Yup, another one. I went to see family and a workshop. Of course Bunny Braveheart came with me and we met a new friend Pi the Interplanetary Panda who came home with us. 

Here is a movie of their adventures together along with my cousin Amy. 

And I stayed at an AirBnB place in Dumbo not far from the workshop. Andrew has a cute cat, MAX, who is 15+ pounds and he was so cute. Like any cat, he wanted to be in the bathroom any time I was in there - washing up, using the loo, taking a shower. He would push his paw against the bathroom door to be let in so he can jump into the tub and lick water from the faucet; is this TMI? 
Anyway here is another small video of some photo's I took of him.

The first two weekends of February means it is Tucson Gem & Mineral show time and was there last week having a fun time with my friends and Bunny Bravehart too.

For me though, this year the Tuscon show was about me having fun with my friends. I was looking for any stone BUT IF I found one or two that caught my eye, yes I would purchase it.  

And to that end both of those goals were met. 

I went to the following shows: Pueblo/River Park Inn, The Hotel Tucson, and Kino Sports Park for some specimens for our mineral collection and I was able to pick up some tools and just a few stone for me to eventually make some jewelry out of

With my jewelry friends I was able to attend the AGTA and GJX shows. I am amazed at the quantity and value of some very high end gems. Plus I get to help them spend their money and learn along the way. 

Here are pictures of what I came home with.  

My second week in Scotland was as fun as the first. 
Elisa and I finished sewing 2 pillows and a pair of sheep named Rogan and Josh, to go along with Tad and Pole; we watched all three of the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" movie series - the Swedish versions with English subtitles; we made soup; and had lots of lounging around and eating of chocolate and making of puns.

Overall a fantastic time was had by all. It was a hard choice but Claymore stayed behind in Scotland because the Laird indicated that there were sheep and cooo's to rustle before winter set in and he was needed to provide for his family.

The trip home was another event in of itself. On Thursday afternoon, Mike drove me back into Aberdeen and I popped into the Aberdeen Whisky Shop to get a nice bottle for our next door neighbor and after that we went back to the CLAN house for another fish & chips supper. We retired early as we had to be up at 5:30 am so I could get to the airport as 7:00 am to check-in for my flight home.   

The flight from Aberdeen to Frankfurt went off without a hitch and I had plenty of time to get through security (again) and to my gate for the flight to San Francisco.  Once I did get to the gate they made us queue to do a security screening which I felt was odd since I had done this in Aberdeen, you know those questions about who packed the bag, were you given anything to carry, blah, blah, blah... but I just took it in stride and then had a sticker put on the back of my passport. 

And then I had to go stand in ANOTHER LINE so they could get my passport and ICE information (In Case of Emergency). I thought this was a bit much but considering it was Germany who knows what rules had been put in place since my last trip through here but I had not seen this much scrutiny even at Heathrow. Once that was done, guess what - I got to go stand in another line so we could start boarding the plane. By now we were 20 minutes behind the posted schedule for boarding but still had plenty of time before the scheduled "departure time" and people were still in the other lines going through this process but finally I was on the plane and settled into my seat while the rest of the plane loaded. 

Eventually there was no one else boarding - and we waited, and we waited, and we waited, and soon another 30 minutes went by and we were over an hour past the take off time. 

Soon there was an announcement that two people had been removed via the back of the plane and that they were removing their luggage from the hold of the plane and oh, by the way - we were also waiting for sniffer dogs to be dispatched. When would they arrive, no one knew but those people in the back half of the plane were to "de-plane" so the dogs could move about freely. Finally the dogs did arrive, the people had to get off, leaving everything behind, and "please no pictures of the dogs or security personnel".  We were now 2 hours behind the departure time and the three plus hours I had given myself between planes in SFO was disappearing fast and I came to the conclusion that I was going to miss my connection and so I popped open my tablet and sent Eric an email quickly telling him we were delayed and NOT to go to the airport to pick me up until I knew what flight I was on from SFO. I had to turn on data roaming to do it and yes it will be an expensive email but it had to be done. 

FINALLY, those who had gotten off the plane (I being in the front of the plane did not have to) re-boarded, settled into their seats and the plane left the gate and moved into the queue for take-off where of course, we sat some more! So by the time we got into the air we were 3.5 hours behind schedule and missing my connection was fact.

[We later found out that two women from the middle east were arguing about sitting in the middle section, middle two seats and there being a man on either side of them - oh my! One man, so I was told, volunteered to change seats so they could have the aisle and next inside seat and only one would have to sit next to a man. Was that ok? - I guess not as they were still arguing and raising their voices and when a stewardess came along to tell them to sit down, she got pushed... and we all know what happened after that!]

I then settled in for the 11 hour flight. I finished reading my third book over the course of the trip [These being:The Virgin Queens Daughter, The Custom of the Army: An Outlander Novella, and The Boleyn Inheritance] and I decided to have a wee dram of Scotch with my dinner. I had been given a miniature bottle of an 18 year old Glendronach by Mike and I figured with the events of the day... The steward had come around and I had gotten a glass (if you can call a plastic cup, a glass) of water with some ice. Having drunken the water I then poured part of the bottle over the ice and I was sipping it when the steward came back with dinner. He saw the bottle and then looked at me and asked "where did you get that!?". I told him I brought it with me. He then said "It is illegal to bring your own alcohol on the plane, we can fine you." I found this quite strange as it was less than 3 ounces and I had put it trough security scanners TWICE and no one had said anything. So, I Looked at him, capped the bottle and put it away. Afther he moved down the aisle, I took it back out and finished the scotch - while my row mates just looked on a smiled at my actions. [I have since looked on line and there is conflicting information about this so if you do, just be careful].   I then watched 3 movies [Movies: The Avengers, What to Expect When You are..., and Mirror Mirror. On the way over I watched Brave and Snow White and the Huntsman] and caught a nap.

Eventually we did land in San Francisco, I made it through customs and got to the service counter at 8:00 pm where I was rebooked on a 10:30 pm flight down to San Diego. I then called Mr. Kern with my new arrival time and we chatted for a bit and after that I went into the bar, had a quick bite to eat with an Anchor Porter and waited, again.   

I was finally home and in bed at 1:30 am after having been awake and traveling for over 24 hours.

Enjoy the pictures...

In 14 days, I will be on a plane to Scotland.  

In my last post, I wrote why I am going and tomorrow, Mike goes into Aberdeen where he will check-in, settle into his room and get his first radiation treatment.

Back in June Bunny Bravehart and Claymore posted a video (here) about going to Scotland. We have just entered the 30 day window until I leave.

So I will now tell you why I am going.

I am going to visit my very good friends Elisa and Mike because Mike will be in the hospital for 7 weeks and Elisa will be home alone.  Now that you know the "why" let me explain it in further detail.

Mike is to be in the hospital for radiation treatment of prostrate cancer. This has been caught very early but it still must be done. Elisa has Fibromyalgia AND Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and only drives when it is an emergency since the effort puts her into bed for several days. [We have known each other for almost 10 years and she is doing much better but when we first met, even talking on the phone would make her tired].  

The hospital where Mike will be having his treatment is over an hour drive from where they live and since the radiation treatment is progressive at one point Mike would not be well enough to drive to and fro every few days.  Because of this treatment and others and the distances to get to the hospital in Northern Scotland, the hospital has a facility set up where the patients can stay during long treatments or family member who are visiting can use at a very reasonable cost. Think of a Ronald McDonald House for Adults.   There is also nursing care for the patients, a small kitchen for making some food or you can order a meal from the hospital and a living room where you can go to get out of your room.  This is where Mike will stay during his treatment though between the fist and second week he should be fine to go home over the weekend.

As you can see, Mike will be away and Elisa will be alone and not able to visit Mike during those 7 weeks. This made me think that she needed someone to visit who would provide company, do chores around the house and not be a guest but a helper (let's not go into the dynamics of family doing this, ok). I began to ponder the idea of ME going over to help out (it has been 5 years since I have visited).  I then floated the thought to my husband who thought it was a good idea and then I called Elisa and Mike and asked them if they would like me to come over.

It was a resounding double YES! But since the date of the treatment was not book yet, we would have to wait a bit before I could make travel plans.  The idea is for me to visit for two weeks smack dab in the middle of Mikes treatment thus breaking up Elisa's alone time.

And here we are - I book my flight in July and we just have to wait for September 2 and then I will be on my way.   I will fly to Frankfurt and then over to Aberdeen (avoid London at all costs this summer) and once there I will be able to visit Mike at the care facility. Since I will have been traveling for almost 24 hours by the time see him, I will be able to stay the night. This will give me a chance to visit with Mike and rest before heading out the next day to the Kirkton of Auchterless. That will require a train from Aberdeen to Inverurie (20-30 minute travel time) and then a lay over for at least an hour until I can catch the bus to the bump in the road (45 minute travel time) where they live. The bus will drop me at the local school and it will be a few minute walk up the road to the house.  Going home, I will revers the process.

Elisa and I have been making plans since then. This really won't be a touristy trip but that does not matter. We are planning on me doing a bit of cooking and restocking of the freezer so when I am gone, Elisa will have some great meals to eat. I will do some sewing, Elisa has asked me to make a pillow for a chair and since she is not that skilled in sewing, there will be a few beginner lessons as well and maybe another bunny to join the clan. We will watch lots of movies and WWF too. AND REST, which we both will need.

Go over to the Views of Scotland page to see new pictures too.

BBh went with me on a road trip to Mesa, Arizona. I was attending a workshop with David Huang on "Chasing with Microcrystalline Wax". After you look at the pictures (click one to open it and see the description; and to scroll through a slide show) follow this link to see pictures from my workshop.

The bunny is on the move again, the packing has begun - stay tuned for pictures as the trip progresses.