After...

Not my favourite way I've ever rung in the New Year, to be fair.  Everything cleared out and waiting to be shipped to the States.  Good thing I'm heading out to BoD to be with friends, since Kenny left to go out of town and I won't see him again... *sigh*

Carrying Scotland With Me

I finally got my tattoo today.  It's quite a story, but I'll save that for another day.  I love it, though!  A nice permanent reminder of my six years here.  And thanks for the help with design ideas, Paige! 

Before...

Keys to the Kingdom

Well, to the flat, anyway.  My minchie lock (the nifty one in back), the other flat key, and the crescent-shaped cut out of the main door.  My companions for the past six years.  I'll miss them. 

A Sad, Sad Aisle

Seriously.  What were Lynch and I doing in this aisle, anyway?  Dang. 

Boxing Day

My Christmas loot.  It was a good year. 

Merry Christmas!

I spent Christmas in the Bridge of Don with Lynch and the McGarrys, and we went out to play in the snow.  Good times were had by all.  Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! 

Christmas Eve

I spent Christmas Eve with the Beckers, for the last time, before they leave for the States next week.  I'll be gone before they get back, so it was a bittersweet day.  They've been my family here for the past six years, and I'll miss them so much.  Thanks for having me over, Scot and Carrie and Matthew and Adam!  Love y'all. =)

St. Nicholas in the Snow

I snapped this whilst oot and aboot, finishing up some Christmas shopping.  Beautiful. 

You've Got To Be Kidding Me

This greeted me when I got up.  I cleaned the litter box last night, for crying out loud.  I could pretty well throttle them just now...

Sparkles

I like the sparkly snow. 

Sorry State of Affairs

This is after buying my plane ticket to Toronto, where Jen and the kids will pick me up.  I'll be on a tight budge from now on, to be fair.  =)

Sunday Sunrise

I'm being more diligent about getting to church, now that the days of my time here are short... the sun behind St. Andrews and the clouds made it worth walking in the cold and snow this morning. 

Bread and Butter

My first attempt at this fabulous dessert-- delicious.  It'll become a regular, I'm sure. 

Christmas at Kings

How I love this place, and how I'll miss it.

Bright Lights, Big City

I love the Christmas lights in Aberdeen... I'll miss them. 

Cozy

This doesn't happen too often.  They get along okay, but they don't usually get all cuddly-- so I had to grab the photo when it happened.  Sweet boys... when they're calm.  ;)

Pecan Pie: Fail

Oops.  I forgot to pay attention to time, and I don't have a kitchen timer.  So the pie didn't exactly turn out right.  But I could scoop it out and eat it in bits like this, and it tasted just fine.  It just didn't look good at all...

Weirdo

Brodie has been waking me up in the wee hours of the morning, because this is where he loves to hang out.  In, on, around the tub-- which often means rolling and playing and fighting with Dill, which is LOUD.  He's a strange cat, that one. 

It's So True.

Spotted at the bus stop...

Especially Dangerous After Drinking...

I spent the evening with Lynch in BoD, which, of course, included enjoying wine and such.  I had enough to be a bit tipsy, which made walking down the completely frozen path a little more dangerous than usual.  I didn't fall, but I did laugh at myself quite a few times.  I ended up on the soggy grass more than once, because I figured muddy boots was better than a busted bum. 

Lowering Sky

The photo doesn't really do it justice, but the sky was impressive today.  As was the traffic, which made me very happy to be walking. 

Part of the Furniture

Brodie has definitely made himself at home, and is most likely to knock things over by settling into the most inconvenient places... but we love him anyway.  =)

Back-Garden Angel

I have been dying to do this for weeks now, and I finally did it tonight.  I figured doing it just before I went upstairs for the night would be better than going around with wet and cold jeans all day.  The snow has been so thick, I didn't have far to fall. 

Cute? Or Creepy?

This is currently our toilet paper.  I can't make up my mind whether it's disturbing or not.  =D

Treachery!

Aberdeen is silly.  They salt the pavements (sidewalks), which causes the snow to melt, leaving standing water, which then freezes into ice.  It's horrible to then try to walk on.  Especially on side streets like the Spital.

I Don't Feel Guilty...

about this 'guilty pleasure'.  I've been watching through all the seasons in order.  I love me some CSI: Miami, to feed my Ho-Caine habit. 

Gorgeous Gift

This is my graduation gift from Kenny.  He always gifts the perfect gift, and this was no exception.  I wear it all the time, and I know it'll be a beautiful reminder of my 'family'-- Kenny, Thomas, Dillon, Brodie.  Thanks, Kenny.  I love it. 

If Only The Tree Had Been There...

Through a series of misunderstandings and mishaps, the McGarrys, Lynch and I gathered on campus to see the tree lighting.  However, there was no tree (due to snow and date mishaps).  And it was very, very cold.  So this is us, enjoying the... um... time together.  Or something like that. 

Sunset Strip

I hung out with Kristianna this afternoon, and dropped by the flat where she was staying on Froghall, off Spital.  This was the gorgeous view on the way. 

Sad Selling

Boooo.  I'm selling stuff off that I can't take home, and my games systems are part of that.  I'm bummed-- DDR and Super Monkey Ball have been good friends of mine. 

King Street

What a mess!  And yet, it's lovely.  Nearly home, here...

Snowy Surgery

My GP's office, with the pretty redundant warning in the window...

Scots Place Names

Sure, some of them are impossible to pronounce unless you know how.  And some of them are hard to spell, even if you do know how.  This one, however, just cracked Kenny and I up.  He'd been working some in Inverurie, and apparently someone delivering this box didn't really know how to say OR spell it... tee hee!

My Graduation Gift

I went to see the Scotland men beat Samoa at Pittodrie in Aberdeen.  It was below freezing, and I was numb before I got home.  But we won, and it was a great afternoon.  Thanks, guys, for a great gift! 

Officially Official

That piece of paper is the most expensive thing I've ever owned.  And the hardest to obtain.  Lynch, you'll get your own soon enough!  Kenny, thanks for being my family and photographer for graduation!

Let It Snow?

Today is Thanksgiving.  And there is a ton of snow on the ground! It's pretty well been snowing off and on since Monday, but this is getting ridiculous.  It's too dang early for this much snow... and they say it's going to keep up for at least a week.  Where am I?! 

Honestly, though, if it's going to be cold, I'd rather it snow.  So as long as I don't have to be out in it, I'm quite happy. 

Thanks, McGarrys, for Thanksgiving hosting! 

The Last Day

I came back up to Aberdeen today, and not very happily.  Paige had to jet off early to catch her train to be in Stirling for her class, but I hung around for a while before I caught my train, both at the flat with Hazel, and then in the city.  I love Auld Reekie, the capitol of my adopted homeland.  I wandered around a little once I got into the city, but mainly I just sat and took it all in.  I love this place so much, and will miss it so badly. 

Girls in the Big City

Today Paige and I spent in Auld Reekie.  I did some more shopping, and wandered the sights, and just hung out.  We hit the castle gift shop, and the Mother shop, and Jenners... this third day of shopping has worn me out, but I love it!  Too bad I don't have money to spend.  ;) 

Thanks for the castle photo shoot, Paige! =D

Lost

Today we hung around Stockbridge for the most part.  We even braved the weather to take Hazel-monster on a walk.  It rained.  Pretty much the whole time.  Ah well.  On the way back to the flat, I saw this poor wee bear on top of the parking meter.  Someone must have dropped him, and someone else put him up off the pavement so he could maybe get found.  I hope someone comes and claims him!  He wouldn't tell us his name, because he said he wasn't supposed to talk to strangers.  Smart teddy, that one. 

The Triplets of Stockbridge

Today was a true Scottish day-- it was dreich.  It was cold.  It was dark early.  And we spent it at a castle.  And shopping.  All day long.  Good stuff. 

We found the mother of all shops, too, at the top of the Royal Mile.  I call it the Mother Shop (a little sci-fi humour there).  I found a nice long-sleeve tee for £2.99!  Lynch and Medlock couldn't resist, so we all wound up with one.  And then attempted to take a photo of the three of us in them.  Ha.  That was a series of photos worthy of Kristianna's photo taking style!  It was hilarious, and I laughed my head off.  This is my favourite photo from the shoot, after a favourite day. 

Thanksgiving Early!

Lynch and I travelled down to Edinburgh today on the Megabus (with a lot of rugby fans, going to see Scotland play the Springboks of South Africa at Murrayfield, where I would have been otherwise) to see Paige while she is dog-sitting in Stockbridge again.  We got in and it was raining and cold, so we opted to not do sightseeing today but instead to do Thanksgiving! 

Paige had already shopped and was all prepared to treat us to a feast, so we went back to the flat and helped cook.  Well, partly-- I helped a little, then went to watch the match online.  We won!  It was great.  But I digress. 

We had turkey breast (no whole turkeys found yet), stuffing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry stuff, almost-from-scratch rolls, green beans... and pumpkin pie!  The real stuff.  Oh baby, it was yummy.  All of it. 

We also had wine, of course, because Lynch and I were present.  We picked one to uncork, and it gave us a run for our money.  Finally we were successful, after a strong joint effort.  Teamwork, totally. 

Thanks, Paige, for buying and cooking and hosting!  Happy Early Thanksgiving! 

Opening Day

Lynch and I went to see HP7 this morning.  We met at 9.45 so we'd be sure to have time to get tickets for the half-ten showing.  It was a good job we got there early, too-- there was one other person in line!  So we scored our tickets and went to Starbucks, where they did indeed have eggnog lattes (which is never a guarantee here).  Then we saw the film, and it was okay.  I liked it better than the past five (two was the last one I even remotely enjoyed...) except for the end.  I mean, why are we supposed to care about characters who have been written out of every storyline for several films but show up now all dramatic and moving?  NO.  I say no.  I cried in the book, but I did not allow myself to cry in the film.  Because you can't just pull someone in like that and expect there to be a relationship and a reason to mourn their passing.  Stupid hollywood. 

Otherwise, it was fine.  I think because they are doing it in two parts and not leaving out every single important thing, I'm liking it better.  Then again, I couldn't have expected less from it, so it would have been hard to have my expectations disappointed. 

We were going to take out photo with one of the promo posters, which had been up even yesterday, but there was nothing.  Not a single poster.  Nowhere.  It was bizarre.  So we look puzzled by this, and annoyed with the ending.  Pretty much says it all. 

Purty Patterns

You know it's been a slow day when the only thing I've found worth taking a photo of is the travel bottle I filled with body wash...

but it was pretty.  I liked the sparkles, and the way it looped and stuff.  So there.  =P

Kilau with Nat

Nat leaves for Oban and a new job in a few days, and I leave for points unknown in an unknown amount of time.  So meeting for coffee was a must!  We met at Kilau on Little Belmont Street, and ended up chatting the morning away.  It was great to see you, Nat, and to catch up! We'll have to keep in touch, for sure! 

Guard Cat

I swear, Brodie is the weirdest cat ever.  Or maybe, second ever.  Or.. well... he's pretty weird.  He plops himself down in the most bizarre places-- like the middle of the drafty kitchen floor, or the bathtub, or in front of the door.  Honestly.  No one's getting through with that fat cat there! 

Duh, People.

Signs like this just crack me up.  Seriously?!  Oh no!  I would have been so unprepared for that! 

In all honesty, though, that hand dryer does get exceedingly hot without doing much drying.  Too much heating element, not enough blowy air.  So thanks for that, Cineworld. 

I'd Better Ask Trina...

I was standing on my rolling desk chair, pulling stuff off the top of my wardrobe, when I looked over and noticed this:

Trina, you're the expert-- this isn't a health and safety violation, is it?  I mean, I don't have an emergency exit and my door is blocked, but that's fine, right?  ;)

Magic Box

I've been repacking and packing my room-- partly because it's small and I have to pack stuff up from time to time to make room, and partly because I don't know where I'll be or what's happening next.  I couldn't get this box down, but that's okay.  It seems just fine where it is. 

No, nothing is holding it up but the bed and wall.  And it's holding up my lamp and stuff.  Pretty neat trick!

The Printer

As you may or may not remember, I got kicked out of my uni office back in June, which meant no more access to a printer.  This is especially annoying when at the last stages of the thesis, as printing out copies for binding and vivas and whatnot is taking place.  Lucky for me, I've got great friends who let me stick it to the university by using the printer in their office building. 

Thanks, Lynch!  You really are the best.  Especially for getting toner twice and getting told off for it.  ;)