Christmas, Hogmanay and other Delights - 2010

Christmas should always be a magical time of year.  This one was made more special by the archive being closed from the last half of Christmas Eve Day through the fourth of January.  And we NEEDED the break! 

Nothing quite like a beautiful Christmas tree in downtown Edinburgh to get you into the spirit of the season.

The archive missionaries have started a tradition of having a Christmas Breakfast.  We hosted eight of us on Christmas morning at our flat.  After a hearty breakfast and a good long Scottish "blether," we all went to our individual flats and videoed or talked with our children and grandchildren the rest of the day.

The breakfast tradition includes waffles with maple syrup (they don't  have that in Scotland) or fruit and whipped cream and egg omelets.

The archive sisters in our kitchen on Christmas morning.  The three of us in the middle have been together at the Scottish archives throughout our missions and will all-to-soon be returning home.  The sisters on both ends are new to their archive missions and are temporarily in Scotland awaiting the completion of new archive facilities in Belfast, Ireland where they will serve after January.  Interestingly, the sister on the far right and Linda graduated from high school together and have never crossed paths since graduation until they met again in Scotland in December. 

A Christmas tradition of our family being perpetuated.

Between Christmas and New Years we took a wee trip to Pitlochry, a beautiful little village in Perthshire.  We were having so much fun we stayed an extra day. 

High Street in Pitlochry

New Years Eve day found us in Edinburgh.  Edinburgh hosts a huge Hogmanay Festival  - 80,000-85,000 people - the biggest New Year's celebration in the UK.  We chose to see it in the daytime and it was fun to feel the excitement in the air and watch everyone having a good time.  Over sixteen big amusement park rides plus game and food booths, big screen TVs, bands, a Ceilidh and an ice rink go up on Prince's Street and in Prince's Street Gardens.  Traffic was blocked off and it was unique to walk down the middle of busy Prince's Street . . . only on Hogmanay!

Prince's Street Ice Rink next to Waverley Train Station.

New Years Day we were invited to a ward member's home for steak pie and trifle.  With us are the mission office sisters.  Our holidays also included contacts with those we have worked with, but those visits are much harder to capture on camera.

We had put off a trip to Glasgow for a long time, but worked it in after New Years and before we had to go back to work.  Glasgow is more industrial than Edinburgh, more working man.  The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, however, was not working class.  Nice, and we especially enjoyed the art work and the explanations and details about the art pieces.

Inside the museum we listened to an organ recital of old Scottish tunes.  "Absolutely brilliant" and some we have become familiar with and recognized.

It is hard to believe that we have celebrated our second Christmas in Scotland.  We remember so well the excitement of just arriving last year as we began our mission and now, a year later, we still feel excited because of  the good people we know and love and the joy we've felt serving as missionaries amongst them.  We have strengthened our testimonies as we've served, built lasting friendships, made incredible memories, and are better people for having been here.  A joyous year!

2010 December Happenings

December . . . that wonderful Christmas season . . . and we attended many fun activities and had several others postponed because of the "big snow."

Thai Dinner in Edinburgh

We forgot the camera but spent such a nice evening in town in the snow (on the bus) to meet with our dear ward member, Beth, at her favorite Thai restaurant, Phunket.  Beth is from New Zealand, serves so faithfully in the Edinburgh Ward and works as a nurse.  She always has a huge smile on her face and an enthusiastic approach to life and was one of the first to welcome us into the ward over a year ago.  Since she is alone, it was fun for all three of us to be out together celebrating the season in early December.

Christmas Zone Conference

We love opportunities to attend mission conferences and feel of the spirit and the instruction there.  Our mission president  had a good Christmas story at December zone conference.  There is nothing like Zone Conference to give you renewed zip for your mission!

Here our mission president and his wife get into the spirit of the day, and we did not see nor hear any of that Bah Humbug!

Sisters from the Edinburgh Ward prepared a great dinner for all 70 of us (less than half of our missionaries now that we include Ireland).  They are the unsung heroes of the day and some of our favorite sisters!  Delicious Christmas turkey  meal!  Tasted SO good and the tables were beautiful!

YSA Holiday Dinner

The YSA's planned an American Thanksgiving Dinner - all the traditional trimmings - but it got snowed out.  We made up for it later in December with a "Holiday Dinner," and it was delicious.  Turkey, dressing, Scottish stuffing, cranberries, potatoes, gravy, veggies and pie . . . the only thing we missed was pumpkin pie.  The Scots don't eat pumpkin pie and pumpkin in a can is only sold at Jenners Dept. Store in the heart of Edinburgh.  Not an easy thing to come by.  We cooked the meal in the mission home kitchen (lucky our stake center is next door!).  Any night with the YSA's is a fun night. 

Our Chinese members are just great.  We're not sure how many turkey dinners they have had, but they do enjoy trying new things.  Qi Feng ("Chi Fong"-center) has joined the church since we arrived, just received the Melchizedek Priesthood and has now returned to mainland China visiting five temples in Europe on his way home.  What a terrific, faithful, strong member he is.  He will be a well-prepared, great leader in China when that can happen.  The girl seated next to Qi Feng, Jessica, has been a member of the Church longer than any of our other Chinese converts in Edinburgh and is also serving on the YSA Council and is the Chinese Institute teacher.  She is a terrific leader, a "mother" to these good kids, and her testimony is solid.  One of the joys of our mission has been the miracle of watching these Chinese students embrace the gospel.  They love and support one another and are so quick to be obedient to Gospel principles.  Pioneers of today!

Emma Finishes her Quilt!!   

Way back in August, Emma started a lap quilt for her 92-year old Gran - with some heavy mentoring.

It did get finished by Christmas and her Gran was so pleased.  It took us a long time, but was a great accomplishment for a girl who has never held a needle in her hands (pieced and quilted by hand).

New Senior Sisters in the Archives

In mid-December, we welcomed two new sisters from St. George and California to temporarily live in Edinburgh and work in our archives.  They were actually called to be archive missionaries taking digital images in Dublin, Ireland, but since that project is not approved yet, they were sent to Edinburgh until they can go to Ireland by February (they hope!).  The missionaries in our archives were assigned by the mission president to care of them and help them get settled.  When Ned and I went to the mission home to pick them up, two of us recognized each other!  After graduating together from Davis High in 1966, there was Mary standing in the Edinburgh mission home kitchen ready to serve the same kind of mission that we were called to!  We weren't close friends but went through junior high and high school together and certainly knew one another and shared mutual friends.  It's been great fun to have her with us in the archives and see her daily.  This is Mary's first mission and Anice's second mission, having served her first in Hong Kong.  We admire the senior sisters who serve missions SO much.  They go out all alone at older ages and are assigned someone who will be their companion for their entire mission (at least that's how it is in our mission).  Mary is my age (62 - I'm not ashamed!) and Anice is 75,  but a fearless, willing, good sister.  The missionary couple that Ned and I replaced in the archives here live in Colorado, but she too, was a member of my graduating class at Davis High.  What are the odds?

Davy Holt Concert

We were invited to share a delightful evening at the home of a counselor in our Stake Presidency in Livingston in early December.  This talented, personable man makes his living as a performer of Scottish folk tunes doing gigs throughout Scotland and he invited another professional vocalist to come to his home and sing for a small group of stake leaders.  Once again, we forgot the camera, but a picture wouldn't begin to portray the lively, toe-tapping Ceildh music that we clapped and sang to as Davy Holt performed.  These Scottish folk singers use such heavy brogue as they sing that you miss plenty of words, but their songs tell the story of Scotland and are filled with good humor and heartfelt love for their country.  We have acquired plenty of Scottish folk CD's and as we drive in the country, we sing all the words we can figure out together.  No one cares when we're in the car alone!  From these songs, we know all about their drinking in the pubs, fighting between the clans, battles against the English, and what Scottish men wear underneath their kilts!    

2010-12 Dunfermline - "No man can become rich without himself enriching others" A. Carnegie

The richest man in the world was a Scot, born over the Fourth Bridge in Dunfermiline, about twenty-five minutes drive from our flat.  Andrew Carnegie (prounounced Car-nay-gie in Scotland) was born in 1835 and, with his family, immigrated to America when he was thirteen, for better opportunities.  Industrialization had economically destroyed his father's weaving business.

In 1901 (age 65) he sold his steel empire for $400 Million, which, adjusting for inflation, is more than the fortune of Bill Gates!  He then gave three-fourths of it away.  His philosophy was to direct his own charitable gifts that mankind might better themselves rather than give to the poor directly or other charitable organizations.  His libraries, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pitencrieff Park in Dunfermline, Carnegie Hall, etc. are examples of his method of giving - gifts that go on giving.   

Andrew in his study, with his wife's picture on the wall.  This original furniture from his study is in the Carnegie Museum in Dunfermline.

  The public was denied access to a huge estate in the middle of the village directly across the street from Carngie's childhood home.  After pressure from Andrew's mother and her family, the Laird of Pittencrieff was forced to open his grounds to the public one day each year, but excluded the Carnegie family.  When Andrew became wealthy and Pittencrieff came up for sale, he bought the entire estate, opened it to the public and made a magnificient park that is still the center and highlight of Dunfermline today for all to enjoy.  He wrote about Pittencrieff Park (the Glen):  "The most sacred spot on earth to me.  No title is precious in all the world as Laird of Pitencrieff." 

The first of the 2,509 Carnegie Libraries was opened in Dunfermline in 1883.  It's still in use and a beautiful building.

The garden of the Abbot House near Dunfermline Abbey/Palace and Carnegie Library.  Great little cafe where we went to find a "Steak Pie" - we each had one!  Don't ever come to Scotland without having a steak pie!  Yum!

Every village in Scotland seems to have a "High Street" (Main Street).  This is Dunfermline's, paved in cobbles, with plenty of fun, cute shops.  The street is very narrow all the time, but when the snow is piled on the sides, it becomes a parking nightmare and a one-lane road where every driver must give and take to get through.  Dunfermline was the ancient capital of Scotland and many of the old royalty were crowned, lived and buried here (National hero and ancient King Robert, the Bruce is buried in Dunfermline Cathedral-minus  his heart which is buried at Melrose Abbey in the Borders).  Full of history and one of our favorite little villages.

How could you resist going into a store called "Pink String & Sealing Wax?"  One of Linda's (the non-shopper) favorite shops.