The Mondays

Hi there, as you can see, I don't have much to update from this weekend. I did get out of the house, but it was for a run to IKEA....good fun, to the grocery store, and for a run through our neighborhood, Bruntfield and Morningside...all very close together, but little areas in their own right.

Recently, I've been on a mission: to find a really really cheap bottle of red wine that tastes good as well. I must say, it is turning out to be an enjoyable task. :) With so many good Spanish and French wines available, I have quite a selection to chooe from. The cheapest one to date was £1.99, Sol de Espana...a red table wine. I always give these wines a chance because of the good cheap wine I enjoyed when I lived in Spain. Another good one is Cheap Spanish Wine, a Morrison's label ( on of the grocery stores I go to). It is good and cheap, at £2.89 it is no longer the cheapest, but I'll splurge when I can, to enjoy it. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on my quest.

I guess the other highlight of the weekend was the Rugby team's pirate party. It was at a bar near us called Cargo, and it was a bunch of guys dress like Pirates, and who I may add, really enjoyed being dressed like that.

Well, that is it for now, I'm supposed to be working, but I have the Mondays and I am doing lots of different things to keep me doing anything but work right now. Well, it is already 10:23...so I'm on my way to do what I do.

We're off to Reading, England this weekend to see Andy's mom, who we have not seen since last Christmas. Way too long. They have a new house that they moved in to in November. I'll take picture while we're down there and update you on my return. Until then. All my best!

Much Needed Restful Weekend

After quite a busy and stressful work week it has been a nice relaxing weekend. We walked into town and enjoyed the gift vouchers to Waterstone's book store (courtesy of Andy's brother David). Then we stopped at a local restaurant and enjoyed a nice little lunch. that was Saturday. I've posted some pictures of the canal that we walked home on. It is about a block from our house as the crow flies, but we can only access it through a bridge down the road..
So, I bought a Jamie Oliver cookbook as one of my books. I must say, I made an amazing chicken dish. Very simple, but wow, sometimes I can't belive I can actually cook, but it is addicting.

Anyway, today, Sunday, Andy has conquered hanging up curtains in our bedroom. 4 attempts and much annoyance later, he did it! So that is what a stud finder is for... :) Then we took a nice walk along the Water of Leith. It's a river that flows down to the water where I work. It is a about 8 miles inland. Here some pics (Andy looks somewhat possessed in one, but he was really just looking up...I hope. ) and old sign that was posted to a water building. It was beautiful and about a 10 minute drive from our flat. It is in a village called Colinton. It's part of Edinburgh, but feels miles away when you're there.

So, its Sunday night here. We're enjoying the Simpson and some wine and putting off the reality of going back to work in the morning. Until next time....all my best.

Monday Update

Well, it has been almost a week since my last update. Reason being...It has been back to the grind. Working a lot, and as I mentioned last time, traveling to London. Today I wish I was in the US so I could have a nice long weekend. They don't tend to have as many. I'll just have to take my holidays. :)

Besides work, Andy and I have been working away on our flat. Andy put down new floors in the kitchen and bathroom and I painted our bedroom. It looks good, but I think I'd prefer to do something else on the weekend.

So, I've shown you some pictures of our flat inside, the pics today are views from our window down our street. The lights are actually an orangy-yellow so its partly due to a night picture, partly to the color of the lights.

So, that is the goings on of my life in Edinburgh for now. Tomorrow...another day, a nice walk to work past the castle (which is in the dark like this night picture except early in the morning), through the area around Leith Walk (main drag), and to our building. Which is in the picture with the black taxi. We're the small building on the right, just next to that house (yes, that little corner building). So that is part of my journey to work. Hope you enjoyed this tiny tiny tour. :)

Until next time...all my best!

Just another day....

Just to start with a note about a last update, Gran's birthday was a tame night that began at 5:00 and finished at 7:00...I don't think my sarcasm works as well through a blog. I'll have to note that in future updates.

Today and tomorrow I'm in London visiting clients. London is an interesting city. Today I was in the Whitechapel. An area that is bursting with balti indian restaurants lines up in rows. I only wish I had time to enjoy lunch here. Another interesting fact is that this is the area that Jack the Ripper did most of his crimes in. It's not a big area at all. How crazy.

Anywho, it's off to rest now, clients are soooo tiring. Until next time. All my best.

Our place is coming around!

Okay, so it has taken some time, and a really great Christmas present for us to to take pictures with, to show our flat in Edinburgh. So, here are some pictures of our kitchen from a few different angles.

I don't think it is as thin as it appears, our ceilings are about 12.5 ft high. When we finish the other rooms, I'll post some more pictures.

Anyway, it has been a long day of DIY and I can't even think of what to update. All my best.

Celebration time!

We celebrated another milestone birthday with Gran yesterday, 87. It was a crazy Saturday night. First we had wine, then dinner, then dessert (toffee explosion to be exact). Speaking of...the desserts over here do not compare to those at home. Nothing comes close to the Shaws cake, but then again, neither does anything in the US. It is a divine dessert that is unmatched.

Anyway, to get back to it. Gran turned 87 on January 5th. I think she is someone that we can all look to for inspiration. She makes a point to get into town at least a couple of times a week, she walks everywhere, she has 35 steps from her front door to her first floor landing and she goes up and down them at least three times a day. She shows no signs of slowing down and I think most people would have trouble keeping up with her. Rock on Gran.

Anway, as you can see in the picture of David, Andy and Gran, they are completely wasted. I think they are holding each other up, why else would they be smiling like that? Just kidding. As the evening came to an end at 7:00, it was nice to think that I have extended family over here. When you come to visit will go to Grans for tea and biscuits, she wouldn't have it any other way.

So today we're doing some DIY. Due to the size of our miniature kitchen sink we've decided to change the faucet, then we want to paint our bedroom and then tile(fake) the kitchen floor. So I better go help/interfere with Andy. Oh he's calling now...until next time. All my best.

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?

Well, I figured out how to post pictures...so here is a beauty that I took when I was home. :)

My first post from Edinburgh

Well, I've just had my first mishap with my blog...I know what you're thinking...how is that? Isn't this the first post? Well, not really, I lost the first one when I tried to spellcheck it. So, forgive me for mispellings, but I'm not losing my writing again!

So, now that I have found out that saving is still a basic principle, let me tell you why I have my blog. There are a couple of reasons. First, I'm far from friends and family and I want to share with everyone what it is like over here in Edinburgh, where Igo and how I (and Andy) are doing. Maybe I'll be good enough to keep a semi-consistent update going even. Who knows! maybe I could even make that one of my New Year's resolutions. Or maybe not. :)

We've been back a week now since our nice long vacation over Christmas. We truly have not done much. Tonight being Friday, I did have my almost mandatory Friday night drinks after work. It is truly a part of the work culture. Tonight was one of my team member's birthday. He turned a wopping 23. He's the youngest in my company, but a good worker so I needed to make sure I had at least a beer before heading home. I'm glad I went. His friend met him for drinks as well and I was glad to finally meet him. He's a footballer. He plays for Celtic, one of, if not THE most popular football (soccer) clubs in Scotland. The first time I saw him he was being interviewed on the tele after he scored in a match. He was really nice and rather quiet. Must be such a different type of lifestyle he leads.

Anyway, I'll update again in the not too distant future. I think I may even enjoy this.
Until then. My best.