Day Twenty Peanut Butter Day and More

The day started out as usual with work and our typical lunch of salad and jackets with our new friends at the college, but then we headed out for four very important destinations: the Sheldonian Theatre, the Bodleian Library, the Covered Market and a concert.
First stop, the Sheldonian Theatre. Not quite like going to Tinseltown, this amazing horseshoe-shaped theatre was commissioned by Gilbert Sheldon in 1663 and completed in 1669—just three hundred years before 2 Papa graduated from high school. A young, thirty-one year old architect, Christopher Wren, was hired to take on the challenge. Prior to the Sheldonian being built, all University events (awarding degrees, etc.) were held in the churches. But, by Elizabethan times, the proceedings had gotten so out of control (We’ve all seen some of those, haven’t we? Now we know who to blame --those crazy Elizabethans). They even included personal, lewd comments about the candidate’s now no-so-private lives. Sheldon decided a separate building was needed to get the events away from the churches. He went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury and never set foot in the building. It is still used for all University events from degree ceremonies to concerts and debates.
Second stop, the Bodleian Library. Completed in 1619, the world famous Bodleian library has over 10 million books. It has always been a read-only library. Everyone who has a library card (us now) is called a reader. Apparently, even King Charles I was refused permission to borrow a book in 1645. It’s massive and students line the desks in what appears to be extremely intense study. I felt very out of place, like I had accidently stepped into the gifted and talented class, until I passed one young woman with books open and deep thoughts furrowing her brow. She was intently working on her computer, pulling together all the knowledge she had taken in today….wait, no, she’s just facebooking. For real! Oh well, she obviously knew where to get the really important information in life. Photo above: 2 Papa outside of the library.
Next stop, the Covered Market: Instructions to find peanut butter. Go to the covered market, pass the bakery with the wedding cake in the window, pass the stinky butcher who cuts meats up in the window, pass the clothing store with a coat you’ll want to buy, look for a store named Palm, like the palm of your hand, look closely in the back of the store and there you’ll find one jar of Jiff Peanut Butter. Victory! I got it. I felt like I had just smuggled drugs--especially after I paid for it. For the small jar of peanut and a box of graham crackers (I couldn’t pass them up) I paid $21.50. I felt so guilty, I insisted we walk back (no bus fare) and eat at home (cheap food) tonight. 2 Papa thought I was being so sweet to think of saving us money that way until he saw me making my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. YUM! It was such a sacrifice. :)
Last stop, the Electric Light Orchestra. Now we are truly back in college and rocking it out at a concert. We partied like it was 1975, up in our seats, screaming and dancing. Well, at least, we did in our minds. Actually, our bodies just sat there and we bobbed our heads with the music until the last two songs. Then every able bodied baby-boomer was on their feet swinging and a swaying with the beat. It was fun! They are an incredibly talented group of musicians who span three decades with lots of music we know. They even did some Bob Dylan, Steve Miller, and Beatles stuff. Fantastic!
We had a close call yesterday I forgot to tell you about. We’ve been here for 20 days, but we can’t seem to get it down that the traffic comes from a different direction. Oxford even tries to help us Americans out by painting in the street on the intersection “Look Left” or they say “Look Both Ways.” I'm surprised they don't add "dummy" after the warning. Even with that, our habitual instincts take over and look the way our brains say to look. Yesterday, 2 Papa stepped out after looking only one direction, the direction he would have at home to go halfway across the street, and almost got run over. Fortunately, the car stopped in time and all is well. It’s really a great lesson in life to train ourselves to look both ways so we can always do the right thing.
“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.” Proverbs 4:23
Have a great evening. Peace and love, as us baby boomers would have said.
Hugs, 2 Mama

Day Nineteen Recovery Day

I hope everyone had a blessed Sunday. We had planned to go back to the church we attended two Sundays ago, but it was not to be. It seems that 2 Papa didn’t want to tell me he wasn’t feeling well as we headed out for our date with Kelly, but by the time we got in the taxi coming home, he confessed. After we got back to the flat, I sat down and started writing my blog and bragging about our fun night as 2 Papa went on to bed. Naturally, I just thought he was tired, since we truly never get to bed until about two in the morning. But this morning, at two, after I had been asleep for about thirty minutes, 2 Papa was calling for a trashcan. Let me just say, dodging the cow patties was easy compared to the rest of the night. I won’t go into any more detail, but remember, this is a very small apartment. Anything that’s unpleasant tends to linger and must be removed no matter what time of the day or night it is. I was in and out several times with a delivery to the can outside. 2 Papa has never mastered the “over the toilet” technique, preferring a trash can that has to be cleaned. But, I am not complaining. Just happy to be of service.
Back to sleep sometime after four and all was quiet. Thank you, God. I got up quietly about nine and played solitaire on my phone. Truly, this flat is pretty low maintenance, but I do have other things I do. I was just trying to let 2 Papa sleep as long as possible so I didn’t want to turn the lights on or the computer or the TV. The latter two come on with a loud musical sound and, of course, the lights come on… well, bright. So I completely wasted two hours, but I did win three times, which, by the way, is extremely hard to do. Thank you very much.
So, 2 Papa finally got up and pronounced himself fully recovered. By then it was 11:00, so he said he would take a shower and we would go look for PEANUT BUTTER. Yea!! While he was in the shower, I was so pumped I moved all the furniture around in the bedroom. No, I haven’t been lifting weights since I got here, the furniture is so light and the floor is tile, I can move the furniture around like it’s in a doll house. I love the new look. When 2 Papa got out of the shower, I got in. But, when I got out, 2 Papa was sound asleep again. This time I just worked on my editing job with a pen and paper thus accomplishing something.
To wind this up, 2 Papa woke up again, said he was well, and off we went. We didn’t get to town until 3:00 and everything closes at 5:00 so we still didn’t get peanut butter. Tomorrow for sure. But I did get a vanilla candle, just in case we have another rough night, one more hanger for the door, a fingernail file, and a hairbrush. Pretty nice haul.
Never one to let a little stomach issue keep him from eating, 2 Papa was ready for Pizza Hut, one of our favorite places here. They have the best salad bar and several veggi-pasta dishes. Needless to say, I was starving. I had stayed so quiet all day that I hadn’t eaten anything but a piece of toast while 2 pop was in the shower. 2 Papa is feeling great now and hopefully we’re passed whatever that was.
The feature photos today are of us in front of the Thames River and one of the beautiful thatch-roofed houses. The architecture here is so amazing. Anything from 1100 to today can be seen in one town. It’s quite remarkable and so hard to wrap your head around the talent of the people living in times when tools and machines were not even available. Incredible.
I wore my new boots today and have come to appreciate them so much more for the comfort they bring me, rather than their beauty. All shoes are now picked on “walkability” rather than beauty. Apparently, I haven’t walked a mile in my own shoes. They seem to work perfectly well from my bedroom to the car and then from the car to church or my office or even a short trip through WalMart. But a mile, that, my sisters, is another story. When you can walk a mile in your shoes and still be comfortable, you want to kiss them when you take them off at night. I haven’t, but I want to. When your feet don't hurt, you can accomplish so much more.
“And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’" Romans 10:15
Talk later. Love you all.
Hugs, 2 Mama

Day Eighteen Cleaning and New Friend Day

Okay, mark your calendars. Today was cleaning day. Yes, that’s right; we’ve been here for eighteen days and today is the first time I’ve cleaned. It’s pretty amazing how clean a place can stay with just two people in it. Even so, eventually, cleaning is required. Our flat was beginning to look like our (Joneal's and mine) dorm room did two weeks after our proud mom and dad left us to our own limited cleaning resources and desires. Johnny had decided the ironing board would be his closet and everything he’s worn for eighteen days was piled on top. Shoes were thrown under the board. That had to go. There’s no carpet in our flat, but we have a small Hoover, no broom. So I vacuumed the tile floor and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom. Honestly, it only took two paper towels each to get them sparkling clean. Then, I was done. Twenty-five minutes---tops! Why did our dorm room stay so messy??? This is so much easier than a five bedroom house!!
After cleaning, we spent our self-disciplined three hours working on our books before our date I told you about yesterday. We left our flat at 4:00 and walked about a mile, then caught a taxi to Dr. Kelly Clark’s house. Kelly (see photo above) is here on sabbatical from Calvin College in Grand Rapides Michigan. He is a Doctor of Philosophy and the author of several books. In spite of all the academic titles and appointments (he has several), he is a normal, great guy with a wife and three kids. He is staying in a totally different part of town, so we had fun seeing the sights he has discovered in his part of town.
Warning: History from here on out! We walked down the road behind Kelly’s house to a pasture complete with cows and cow patties, large cow patties. We serpentined our way through the pasture and made it to the “tow path.” The tow path is a walking path along the famous Thames River (also called the Isis River). This section of the river is about half the width of the Ouachita River through Monroe. In London, the same river is much wider than the Ouachita, but through Oxford you could throw a rock across it (well, someone could, probably not me). The name, tow path, comes from the time when boats were actually pulled down the river by people or horses walking along the path. Now it’s a place people go for leisure and sports activities. Three times a year the colleges hold their famous boat races there. We got to see several teams practicing as well as talk to some team members about the training process. It’s a beautiful sight to witness. The boats glide so effortlessly down the river powered by a well-trained team of rowers. They work very hard to make it seem so easy. I was dying to get in one. We’re going to check on renting some kind of boat later. Once a year, Oxford and Cambridge compete for the big title in London. Further down the river we came upon a different type of boat (see above). I’m not sure what they are called, but they look a little like a train car and are actually used either as full time houses or rentals allowing people to tour the river for a weekend or longer. Of course, I peeked inside the window as they passed and it’s similar to a travel trailer—beds, kitchens, etc. The river is so narrow in some places only two of these boats can pass at a time. On down the river, we came to a little village with the most beautiful thatch roof homes and a church built in 1170. The picture above shows us standing in front of the side door. The vicar of the church happened to be in the church yard so we had an unexpected guided tour. We ended our evening at a pub Kelly likes because it’s more out of the way than most. Their food is homemade daily and the atmosphere was quiet and relaxing, candles on the tables and a rustic, ski-vacation kind of feel. All in all, we probably walked about four miles today, so great exercise, great company, and good homemade food. Who could ask for more?
I hope your Saturday has allowed you to explore something new, whether it’s through a book, a movie, a person or right out your back door. How blessed we are to have so much beauty around us wherever we are.
“I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men!” Ecclesiastes 1:13
Much love to you all. Have a good evening and a blessed Sunday.
Hugs,
2 Mama

Day Seventeen O Happy Day!

Good news today! We met the flat owner, Kelvin, this morning. We were diligently at work at our computers when the doorbell rang. Neither one of us had gotten dressed, so I’m afraid to say Kelvin didn’t get a very good impression of the Americans in flat 44. Remember 2 Papa’s new English hairdo? Well, today it was worse. (To clarify, we were dressed, just not dressed to see people.) Still, it was great to meet Kelvin face to face and go through the little issues we still have with the flat. He was super nice and took the broken mini-blinds to the mini-blind repair shop and brought them back at five tonight. 2 Papa is so happy!
Other good news! We have a date for Saturday night! How fun is that?? A man named Kelly is here from Michigan for a year working at the Center for Anthropology or something like that. Anyway, he’s connected with Regent’s Park and he eats there for lunch each day. We had a great visit at lunch and he asked us to come to his house tomorrow night, go out to dinner, and then go visit some sights we haven’t seen yet. WE HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE! Hip, Hip, Hooray!! 2 Mama is so happy!
More good news! The sun shone all day long! I’m so sorry to hear of sand bagging, flood stages, and cancelled ballgames at home. You guys have had well over your share of rain and we’re praying, as the song says, that the sun will come out tomorrow. In fact, we might bet our bottom dollar on it. On second thought, I better save that for the pay toilet. We’ve been shocked at our good fortune here on the rainy weather front. But today was an exception by all English standards. It was still cool, around 54 degrees, but so sunny that people were out in tank tops and shorts like the beach was just down the street. We’re both so happy!
It was fun to come back to college after being gone this week and have people greet us and ask about our trip. It was like they knew us and cared about us. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like we were filming an episode of Cheers and I still don’t see a hug in our future, but it’s a start. Maybe I’ll have them all over for Bunko before the term is up. Speaking of hugs—before formal dinner, we go to chapel. Each week they feature a different style. Tonight was contemporary and very good--great music, message, etc. It felt very American. As I walked out, I started to hug the lady in charge until I saw the look of complete panic come over her so I just touched her arm instead and told her it was very nice. Whew! Close call. Emma is so happy!
One more good news report! At formal dinner we met some more Americans, a retired couple from Georgia. He is here as the chaperone with students from Georgia State. She’s here to see him. Anyway, I told her I was desperate for American peanut butter. She said I wouldn’t find it in any grocery store, but she found a source in the covered market. It was like being handed the map to a buried treasure! Tomorrow—to the market we will go! 2 Mama is really happy!
On the walk to college today we came across this fun guy with his horses in the featured photo today. One good thing about walking is you see so much. We really do miss a lot when riding in a car, but I don’t see us walking to WalMart and Brookshires for peanut butter. Not there we might come upon a horse and buggy anyway, but maybe an armadillo. We’ll just have to start noticing more while in our car. Maybe even put our phones down.
We’ve been impressed with how safe we feel over here. (In spite of wanting the mini-blinds fixed.) But, we may have taken our comfort level too far when we discovered 2 Papa had left the key in the front door all night. Kelvin kindly handed it to me when I opened it for him this morning.
“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8
Hope you have a great weekend and get to dry out a bit.
Love to all. Hugs,
2 Mama

Day Sixteen Ordinary Day

I’ve never been the sleep-in-late kind of girl. My kids, and now grandkids, always ask me if I used to sleep late on Saturday in high school or college and the answer is, not really. It’s not anything noble, like I’m incredibly self-disciplined and wake up and run five miles, then guzzle down a protein drink; it’s just me. If the sun peeks through, my eyes pop open like a doll with open and close mechanical eyes. Plus, for me, sleeping late is like watching a movie twice. Except for The Way We Were and Tombstone, it’s seems to be a waste of valuable time. But, over here, life is different. While we stay up fairly late at home and are used to late hours, over here it’s ridiculous. With the six hour time difference, I watch the clock until 10:00pm when I know my grandkids are home from school and soon the SKPE-video phone begins to ring. Then I get to watch Ally do a backbend and Will make a funny face and Macy tell us about the boy down the street who cusses and Aslyn show us what a seven-year-old’s mouth looks like with no teeth, and more other fun stuff from the rest of the kids. Then the parents catch us up with other news. It’s a fantastic and never-dreamed-possible time of communication with those we love thousands of miles away. Usually, at midnight we sign off. Only, by then we’re a bit wired and continue to read or work until two or three in the morning. So, Sadie, listen up. Your 2 mama slept until eight-thirty this morning!
By nine, I was engrossed in the book I’m editing. Just twenty pages left and, put a fork in it, that job will be done! (Only six more projects to check off my list before returning home.) By ten, 2 Papa took off for the grocery store and a walk. Knowing we would have to catch up on our work, we had told the good folks at the college we wouldn’t be back on the grounds until Friday. So we had the day to ourselves. I stopped working at noon and we started the job of booking hotels, musicals, and bus tours for our upcoming visit from my mom and John Luke and later a trip from Ryan and Pam. I am so excited!!
It literally took us all afternoon to complete this job. We had both computers going like we worked at Monroe Travel Agency and we went back and forth comparing prices and dates and times. IT WAS A NIGHTMARE! I think I actually told 2 Papa, at one particularly frustrating point, that he wasn’t the boss of me. Of course, he laughed and didn’t see the seriousness of my situation. But, really, everyone; put yourself in a small room with Johnny, the master thinking of all things possible, and try to work out three days in London and five days in Oxford that would entertain and educate everyone mentioned above. I knew you would sympathize with me.
One more thing on the flat-living front. For two weeks now we have asked the owner to fix our mini-blinds that do not close all the way. Two of them leave about one foot of window showing. This is driving 2 Papa crazy. The owner promised to would have the job done when we got home from Scotland, but we walked in last night and saw straight out to the yard behind us. Forgetting that for a minute, I decided to open the rollaway bed to be sure we would all fit in our flat when mom and John Luke visit. All was going nicely and I felt great about my little plan for all of us to stay in our flat, so we don’t lose a minute of visiting time. But when I sat down on the bed, it folded up on me like I was a taco. 2 Papa helped me up and we discovered it wasn’t locked, so once we locked it, we declared it safe for anyone to sleep on it. In fact, 2 Papa decided it was strong enough for him to stand on it while he took the matter of the mini-blinds in his own hands. I gave my dutiful warning and walked away from sure disaster. Almost immediately, I heard an awful crash. 2 Papa was still standing, but he had broken straight through three wooden slats that made the base of the bed. More repair work was needed. :)
I think we need to get back to the college! And fast! Fun photo of the day—me and Nessie.
Today was an ordinary day—no sightseeing or spa or dinners out. Here’s what God says to do with our ordinary days, which really are the best, aren’t they?
“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” Romans 12:1
Love you all. Hugs,
2 Mama

Day Fifteen Edinburgh to Oxford Day

Beware: this is a long blog. Sorry. I wrote yesterday’s blog earlier than I usually do to fill you in on our tour of the Northern Highlands. After hitting send on the blog button, I headed to the spa for a facial fit for the Queen of England. Relaxation time finished sooner than I wanted and we were off to explore more of the city and find the perfect kilt. Four or five miles later, we had wandered through three more museums and I purchased two little adorable kilts for Bella and Aslyn. I know…I’m fooling myself thinking that, at seven, they are more pliable than the older granddaughters and will appease me by wearing it. We’ll see. Certainly, I can beg for at least a picture.
You see, I have a history with kilts fueling my desire to see my youngest granddaughters wear one. My incredible mom, who can make anything, made me a kilt when I was in the fourth grade. It was orange-ish colored with a yellow thread running through it. She paired it (to use new fashion speak) with a yellow blouse. I loved the way it fit my skinny waist and I felt certain the pleats across the back gave me somewhat of a shape. The extra-large safety pin, true to the modern Scottish kilt, made the perfect fashion-forward statement. Then—the news came. We were moving to Louisiana. For a shy, nervous, stick-thin child this news was similar to hearing a tornado had just landed on our house and I had to be the one to notify the police. Move we did, in February, in the middle of the school year, to Alexandria, Louisiana. Wanting to make the perfect first impression, I chose the orange kilt and yellow blouse for my first day of school. Anxious, scared, self-conscience, and terrified are mild words to describe me on the first day of my new school, but, thanks to mom, my outfit was nifty (remember that word?).
Now being seasoned train-travelers, we did a little better judging our time to the station this morning. However, trashcans and bathrooms, easily found in America, are hidden in England so a new dilemma awaited me. I innocently told 2 Papa I was going to the bathroom. The train station is like a little village under a covering similar to the interior of an exhibit at Epcot. It is fully equipped with restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, bookstores, as well as taxis and buses running through it. (See photo above)Finding the bathroom wasn’t an easy task. Once I did find it, I discovered it would cost me thirty pence to get in. I knew we had no coins, but I thought I saw a machine that would give me tokens from bills so I went back to get a five pound bill from 2 Papa. But, that wasn’t a token machine after all, so I had to walk back and decide if I needed to go bad enough to buy something and get the change. Yes, I did. Now, I was on a mission akin to finding the Holy Grail. I went to the bookstore, bought an English fitness magazine thinking that would be interesting anyway and headed to the bathroom with my change. Thirty pence later I was in. It was quite impressive, even having a curling iron you could put money in and use. Curling iron or not, by then the thirty pence was money well spent.
There was no attendant to be sure you’re on the right train. Our particular train never showed up on the screen so we almost missed it. When the train pulls up, it’s like a school bus with a impatient bus driver-- you have to be ready to jump on. There’s no waiting for the slow, elderly, or absentminded. It simply stops; the doors open, and in you go. Truly, the trams at DFW allow more time. But, we made it. We put our luggage in its place and took our seats, much more comfortable with the whole thing. Someone checks tickets five or ten minutes down the road, like there’s anything that could be done about it at that point! In each car, half of the riders ride backwards, which means at some point, someone must face someone they don’t know for a long time. AWKWARD! Across from us was a very prim, middle-aged woman, looking like Jane Hathaway from the Beverly Hillbilly’s TV show. She wore a chin-length bob with straight bangs and not a trace of makeup (more on this in a future blog). She looked down at her book the whole way, which made her have more chins than she should have. I wonder what she said later about the middle-aged woman in a pony-tail and a Gap sweatshirt that sat across from her.
In this country that appears to be somewhat disheveled and unorganized (by other’s definitions, not just mine), the train is right on time, every time. Our train arrived back in Oxford at 4:14, exactly on time. The train is like our constant, perfectly timed God. When life seems to go passed us in a blur, when we’re unsure of ourselves, when illness and tragedy change our plans, God arrives right on time, wrapping His protective arms around us. With perfect timing, He carries us safety to our next station in life.
“When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse everything I know of you, from Jordan depths to Hermon heights, including Mount Mizar. Chaos calls to chaos, to the tune of whitewater rapids. Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers crash and crush me. Then God promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night! My life is God's prayer.” Psalm 42:6
One more thing. Scotland is 2 Papa’s 47th country to visit. He used to find every phone booth in a visiting town to continue his business while traveling. He found these in Edinburgh and used them to prop up against while he used his cell phone.

Hope you all are having a great day. You are greatly loved.
Hugs, 2 Mama

Day Fourteen Relax and Tour Day

Good morning, everyone. Sorry about the blog-blink you experienced yesterday. Our tour was a little over twelve hours, beginning at 8:00 yesterday morning and arriving back in Edinburgh at 8:15 last night. We had a 9:00pm reservation at Restaurant (Restroom)Number One, so the day was very long.
The tour was great, though, and the twelve hours were broken up with photo opportunities and restroom (and restaurant) stops and then the grand finale, The Urqhuart Castle. Obviously our bus driver had attended and graduated from the "Mike Watkins School of Driving a Bus around Mountain Curves." In fact, if you look closely in the picture, you will see (for those who know him) that he looks like Mike with a kilt and long hair. We started the trip listening to the bus rules and then held on tight as we wound our way up through the highlands—exactly like a trip with Mike.
The scenery was magnificent and our guide did a great job telling us about Scottish history. He pointed out what we knew about the kilt-wearing Mel Gibson and added that the movie is about 75% accurate, which he felt was quite good. However, the movie with Liam Neeson, Rob Rory, was 100% inaccurate. Oh well, it was still a good movie.
We also passed by the castle Madonna and Guy Ritchie have now left behind. It’s for sale for a measly $17,000,000. We passed it, as it sits, across a beautiful lake and even at a good distance from it, it still looked incredibly huge. I got a picture, through the bus window, going about 80 miles an hour. I don’t think People magazine will pay me much for it.
In any case, from what I’ve seen over here, you might have to hate your family to ask them to live in a castle. They seem to be destined to despair. The Urqhuart Castle was no different. You can see from the photo that it sits majestically and peacefully over the Loch Ness (Loch means Lake) where the famous Loch Ness monster lives. But, like the many other castles we’ve seen, this one saw its share of bloodshed as control of land seems to be quite a worthy cause to fight for. “Castle remains” would best describe Urqhuart Castle today, but the tourist organization did a fantastic job of reenacting the time period when it was in its glory in an eight minute video, so by the time we walked down to the castle, we could visualize grand dinners as well as everyday life being lived. The picture you’re seeing is looking down at the castle from the visitor center. At one time around 100 people lived in the castle-fortress, as it took many to care for the Lord and Lady and each other. Bakers, cooks, seamstresses, stewards, horse handlers, doctors, and many more servants were required to keep up day to day castle life. As I stood at one end of it, it reminded me of life at camp—a self-contained village where people lived and, most certainly, loved each other. The inhabitants of this magnificant castle saw several hundreds of years where life was uneventful, when it must have been glorious to live in Urqhuart Castle, but then war would break out and destroy all that the previous generations had worked for. The last battle was in 1689 when the supporters of William and Mary fought off the Jacobite force. They won the battle, but decided to destroy the castle themselves and leave it to its destined future—a tourist attraction. I’m sure they didn’t think of that on their way out the door.
Today, it is a popular tourist attraction for another reason. It is the home of Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. The 700 feet deep water that surrounds the castle makes it perfect for Nessie to roam freely, but we did not spot her yesterday. We did see a very long-haired wool-y cow named Hammie as you can see from the other photo.
Well, better go. Another full day ahead, but a bit more relaxed as we'll walk and look for more castles to explore. I’ll get back on the blogging schedule tomorrow.
One last point. 2 papa and I both noticed that when man builds and destroys their own property, it will sit for hundreds of years, but when man destroys what God has built, it will rebuilt itself with great beauty. What man destroys, God can redeem.
“He forgives your sins—everyone. He heals your diseases—everyone. He redeems you from hell—saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown. He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal. He renews your youth—you're always young in his presence.” Psalm 103:3

Love you all.

Hugs, 2 mama