I’m glad to be able to report that after a very pleasant stay with DD, we arrived safely on
Sunday evening at the end of a breathtaking journey up through the sun-drenched
Highlands. Sadly, with so many miles to do and so much furniture to move before
we could get to bed (remember the redecoration?) there wasn't time for the photo
stops I would have liked, except for one of our favourite viewpoints over the Dornoch Firth.
Since then we've been sorting out the furniture, admiring
the newly-painted rooms and tackling the garden, all of it without rain and, thanks
to the very cold spring, without midges! Since we arrived it has been warm (out
of the northerly wind) and quite sunny and there is even better weather forecast
for the weekend. I've been to
Knit and Natter, where I caught up with all the
local news, and tomorrow I'll attend the local monthly Eucharist service, taken
by a priest who has a 120 mile round trip to do so. Episcopalians are thin on
the ground in the North-West Highlands.
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| A walk by a Yorkshire river |
Last but not least, DH and I are sharing a computer for this
visit, as there was only room in the car for my laptop. I think you’d have to
know us in person to realise just how momentous an announcement this is. J
DH is busy developing a database for a local community transport group, so my blog-reading
and other online things are having to be fitted around this project. Hence, while
he tears his hair when things don’t go right, I've been busy pruning the
buddleia and the roses (not the right time of year, but needs must) and
trying to rediscover the rockery.
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| The very small car overshadowed by Varich Castle |
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| The Kyle of Tongue and another of 'my' trees - our silver birch |
All very domestic, I know, but as I've tried to explain
before, we don’t think of our visits to Scotland and France as holidays, but as
picking up our life and temporarily putting it down again in a different place.
It works for us and we love every minute.
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| The always breathtaking Ben Loyal |
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| Apple blossom in June! It's been a very cold spring. |
I'd love every moment, too, in such lovely surroundings. I had to smile as you described your and DD's different ways of coping! It's so true that loving, long married couples have an exquisite choreography to their lives, a relationship dance, that is part of what keeps love alive and the marriage strong.
ReplyDeleteThe landscape here is beyond beautiful, Kathy, and I know you'd so enjoy it. I just love your description of a 'relationship dance', which exactly describes us we try to share one computer for what we each think of as a priority. :-) Today his work, with its inevitable frustrations, has taken precedence, while I've devoted my energies to the garden. Thank goodness it's not raining. :-)
DeleteI love your perfect description of picking up and putting down your life in the 3 places you love. I am trying hard to follow your example...living each day, enjoying it, wherever we are. I think maybe I should start a knit and natter group in Caunes ! Jx
ReplyDeleteWe've had a lot of practice over the past six years, Janice, and are getting it down to a fine art. From what I read you and Mark are learning the technique very quickly and will soon be past masters too. I can honestly say that we've got to the stage where we're happy in each place whatever the weather, though this lovely sunshine is definitely a bonus. :-)
DeleteI love that 'relationship dance' comment. So true.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place, enjoy.
Kathy makes the most perceptive comments and this is a gem.
DeleteThe north coast of Scotland is wonderful and I can promise we're enjoying it.
Good to hear you've arrived safely in Scotland Perpetua & how lovely to have sunny weather as well.
ReplyDeleteI identify with your local Episcopalian priest as I too have a long round trip on Sunday, in order to celebrate the Eucharist in Brno at 18.00 in the evening after doing so in Prague at 11.00 in the morning. Anglican/Episcopalian priests are even thinner on the ground here than in the wilds of the north of Scotland. I'm the only one in whole of the Czech Republic :-)
I do sympathise with you having to share your laptop with DH. Sybille & I have computer problems of a different sort. Our landline & internet connection went defunct on Monday evening. Our service provider acknowledges that they have 'technical difficulties in the area' which we understand means that part of their system has been flooded. So I'm writing this comment sitting in a beer garden taking advantage of their wifi. Having to go to the pub in order to write & reply to emails does take a bit of explaining :-)
We can't believe how lucky we're being with the weather, Ricky, especially on a short visit. I feel guilty thinking of all your rain and flooding problems. I'm sure you're right that your phone and internet difficulties are due to the flooding and hope that everything gets dried out before long. Enjoy some good Czech beer as you do your email - you've earned it. :-)
DeleteI thought of you when I wrote that about our priest. The Northwest Charge runs from Ullapool to Tongue and in this whole huge area, with its 5 Episcopalian congregations, almost all the roads are single-track with passing places, so travelling is distinctly slow - though very spectacular. :-)
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteOh how lovely - you must have passed through/by Invergordon? My fathers family all there and have had many a happy holiday in all parts north! Enjoy that late blossom - beautiful. YAM xx
We were pretty close, Yam, though we go on a shortcut over the hills via Ardross to Bonar Bridge, rather than along the A9 to the Dornoch Firth, so don't actually go past Invergordon nowadays. It's such a wonderful journey and we never tire of it.
DeleteWe couldn't believe it when we saw the fruit blossom. It's at least a month late, so hopefully the fruit can catch up.
You've given us some marvellous photos to enjoy despite the limited computer access! Everything seems a month behind, doesn't it: lovely cow parsley and apple blossom are May flowers, but still blooming here too. Hope your good weather stays for a while. I think we may be in luck for a few days at least - blissful and long awaited warmth!
ReplyDeleteI seem to go around everywhere with my camera in my hand up here. :-) The air is so clear and the light so good at the moment that I'm constantly trying to capture the landscape in its summer lushness. As for the warmth, if that cold northerly wind would just drop it would be really hot, even up here.
DeleteThe cow parsley was in Yorkshire and the apple blossom is here, but both are blooming very late this year.
However did you get two tall grandsons, their gear, your gear and yourselves into that car! You must have packing imprinted in your genes somewhere....
ReplyDeleteThe photographs are lovely...Scots colours.
With considerable difficulty! Actually getting people in isn't hard as in most modern compact cars the passenger compartment is really rather roomy. But that's at the expense of the luggage area which is very restricted and tested even my packing skills (on which I rather pride myself) to the limit.
DeleteThe colours of Scotland, especially the Highlands, are unmistakable - green and blue and brown and fawn. Marvellous!
I would love to visit the Highlands, it sounds wonderful. Love your photos and the knit and natter group sounds like pure fun.
ReplyDeletePatricia x
There is nowhere like them, Patricia, especially if you love wild and empty places. I didn't discover them until I was in my 50s and now they are in my blood.
DeleteKnitting and nattering is one of the most enjoyable activities known to womankind. I strongly recommend it. :-)
I love to see your moves each time. Like a pair of gypsies, aren't you. What a great way to live your lives. I can only wish. Hugs Sue
ReplyDeleteIt must seem like an odd peripatetic life to some people, Sue, but we count ourselves very fortunate to be able to indulge in it while we're both still fit and well. There will come a time when we'll have to stay put in one place, but not quite yet....
DeleteWonderful photos!! Beautiful spring blossom. Knitting is an addiction ... in fact most crafts are addictive; to me at least.
ReplyDeleteThe blossom in this belated spring has been truly wonderful, with everything flowering at once. Summer may seem rather dull after this profusion. :-) As for a knitting addiction, that's just too true. As soon as I've finished one sock, I cast on another. It's a good thing I have a family to knit for. :-)
DeleteI love how you pick up your life and put it down right where you need to be, Perpetua. So much neater, isn't it, and brings about more joy.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are so idyllic - and what are the flowers on the top? They resemble what we call thalactrum or rue.
Good luck with your computer sharing - and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
I love it too, Penny, and it's especially true up here in Scotland where we've made some good friends in this very small community. As soon as we're here, we slip right back into the swing of things.
DeleteI never think my photos do true justice to the scenery here which is magnificent. The flowers are what I call cow parsley, but which is also one of those sometimes called Queen Anne's Lace. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthriscus_sylvestris
I always think of it as a flower of early summer.
The computer sharing is working better than expected, partly because both of us how been out to individual meetings and other activities, leaving the other in sole possession for a while. :-)
I had a good giggle at the computer issue - hasn't life changed over the generations? It made me realise how privileged we are today. Thanks for the beautiful pictures - you got me yearning to go back to Scotland again. I lived there for a year 13 years ago, and I loved every minute of it. The Scots are wonderful people, and the scenery is gobsmacking. Have a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteI can't help wondering if the hares have set up home in your house now you've gone away..... maybe they're trawling the net with your computer in your absence....?
And don't we take it all so much for granted, MM? Until we have to share that is.... :-)
DeleteScotland is so beautiful that I never feel my pictures are good enough. The constant play of light and shade and the sheer grandeur of the scenery are endlessly fascinating. We love the Scots too (DH's father was from Glasgow) and they always make us very welcome when we visit. I can well imagine that after living here for a year you still have a corner of your heart which will be forever Scottish.
As for the hares, we fully expect to find a colony when we get home and will probably have to show our passports to get back into the house. :-)
How wonderful to have the opportunity to explore and enjoy such beautiful places and still call them home, Perpetua. Lovely countryside and gorgeous views! I think it's tremendous that you have the opportunity to prune and dig and enjoy your beautiful garden, and that's better than being tied to the computer anyway. This time you have the perfect excuse. Enjoy, and just pop in when you can and let us know how you're doing. It sounds like heaven to me! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's a truly gorgeous area, Debra, and we don't even have to get into the car to enjoy the views in my photos as they were taken from the back garden. No digging as I'm not here often enough to weed flower beds, so it's grass, trees and shrubs and some spring bulbs which mostly look after themselves.
DeleteThe weather is so lovely that I don't intend to be tied to the computer - plenty of time for that if or when it rains. The forecast is for the good weather to continue, so I may otherwise occupied. :-)
Glad you arrived safely in Scotland and you're now 'pottering', reconnecting with the land, wonderful scenery, friends, church fellowship etc. Enjoy your stay!
ReplyDeletePottering is exactly the right word, Linda! We're not great ones for lots of trips and days out, though we ARE going along the coast tomorrow and may do another of our favourite drives next week if I can find a free day. :-) I went to the monthly noon Eucharist today, which is always followed by a buffet lunch, and got home at 4.30!
DeleteGlad you had a smooth journey. Lovely photos :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd I know exactly what you mean re sharing a computer! We each have always had our own studies and laptops. Anything else would spell disaster!
Op on Wednesday went v well. Corridor walk planned for this afternoon. Hospital has wifi so am 'connected' :-)
So glad to know the op has gone well and hope the corridor walk was as planned and that you can go home before long. How great to have wifi to pass the time when you can't get around as usual.
DeleteThe journey was wonderfully smooth and we're planning to travel back on a Sunday too to avoid the heavy lorries which can make the A9 rather busy during the week.
The computer sharing is going better than expected, with DH now reading having had unimpeded access while I was out all afternoon. Turn and turn about is our new motto. :-)
Hello Big Sis & D Bin law.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you have arrived to the ideal combination for Scotland - good weather, clear views of the wonderful scenery AND NO MIDGES!
Enjoy your brief visit. Are you hoping to be able to see Middle Sis on your way south?
Hello PolkaDot. The weather is amazing, with temperatures out of the northerly wind as high as most of the UK. I think there may be the odd midge or two around in the evening, but none at all during the day when I've been working in the garden. Such a difference from previous summer visits.
DeleteSadly we won't be able to see Middle Sis as we have to get all the way back to Wales in a single day and will be using the west coast route. Perhaps this autumn....
It all looks wonderful - a visit to the Scottish highlands is high on my wishlist of travel hopes! We shared a computer on our recent holiday, and the Relationship Dance is the perfect description - each finds a different alternative activity while the other taps away. In our case, cuddly a baby grandson was the usual alternative activity! Have the most wonderful summer hols in that blissful place.
ReplyDeletePatricia you would LOVE the Highlands, as long as you visit outside the height of the midge season. I know you Australians are used to insects and creepy-crawlies, but a full-blown midge swarm is something to be avoided at all costs, unless you are covered in the strongest midge-repellent.
DeleteI'm smiling at the thought of you and your husband doing the Relationship Dance with the laptop while in Canada. Having a cuddly baby grandson and a rapidly growing older one certainly gave you lots to do. Computers are fine but they're no substitute for a grandson. :-)
Goodness Perpetua, With such gorgeous scenery, why turn on the computer????? ENJOY that nature! I've never seen such beauty!
ReplyDeleteLOL, Nerima! But how do I share it with you without the computer? My memory being what it is nowadays, blogging is my journal and my reminder. :-)
DeleteI'm glad you managed to get your share of the computer to give us this little glimpse of glorious scenery, Perpetua. It is quite an unusual way to live - travelling between three homes in three very different places - but it certainly seems to work for you two. Maybe it's because of the children, or maybe because we've only just found our 'one' place - but I do admire your ability to up and off and enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteAxxx
we're not quite draswing upma timetable, Annie,. but it's been interesting having to plan my computer use a bit. :-)
DeleteI know our way of life is unusual and if anyone had told me when our children were the age yours are that one day we'd be living like this I'd have thought they were mad. We didn't even go on holiday, except to visit family. I honestly do think it was my two brushes with cancer that made us realise that we wanted to make the best of a retirement we might not have had together if I hadn't been so lucky. We'll settle down again one day I'm sure - but just not yet. :-)
The North West Highlands are my absolute favourite place on the planet, and I have no difficulty understanding how you can feel at home there. We manage to go about once a year and I think it's the refreshment I get from that time that keeps me going for the rest of the year. I'm so pleased to have found your blog - what a marvellous web of connections Blogland is.
ReplyDeleteHello Anny and welcome to my blog. How super to meet another lover of the North-West Highlands. :-) DH and I can't believe we lived most of our lives before discovering this incredibly beautiful and wild region. Nowadays we find it harder and harder to leave each time and have made so many friends.
DeleteI know just what you mean about the marvellous web of connections created by blogging. It is so enriching and such fun.
Dear Perpetua, the photographs are lovely. I visited Scotland once--back in 1976--with two friends. We stayed in Edinburgh for a couple of days and then took the train to Inverness where we attended a bagpipe contest and then went out to Culloden to see the battlefield. A day later we headed back to Edinburgh and thence to London and over to Paris on the train. I found Scotland so lovely and I was enthralled by the roses and flowers in the small yards in front of so many homes. I like your attitude about Scotland and France--you are moving your lives there for a few weeks. Peace.
ReplyDeleteDee, I'm so glad to have brought back happy memories of your visit to Scotland. It's years since I was in the centre of Edinburgh, but my sister used to live there a long time ago and I visited her. Inverness we know quite well as we always drive through it on our way north and back south. The train journey from Edinburgh to Inverness must be one of the most magnificent anywhere. In fact we drive alongside the railway line for long stretches and love the views.
DeleteThe little front gardens with lots of flowers are very common all over Britain.
Peripatetic Perpetua ;) I envy you, I think I could very happily divide my year between three different places, and all so beautiful. I totally understand that you live in all three rather than holiday in one or another, that's exactly how I would be.
ReplyDeleteLove it, Annie! I shall start signing my comments as PP for Peripatetic Perpetua. :-) I'm really glad you understand just what I mean about living in 3 places, rather than being on holiday. It's not easy to explain, but it's exactly what we do. Home is where my laptop is - and of course DH! :-)
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