seems to be broken and I am waiting for the repairman to come as we speak. Hopefully we will get it sorted before the cold really begins (although I pretty much live bundled up already. The trees are turning colors, and the days are quickly becoming sorter, just when I got used to having the sun out until 10pm. In the dead of winter the days become dark as early as 3pm- I am not looking forward to those days.

Despite my aversion to damp, I am starting to get used to the constant moisture. Our neighbors told us that when they turn on their heater, their windows fog up so badly that they can't see outside for most of the winter. Ugh, I am hoping that our lack of doublepaned windows doesn't cause us to suffer a similar fate.

Did you know?:

Kilts were invented by the Irish. The word 'kilt' is Danish.

Becoming a Foodie

One thing I have been doing quite a bit of lately is cooking. Being home all day gives me the time and energy to try out tasty new recipes. (Ross has no complaint about this.)In fact, I spend so much of my time cooking and baking that I've considered starting a separate food blog to document the treasure trove of recipes I'm using.

Anyway, since I am dealing with the world of British food, I've turned to the BBC Food website for recipes and meal ideas. They have a wealth of food-related information. The trouble is, along with everything else in my new home- some translation is required!

For example:

eggplant= aubergine
zucchini= courgette
cilantro= coriander
rutabega= swede
cornmeal= polenta
cornstarch= corn flour
baking soda= bicarbonate of soda
emethaler= swiss cheese
paste= puree
extract=essence

I could go on, but these are just the ones I ran into in the last few days. You get the point.

I'll leave you with a recipe that I just made and will definitely be making again. Blueberries are in season here and I just had to have an excuse to buy some. Most desserts have tons of sugar, butter and fat. I added a bit less butter and sugar to this one too, but since we had good sweet fruit it came out perfect. Ross loved his first taste of cobbler!

Peach and Blueberry Sour Cream Cobbler (serves 4)
Adapted from Nigel Slater

Fruit filling:
2 ripe peaches, sliced
3.5 cups blueberries
the juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. (heaping) All Purpose flour

Cobbler crust:
3/4 cup All Purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
2.5 tsp. baking powder
1 Tsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. cold butter
4 oz. light sour cream, or a little more

sugar for sprinkling

1.) Preheat the oven to 400.

2.) Toss together all the ingredients for the fruit filling in a baking dish or pan.

3.) To make the cobbler crust, add all ingredients except the sour cream into a food processor and pulse to combine, until the mixture resembles soft, fresh breadcrumbs. Tip into a bowl, and then mix in the sour cream.

4.) Break off walnut sized pieces of the dough mixture, flatten slightly, and then lay on top of the fruit. When you have added all the dough, sprinkle it lightly with sugar.

5.) Bake for about 25-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.


(Picture taken from http://www.tastespotting.com/detail/51227/Peach-Blueberry-Sour-Cream-Cobbler)

Being word people

I apologize that it has been a couple weeks since I posted. This is mostly because I couldn't think of anything to say. Most of my time lately has been spent looking for jobs to apply for- not exactly interesting material for a blog. So for lack of a better topic I thought I would just share what Ross and I did this weekend (And I am fully aware that you will all laugh at how geeky and boring we are).

After an exhausting social schedule last weekend and me not feeling great this past week(don't worry I am fine now), we decided we wanted a weekend to ourselves. On Friday, Ross came home from work a little early and we settled in for a night of West Wing episodes. I also made a tasty dinner of Thai red curry.

Ross informs me that summer is now over (as if the gailforce winds and pouring rain hadn't tipped me off already). We have months of grey and wet to look forward to now, which is why the little bits of sunshine we got on Saturday were even more special. We walked down to the grocery store for a few things and were thankful for the dry skies as we lugged our bags up the hill back to our flat.

Saturday began with watching one of the few tv shows Ross enjoys- Saturday Kitchen. Yes, it is a cooking show. After getting groceries and a little light cleaning, the rest of the day was spent reading. Ross just finished a rather lengthy biography about Richard Nixon, who is now on Ross' list of favorite people. Having finished the biography of Chuck Smith this week, I turned my attention to the book of crosswords and mind puzzles I bought in the airport on the way over. I seriously love puzzles (just ask my mother, who frequently scolded me for answering all the puzzles in the book I got her for mother's day). Being unemployed, out of school, and with limited access to social opportunities, I find that reading and mind puzzles are one of the few ways I can exercise my mind. Besides, I've always been a word person.

Ross and I have also been reading through the Psalms together (each night, or most nights, we read one or two out loud and discuss them. So far it has been a really encouraging time together and it never ceases to amaze me how relevant every part of God's Word is to our lives.

Food Find #2

McVities biscuits.

Available in several varieties, but the most popular consists of a thin crumbly cookie base covered with a layer of caramel and then chocolate. Don't let the term biscuit fool you, these are sweet and delicious.

These sweet and crunchy cookies are pretty much a staple in the UK. You can't have a cup of tea or coffee without them. I do have them with my tea, but I also eat them for dessert, an idea I think many Brits would frown at. They are also a good yogurt or ice cream topping.

You actually can find these tasty treats in the States, but they are way more expensive. My favorites are the original, the caramel and chocolate, and the dark chocolate... mmmm.

How to make a nap productive...

I definitely underestimated how emotionally and mentally draining the transition to life in Scotland would be. I don't know why I am surprised to find living in/learning about a new culture and environment tiring, when I found it exhausting the other two times. It is the same kind of tired as I used to feel after a day of lectures in university, when my brain was so full of new information it just needed to powerdown into a vegetative state for a while. Except instead of attending a few classes, my day is like sitting through the lecture that won't end, constantly making mentals notes and trying to retain all I can so I don't fail the exam, or in this case so I can begin to feel like I know what is going on around me.

Anyway, on Sunday I returned from church with a wicked headache. I was just plain beat. After fixing lunch, which consisted of the difficult task of reheated left-over chicken tortellini soup in the microwave, I lay down on the couch for a moment. Four hours later I woke up to find myself snuggly wrapped in a thick blanket, the table was clearn, dishes were washed and put away, and the kithchen was clean- all my sweet husband's doing. I found aforementioned sweet husband ironing clothes out in the entryway, not listening to the cricket game he'd looked forward to because he didn't want to wake me up.

This whole scenario led me to 2 revelations:

1.) My husband is a keeper.

2.) I should take naps more often. I've never had such a productive nap!

Ross' beach hopping days...

Looking through the pictures from our honeymoon I noticed that almost all of our pictures took place on a beach somewhere. And I discovered that I am only in like 3 of them! So basically our honeymoon pictures consist of Ross standing on a beach somewhere trying not to look uncomfortable while I snap a picture to commemorate the few days of marital bliss that are a honeymoon. Flipping through them you would never know that these were honeymoon pictures- it looks more like pictures of Ross beach hopping his way through California. In honor of that spirit, here are a few pics of Ross' trip.













Oh wait, I actually was on this trip! ;-)

The Saga of the Hedge

After months of neglect, our hedge had grown out of control. Given the fact that all our neighbors keep their hedges trimmed to perfection, our hedge looked even more out of place. Our neighbors (well, mostly Mrs. Hutchison) have been complaining about it for weeks. Though it is our landlord's responsibility to cut the hedge and weed the small garden in front of our flat, it became increasingly apparent that she had no intention of fulfilling her obligation.

Guess which hedge is ours?



Once the hedge got to the point we could hardly see out our windows, we decided to take matters into our own hands. Thus Ross borrowed a hedge trimmer from a friend and our Saturday was spent beautifying our hedge for the benefit of Mrs. Hutchison most of all.



It only took us four hours or so to trim that beast. At least 3 people passed and commented on what a big job we had in trimming it, as if we weren't already aware of our hedge's immense girth, you know being that we were the ones actually in the process of trimming it. I should clarify here that Ross did all the trimming; I mostly watched, cheered and pointed out the spots he missed. I also weeded the garden and helped clean up all the trimmings, which it turns out was the biggest part of the job. By the end of it, we collected 9 trash bags full of useless hedge pieces. Thank goodness that's over!

Here is a picture of our now uniformly trimmed hedge. We're so proud!


I should say that Ross' version of all of this can be found on facebook, where he commented, "I trimmed the damn hedge! And it looks good!"

Food Find #1

My latest craving is entirely Ross' fault. Being the sweet husband he is, he bought me a bar of chocolate. I am now obsessed! I think you may be able to get this in the USA, so go try it. Normally I would prefer really dark chocolate, but the spiciness of the ginger makes me so very happy.

Food Find #1: Green and Blacks' Ginger Dark Chocolate Bar

(ignore the cookies behind the chocolate bar, they are irrelevant)

Husband mystery #1

The Sock Mystery:

I finally did a load of laundry today. We gave up on having a dryer and bought a rack to air dry the clothes. I have no idea what to do when we need to wash sheets because our sheets are much to large to hang on the rack and hanging things on a line outside is... chancy.

Anyway, when I folded the dry laundry, I found 12 socks and only 3 matching pairs... Either my husband has been wearing mismatching socks or there are six lonely socklings balled up in a corner somewhere. Ross is incredibly tidy about putting all his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. All his clothes, except his socks, that is. His socks end up in balls in the most random places- I have found smelly sock balls in the hall, on his desk chair, by the couch, in his shoes, and on top of the stack of clean towels.

Back online!

Now that we finally have internet, I am going to attempt to keep up with this blog. I apologize in advance for not updating often enough.

Why Blog?

The purpose of this blog is to chronicle our lives as we move into this new and wonderful phase of being married. It is going to be hard to be so far from all my friends and family, but hopefully I can bridge some of that gap through technology.

Through this blog, I'll be able to post stories, pictures, videos and humorous observations of my new life in Scotland. Of course, this will all require me to actually update the blog... We'll see how it goes!