Just A Brief Note To Say…

In New York, it’s Scotland Week! No, really! They serve free haggis hotdogs! We just know you’ll want to rush on down…

Our lives have shifted somewhat, as all instruction for D. is done for the term. (Yay!) So, instead of the morning rushing about to get to classes, things have calmed down, and it’s just a matter of playing Scrabble, reading for fun & going to work (more about that later). Because we don’t have to leave the house much, though, we’ve invested in a couple of cycle trainers and are making an effort to get into some semblance of fitness for the summer. We plan to be traveling back to the States in June or August, if only for a little while (we think we’ll be staying in the U.S. longer in the winter — when it’s dark it makes more sense!), but the rest of the time we’ll be making an effort to see Scotland when it’s actually sunny: up to 17 hours a day! For us that means cycling, so breaking in the behinds building up some stamina now is only good preparation.

Despite the lengthening days (and obnoxious pollen), we’ve had more snow. We’ve actually now had more snow since it’s turned into Spring than we did all Winter. True, it hasn’t stuck really … but this last little bitter end of stormy weather has been even colder, if you can believe it. We’re hoping that when N & K come to visit next week that the weather will behave! We don’t hold out much hope … but we figure that they’ve lived in Holland, so they can take it. The climate is nowhere near as consistent as Holland’s, at least not this year … but the weather is closer to Utrecht than it is to the SF Bay Area’s. Organized people that they are, N&K have given us their itinerary, so we’ll keep you posted on our adventures with them.

Everything is flowering here, although very little seems to be leafing out. It’s so odd, to have flowers, snow, allergies … and no leaves! True, some of these flowering plants must have been planted from greenhouses and transplanted, but still: they’re actually OK with the temperatures! So much of Glasgow is suddenly in bloom – particularly the daffodils (speaking of which: wonder if there’s some link – aren’t daffodils the national flower of Wales, and isn’t Daffyd their patron saint?). There have been many opportunities for picture-taking … but the weather is still so changeable as to be frustrating, so some gorgeous sky scapes have gone un-photographed, much to D’s chagrin.

Life in Glasgow continues to be… mildewy. T. is in a constant state of hysteria, running around with a spray bottle of bleach water, trying to eradicate the traces of the slightly warmer air+moisture combination which is unfortunately equaling dark spots of mildew around windowpanes and in hidden corners under windows. One thing California doesn’t have is an overabundance of damp air, and the heightened humidity is something D&T haven’t quite gotten used to, though friends on the East Coast shrug it off as a fact of life. Perhaps this is just something that goes along with Spring? Or this newish flat which was built in a slapdash fashion and has insufficient ventilation? (Except that there are vents in each window…hmm) Or it just might be… Scotland. Where everything is wet. It’s not like it’s something we can ask the neighbors, either. Ugh.

So, we just wanted to send you our greetings and let you know that between procrastinating about exams on the 10th and groaning about allergies and mildew, we’re doing fairly well. We leave you with a shot of our view, at night. We are still flat-hunting – looking for a place in an older building with a bit more character but with at least a few modern conveniences (but maybe no mildew? Is this possible?) – but as it stands, this flat is very convenient. D. works literally one block away from the front doors of our building, and can see our flat from the office. It’s nice to have money coming in instead of just going out in the form of rent and school bills, and happily, D’s job is nothing seriously strenuous in terms of effort – just computer programming – but it’s a nice break from schoolwork, and it’ll give us some pocket change and even get us out and about (perhaps to Riga, Latvia in a couple of weeks! We know *nothing* about Latvia or the Baltic States; what a great chance to find out!). Why are we in Europe, if not to travel?

– D & T

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