It has been too long since I last gave a bit of an update on life. Multiple things have happened and I have no intention of spilling them all here, but I ought to mention a few highlights as well as share some long awaited photos which are currently cluttering my desktop in anticipation of this post.
It was to my extreme delight that my very best friend and her brother came to visit me at the end of March and not only was I able to reminisce and relax with my people from home, but we were able to spend some time going about, with myself acting as tour guide to multiple of the places I'd discovered during my time here.
My friend had her phone and took multiple pictures which I shamelessly purloined for this post, and I am, at long last, able to show you some actual highlights from the area in which I have stayed for the past nine months.
Between the Cathedral at St. Machars,
The stony slopes of Mither Tap in Bennachie,
Trinity Church where I've been attending and playing for service,
The University grounds of old Aberdeen where Bishop Elphinstone lies in state,
and the beautiful coastal town of Stonehaven, in which I've taken refuge from the size of Aberdeen, we had a grand time, and one on which I shall always look back with fondness.
I'll confess that I learned a little something, while they were here about priorities. I was so focused on making sure that we saw and did everything we could, that all events such as renting a car for a day, getting train tickets to Stonehaven, and exploring Aberdeen, all came off without a hitch that I was often a little preoccupied...too much so, and was short with my dear friends, or missed out on opportunities to just enjoy the moments I had with them.
There was quite a lot going on, the opera, for example...
However, that was hardly excuse enough for we still managed to do plenty...and, while I know my friends understood, I wish I'd spent a little more time just standing still with them and listening. This is not to say, of course that we didn't have a lot of great catch up time; Books & Beans, for example, was a great moment for April and I to just talk over things, and the menu was a great starting point,
And we certainly had plenty of goofy moments were we just had a lot of fun!
I'll let you judge for yourself,
I'm also so grateful to have the kinds of friends who will bring along costumes to a mountain hike so that they can take character photos in the wilderness. It was so much fun!
Visiting the ruins of Dunnottar Castle outside of Stonehaven was a thrill in and of itself.
It was something of great moment to stand in a place where William Wallace had stood, where Covenanters were imprisoned, and where Earls and Dukes once sat in state.
Ultimately every moment tramping around the countryside, and Old Aberdeen was a blessing. Trying fish and chips for the first time was good fun when I could do it with them. It's not my kind of food, I think and I don't precisely understand why the Brits are so crazy over it. It's satisfying enough when you're hungry, but I would almost always go with another option if I had it.
I think my favorite moments were not necessarily the scripted ones, it was random moments of chaos, such as when we were scuttling around a very busy street, attempting to get the best possible photos of a William Wallace statue which was inside a construction zone thus preventing us from getting a full front...
Or the time we were lounging about on snow strewn Mither Tap, eating random snacks, taking photos of each other and discussing the ruins of the old Pictish fort that had been built there centuries ago.
Or when April and I went out on a sunny day without jackets and, as she recounted to me afterwards, while I was in choir practice, she was wandering about the University grounds hiding from the rain and taking random pictures of amusing things...
When we were walking back from having climbed Mither Tap, and the pine trees and stone walls made me think of something out of Narnia...
When the three of us were wandering about King's quad at the University, and a shrimp of a fluffy dog came up to me and growled menacingly at my feet. I answered his challenge disdainfully with a "What are you going to do about it?" Causing both his owner, and the man with him to break out into peals of hearty laughter.
I loved getting to stand inside the War memorial for the world war I soldiers from the area about Stonehaven, and read the names of those who died fighting in a very stupid war for love of their country. The reasons for the war may not have been heroic, but these men were. Never let their sacrifices be forgotten.
Walking down a tractor path by a field of sheep side by side with my friend, taking in the smells and sounds, and the feel of the slush beneath my feet. Most people hate the mess that results when snow that has been around a while begins to melt, but I love it. It does remind me of New England, yes, but the feel of the air as the earth begins to stir again after being buried by a blanket of snow, is a feel that cannot be described, only felt.. On top of Mither Tap I was treading in snow up to my mid-calves which I had not done since my New Hampshire days. It was exhilaration, cold and wet. I didn't mind the mud and loved the bracing wind.
I loved how we got caught in the rain towards the end of our exploration of Dunnottar, and Michael, who had the foresight to bring two hats, lent me one which had Alaska blazoned across the front. I, with all my European ways, felt very American...
I loved seeing the passageway under the cliff top on which the castle was built. To think that medieval soldiers dug that hole, and William Wallace reportedly used it to get into the castle by tunneling upwards.
I loved getting to go up the spiral stone staircase in Elphinstone hall at the University and getting to view the old hall from above. You know me and my penchant to climb stone steps. Hitherto the door at the top had been locked. This time it wasn't. I was exceedingly grateful. Whether or not the University would have liked us to be up there is something I shall not concern myself with. We did no harm.
Overall, I loved being able to get out and about with people whom I am perfectly at ease with, getting to enjoy life in so many forms.
I am so grateful to them for letting me drag them everyplace I thought was important, and for putting up with my controlling and somewhat snappy personality.
I'm grateful that they were able to enjoy the beauty as much as I did, if not more, and that we were able to glorify God for it together.
I have very different notions from the rest of the world about how I can best enjoy life, and I am grateful that I got to show this part of my life to friends who had similar odd notions.
I'm thankful that they were able to be there for the premier of my very first opera and to hear my very first piece to be performed publicly for evensong earlier the same day.
God has been so very good to me, and I now have but to remember with fondness and miss my friends dearly. I am counting down the weeks until I shall be able to see them again. In the meantime, I'm going to share with you a very poor recording of the above mentioned composition. It's not perfect. We had very little time to learn it and rehearse, and it's certainly no masterpiece, but I'm so grateful to my friends in the chapel choir for working so hard to pull it together and am happy with the result given what we had to work with. Yes we're all a little pitchy, just keep in mind that we'd only rehearsed this maybe three times before this performance so do, pray, give us some slack. :)
When the weary, seeking rest, to Thy goodness flee;
When the heave-laden cast all their load on thee;
When the troubled, seeking peace, on thy name shall call;
When the sinner, seeking life, at thy feet shall fall:
Hear then in love, O Lord, the cry
In heaven, thy dwelling place on high.
When the worldling, sick at heart, lifts his soul above;
When the prodigal looks back to his Father's love;
When the proud man, in his pride, stoops to seek thy face;
When the burdened brings his guilt to thy throne of grace:
Hear then in love, O Lord, the cry
In heaven thy dwelling place on high.
When the man of toil and care in the city crowd;
When the shepherd on the moor names the name of God:
When the learned and the high, tired of earthly fame,
Upon higher joys intent, name the blessed name:
Hear then in love, O Lord, the cry
In heaven thy dwelling place on high.
Thank you so much for letting me drag you along on a very full week and a half, and thanks to April and Michael for making it possible.
