Highland Line Number 35

Highland Line
2 August 2006

We're sorry the Highland Line is late. Yesterday, instead of writing this missive, we were on a 6-mile "ramble," a fairly easy walk from the carpark near Comrie's elementary school to the Aberuchill Estate, the one I wrote you about on February 23rd which belongs to Russian tycoon Vladimir Lisin (for the tidy sum of 7 million pounds). He kindly gave the Ramblers Association permission to visit the estate's walled garden and so 40 of us (Ramblers' members, holidaymakers, and hangers-on like ourselves) took advantage of the opportunity.

The weather report wasn't encouraging. In fact, it had rained earlier, but the skies cleared, the sun came out, and we had a lovely day for the ramble. We walked through the western edge of Comrie, taking a shortcut through the parish church grounds, over the Ross Bridge, through the settlement called The Ross, and onto the Aberuchill grounds. From the track we were following, we had spectacular views of the white mansion house in its summer green setting. We also were able to see several instances of the work going on to restore old outbuildings.

After a fairly good climb, we came to the walled garden which was bursting with blooms. You'll have to take my word for this until I can manage to get the photos out of the camera and onto the computer. Due to technical difficulties and our busy schedule, that is likely to be a wee while yet.
Following the relaxed stroll through the terraced garden, we continued up the track until it ran out and then we walked through the grass up a hill where sheep were grazing nearby (ewes with their now-adolescent lambs). There we stopped to eat our packed lunches before taking an alternate track back down to the estate gate and back to the village the way we had come. One pleasant aspect of our almost 4-hour trek was being able to chat with various folks along the way. You'd be chatting away with someone for a while and then one of you would stop to take a photo and then you'd chat with someone else for a while. We were plenty tired when we got home, so much so that I took 2 Ibuprofen and had a nap! Don, bless him, went out and worked on covering up the trench in the front garden. Unfortunately, this will be slow and very hard work and won't be finished immediately.

The good news is that the pathway lights are now installed and look really nice. They and the front door light come on for a set period of time when something triggers the motion detector (usually one of the neighborhood cats!). The new lights cast a lovely golden glow, a soft buttery light that is adequate to see by but doesn't glare. With the painting of the garage earlier in July, the exterior work is now all finished.

The only thinsg remaining to be done inside the house now are the fitting of that long-awaited studio cupboard (set for mid-August) and the installation of thicker insulation in the loft (attic). We have made great progress around the house, unpacking all the old boxes and putting things into the new storage spaces. We still need drapes for the sitting/dining area. We've selected the fabric but haven't yet had the measurements taken so we can place our order. That was scheduled for yesterday but then the walk came up, so we are now rescheduled for measurements next Wednesday. Nonetheless, we've done quite a bit of entertaining and have really enjoyed using our new space—both inside and out.

We hope you've had time to check our blog now and then. One major highlight from July was our trip to Glasgow on the 24th with Peter and Robbie Innes to see Billy Joel in concert. It was one of the hottest days we've had but we didn't let that stop us. The concert was marvelous and Billy is as dynamic as ever. It was good to hear the old songs again.

Tonight we're going to Edinburgh with Helen and Gordon Rae to see a performance by Manhattan Transfer as part of the Edinburgh International Jazz Festival. Actually, we're leaving at 4 this afternoon and will drive to Helen's brother Jimmy's house. We'll go in his car to a restaurant for dinner and then to the concert venue. We haven't seen Manhattan Transfer since sometime in the late 80s or early 90s when they appeared at Wolf Trap in Virginia. Should be a great evening.

Despite the record-breaking heat and dry weather, we have gotten a lot of planting done in our garden. Because I've done a lot of watering, the new plantings are coming along very well. With Don's help I've gotten a fair amount of pruning done, although there is much, much more to be done.
Don also has spent a lot of time outdoors--on the golf course. Today he had his best score ever for 9 holes with a gross 44. (That would be a 32 factoring in his handicap.) He's begun his committee work for the Strathearn Music Society, attending a few meetings and preparing the initial publicity about the upcoming season and trying to recruit new members. He's on a sort of "holiday" from teaching active online courses but he's helping to prepare a new course that will be offered for the first time in Feburary for one client, and will begin teaching again later this month.

I have been finishing quilts and making new ones. The new ones are small floral pieces in preparation for teaching another quilting workshop in October. I decided that in addition to teaching how to do a rather large floral arrangement of assorted flowers, some people might prefer to make a smaller wall quilt with a simpler arrangement, so I created some samples to show them. My friend Trish Hamilton kindly came over one afternoon and let me use her as a "model student" to work on my method for teaching the workshop.

This is the last week of Comrie Fortnight events. Last Sunday Bill and Val Campbell came for the day from Arbroath. Don and Billl played golf at 10 while Val and I spent all of £5 at the Comrie Fortnight Car Boot Sale. After the golfers returned, we enjoyed cool drinks and nibbles on the patio before going inside for lunch. Following lunch, we all went to the House of Ross for their annual Comrie Fortnight Lawn Party, replete with strawberries and cream, the Dundee Brass Band, the Comrie Pipes and Drums, and miniature train rides for kiddies of all ages. This Friday night there will be a Fiddle Fest in the White Church Community Centre which we plan to attend. Then on Saturday, the final day of the Fortnight, we'll all line the streets for everybody's favorite event, the Float Parade. You can bet I'll be snapping photos like mad. We hope to get our technical difficulties solved soon so we can get back to sharing photos of these and other events.

Our weather has turned cooler and rainier, but we understand from those of you we've heard from recently that you have been experiencing really uncomfortable and prolonged periods of excessive heat and humidity. We hope the weather hasn't thrown a spanner into your holiday plans and that you are managing to enjoy the summer even if it involves spending a lot of time in air-conditioned environments.

Thanks once again to those who have kept in touch. We do so enjoy keeping up with what you've been doing, where you've been going, and how your home remodeling projects are coming along. Enjoy the rest of the summer. May you get a break in your weather soon.

Love,

Lynn and Don