Happy Independence Day!

Bring us your broken dreams,
We'll give them time to mend,
There's still a lot of love,
Living in the promised land.

Since we reached 100 degree temperatures in May in Oklahoma and held them tightly through June, by July we've been baked through, so our skin begins to feel at ease in the heat, and 90 feels like a cool day. As a wedding gift, Dawn gave us tickets to Willie Nelson's Country Throwdown in Eufaula. With our tempered skin, we went out into the sun and joined Dawn for a day of cold beer and a lot of great singer-songwriters. We came for Willie Nelson, a show that DJ has been trying to see for 10 years, but found that we really enjoyed the other artists even more. I'd seen Jack Ingram a few times, but Craig Campbell, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Dani Flowers, Caitlyn Smith, and most surprisingly, Lukas Nelson, were all great. Lukas Nelson has a great voice that is very similar to his father's, and when he joined Lee Brice for "Red House," we gained an even greater appreciation for his talent. As is true of all music festivals, the carnival of humanity provided another source of entertainment. Ghandi was there, shockingly drunk, cut-offs are now just jean panties, and, weirdly, we only saw one fight. We danced to "Always on my Mind" and had a wonderful time. We did have one major casualty, DJ's Kindle. Its loss is felt keenly.
We decided that the the rest of Independence Day weekend should be spent inside, with the puppies, kitten and Band of Brothers. We've watched all ten over the past two days, plus the documentary. I had never seen it and it had been 10 years since DJ had. It's beautiful and terrible. The Pacific was more gruesome, especially the Okinawa chapter, and while its portrayal of the realities of war were very well done, we did not feel as completely the connection to the human lives and bonds that Band of Brothers conveys. I am reminded of what a terrible cost is exacted upon millions of individuals by the unchecked lust of a few for power and domination. So, on this Independence Day, remember that we all have the duty to question and check. There's nothing more American than that.

More communication to follow...

Cleaning, Schnitzel and Pizza

From our happy home Through the world we roam
One week in all the year,
Making winter spring
With the joy we bring.

Mums and Dad are visiting this weekend, so the bill has come due on all the cleaning that was successfully put off by a wedding, honeymoon, and a sliced thumb. Sigh. It is a boring tale to tell, suffice it to say that it took two of us two days to mostly clean the house. On the upside, DJ utilized his new knife to make his Best Ever Schnitzel (no cuts!) Thursday night and I made a nice homemade pizza Friday. Interestingly, while I prefer to clean to Nine Inch Nails, DJ prefers The Magic Flute. We found a nice compromise with Johnny Cash. A few loads of laundry remain, but the house is nearly clean enough to paint! In case you need a perfect Dill Sauce Recipe, here is the one that DJ perfected on Thursday: Bring 3/4 Cup Chicken Broth to a boil, in a separate bowl, mix 1/2 Cup Creme Fraiche, Tablespoon Dill, Tablespoon Flour, once mixed, add a squirt of Lemon Juice, then lower the heat on the chicken broth and stir in the bowl of mixed ingredients, continue to stir until it thickens a bit (sauce thickness, not gravy). Easy and delicious, truly his best yet! Wedding photos still aren't in, but I promise to post and give a run-down of The Day when they are!

More communications to follow...

A Perfect Weekend

"Caught in the melody, You wait in the car.
You were born with ten fingers and you're gonna use them all."


It doesn't seem like much. It's not Edinburgh or Florence. We didn't catch a Broadway Show or Bonnaroo. We just had a couple of days with no work and little pain (thumb's on the heal). We slept in and read silly books, then caught the new Dr. Who (seriously, a classic). DJ fixed the loose shingles and I spotted. On Sunday, I baked chocolate sticky pudding and my patented best-ever-chocolate chip cookies and went to Mom and Pop's for a swim and a cookout with Angie, Chyne, Logan, Joyce and Bruni. We stayed way past the witching hour learning important family lore and we came home and danced to Vampire Weekend and Merle Haggard. Life should always be so sweet.

Sharp is the Blade that Cuts without Pain

"Surgeons must be very careful
When they take the knife!
Underneath their fine incisions
Stirs the Culprit—Life!"


While cleaning up a bit, I started polishing DJ's new chef's knife. As it turns out, it is very, very sharp, so my thumb has a new crescent shape rather than the nice round tip it once had. Thanks to DJ, Mary and Shelly, it is well-cleaned and bandaged and it now wears a helmet. I feel a little ridiculous, but as it turns out knives can actually hurt you! DJ suggested that maybe it wasn't sharp enough, since it didn't cut through the bone, but I assure you, dear readers, that had the knife been angled a different way, I would be thumbless, and the opposable thumb is what makes us human! This has put a bit of a cramp in my plans for writing, cleaning, organizing, repairing and painting! Typing hurts, frankly. Anyway, I thought I would post a few pictures of our adorable pets, Frumious Bandersnatch, Lily Belle, and Chopper.

Next up: Reflections on the Wedding with new photos!

More communications to follow...

How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?

"So sweet the place," we said, "Its tacit tales so dear, Our thoughts, when breath has sped, Will meet and mingle here!"...


DJ had a birthday yesterday, and it passed quietly with little fanfare. Our parents showered him with gifts, and I bought him knives and Heath bars and bourbon. Last year we had a party, but the house is in disorder (due, in part, to jet lag) and he had to work most of the day, so this year our celebration was private.

While he was working, however, Mom and I went shopping for presents, tile and dates. Following a hint from the owner of Gourmet Gadgetrie (a local shop that is far too addictive), I found fresh dates at Sam's - hooray! The ingredient list for Sticky Toffee Pudding was at last complete (Priscilla is kindly sending some from Abu Dhabi, and I thought his birthday treat would have to be late).

We had steaks for grilling, but I thought I should start the rather labor-intensive pudding first. I had researched (using the internet) and decided the best possible recipe would be Kate Middleton's favorite. So I pitted and chopped the dates, poured boiling water over them so they could expand, and set about making the batter. The butter and brown sugar were easy to mix in the KitchenAid, and the eggs were no trouble either. The addition of the black treacle was a bit tricky, however. Not shockingly, it's super sticky - so getting it into the mixing bowl, not just around the sides was tough. (I special ordered the Lyle's Black Treacle and Golden Syrup, as well as the Devon Double Cream, from Amazon.) The Lyle's Golden Syrup, the vanilla and the flour were no problem. Our KitchenAid (thanks Mom and Pop!) took the whole sticky mess in stride. The food processor was a little trickier to manage, but DJ solved the problem before I could even get the instructions open (whew!) and I quickly pureed the dates and water. I poured that into the KitchenAid bowl with the batter, along with some baking powder, and viola! Within a couple of minutes, perfect batter. I poured it into a buttered and floured clever little pan Sarah got us (the recipe says a 9x9 square, but it worked perfectly) and popped it in the oven.

I was about to start the sauce, but DJ distracted me for an hour or so (don't worry, I took the pudding out in time), so I didn't get back to it right away. Once I got back to the sauce, I realized one of the problems with the steak pie I made (DJ whipped one up last Friday that was delicious, but that is his tale to tell) is that I am not nearly patient enough with a thickening sauce. The butter and sugar took at least half an hour to caramelize and after the addition of the Devon Double Cream, the sauce still took 20 minutes to thicken properly. That's a lot of standing and stirring, folks! On the upside the new saucepan from Clayton and Pamela worked wonderfully - not a scorched spot - the new spatula from Katie and Michael was perfect and I think I finally have a feel for the temperature settings on the new stove from Sam and Shelly. (As an aside, I did finally make the $15 cake mix from Williams-Sonoma to accompany DJ's Steak & Ale Pie last Friday - the consensus, Laurie, is that it is probably worth it. The cake was moist and airy like a really good cake donut.)

I poured the sauce over an individual pudding for DJ and one for myself and pronounced it delicious! DJ had a second and we decided that meat was overrated if you could have pudding instead.

Next up: Chocolate Sticky Pudding, House Painting, Bison Stalking, and Job Hunting.

More communications to follow...

A Rumination; On Life and Love

"Love at the lips was touch As sweet as I could bear; And once that seemed too much; I lived on air"

Musings on love are frikkin' twee and precious. I hate them. But oh, dear reader, that is exactly what follows. What can I say? She makes me better. Smarter, faster, stronger (nehnehnehneh). I haven't been to jail since I've been with her. That may seem like a low bar, but believe me, she's worked at it. She brings me focus, clarity, joy. I have a new family. A new mother; strong, warm, witty. A new father; resourceful, kind, profoundly interesting. A new brother; I enjoy his humor and his welcoming nature. Having been raised in a family of loving smart-asses, I feel that I'll fit in nicely. I've met an array of wonderful people, and have had some amazing fun. So, what do I bring to the party? Dunno, I do a good Sean Connery impersonation! Other than that, not sure. I have snark (in spades), I can hit a man-sized target at a quarter-mile with iron sights, I'm particularly good at escape and evasion. Probably not the ideal qualities in a son/brother-in-law. But, I love her. I want to make her happy. I want to return the joy that she brings me. Not sure that I deserve all this, but desperately happy about it. Anyway, I love her. She loves me. We are profoundly happy together. I think it'll work.

P.S. Sam and Shelly, if you're reading, thank you.

Things that came before....

DJ suggested that we should, at some point, write about the wedding. Since we have a few photos now, I thought we could give it a go. We wrote about how we met and the proposal on our site on the Knot, (Our Wedding), but we haven't written about the wonderful events that came before the wedding or the wedding itself.
As the Bride, I got to have the most fun with wedding events, to include shopping for a dress with Mama and Jill in November and a Mary Kay makeover brunch with Mama, Caitlin and Angie in February. We had a great time both times, including snarky side comments, and I walked away with a lovely gown, and from the MK brunch, we all walked away with happy skin and Caitlin with day-glo eyes ;).
A few weeks later, in March, Sharon, Jody, Laurel, Kendra, Stacy, Mary Helen, Betty, Karla, Norma and Ellen threw a shower for me at the Sexton's home in Pryor. I cannot overstate how fantastic this shower was. I sat on a "throne," surrounded by presents and dozens upon dozens of friends and loved ones, women who taught Sunday school classes and helped me along life's way and women who shared the pains and joys of growing up with me. Aleisha was kind enough to drive to Pryor and serve as my secretary, and Mom stayed with us while Mama ran off with Sydney (adorable little baby girl!). DJ and Daddy dropped Mama and a bunch of presents that had been left at Curves, and I think the rooms filled with women made DJ run like a rabbit! I'm still writing thank you notes, but they are nearing completion.
In late March, Caitlin and I spent a Saturday trying to turn some costume jewelry, including some of my Grandma Kester's, into a brooch bouquet. Caitlin did a wonderful job with the materials we had, but even after many hours, it was clear that our technique was not perfect (a month later, my Aunt Regina showed me how it was done, but it was too late!) We did have a great day, however, and DJ and I shared some of the home brewed Cider we'd created with Caitlin and Cliff. It should be noted that no cider we tried in Scotland could touch it! So, clearly, we CRUSH cider.
In April, Jill threw us a shower in her home in OKC. This shower was wonderful and very different from the Pryor shower. Afterwards, Mama said, "That was the nicest 'roast' I have ever been to!" I could not agree more. While the shower in Pryor was incredibly amazing and overwhelming with people, presents, and activity, the shower at Jill's felt like a gathering of friends that would be repeated again, although, sadly, not with so much focus on and presents for me ;).
Late in April, we had a Bachelorette Fest in conjunction with the Norman Music Festival. I tried to persuade DJ to come along, but I don't think he realized I would be gone for the whole weekend, so he demurred. We had a bit of slow start (I was responsible for the invites, and I was slammed at work and so I failed spectacularly). Nonetheless, Jill, Tracy, Aleisha and I started out at the West Side Louie's in Norman with great food, to include my all-time favorite appetizers, fried green beans and a couple of drinks. Aleisha peeled off for a bit to take pictures of Alec and his date to the Prom (he looked adorable, as always!) and rejoined us at the Music Fest. We had a great time wandering the streets and going from stage to stage. We met up with Dawn, and then Lance and Stacy joined us as well (bearing a light up cross for me to wear) and we spent some time at McNellie's then traversed Main Street down to the Red Bull tent, using our VIP passes to dance and drink and for two of our party, to mend fences (yay!!). Tired of the free flow of booze and marginally awful music, we moved our party to Libby's Cafe where Mike Hosty was playing far better music. We danced and drank a couple of beers and enjoyed the open air. It was a great night with some of my favorite people in the world.
The next week, I gave my final final exams at CU, turned in grades and drove to Pryor for the gauntlet of last minute wedding preparations. Mama and I worked very hard (she worked hardest) to finish the reception hall, purchases, bridesmaids' dresses, and general organization, roping Daddy into a bit of labor as well. Gigi, devastatingly, had to cancel her trip due to a terrible medical issue, Alec made the state finals in soccer and so he and Aleisha had to beg off, and Jocelyn and Jeremy spent the night in the Houston airport due to a cancelled flight just to make it there for me. If it weren't for my lovely aunts, Barbara, Regina and Arlene, wonderful cousins, Brenda, Laura and Marcia and fantastic friends, Sam and Shelly, the ceremony and reception would have not been so lovely.
On Friday, I got a little pampering with a manicure (that sadly did not even last until the rehearsal) and then the rest of the wedding party began arriving. My darling brother, James, and my Man of Honor, Brady, and Maid of Honor, Dawn, as well as my lovely bridesmaids, Jocelyn, Jill, and Shelly all arrived. DJ, Mom , Pop (his Best Man) and Nikki, as well as his handsome groomsmen, Sam, Travis and Jeff made it on time for the rehearsal at the Webster Park. As a note, Kathy and Bob Webster's generous gift of possibly the most beautiful wedding venue ever made our wedding so wonderfully special and unique. Julia awaited us, prepared with a clever and specially tailored wedding ceremony - it was the first wedding over which she had presided, and I cannot thank her enough for the time and effort she put into making it perfect. Travis noted a few obstacles to perfection and took it into his own hands to fix anything he could (he even made Jeff get places on time, a true miracle!). After deciding that one go-through was all we needed, we decamped to the Mid-America Grille for our rehearsal dinner (Daddy stayed behind to entertain the Huckaby troops that had descended with a smorgasbord of goodies). Marty did a wonderful job of ensuring everything was perfect, from deep red roses to champagne to a lovely memory board with our picture and invitation. The food was, as always, delicious and well presented and the wine flowed freely. Thanks to Mom and Pop for a lovely dinner and wonderful toasts! I have gotten so used to all the feting that I expect people to buy me things and drink to me wherever I go, luckily, they do! Afterwards, Sam threw an impromptu Bachelor party at Heath's Bar on Mill Street. The bridesmaids and I crashed it, of course. We danced and drank and Kari made sure we got everything we needed. Brady, short on day's worth of sleep, held up really well, with Jill's help ;). We met a psychic who told us we would have a long and happy marriage and three kids (two boys and a girl) and Dawn occasionally danced off with the psychic so we could canoodle.
Next up: The Wedding Day.

More communications to follow....

Fank you ... for all the meat and sausages

"The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude."


Neither one of us is shy about our love of food and cooking, and while in Scotland, we developed an affinity for all manner of Scottish (and British, generally) staples. The Full Scottish breakfast with the lovely sausages and rashes of bacon and the meat pies were our favorite savory dishes, and sticky toffee pudding was definitely the winner for the sweets. Thanks to our friends and family and their lovely wedding presents (and for being generally brilliant), our kitchen (albeit poorly organized) is stocked with all the necessary tools to turn out some really great meals. We were feted on our arrival home by both sets of parents (necessary and thoughtful restoratives), but found ourselves without dinner plans on Monday night. DJ called out "steak pies!" as I went out the door to pick up paint at Lowe's (thanks, Krystal!) and so I added a few non-hardware items to my mental list - but I really should have checked a recipe first. I was spot-on with the puff pastry, ale and onion, but the meat selection was poor and the addition of mushrooms would have been nice. After two hours of preparation, we sat down to eat at 11 pm. So disappointing! The gravy didn't thicken properly, the recipe we used was bland (even with the addition of a few spices), the meat was tough, and the potatoes were unnecessary and came out al dente. Ugh! It was a poor stew and a terrible meat pie. The first culinary experiment after the honeymoon: fail.
Undeterred by this failure, I set out the next morning to purchase supplies for Pop's birthday treat. I had been promising I would figure out how to make a tiramisu since our trip to Italy last year and our talk of sticky toffee pudding served to remind him I had not yet produced one! The problem, of course, was the mascarpone cheese. I bought the eggs at Braum's, the French Roast and pound cake at Sam's, the sponge cake, superfine sugar and dark chocolate at Wal-mart, called three international groceries to inquire about their stock of mascarpone (none), and was finally directed to the 67th Street Country Mart. At this point, the time window was narrowing dangerously and so DJ went after the mascarpone and picked up the brandy at the Cache Road package store. Meanwhile, I ran a load of dishes, cleaned counter space, brewed the espresso and studied the recipe. Confident I had the tools, I lined up the mixer, bowls, dessert bowls and gave them a quick clean, and measured out the ingredients. I used the Kitchen-Aid and two separate bowls (thanks Mary!) for the four step custard portion, and I was really happy with the taste and consistency. I vacillated between using the sponge cake (as called for by the recipe) or the pound cake or a combination thereof (next time I will make my own, using "hot milk cake" I think) but after a firm "go with the recipe" from Angie, I chose the sponge. First note: "dip" into the coffee and brandy mix does not mean "lay" and let soak - this is a sure way to make a mess of your sponge cake. Second note: making your own cake so the layers fit properly in the bowls is worth the effort. Final note: if doubling the recipe, triple the amount of espresso and brandy to make the layers come out evenly. A 10 egg, 21 oz mascarpone recipe will make 12 four-inch dessert bowls. DJ had to work an evening shift, so I sent one with him to chill in his work fridge, and put the other 8 (ran out of coffee and so I just stored the rest of the mascarpone mixture) in ours to blend the flavors for a few hours. Just before serving, I sprinkled Hershey's Dark Chocolate Select Cocoa on top. Max, Mary, Bruni, Angie, and Joyce loved it and DJ texted to let me know I totally crushed it! Phew! After the steak and ale pie fiasco, I needed a win.
While it's true the honeymoon trip is over, we still have many adventures ahead (not all so dull as cooking, there's painting to come!) and we will write about those that cause angst and joy. Next culinary adventure: sticky toffee pudding - I've special ordered the treacle, Lyle's Golden Syrup and the English double cream already, so that should cut down on the mad shopping. Now to find some dates ...

Home, Home Again...

"And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne"

After a wearying day of travel, we find ourselves home, again. We started off early Friday morning, driving from Stirling to the airport in Edinburgh. Got the car turned-in with no problems (I'll miss you most of all, Metallic-Black, Ford Mondeo Titanium!), not even an angry word about the ugly scratch under the left fender (stupid curbs). Lined up for check-in at the airport, checked our luggage, then one last Caffe Mocha from Costa Coffee before bidding farewell to Scotland. At this point, we began to be followed around by an American teenaged girl who spoke with a rising inflection that made every sentence sound like a question. Also, she said "for sure" alot. I thought I'd left "for sure" in 1983, but apparently it's back. Also she had a rather lustrous mustache. Not a bit of hair on her lip, but a full-on Selleck. I understand the irony of a guy who's carrying around at least fifty extra pounds and one extra chin, commenting on someone else's appearance. But seriously, this girl could have played both Smokey and the Bandit! The flight from Edinburgh was comfortable and passed quickly, I watched three in-flight movies and Melody listened to music and played games (as she is wont to do).

After the pleasant flight, we wound up in a strange land called "Newark". Endless queuing at customs, sniffer dogs, bag checks, Melody's attempt to smuggle an apple: foiled! Welcome home. We managed to get our bags re-checked for our flight to Tulsa, then settled in for a four hour layover at Newark airport. Had a delicious burger and four ridiculously priced beers, then trekked over to Terminal A, our port of departure from New Jersey. Terminal A had the feeling of a Balkan refugee camp . Hot, noisy, malodorous, and packed with a sweaty mass of humanity. The whirling drone of some far off alarm, our constant companion. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Our first note of foreboding was hit when we glanced out the window and saw our plane. More appropriately, I should say we glanced out the window, down to the ground below, and saw what appeared to be a VW Micro-Bus with wings. This to convey us, and many others, home to Tulsa. As our flight from Tulsa (on our outbound trip) had been made in a large, comfortable, roomy plane; we had been looking forward to the same on the return trip. Sadly, hopes dashed by the diminutive flying-machine dispatched to take us home. Well, at least it was warm inside. Which is really handy in eighty-degree temperatures, when surrounded by dozens of people in a small space. God, I miss Scotland. On the bright side, the seats were massively uncomfortable. I'm a "half-full" kind of guy. After sweating, squirming, whining, and scotch-drinking our way through the interminable flight, we arrived in Tulsa! Melody's Parents met us at the airport and whisked us away home. Then, to sleep.

I will sorely miss Scotland. It is a remarkably beautiful and picturesque country. The scenery around Loch Ness, in Glen Coe and in the country surrounding Edinburgh and Stirling, is among the most brilliant and verdant I've ever seen. The people we met there, Scottish, English, American, New Zealander...were all exceedingly friendly. The beer was good, the food was tasty, the Whisky; phenomenal! I could live in Scotland. Not very different from my way of life in the US, just different enough to be interesting. But, perhaps living amid the lush scenery, medieval architecture and rich history; one would become inured to it all, Maybe, if I lived there, I'd take it all for granted, it just being a part of my everyday. Better not to risk it. I know that if I ever visit Scotland again, I'll be just as impressed, overawed really, as I was my first time. That's the way I'd like to keep it.

More communications to follow....

Stirling: Day Four

"Here Stuarts once in glory reigned
And laws for Scotland's weal ordained
But now unroof'd their palace stands
Their sceptre's sway'd by other hands
The injured Stuart line is gone
A race outlandish fills the throne
An idiot race, to honour lost
Who know them best despise them most."

Our honeymoon exploration of Scotland comes to an end, and on our last full day in Scotland, we think it best to note that the lines we've used to introduce our posts are, of course, from Robert Burns. Today's lines were etched by Burns with his diamond pen on a pane of glass in our very hotel (he smashed it later with his riding crop due to ill-feelings it engendered). We spent much of this rainy day (the sun only came out to indicate it was about to set just moments ago) in the hotel and in the city centre. We had viewed the Wallace monument (in which the first monument in the Hall of Heroes was of Robert Burns) and Stirling Bridge from the ramparts of Stirling castle (no longer unroofed due to 35 years of renovations which have just been completed), and after our "nice walk" around Stirling yesterday, decided to give our feet a rest. The town itself is wonderful and compact, and the city centre holds our hotel, shopping, lovely bakeries (we shall miss you Stephens) and the Athenaeum, a gorgeous round building (in the Scots style) designed as a reading room. We will continue to post our adventures (small and large), but, likely these tales of the mundane will pale beside our days in Scotland. Fear not, esteemed readers, it is certain we will travel again, when the funds are replenished...
Tomorrow: A harrowing drive to the airport (roundabouts!) and long flights home.

Stirling: Day Three

"But soon the sun broke through the heath

And lighted up that field of death,"

The rains made for a gloomy morning. We walked a mile toward Bannockburn Heritage Center, but turned back for home when the rains got too heavy. Had our first married fight, then made up (Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Ey, ey? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink…). After a brief respite in the room, we went out for a Steak Bridie, and, somehow, the magic of meat filled pastries (plus drinks and dessert) that only cost two and a half quid rejuvenated us and we determined to give the walk another go. We walked two miles this time, when we reached a roundabout. This roundabout had underground sidewalks where we chose our direction on the spoke. We chose poorly. We walked up the block, queried the locals and with their assurances, caught a bus, and before we knew it we were in the countryside on the way to Falkirk. Huh. Nervously we asked help of the woman behind us, who just started laughing. Luckily, a chavvy looking kid in a hoodie and track pants came to our rescue! He went up and stopped the bus driver and got us back on the right track. Sort of. At this point, we were a mile or two out of Stirling, but we walked back to the last roundabout and took a left (there was a sign) and walked another mile or two alongside the motorway through thistles and wet grass (we did see some sort of tower ruin) until we reached another roundabout that said “Bannockburn Heritage Site” and took a right. We walked another couple of miles and found the site. In total, we literally walked around half of Stirling. And when I say “literally”, I don’t mean “figuratively”. I mean we actually, really, in true fact, walked half-way around the city! The exhibition had closed 10 minutes before but, undaunted (although wet), we went out to the monument (only after a warning from the staff that they could not guarantee our safety from falling trees). Bannockburn is the field upon which Robert the Bruce seals Scottish independence in 1314, you know, that battle at the end of Braveheart after William Wallace has been quartered… Anyway, we read the moving and poignant plaques, snapped some shots, oohed and aahed over some puppies that had come out for some exercise and then began the journey back. After just a mile we reached the blasted roundabout, in which we took a photo to remind us of the important lessons we learned today: 1. Communication is hard, but makes things harder if it is delayed. 2. Roundabouts will screw you even if you are on foot, so don’t get cocky. 3. Don’t trust matronly looking women, trust the chavvy looking kid (NOTICE: This advice may get you robbed/stabbed/spray painted).

Tomorrow: The Wallace Monument and Stirling Bridge.

More communication to follow…

Stirling: Day Two

''Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to victory.''

We had a wonderful meal at the hotel last night, a beef curry and a steak pie along with fried brie and chicken pate. Afterwards, exhausted from the rain and drive, we took advantage of the lovely bath and retired early. Today we awoke refreshed to see sunshine streaming in through the windows. After a tasty breakfast at the hotel buffet, we wandered up the winding cobbled streets toward the castle. The sun was earnestly trying to maintain its supremacy over the intruding storm clouds, but it occasionally lost its hold to sprinkles.

Along our path to the castle lie the Old Town Jail, so we stopped for a tour to avoid the rain. It was a fantastic decision, as each part of the tour was wonderful. The character guides were funny and informative, and although the Tollbooth jailer took a special glee in branding Melody, putting her in a manacle, stripping her, flogging her and affixing her ear with a rusty nail to a swinging wooden door, at least DJ enjoyed the show (it was mainly just a thorough description of his plans, but the manacle did chafe my neck a bit and I have an active imagination). The next guide was a reformer who transported the prisoners to a new jail (the Old Town Jail) that emphasized hard work, education, and rehabilitation. Discipline and isolation were the keys to the success of the program. Women were assigned all domestic duties in the jail, while men were given trade and literacy training. Interestingly, if you were literate and knew a trade, the work given to you was the hardest and most menial of labor, on the theory, you should’ve known better, and thus, could not really be reformed. Just hypothetically, I cannot help but wonder what difference it would make if “white collar” prisons in the U.S. took this attitude. To finish off the tour, we were rewarded with great views of the city from the top of the old Jail as well as a small vocabulary lesson in jail and Romani (Edinburgh) slang. Incidentally, we also learned that most of the floors of the jail are now city offices, so these civil servants are not using hyperbole when they refer to their cubicles as cells.

After being released from the jail, we ambled upward, stopping along the way at the Church of the Holy Rude. This kirk is the only other active church in the UK in which a coronation of a sovereign of the United Kingdom occurred. James VI, Mary Queen of Scots’ son, was crowned in this church in 1603 when Elizabeth I died without an heir. He was in direct line to both the Tudor and Stuart thrones as a result of the marriage of the Thistle (James IV) and the Rose (Margaret Tudor)100 years earlier. The church is lovely, with 500 year old gorgeous stone columns and hand-hewn oak ceiling. The history commemorated in plaques on the wall was also interesting, and included one for the Highlanders at Argyle and Sunderland. After snapping a few shots, we returned to the upward Wynd toward Stirling Castle.

Upon buying our entry tickets, we found that the next guided tour started in 40 minutes. Since our Old Town Jail tour had been so fun, we had a coffee and waited for it to begin. We were not disappointed. While waiting for our guide, we got to listen in on the beginning of the “kiddie” tour, and got a medieval vocabulary lesson to go along with our jail slang and Romani lesson from earlier. Once our tour started, we were given a great idea of the political and architectural significance of the castle. The guide painted a compelling picture of the political significance of Stirling Castle to Scotland, but my favorite part was when we were able to visualize the still grand edifice as it had been in the 1500s. The “King’s Gold” color, extraordinarily high four conical towers flanking the entry gate, and the symmetrical front wall and square corner towers must have been a sight to see. After a stop in the gift shop, we wound our way back down the hill toward the hotel, stopping along the way at Nicky Tam’s Pub for a lunch of Steak and Ale Pie and grilled sirloin. Back at the hotel, we drank the better part of one of the gifts we bought, had a light supper and settled in for the night.

A couple of quick words of thanks: we arrived in Stirling to find that we were in desperate financial straits. Some bad luck with bills, exchange rates and the freezing of much of our money by the rental car company, had left us unsure if we’d be able to pay for our hotel and car. What are thirty-somethings to do when they get in this kind of trouble? Call their parents!! Thanks to our folks (who funded most of this trip in the first place) we’re able to afford our, rather lovely, hotel and continue with our trip. They may very well be pondering annulling the marriage, sending Mel to a nunnery and me to a debtor’s prison, but they really came through. Thanks Folks! Also, we mentioned in yesterday’s post that we’d encountered some high wind and heavy rain on the drive down. We assumed that this was normal weather for the highlands. Turns out, we were driving in some of the worst storms ever to hit Scotland, with winds up to 100 mph. So, not only have we conquered roundabouts, but also nature! Still to come: The Wallace Monument, Old Stirling Bridge, and Bannockburn. Also, will the Iceland volcano disrupt our travel plans and force us to relocate, permanently, to Scotland. If so, can we borrow some more cash?

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