Poor Miss Maggie Doodle! She finally arrived in Scotland, delivered to us the day after our arrival at the Edinburgh Airport Hilton. A sensitive soul, I hoped she would be able to forgive and forget the travel nightmare! Having been sent off by strangers from Sea-Tac International Airport, she was then crated for hours in the hold of a roaring jumbo-jet. Arriving after a night in Frankfurt, she looked bedraggled...and smelled far worse. Even so, it was a joyful reunion.
Thursday, November 6, 2014... We packed up the "New Blue Poo" (Short for Peugeot) and headed north on the A-9. Dark clouds and heavy rain made driving a chore, yet the mystery of the snowy Highlands enchanted. Hours later, as we neared the north coast, a sinking November sun pierced the clouds. We found ourselves snaking along, atop craggy cliffs, towering far above the North Sea. Finally, turning west toward Thurso, we crossed miles of rolling moorland. I couldn't help but imagine the heather in bloom...
Friday, 7 November, 2014...we boarded the ferry at Scrabster for the last leg of our journey to Orkney. God was merciful and our sailing was smooth. We checked in at the Lynnfield, which would be our home for the next eleven days...then drove to "Little Halley", our new 'home'. The shipment bearing our earthly possessions would not arrive for two more weeks, but we unpacked the toaster, food processor and Kitchen Aid mixer purchased at Costco in Edinburgh. It was the beginning of our habitation...and all a little surreal.
The View from Little Halley Tuesday, 18 November 2014...(Journal Entry) "As I sit here, as close as I can get to the small dining room window, I struggle to tear my eyes from the magnificent, ever-changing vista. As I enjoy the view, a strange irony impresses me. While I lament the loss of so many beautiful picture-windows in our home in Graham, You have shown me that while it was beautiful and quite familiar, my view was limited there. Whether by towering stands of fir trees, the hill at the back of the property, or the obstruction of other homes...my vision there was lovely, but eclipsed. Now, strangely, I find myself gazing through a comparatively tiny portal, out onto a horizon so vast I cannot take it all in. The limitation is no longer the view, but the ability of my human eyesight...even a telescope would provide only limited access to all that lies before me...
ISN'T THIS JUST LIKE YOU, LORD???"
ISN'T THIS JUST LIKE YOU, LORD???"
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