Scotland Forever!!! Okay.....so.....my Mom, and my daughter, Erin, and I went to Scotland from April 1 to April 10. Good grief! What do I say about that? First it was an incredible occasion for getting to know each other better.

Erin got to find out that her Grandma was a real person, not just a Grandma, that she had foibles and quirks and was vain and a little clingy and game and funny and picky about food and that her memory ain't what it used to be. Grandma got to find out that Erin was not the little girl she used to know but a grown up who loved to photograph, was competent, could read a Scottish bus schedule, leapt around a graveyard or a castle to get the shot she was looking for, who wore a stylish hat. And I got to watch the two of them discover each other. I heard my daughter defending my honor when necessary, I saw my Mother pushing herself to walk even when her ankle was paining her and I heard her notice intelligently the differences and similarities between Scots and Americans. "Scottish women don't wear much makeup, do they?" she said at one point. "Maybe it's because the weather is so brisk and windy it makes their cheeks and lips rosy!" Erin replied, "maybe they just don't care.....". We may never know who is correct, maybe both, but there were many, many interesting exchanges like that.

I have no time to say a blessed wee thing about Scotland itself right now. I am supposedly working at my desk and trying not to let anybody see me posting, but that can't last for long, so I shall say over and out for now and much more later! By the way, the picture above is of Loch Long--my daughter took it. Beautiful isn't it? (We learned from our lovely host/guide George Wallace, how to say "loch" proberly with a very soft "k" sound.) If you want to see some of my pictures I have started to post them to www.cjd.yafro.com .