What Is And What Should Never Be

In a very uncharacteristic move for me, I could not bring myself to plan a single thing for Christmas in Arkansas. Juggling the logistics, everyone's schedules and expectations, it just seemed like a lot for a person as brain-dead as I was after a full-throttle fall/December. All I really wanted to do was eat mac and cheese on the couch for two weeks. Fortunately, I was able to do plenty of that. As it turns out, a chill, unplanned two week at home suited me much better than I ever imagined. It has been a weird year (the fall especially) for lots of my family so it was really good to be with everyone for some time. The picture below is my new favorite one of all my best people and an accurate account of my Christmas break at SuPa's (SuPa = Susan + Paul. I think they made up this nickname for themselves but anyway I use it a lot now). Unfortunately all the children in our life are super old now so I don't even know what to do with them or what is cool. Except black ni...

This Winter We  - careened through the Christmas season  - spent Christmas Day on a plane (it was great, actually)  - cried during the Mr Rogers documentary  - enjoyed two weeks in Arkansas  - got our fix of cheese dip and Whole Foods  - finally tired of chili (we ate this every Saturday and Sunday for months)  - got hooked on steak pies  - finally went to Crombies for our meat (and they let us use our glass containers! and they're so nice and fun like friends! why didn't we do this sooner?)  - attended our 2nd annual Burn's Supper  - (Jill) applied for, was offered, and turned down a job at a local business I love  - (Jill) went to the dentist (they tell me my teeth are great! they say come back in one year! they charge me £11)  - cheered on Scotland at our first time at a rugby match  - went on a Valentine's walk and donut date  - took more late afternoon walks because the sun stays out later n...

I'll remember 2018 in yellow. The soft, reassuring winter beams, the joyous canary yellow of springtime gorse, washed in bright blazing sunlight, the golden summer evenings and the subtle shifts of nature settling into fall. It was our first full calendar year in Scotland, and so much of it was defined by the seasons.  We began with a literal bang at Hogmany then slowed to a slog through what felt like the world's longest January. I remember being thankful about the present and optimistic about the future in specific moments, but all the while a cloud of uncertainty and homesickness hovered over us. In February we made deliberate choices to have fun and try new things and believe that Spring would come. In March it finally did. Sunlight returned and our hearts woke up and crawled out from hibernation. April brought blossoms and visitors and a new job for me; May and June continued on bright and life-giving. We walked so many miles, topping up on vitamin D, filli...

They kept saying it was going to snow and I didn't believe them. They've said it before and it hasn't really. But this time it did snow. And snowed and snowed. Basically the country (transportation, schools, shops) shut down for like 3 days. It was the weirdest snow. You'd see a blue sky one minute and then a flurry of flakes and high winds for a while. On and off like that for days. (They say more is coming tonight/tomorrow? We'll see. May just be very cold rain.) The break was much needed--I actually ended up getting so much done that I couldn't have done otherwise as I was supposed to be at a conference for three days. Plus there's not much I like more than sipping a warm drink and watching the snow fall. Except for maybe walking around out in it. 

At the start of February, we went to Inverness to celebrate Craig completing his second major paper, and to explore a place we'd only traveled through before. Inverness is a bit of a hub into the highlands--there are lots of cool places you can visit nearby or by traveling through. We'd been through before on our way to Skye. This time we took a bus from Inverness to Culloden Battlefield, the site of last battle of the Jacobite Rising, where the Jacobites were ultimately defeated. We also strolled down the streets and canals of Inverness browsed their museums and the world's best used bookstore, and consumed lots of pizza and craft beer (that's really all it takes to make me happy.) The train ride there rolling through snow covered hills was actually one of my favorite parts of the trip. Who knew we'd get to see so much snow in Edinburgh a month later?