Hogmanay

Today is New Year’s Eve, also known as Hogmanay here in Edinburgh. There are all sorts of events happening and it all began yesterday with the Torchlight Procession. When I read about it online, I kind of assumed that the torches they were talking about would be flashlights or maybe glow sticks. But as it turned out, for a 7 Pound donation to a local charity, we were given a stick, about three feet in length, that was wrapped in wax coated fabric. We arrived on the High Street at about 6pm and waited with a massive crowd of people for the event to begin. It took a while, but eventually the fire started to make its way back to us. People were passing the flame back and back and everyone was lighting their torch from the person in front of them. And then we started to walk.

We walked from St. Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile to the base of Calton Hill which is about a mile, carrying our lit torches. There was a light show and fireworks in the park at the top of the hill, but because there were so many people (the website said to expect 20,000) we weren’t able to get close to the gates. But we could still see the fireworks which was a good ending to our walk.

It was such a great experience to be a part of such a huge crowd of people just having fun. We couldn’t get over how there were so many people in such a tight, confined space walking around with open fire. And kids too. That would never happen in Calgary! But it was calm, there weren’t any people being stupid, and we didn’t see anyone getting into or starting trouble. It was another one of those moments where Brandon and I looked at each other and said, “Wow…can you believe we’re here and doing this?!” And I think it was a great thing for Graham to do as a tourist here too.

Tonight, it’s New Year’s Eve and this is a night that is huge in Edinburgh. There is a street party with multiple stages set up for concerts, there is a mini film festival, a ceilidh, and a massive fireworks display fired off from the castle at midnight. Tickets for the party and all the concerts were only 15 Pounds, but they close all the entry gates at 11 – and Brandon is working till 11. But luckily, most of the festivities are happening on Princes Street and not the Mile. So Graham and I are going to meet Brandon when he’s done and we’re going to try to get as close to the castle as we can to watch the fireworks.

I’m a little nervous about the number of people there will be out and about. Graham and I spent a few hours this afternoon at the castle wandering around and even at 4:00 when we were on our way back to the flat, there were way more people on the Mile than I’ve seen yet. The website says to come and party with 80,000 of your closest friends and if last night was any indication, I have no doubt there will be that many. I just hope we actually find Brandon! I’ll post photos and a play by play of what the night was like tomorrow.

When I look back at 2011 I can’t help but think that it’s been such an amazing year. I feel like I’ve grown so much and actually figured out more about myself than I’ve ever known before. I found out that I am able to accept more change than I thought I could, I now know that challenge really does make you stronger, and I learned that facing life with a partner is the very best feeling in the world. I can’t wait to see what 2012 has to bring.

Happy New Year everyone!

A Happy Christmas in Edinburgh

We had a beautiful Christmas Eve and a wonderful Christmas morning!

Last night Brandon, Graham and I went to St. Giles Cathedral for a candlelight carol service at 11:30. There were hundreds of people there and between the pipe organ and the choir, there were moments of absolute magic.

This is the view from our seats in church.

The Summers' boys clean up pretty good!

Thanks for the great photo taking skills Graham!

And this morning, we got up and attacked all the presents under the tree. And I have to say that for being so far away I sure feel a whole lot of love from our families. Graham brought along gifts from the Summers' and from my parents and brother too. And with all of that and the gifts we bought for eachother, there was quite the scene of wrapping paper carnage on the living room floor.

Our stockings were too full and heavy to hang by the fire!

The pre-unwrapping stage.

Graham opening his rugby jersey.

Brandon inspecting his lego Mater from Cars.

 

Graham putting together the spinner he bought me.

Simon Fish got a present too! And he loves it!

After all was opened.

A new yoyo!

And finally, Santa listened! These were under the tree! And I proceeded to wear them through breakfast.

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope everyone has had as great of a Christmas morning as we have.

Welcome aboard

We have our first visitor staying with us – Graham has arrived from Canada! He got here on Thursday and Brandon went to London to meet him. They spent the day on a rather whirlwind tour of the city and then caught a train to Edinburgh that evening. We’ve had a good first few days and I think Graham has started to enjoy the city. He’s starting to get the lay of the land and has even gotten tattooed already! He and Brandon went to the castle yesterday and today we went to the Royal Yacht, to the chippy on the Royal Mile for dinner, and then to the Christmas fair. It was a busy and rather chilly day.

We’re getting ready for Christmas here in Edinburgh. Graham brought along so many gifts from so many people that we’re so grateful for even though we’ve not opened them. I’m finding it hard to feel “in the spirit” this year. Without snow and the usual parties and family stuff to look forward to, it just doesn’t quite feel the same. Although, last year didn’t feel the same either considering all the packing I was doing to move out of my apartment and, well, there was that whole Mexico thing. But we both have the 24^th and 25^th off so Brandon, Graham and I are going to try to find something especially festive to do. And I’m really looking forward to going to the midnight service on the 24^th at St. Giles Cathedral.

I know I haven’t written much lately (again) but I’ve been working a lot of hours. For an eight hour per week contract, I’ve been very lucky to have picked up a lot of shifts. Last week I worked 32 hours and the week before I did 35. By the time I get home I kind of just want to sit and be quiet and turn off my brain for a while. The scary thing is that this job is ending for me in the first week of January and I have to go back to the job search. That’s another stressor that is keeping me from feeling festive I think.

Now to end off this post, here’s another installment of the Scottish life posts. Hope everyone has a great week before Christmas!

What’s For Dinner? Cooking here at home is not all that different except that we have far fewer kitchen gadgets and tools. And, if you watched our video tour, you’ll agree that there is a distinct lack of space. We’ve been able to cook together just a few times so far because when we attempt it, we always get in each other’s way.

Because our flat is rented as furnished, the kitchen was fitted out rather well. But quite a bit of the stuff was more than a little sketchy. We put the burned pots and set of serrated knives away and bought our own set of pots and a frying pan from Ikea, along with some essentials like a cheese grater and cutlery. We also picked up a spatula and some serving tools, a set of wine glasses, a strainer and a big mixing bowl from the Poundsaver store. When Brandon started working and needed to take his good knives with him every day, we bought two knives for home and just recently we added some glasses to the cupboard as well since we were drinking everything out of coffee mugs. We currently only have one oven safe dish though and eventually I’d like to add to that arsenal before we attempt our Christmas dinner plans. Especially since we’ve both nearly set the microwave on fire by putting metal items in there are turning it on, thinking it was set to convection. Oops!

Cooking a large meal is a little like camping. I’m learning from Brandon how to get everything done efficiently with just one frying pan. Take for example making a big weekend breakfast. Potatoes go in first and when they’re done they go into the medium sized pot to keep warm. The bacon goes in the pan next and then into the small pot with paper towel to soak up the grease. Then we do my scrambled eggs because they have to be cooked until no longer wiggly, and finally Brandon’s fried eggs go into the pan while the toast is toasting. It works alright, but the potatoes do get a little soggy by the time we’re ready to dish up. We did French toast last weekend which obviously added one more stage to the process. Glad Brandon was in charge that day!

Flat tour!

Finally, after being asked by so many people, we are ready to share a tour of our flat with everyone. Please follow the link below and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOs9m2uQMDA