Water Under The Bridge

The first-foot usually brings several gifts, including perhaps a coin, bread, salt, coal, or a drink (usually whisky), which respectively represent financial prosperity, food, flavour, warmth, and good cheer. In Scotland, first-footing has traditionally been more elaborate than in England, and involving subsequent entertainment.

The first-foot is traditionally a tall, dark-haired male and, in our home tradition, would carry coal/wood, something to eat and whisky.

Whisky was to ensure good health, coal/wood to provide warmth and comfort and something to eat to be sure that no one would go hungry.

With that said and once again, Happy New Year to one and all and may 2009 be happy, healthy and prosperous; and, of course, “lang mae yir lum reek”

Now, that may apply to me on an emotional level; think sensitivity; giving and receiving.

That, however, is not the basis of this post.

Yes, advancing years are catching up with me; to the extent that it does not take much for me to bruise.  The bruising is relative to medications and appear primarily on my arms.  This brings up the question with the occasional visit to emergency, “Are you safe at home?”  Think senior abuse.

It is not unusual for the slightest graze against my skin for it to rip open.

Today was one of these days.  When we exited Denny’s in Lodi, CA, the door was hard to push open and closed very fast.  Despite a fairly thick jacket and a shirt, the edge of the door hit my left arm below the elbow.

Immediately, there was no doubt in my mind that, with the pain, damage had been done.  With the taking off of my jacket and rolling up the sleeve of my shirt, it was obvious that there was about an inch square of flesh peeled away.

Obviously, there was the beginning of bleeding.  Gently trying to pull the skin back over the wound, as advised previously by my doctor, I went back into the restaurant and asked for some first aid to stem the bleeding and cover the wound.

The staff were very helpful with, unfortunately, the minimum of first aid equipment; and there was a sense that they had a concern that a lawsuit was in the offing.  A quote – “He was hit by the door”

It is not my nature to bring a lawsuit; others might think otherwise.  Part of the problem lies with my thin skin and, even taking that into consideration, a lawsuit still is not part of me.

However, the manager will receive a phone call, followed by a letter, bringing the incident to the fore; with the request that the doors be more easily handled and the assurance that no lawsuit would be filed.

It should be noted that we have stopped there on many occasions and have noticed the difficulty with the doors; especially with those who are less physically able.

Today, Novemeber 30, is celebrated as Saint Andrew’s Day in Scotland and throughout the World by many Scots.

There are many articles about Saint Andrew’s Day and legends of Saint Andrew; one of which was the he did not think himself worthy of being crucified on a cross, similar to Jesus; but on an X-cross which became to be symbolized in the Saltire flag of Scotland.

Some of this research was instigated by watching the movie “Braveheart” the other night; which lead me to check the fact and fiction of this movie.

This reminded me a story told by my father and is not substantiated.

Supposedly, one day, my father dropped by a Highland pub to enjoy some liquid sustenance.  At the time, there were two older gentlemen off in a corner; and my dad ordered up drinks for them.  To this, one of the gentleman replied, “Oh, we would not be having a drink with Lowlander”.

My father answered them with, “Well, my family was chased out of Gask for cattle thieving”.  There was a pause and the gentleman smiled and said, “Oh, it is an Oliphant you’ll be; then we will be having a drink with you”

This article on MSNBC internet news yesterday says it all.

Have we become so materialistic that something like this was bound to happen?

I am not convinced that the current economy is part of the issue.  Perhaps greed and sales hype is closer to the truth.

In this season of Peace and Goodwill, it is a tragedy; plus why do we not follow these precepts every day of the year?

For reasons unknown, the blahs have taken me over.

Perhaps the beginning of a cold.  Anyway, I have aches and chills.

They will clear up in 2 weeks or 14 days; whichever comes first.  LOL

Since this post was first published, my day has been brightened in more than one way.

The light in the unit kitchen (Angels Camp) burned out.  A called was placed to the front desk and a maintenance man was here within minutes.

He was the same person who helped us on a prior visit when there was a problem with the microwave and he was very helpful and pleasant.

It really made the day when he commented that it was nice to have visitors who were so kind and appreciated his efforts.

Wish the world was more like that.

Enjoy your day and all your tomorrows.

This is a simple greeting to wish everyone a great day.  May everyone have many reasons to be thankful.

For us, we are thankful to have overcome health issues, for our many friends and enjoying the company of relatives from Virginia and Scotland.

The day had started out watching a one sided football game.  That did not last long; boring.

Later, of course, we will wine and dine and, like many, probably overeat.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

The internet is wonderful.

It gives me the opportunity to catch up on Scottish news (The Scotsman) and local Scottish news (The Stirling Observer).

In today’s update in the Scotsman, there is the new 2009 calendar being promoted; and, yes, it tugs at the heart but, reasoning sets in with the understanding that the climate would not be good for me.

It is nice to have two homes.  For me it is California and my native home, Scotland

After the drive up to Angels Camp, CA, a concern has arisen as to my physical ability to drive to Depoe Bay, OR. where we plan to vacation next May.

Our trips up to Angels Camp take about two hours; with a stop for breakfast half way there.   For Depoe Bay, we usually stay overnight at Medford, OR; and that is approximately a six hours drive.  From there, it is another five hours to Depoe Bay.

It has been two years since we took that trip and, since then, there have been changes to my stamina.

Alternatives have to be considered; such as an interim stay over before Medford and between there and Depoe Bay.

I am sure we will work it out.

Yes, we are preparing for another one of our mini-vacations; and, yes, back to Angels Camp, CA

As usual, we will stop in Lodi for breakfast but, before we get there, we plan to stop off at Michael & David which is one of our favorite stops.

Despite the forecast of rainy weather, we are looking forward to a quiet Thanksgiving by ourselves with a glass or two of wine  and a nice cozy fire in the background.

We are thankful with our investment in WorldMark which allows us to take these mini-vacations with no out of pocket expenses except gas and food.

Bye for now.

This has been an unbelievable day.

It is not spectacular, not memorable and not eventful; just there.

To put it into perspective, my day has not been extremely busy.

I cannot believe that I have napped through most of the day.

Perhaps I needed it.

That explains this very very short post.