Fun new recipe!
We enjoyed delicious maple sausage stuffed apples….I love trying new things! It perhaps sounds like a strange combination, but imagine how people really enjoy pork with applesauce, or just a bit of sweetness on meats. The maple syrup (golden syrup here in the UK) was a really yummy addition to the sausage and it’s just so rare that we have baked apples, so this was a fun new treat!
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| From New Pics |
Fun new recipe
This was a fun little recipe to make…..
Be not deceived, it’s not the pizza it presents itself to be….it’s a strawberry jam tart! My Mom sent me the Rachel Ray magazine and I’ve been having fun working through last year’s October edition…the Halloween version…so I’m making things like this that present as one thing, but turn out to be something that you don’t expect. Another example, tonight for dinner we had what looked like cupcakes, but were actually meatloaf in cupcake form with “white frosting” made of mashed potatoes…how fun is that?! I’ll tell you what, it was fun to eat!
So this little pastry tart has a puff pastry base standing in as dough, a yummy strawberry syrup mixture standing in for the marinara sauce, a mascarpone and honey mixture that looks like globs of mozzarella and then some nice little bits of mint to look like basil…fun, huh?!
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| From 154CANON |
Puzzle Of Love
Sometime close to Valentine’s Day, my mother, Lovely Linda, sent a darling little package to Mike and I. In that little package was this puzzle for us to do in our down time….one weekend a few weeks ago that down time arrived and we were masters of the puzzle of love.
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| Puzzle of Love |
New Academic Year…..New Job!
Hello friends! It has definitely been too long since we updated this thing! In a nutshell, I can tell you that upon our return from our trip to the states in July, the rest of the summer was a whirlwind! The month of August is a festival month where all kinds of theatre venues take place night and day throughout the city. The population of the city doubles and there is literally something going on ALL of the time! While it’s a fun time of year for those visiting Edinburgh, it makes it quite a busy time of year for the people who live and work here. Being that Mike is an international student at the University of Edinburgh, he’s tyipcally only allowed to work 20 hours per week because they want him to focus on the reason he’s here, which is study itself. While off term, however, he’s allowed to work up to 40 hours and that is what he did for the month of Augst. This wasn’t just any 40 hours, however. For two weeks, Mike worked from 6pm-4am at Starbucks on teh Royal Mile, which is the busiest Starbucks in all of the UK during the month of August. He did a fantastic job, but it wiped him out! I hated being at home into the night by myself…..so thankfully, that shift is over and we’re back to a much more normal routine. Mike isn’t quite back into his usual swing of things at university, but he’s getting there!
Also upon our return, God blessed me with a new job! I presently work at the Centre for Sport and Exercise as a receptionist. We’re so thankful that I got a university job because Mike and I will have the same holiday schedule….not to mention free gym memberships! I’ve been at the CSE for nearly 4 full weeks now and am really enjoying it. This week is Fresher’s Week, which is when all the students are returning and getting reaquainted with all their activities and such so it’s quite busy at the gym with new memberships and a sports fayre displaying all of the clubs of the university.
We are SO THRILLED to be welcoming guests this coming Friday! My (Trudy’s) parent’s are coming from Maryland and staying for a week! They are arriving on Friday, their 38th wedding anniversary, and we’ll have the honor of showing them around the city and the castle, showing them our new flat and where we do our work and school thang. We cannot wait until Friday comes so we can have some nice time to visit!
That’s what’s happening on this side of the pond….what’s up with all of you?!
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day
The sixth day is really the final day that we were able to spend with the Naylor’s and we lived it up yet again. I had to work until 2, but Mike took them around the city and particularly showed them his school and study area….beautiful architecture that he sees everyday.
Mike’s lunch table….seriously. 
After their tour of Mike’s study routine they stopped by his Starbucks on the Royal Mile and came to meet me at my Starbucks in Stockbridge for lunch.
And off we were to the Edinburgh Castle on the top of a double decker bus!
Take in the views!
After seeing the crowned jewels at the castle (which we couldn’t take pictures of) we went to the Mussel Inn to enjoy some…..mussels and seafood chowder.
Two final pictures of the trip are a bit random, but fun nonetheless. The first is of an actual tree planted a few doors down from us that just looks funny and the other is of a fun sign on the bus that Carol looks forward to posting at her office.
The final day, the seventh day, was quite sad. No pictures were taken that day…..except of Mike with his Highland Coo….which hasn’t made it to the computer yet….Mike, what’s up with that?!
Mike and I really had a difficult time saying goodbye to his parents. We had had such a great time and were reminded just how much we miss everyone at home.
Thanks for looking through all the pictures and for reading of the adventures that we had while the Naylor’s were in town. We look forward to taking many more pictures with all of you when you come to visit us soon!
Love from Mike and Trudy
And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day
Day five was spent traveling back from Inverness through St. Andrews. We began the day with the Naylor’s first traditional Scottish breakfast at the bed and breakfast…..black pudding, porridge and all! Black pudding was not a hit, but no surprises there….I’m no fan either!
After breakfast, we headed for the Tomatin distillery for our morning wee dram of whisky (spelled without an ‘e’ here). We saw a video on how the whisky is made and how the workers actually live on the base of the distillery, very interesting. We continued to head “home” by way of the St. Andrews golf course to pick up some towels for some of Paul’s friends. It was great fun to drive through the city to see where Mike and I could have been if we had accepted their offer for Mike to attend school there…..still glad we ended up in Edinburgh though! This is where we are to be for now.
We also went through a town called Pitlochry where we spent time walking through a lovely little shop where they produce Heather Gems. We saw the process of how they are grown, compressed, dyed and formed into beautiful jewelry and many other things! Enjoy some of the photos from day 5!
After this meal, the Naylor’s were gracious enough to take us out to the local Costco and stock us up with a few fantastic items for home…..thank you guys SO much! Other than the woman with the cart running over Carol’s foot and being practically ushered out of the store because of its close, we had a great time!
Look kids, Big Ben…Parliament
That’s right, if you’ve seen European Vacation, you know what our title to this blog is all about…..we drove on the “wrong” side of the road today for the first time!! We are so grateful to our friend, Todd, for allowing us to not only use his vehicle to learn on, but also for his patience while we figured out street signs and round-a-bouts….those were fun! Mike and I both took turns driving and were quite surprised by how natural it felt to be shifting with our left hand instead of our right. We will need much more practice, but will get that practice this coming week when Mike’s parents visit us! We cannot wait for their Friday arrival! They’ll be here until the 10th and we’ve got lots of great things planned. They are renting a car for the week and so we’ll have lots of fun chauffeur-ing them around…..those blogs are yet to come….stay tuned!
Pick’n and a Grin’n
Mike has really been missing playing his guitar. He went from practicing throughout the week for worship team and from bi-weekly practices and playing weekly in church to having nothing to play while here in Scotland. He has looked and looked to find a reasonably priced solid top guitar and after searching high and low has found the beauty that you see before you. Now we have tons of fun singing around the flat….it’s nice to have him playing again.
No News is Good News
Hey everyone! It’s been a whole month since I’ve updated this blog…….there’s just not been a whole lot to update honestly!
School: Mike is feeling more encouraged on his topic. He continues to meet with professor Hurtado to gain some guidance and when those meetings go well, he walks away inspired and a bit more driven….he continues to work really hard. That’s my trouper.
Starbucks: Work is going well for us! I’m enjoying my shift supervisor responsibilities and mainly work early shifts so that I’m home by 3 in the afternoon. I enjoy being able to relax a bit before starting to work on dinner and then having the evening with Mike after either his school day or his closing shift from Starbucks. Mike continues to figure out quite how Starbucks is going to fit into his time here. We’ll keep you updated on that front as it progresses.
Weather: Windy…..crazy windy! We thought we came here from the windy city, but it turns out that we came to yet a windier city! What’s the point in carrying your umbrella if it’s only going to pop out the other way on you?!
Sight Seeing: We’re finally setting up to do something sight seeing related each month! Mike is in charge of the odd months and I’m in charge of the even months. This month, Mike took us to the National Museum of Scotland and in February I’m thinking of taking us to the Botanic Gardens….both are freebie’s…..and we love freebie’s.
Those are the highlights for now. Nothing too high and hilarious….but as is the title of this blog, no news is good news.
We love you all and look forward to seeing you either on our side of the ocean or yours!
St. Andrew’s Day
On St. Andrews Day, the last day of November, visiting the castle is free! We took advantage of the day, but didn’t stay long. It was kind of gloomy (kind of like my mood that day, honestly) and the camera batteries gave out half way through, but we did get some shots before leaving. Here are some pictures of the Edinburgh Castle that we hope to visit again soon!!
The couple that you see here are getting married. Notice the grooms traditional Scottish kilt! The piper was playing as they exited the castle. Getting married at a castle….romantic. However, getting married on St. Andrews day, at the castle, with tons of tourists….not so romantic, but cute nonetheless.
Above is a view of Princes Street and the German Market that is taking place for another two weeks! It’s great fun to walk through and see all the little gifts! Haven’t done the rides yet, but it’s great fun!
