No Finer Calling

This is the Texas All State Concert Band 2008 - 2009 performing "No Finer Calling" (Honor Above All) 3rd Movement. I stumbled upon this while searching for wonderful symphonic arrangements of different favourite pieces of mine. I cried when I heard this. These are high school kids. God bless them! I hope you will listen all the way through. It's worth it!

Still At The Castle!

In case it's not obvious, I just love the Castle. There is so much to see. The history is fascinating. The views are incredible. And hte Castle houses so many important historical and national things. Here are a few photos of St Margaret's Chapel. It is a lovely little stone building dating back to the 12th century. St Margaret was the mother of King David I, one of Scotland's greatest kings. She was very devout, and her chapel has been spared all these many centuries.

The simplicity is inspiring...

And even in the crowds, with people practically lining up to get a look inside, it still maintains a peace. The Chapel holds up to 25 people, and you can still hold ceremonies and weddings within, IF you can pay the fee!

One of the many gun emplacements facing the city of Edinburgh!

Looking at the National War Memorial. You cannot take photos inside, nor would you want to. This memorial was built after the First World War to honour the many, many thousands who lost their lives. It contains memorials to all the soldiers from Scotland who have fought in all the many battles in which Britain has found itself. It is a very moving place.

Here we are in the State Apartments... rooms the kings and queens actually occupied in Edinburgh Castle, including Mary, Queen of Scots (poor Mary!). I loved these candle lamps.

Elaborate moldings, carvings, fireplace surrounds... We thought we could live here quite easily!
Murals and wood panelling... everything befitting a royal apartment.

Here are some views of the Great Hall. It is always so impressive. The chandeliers are some of the most amazing pieces of lighting I have ever seen. And of course, the displays of weaponry are formidable.

In 2006, I toured with a choir from Florida, and we sang in front of this fireplace. One of the many things that started me on the adventure which led me from Florida to Scotland, and to my darling husband!

The amazing timbered ceiling of the Great Hall, built like the inside of a ship's hull.

We are leaving the Castle.... but we return!

No one attacks me with impugnity!

Stay tuned for more view of Edinburgh... one of the world's most magical cities!

Sunday in Edinburgh, Pt 2

Is there anything more marvellous than Edinburgh Castle? I have now been three times, and I'm sure I could go another 50 times and not see and absorb everything. They were setting up for the Military Tattoo, as well, which was exciting. Someday, we'll get to it. The history of the Castle is amazing. It takes pages and books to tell about it. This photo shows the entrance gate, with Robert the Bruce on one side, and William Wallace on the other. Formidable!

This is a view over Edinburgh, towards the Firth of Forth. You can see Princes Street Gardens in the foreground, along with Waverly Station and the Sir Walter Scott Monument. And loads of other things, of course...

We had lunch in the Castle! There are two restaurants in the Castle, and this one is the Queen Anne Room. Can you guess what we are eating? Yes, it's haggis, neeps, and tatties... all done up in frou frou gourmet style. I mean really. Haggis, neeps, and tatties is hardly gourmet, is it? Just goes to show you that if you pile food up in a tower and put parsley on top, ANYTHING can become gourmet!

Anticipating lunch!

Ian is making sure Mons Meg is not tampered with. Or maybe he's trying to aim it at the baby carriage on the left? No no... he must be putting himself between the cannon and the helpless infant. Yeah, that's it.

Well, I'm sure you can imagine, we have lots more photos and stories to tell. We spent all of Sunday afternoon at the Castle, so brace yourselves for more pictures to come!

Sunday in Edinburgh

Our first full day in Edinburgh was a Sunday, so after a HUGE breakfast at our B & B, we went to church at Greyfriar's Kirk. As you can see, the organ is magnificent! The service was lovely, and the sermon was excellent. A great way to start the day.

A view looking toward the back of thechurch, where the organ and choir loft are.

Greyfriar's Kirkyard is really lovely. It's a peaceful spot in the middle of the old town, and I can remember when I first saw it, way back in 1982, and marvelling at how people were having picnic lunches there, and how the memorials and tombstones are built right on to the buildings and walls that surround the yard.

I'm sure everyone knows the story of Greyfriar's Bobby. Here is his little memorial fountain out on the street. Don't you just want to get your own little Skye Terrier??

And of course, we came back and had dinner in the famous Greyfriar's Bobby's Bar.

After church, we headed up the Royal Mile to you know where! See Part II of our Sunday adventures!

Summer Is Here...And I've Got A Lot of Catching Up To Do

As you can see, Rosebud has a healthy coat of new wool...and he still has his head in the bucket half the time! He is fat and happy.

Here is the boy after having been fed. This is when he looks forlornly at us, walks over to the stone wall, and seems to be saying, "I guess I will have to eat rocks now, if you don't have any more food for me." And then he noses around the rocks, just to see if we're watching!

Meanwhile, I have loads of catching up to do... our trip to Edinburgh was fabulous. We are onto a good lead for a house. My sister and her husband are coming all the way from Florida next week! Stay tuned... I'll try to be more consistent with my posts (I say that a lot, don't I?)...

Praising God

Friday 12th June
GOLSPIE High School
3.00 - 9.00 pm
Children's area
Extreme sports
Speaker: Luis Palau
thebandwithnoname
Contact: Ian McCree 01408 621 239

We were here!!! I will post more about this when we come back from Edinburgh... And we are going to be in Inverness for the Main Event, too!

Northwest Scotland Coast

More exploring... you will see most of the signs in both Gaelic and English in this neck of the woods. We are over on the northwest coast of Scotland in this series of photos...
The Kylesku Bridge. Now, since I come from a place where I was a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Sunshine Skyway, this bridge does not impress me. What impresses me most is that they used ferries to transport people across this sea loch, or kyle, clear into the 1980s! Don't let anyone kid you ... life is at least 50 years behind the times here.

I'm terrible with names of mountains, so I just can't remember this one, but the scenery was breath-taking.

If you strain your eyes and look really carefully, you can see the "flow" in this mountain... a line of rock which shows how mountains from the east side of Sutherland flowed over the top of the ones on the west side, during the Ice Age.

This is a view of the Atlantic Ocean taken from the beach at Scourie. It always makes my heart quicken to think that my homeland is just across the sea!

We are heading back inland and south, down towards Lairg, where we will turn left and head east back to Brora. I was fascinated by this cloud sitting on top of the mountain.

Can you imagine living in such a remote place?? This is a ruin, but there are houses here and there throughout this area. I loved the colours of the blue loch and the reds, greys, browns, and greens of the hills and stone.

Still snapping photos of red deer practically every time I see them. We saw literally hundreds of deer on this stretch of the road, back to Lairg. They are on both sides of the little burn here.

The BIG NEWS: Our 2nd Anniversary is coming up (June 16), and we are taking a 4-day trip to Edinburgh to play tourist and see all the sights. I have been about half a dozen times, but my Scottish husband has only been once! Stay tuned for our EDI travelogue.

Ardvreck Castle and Calda House

Ardvreck Castle, situated in the most amazing location on the shores of Loch Assynt, dates back to 1490 when it was owned by the MacLeods of Assynt. I absolutely love this castle. I don't know why, and all that remains are sketchy ruins, but I'm really attached to this place.

This was one of the first places Ian brought me to when I first came to Scotland to meet him. The scenery around here is stunning.

In 1672 the MacKenzies attacked and captured Ardvreck Castle. This area of Scotland is rife with MacKenzies and MacLeods.

Loch Assynt, just below Calda House

Calda House was built by the MacKenzies in 1726 because the wife of the Laird didn't like the bleakness of the castle. Unfortunately, the building of this huge, fancy house sent the MacKenzies into financial ruin. It was burned down in 1737 and before they could rebuild, all the property was seized by the Crown in 1745 after the MacKenzies had support the losing side in the '45 Uprising. It has been in ruin ever since.

Coming from a relatively "new" country, as organized countries go, I never cease to be amazed by all the ruins and all the history over here!

The Bone Caves at Inchnadamph

A few weekends ago, we went exploring. It is our favourite thing to do: pack a picnic, jump in the car, and go off to see the sights. We headed west to the Bone Caves of Inchnadamph...

Supposedly, it was an easy mile's walk up the glen to the caves. HA! We were both panting, and the terrain was quite rough, the path going up and down and over rocky ground. But it was beautiful, too.
This was an easier bit of path... most of the time, there was just a little rut through the rocks and stones. Maybe you can imagine what it was like... feeling like we were going back in time thousands of years!

We still have a long ways to go... up and around the mountainous terrain to reach the caves.

The water flowing down through this glen was crystal clear, and in some places, flowing across grass as green as emeralds.

The water was quite drinkable, and so cold and fresh tasting! We (Ian) filled our bottles coming and going.

Looking back to see how far we've come. I think we were about halfway at this point.

Once we drew nearer the caves, the path narrowed down to practically nothing, and there was a steep drop off the one side... which is why we were both leaning into the hillside!

A view out of one of the caves... There are four main caves, two of which are connected, in the side of the mountain. They have been excavated, and the bones of all kinds of animals no longer found in Scotland were found in these caves, as were the bones of humans. Reindeer and arctic foxes, bears and wildcats, lynx and even polar bear bones! It is said there has been a record of what lived in Scotland over the last 45,000 years just based on the finds in these caves!

This is a view from the outside looking up at one of the cave openings. We had the very good fortune of being able to explore all by ourselves, aside from the nest of ravens in one of the caves! It wasn't until we were ready to leave that a few other people came up.

We had to rest when we first got there, just to catch our breath and get our shaky legs stabilized! It was quite a trek up, but so worth it! This is an old, old land.

True or False?

I am seeking...

Do you know these people???

I have a friend who is a HUGE fan of Joyce Meyer. Why does this make me SO uncomfortable? Since our last conversation, I have spent a lot of time in prayer, thought, and research. The Bible tells us that there will be many false teachers and prophets. The whole idea is that they will look, on the outside, like the real thing. But people, we are also told we must test the spirits. Are these people, these "name it and claim it" folks really walking the path of Christ when they are SO obsessed with financial wealth and abundance? I am NOT convinced. And I am especially disturbed when the doctrine they preach basically points to a bunch of formulas for manipulating God into doing what they want. I'm sorry, but their God is WAY too small for me. What are your thoughts??

Black Sweater Day

I knew it was going to be a black sweater day when I got up this morning. Sigh... For one thing, it was "change the sheets" day, which means my ongoing battle with the duvet cover. Duvets... a stupid French concept. Why do the British insist upon adopting French ideas?? Give me my old comforter, bottom AND top sheets, and a blanket any day.

Do you ever have days when you would gladly crawl in a hole and hibernate?? That's what my black sweater is for. It's an emotional security blanket in the form of a big, baggy, BLACK sweater. It's my way of keeping the world out. Sometimes you just have to give in to the impulse to hide, right?

Taking A Break

Sometimes, life can be overwhelming. This is one of those times. Over the past year, I have experienced a lot of loss and grief. And of course, I have been worried about my Ian ~ who is doing really well, PRAISE GOD! But now, we have discovered we need to move house, and so we are searching for a new home in the area. On top of that, my hours have been cut at work ~ yep, the economy stinks over here, too.

Sooooooo... I am taking a wee break from blogging... just a week or so, to catch my breath. I'll be back soon, and meanwhile, I keep all my blog friends in my daily prayers. God is good, and I trust He will bring a time of refreshing and rest.

BACK SOON...

Memorial Day 2009

Be glad for this holiday... Memorial Day. We are blessed to be fervent enough and caring enough as a nation to want to remember and celebrate the people who have served and gone before to make our country great.

I have lived in Europe for two years now, and what strikes me the most is the indifference. There are few patriotic days over here, and virtually no one celebrates or observes them anyway. It is a sad situation. People are wrapped in a cloud of apathy, complacency, and indifference. And I am struck again at the fact that the devil is a deceiver and a liar. The culture here is obsessed with celebrity, class, and status. As well, people follow a cult of "green politics," thinking that their salvation will come from being eco-friendly. Nevermind a true faith. Again, people are indifferent to God. They view the Creator of the universe as a quaint, antiquated myth. Not everyone... I finally do know some seriously devout Christians. But as a culture, yes, faith is completely marginalized.

So, although I live here, I am aware of and grateful for the freedoms I have as an American. And today, I DO remember...

I remember

my Dad

Steve Bellows

16 April 1923 ~ 23 April 2008

WWII Veteran

my Mom

Rosemary Bellows

25 February 1925 ~ 9 December 2008

WWII Homefront Veteran

my brother-in-law

John McFeters

4 May 1947 ~ 13 May 2009

Vietnam Veteran

Thank you.

And THANK GOD for America. I am PROUD to be an AMERICAN!

Luis Palau Highland Festival, June 2009

We are so excited! Please remember the Highlands of Scotland in your prayers. The Luis Palau Highland Festival is coming in June! Our church, and others locally, are organizing a mini-festival in Golspie. That will be the weekend before the BIG Festival in Inverness.

Ian and I, and some friends of ours, are currently training to be Festival Friends... counselors who will be there to help lead people to Christ! Is there ANYTHING more exciting than being in the midst of people who are making a decision for Christ? We are just so, SO thrilled to be part of this.

Fifteen years ago or more, Luis Palau came to the Highlands. Loads of people made the decision for Christ then. People still talk about it. We just know the Holy Spirit is doing a mighty, mighty work, preparing the way for people to FOLLOW THE WAY!

To be able to share in this joy and excitement is such a privilege. We can't wait to serve the Lord! We will be counseling both in Golspie, then in Inverness. PRAISE GOD!!

A Final Goodbye

We miss you John. But we will see you again when we all see the face of Jesus!

The memorial service is over, and now it will be the task of moving on with life, with another loved one gone. I'm so glad my other sister and her husband were able to get to Michigan to be with Karen at this time. The photo above shows John particpating in one of the things he dearly loved... the Sons of the Union Vets of the Civil War. And in tribute to John, the members of his camp: Austin Blair Camp No. 7, honoured him at his service, and bugled Taps at the end. A well-deserved honour for a man who loved and served his country. God bless you, John.

Yet Another

In loving memory

of a dear Brother-In-Law
John McFeters
4 May 1947 ~ 13 May 2009

Veteran

Civil War Historian

Brother-In-Law

Friend

You will be missed.

Please pray for his wife, my sister, Karen.

Bless His Heart

Some of you already know what we've been up to this past week. Like a lightning bolt out of the blue...BAM! In the span of less than three days, Ian goes to the doctor; I drive him to the hospital in Inverness because they want to see him there right away (we're thinking maybe a heart monitor or something like that); he's moved into CCU (coronary care unit); a few monitors... an ECG... an ultrasound... a chest X-ray... then... POOF... they decide he needs a pacemaker, and just like that, they give him one! We are still reeling from the shock of it all, and how fast it all went. He didn't even feel poorly!! All this transpired because of one fainting spell about three weeks ago, which lasted all of about 2 seconds. As it turns out, my hubby had a VERY low heart rate (as low as 30 BPM), and an erratic one at that. BUT NOW... HE IS BIONIC!!

You live and learn, right? I know I was pretty dim on how pacemakers worked and why and what they were used for. Not anymore!

I especially want to thank everyone for their prayers and warm wishes and good thoughts. It truly was a blessing and a miracle from God that we even found out there was a problem, and how lightning-fast the doctors and nurses here fixed it. I have not been a real proponent of the NHS, but they were fabulous this time, that's for sure!