A Look Back at Year One In the Highlands

DRIVING

Driving on the left seems normal now.

However, when we have gone to other European countries that drive on the right side, THAT feels normal as well.

I can’t decide if I am confused or well-adjusted.

I don’t get to drive very often because we only have one car and Mike takes it to work. But whenever we drive to Inverness, Mike lets me drive that fun, curvy A9 road along the coast.

And every once in a while I have something to do outside of town that I need a car for, so Mike will hitch a ride to work with another Dounrey employee.

the gorse in the haar

When that happens, l feel carefree as I shoot down the road. I still do not care to pass other vehicles, (that is not new to the UK), but I am pretty comfortable driving 60 mph on these roads. I also enjoy the freedom that driving brings.  Who doesn’t like to drive? 
I admit, I miss it. 
I don’t really have a need to drive here, but when I get behind the wheel, I really enjoy the drive.

But just as I feel comfortable in the driver’s seat and comfortable driving on the left side of the road, there are some things that are just ingrained from 38 years of driving a different way. 
Two things: 1. I still sometimes reach the wrong way for the seat belt.
 And 2. Today I had the car for an appointment out of town. Then I went to the quilting group at Murkle. As I was leaving today, I put my stuff in the back seat, behind the driver’s seat for easy access when I got home, only to shut the door, go around to the other side and plop down… into the passenger’s seat…to find there was no steering wheel!   LOL!  I literally laughed out loud!  This has happened twice, when I was alone…with no one around to laugh with me as I laughed out loud.  Mike started to laugh as soon as I started to tell it because he knew what was coming!  

Raspberry roulade. It is baked meringue rolled around
whipped cream and topped with fruit. Oh my.  

FOOD

Salad. You know how in the US you can go almost anywhere and order a salad with chicken or with steak or…or…or…? And it is a large salad made with a variety of lettuces and some vegetables and tomatoes? Or you can order the sweet salads that come with craisins or other fruit and the dressing is sweet?  No such things here. And I miss them. 
I have resigned myself to only being able to eat big salads that I make here at our apartment. I sometimes eat a large one for breakfast (with hard boiled eggs and avocado).

ham and cheese 'toastie'

Meals that come with ‘salad’ are literally a pinch of greens and/or a pinch of cole slaw. (finding cole slaw everywhere in Scotland IS surprising).  

And when you order a burger and it comes ‘with salad,’ it means it comes with lettuce and maybe a tomato for the top.  

Oh- and salads are almost entirely of a lettuce they call 'rocket.'  
We call it 'arugula.'  
It's bitter.  
The picture here is abnormal in that it is not actually a rocket salad, but does show the amount you get - a pinch.  Literally. 

I do go the grocery store almost every day. One, because the two small fridges we have don’t hold much (especially after I put a couple of bags of salad mix in one) and two, because I cannot seem to remember how to plan a week’s worth of meals. But also, back to reason One – the fridges probably would not hold a week’s worth of meal ingredients anyway.

bacon, egg sausage, mushrooms, tomato and black pudding

I enjoy staying in the B&Bs and eating traditional Scottish breakfasts (minus those that include baked beans), even though the sausage here tastes funny and the bacon tastes like slices of ham instead of the smoked bacon we are used to.

The bacon we know and love is called "smoked streaky bacon" here. It is available to buy in the store but is not served in restaurants.

Some of my recipes are not doable here because some food items are just not available (like Lipton Onion Soup Mix). Others require making parts from scratch. And still others require figuring out where in the oven it is supposed to be cooked or baked to come out right. For instance, I made ‘Hummers’ today to take to a BBQ. The bottom cookie layer did not come out crisp. It turns out that I should have baked them on the bottom shelf of the oven. Oh well. Don't be misled, though - we still ate them!

Making my no-fail fast-rise yeast bread has been an ongoing challenge and resulted in about 8 failed results before I finally got one right. Different flours and where to bake it in the oven played a part. 

While in Scotland, we have eaten haggis and black pudding. They are ok. I actually like the haggis I have had. Don’t really need to eat any more black pudding. We have not tried any of the other colored puddings, and I don’t feel the need to.

Sticky toffee pudding (which is NOT a pudding). In fact, when they use the word ‘pudding,’ they mean ‘dessert.’ 
After a meeting once, it was announced that ‘puddings’ would be served in the next room. LOL!     They meant ‘cakes and other assorted desserts.’

All those desserts I make at home that use boxed puddings – cannot be made here - unless the pudding is made from scratch, which Leah did for a four-layer dessert once. (it was completely wonderful, too!)  I asked once at Tesco if they had ‘pudding,’ and the deer-in-the-headlights look told me ‘no’ long before her mouth.

I love fresh, homemade Victoria Sponge Cake, with jam in the middle and heavy cream poured over top. Mmmm

I love sticky toffee pudding when the sauce is soaked up into the cake.

I love millionaire bars (the homemade version)

I love shortbread (but then, I loved that before I came here).  Here, the shortbread is in abundance – at every meeting (because tea and biscuits are always served, even at meetings that last only 1 1/2 hours, there will be a break for tea and biscuits -LOL!) and at every quilting gathering.  At home, I am lucky to get it at Christmas time or if/when my friend Sue makes it.

Some things, like the cheese above, are just funny. While I have actually had Monterey Jack cheese in a couple of restaurants here, I cannot seem to find it in the stores.  I got excited recently to know there was Pepper Jack cheese at the Lidl store, so I ran right over and bought two packages, only to learn later that the 'pepper' was not jalapeno peppers, but BLACK pepper. Things here are not always what they seem. 

LANGUAGE

I still notice, but no longer giggle, every time grown men use the word “wee” or “lovely.”

I am used to hearing the word ‘brilliant’ A LOT, and while I have not incorporated it into my vocabulary, I think I would like to. I like it. It’s uplifting. Especially if someone is saying it in response to something I have said.

We leave the subtitles on the TV all the time. Most of the programs I watch are British mystery/detective shows, and we find it always helps.

Words I have incorporated into my vocabulary: queue (a line), car park (parking lot), caravan (trailer/camper), bits, holiday (vacation),  wee (little/small), bonny (pretty/lovely), dodgy (not quite right), lift (elevator), trolley (shopping cart) and double cream (heavy cream).

TRAVEL

We have traveled. A lot. Me more than Mike because, well…. Someone has to work to pay for it, right? 😊  The traveling has been fun and exciting and I have learned  A LOT.  I am definitely not as nervous about traveling as I was when I got here. Except in the winter with the weather and the possible bad road conditions. That I just do not like. But that also is not new to my time in the UK. 

Traveling to and from the far north is complicated, but I have learned to think through the various parts. It's an inconvenience that almost all trips require an extra 2 days to allow for the drive down and back plus an overnight stay on either end of the actual trip. 

That has been true with the exception of this past trip to Marseille. That is the only trip we did not stay overnight on either end. 

I have learned how to travel by train.

In summary, I/we have traveled to Edinburgh, to Glasgow, to the Orkney Islands, across the northern and western coast of Scotland to Ullapool, to the south of England by the Cotswalds (me), to Germany (me), to Venice, to Brussels, Amsterdam and Fuerte Ventura (the Canary Islands), to Italy again with 4 friends (Rome, Sorrento, Naples, Umbria, Cinque Terre and Florence) and Marseilles. 
In August, we will travel to the Island of Skye and up the west coast. And this Friday, Mom and I will travel by cruise ship to the fjords of Norway. 
Wow. Whew!

Plus, we have gone hither and yon around the Caithness area, taking walks along the cliffs, exploring castle ruins, going into cairns, and walking on beautiful beaches.

We have incredible sunsets.
This was taken from our deck recently

WEATHER

Thurso can literally experience all 4 seasons in one day.

And the weather really can change every 20 minutes. I have lived in places that thought this was true, but it really is here.

It is just as windy as people said it would be. And it is very similar to the wind in the Tri Cities. Ugh

.

ONLY SCOTLAND/UK

I automatically turn on bathroom light switches from the outside wall of the bathroom. I am always surprised when there is a string inside to pull.

I am still annoyed when I stay at a B&B or hotel and the mirror is in a dark part of the room and there is no counter space or dresser provided to set my hair things on. (remember, there are no outlets in the bathrooms here)

I am used to doing my hair any place except in the bathroom.

I am no longer amused by the separate water spigots on a sink, but instead, am annoyed. (Our third floor bathroom has that kind of sink when the other two bathrooms have ‘good’ faucets. I do not understand it)

I don’t like it, but I am used to taking showers and standing in inches of water because the water piping does not allow the water to drain fast enough. I no longer think there is a ‘problem’and accept it for what it is. 

I am (sort of) used to (by that, I mean  I am no longer surprised) by the fact that stores might close from 1-2 for lunch. And that there may or may not be a sign on the door saying so. I am used to the fact that coffee shops do not open here until at least 9. And it does not surprise me any more that many stores do not list their opening and closing hours on their door at all.

After an entire year of 1 ¾ hour for each load of washing, my Scottish friend finally looked at my washing machine and showed me that there is a 30 minute setting for washing!!  So, instead of the 1 ¾ hours to wash each load, I am now waiting on the dryer to do its job, which takes longer than 30 minutes. It is still surprising to have to dump 2 quarts or more of water from the dryer that has been taken out of the clothes because it has a condenser.   I had no idea that much water was retained in the clothing even after spinning!

I mostly enjoy being disconnected from the internet. We have it at home, for which I am grateful, but as we drive about from place to place or as I walk about town, I am disconnected from wifi and from the internet and from anyone reaching me, really. I find that I don’t mind that.

COMMUNITY

We know and we are known.  Just as we moved here, I was told by another ex-Pat who was here a few years back that the way to be a part of the community was to hang out at the pubs in the evenings. Well, that is not something I would enjoy and did not feel like I wanted to start doing. That may be one way to be a part of the community, but it is definitely not the only way.

We have found our own way.    I talk to people at the Tesco grocery store. I belong to a quilting group and have made friends even in the other quilting group from Wick. I started offering to quilt for people this spring and have made new friends that way.  

I started talking to some of the people I pass many mornings on my walk along the river. We stop and exchange pleasant conversations. I know their names and they know mine.

We take dance lessons – both live jive and smooth waltz - and we LOVE it. We have lots of fun with it and we get to dance regularly because there is some kind of dance event about once a month. We know others by name because we dance with them regularly. We feel included in the circle of people who dance. 

We have taken part in community events, like the charity dances, Quiz Nights at the pub or the British Legion, BINGO, the Christmas parade, Nine Carols and Sermons, and the Pipe Band parades throughout the summer.

We have been to the doctor and had dental work done.

I have found a delightful hairdresser in Halkirk. We schedule our appointments for the same day and Leah drives us.

We became regular breakfast people at The Tempest Café, getting to know people there, especially one waitress who was once married to an American and lived in Oregon for a while.

God guided us to a wonderful new church family just 4 doors away. We attend the small group nights and enter Sunday morning worship services greeting people and being greeted by people who feel like friends – and feeling like we belong.

I quilt with a lovely group of women who are inviting and inclusive and creative. One of my friends there said recently that while she has known of other Americans, none of them ever became part of her Scottish world. She feels like I am her first American friend.  

Isn’t that the point of being here?   I can’t imagine living here and not becoming part of the Scottish community in which I live.

THINGS I LOVE

I enjoy walking here. I wonder at what point I would get tired of looking at the green fields of sheep and cows, the sparkling blue water and big skies, the low, full clouds and the coastline.  My eyes try to drink it in every day. Maybe it’s because I know it’s temporary and I am trying to fill myself up with the sights and sounds and smells so that I will be able to feel and see it when I am at home in the desert again.

I love hearing the sound of bleating sheep and lambs when my windows are open. (fields are nearby)

I love to listen to the Caithness accent. I especially love the phrases and fun words they use

I love the love big, fluffy clouds that sit low in the sky. For many years I have admired and commented on the great clouds that Spokane, WA, seems to have all the time. The clouds here are like that. Here, if it looks like rain, it probably will. But they also move quickly and expose the sun with it’s warmth. 
Probably another reason the weather seems to change every 20 minutes. 

I love living at the beach. I love to remove my shoes and socks and walk across it in bare feet, even when it is 50 degrees outside.

VISITORS

I am delighted that we have had a few visitors from home.

Kathryn came in mid-December. It was cold and we did just a little sightseeing, but it was wonderful to have her here.

Bryan didn't technically come here to Thurso, but we met up with him in Brussels for Christmas. He went on to experience/celebrate Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) in Edinburgh. 

Cristy came at the end of February, just ahead of the big winter storm called "The Beast from the East" that closed down airports, roads and the trains for a few days. It was terribly cold then, but we squeaked in a little sightseeing and beach-walking.

Heather and Mike were here the first week of June and managed to get the best weather of the whole year! Sunshine AND warmth!  But also haar (fog that starts on the ocean and rolls inland).

And Mom is here now. The weather, of course, has changed and it is cold and very windy. We are experiencing the effects of a storm called "Hector."  







I am looking forward to Glenda arriving in mid-July and Mike's sisters, Leslie and Mary and BIL, John in early August. Kathryn may also come back at that time. 

Then we look forward to spending a few days with Josh and Heather, who are friends from Richland living in Aberdeenshire, north of Edinburgh. Can you believe we have been in the same country for a whole year and have not seen them yet? 

this was taken at 10:30 pm last June

The past year has gone incredibly fast for us and is a little difficult to believe that we have been here for over a year now.

Before we moved, I was concerned about what I would do to fill my time here.

As soon as I learned we were coming, I started praying, asking God to go before me to prepare the people here who would become my friends and to prepare me for them- and to lead us to a church.  He was so good to do that for me – in abundance!  Way more than I could ask or imagine!

I brought books with me to read because I thought I would have nothing but time on my hands. And in fact, it has turned out that I don’t have enough hours in each day to do all that I want to do – and I have not ready any of the books I intended to!

This is not my stash.
This is just the 70 lbs of scraps I brought in a suitcase
 'to tide me over' until my actual stash arrived

I brought my whole stash of fabric with me to hopefully use (which I have, but not nearly to the extent I had thought/hoped for), and my long arm machine, Daisy, so that I could keep up my quilting skills. That has turned into quilting for others, which has been both challenging and a joy!

Our time here is running down. While we do not know the date yet, we know it will not be as long as it has been.

THINGS I’D LIKE TO EXPERIENCE BEFORE LEAVING

 the sheep dog trials, seeing the northern lights, lawn bowling

If you have never seen "extreme sheep herding" on YouTube, you have missed out.  The sheep dog trials here will not be the 'extreme' version, but would still be so interesting to see. 

You should be able to click on the link to see this video.

Extreme Sheep Herding