A Glasgow morning...

I am very aware of light and atmosphere - I get transported instantly to a moment when the light is shining the exact same way. So this morning I was transported to a Friday morning in Glasgow (see Post October 20, 2006), on our way to the Kelvingrove Museum - the sky, the sun this morning was exactly how it was that morning - dare I work it out... exactly 31 weeks ago. It hit me hard as I was approaching the bridge on Decarie, trying so hard not to cry... I was listening to Wolfstone's Balivanich - it was all perfect, the lighting, the music, the temperature... I opened my eyes and saw the dome of L'Oratoire St-Joseph... not so bad either.

Heaven or Las Vegas

Listened to the re-broadcast of the Classic Scottish Albums this morning - it was the Cocteau Twins' "Heaven or Las Vegas". It was so lovely.. I cried twice... When they spoke of Grangemouth... and when they mentioned Liz singing to her wee daughter...

I had a memory on the bus - I get these memory things about my trip sometimes it's grand and sometimes not... - and it was our last day in Glasgow, we were in the Variety Wine & Bar and crying and crying... I just want to cry about Scotland today but not in a sad way - everything Scottish makes me so happy that I cry...

And the Oscar goes to...

Note to self: things will never be as good as you think they will/could be. LOWER your expectations for chrissakes.

Spent time talking about the Oscars on the weekend and whether or not Peter O'Toole would win and who had won in 1962 instead of him for "Lawrence of Arabia". Well, it was Gregory Peck for 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. It's too bad for Peter O'Toole but I love the book/the movie/the character - everything! Jack Lemmon was also nominated for the movie 'Days of Wine and Roses', that he probably should have won for instead of 'Save the Tiger' in the year that Al Pacino should have won for 'Serpico' - it all has a domino effect...

The only thing I really wish I had seen last night at the Oscars was the lovely Reese in her beautiful purple gown.

A teapot is on it's way to you!

On Tom Morton's blog he's got a lovely photo of Inverness - I burst into tears - I love it and I hate it - love it because I know exactly what I'm looking at, that I was actually there and almost have the same shot in my photo collection - hate it because I know exactly what I'm missing.

It has stopped snowing... It was not as bad as it could have been. I had quite an easy time getting to Loyola last night. Walking home was fine- it wasn't too cold but very very snowy and I was pretty covered in snow. As much as I hate winter and I do hate it, there is something very comforting about walking at night when it's snowing - but ONLY when there are no gale force winds driving the bitter cold into your face! It's all got a lovely pinky/orangey kind of glow because of the street lights...

Don't look back in anger

It's the new blogger version! Yippee! And I managed to convert and create a new blogger account without any grief - good for me.

So it's another blizzard/dump of snow happening here - I don't know really how we manage to survive winter. It didn't really arrive until early January but if feels like it's been here for months. At least the days are getting longer...

Note to self: stop allowing the actions of others to affect your happiness - it is a task that is so difficult for me but I must work on it because it's killing me.

And it's the dreaded Valentine's Day - poor St. Valentine, to have his day turned into a farce of flowers, chocolates and false sentiments between couples. And I did see the box of St.Valentine's bones in Dublin! Apparently there are three St. Valentine's and the relics are scattered everywhere including Glasgow!!

I got a Hello Kitty card from my parents which had a cheque and true sentiments - Happy Valentine's to you Maman & Papa! I'll always remember the sweet Valentine's that Papa used to give me.

Lord I just found out there's a Catholicism for Dummies book! There's a million things I could say about that!

Tom Morton - one of my 'raison d'etre' - just played a lovely song called 'A New England' by Kirsty MacColl who died tragically and with whom I share a birth date.

October 29, 2006

This is the last entry - it's around 8:00 am Sunday - Daylight Saving Time is no longer in effect but I'm still on UK Time. I woke up at 4:00 am (well, which is now really 3:00 am) and haven't been really been able to fall back asleep - I've finished tow books - I'm wide awake and my mind is full!

We arrived in Montréal around 6:20 pm - it was a bumpy descent because it was pelting rain with gale force winds. We got through Immigration and Customs without too much hassle - all I can say is they always make you feel so bloody welcome when come home from a holiday. Whatever - 99% of us are not criminals. And then the luggage carousel wasn't working properly and it took way too long for us to get our luggage. The flight was LONG and because I don't want to cause an international incident I won't go into any details... It was a tremendous holiday. I miss it all so much already but I have my memories and photos to sustain until my return."

We left the airport in a cab in the cold and the rain...

October 28, 2006

I knew this day would eventually arrive - the saddest day. We checked out, left our luggage at the desk and went to have coffee at Starbucks. We got back to the hotel right at 11:30 and the airporter bus was waiting - it took about an hour to get to Terminal 3.

We walked around the shops - there were some nice things at the Harrods outlet. Saw a Peter Rabbit that I would have loved to buy and a wee Scottish bear in a kilt...

Best Room - Aberdeen
Best Bathroom - Edinburgh
Best Food - it was all so delicious but Campus Pizza in Glasgow, the Korma Chicken at Ginger in London, the Spicy Potato dish at the Rajah in Inverness and the Fish & Chips from the West End Chippy in Inverness
Hottest Moment - the Bad Ass Pub in Edinburgh
Coldest Moment - ferry back to Holyhead
The Bestest Thing I Saw - Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness
Worst Food - Quarter Pounder in Dublin
Best Bar - The Octagon and the BEST MANHATTANS!!
Best Purchase - my kilt, my bras and my CDs!