July 26
Last night I had supper with the MacReas…Billy, Helen, Duncan and Elizabeth…a sweeter family you won’t find. I called Helen yesterday afternoon and reminded her that I didn’t want her going over the top with the meal… “oh,” she said, “we are just having baked potatoes and salad.” I told her that was great with me. Well, when we sat down at the table, I realized that I had been hood-winked…she had three deli meats, slaw salad, regular salad, pasta salad, carrot sticks, three kinds of tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, peppers, two cheeses, and fried rice. Yep, that is the Scottish hospitality way. It was delicious and we had lots of good laughs around the table. Especially when I was convinced to eat a flower, a Nasturtium. It is a beautiful yellow flower, which I thought that Helen had put in the salad to color it up. To my surprise when I started chewing it my mouth began burning…how could something as beautiful as that flower produce heat like a jalapeño pepper? How? The wonder, beauty and creativity of our God! I think my vegetarian daughter, Sarah, would be very proud of me for living on the edge!
After supper, we loaded into their van, including Karrie, their beautiful Spaniel, and headed out for the Coral Beach at Dunvegan, and had a lovely hike and climb. We saw some seals, a beautiful sunset and climbed a moderate hill. It did remind me, however, that I am 63 years old…I was breathing pretty hard when we got to the tope of this hill.
Last night I had supper with the MacReas…Billy, Helen, Duncan and Elizabeth…a sweeter family you won’t find. I called Helen yesterday afternoon and reminded her that I didn’t want her going over the top with the meal… “oh,” she said, “we are just having baked potatoes and salad.” I told her that was great with me. Well, when we sat down at the table, I realized that I had been hood-winked…she had three deli meats, slaw salad, regular salad, pasta salad, carrot sticks, three kinds of tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, peppers, two cheeses, and fried rice. Yep, that is the Scottish hospitality way. It was delicious and we had lots of good laughs around the table. Especially when I was convinced to eat a flower, a Nasturtium. It is a beautiful yellow flower, which I thought that Helen had put in the salad to color it up. To my surprise when I started chewing it my mouth began burning…how could something as beautiful as that flower produce heat like a jalapeño pepper? How? The wonder, beauty and creativity of our God! I think my vegetarian daughter, Sarah, would be very proud of me for living on the edge!
After supper, we loaded into their van, including Karrie, their beautiful Spaniel, and headed out for the Coral Beach at Dunvegan, and had a lovely hike and climb. We saw some seals, a beautiful sunset and climbed a moderate hill. It did remind me, however, that I am 63 years old…I was breathing pretty hard when we got to the tope of this hill.The walk from the car to the beach, about a 20 minute walk, I was severely introduced to the Scottish “Midgens.” It is a cross between a mosquito and a nat. The female bites, but they are small like a nat. They swarm. This was about the only time, since coming to Skye, that the wind wasn’t blowing (because of the size of this critters, they are not able to fly when there is a breeze). You will look down at your arm and it is covered. We also walked through an area that was infested by flying ants. At one point, the ants were swarming right along with the Midgens. 
When we finally got to the beach, the insects weren’t quite so bad. There was a small knoll that we all climbed, thinking that the midgens would not be as bad up there. Wrong, again. So I prayed, “Lord, would you bless us with a nice breeze to clear out the insects?” Within five minutes, a breeze began to sweep through where we were and picked up until we left the area. Thank you, Lord. Karrie ran the hold time, except when she was chasing rock thrown into the water. She chases birds and rabbits. I am sure she slept as well as I did last night. 
When we finally got to the beach, the insects weren’t quite so bad. There was a small knoll that we all climbed, thinking that the midgens would not be as bad up there. Wrong, again. So I prayed, “Lord, would you bless us with a nice breeze to clear out the insects?” Within five minutes, a breeze began to sweep through where we were and picked up until we left the area. Thank you, Lord. Karrie ran the hold time, except when she was chasing rock thrown into the water. She chases birds and rabbits. I am sure she slept as well as I did last night. 
See, I really did survive the climb, althought at one point I thought I was going down.
No comments:
Post a Comment