Water Under The Bridge

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.

Patience? eh!!, stubbornness? eh!!, determination? maybe.

Since the beginning of September, a DVD of ‘Starman‘ has been sitting on the end of the coffee table.

From that time, various events have cropped up to dissuade us from watching it.  On several occasions, Joyce suggested that we just go ahead and send it back to Netflix but, yes, I was determined to hold on and watch it.  It is one of my favorite movies; don’t know why and it has rarely, if ever, been shown on TV.

We watched it last night and really enjoyed it.  Perhaps a scene towards the end of the movie adds to our enjoyment.  It takes part at the Meteor Crater which we visited with my then oldest brother.

Now I can sit back and relax; knowing if have finally watched it.

Our Toyota Rav4 was bought back at the beginning of April, 2007.

For the past many days, there has been an alert that the vehicle was scheduled for its 5,000 mile maintenance; which is not all that many miles for 18 months of driving.

Since another trip is planned to Angels Camp, CA for Thanksgiving, the time seemed right to take the Rav4 in for its scheduled maintenance.  When the Concord, CA service department representative asked what was needed, maintenance was the answer and when it was mentioned that the Toyota was covered by platinum; he said bring it in any time and it will be taken care of.

It should be noted that when the Rav4 was bought; platinum maintenance service was also bought with the assurance that there would be no costs for maintenance up to 75,000 miles or 2014; which ever occurred first.

My plan for taking a book to read while waiting for the serivce to be done was foiled when I realized that I had brought a book that I had previously read.  After a few minutes, I noticed a sign on the wall that Toyota provided Wi-Fi service in the customers lounge.  That information is now implanted in the back of my mind.

Not only did I leave without a bill; but the service was impeccable; plus the Rav4 was washed.