I never get tired of scotland pictures, it has been almost a year since we went there and I enjoy looking at the pictures over and over.

This is a picture of a "close" or alley in Edinbourgh.  All the alleyways are covered between buildings which is very convenient since is rains almost daily.

This is a picture of old Pict stones made during the viking era of time.

My dad walking to the writers museum, the streets are crowded closely together and most of the streets are cobblestones.

I get a number of emails from homeschool sites that give great references to online sites that help with schooling. among  my favorite site is;

 http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghb.html

http://www.amblesideonline.org/

we picked huckleberries last eve at our neighbors.  'we picked an hour and got a gallon and 1/2.

Today we have piano lessons and a 4-H get together to celebrate our clubs 65th anniversary.  Several of the members who started it will be there.  Cool huh.

Tip of the day:

keep your dining room table set with dishes to prevent it from becoming a dumping ground.

Use a pretty quilt instead of a table clothe

Use common fruit tree sprays or ferns in your flower arrangment.  Keep your flowers in a container with soapsuds to make them last longer.

this is Beatrix Potters garden in Scotland.  She used Scotland as a summer home. This is the foxes home she wrote about in her stories.

Below is my mom and dad at Sterling Castle. 

My friend showed me a fun website where you can find jean skirts, see link below;

http://www.newcreationapparel.com/shopexd.asp?id=260

Also modest swimware;

http://www.wholesomewear.com/slimmer-c.html

Of coarse there is always sewing!!!!!

An Old Farmer's Advice

Your fences need to be horse-high,
pig-tight and bull-strong

Keep skunks and bankers
and lawyers at a distance

Life is simpler when you plow
around the stump

A bumble bee is considerably faster
than a John Deere tractor

Words that soak into your ears are
whispered not yelled

Meanness don't jes'
happen overnight

Forgive your enemies
It messes up their heads

Do not corner something
that you know is meaner
than you

It don't take a very big
person to carry a grudge

You cannot unsay
a cruel word

Every path has a few
puddles

When you wallow with pigs,
expect to get dirty

The best sermons are lived,
not preached

Most of the stuff people worry
about ain't never gonna
happen anyway

Don't judge folks by
their relatives

Remember that silence is
sometimes the best answer

Don't interfere with somethin'
that ain't botherin' you none

Timing has a lot to do with the
outcome of a rain dance

If you find yourself in a hole,
the first thing to do is stop diggin'

Sometimes you get, and
sometimes you get got

The biggest troublemaker
you'll probably ever have to deal
with, watches you from the
mirror every mornin'

Always drink upstream
from the herd

Good judgment comes from
experience, and a lotta that comes
from bad judgment

Lettin' the cat outta the bag
is a whole lot easier than
puttin' it back in

If you get to thinkin' you're a
person of some influence,
try orderin' somebody
else's dog around

Live simply
Love generously
Care deeply
Speak kindly

AND LEAVE THE REST
TO GOD!

The above pictures are in Scotland.  The little pony is a shetland and we also got to visit the Clyde Valley where the Clydesdale horse first originated.  It was really neat.

The green of Scotland is amazing.  It is more vivid and bright than the green we see around here. The flowers are amazing too.  What was really incredible is that I didn't see one sprinkler anywhere.  God did all the watering!

This garden was at Blair Castle.  I was fascinated by how they stretched the fruit trees along the wall to save space.

This forest was planted!  Can you imagine planning a garden that you intended to last more than a summer? These guys had some foresite for the future!

This was a back alleyway!   Goes to show that any place can be beautified!

This statue is of Hercules.  The gardens often had greek statues.

I can't imagine tending to so much grounds.  You'd have to be rich enough to hire help.

Right now my job is to plant seeds in the hearts of my children so that they will bloom some day as good Godly Christians.

I had a little time this afternoon so decided to blog on Scotland.   I find I can talk and talk about this trip It was such a neat experience.

But first I'll tell a little about today.

It is a really cold crisp day and we started out by taking a walk  with our guests. We went down to the pond and up a trail.  It's cold enough to hurt bare hands but it feels good when you are marching up the trail at a good clip. 

The highlight was showing the quests our rope swing and the kids all took a turn, the girls going both at the same time.  We had to do some convincing talk to get the quests to go on it, but he did.

We also took a drive to the top of our mountain and looked at the beautiful views.  School was put on hold today on account of  the company.  Mandy started to make chocolate chip cookies when we got home and discovered that we were out of eggs.  When you live an hour from town you learn to make do, so we researched what can be substituted for eggs and discovered that pumpkin works really well and so we had pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and loved them!

Isaac read a book on Gladiators and went in his room to set up a gladiator set up with his knights.  Emily drew and I had a few minutes of quiet.  Well as quiet as it gets with cookie timers going off and Isaac making fighting noises!

On to Scotland!!!!

This picture shows a statue of Alexander the Great and Bocephus; his famous war horse.  There are many statues in Scotland.  The Scots love to memorialize everything.

This is a statue of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.  It stands in a field where he fought! 

I better get the cookies this time since Emily was banned to her room and Mandy is upstairs copying some info on a Bible study she is doing to learn how to witness.  She is really becoming quite the little witness for Jesus, it is such a blessing when they start to put to use the things they have learned.

John Knox's house sets in downtown Edinbourgh, we walked from our flat around town and came to his house. It is now a museum and filled with quotes and sayings of his.  It is hard to imagine that something so old still stands and is surrounded by people that go about there busy lives.  One thing is sure the Bible that he taught about and loved has never changed with the times and God's promises still endure.

The saying above the door to his house reads in latin, but it says;  "Love God above all and your neighbor"

I noticed that people love to write sayings above their doors.  The saying above the door where Robert Burns lived said, "fear God!" 

I think it's a great idea to write something that will cause us to stop in our busy lives and remember who gave us life and if we are following his will in our lives.

This is John Knox's house from a distance.  The brick item in from used to be a well.  The water came out of the head!  The streets used to be filled with muck and trash.  The wealthy lived up on the top floors and the servants had to go get the water from the dirty streets!

This was inside John Knox's house where they had a table set up with writing quill you could try on and imagine what it was like to write and look out the streets of Edinbourgh!  My mom is here getting some inspiration!

To show you how old the house is I took a picture of one of the stone steps that have had so many feet walk upon it that it worn down!

John Knox was an amazing preacher!  Here is a saying about him that people would say!

Quotes from John Knox:

"A man with God is always in majority!"

"You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time!"

We also got to see John Knox 's pupit in the museum.  There were some interesting items also displayed in his house that I'll have to save for another time!

When I think back on Scotland, I remember fondly the wild, crazy rides in the rental car on streets that seem way to narrow for 2 cars to pass, and always hollering out, "look right, stay left!!!"  It was crazy trying to drive on the left side of the road and be on the right side of the car for the driving seat!  But the guys got pretty used to it, and pretty used to the gasps and squeals from the back seat too.  We were pretty cozy back there, my mom, my brother, and I.

The picture above is of Holyrood palace, it is a residence for the king and queen today, when they come to Scotland.  It was really fun to tour this.  We only see a portion of it though.  The Abbey is really old that is connected to it, and the grounds are beautiful.  

Edinbourgh is a compact city with the castle on the hill overlooking the city. The bay can be seen from the castle walls.  You can walk to about anywhere in Edinbourgh.  We walked and walked, up hills, up steps, lots of steps, everywhere you go more steps.  I didn't see to many overweight people in Edinbourgh, you have to walk to the grocery store and walk to where ever you go, people walked to church, walked to work, rain or shine they walked, and packed an umbrella everywhere.  It had a tendency to rain almost every day.  We just about cracked up the first morning we were in Edinbourgh and checked out a news station for the weather.  He announcer stated, "We are looking at rain today, unless it doesn't"  And we found out that basically it would rain everyday, unless it didn't!!!!

Edinbourgh castle is huge, it is a village inside the walls with great halls, chapels, kitchens, stables, mititary stations, room to house the royalty, the soldiers, and staff.  The great hall is still used for different functions today,

One of the things I fell in love with in Scotland was the doors!  I know that sounds crazy but I was fascinated by the beautiful doors I saw everywhere.  And they loved to paint them red, blue, or green. I also loved the ones decorated in celtic styles.

I noticed that a lot of doors were either huge! or they were quite small.  I think the men of Scotland must have been little because the doorways were usually small.

One of the first things we toured was Edinbourgh Castle, which was a military stronghold.  The picture above is of Queen Margaret's private Chapel inside the castle grounds.  This chapel was about as big as my living room.

People back then were very devoted to prayer and service to God.  All the castles had a chapel inside of them.

Scotland was beautiful, inspiring, lovely, and full of historical landmarks that impacted people in America today, not just Scotland.  The simple life, the functional beauty, and many monuments that surround the land is a breath of fresh air to a cluttered, fast-paced, electronic world. 

I have to admit, though, I was glad to get back home. You come to realize that it is a privilege to call America your home. This land of  the free that makes one so proud to be American. It makes you so Thankful for the freedoms taken for granted every day.

I will post a few pictures at a time as I took hundreds of pictures!

There were many beautiful churches to visit.  All Churches are kept open during the day and anyone can visit them.  Many have huge pipe organs, and monuments in them.  There is a reverence and a quiet attitude when you go inside.  One sad thing that I noticed though was that many of the churches such as the one above have turned into theaters or cafes.  Lack of church attendance has closed many doors.  The other thing I noticed was that all the churches were the same denomination (the church of Scotland) which I think was a presbyterian.  You did not see all kinds of different sects.  Freedom of religion is restricted to government control.

The other thing I noticed was all the churches had a Bibles in the pews.  So apparently the people did not need to bring a Bible.  I doubt that many had personal Bibles at home.

The stained glass in the churches was amazing.  The artisery work is hard to comprehend.  The pictures all tell a story, either of the Bible or the land and counry surrounding the church or "Kirk" as they call a church in Scotland.

This picture is of Grey Friar's Abbey.  It is where The Covenenteers met to sign papers.  There is a monument to them in this church yard, many were murdered here.  They say the place is haunted where they kept them prisoners.  Everything is so old it's hard to believe it's still there.  Many things there are older than our country!

There is a cute story and memorial about a little dog called Grey Friar's Bobby  that stayed by his master's grave for seven years after his master died.  The little dog, (a scottish Terrier) stayed by the grave leaving only to eat til he died.  The dog is given a gravesite of his own on the unconsecrated piece of ground by the front of the church.