Highland Line Number 32

Highland Line
1 May 2006

Happy May Day. May someone you love bestow upon you a basket of flowers in honour of the day. Or perhaps you might do so for the one you love. It seems to be an observance that has fallen by the wayside but who's to say it can't be revived? Try it and see what happens.

Since you last heard from us we have been to the States and back, spent a week house-sitting for some Comrie friends (while our house was made less chaotic), and now moved back to The Rowans. (See yesterday's blog for photos from the trip.)

It was a busy 10 days before we flew out. On April 2nd, the Crieff Choral Group spring concert was held. We sang Haydn's oratorio, The Seasons, accompanied by the Angus Chamber Orchestra and three outstanding soloists. The concert was well-performed (miles better than the Christmas one) and much appreciated. The 5th was the Probus Club's annual end-of-year luncheon for members and spouses at the Achray House. It is always a pleasure to see those we already know as well as to meet new folks at this event.

Friday night, the 7th, was the first Jazz Night of the new season at the Tullybannocker Restaurant. The West End Jazz Band, which plays regularly in the town of Linlithgow (between Stirling and Edinburgh), was the guest band. We shared a table with Gordon and Helen Rae as well as Christine Dick and Helen's brother Jimmy, up from Edinburgh. (Christine Dick is a good friend of the Raes but also is the person who sold what would become The Old Jail to our landlord David Laing. The Old Jail, you may remember, is where we stayed for the first six months we lived in Comrie back in 2003.) We had a lovely time that night.

Otherwise we scurried about doing last-minute house-related things (selecting/buying/ordering furnishings), delivering my quilts and quilting books/magazines to Margaret Coll for safe-keeping, getting the car serviced, getting checked out on the Aga range and where things were at the Raes' house (where we'd spend the week we got back), and meeting with our contractor and the builder about what would happen in our absence. The hours just before leaving for the trip were particularly hectic in that everything from the kitchen, dining room, and sitting room (except major pieces of furniture) were cleared to our bedroom, the office, and even to the bathtub (!) to leave the work areas free for the tradespeople and to keep our things as dust-free as possible.

We left home on Sunday afternoon to stay in the Hilton Hotel at the Edinburgh Airport since our flight was fairly early on Monday morning and 2 weeks of free parking was included in the room rate. We had a good flight over. The plane wasn't crowded so we had 3 seats for the 2 of us which helped a lot.

We had a really good visit in the States. Peter and Kathy Benjamin gave us their downstairs suite for the week we were in Bethesda. We met various folks for lunches that week, including some work contacts for Donald and some shopping trips for Lynn and Kathy. Tuesday we met Wendy for lunch and caught up on her and our granddaughter, Jami.

Tuesday afternoon and evening Pete and Ruth Salinger drove us around our old neighborhood to see the "million-dollar mansions" that are being built around, on top of, or in place of some of the houses that had been in the neighborhood since the early 1950s. So far, though, most of the houses are the originals although there probably are very few original owners left. The double cherry trees which were planted throughout the development were in full bloom and looked as beautiful as ever against the blue April sky. The double camellia bush near the front door of our old house was loaded to bursting with blossoms and the house looked the same as when we left it. That night the four of us went out for Chinese food to satisfy one of our yens (you should excuse the expression) for food we have been missing.

The next night we took the Benjamins out for what we thought would be Lebanese food at one of our favorite Bethesda restaurants. When we got there, however, the place was no more and so we went across the street instead and had some of our favorite Afghan dishes. Thursday afternoon and evening we spent with Pat and Stafford Kay, visiting over nibbles and drinks on the patio before feasting Pat's family favorite--ham loaf.

Friday afternoon, Don spent with Wendy and Jami (11), turning over to them (and previewing, much to Jami's initial embarrassment) videos of Jami's first 2 years. On Friday night, Don joined his men's group for a dinner meeting and thoroughly enjoyed getting to see so many of the old crowd as well as getting to know some of the new members. Lynn spent the afternoon with her quilter friend Floris Flam. That night, she joined Floris and other quilting friends for a potluck dinner, the crowning glory of which was a Show and Tell by everyone of quilting projects we had finished since we had gotten together last year.

Molly, Mark, Iris, and wee Cameron drove down from Albany, NY, on Friday, arriving late at their motel in nearby Gaithersburg. At noon the next day they came to the Benjamins for lunch. Iris is still shy at first but is as cute as only as 3+-year-old can be. Cameron, at 6 months, has changed dramatically since we last saw him when he was just a few weeks old. Both children are very good and adorable (of course). Molly and Mark looked terrific. Kathy's daughter, Katy, and her partner, Miranda, also were there. (We had gotten to see Kathy's son Eric during a late dinner on Monday evening, just after we arrived.)

A re-Mark-able evening: Saturday evening was the annual Passover Seder which we have been sharing with the Benjamins and the Salingers since the early 1980s. In addition to us and those two couples, Shara and Dave came up from Ashland, VA. Wendy and Jami came, along with Wendy's fellow, Mark, whom the Benjamins and the Salingers had met last December at a Channukah meal. Molly and Mark and their wee ones were there, as were Peter's son Mark and his wife Carin with their two wee ones, Pearl (4½) and Nico (9 months). Everyone brought something for the meal, which was wonderful in every way, both culinarily as well as spiritually. Jami, being the youngest child in attendance who can read, was the asker of the four questions during the Seder service. And Iris found the afikomen (the hidden matzoh) which brought a prize of a silver dollar.

On Sunday morning, we packed up, bid farewell with grateful thanks to the Benjamins, and left the Bethesda area. First stop was to have a quick breakfast with Molly, Mark, Iris, and Cameron before they hit the road for their trip north. We had a short but sweet visit before saying good-bye and starting our southward journey, the first stop of which was at Shara and Dave's. It was such a gorgeous afternoon that Don and Dave took off for 18 holes of golf while Shara and I went to the Richmond Botanical Gardens, which was gloriously in bloom.

We left early on Monday for Columbus, NC, to spend 3 days with Karen Armel and Pierce Lehmbeck in their mountain hideaway. We had a terrific visit which included a day exploring the Biltmore House and Estate in Asheville, an extensive mansion built in the 1890s by George Vanderbilt. It took us hours to tour the house with the excellent audio commentary. After a much-needed sit down for lunch, we wandered around the conservatory and gardens. What had started out as a very rainy day turned into an ideal warm and sunny one. We had a most enjoyable visit with Karen and Pierce, especially Karen's gourmet meals as well as pizza (for Don), tacos (for Lynn), and both North Carolina and South Carolina barbecue (both of us) with lots of good ole Southern sweet iced tea.

Thursday morning we returned to Dave and Shara's for another overnight. This time we also got to see our oldest granddaughter, Brittanie, who is almost 19! (Yikes!) We were happy to get this surprise visit with Brit (who lives in Albany) and to hear about her plans for going to college in the fall. It was a good visit with all three of them, topped off with some Virginia barbecue.

On Friday we drove north of Bethesda to Frederick, MD, for a "Canasta tournament" and an overnight with Bill and Eileene Butler with whom we have played the game for almost 20 years. We had a great time and it worked out that, between the games in the afternoon, after dinner, and after breakfast the next day, we each had a chance to play on a winning team.

Saturday was the day we flew home, but not until we had made one more stop for lunch with Bernard and Claudine Dussert in Bethesda, French friends we've known since Claudine and I were in graduate school together back in the mid-80s. Their schedule was such that they weren't available until after Friday, so lunch before going to the airport was the only time we had left. It was the perfect send-off. (We highly recommend a generous and delicious French meal prior to any overnight flight, especially if you're flying economy class.)

Our flight was delayed because of heavy weather in the northeast corridor. Apparently there was air traffic stacked up over Albany, NY, going into Newark which was where we connected for our overseas flight. Even with the delay, we managed to make our connection and had the usual boring, tiring, but otherwise uneventful flight back to Edinburgh.

While we were in the States, we had received a series of e-mail updates from our contractor on the good progress being made here at The Rowans. We couldn't wait to see how it looked so we went there after unloading our bags and having a quick cuppa with Helen and Gordon who were about to leave for their week in Italy. Wow! The utility room had its cupboards and worktops installed as well as the old kitchen sink and tap. The washer was in place but not yet connected and the pantry was framed in. In the kitchen, the 3-foot extension was knocked through, the replacement window was in, and the new worktop, sink, tap, and cooktop had been installed on the window side. On the opposite wall, however, there was old worktop as the order had been one length short. Thereby hangs a tale. [Short version: someone messed up on measurements—either the architect, the salesman at MFI where we got the cupboards and worktops from, or our contractor who went over the order before it was placed and okayed it, or some combination of the three. Worse, when Don phoned last week to order more, he was told that particular one had been discontinued! However, MFI have been able to source it elsewhere and so we will be able to get it. Eventually.]

In the sitting room, the knock-through had occurred; the new fireplace, surround, and mantel were in and look gorgeous; all windows and doors were in. The new space looks terrific—bright and airy and really spacious. The studio extension had been knocked through and the new windows were in. The new entryway and shower room were framed up and knocked through but nothing else had been done.

So we moved to Helen and Gordon's very happy with what we had seen. Now we have had a week in their house, Millersfield B&B, which was comfortable and really lovely to be in. We chosen some paper and paint and took care of other errands, but have more to do. Work continued here at The Rowans, other problems have cropped up (all detailed in blogs over the past week), and much remains to be done. We moved back over on Saturday afternoon and have settled in as much as we can without getting in the way of future work. There needs to be a major push to get finished and we'll be sharing space with workmen for some time to come, it seems. We are glad to be home. The weather is great, the flowers, trees, and bushes are flowering, and we are optimistic.

Love,
Lynn and Don