Living in Thurso

We have been here in Thurso now for nearly 9 weeks. I still cannot believe that we are actually doing this! 

One of my early posts kind of ranted about having so many new  things  to learn here - about having to think about Every. Little. Thing. Things I have taken for granted for 30+ years.  So I thought I would like to post an update. 

It’s good. 

I have adjusted to and/or have learned the basic things and no longer feel overwhelmed having to think about Every. Little. Thing. I do small loads of laundry about twice a week. It still takes all day.  

this container holds the water that comes out of the clothes!

I learned that I have to dump about a gallon's worth of water out of the dryer after a couple of loads. (still too weird!) 

I learned that the numbers on the washing machine are in Celcius, which matters. Apparently. So, when I thought I was washing clothes in a cool degrees, turned out it was actually hot water. Thankfully nothing was shrunk. But it really does take an hour to an hour and a half to wash a (small) load of clothes.

I also learned this week that you cannot dry the jeans in the dryer. Not the ones you buy here. They shrink. Turns out, the label even says to hang dry them. There’s 20 pounds down the drain. 

I have learned to use the light switches. They work backwards from home. You push down to turn on. I usually remember now to turn on the light for the bathroom before I go in. Because there are no light switches inside the bathrooms. For that matter, there are no outlets in the bathroom either. Which begs the question….how do women do their hair? 

The answer for me has been to plug in an extension cord with multiple outlets behind my dresser. I have a small basket on top of the dresser which holds my blow dryer, straightener, and hair accessories. I stand  in front of the closet doors, which have mirrors on them, to do my hair. And that is the new normal.

I have learned where things are in the grocery store. Partly because I am there nearly every day, but mostly because I cannot seem to take the time to make a week’s menu so that I can shop just once or twice a week. I have found detergents and dryer sheets that I like. After two tries, I found a toilet paper that is acceptable. I have learned to use Amazon.com.uk to order things I cannot find locally and feel that I must have. Like dental floss. What they have here is just not going to cut it and I found what I like on Amazon UK last week. Granted, I have to buy 6 of them… but I will probably be set for the rest of our time here. Those things I cannot find, I have learned to either do without (like Italian sausage) or replace with something local. I did find a bouillon that is actually quite good for soup.

Apart from the day to day runnings of the household, I am busy. Busy enough to be a little ridiculous, and sometimes actually stressful, if you can believe that. 

Quilting at the Community Center in Murkle

I made quilting connections immediately after getting here. Within two weeks, I was quilting with the local quilters. They meet regularly in a small town nearby. They gather on a Wed and Thurs once a month with their machines and their projects – much like we have done on a quarterly basis at West Side.  I have 10 new quilting friends now. 

handwork at West Church in Thurso

Also once a month on a Wed, they meet at a church here in town to do handwork. It’s a great opportunity to work on those small projects that always seem to be put on the back burner. 

I have been to the “Quilt Exhibition” in Wick, taken a two day class by a well-known Scottish instructor (and been stretched out of my comfort zone by both the project and the technique). 







One of my new quilting friends has a long arm machine that she bought from the US  but never received training on (that's a fun story), so I get to share some of my knowledge and experience with her. I am meeting with her on Wed, in fact, to teach her how to use a pantograph. 

Mine is the one on the right -not finished yet

I bought a new-to-me Brother sewing machine. I named her Shirley, after her previous owner. I like to call her “Brother Shirley.”  😊  

We have been staying busy. 

I brought suitcase of scrap fabric strips with me and have taken over the 2 bedrooms upstairs with my scrap projects.

When we are in town, we attend the small Baptist church nearby. The people are warm and friendly and the teaching is Biblical and relevant. And I have made the effort to meet with the ladies most Thursday mornings at the Pentland Hotel, where they gather to visit over coffee.

I have the Walking Lassies to walk with almost daily and to exchange thoughts and opinions and information. And one of them is always doing something. I’ve gone beach walking for shells, gone to the movies in the afternoon, play Mahjong most Tuesdays, taken an afternoon trip to Wick, visited the charity shops, etc.

And I am learning how to travel. Who knew there was so much to know? There is a whole system of things to learn here - airlines, trains, AirBnBs, websites, Rick Steves’ travel books and on and on. It has taken a significant amount of time. And mental energy.  But it will pay off!

Almost every morning when we walk, there is at least one conversation about a trip that someone has taken or is preparing for. 

And I have a ton of questions. And I get a ton of information. And when I get home, my brain is full. It has taken some time, but I am starting to absorb it. And use it. I have worked out 4 trips (as well as the day trips and others we have taken). I’ll tell you about 2 of them now.

In the UK, workers get “bank holidays.” I guess these are days the banks are closed. They are often a Monday and Tuesday, so they become ‘free’ vacation days for Mike. Well, the Walking Lassies were talking about that last month and I started thinking about what we might do. Because we HAVE to take advantage of free holidays. 

My first plan was for us to take the overnight train from Inverness to London (just for the experience), stay in London for 3 days and then take the train to Edinburgh. We already had tickets for the Military Tattoo on the 12^th. And then we would fly to Wick and take a taxi from there to home. I worked out all the schedules – trains, flights, B&Bs close to the train station, etc. that was no small task!  And after doing all that work, I started to rethink it. We will make it to London. I am sure of it. Probably more than once while we are here. Maybe we should do something different?  So, I thought, maybe we should drive The Northcoast 500. It’s a promotion for traveling the 500 miles of Northern Scotland- driving up the east coast, across the top, and down the west coast, with a loop at the bottom. 

And  so I mentioned it to the Walking Lassies. Their response? They poo poohed it. They basically said, “think bigger.” “Go away.” “Go somewhere else.”  So, I came home and thought, where could we go? 

I know, I know, there is ALL of Europe to choose from!  But how does one even start to narrow that down?  

 Italy. Italy is my dream. We are meeting our friends in Italy next spring. But I realized there is no way we can do ALL of Italy then. So…..when Mike came home from work that day, I asked him, “How would you like to go to Venice?”  And that is how we are going to spend the August Bank Holidays.

After work this Friday, we will drive to Inverness and stay the night. We will fly out at 6 am and arrive in Venice by 1:15 pm (woohoo!). We have an AirBnB reserved there and will be staying in “The Princess Room.” 

I do not yet know what we will do in Venice besides take a romantic ride on a gondola, but we just learned that our next door neighbor has spent a week there every other year for many years. He has offered to come over this week and tell us where to go and the places to eat. We get to stay there 4 nights and 5 days. Then we fly back to Inverness. 

When we wake, we will drive to Edinburgh, via Aberdeen so that Mike can stop at St. Andrews (the birthplace of golf) and buy a souvenir. In Edinburgh, we will see the Military Tattoo and experience the whole festival that goes on through August. 

And, ........before leaving on Sunday to drive home, ...............we will stop at.............. Costco!!!!   Yippeee!!           I have a list I have been creating since I got here – on the chance that we might actually get to one!!
And then we will spend the rest of the day driving home to Thurso.

I have 2 other trips planned in August, but I will have to tell you about them another time.

One of the other things I have rediscovered is the joy of thinking. And wondering. I think we have lost it in this mixed blessing of technology and instant information. We are so used to having information at our fingertips that we have forgotten how to wonder and consider and really ruminate on things. Mike and I are without access to that technology a lot of the time here. And when we travel, we are completely disconnected. 



There are no quick answers to be had. We can eventually look things up, if we are still interested in doing so. 

That's Mike in the blue

When we take a drive, we spend hours just talking and wondering and looking, and there is a sweetness about it all.  

And there is lots of conversation. 
And laughter. 
Because so much of what we encounter here is new and fun. 

And awe-inspiring.

This is a great place to be. I love the people and the way they talk. Everyone says, “hi ya” for “hi.” And when you say thank you, they respond, “no bother” or “no worries.” I love the culture – the relaxed style of living here. I love the oldness of everything. And the richness of the colors. And the earthiness – the sheep and cattle and pasture lands and the stone walls. This is a delightful place to be. I feel surprisingly settled here. I believe God prepared this place for me and also that He prepared me for this place and for this time.