Train Ride from Edinburgh: Potpourri + Patreon Plug

I intended to post yesterday and then time got away from me.

Indy and I are currently hurtling through the Scottish countryside after a whirlwind two-day adventure in Edinburgh. Everything is green, green, GREEN and dotted with thousands of wooly, white sheep. In every dictionary next to the term “pastoral,” there should be a picture of the current view from our window.

My heritage, on both maternal and paternal sides, is Scottish and I had an odd, yet profound, sense of being at home. I’ve never felt this same geographic connection anywhere else on my travels. To be fair, I live in Nova Scotia which is literally translated New Scotland, so it certainly makes sense. Still, it surprised me. The grassy hills, the tartan, and beautiful vistas felt wonderfully ingrained in my DNA.

The only problem with our trip, aside from the fact that poor Indy came down with a head cold the day we left Cardiff (!!), was that it was too short. We haven’t even left the borders of Scotland and I can’t wait to come back. There is so much to see and explore. I want to visit the Isle of Skye. I want to go to Stirling and immerse myself in the history of William Wallace, one of my direct ancestors. I want to explore the Hebrides and spend a few days in Glasgow. I want to hike Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat

But, despite being limited to two days, we saw and experienced so much of what the city had to offer.

Blog friend Coree and her family gave us the kindest of welcomes—meeting us at the train, helping us organize our stay, treating us to dinner each evening (twice at their home and once at the incredible Edinburgh Street Food).

Much longer recaps of our time in Edinburgh to come, but here are a few pictures from the last two days.

GET MY HEAD IN ORDER

We will be at London Heathrow this time two weeks from now waiting to board one final plane in this epic family adventure. We officially crossed the 3-month mark away from home on 8 June (we left Canada on March 7th, but didn’t arrive in Germany until the 8th).

The time has flown.

And… I really need to start thinking about re-entry.

Belle has been accepted into the leadership program she applied for; next year, she can be part of the official staff. That means her summer is largely sorted. I’ll be responsible for lots of driving and laundry and shopping for a few staples (sunscreen, bug repellent).

Indy has a lot of flex time, but I’m feeling a bit lax about filling it.

We have company arriving mid-August, but aside from that I’m hoping to get plenty of solo time, a few trips to the lake to see my parents, and lots of afternoons spent bridge-jumping.

John has two trips to Europe in July. We’ll celebrate our 17th anniversary, wonderfully timed over the week when both kids will be at overnight camp. I cannot wait. The last two summers, the absolute highlight for me has been our week spent home alone. After 3.5 months of constant togetherness, I think this year it will be especially wonderful.

In the next two weeks in Cardiff, I need to buckle down and get back on top of life ahead of our return. We’ll hit the ground running. We return on Wednesday afternoon, Indy is determined to go back to school for one day to see his friends on Thursday morning.

Friday, both vehicles are due at the mechanic shop to get snow tires switched out since we left when it was still winter, and the car is due for its bi-annual safety inspection! Also on Friday, Belle has to be dropped off to start training!!

There will be laundry though, admittedly, not that much since there is only so much clothing that will fit inside four carry-on suitcases and I might be ready to give all the items we’ve been wearing on a very limited rotation for 3.5 months a wide berth for a while.

I’m behind on work things. I’ve done the BARE minimum while away. I automated a lot of processes before we left (go me), but I NEED to a) get our corporate books up to date and b) make a list of all the things that I need to tackle in early July.

I also need to make a doctor’s appointment for some routine checks and dig into my apnea diagnosis/trial a CPAP machine. There are a few unbloggable things to think through and tackle, and all the normal things involved with running a household, especially after being out of the country for such a long time.

Everything will happen in due time and, while I feel mildly panicked when I think about getting back into the swing of life in Canada, as usual, getting my to-dos out of my head and onto paper/the screen really helps.

PATREON!!!

I tend to forget to plug my Patreon, but I do post a few articles that aren’t paywalled each month. This week it was a realization that buying coffee out is a good ROI (for me).

If you’re inclined to support my work, it’s $8 CAD/month, which works out to a little over $5 USD/month or £4/month (in other words, if you’re a Starbucks fan, it costs less than one fancy latte). I’m hoping to dedicate more time to Patreon this summer and would love to start incorporating some audio components. See above about needing to get my head in order.

Patreon isn’t picture heavy, so it’s definitely a different vibe from my blog, but it’s a good space for me to be a bit more vulnerable and explore existential thoughts bouncing around in my head. I’d love if you joined me there, too.

If a paid membership isn’t feasible, you can sign up to be on the mailing list and receive all the free posts.

FINAL FEW WEEKS

After arriving back in Cardiff, I need to organize the last stretch of adventures. John will be working each week day. The next few days, we all need a chance to just… do nothing (translate: I’ll plan/read/work and the kids will watch videos).

Rachel is kindly sharing her Castle Pass with us, so I definitely want to see some of the famous castles in the area. I’m hoping to make it to Caerphilly Castle this weekend. At some point, I’m also keen to check out:

• Insole Court
• Raglan Castle
• Castle Coch
• Roath Park/Lake/Lighthouse
• St. Fagan’s
• The Senedd (maybe do a free tour?)
• Wales Millennium Centre
• Llandaff Cathedral
• Cardiff Central Market

I’m eyeing day trips to:

• Bath (looks very cool and is fairly accessible by train, though the Roman Baths are EXPENSIVE, eeks) or Bristol.
• Stonehenge. The kids are especially keen; I’ve read it’s underwhelming. We are here over solstice but I think it would be too much for everyone to attempt to go for sunrise on literally the busiest day of the year at Stonehenge, though it’s definitely the most iconic time to visit…
• Maybe a week-day trek to Barry Island Beach if the weather cooperates?
• Penarth or Tenby?

I know we won’t have time (or energy) to cross everything off the list which just means we have fodder for our next trip to Wales.

Your turn:

• What’s some random potpourri from your life lately.
• Have you ever been to Stonehenge?
• Coffee out has been a great ROI for me on this trip; what’s something that you like to spend “out” on?
• Where’s a location in the world where you’ve felt oddly at home?