Blink, And It’s Over …
That’s exactly what happened to summer. And my vacation! We’re starting the second week of September already — how can it be?
Our little Trippy Trip blitzed by in a flash — time flies when you’re having fun. I think it was pretty obvious from my previous post that we went to the UK. More specifically, Scotland and London. Way back last winter, Isabelle and I hatched a plan so that SweetiePie and I would come and be cat-sitters for a week, just like TheManoftheHouse and I did almost four years ago. But then, Isabelle’s Mum got sick and we had to start thinking of alternate plans. As the trip got closer, we decided that Isabelle and Mr. Life wouldn’t be able to go anywhere, but that SweetiePie and I would still come for the week and visit. And then, sadly, the week before we left, Isabelle’s sweet Mum passed away. I really felt that we should scrap our plans to stay with the Life family and started to look for other accommodations. But, after several e-mails with Isabelle and conversations with friends, we decided to cut our week to three days (after all Benjamin Franklin says “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days”) and hope that our visit would add a little cheer to the Life home and help momentarily take their minds off of their sorrow.
And so, we were off! (And lucky to fly British Airways on the way over — so much nicer than the American flight we had on the way back.) Mr. and Mrs. Life picked us up at the airport. It was SO fun to see them again and introduce SweetiePie to them. And as sad as we were about the circumstances, the huge silver lining was that we were able to spend several days with Isabelle and Mr. Life — something that wouldn’t have happened if we’d been cat-sitting per the original plan. We had such a wonderful time and Isabelle treated us like Queens. There was a never ending supply of fabulous food (btw, Isabelle, I keep forgetting to ask you for that Chicken recipe!) and we felt totally at home. After our first afternoon of braving the crowds on High Street, it was fun to come back to Isabelle’s and enjoy her beautiful garden and just relax.
I loved that we were able to see the garden in the summer, with gorgeous blooms everywhere. (The last visit was in late October so most of the blooms were gone.) And, Isabelle’s favorite friends came out to greet us. (Avert your eyes if you’re slug creeped out!) We don’t have slugs here (well, at least I don’t ever see them) so I had to take a picture. Isabelle has talked about them and their voracious appetites so it was interesting to actually see them. Behold. A Scottish slug LOL.
Ok, sorry for that picture. The next two will be your reward. I couldn’t wait to meet the Grandbaby Life! I was beyond excited and so grateful that DD1 and her hubby made the trip across town just so I could meet this little cutie. (Sorry, the pictures are a little blurry — this little guy is always on the move.)
I’m pretty sure I can safely say this is the cutest little grandson on the planet. And, aside from being adorable, he’s perfect — happy and so well behaved the whole time we were there. We never even heard him cry, which I thought was pretty darn amazing considering we had dinner together and it was getting close to his bedtime!
Ahem. I might be grandbaby crazy LOL. Just thought you should know that Isabelle is much too modest when she talks about wee Grandson on her blog!
Anyway, back to the trip (sorry this is getting so long!), on our last day in Edinburgh, Isabelle and Mr. Life took us over to Fife and we walked a short segment of the Coastal Path. I’ve always wanted to walk part of the path and I’ll definitely do it again on my next visit. The weather was beautiful (maybe a little windy) and we had a wonderful time. The views were gorgeous!
We walked from Anstruther to Pittenweem — a short mile. We were going to walk more, but we discovered that we talk too much. I’m sure you’re shocked LOL. Halfway between Anstruther and Pittenweem, we came upon a swingset. All the children had a fun time swinging. Isn’t it fabulous? Swinging right there on ocean. {Sigh}
Then, a little farther along the path, we came upon a golf green and we were treated to a cartwheel. Isabelle showed a similar picture on her blog and, Molly, I’m very disappointed that you didn’t think this is me!
In Pittenweem we met up with Di from Woollie Wanderings for a little afternoon tea. What fun to finally meet her after several years of blog reading! Di had just been to the Highlands, where we were going next, so she was extremely helpful with our planning. Thanks for all your help Di — and for taking the time to come and meet us — I loved it! I’m so sorry that I didn’t get any pictures of us. Again, we were talking so much that I forgot.
And Di wasn’t the only picture casualty. A few days later, SweetiePie and I met up with Lisa of It’s Just Peri and Tess of Driftwood and none of us got pictures either. Well, I did get pictures of the boys. Here’s E and Milo — aren’t they cute? I asked them to each show me a favorite book.
Gabe was having none of this picture taking though, so I got a wiggly picture of him.
Thanks to you too, Lisa and Tess, for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet up with us. We had a great time – it’s amazing how you only know someone through blogs, yet you know them and there’s always SO much to talk about!
Speaking of which, I’ve rambled on long enough for now. I only took about 1500 pictures (ha!), so after I manage to get through a few more of them, I’ll be back with a top 10 favorites or something. It was a super fun trip and I’m ready to go back again!
XOXO,
Anna