Saturday, May 21, 2011

Stylish Blogger Award, and Observations of Scotland.

I've actually just started becoming resigned to the fact that I'm here, back home in the good old U.S. of A., instead of in Scotland. My life has felt quite topsy-turvy since I've gotten back, and I've been very very very remiss in my blog posts. Apologies on that!

However, I found quite a pleasant surprise today in the comments on another post. I received the Stylish Blogger Award from Dawn Brazil, over at her Brilliant Babbles about Books. Thanks so much for the award, Dawn! I appreciate it so much.

In order to receive this award, I must now list seven things about myself that other people might not know about me. Having done this several times before, I'm beginning to run out of things to say! However, here goes.

1.) I am primarily a Fantasy writer.

2.) If possible, I will listen to conversations, but I'd really rather not engage or participate in the conversation, thank you.

3.) After the first few gasping minutes of pain and "giving-up-itis", I love to run. Once I get into my stride, running is the best thing ever!!

4.) I can be very melancholy, and down on myself.

5.) I don't notice when guys "check me out." I usually have to be clued in by my family members. :-)

6.) If I have a Borders coupon in my purse, I have to use it. I have to. It's an obsession.

7.) I have five stories that I've completed, but haven't revised yet. This is now Something I Must Do!!

Now, I need to pass on the award to some other bloggers that I feel thoroughly deserve it. These are:

Amanda at Old Fashioned Girl.
Maria at Fire, Fleet, and Candlelight.
Christine at Reading, Writing, and Random Thoughts.
Lynne at Making Stuff Up and Writing It Down.
Anne at Critically Yours.

All right, now on to random things about Scotland.
  1. First of all, they drive on the wrong sides of the road. Unless you've actually experienced it, you've no idea how bizarre and wrong that feels. I caught myself a couple of times from correcting the driver by telling him he was on the wrong side of the road. I mean, duh! In Scotland, the wrong side is the right side.
  2. Their steering wheels are on the wrong side, too... which is to say, on the right side. The first day I was in Scotland, I looked out the back window at a car that was alongside us, and my heart stopped. The driver was sitting and reading the newspaper, paying absolutely no attention to the traffic! When my brain finally kicked in, I realised I was looking at the person sitting on the left side of the car, and he was the passenger, not the driver. Whew!
  3. Their stoplights go from green, to yellow, to red. Then, they go from red, to yellow, to green. When you are the pedestrian waiting to cross, watch out and pay attention to the lights, because as soon as the red turns to yellow, all the engines rev up. If you happen to be in the middle of the street, taking your chances by crossing before the light has turned green, your chances are slim. When the light turns from red to yellow, the drivers wait for no man!
  4. All of their houses are made of stone. At least, all the houses in Edinburgh are. Even the great big hotels, hostels, and malls are made of stone. Most of the rows have iron railings about them, too.
  5. The streets are narrow. NARROW! I'm glad I wasn't the driver in Scotland. I'd have done some serious body damage just by driving on the road. Cuh-razy!
  6. They add a "U" to words like honour, armour, and humour. I confess, having read a lot of British writings, I generally write these words with the U. It was just nice to see that, in Scotland, I fit in. :-) They also spell words like theater and center with the "R" first and the "E" after, thusly: theatre and centre. And tire is spelled tyre.
  7. F*** is not a BAD bad word over there. Neither is b***ch. In fact, that word, the female dog word, is used as a term of endearment. How very odd.
  8. Scots don't usually say hello. They say "Hiya." And, when you're leaving, they don't say goodbye. They say "Cheers," or "Cheerio."
And a blog is just not complete without photos. So, here are some purty pictures of the world of Scotland.
















So mon, thanks for reading, like. It was good, eh? I appreciate your interest. Until later, cheers. God bless.

17 comments:

  1. Cool. :) I like your observations, and of course the photos are lovely.
    Don't you LOVE that all the buildings are stone? The entire time I was there I saw only two wooden buildings.

    Cheerio! ;)

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  2. I loved the stone buildings. In fact, Edinburgh became the fantasy setting for a story I came up with one day at work. I thought up this one line at work, and two weeks later as I drove through the streets of Edinburgh, the one line slid neatly into a story setting, and I discovered my MC crouching behind the iron railings before one of the stone hostels. Love that.

    Cheers to you too, lassie!

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  3. Aw, thanks so much for the award! A great way to start my Sunday morning!

    So happy to hear you enjoyed Scotland, too. I've lived in England almost four years, and can still sometimes get thrown off by the cars on the wrong side of the road! =) Oh, and wood is considered a New, possibly Risky, but Architecturally Interesting building material over here. Isn't that hysterical?!

    I love your last picture--where was that taken?

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  4. Congratulations.
    The pics of Scotland are beautiful.

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  5. Congrats on the award!

    I love the pictures! I'm part Scottish (among five other nationalities!) and I would love to go to Scotland. It's so beautiful. I love stone buildings. I'm trying to dive into the computer and squeeze myself into one of these pictures as we speak. (It's not working so well.)

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  6. Thank you so much for sharing all of the pictures. I have Scottish heritage and I would love to one day visit. I hope you will post more pictures. I am a new follower. I would love a follow over on my blog when you have a moment. I just posted a new review yesterday. Thanks. Donna
    http://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com

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  7. Anne, that last picture was taken at Inchcolm. That ruin is Inchcolm Abbey. I loved it, because unlike a lot of the castle you explore in Scotland, there were no boundaries. You could go EVERYWHERE in that ruin... and I did. :-)

    Lauren, thanks so much. Scotland itself is just the most beautiful place ever.

    Kelly, try harder! You've GOT to go to Scotland. It's amazing. If you do go, make sure you go to Inchcolm!

    Donna, I'm glad you liked the pictures. Thanks so much for following! I'll check out your blog right now.

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  8. Oooh, Cat, that last picture of Inchcolm Abbey was really good. :) I loved all the stone buildings, it made the whole city seem....I don't know, somewhat older.

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  9. Teresa, I KNOW! I loved Inchcolm. I'm amazed at how few people know about it. It was the highlight (or ONE of the highlights, anyhoozle) of the whole trip.

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  10. Congratulations on the award, Cat. You deserve it! I have always wanted to go to Scotland, now I REALLY want to go. It looks just beautiful. Glad you had a great time. I hope you kept a journal!

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  11. Allyn, I definitely did. There's nothing like a travel journal. At the end of the day I'd sit and write down everything I felt during what had happened that day. When I was in the car, I'd write about what had happened so far, and just recorded thoughts and scents and impressions as they came to me. It was amazing.

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  12. Wow, those are gorgeous pictures! If I ever go there I won't be driving either.

    Thanks so much for the award!

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  13. Lynne, aren't they pretty? Loved it! Yeah, I recommend NOT driving. Find a tour guide, or know someone. :)

    You're welcome about the award, too. You have a lovely blog.

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  14. Oh my what a lovely post. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    ctny

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  15. As a proud Scot's Lass - I am so glad you enjoyed your visit! Scotland really is absolutely amazing, I live in Glasgow, and I'm not far from Loch Lomond which is just stunning! I have some pictures on my blog :) Your pictures are stunning! Next time you're here, pop by and say hello!

    A xxx

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  16. Oh, I WISH I'd known you lived in Glasgow. I went there. I didn't get to see Loch Lomond this time, but next time. :)

    I LOVED Scotland. Each of those photos are so special to me.

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