Hassells in the Highlands

Christmas in a foreign country.  It was different. It was decorated like Christmas and it was cold, like Christmas is supposed to be, and there was Christmassy music, but it sure didn't feel like Christmas.  How is it we chose to do this for Christmas?  Last summer, Bryan decided that he wanted to spend New Year's Eve in Germany, and so he made plans to be in Europe for several weeks.  So we asked if we might join him for part of it.  Of course, some of his plans changed a bit over time.  Instead of being in Germany for Christmas, he heard Edinburgh, Scotland, was the place to be for Hogmanay.   Bryan likes beer. And he likes craft beers especially.  Since part of what he wanted to do on this trip was sample local brews, I passed on the information gotten from a Belgium man in Venice, that Belgium has better beer than Germany. They are known for their great pilsner beers.  And that's how he decided to make...

"It's coming on Christmas. They're cutting down trees." Do you know which movie that's a quote from?   It's a quote from my favorite movie, "You've Got Mail."  Meg Ryan's character, Kathleen Kelly, is reminiscing about her mother while she's decorating a Christmas tree in her book store window.  " It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees. Do you know that Joni Mitchell song? "I wish I had a river I could skate away on?" It's such a sad song, and not really about Christmas at all, but I was thinking about it tonight as I was decorating my Christmas tree and unwrapping funky ornaments made of Popsicle sticks, and missing my mother so much I almost couldn't breathe." That is my all-time favorite movie. I have probably seen it a hundred times and even listened to the directors' comments through the whole thing. I can quote many parts of it, and often do, as it runs in the backgrou...