O Christmas Tree (3 of 3)

We've seen family, we've seen snow, and now it's time for...

Christmas Tree 3 aka The Santa Tree



My mom has collected Santas for as long as I can remember. You knew it was Christmas time when the Santas started coming out. So, when selecting themes for the skinny trees we wanted to theme decorate, there was no question that one of them would need to be a Santa tree.



Skinny tree with red glass balls, glass Santas in antique designs, and assorted other fun Santas we had. All wrapped up with candy cane ribbon.



I was bummed that I didn't get the chance to put up a Christmas tree in St Andrews this year, but I just didn't have the cash lying around to bother getting a tree and all the ornaments to make it as epic as the ones I've done before. But I was bummed because for me, the tree is the holiday. I love my tree. I love the gaudy ornaments, I love the fakeness of it so I don't have to worry about a dead tree rotting, and I love that when I set a Christmas tree up, it automatically feels like the holidays. Christmas trees also remind me of my mom, since that's our thing over the holidays. And it's nice to have something of family at the holidays.

Next year my epic tree is going up no matter what country I'm in.

O Christmas Tree (2 of 3)

Now, we go into the decorative trees. These are my favorites. One of the big fundraisers in my hometown is the Festival of Trees -- different people/groups decorate Christmas trees to be auctioned off to the community to raise money for Hospice. It's always fun to walk through the tree display before they go to their homes in offices and businesses and homes. They're always decorated in a theme and I just thought that looked like fun.

A few years ago, my mother, who digs a good Christmas decoration with the best of them, decided the house could use a big more festivity. And so we pulled out a few smaller, theme decorated trees.

Christmas Tree 2 aka The Snowman Tree



Ah, the Snowman tree. The one I suspect is my mom's favorite. And, if I'm honest, mine too. (But only because I didn't get to put up the tree I've slowly collected for a decorated for the past few years in my townhouse down south when I was, you know, employed -- that thing has feathers on it. You can't beat a Christmas tree with peacock feathers. It's epic.)



But the Snowman tree is a favorite, decked out with a few sets of glass snowmen, individual snowman ornaments we've collected, sparkly snowflakes, sparkly... curly cue... thingies... that are awesome and I don't know the technical name of, and bows made out of snowflake ribbon.



It's a pretty safe bet that a new snowman ornament would always be an appreciated gift.

O Christmas Tree (1 of 3)

With essays turned in I can finally relax for the last little bit of my stop at home. Which probably means that I should do some cleaning up in my room because there's still the tell tale explosion of Christmas around. Although it makes me feel better that it's not the only sign of Christmas still around.

In true family tradition, the Christmas tree is still up. Oh, we've taken the ornaments down and packed them away, but the tree itself it still sitting proudly in the middle of the room because it hasn't made it back up to the attic. When will it get up there? Well... maybe before I head back to Scotland. Or maybe not. I'm taking bets on 50/50 at the moment.

So, I thought that I'd share a few pictures of one of my favorite parts of the holidays -- my trees -- since I didn't during the ACTUAL holiday season.

Christmas Tree 1 aka The Family Tree



The main event. Ole Faithful. The tree cluttered with family memories, handmade candycane ornaments, and year after year collectables. The one that sits there and says hello as we gather round and open presents on Christmas morning.



It's less cluttered this year as my sister has taken her box of ornaments to her house to put on her Christmas tree, and I wasn't here to put my entire box of ornaments on as I didn't get into town until a few days before Christmas. But homey all the same.



The pile of reindeer under the tree. The pile of awesome reindeer that we got from Burger King back in the late 80s/early 90s and have made Christmas appearances ever since. They are a favorite of both the niece and the cat for obvious reasons.

Next time: Decorative Trees

It Followed Me Home

Snow still on the ground here in MD, and ice is still on the roads. Well, only in parts. The road leading to my parents' house is traditionally one of the bad ones during 'weather' because it's just out of the town limits. That means that it's on the very bottom of the plow lists to get cleared, but still widely traveled. It makes for interesting drives during snow. Much better just to hunker down and stay indoors.

Now US airports and pictures and snow-tastrophies are on the news back across the pond and I get messages from flatmates and friends back in Scotland. The gist of all of them? "The snow followed you home -- don't bring it back with you!"

I'll try, y'all. Even if St Andrews is really pretty with the snowfall. I'm just as over it as the next person.



St Andrews Harbour under snow just before I left. Even wrecking travel plans, it was pretty.

Snow. Buckets of Snow.

You know what I really wanted? I really wanted blizzard-like winter weather to follow me from the UK back home to the US. The East Coast is lovely this time of year, but you know what it really needs? It really needs the type of road closing, flight canceling, wind howling, grocery store mad dashing snow that I had back in Scotland this past month. That'll help me not feel so out of place!



Thanks, weather gods! That backpack I got for Christmas pales in comparison to the sheer joy at having traffic snarled here, just like in St Andrews.

Christmas Eve

My luggage finally made it back to the States and into my loving arms at 2am this morning. Considering that the flights into Baltimore from Heathrow had been sacrificed on the altar of 'we can only fly 1/3 of our normal schedule because holy crap the snow is killing us in the UK' I have nothing to complain about. And it doesn't look like anything was thiefed from my bag either, so again, nothing to complain about.

It made it back by Christmas Eve. Which means I had time to do that inevitable holiday task -- wrapping.



As the dining room table had already been cleared off for dinner (which for my Southern family means barbecue, coleslaw, and mac & cheese among other amazing foods -- turkey can wait, the eve belongs to pork) my bed becomes wrapping central for all of us who waited till the last minute (or who had no choice because their luggage was on another continent). Which while I wish wasn't so, usually means not them doing their own wrapping, but knocking on my door with a pitiful 'Rebecca... since you have the tape out, could you...'

They keep saying I'd miss it if they didn't ask. I reply they've never given me a chance to miss it.

Welcome Home

After an incredible amount of luck, my flight from Edinburgh made it in to Heathrow. And then, even with a six hour delay, my flight from Heathrow actually left and made it into Baltimore.

My luggage, however, decided it really wanted to spend Monday in London, so it stayed behind and planned to get the next BWI flight out.

All in all, 26 hours of travel time later, I am thrilled to be home.



The Departures board at Heathrow. I was one of the lucky ones. Everyone else? Enquire Airline, which means 'your flight has been canceled, but we don't have the heart to upset you again, so get that info from your airline instead'

St Andrews Chorus Christmas Concert

Like I've said before, I'm a member of the community chorus here in St Andrews and we had our Christmas concert a week ago. It has been far too long since I've sung choral music, but the body and the soul remember just as soon as you warm them up. Putting on all black, making sure that shoes are comfortable for standing, making sure that you as a member of the chorus aren't in anything that will stand out too much, and singing. As soon as I pick up and open a black folder, I'm instantly transported back to Mr Thomas, my high school choir director, and no matter how long I'm out of high school, the first thing I think of when I stand on a stage is 'Remember, no selfish gestures'. Aka, if you draw attention to yourself by fidgeting or playing with your hair or staring off to the side you're distracting from the music -- so don't do it. The music is bigger than one person. Stand up straight. Be proud because you're creating something beautiful that didn't exist before and won't exist when you're finished. It exists in the moment, so love it and be proud.

We did three lovely pieces, but my favorite hands down was Paul Mealor's Stabat Mater (and actually was the premiere of the orchestrated version). The most fantastic part was that Paul was there for the concert, as he's based at the University of Aberdeen. I've never sung for a composer before, so it's both thrilling and intimidating to know that the person who put the ink to paper for it was sitting there listening. He was very complimentary, as was the review in the Dundee Courier, so kudos to us!


The St Andrews Chorus after the concert, with Paul Mealor.
Younger Hall, University of St Andrews

I've missed choral music, and I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was faced with it again. People on the outside may think that it looks regimented, and it very much is, but within that and within the performance there's a moment of freedom where it's not just you but all of you. I love it, and I can't wait to jump back into it next semester.

(Not So) Wasted Weekend

Some people would consider it a wasted weekend to spend the vast majority of it in pajamas and watching old and new tv shows on the laptop between research for papers.

Some people would not include me.

It was still cold, but I don't think any new snow fell. I say I don't think because yesterday I realized that I'd completely missed all of the daylight hours between sleeping in late (after a surprisingly fantastic night out with the IPT crowd) and relaxing with the blinds closed in my room. Not that missing all of the daylight hours is particularly hard when the sun is completely set before 4pm, but still. I didn't have anywhere to go, so watching all of the 1st season of Glee over yesterday and today was a particularly appealing choice.

Sometimes it's nice to do a whole lot of nothing.

So while that's not the most interesting thing to have a picture of, I leave you instead with a shot from Holy Trinity in the centre of town. Look -- snow and lit Christmas trees. Tis the season, after all.


Holy Trinity Church, St Andrews

A Very Tesco Snowstorm

It's refreshing to know that some things don't change, no matter where you are.

The snow is still coming down, and yesterday there was some speculation of difficulty getting both the post and groceries up into Scotland because of the snow and ice and apparently the fact that the salt for the road hasn't come in yet.

Really, people? You saw this coming miles away. But that's another story.

Anyway, so with it still miserable, and it still cold, and now people wondering if the markets will get a refresh, what happens?

Rush on the Tesco!

I walk in, and what's missing? Most of the bread, milk, beer, and...



...toilet paper.

It's comforting to know that there are some things exactly like home.

A Calendar Made of Chocolate?

Oh yes indeed, a calendar made of chocolate!

My Advent calendar -- complete with festive Santa and other arctic livestock.

In the States, the candy Advent calendar isn't nearly as popular as it is here in the UK.  To be honest, I'd never had one growing up.  We have a felt doorhanging calendar -- two, actually.  One with a cute little mouse that you move each morning (we would fight to get to be the one to move the mouse when we were little - what a breakfast/early morning conversation that was) and we had a newer one that had an ornament in each of the day pockets that we decorated the felt tree with until the star in the pocket of the 24th to top the tree.  Always a family thing, always in the kitchen, and always part of the decoration.

My flatmates were talking eagerly about which Advent calendars were the best (don't get one at Tesco because they're child sized, so the chocolate is child sized as well -- go for the Lindt ones because they're adult sized, even if they don't have Santa Claus or Doctor Who on the front) and I piped up that I'd never had a chocolate Advent calendar growing up.

They looked at me in sheer horror.

So, when in Rome, do as the Romans.  The chocolate shop in town was out of Lindt calendars, but they had these festive ones, which are obviously made for children, but the chocolates are good sized, so they pass muster.

When I brought it to the till to pay, the lady asked what name I wanted on the bar.  I replied 'Oh, I don't need any... Rebecca.  Put Rebecca on there."  Which makes me feel like I'm eight, but you know what?  I could use some good old fashioned child-like Christmas cheer at the moment.  Class is hard, my papers are a bit soul-crushing, so if getting my name in icing on my Advent calendar is going to put a smile on my face, gosh darn it I'm gonna do it.

And you know what?  It does put a smile on my face.  Simple things.  And the best part?  I get another chocolate tomorrow morning.

St Andrew's Day

Happy St Andrew's Day, all.

30 Nov is the feast day for St Andrew, and as he's the patron saint of Scotland, his day is the Scottish national day as well. Legend has it that St Regulus (aka St Rule) crashed on the east coast of Scotland at Kilrymont. He was at that time in possession of the relic bones of St Andrew, one of the original disciples of Christ. Kilrymont was renamed St Andrews in the 10th century to honor St Andrew. Fun fact: The name St Andrews is not possessive (a mistake many people make in the beginning), but instead comes from the original Scots name for the saint, Androis.



Normally, many historical sites are open for free and it's also the graduation day here at the university for students who finished their dissertations in the summer (aka all of the MLitt students). Which means that this time next year, I should be wandering around in an awesome black robe and hood feeling all accomplished.

Usually it's bustling. However, with the great Snow Dumping of '10, as I've decided to start calling the weather, most of the country is screeching to a halt. Roads are ice, sidewalks are ice and slush, and snow and sleet keep falling from the sky. Making it really rather miserable. About a third of the shops in town were closed because people couldn't get into town to open them. The university gives 30 Nov as a day off anyway, but even if it wasn't, people would've had a snow day.

I wandered around a little, thankful for my buff because the wind... oh the wind just cuts across your face.


East Sands and the Pier at St Andrews Harbor


South Street, with the Christmas decorations and Saltire banners up


St Mary's Quad

Let It Snow

Apparently we're in the middle of the worst snow here in the UK since 1993. Which I think was a pretty bad year in the States too, so... sweet. It is one of the benefits of being able to walk everywhere -- snow can't stop me.

But we'd planned a Breakaway trip up to Trossachs today, and we made it as far as 15 minutes down the road when the alert came over the bus radio. Perth was closed. Not just a road around Perth, oh no. The entirety of Perth was closed, which meant no way (correction, no clear and open way) up into the Highlands. Nothing. Scotland, for all intents and purposes, was pretty much shut down.

So, in an attempt to salvage our trip, we turned and made our way to the one place in Fife that we knew would be close enough to get to through the snow -- Falkland and Lomond Hills. Which was where we went a couple months ago, so of course one place that I'd already been, but it was better than nothing.

And covered in snow, the Falkland Estate has a very holiday card/Narnia aspect to it. It was cold, very cold, and giant snow turning into sleet for the day, but it was fantastic to get outside and trudge around in the snow. Now, all I needed was a sled and I would've been set.



Scottish roses, why are you still blooming through the snow?



Narnia, plain and simple.

I didn't get the build a snowman, but maybe tomorrow. The BBC says that we should expect a bit more snow, even here on the coast, so we'll see. As much as it makes a mess, I'm hoping that we do. I was out of town so I didn't get to see St Andrews covered in snow, so I'd like to see that.

And just for good measure, a picture that was supposed to be a pretty smiling picture, but a huge snowball dropped from the trees and bonked me in the head just before my friend clicked the picture. So, instead of me happy and pretty, you get side-eye and glaring at the snow. Not what I was intending, but it entertains me too much to delete. Enjoy.

St Andrews Festival

The big thing this weekend has been the St Andrews Festival -- three day, town-wide festival celebrating the upcoming St Andrews Day. Food, celebration, fireworks... fantastic.




Which, my favorite had to be the torchlight procession down to the harbor to watch fireworks. Imagine hundreds of people lighting torches to march down the town streets, and a pipe band leading the way to the harbor. And in no small part slightly huddled together and close to the fires to keep warm (today was centering around -2C).




But the pay off for the freezing cold walk? This gorgeous scene.



And what good is a Scottish festival without the Saltire on fun things like balloons?