I’ve Made it Home! (an update 2 months late)
Yes! Despite what you may have gleaned from my blog silence, we did survive the move from Scotland to Florida. We landed in FL on Christmas Eve, just in time to spend the holidays with our families. It has been a whirlwind of catching up with friends, hanging out with family, playing with our cats, and of course diving back into work.
We did get a chance to spend our last weekend in the city we love, Edinburgh. It is a city I fear, that has ruined all other cities for me. I do not know that I will find another city that I would enjoy living in more.
So before leaving the city, we made sure to do a lot of “lasts,” including one last Full Scottish Breakfast at The Edinburgh Larder. Best brekkie ever.
And we also had our own Christmas before heading home. Trent got me this awesome bag from Cambridge Satchel Company. Can you tell how excited I am?
Since being back, we’ve tried to temper our American immersion with a little bit of Britishness/Scottishness. For example, the local grocery store, Publix, may have this so very American pop-up hot dog toaster…
…we returned to Wickham Park the very next day for a Dragon Festival, complete with jousting and even (this was new to me) stick-weaving. Ok, so it wasn’t an entirely authentically British event (have you heard of utility kilts?), but we were impressed with the event, their enthusiasm, and the turnout. It was a really fun day!
Striving to keep some of the Scottish traditions we’ve adopted, Trent found some Haggis from a local import store, so we were able to celebrate Burns Night in style (and you can bet we are going to enjoy Pancake Tuesday tonight too – yes, I know that isn’t a Scottish tradition, but we picked it up from there!).
Unlike in Scotland, we have been able to spend a good deal of time outdoors: Reading just outside (making the kitty insanely jealous),
Dog-sitting by the pool – not a hard job! By the way, that hair you see belongs to a shi tzu, it is not my own luscious flowing hair.
and we even have gotten a wee walk in: the Ritch-Grissom Wetlands at Viera. We spotted 3 alligators and loads of birds – Florida walks are so very different from Scotland walks. I enjoy the sun (with protection from a sun-hat and spf 70), but I do miss the sheep!
On the knitting front, I’ve done quite a bit for fun! I have found a knitting group that meet every Wednesday – it’s great, they are all so nice! However, I expect over the summer the numbers will drastically reduce – a major percentage of the group is retired snowbirds! Inspired by one of the knitters in the group, I’ve started 2 versions of Ysolda’s Follow Your Arrow Mystery KAL. I’m having fun also keeping tabs on the Edinburgh knitter pals who are knitting their Arrow Shawls too. Pictures of mine will come eventually, I’m sure!
I’ve also had some baby things to knit! My good friend Angeli is adorably pregnant, and one of the major perks of being home now is getting to watch her grow, attending her shower, and in a few months, meeting baby! I knitted a bumblebee-lovey for the wee bairn, I hope it will be a hit toy for baby. Angeli sure liked it, so that is promising! The project was adapted from this pattern; you can see my project details here.
My older brother and his wife are expecting too – I’m going to be an Auntie! – so you can bet I have a project planned for them… but the shower is soon, so I am running out of time to knit it!
So what’s left? Oh yeah! I also managed to visit NYC! First time back in about 5 years, I’d guess. I represented ERIBÉ, whom you may recall I worked for back in Scotland. I got to be salesman, bringing the Autumn/Winter 2014-15 collection to present to buyers in the city. It was a great experience, and fantastic to represent and share a brand that you love and know so very well.
I visited a tradeshow while I was there and did a bit of browsing in the shops too – time to learn what American knitwear looks like, right (hint, it is very similar to British knitwear, as trends are pretty global these days)?
Even though I’d been to Rockefeller Center before, I’ve since become a big 30 Rock fan, so revisiting the spot was pretty cool. And thanks to the stranger who saw me struggling with my huge suitcase while attempting a selfie, you took a great picture for me!
Staying with friends provided the benefit of not having to eat alone, nor testing out an uncharted restaurant. I had some AMAZING ice cream at Brooklyn’s Ample Hills Creamery, and we even found a chippy for me! Yes, not away from Scotland for even 2 months and I’m seeking out fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding. So yum.
