What I Learned

Top 50

1. God is sovereign over all - that includes everything from airplanes to the future
2. To plod is the job
3. I can survive in a different country
4. Reading your bible everyday does matter
5. Journaling helps
6. Dolphins are shady creatures
7. Somethings are not pronounced how they are spelled
8. A new appreciation for the Psalms
9. It's ok to not know where you are going sometimes
10. There are times when a holy face punch is required
11. How to eat with chopsticks
12. Church hats are cool
13. There is such a thing as too much Jane Austin
14. When you get to the station and the train is no where in sight, don't freak out
15. What donner is
16. I like tea
17. Take extra batteries for your camera when you go out on field trips
18. It is not a good idea to watch Titanic with a bunch of girls
19. You can have a blue slush at any time of day
20. Sometimes Ben & Jerry's makes it all alright
21. You alight from trains
22. You birth from boats
23. The meaning of hospitality
24. Not having a TV is a good thing
25. You should really spend your pense before they take over an entire counter top
26. It is a bit pointless to check the weather in Scotland
    most days it will say high of 45 with a chance of rain
27. How to make frosting
28. I hate flying
29. Though I do not like flying, I much prefer it to taking the ferry
30. I like running in the mornings
31. When someone asks you "Which is better: Ireland or Scotland?" don't answer
32. Nobody likes Turkish Delight
33. There will be Sticky Toffee Pudding in heaven
34. Every house needs a dance party room
35. When you are the foreigner, you are the one with the accent 
36. Sometimes it's not ok to say "pants"
37. Not everyone takes the time difference into consideration when they schedule things
38. You don't need to take pictures of everything; sometimes it's worth it to just stand there and marvel
39. When you want milk in your coffee, ask for a white coffee
40. It is not a good idea to run down a hill
41. Not to buy MAC eyeliners off of ebay
42. The Twilight movies are crap...but I think we all already knew that
43. A cord of three strands is not easily broken
44. Real men wear kilts 
45. Be wary of adventures that entail crawling under pine trees
46. You really only need four pairs of shoes
47. How to be prepared for the afternoon of life
48. Do not leave yams sitting out for four days
49. Read the reviews of a recipe online before you start baking
50. I do not like Irn bru

Some Places We Missed: Pollok County and the Burrell Collection

The next Wednesday adventure we had took us to Glasgow. Sam took us this day first to a grand house within the city. While this house, its grounds and the museum are seemingly located in the middle of the woods, it is actually less than twenty miles from the center of the city. While walking around the house (we didn't go in) we were able to glimpse two of Scotland's mascots: a Clydesdale horse and some Highland Cows.

Next we made our way to the museum that houses the Burrell Collection of Art. The building itself has huge windows that allow the visitor to see the beauty of the woods outside while studying the man-made beauty inside. This collection features many pieces of art ranging from Rodin, Degas and Cézanne, to late medieval art, Chinese and Islamic art, as well as relics from other ancient cultures.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108532852514122909750/PollukCollection?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr7u_3AgIawFw#

Some Places We Missed: Glencoe

This trip was not one of our Wednesday adventures. Rather, one Saturday Beth decided to take the four of us along with Debbie and Fraser (two members of the CY) to one of her favorite spots in Scotland. We traveled up North through the Highlands, stopping at a few different spots to survey the natural wonders around us. Our first stop was at a familiar site, Loch Lomond. We had a short stop here to see how high the waters had risen and how much snow was on top of the peaks. Then we piled back into the cars to journey into new territory (for me at least). I will not even try to describe all that we saw that day, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

For the geeks like me, you'll be interested to know that they filmed part of the third Harry Potter movie (Prisoner of Azkaban) in Glencoe.

We stopped for lunch at the nature observatory in the midst of the mountains and woods. There, I had the best hot chocolate in the world. After lunch we wandered the paths for a bit longer than we were allowed to I guess since when we got back the doors were locked and we had to James Bond our way back to the cars on the other side of the building.

All in all, it was another day of being awestruck at the creation of a Lord who cares to know my name.

By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
-Psalm 65:5-8

https://picasaweb.google.com/108532852514122909750/Glenco?authkey=Gv1sRgCITVhuSo88PdNA#

Some Places We Missed: Dollar and Castle Campbell

When Graham took us out again, we traveled north to the town of Dollar. Outside of Dollar sits Castle Campbell among the Ochil Hills. The picturesque setting has drawn many people, famous Scots such as Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott, to frequent the numerous paths through the hills above the town. It is hard to imagine that the castle was originally known as Castle Gloom and the two streams nearby are named Care and Sorrow. Indeed, the name "Dollar" comes from the Celtic word for sadness. When you survey the hills, woods and streams surrounding you are left without any plausible reason why such a place would be given such a depressing name.

Having seen several castles at this point, the four of us decided to go for a wee hike instead of exploring the castle and Graham decided to wait at the bottom for us. Now when I say "we" what I really mean is Casey, Graci and Josh. By this time I had been battling a cold for the better part of the week and after trekking up the first hill we conquered I thought I would surely die. Not letting me be discouraged, Graci decided to tape our adventure so that we could look back on it later and see all that we had accomplished that day. We hiked for what seemed to me like a very long time but was in fact only about an hour. At one point, we looked back and saw a hang glider take off of one of the peaks and drift slowly down towards the town. I thought for sure he was going to land in someone's garden but he passed out of our sight so we'll never know where he ended up.

On the way down, Graci and Casey thought it would be a good idea to run down the side of the hill. This resulted in Graci face planting into the path and scraping up her hand (I know she does not mind me telling you this story because it is after all on tape and can't be denied anyway). Watching this whole ordeal unfold in front of me, I thought for sure that she had broken something and that we were going to have to find a way to carry her down the hill. Nevertheless, we made it back down the hillside and to the carpark without any rap music or flash dancing. All in all, it was another day of marveling at God's creation and good craic.
https://picasaweb.google.com/108532852514122909750/CastleCampbell?authkey=Gv1sRgCNPPz-m75Ze-hwE#