And now for something completely different...

OK, the title of this post is totally misleading, because I am going to share with you another fantastic Scottish castle, which isn't very different at all from my regular programming... but there is something unique about this particular castle

I mentioned in a previous post that on our weekend out of Edinburgh we visited a castle named Doune. Back in 1975, Doune was a film location for a certain funny little movie. One that I am sure many of you have seen...

but maybe you'd recognize it better if we approached from the side...

just like the noble knights of the round table.

Or, maybe best if we "run away!"

Need another hint? Here, watch this: my directorial skills are nearly as good as Matt's delivery-

What...? You didn't get it from that reenactment?? Fine... here's the real deal-

Surely you know what movie it is by now! Unfortunately for us, that exact wall was the only part of the castle that was closed to visitors (they are taking away concrete bits so that water can escape the stone instead of causing the wall to crumble from the inside out, so I guess that's more important than us climbing on top and yelling poorly memorized taunts at one another in horrible french accents). We did get this wee view from an upstairs window!

Good thing there were other parts of the castle used in the film where we could play about! Like this stone staircase leading from the courtyard into the kitchen tower...

the same one stormed by brave Sir Lancelot as he massacres a wedding party rescues a captured bride-to-be...

Which has been fabulously recreated with Legos!

lego source

But if you insist, have a watch of the real scene (but don't blame me if it takes you 15 minutes to read this blog post!)

I took a photo of this view...

...out of this window.

We played about the great hall (one of the best preserved in Scotland for its age) but it looked different without myriad dancing knights,

And the kitchen, while amazing, was sadly (for Matt) temptress-free!

And according to the very funny and informative audio tour (narrated by Terry Jones) the huge stone oven, large enough to roast an ox on a spit,

was where the ladies made a bed for young Sir Galahad.

But just like there are lots of great scenes from the movie that are not filmed at Doune (like when King Arthur fights the Black Knight!), there are tons of interesting historical bits to the castle that have nothing to do with Monty Python.

\This stone, part of the frame to the huge window in the kitchen, shows the marks of where the cooks sharpened their knives nearly 800 years ago.

And the chamber where we found this fireplace was used to entertain and house the fanciest of guests (I wish the fire had been going that day, as it was a bit drafty in the castle. And sitting on stone, fireplae or not, is a quick way to get even colder!)

We broke a few rules, but only a tiny bit... cheeky naughty tourists! 

We checked out the loo- a most comfotable room, really. It had a window for ventillation and a vent to allow in heat from the adjacent room. It even had a little nook in the wall that would have had strips of linen or bits of moss to use to ... you know. 

And from the loo, you have this view- That is the river Teith, and one local said that when soldiers were called to protect the region, they were to come 'armed to the Teith'.

Of course we climbed stairs. Lots and lots of circular stone stairs! If I had a shilling for every old stair I've climbed in the last few months I'd have... well, nothing really, since nobody uses shillings anymore. But you get what I mean. Exploring historic sites = stairs!

So there you have it. Doune Castle... really quite magical.

After our visit, we rode off into the sunset,

and had ourselves a pint!

And just in case it's not utterly clear, the movie filmed at Doune Castle was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Go rent it, you know you want to see it again!

Fair thee well... and Happy Christmas Eve!!!!

The Most Amazing Quilt

Matthew got a lot of Hanukkah presents this year-- one or two for each night--but I'll admit that not all of them were winners (On the first night, I got him an alarm clock to put on my side of the bed, and told him the gift was that he would no longer have to turn off his alarm for me! Clever wifey, indeed!)  But one gift has been a long time in the making and was the star of the festivities.

And every star needs a dramatic unveiling. We invited a couple of wonderful friends over for latkes with all the fixin's (I had to make the applesauce, as it is not a commercial product here dispite the fact that lots of apples are grown in the UK... what's up with that? But I digress). Anyway, we drank bubbly, lit the candles, gorged ourselves on all things oily and sweet (the hallmarks of Hanukkah) and then Matthew got his prize...

...the most amazing quilt!

Over the summer, when we were going through all of our worldly possessions and deciding what to bring across the pond, we came across a lot of stuff that we couldn't bear to part with, but didn't really want to store in a box for years... Matt had a collection of tee shirts that dated all the way back to his high school days. Momentos of concerts, sports, travel and school. Shirts he either couldn't or wouldn't wear ever again but that still meant something to him.

I asked him if he'd like a quilt made of these special shirts and he was all about it. I looked online and found a few sites that made some cheesy looking t-shirt quilts. Ones without any real quilting or fabric borders (basically just the shirts sewn together- not quite what I had in mind). But on Etsy I found exactly what I was looking for... Jane Haworth from Happy Quilt Designs. Her quilts seemed so well crafted. I messaged her with a ton of questions and she was really great answering them all (i.e.- could you ship the finished quilt to Scotland?) So, I took the scissors to the shirts Matt had chosen... Cutting out the best bits,

because they were not all usable!

I mailed off all the bits to Jane (in California) and told her only two things- the first was that I really liked the look of patchwork quilts, where nothing really lines up perfectly and it looks like a big cozy hodgepodge. The second was that I thought Matt would prefer more traditional-looking prints when it came to the border fabric. She took these two points to heart and then added lots of her own creative vision. Before stitching it all together though, she sent me a photo with it all laid out. I loved it! 

Soon after, I got another email from Jane telling me that the quilt was finished! She was placing a patch on the back and I could include a message if I'd like. This was the hardest part for me. A message?! I took days (maybe even weeks?) trying to come up with something that would live eternally on this wonderful quilt. A little love note? A lyric from one of Matt's favorite songs? A quote? Just... For Matthew? Oh man. I totally over thought about it. Until I picked something silly and cute and emailed it off to Jane before I could change my mind again. With the "message" complete, she could send us the quilt.

I took a peak as soon as it arrived, it was so soft and pretty! I wanted to put it on the couch right away (you can always use another blanket in Scotland!) but I saved giving it to Matt until the Hanukkah party. He loved it-- seeing some of his favorite memories all stitched together! And he took a long while looking closely at all the detailed quilting. Because Jane didn't just sew the shirts together with extra fabric, she quilted around each shirt's design.

And the message I chose? I went for a little tidbit from Shel Silverstein... 

So Happy Hanukkah my dear! May you be cozy and warm in your shirt quilt for many Hanukkahs to come!

(our famous Nessie the Loch Ness Monster menorah)

And Thank you Jane Haworth! You made a beautiful quilt that we will get lots of use from. It is so much nicer than just stashing away a box of shirts that we'll never see again. Thanks for emailing me along the way, being patient when I take forever to get back to you, and for sending it to us overseas! It is already a household favorite, as you can see--

And just so you know, this is not a sponsored post or anything. I just really love the quilt Jane made for us and if it sounds like I am trying to tell you that they make the best gifts and that you all should order one... then you're right. Because they do, and you should. You'll love it. I promise!

Snow Ball 2012

As I walked home from work last night, I passed the large and modern Omni Movie Theatre. It has a few steps in front of it, and at the base of the steps is a metal strip, that is about 3 or 4 inches wide and 15 or 20 feet long. It has holes in it, so I figure it functions as some sort of drain. Fascinating, right? I promise, I have a point. Anyway, as I am walking home last night, during a break in the snow/rain that had fallen off-and-on throughout the day, I pass the theatre and notice that a man is purposefully sliding on this metal strip just for kicks, like a outdoor and icy version of Tom Cruise's famous move in Risky Business. I can't help but watch this guy and I see that he is well into his 50s. He is nicely dress, in fact part of the reason he's getting so much distance on his slides is because he is wearing fancy dress shoes-- probably some slick-soled thing made in Italy and deliberately not intended for such Northernly activities as walking in slush and ice. I watch him the whole time it takes me to walk past the theatre, which is about a minute, and I'm smiling the whole time, because without knowing anything else about him I know that I like his style. He's not too old to have a silly good time.

And neither are we!

So, because we are not too old to be silly (and enjoy things that might be intended for a younger demographic) and because Matt is Best Husband of the Year... we attended Snow Ball, 2012. What is Snow Ball 2012, you ask? It's an amazing night of music, dancing, eating, drinking, giving, laughing, singing, and general rocking out. Oh, and it's all about Harry Potter. Everything. The decor, the food, the music-- especially the music! 

The Ball was held at Teviot Row House (which I have mentioned on this blog before) and the room was festive with tartan, lights and all sorts of house banners...

We drank bubbly drinks and ate cake... sugary goodness in the form of Hogwarts, Hagrid's hut and the the Black Lake (complete with Giant Squid tentacles).

One of the opening acts, Siriusly Hazza P, was cute and girly and rock-a-riffic... (OK, I apologize for that word). their last song was for Fawks, and the MC of the night, the man who put the whole thing together, donned phoenix feathers (and a kilt) and pantomimed the great bird.


And in case you're wondering, that in the background, is the Scottish flag, with the Hogwarts crest in the middle...

And a secret guest graced the stage before the main act... half of Draco and the Malfoys (and The Remus Lupins). He was totally geeky-cute-to-the-max. And he played "My Dad is Rich, You're Dad is Dead", which we all know is a modern-day classic. (and yes, that is the Elder Wand waving about in the foreground!)

Wands at the ready...

...for Harry and the Potters! Brothers, Potter aficionados, and  founders of Wizard Rock!

And they really do rock out. I didn't take much video (too busy dancing about) but I had to capture this one... Wizard's Chess is a little on the tame side compared to some of their other tunes, but its super cute  and it's about Christmas!
(Watch here, or if you want a bigger screen, choose to view it on YouTube. For some reason, Blogger won't let me show it any larger.)

Paul DeGeorge, Harry from Harry and the Potters, took some time before (and after) the show to have a little chat with me and Matt. I told him that we saw them play in Los Angeles years ago...twice.

Here's younger brother Joe DeGeorge (also Harry, from Harry and the Potters) rocking out (*note the metal fingers in the foreground. yeah.)

The guy from Draco and the Malfoys played drums for Harry and the Potters (I think he has also toured with the Violent Femmes... )

Blurry pictures of over-the-head and behind-the-back rocking.

And toward the end of the night, in some impromptu show of togetherness, everyone in the audience held hands and swayed back and forth to the music. That's the thing about Potter fans... there is always a ton of love at these things ( I know... it sounds cheesy) but overall, I think the Potter books attract a kind of person who believes in the main theme of the book: That love is the greatest magic of all.

awwww.