for the love of scotland
Hi, friends!
Mr. C and I had some big fun in the kitchen today. We made our first bridies. I must admit, I was a bit intimidated by the endeavor, mainly because I have zero experience in pastry making. I am a capable cook, but Mr. C is the real chef in the family. Thankfully with the efforts of the two of us, they turned out great!
What is a bridie? A bridie (also referred to as a Forfar Bridie because it is said to have originated in Forfar, Angus, Scotland) is a ‘D’ shaped pastry with a savory beef and onion filling. A bridie is similar to an English pasty (short ‘a’), however, it is made sans potatoes and has a lighter, flakier crust.
Introduced in the 1800’s, there are two stories of how bridies came to be. One story claims that they were originally made for weddings (the bride’s meal) and that the ‘D’ or horseshoe shape was meant for good luck. Another story says that they were made by a lady named Margaret Bridie who would sell them at market in Forfar. Either way, they are delicious!
This week Patti has challenged us to “break the rules and go beyond the traditional realistic image of an object, scene, or element” to post a picture of something abstract. I immediately thought of these photos, taken at Elgin Cathedral in Elgin, Moray in the northeast part of Scotland.
This is the beautiful vaulted ceiling and column in the cathedral’s Chapter House, an octagonal room in which cathedral clergy met daily to discuss business. The Chapter House was built in the early 13th century and remodeled in the late 1400’s.
May love and laughter light your days
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours.
Â
-old Irish blessing
My fellow American friends, I wish you the happiest Thanksgiving! May your day spent with family and friends be a blessed and joyous one.
xo,
This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge comes from Tina. She has challenged us to depict cold.
I chose this photo of Loch Tay in Scotland. Fifteen miles long, a mile wide, and around five-hundred feet deep, Loch Tay lies in the valley between the villages of Kenmore and Killin. The area has a rich history from the Iron Age when ancient people lived on the loch on man-made islands called crannogs.
Beautiful at any time of the year, there is something extra lovely about Loch Tay when clothed in white.
Wishing each of you a happy week!
xo,
If you would like to join in the fun of the weekly challenges, click here.
It was late afternoon and Mr. C and I were on our way back to our cabin in Farr, tired from a full day of exploring sites in the Moray region of Scotland. We were driving on the B9089 through the village of Kinloss when I suddenly spotted some intriguing looking ruins out my window. I shouldn’t have been surprised – it is Scotland after all. You can’t drive five miles without coming upon some treasure or another (you think I jest). I had Mr. C turn the car around and though we were already worn out from our long day of adventuring, we ended up spending another hour or so happily exploring what turned out to be the amazing ruins of Kinloss Abbey.
Whisky. Uisga Beatha. Water of Life.
By law, Scotch (that is, whisky without the ‘e’) must be aged in oak barrels in Scotland for a minimum of three years. Most premium distillers, however, mature their whisky for much longer (8, 10, 12, 15 years, etc.). Many of the casks that are used to age Scotch are imported from America and Europe and have previously held wine, bourbon, port, and sherry. Each cask lends its own distinctive flavors and color to the finished product. It is indeed a long process, but believe me, for the distillers and those of us who reap the benefits of their labor…
…it is worth waiting for.
To be a part of the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, click here. Thank you, Amy, for this week’s challenge!
Cheers!
“The Fall of the Leaf” by Robert Burns
The lazy mist hangs from the brow of the hill,
Concealing the course of the dark-winding rill;
How languid the scenes, late so sprightly, appear!
As Autumn to Winter resigns the pale year.
The forests are leafless, the meadows are brown,
And all the gay foppery of summer is flown:
Apart let me wander, apart let me muse,
How quick Time is flying, how keen Fate pursues!
How long I have liv’d-but how much liv’d in vain,Â
How little of life’s scanty span may remain,Â
What aspects old Time in his progress has worn,Â
What ties cruel Fate, in my bosom has torn.Â
How foolish, or worse, till our summit is gain’d!Â
And downward, how weaken’d, how darken’d, how pain’d!Â
Life is not worth having with all it can give-Â
For something beyond it poor man sure must live.Â
Wishing you a restful Sunday and a happy week ahead.
Welcome back, friends. Happy Wednesday to you!
It is utterly frigid here in Virginia this morning. With our weather so wintry (and so early in the season!), I thought today would be a great time to revisit the beautiful afternoon this past May when Mr. C and I visited Inchdrewer Castle. I think of all the days of this past year, we must have been there on the most splendid of them all.
Hello and happy November! Golly, is it really November already? A few days ago, I took this photo through the windshield of my car as I drove through my neighborhood. Every autumn I am so awestruck by the beauty that abounds. Don’t you just love fall, y’all?
I want to do something completely different today. I think this is going to be fun. I normally write about all things Scottish, but on this gorgeous Monday, I am going to share with you fifteen totally random things about me. It’s a “get to know me better” post. Let’s have fun!
