Scotland update- far sunnier.

[thrihyrne]

For those who read yesterday's entry and sent me good vibes, thanks ever so. As is the changeable way of things in this part of the world and this climate, as I left the library (which is great- made me think of you, llembas, as it's all in one room but has a whole Gaelic research section which I promptly plundered after getting off the internet), it was sunny and gorgeous outside. So here's my post from yesterday around 5:55.


I should've known that Scotland would woo me back after such disparaging remarks. I emerged from Stornoway's public library to see that the sun was out. Ah. More irony. I made my way to the B&B and talked briefly to Donny (Margaret's husband) and after I added the part about visiting the library for an hour, he said, "Well, you're not spending a fortune on this trip, are ye?" "No," I replied. "Today only cost me £4.70."

We laughed.

I ditched my overcoat and put on my cool new brown corduroy one and went in search of dinner, via the Lews castle grounds. And here I fell in love again, and these are the reasons why this was a good decision, despite the weather and cost and all else.

I went a bit down a gravel path and came across some wild thistles. These are my flowers/weeds. The tattoo I will get is a thistle in an art deco design. So I touched one, in flower. And got all teary, tourist/person of Scotch/Irish ancestry that I am. And looked up at the blazingly blue sky, and sun, and felt my permanent reminder of this trip (my chipped tooth), and knew that across the world snottygrrl was saying, "See? You knew this was right."

This was right. I walked a bit further on, found a set of wild blackberry bushes, pulled off a ripe one, not caring if it was illegal or no, washed it in the nearby stream, and ate it. Symbolically and literally ingesting part of the land I'm in residence of for a few more days, having to shade my eyes against the bright sun, dealing with the ever-present wind (which has always been my favorite element; I adore wind, just not in the extremes I'd faced), and relishing Being Here Now.

Yes, I still have a cough, and didn't eat lunch. Yes, I'll make a decision tomorrow to rest and write and it will be gorgeous and I'll decide to go to Ness on Saturday and it will be vile. And I'll continue to worry at the jagged edge of my front left tooth with my tongue and know it was worth it.

I suspect that although I don't feel changed or illuminated at all now, the after-effects of not caving to melancholy and travelling alone despite the weather will have longer-lasting (and hopefully positive) roots in future decisions.

Maybe I could be a crofter. As long as I had internet access, I'd probably be okay. Would miss several friends, though, and my cats, and Emma & Sam. The white cat at the B&B has become my fast friend- I even let her sleep on my bed last night whilst I left the door partially open.

Perhaps I'm romanticising- as Donny said, though, "When you're back in that stifling heat next week, you'll look back on this wretched weather and think fondly on it."

And he doesn't know how right he is. It's a quiet, isolated, insular, profanity-ridden life out here. I'm just glad I took the plunge and came to be a part of it, even if only for a week.

Comments

[snottygrrl.livejournal.com]

yay, i am so glad you are finding what you need (as i knew you would, [*wink*] but it is nice to have it more apparent instead of just having to assume it must have been worth it). this is a big thing and it will indeed change what happens in the future. this is a goodness. more (((hugs))) and joy for your bravery and the adventure. blessings

Thanks for that!

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's gotten better, though I've done so much walking now that I think I've injured my left foot. Ah well; there was bound to be something to finally force me to slow down since I've still been going full-tilt here despite my best intentions. ;)

p.s. I have a pressie for you. fic pressie!!

[edrys.livejournal.com]

I walked a bit further on, found a set of wild blackberry bushes, pulled off a ripe one, not caring if it was illegal or no, washed it in the nearby stream, and ate it. Symbolically and literally ingesting part of the land I'm in residence of for a few more days, having to shade my eyes against the bright sun, dealing with the ever-present wind (which has always been my favorite element; I adore wind, just not in the extremes I'd faced), and relishing Being Here Now.

I'm picturing you washing and eating that blackberry - you've reminded me of how we would pick blackberries from some wild bushes that grew near my childhood home - and how we come away with our fingers stained from the juices. :-)

Wind... Oh, but it's the extremes of that element that make me love it so.

The white cat obviously recognizes a friend. :-) And Donny sounds lovely and wise. Soak up the memories. They'll be a part of you always.

Wind- yes, here it's definitely extreme!

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

And I was thinking of you the trip back from Tarbert, with the drenching rain hitting the bus and the bleakly stark landscape- as I listened to your wonderful "If Ever Two Were One" 'soundtrack'! It was perfect music to listen to while going through the peatlands and mountains and lochs. It's made me want to get back to my Tar-Aldarion story. Since it's painful to walk, I'll probably do some of that today.

((hugs)) to you!

Yeah, the cat's definitely found a friend. :) She slept with me last night, too.

[miraminx.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're feeling better about your trip now-- and hey, it's the lows that make us appreciate the highs. Great, now I sound like a moonlighting Hallmark card writer. But seriously, you seem to be the kind of person who's able to appreciate experiences for what they are, not what your platonic ideal of them is, which to my mind makes you an ideal traveler (among other ideal things). May the rest of your vacation be filled with good-looking redheads, friendly cats, and just enough rain and wind to create atmosphere.

Well, I did want adventure!

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

Great, now I sound like a moonlighting Hallmark card writer.

LOL!! It's true, though- a little irony with one's holiday keeps it real. Hearing again and again how gorgeous the weather was last week is a bit sad, but it's gotten to where I just laugh now. I went up to the Butt of Lewis yesterday and there were blue skies all the way until I got there. It started raining, of course, as soon as I stepped off of the bus. :P I really was laughing as I walked to the remote bus shelter, thinking that while I was walking on the northernmost part of the Outer Hebrides, being blown away and drenched completely through, my coworkers were... well, working.

Glad you're enjoying my little snippets!! I haven't reread "Redeeming Time" yet, but it looks as though I'll have all day today and tomorrow to really relax.

[celandineb.livejournal.com]

Ah, glad that things looked up for you! Speaking of thistles - take a look at the designs on the pound coins you use. There is, or was, one with a thistle on it - you should look and keep as a souvenir.

Enjoy the rest of your time! {{hug}} Hope Ness is all you hope for, too.

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

damn LJ and its immediacy :)

I am mid-way through a scrawled letter to you, philosophising re travel (esp travelling alone) and its vagaries, blah blah. so won't write too much here. but am thinking of you adventuring and relishing and learning, and here I am...working. :P

the sun is shining for me here too - not that anyone 'up north' believes me when I say there's good weather in Melb!