Barty & Muddie

It is not the best picture but you can get the gist.  Bart loves his Muddie Buddy.  BFFs forever!

New Year's Resolution

Well, here it is January 11th and I have broken many of my thought about (but not too seriously)resolutions.  I have not blogged everyday.  I have not written those long over due letters, nor have I sent out my Christmas cards...from 2011...yet.  I have not lost a pound.  I have not saved a cent.  I have not caught up on my email or my Facebook happenings.  I have not chosen a career, found my passion, saved the world, saved myself even.

I have done a couple of things I did not resolve to do.  I have kicked up my workout routine (yay me!).  I have made a menu every week for the last three weeks and have hired a friend to cook those meals for me once a week.  Clean eating, definitely the way to go.  I got a dog.  Well, I picked one out but he is too young to bring home yet.  January 25th is that big day.

 (Ain't he the cutest thing?)  We have dubbed said dog:  Bartimaeus the Black.  And even though we don't have possession of him he already has several nicknames: Barty, Bart, Black Bart and there are probably more that I don't remember.  I will always call him Bartimaeus.  I think the name fits.  I have found a couple of classes I would like to take at our local community college: web design and nutrition.  Maybe they will lead me toward a new direction in my life.  There has to be something I love to do, right?

As you can see it has been a busy eleven days, trying on the newest version of me.  You know, the one raring to go in 2012.  I am going to pass on the resolution making this time around.  Maybe next year.

Drama At Burn's Night

Last night Bill and I attended Burn's Night, hosted by the St. Andrew's Society of Tidewater, at the Princess Anne Country Club in Virginia Beach. Honestly, the most fun I have had since our return to the states. The men were dressed in full Scottish garb. Some women wore skirts made of their clan's tartan or a fly (something akin to a scarf) worn over the right shoulder. Others, like me, wore evening gowns. It was a very lovely and proper setting.

We sat with a wonderful group of people, all of whom are of Scottish decent (except me). I was tickled to discover three of the group came from Scotland directly and revelled in listening to their beautiful accents all evening. Once we were seated, four flasks of single malt were pulled from various sporrans and hose. The malt was free flowing and the good times were rolling! The following made up our group:

(1) Me and Bill, obviously.

(2) To our left sat Marcey and Josiah (Skip) Hunter, both of Scottish decent. Both are very involved in the St. Andrew's Society of Tidewater and the Scottish Society of Tidewater; Marcie being the membership director of the latter. Tidbits about the couple: They live in Oceanview and have created an authentic Scottish pub above their garage. According to others at the table, they have the largest selection of single malt scotch (and most diverse) found in our area.

(3) Directly across from us sat John McGlynn and Donna. John is from Scotland, somewhere between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and is the President of The Scottish Society of Tidewater. He regaled us with tales of his life before the United States (he was snatched up by General Electric when he completed university). Most notable is the story about how he was hitchhiking in the country when along comes a Rolls Royce, which picks him up. There is no room in the Royce. Why? Because there is a sheep taking up the space in the back seat. So he has to hold onto the running board as they bump along for 15 miles. He is stressing because his hat is about to blow off. The driver of the Royce kindly rolls down his window and pulls John's hat down snugly on his head then rolls the window back up again. Unfortunately, I only had a minute to chat with Donna before we were called to sit and she was too far across the table to chat with. Tidbit about the couple: They are not married but I get the feeling they have been together quite some time and have put many miles traveling together under their belts. She lives in Ghent, he in Old Towne Portsmouth.

(4) To our right sat Susan and Jim Curry (of Clan Ranald), both from Glasgow, Scotland. Susan is of Clan Ross. They have visited their homeland but have not lived there since 1971. They sport the Scottish accent but when Jim said the word New Jersey (where they lived for about three years) he sounded just like a local! Tidbits about the couple: They have a great sense of humor. They reside in Chesapeake, very near us. Neither like Scotch whiskey!

Briefly, our evening when like this:

6:00-7:00 The Social Hour: I had a 7 and 7 ($6) and Bill had two fingers of 12 year MacAllan Single Malt Scotch ($15)
7:00-11:30 Piping To Dinner - we sat but it wasn't time to eat. First they made the introductions. The Selkirk Grace was performed, and then the Haggis ceremony. What exactly is a haggis ceremony? The haggis is paraded into the room and to each table to be seen by all. It is accompanied by the bagpiper, the broad swords, a silver tray with drams of scotch (to pay the pipers). Finally Robert Burn's Address To A Haggis is made and the ceremonial haggis is cut open (this one was not in a sheep's stomach but rather a bright red sausage skin). Our very own Skip made the haggis and performed the ceremony. To read Burn's Address To A Haggis and its translation, which is far to long to include in this blog, click here: http://www.worldburnsclub.com/poems/translations/address_to_a_haggis.htm
We were then served a scoop of haggis with tatties and neeps (mashed potatoes and turnips).
Dinner was served, either a lovely fillet of salmon with dill sauce, potatoes and asparagus or fillet mignon. I had the salmon and tasted Bill's fillet. I was so impressed with the food. It was wonderful.
Then we had a slew of toasts: to the President of the United States- given by Skip, to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to the Scottish Government - given by John, to the Lassies, to the Laddies, and the final toast was given by Professor Adam S. Potkay, PHD from the College of William and Mary and it was to the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns. I had the great misfortune of sitting in the back and not being able to understand much of what he said in the beginning but caught a lot of the excerpt of Tam o'Shanter. A tale. Wanna read it? Click here:
http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Poems_Songs/tamoshanter.htm
The bagpiper then played the military service hymns and here comes the drama. The Scot of the Year Presentation was made and the grand recipient REFUSED IT. LOUDLY. AND IN A HUFF! (He is pictured in the first photo on the right hand side, (Robert D. Lockwood). He really made a stink and truth be told emphasized my not very good first opinion of him (pompous and arrogant come to mind). To their credit, the presenters went on as if he didn't speak. To the presenters! (That is how we toasted all night...)
The bagpiper played The Flowers of the Forest and as he did so several names of members who passed away last year were read. I couldn't hear the names over the pipes. I know, you are thinking several? I was not that astonished myself because there were numerous octogenarians in our midst that evening. The finale was Auld Lang Syne played by the piper, sung by us.

"For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne."

Dreamy...

This morning the world looked like it was covered in powdered sugar.

Why bother?

I think Christmas gift giving after a certain age should stop. I mean, why bother? My children pick what they want and I buy it. Where is the anticipation in that? Most of my friends are too busy to put any thought into a gift so I get something I have or don't need. Another "thing" to stuff on the shelf of my closet. I don't want to receive a gift just because a person feels obligated to give one. If you don't have time to think about it, don't bother. If you don't know what I would appreciate here is a clue, give me a piece of you: a handwritten note, a hand-me-down copy of a book you love, a favorite recipe. Last year I received the most creative gift from a dear friend. It was a box of all of her favorite things: the dish soap she uses, her favorite lip gloss, a little piece of her. After I opened that gift I felt closer to her. Another friend makes home baked goodies to create her gifts. She loves to cook, a piece of her passion. So please, spare me the "I didn't have time but here is something" gift this year. I don't want it. All I want is something that is growing more precious by the day: a reminder of you, some time with you, the tiniest piece of you.

The Real Reason Munch's The Scream Came About

Moving day...

Pack Out - Day 2

With 8 days and a wake up to go things are finally moving. We are on day 2 of the pack out. Poor Crash is utterly traumatized. All of this noise (tape screeching as it is ripped from itself, thumping, bumping, Italian men talking loudly to each other) is making me crazy. I can only imagine how he is feeling right now. I had to physically drag him from under our bed this morning and tuck him safely into the basement bathroom where he will be at least a little protected from the grating noise.

This pack out is not nearly as traumatic as was the trip over here. They packed up our kitchen, living room, and dining room yesterday. We had "Flintstone furniture" already delivered (a love seat, coffee table, and kitchenette), a TV we are not taking with us, a DVD player that is going in the express shipment, and the end tables we are getting rid of. With the blink of an eye we had a cozy living area set up last night. And we have all of the necessities for our kitchen. It is just like a home, with a little (OK, A LOT) less stuff.

I will be sad to see our king sized marshmallow bed go. We lose it today. From tonight until the 17th we will be sleeping in a DOUBLE bed, no box spring, only a spring to support us. Well, I am so grateful to have that actually. It still beats the bother of staying in a hotel. Another good thing we discovered is we have a pizzeria around the corner within walking distance that serves lunch! I KNOW! Yeah, I know after four years of living here we should know that already. Actually, in hindsight, it is probably better that we didn't!

I just talked to Tony, the head mover who also speaks English, and he says they will be finished today. SSAAAALLLUUUUUTTTTTEEEEEE! Once our movers are gone we can attend to cleaning up tornado alley.