Friday Faves Edition 66

bedlamanddaisies18 Comments

Friday.

It’s Friday and as promised, I’m back!!

Last Friday, I was preparing to watch my oldest son graduate from high school!

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Friday Faves.

Sometimes the term Friday Faves doesn’t seem quite the accurate statement. I definitely have some faves to share, but I also have things that are not faves (far from it, in fact) that I need to talk about as well.

Life.

A conversation about life…my life…the lives of others…life in general.

Before Graduation.

Leading up to Big Mr.’s graduation, our schedule was pretty chaotic.

Mr. D had a random schedule because he had some finals to take and they are given in two hour windows.

Miss Sunshine had an 8th grade field trip to Washington D.C. on June 5th. We had to have her to the school by 4:45 a.m., with a “planned” pick up time that night of midnight. The best laid plans…right?! I know that they can’t calculate traffic and never come back at that time. We had Big Mr. on standby to pick her up. I stayed awake, but barely. She got in about 1:00 a.m. Her English teacher had told them there would be a quiz the last day of school, so she chose to go in for that morning block. I’ll refrain from publicly making commentary on my thoughts surrounding the situation.

My parents got in Wednesday afternoon. We took them up to the Roanoke Star on Thursday and then Thursday night, I took them on a drive through downtown Roanoke. Mostly we stayed around the house visiting.

Dress Rehearsal.

Big Mr. tried on his cap and gown for us and my mom and I snapped a few pics. There are some that are quite hilarious because his attention span for photos is rather short and he starts being silly to indicate “enough”. I’m sure if he could have gotten away with wearing flip flops to his actual graduation, he would have.

Graduation Day.

While he did wear khakis, boat shoes, a dress shirt and tie to his graduation, his one claim to his own personal style was the necklace.

The necklace is a strand of cedar beads. That is what I was told they are called when I bought them from a roadside stand in Arizona on my honeymoon. I purchased them because they keep nightmares away and while they were worse in my 20’s, nightmares are a frequent part of my dreams. In digging around, it seems that the necklace is mainly known as a Navajo Ghost Bead Necklace and is made from Juniper Berries.

Big Mr. was wearing them because he’s been wanting to rock some beads recently, but it still felt special because even though I purchased other jewelry and pottery on my honeymoon, this is the once piece that I bought because of the story behind it. While I don’t sleep in necklaces (I have a fear of strangulation) and so didn’t advocate it for my children, I did hang them above the bed of one of my children when they were having night terrors.

The beads are also thought to represent an interconnection of the earth, trees, animals and humans and bring harmony and safety to the wearer. What a perfect thing to wear on such an important day. One teacher did suggest he remove them, but he just tucked them in a little.

Party Time.

In my past, I used to host our entire family in Florida for parties. It felt a little strange that it was only my parents, but we embraced the time to celebrate together.

Photos.

Big Mr. had already stripped out of the cap and gown before I made it through the nasty graduation traffic and back home. I may have him put it back on and snap more photos, but for today, I’m happy with the few that I was able to capture.

Beach Week.

Big Mr. left for beach week along with many of his graduating classmates. He will return home soon. The house feels a little quieter with him away, but I know it won’t be long until this is the norm.

Death.

I don’t know how far news travels, but you may have heard about the triple homicide in Bent Mountain, Virginia. If you hadn’t and your breath has just been taken away, that is how I felt Wednesday morning. I don’t watch the news very often and hadn’t recently. I heard about it from my hairdresser. When she told me their ages, I suspected that either Big Mr. or Mr. D might know the people. She didn’t know the names, but I pulled out my phone and googled it. I knew right away that it was likely that the boys might know them. They did. The 20 year old was a skateboarder, something my boys did quite often when they moved here. The 18 year old girl, a classmate of Big Mr.

I knew her name.

It’s strange the little things you remember. Her name felt familiar because the last name is the same as someone well-known in this country. It made me stop a little longer and notice it at that time. I had read a quote from her in the yearbook. They were words about travel and culture, something that you know I am passionate about. Words that she will never get to fulfill. Ones that have been horribly stripped away from her. It broke my heart both as a mother and as a human. A week ago, I watched her walk across the stage and take her diploma in hand. The world a bright, open future. A world stolen.

The community is in shock, three families left without a piece of their lives and countless others heartbroken over never seeing their smiling faces again.

Be the light.

I have to believe that the good in the world outweighs those who are blackened with evil. Many days I fail to be the person I’d like to be, but I still try to spread my light through the little circle of influence that I have.

I encourage you to be the light as well.

You may have noticed that I’ve been a little quiet on the blog and social media front. I have been writing more and reading more and trying to be fully present when my family  is home.

Miss Sunshine and I head down to Florida next week. While I will miss my hubby and the boys tremendously, my heart is happy that I will be seeing family and friends that I have missed. I will be letting them know how important they are to my life by making time to just be present with them.

Still, I’ll be working on my photos and the blog in the wee hours of the nights and mornings, but I expect to only be here a few times a week during the three weeks that I am gone.

I hope that you have a stunning weekend and light-filled week. I hope there are more smiles than tears and that you find a moment to speak a kind word into somebody’s soul.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. - Martin Luther King Jr quote quotes photoquote

Let your light shine!

Amy

Some of My Favorites

bedlamanddaisies14 Comments

 

Weekly Photo Challenge.

Many of you who read my blog regularly are aware of the fact that I participate in a weekly photo challenge.

I enjoy the process because it helps me think about my photos in a different way. Quite often it also call upon my imagination as I try to interpret my take on the challenge.

The photo challenge is hosted by the Daily Post at WordPress. After many years, they have decided that the challenge will come to a close. This past week has been the final prompt.

Some of My Favorites.

I am coming in at the deadline because I lack time management skills I have family coming in for the oldest’s graduation, which is this Friday, and end of school year obligations for three teens keeps me busy.

The prompt for this final week is All-Time Favorites.

I’ve captured many photos that have become my favorites over the course of the past 2 1/2 years. However, instead of digging deep into my archives, time requests that I share some recent favorites.

Photographer. |Sunset at Naples Pier. 2018

This photo was taken by my mother and edited by me.

I don’t always love myself captured in front of the camera, but are moments when I am that can transport me back to that very second.

I arrived into Naples (Florida), which is my hometown, in order to fly out the next day for the U.K. My mother and I visited some family and then made our way to the pier to watch the sunset.

I was in the middle of my yoga pose challenge and she coaxed me into completing it on the beach (I’m not one for striking a pose in front of people). It’s probably one of my favorites of the challenge, you can find it here.

Then it was time to capture some of the sunset.

I was adjusting the settings when she snapped this photo.

Pelican. |Sunset at Naples Pier. 2018

It’s not often that my sots line up just how I’d envisioned them when you are accounting for a moving object.

However, this time I captured the pelican in flight, wings extended and still had the sun’s rays, the pier, and a boat (which would not normally be that close to the pier, but that section is closed due to damage it sustained last year during  Hurricane Irma.)

Arthur’s Seat. |Edinburgh, Scotland. 2018

I’m sure this has its own name, but I haven’t yet discovered it (if you have, feel free to chime in and let me know). One of the things that we wanted to do on our return to Edinburgh was climb Arthur’s Seat.

Arthur’s seat is an ancient volcano and offers beautiful views of the city. It is also the location of the Radical Road, built by the unemployed weavers from the west of Scotland after the Scottish Insurrection. While I do not know if my ancestors helped build the Radical Road, I do descend from some weavers who lived nearer to Glasgow.

We began our hike from the Holyrood Park car parking area. We followed the signs marked “main trail” (which is not the Radical Road because that appeared steeper and my mother is a Floridian flatlander). This peak was a the beginning of the hike.

Be aware that there are numerous routes to the summit. We did not return the way we ascended, which was unintentional. I see the routes listed as colors, but if there are markings I missed those. My experience is seeing the blazes used in the forests surrounding me here in Virginia, so that was what I was expecting.

I will do a future post on the actual hike and include more photos from that journey.

Callanish Standing Stones. |Isle of Lewis, Scotland. 2018

One of our main desires on this journey was to see the Callanish Standing Stones.

We arrived early to avoid the crowds and were mesmerized by the space.

The stones are 5,000 years old.

Even older than Stonehenge.

This is site I. We also visited sites II and III.

I have plenty more to share from this journey so look for that in a future post as well.

Photography.

One of the parts of the photo challenge journey that I have enjoyed is meeting others who were also participating.

As a beginning, amateur photographer, I have learned so much through those I have met.

I plan to continue working on my skills. Since the photos above were shot in raw, which I am just learning to work with, you may see them come back in new, or different, or possibly even better ways.

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. - Dorothea Lange. Photo quote placed over photo of Victoria Street in Edinburgh Scotland

Let your light shine!

Amy

Friday Faves Edition 65

bedlamanddaisies14 Comments

Friday.

Hello Friday!!

Bring on the weekend!!

I say that, but the forecast is still calling for thunderstorms. They appear to be scattered storms, so I’m hoping there will be some breaks of sunshine in between.

How is the weather in your area?

 

Friday Faves.

I do have some Friday Faves to share, but also just some news about life and such.

Flooding.

It had rained here most of the time that I was away in the U.K. That led to saturated grounds. The area of Roanoke in which I live was hit with a storm last Sunday that dropped 6 1/2 inches of rain in three hours, causing flash floods and mudslides.

I have some friends that shared that they had to be diverted off of the main road because sections of it were impassable. Big Mr was with a friend over near our local library and said a flooded area was as wide as the Roanoke River. They had to turn around because the water too deep, and that was even barely into the swath.

I was at home quite oblivious to the extent at which the waters were rushing until I saw footage. Our property slopes downward with our home sitting on a hill. We are toward the bottom of what you could call a mountain…or a larger hill, but I’m not sure there is anything that would mudslide toward us. The placement of our home also means that our basement doesn’t flood.

Driving Miss Sunshine to school and passing along the road that runs near the high school, there are piles out for the trash that you can tell came from flooded basements. My heart is heavy for all those who have damage to deal with and memories that have been lost.

Memorial Day.

Monday was Memorial Day.

I spent time with my family and the hubby and I looked for some furniture for the back deck. Right now we are down to two plastic adirondack chairs that we bought for seating when we first moved to Virginia because our furniture hadn’t yet arrived. Of the two that are left of the initial five, one is broken and it is a matter of time before the seat fully gives way.

I didn’t find anything, but I do have some ideas for what I may get.

The Next Phase.

Big Mr. doesn’t graduate from high school until next Friday, but he is finished with school.

On Tuesday, they had a Senior Day where there is a field day for the Seniors (this was moved indoors due to the rain), and along with their graduation practice, they decorate their caps to showcase where they are going after high school.

University.

Big Mr. will be heading to Virginia Tech in the fall. They sent him this sign to stick to his cap. Some of Seniors get very creative in decorating their caps (everything must be removable for the actual graduation ceremony).

My High School Graduation Memories.

It’s funny what your mind chooses to remember.

I needed to get the wrinkles out of his gown. I was talking with my mom about how strange it was that they come all folded in a package with deep wrinkles and asked her if she had to iron my gown for high school graduation.

The answer was yes.

And yet, I have no recollection about how I received my cap and gown, only wearing it (wrinkle free). I also recall a big discussion with my three close friends about the possibilities of rebelling against the fact that we were expected to wear dress shoes. I’m pretty sure there were more details to the type of shoe required, but we were told that they would be inspecting them in the lineup, prior to our ceremony, and we would be pulled from the lineup if not wearing dress shoes. We tried to come up with a way to switch to white Converse after inspection. We even had a teacher who encouraged our idea (he was a total nonconformist). In the end…we became like sheep and conformed because we had family in the stands and didn’t want to take the chance of not getting to walk in graduation.

What do you remember about your own high school graduation?

Yoga.

This week also finished out my May Challenge…31 days of yoga poses. It was wonderful to have Dee Dee come along with me on this journey.

I shared my pose each day on my Instagram Stories.

At this time, I have all 31 days shared on my Instagram Page under the Highlights section.

I thought I’d share a couple of my favorites from this week.

The Wheel Pose shown above wasn’t technically on the pose challenge. It was on the day of the Camel Pose. I can’t seem to touch my toes in Camel Pose without bringing my hips farther back than my knees and yet I can do the backbend required for Wheel Pose.

This shot was me proving to myself that I could still do the Wheel Pose.

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Dancer Pose.

Dancer Pose is one my favorite poses.

I feel graceful when I am in the pose, even if that is not the visual reality.

I was never a dancer, but I recall a time in my drama class where somebody’s mother came in to show us some ballet moves for the choreography of a musical we would be performing. I can’t remember exactly what she said to me, but it was a compliment in regards to the fact that my long arms and legs made the moves look nice.

I was the person in drama who took the leftover roles because I loved acting (playing the part of someone else), but did not audition (which required “me” to get up in front of my peers) for any part. This compliment from a stranger in front of my class meant a lot and stuck with me.

Crow Pose.

The final pose was crane pose. Crane Pose requires straight arms and your knees pressed into your armpits. I was happy with crow pose. I’m of the opinion that any arm balance is a good arm balance.

Writing.

If you have already seen my June Challenge, then you know that today I will begin spending 20 minutes a day working a story or two that I began writing last year or possibly even coming up with an entirely new story.

This does mean that I will again be learning time management.

Film.

I had considered making June a month of no TV, but I do have a couple of shows that I like to watch with the hubby and rarely watch it outside of that.

Even on the long haul flight to and from the U.K., I did more reading than movie watching.

I managed to start and finish The Handmaid’s Tale and I started Red Queen. Once home, I’ve been a little sidetracked by simultaneously reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I stumbled upon it at the library and recognized it from knowing that she gave a TED talk on it (which I haven’t yet watched).

However, on the way over I did watch Lady Bird, which I watched again last night. This time with the hubby.

I also watched Black Panther and It on the return flight.

I didn’t love It as much as I expected to love it. I read and watched lots of Stephen King in my late teens.

Have you watched any great movies or shows lately?

How about any amazing books?

Outlander.

I also picked up Season 1 of Outlander. I’m always late to hop on the bandwagon, but after my time in the Highlands I’m curious to see the show.

What about you? Have you seen Outlander?

The photo is from our day trip around the Isle of Skye. This was our tour guide Sandy and the photo was taken toward the end of the trip.

That is Eilean Donan castle in the background.

I’m still getting around to processing my photos from my time away. Graduation time is a busy time.

In case you missed it, I did share some views from the River Clyde in Glasgow in this post and some Doors of London in this post.

I will not be back next week with a round of Friday Faves because Big Mr.’s graduation is in the middle of the day and my parents will be coming up for that as well.

I’ll have some posts up during the week though and will be back for Faves the following Friday.

I hope that you have an awesome weekend and week ahead.

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Let your light shine!

Amy

 

Doors of London

bedlamanddaisies16 Comments

London.

On my most recent travels to the UK, I visited London for the first time.

We only had two days in London, but they were two full days….and, boy did we fill them!!

Doors.

I knew that I would find a plethora of beautiful architecture in London, which would also include some amazing doors.

In this department, London did not disappoint!

Looking for doors was not the only thing that I did in my jam packed two day,s yet I still managed to have enough photos of doors that I will have to share them in more than one series.

Belgravia.

Today’s series of doors is from a walk that we took in Belgravia

(According to the map. I admit to being confused by the breakdown of the quadrants on London. There was a sign that we passed on Bourne Street that said The Royal Borough of Kensington on Chelsea, so I assumed that I was in Chelsea).

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But on with the tour…

On my list of “must see” items were some pastel colored buildings.

I stumbled upon a location to put into Google maps from this post by A Lady in London. While I would have loved to have seen every cafe that she recommended, time just didn’t allow for it.

After our trip around the London Eye, we took the underground to Sloane Square and proceeded to head toward my final destination.

#10

I can never pass up the opportunity to photograph a red door (ok, maybe sometimes…like when there are so many to choose from that you’d stop every minute).

I loved how this one had the hedge to create a framed pathway.

#91.

Not only did the door itself look elegant, the inlay on the stairs added an element of posh.

I also love flower boxes.

#89.

I couldn’t pass this door without snagging a shot because I loved the door knocker.

#83.

I think the intricate tile work is very pretty, but we know that I snapped this photo because a blue door is going to stand out!

71 Elizabeth Street.

Les Senteurs.

As we moved closer to my ultimate destination, the doors and displays became magnificent. I only wish that I’d had time to capture more, but rain was on the way and we still had so much to see.

53 Elizabeth Street.

Moyses Stevens.

Passing by flowers spilling into the street was just too gorgeous not to stop and capture.

However, if you are looking for a door, #51A & 51B to the left of the photo looks quite nice.

 

116 Ebury St.

Peggy Porschen Cakes.

This was my ultimate destination.

I could not pass up the opportunity to see pastel pink in all its glory.

We were late enough in the morning that capturing an empty door would have been time consuming. And time was the one thing that I had in limited quantity.

This is a well-known Instagram location so people were having shots taken while they sipped their coffee at the lovely outdoor tables. I crossed the street to take in more of the scene, but at that point someone had lined up in front of the door with a photographer. I have one of them as well, but I like this one of the server wearing his pink attire and entering the shop.

We considered lining up to eat, but again, time was a force working against us. It worked out rather well since we stumbled upon the Duke of York Square Food Market in Chelsea.

Stay Tuned.

I’ll share more about this surprise excursion and some hilarity with dialect in a future post. I’ll also be sharing more doors from London and some from our time in Scotland, so be sure to check back.

Meanwhile, if you have an affinity for doors, hop over to Norm’s blog, where he hosts Thursday Doors, and you’ll find many more.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions"

Let your light shine!

Amy

30 Day Challenge…June

bedlamanddaisies15 Comments

End of May.

This month has flown by for me.

It will continue to be busy for the next few weeks.

I apologize ahead of time that it’s taking me a little longer than normal to respond to comments and catch up on reading.

30 Day Challenge.

I looked at the calendar and realized June was sneaking up on me and I hadn’t announced my June Challenge.

…and I had no clue what I was going to do.

For those that are new to my blog, I’ve done a 30 day challenge each month since I turned 40 back in September.

A challenge to press outside of comfort zones.

To grow in some way.

June Challenge.

After pondering a bit, I’ve come up with my June challenge.

So without further ado,

30 Days of writing (either a short story or part of a longer story)

for 20 minutes each day.

Europe to do list

Writing.

I knew that this challenge would need to be portable since I will be spending part of June in Florida. Also, May’s yoga challenge was physical in nature. Therefore, I wanted June’s challenge to be more mental in nature.

I’ve started and stopped writing pieces of fiction many times. I thought that this year I would find space to make my writing a more important component of my daily life. I am not very good at putting my needs before others so I only carve out small snippets eat day for my own pursuits. Since I decided those pursuits would include 30 day challenges, they took the place that I might have reserved for my writing.

I had dreams of writing during my time in the U.K. I thought the words would spill into the leather-bound journal that I brought along. Instead I rushed along to see the wondrous sights and collapsed into bed at night.

And so for the month of June, writing will “be” the priority.

For the last portion of the month, Miss Sunshine and I will be staying at a little cottage near the beach. I’m already dreaming words flowing from my fingertips as I sit upon the little cozy back porch.

I suppose if I sit down and write a reflective blog post (which has an element of storytelling and takes me well over 20 minutes) then on those days, that will qualify as my writing time.

However, I am hoping most days will be filled pouring out ideas of storylines and seeing if they coalesce in a satisfying way.

I see this as a slowing down time after the rush of end of the school year preparations.

I hope that you find some areas in your life where you are able to slow down as well.

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. - Henry David Thoreau

Let your light shine!

Amy

Views Along the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland

bedlamanddaisies13 Comments

Glasgow.

During my most recent trip to the U.K., my mother and I made a day trip over to Glasgow, Scotland.

There are trains from Edinburgh to Glasgow that take just around an hour and run regularly. If you are traveling during off-peak hours (which we did) the tickets price is nominal (We paid £13 each for a return ticket. It’s less if you are traveling with more because you can purchase a groupsaver ticket, which is what we were able to do last year when 3 of us traveled over).

If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time then you are already familiar with the fact that many of my traced Scottish roots come from the Glasgow region.

Photography Series.

I’m squeezing this photography series in just under the deadline. The weekly photo challenge is twisted, which ask us to consider things that don’t maintain a straight line.

Obviously, this challenge could be taken many ways and I have many photos from my time in the U.K. that would qualify.

However, I am rapidly preparing to witness my oldest child graduate from high school. Big Mr. is done with tests and done with all the “officialness” of school. Today, he has graduation practice and varying fun things at school. And then, it’s just wait until graduation day on June 8th. It would have made more sense for them to graduate this Friday, but I don’t make the calendar.

This culminating time is a busy one, but it also makes me reflect on family.

River Clyde.

The River Clyde is the second longest river in Scotland.

Quite often you will hear it said that “Glasgow made the Clyde, and the Clyde made Glasgow”.

Clyde Arc.

The Clyde Arc (also known as Squinty Bridge) stands out amongst the landscape. It connects Finnieston Street on the north bank of the river to Govan Road on the south bank.

These first two photos were taken during our trip to Glasgow in 2017.

Genealogy.

We still have quite a ways to go in researching our roots, but we do know a few ancestors for whom the River Clyde must have played a part in their life.

McLachlan.

My 4th great-grandfather, Hugh McLachlan, married Mary McLachlan on December 7, 1827. The old parish registers of Glasgow state that he was a seaman and that they were residing in Glasgow. I have not been able to trace either of these grandparents back any farther at this time. Their son, my 3rd great-grandfather, Hugh McLachlan, was born in in 1835 in Glasgow. That was according to his death certificate. By the time of his death in 1881, he was living in Airdrie and was a former miner (I visited there last year).

His daughter Agnes was my 2nd great-grandmother and she would emigrate to Nova Scotia, Canada with her husband and sons in 1911.

Munn.

Her husband was James Scott and his family lineage would have also been affected by the River Clyde. His mother, my 3rd great-grandmother, was Mary Munn. She was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland around 1842.

Her father was Thomas Munn. His death certificate lists him as a ship carpenter, journeyman and living at 67 High Street in Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland in 1874. He was born in 1815 in Irvine to David Munn (also a ship carpenter, journeyman) and Janet Orr. On the 1861 census, he was listed as a ship carpenter living on Keppoch Row Possil Road in Maryhill (once a burgh, now part of Glasgow).

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Mary Munn gave birth to my 2nd great-grandfather, James, in Holytown, but by the birth of her son Thomas (two years later) and daughter Jeanie (two years after that) they are living in New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire. My 3rd great-grandfather, James would die in October of 1871 from Caries of the Spine (which appears to be caused from TB and would explain why the baby was living with her aunt and uncle, John and Margaret Hay, on Pollacks Hill in Holytown on the 1871 census).

Mary Munn would marry George Brown at the end of 1872 and some of the Brown children would be born in the Lambhill and Maryhill areas

Bell’s Bridge.

It was with this family history in mind that my mother and I chose to make a stop along the River Clyde.

On our first trip, we only passed by on the tour bus. This time we wanted to walk across the River Clyde.

We chose to do that on Bell’s Bridge.

Bell’s Bridge is a pedestrian bridge that spans the River Clyde.

The bridge can rotate open to allow ships to pass.

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BBC Scotland.

From the bridge you can see the BBC Scotland building along with the Glasgow Science Center, which also includes the Glasgow Tower (which, according to the website is the only structure on earth capable of rotating 360 ° into the prevailing wind).

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SSE Hydro.

Of course, no tour of this area of the Clyde waterfront is complete without sharing photos of two architectural marvels.

One of those is the SSE Hydro. Located on the opposite bank as the Science Center, the SSE Hydro is the largest entertainment venue in Scotland. It can hold 12,000 people (all seated) or up to 13,000 (seated and standing in performance bowl.)

The shape was inspired by ancient Greek and Roman amphitheaters.

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SEC Armadillo.

Located just beside the SSE Hydro is the SEC Armadillo. It was originally called the Clyde Auditorium. The inspiration for the 3,000 seat venue was a series of interlocking ship’s hulls. However, the nickname “armadillo” obviously stuck.

Have you ever visited the Clyde waterfront?

I’ll have plenty more to share from Glasgow in future posts, but if  you’re interested in my time there last year, you can find my posts here:

The Necropolis

George Square

University of Glasgow

The Cloisters

Murals of Glasgow

The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace. -Mahatma Gandhi

Let your light shine!

Amy

Friday Faves Edition 64

bedlamanddaisies14 Comments

Friday.

Well if you hadn’t already guessed, I’ve made it back from the U.K.

I arrived back in Virginia on Tuesday evening.

…and have been playing catch up ever since.

Friday Faves.

I’m still playing catch up, but I thought I’d pop in with a few of my Friday Faves.

I returned home to our upstairs a/c being out…it had been out for a week…but the service calls require you to be available and the hubby has a job in a different city…so, no bueno… and I dealt with that on day one of my return.

While I was away Miss Sunshine had her middle school spring sports banquet and was awarded Offensive Player of the Year.

Mr. D made it to his AP exams.

I also heard rumor that my three teens know how to pack their own lunches and wash their own clothes. Upon my return, I learned that I’m not sure it was a factual rumor because I am back in the food packing and clothes washing business.

Big Mr. took his final test of high school yesterday and over the weekend we will be signing him up for his July University orientation.

I was so busy since my return that it was only this morning that I found time to import my photos from the trip. It will take me a while to sift through them since there were around 1,200 photos. I’m sure many will make their way to the trash pile, but I’m hoping the majority will have turned out nicely.

I thought that I’d share a quick few today, but be on the look out for more in the future.

Isle of Lewis.

We had one day in the Outer Hebrides on the Isle of Lewis.

It was an early morning!

We caught the local bus in Inverness at 5:10 am to the airport for a 7:00 am flight. After landing, we picked up our rental car and headed straight out to the Callanish Standing Stones.

It was a day full of adventure before heading back to the airport in time for our 5:00 pm flight.

I have so much more to share about our day here, but that’ll have to wait until a future post.

Isle of Skye.

We had a bus tour that took us all over the Isle of Skye along with some more stops.

This shot of my mother and me was taken at our stop to see the Quiraing . It had rained just a bit earlier and the cloud cover was low. It did start to clear up some as we made our descent.

I’ll share more in the future.

I didn’t mind the low clouds and the element of mystery they created, but I’m hoping as I sift through the photos that it translated well in the captures.

Highland Coo.

And lastly, a selfie with a Highland Coo. They were just so adorable. I was hoping that I’d be able to see one up close!

Weekend.

That’s all I have for today.

So much to do, so little time!

I hope that you all have a light-filled weekend.

We’ll be enjoying the three day Memorial Day Weekend.

Catch up with you all soon!

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. - Dorothea Lange. Photo quote placed over photo of Victoria Street in Edinburgh Scotland

Let your light shine!

Amy

A Sneak Peek at the Isle of Skye

bedlamanddaisies12 Comments

U.K.

Hey all!!

I’ve returned from my travels to London and throughout Scotland.

I’ve been back in my time zone for less than 48 hours. I’ll have my feet back in my current home city by this evening.

I have lots of catching up to do, but I wanted to pop in before I missed the weekly photo challenge.

This week the theme is liquid.

Scotland.

While I did take a cruise along the Thames in London, it was my time in Scotland that brought me many views of water.

Don’t worry!

I’ll be sharing plenty more from my time in the U.K. after I get home and process my photos.

Isle of Skye.

For today, I’m just sharing a glimpse of a view from a stop in the Isle of Skye.

We took a 12 hour bus tour with WOW Scotland (which I’ll share more about in a future post) from Inverness and through the Isle of Skye.

Trotternish Peninsula.

This shot was captured on a stop as we drove along the Trotternish Peninsula, the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye.

I hope you enjoy the view.

I’ll talk to you all soon!

View from the Trotternish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye in Scotland

Let your light shine!

Amy