violetismycolor

Ross at the game...

(*click on the picture to see it larger*)

He looks just thrilled to be there, doesn't he?   (If you don't know what I am referring to, read the prior post.)  This must have been before the game started, don't you think?

Dad's weekend...

John spent the weekend with Ross at Oregon State...it was the official Dad's Weekend there.  They seem to have had a good time together.  They had dinner and went to a comedy club on Friday night.  Then, the big USC-Oregon State game was on for Saturday.  Ross had never gone to a football game before (!!!) so John had to explain all the rules of the game to him.  Of course, this was the game of the decade for Oregon State, given that USC was ranked #3 in the country and hadn't lost a conference game in a bazillion years.  John said it was one of the most exciting games he had ever been to.  Ross even enjoyed himself.  He told me that he found the game 'interesting'.  But John said he had a really, really good time. 

Can't wait till Mom's weekend...

Rush and Michael J. Fox

I just got an email from a friend with a link to YouTube and Katie Couric's interview with Michael J. Fox.  They were talking about what Rush Limbaugh said about MJF not taking his meds in order to gain sympathy...that he was being political with his illness.  What a total ass Rush Limbaugh is! 

If you want to see the interview, click here.

last of Scottish reminiscenses...

For those who asked about the photos...that was obviously me and John, and our kids, Adam and Bonnie.  In addition, we were joined in Edinburgh, for the weekend, by our dear friends John and Judith...the ones whose son's wedding we went to a month ago...  They live in the Wiltshire (about an hour and a half west of London.

We had really good weather in Edinburgh, and our hotel (the Parliament House Hotel) was just off Princes Street and near the Royal Mile.  So, we were able to walk to Edinburgh Castle and to Holyrood Palace.  These are at either end of the Royal Mile...Edinburgh Castle being the old medieval edifice and Holyrood being the Renaissance-built favorite of Mary Queen of Scots. 

Bonnie and Adam wanted to do a nighttime Ghost Tour of Edinburgh, so we did that too, and found out about all the horrible ways folks died in Edinburgh over the centuries and how their ghosts are still roaming free.  We ended in some underground caverns...pretty creepy.  But fun for a change of pace.

We did High Tea at the Balmoral Hotel...very fancy, very posh.  There were several wedding receptions going on while we were there, so there was a bagpiper in full kilt regalia standing at the door and 'piping in the bride'.  Sounds nasty, but it was merely musical.  There are a couple of photos of our very English-tea-proper goodies...cucumber sandwiches and scones and the like.  Lots of fingerfood size desserts, too.  Yum.

We had our last day, Monday, at St Andrews, just wandering around...looked at the golf course and did some shopping and just sort of relaxed...let the kids do their school thing during the day, ate out that night, and then said goodbye till Christmas break. 

It was all very nice and very lovely.  And yes, Scotland always looks beautiful because it just is. 

Scotland pictures...

See photos of Scotland here. 

We lost our computer (to Bonnie) about halfway through the trip, so no more updates since then. 

Will write more tomorrow.

Falkland Palace...

Okay, so this is not my picture but from Google Images but I will post pictures of my own when I get home.  BUT, there were actually delphiniums blooming in the garden (in October?) and the sky was overcast like this...so I COULD have taken this picture.

Beside the point...

We took a tour of the abbey ruins and the castle ruins at St. Andrews in the morning, while the kids were in class.  We climbed up the tower of old St. Rule's Church, which made my claustrophobia kick in (and I even had a dream last night where I was feeling very claustrophobic and sick to my stomach). 

Of course, that was AFTER going with Adam to his St. Andrew's dentist appointment at 915 am.  We were happy to meet his dentist here, who seems to know what he is doing and is very nice.

Then, we picked the kids up and went out on our 'adventures'.  We headed to Anstruther (about 10 miles away), reputed to have the best fish and chips in the UK.  The fish is fresh caught by local fisherman daily, and the batter is very crisp.  It WAS delish...

Luckily, it didn't start raining till we got back in the car and headed along the old coast road and then up to Falkland and to Falkland Palace.  We did the inside tour (and thus avoided said rain), and it was quite impressive.  This palace was built as a hunting lodge by James II in the 1200's, I think.  Mary, Queen of Scots, spent a lot of time there and enjoyed the serenity of the forests.  They also have the oldest tennis court in Europe, built in 1547 by another King James.  Apparently, the rules are very different from today's tennis, though the video we saw never really explained what those differences were. 

The Palace was incredibly lovely with lots of handpainted walls and ceilings, and carved woodwork.  The stairs up to the priest's chambers were worn down stone steps that were climbed by the likes of many kings and queens of Scotland, including the sad Mary, Queen of Scots.  No ghosts in sight, though.

John, Bonnie, and I were enthralled with talk of carvings and painting, and who was who and who had been there, but Adam was visibly bored in short order.  We did get a lovely 'tea' at a local restaurant, enjoyed by all.  Tomorrow, we head off to Edinburgh to spend the night.  We meet our friends, John and Judith there.  Tomorrow night, we go on a ghost tour of Edinburgh (specially requested by Bonnie), so there's hope for that ghost sighting yet...

rain and driving on the wrong side of the road...

It rained pretty much all day.  Though we have slept and showered, wearing the same things again is not a pleasant way to spend any day. 

It took almost 2 hours to drive to Adam's dental appointment in Peebles (which for all of you who were wondering IS in Peebleshire...).  This appointment was to see the technician who will be making Adam's implanted tooth and his 2 crowns.  This is supposed to mean better color matching.  We have no idea how Adam would have actually gotten there without us, as this gentlemen uses his home as an office and Peebles is not exactly a rockin' place as is.

On the way back, we stopped at the Edinburgh Costco that we had passed on the way in.  Adam was interested in food and we were interested in clean underwear and socks, just in case the airline didn't actually find and deliver our luggage.

We got back and found that the luggage had, in fact, been delivered...ya-hoo!...and we showered and changed clothes.  Ah, the bliss!!!

Dinner at Pizza Express with the kids and then back to our B&B (11 Queens Gardens) and a check on email and such...

oh, the agony...

Seeing our kids is certainly nice, but international travel can be agony! 

We got to the airport on Tuesday morning at about 620 am for our 730 am flight.  It was delayed by 4 hours, due to 'crew fatigue'.  I immediately got on my cellphone to Continental to try to get booked out on another flight.  After 20 minutes of trying to get something done on the phone, we finally got to the ticket counter. The man behind the desk assured me that with 20 minutes between flights, we had PLENTY of time.  I should have listened to my instinct and ignored him, but I did not.

As we began to board our flight, they announced that the flight was further delayed, this time due to weather at Newark.  We had another hour or so to wait.  We tentatively booked ourselves on a backup flight to Glasgow at 10 pm. 

Sure enough, the Edinburgh flight had left on time at 755 pm and we were pointed to the Glasgow flight, with assurances that our luggage would follow us.

The good news about the flight we took was that the plane was pretty empty and John and I each had rows of 3 seats to ourselves to lie down on.  I, at least, got some sleep.

We arrived at Glasgow to find that we and everyone else that had taken it as a backup, had NO luggage.  Maybe tomorrow, we were told.

We had been hanging out with a lovely lady from Edinburgh and she had called her son in Portland to have him call her husband in Edinburgh, to tell him that we needed picking up at 930 am...apparently the message never got through and we waited for 2 hours to have him drive over and get us three.  We were deposited at the Edinburgh airport to pick up our car. Then we made the 1-1/2 hour drive to Saint Andrews. Well, John made the drive.  I could barely keep my eyes open.  I don't know how he did it. 

After a short visit with Adam, wherein he directed us to Boots (the pharmacy, where we bought toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion, makeup, and much more) and then to the St. Andrew's Student Store (where we bought t-shirts to wear).  We got a bit of a nap, and then dinner with the kids.

Tomorrow, we take Adam to a dental appointment about 25 miles south of Edinburgh.  Hmmm....

gone...

Off to Scotland to see the kids.  My nephew will be holding down the fort!

pumpkins and boys...

When our kids were little, we always took them to the Pumpkin Patch at this time of year.  The days are sunny, the oranges in the pumpkins make such fine photos, and the kids just love pumpkins. 

So, Ross is home for the weekend and when I was trying to think of something fun to do with him, I thought "Pumpkin Patch".  And, it turns out, he was excited about the idea, too.  And off we went to Lee's Pumpkin Patch in Tualitan. 

It used to be such a humble place and we all thought it was a big deal when they put in a hay maze.  Now, there are 2 hay mazes, goats for petting, a hayride, fresh donuts (yummy, we bought the pumpkin ones, all hot from the fryer), and a gift store.  There were 2 school buses in the parking lot when we pulled in.

The kids were everywhere and full of energy.  Ross observed a group of boys, running around and in general beating on each other, and asked me if he had been that rambunctious at that age.  Of course he was!  That is why women try to have their babies in their 20's and 30's.  I would be exhausted if I had to manage three excited, pumpkin-patch-loving kids now. 

We had a lot of fun there and then headed to the Original Pancake House for fresh Raspberry Waffles (me) and Dutch Babies (Ross). 

Ross was supposed to get a ride home last night, but his ride forgot him. I made the 3-hour round trip and was home by 930 pm.  The drive up seemed really long but the ride home was gone in the blink of an eye.  Ross spent the whole time telling me about what his first month of college was like and how much he was enjoying it.  How easy it was for him to get into the routine.  He seems very, very happy.  Which makes me very, very happy.

Ross's satellite bedroom...

Ross is the one kid in the family who actually kept a neat bedroom.  No scattered books, bank receipts, headphones, or magazines on the floor surrounding his bed.  This was because he had what he referred to as his 'satellite bedroom' right next door...the bonus room above the garage. 

When we first moved into this house, and for many years afterward, this room was accessible only by a second staircase near the family room.  We worried, though, that if there were a fire at the bottom of the stairs, the only way out would be through a window two-and-a-half stories above the side yard.  So, we had a handyman put a little half-door in through from Ross's closet into the playroom (as WE called it).  The kids all used Ross's bedroom as a hallway to access the playroom, which was a haven for them. 

It has a TV and VCR, a sofa-bed, and a computer.  It has had, through the years:  a kidsize trains and tracks that they could ride in a circle around the room, a Brio train set that was on it's own town-and-scenery-painted table top (we glue-gunned the tracks onto it), a game table for table hockey and other games, and other things that I just can't recall right now.

Ross gradually took the room over as his siblings headed off to the real world and college.  So, when Ross moved to college, we told him to take out what he wanted because the room was going to be transformed into a real adult space.  Everything he left was to be given to Goodwill or thrown in the trash. 

Now, I am spending my days sorting through the debris, and throwing things into the trash, hauling boxes to Goodwill, dusting (did they EVER dust up there?), and making plans to re-carpet, re-paint, and put in a new window (for the light and ventilation that room never had enough of).  It is coming along.  I want to put in a daybed with a trundle, so that guests can stay there comfortably.  I want to put some filing cabinets in, set up some of my extra computer equipment, and make it a bill-paying office of sorts.  My little office off my bedroom cannot handle all the filing, etc. for non-photoshop business.  It always seems cluttered and I need to move stuff out. 

Ross is coming home for the weekend and he will certainly mourn the loss of his space.  Not that he and his siblings won't be able to use it when it is reborn into the new space that it will become.  But I will be the boss of that space now, which means it WILL be dusted and vaccuumed.  It will be neat and clean.  It will be shared by all of us.  And I am happy about that.

a quick trip to Ohio...

*Click on the pictures and see them even larger!*

I went to Ohio this weekend for my (10th) annual Cousin's Weekend.  My favorite part of the whole weekend (besides, of course, all the good female bonding), was the bike ride we took.  We drove to Peninsula, Ohio and got our bikes at the train station there.  We took the train 15 miles north, then got off and rode our bikes along the Ohio and Erie Canal towpath trail.  It was a gorgeous day, about 68-70 degrees.  The path was mostly flat and so, easy.  The fall colors were wonderful and vibrant.  What's not to love?

In addition to this, we went out and saw Spamalot...which was friggin' hilarious.  I am a huge Monty Python fan and this play is based on The Holy Grail movie.  I have seen this movie at least a dozen times, but none of my cousins had ever seen it, even once!  I was totally shocked. 

We went south to the Amish country and saw lots of gorgeous scenery and lovely little towns.  I found a 1932 Webster Reader (child's schoolbook) for $3 at an antique shop.  It was full of wonderful illustrations, which was the big attraction for me.  We saw the aftermath of an accident between an Amish buggy and an SUV.  Unfortunately, though the Amish couple were alright, their horse seemed to have gotten the worst of it. 

The weekend was full of conversation, Dutch food, good wine, and great companionship.  Next year, we'll meet in California...the options are San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and Santa Cruz.  Can't wait.

another woo-woo incident...

In 1981, I saw a movie called Continental Divide, starring John Belushi.  (Plot Outline: A hard-nosed Chicago journalist has an unlikely love affair with an eagle researcher.)  It was set in Colorado and I recall that the state looked quite beautiful in it.  But I was most impressed with the idea of this place where, on one side of the Divide a river would flow East and on the other it would flow West. 

This weekend, there was a big group of us going up to Rocky Mountain National Park to hike...all the way up to 13,000 feet and up to the Continental Divide.  In the van on the way up, I talked about my memories of this movie with the folks sitting around me...about how it made me want to go to Colorado and see this place.

So, cut to the next morning.  John has gone off to play golf and I have slept in.  When I woke up, I turned on the TV in our room and there was John Belushi, wearing a flannel shirt...staring at me from the screen. 

No, I thought...it CAN'T be!  It can't be the movie Continental Divide...

I hadn't seen this movie since 1981.  I had never seen it in the video store, or listed in the TV guide...never thought about it for many years.  I continued watching and yes, it WAS the same movie.  How very weird that was! 

Later, I told John, and the other folks that I had been telling about the movie the day before, about this odd synchronicity.  John's response was basically, "This stuff always happens to you." 

So no biggie. And this kind of stuff DOES happen to me all the time.  I think it's God's way of tapping me on the shoulder and saying, "I'm here and I hear everything you say."  And I'm sure he does...

Colorado the beautiful...

I really thought that Colorado (the part that I saw, anyway) was really beautiful.  Maybe it was all the wonderful fall color, maybe it was the majestic mountains, maybe it was the 75 to 80 degree weather with lovely blue skies...but I was convinced.

We ate, hiked, visited, relaxed...all in all just incredible.  This was a Stanford Business School reunion of John's class.  They get together every year, though we don't attend every year, and they are always wonderful fun.

Will write more tomorrow, but for now, enjoy the scenery.