Long time no see

Hi everyone. I haven't exactly been keeping up to date with my blogging. I won't even try to make lame excuses.

The weather here has been amazing. There has been a heat wave, which, if you are from Ontario will translate to pleasantly warm. This means that you don't need AC to sleep at night.

I can't find the words to describe how beautiful this country is in the summer. I just spent the day boating on Loch Lomond and having a picnic on an island with a lovely beach in the middle of the Loch. The Loch is surrounded by rolling hills, each of them begging to be climbed. I have only done Ben Lomond (a Monroe) as well as the walk from Cardross over to Balloch.

Monday and Tuesday this week I was in the Borders area of Scotland, which is just south of Edinburgh. How many words are there for beautiful? Bruce and Brigette were visiting from Canada and we took a scenic drive there, toured the Melrose Abbey and visited junk shops.

The Melrose Abbey is in ruins, but there is enough left to feel that you can sense the monks going from their dormitories to masses in the middle of the night, having little bickering squabbles and spending their lives copying manuscripts. I regularly feel the past in this country. It has left its stamp everywhere, unlike in Canada, where you can frequently imagine that you could be the first person to ever step in a particular spot (not likely but...).

We stayed the night in Eilston in a dumpy B&B (I am a critic now). At the local in Eilston we enjoyed the company of two locals. One was a cool high school teacher, the other was a very drunk guy who kept commenting that I spoke English very well for a French person.

I won't bore you any more with the details, but I will try to post some photos after Bruce sends them to me.