Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Why we love Edinburgh

Some of the reasons why we love Edinburgh, in no particular order:

St. Cuthbert's

St. Cuthbert's

St. Cuthbert's

Broughton Street

This view of Edinburgh castle

Queensferry

Parliament Building

This quote totally encapsulates Edinburgh for me:

"Sweet Ghosts in a loving band
Roam through the houses that stand--
For the builders are not gone"
--George MacDonald

The poem itself (in its 12 line entirety) is a touch more haunting.


High Street

Monday, January 16, 2012

Rosslyn Chapel

Last week, we took a rainy trip to Rosslyn Chapel (probably best known from parting shots of The Da Vinci Code). We figured all we wanted to do was stroll around the grounds, and while we were expecting an entry fee for the chapel itself, we were shocked to find that it costs 9 pounds/person to even get near it! We hadn't brought any money with us, so we were all forlorn and disappointment for a few minutes. Luckily, though, the town/hinterland of Roslin itself is gorgeous and, typing from experience here, best enjoyed while eating PB&J sandwiches in the rain. :)

Our single shot of Rosslyn Chapel (sneaked when those manning the ticket desk were looking the other way...)

January moss

We were there!

Sheep

Farm

Field

Peek-a-boo! by Langhill Farm




Monday, January 9, 2012

Edinburgh at Christmastime

(Nightfall, by degrees)

We had a lovely time in Edinburgh in the weeks up to Christmas. The Christmas market (including a German Weihnachtsmarkt!) made Prince's Street a cozy winter's dream: that romanticism of winter landscapes and scarves and oil paintings of skating rinks and rosy cheeks and cold noses, of Christmases gone by and the cradled Christmas-time memories of childhood. We went as often as we could.






(liebi)

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Frankfurter Eck is the BEST

Frankfurter Eck is a little hole-in-the-wall place of which we simply cannot get enough. We are seriously counting the days until we can go back. Today Pat had some Jaegerschnitzel and Spaetzle. I had Bratkartoffeln (not your average fried potatoes) and Schweinebraten (pork roast in the most succulent sauce). Too bad I don't have a picture of my plate, but Pat's is below. (droooooool....)



Frankfurter Eck is the best. QED.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

My New Year's Resolutions Five Years Ago

I've just spent the last several minutes reading my "contemplations" blog of 2006-2009. Hilarious. I was so funny (in all possible senses of that word, I think, and especially the more negative ones :P).

Below are my New Year's Resolutions for 2007, 5 years ago, for those of you who aren't into arithmetic. I was 16 and a smart-arse. :P Some things don't change (but some things do!). And for that beauty there you just read, the sentence ending with a parenthetical right there, up above this one, just call me Angela Confucius Wagner.

MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 2007

Resolute! This year will be different....!

The trite topic of "I've been delinquent in my resolutions in past years but this year will be different - I will be different !" won't be priveleged enough to appear in the ineffable posts of this blog (as, obviously, it is not true - I am never delinquent in anything). However, I will take the opportunity of condescending to celebrate such a useless holiday (to near perfect people like myself, that is. I am sure you all appreciate a holiday designed to promote self-improvement.) by listing what I think are some excellent reccomendations of New Year's resolutions for anyone striving to be as faultless as, well, me:
1) Exercise at minimum 3 hours per week. This one's always a kicker (for the average person, of course). But soon, with determination, you'll be the kicker. -and left, left, left, kick! right, right, right, kick! Come on you pansies: higher! There you go! We're really burning cals now!-
2) Become fluent in Ancient Greek. (Now you won't be saying "it's Greek to me!" in a tone of bewilderment, but a tone of utter confidence, diginity, certainty, and smugness.)
3) Reintroduce yourself to your spiritual side. Check your horoscopes daily. And the Chinese zodiac. (It's year of the dog, for those who are curious.)
4) Resolve to commit to all commitments - such as this and the preceeding three suggestions.
I wish you all luck on your arduous quest to acquire self-efficacy. Really. I know how much that my well-wishing means to you people. So I offer it wholeheartedly. Don't feel intimated or inadequate - I understand completely. I am inspirational, I know. One day, if you persevere and work very, very, very, very, errr.... very hard, you might become an inspiration to some people (albeit, few and far between - still its something, isn't it?).


This year, I really only have two or three overarching commitments, supplemented, of course, by a myriad of short-term milestones that no one but me needs to know about:

1) God
2) Family
3) School

"Funny," God and Family say, "it's usually manifest in ascending order..."

and that's precisely what I'm hoping to change in 2012 :)

--------

P.S. Don't mind the slightly ribald tone of this post, I've been reading my old bawdy, teenage voice since 11 PM.

What Happily Married Couples Do

This describes in full detail a realistically happy marriage.

I know from experience--of both joyous application and sad neglect (but more of the former, I hope).

Love you Pattycake!

xoxoxo

Here's to us in 2012 :)