Bittersweet

Yesterday was my last day at work.

So, to my new friends… Kate, Stuart, Lauren, and Ciaran… Thank you. You have done so much for me these past 9 weeks and I promise to keep in touch!

Cheers!

Gillyville

The next two days were spent, in what I have so aptly named, “Gillyville”. We spent most of Saturday in the Gilmour cottage on the North coast and then left that evening to spend the night in Cookstown where Gilly grew up.

Let me start with the cottage. Now, I realize that I currently live in the mecca of cottages so I’ll probably say this a billion more times while I’m here but I have found my dream cottage! I know I’ve said this before but this time I really mean it. The Gilmour cottage: my current dream cottage.

It even comes with Peacocks!

So, now you see why it’s my current dream cottage, right?! Gorgeous!

Note: If any of you would like to go see this dream cottage for yourselves, check out this website for some information on how to make your dreams come true!

After eating a quick lunch at the cottage the boys and I set out for some exploring.

Of course, we had a photoshoot on the beach… what better way is there to document our time together?!

 

Oh, good times! Ok, now to the serious stuff… the exploring.

I love these two so much!

After exploring we headed back to the cottage to head over to Gilly’s parents’ house in Cookstown. While driving there Chris told us that one of the ponies (yes, I said “ponies”!) just gave birth to a foal and another one was pregnant. Yes, you heard me right, not only was I being told I was going to see ponies, BUT I was also going to see a BABY PONY!!! The Lord is good people.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to have tea and coffee with the rector of Gilly’s church. Then, we heard Gilly speak his heart about being children of God and remembering that we have brothers and sisters in Christ that are a part of God’s family as well. We also heard me read the passage but there’s no documentation of it because someone forgot. He claimed it’s because he was so mesmerized by me so I forgave him. It’s true. I’m mesmerizing.

Family members and friends came from out of town to hear Gilly speak and so after church there was a huge potluck lunch. And then a huge food coma. But not before seeing the ponies again!

And here’s the newest addition to the Kelly’s camera clan! She was only £40 and came with 3 lenses! I heart her!

After the lunch and the ponies and taking out the minolta for a “test drive” we went back inside and all gathered ’round the fire to share some wine and stories.  

It was such a wonderful weekend. It really was. Will and I love Gilly so much and absolutely loved getting to know his family and a little bit more of his life growing up. We were honored to have had that time with him and his family.

If any of the Gimours are reading this… from the bottom of our hearts we appreciate and love you. Thank you for your hospitality and your kindness. It’s easy to see why Gilly is such a wonderful person; it’s because he’s been surrounded by wonderful people! We can’t say it enough, thank you.
- Will and Jackie Kelly

Belfast: Part 1

About a month ago I asked our friend Gilly if we could join him the next time he went back hom to Northern Ireland and, well, that happened two weekends ago. Yep I invited Will and myself and made Gilly take us around his old stomping grounds. No shame.

We arrived at Jen and Chris’s house in Lisburn, a town just south of Belfast, Thursday evening. When I woke up Friday morning Jen and Chris had set up the table for us to have breakfast. I was humbled because not only did we keep them up late with our night arrival but Jen’s a doctor and Chris works in catering and both had early starts in the morning; apparently with just enough time to set the table for their guests. This only served as a forshadow of what was to come. The Gilmour clan is a clan that knows how to host.

So, Friday morning we took the train into Belfast and walked around.

We met up with Gilly’s friend Owen for some lunch at Common Grounds, a cute coffee shop just outside of Queens University.

Afterwards we walked to the museum where Will and I learned a ton about the history of Ireland. Now, I know I’m not the brightest crayon in the box but to not have known anything about what went on for nearly four decades in Ireland made me feel just outright ignorant. I was appreciative of Gilly’s patience with all of my questions. I know that I would not do it any justice to explain it’s history myself so if you want to learn some more about Northern Ireland’s history check this site out and if you want to know more about The Troubles you can check out this site and this one and this one too.

After the museum we went to see the Ulster match. It was my first professional rugby match and I was impressed. Those men are beasts! Constant tackling and passing and running. We were in the standing section so we stood out in the pouring rain for 2 hours yelling and watching and cheering and having a grand time! I had left my camera at a friend’s house so only iPhone pictures for this part.

As you can tell, it was packed. Unfortunately Ulster lost but it was a good match nonetheless. Afterwards, we picked up my camera (and Will’s bag) and headed back to Chris and Jenny’s for an early start to the Gilmour cottage in the morning!

K1P1

As of February this year I’ve become a “stitch’n bitch“. My friend, and sensei, Erin taught me how and at the perfect time. I was getting so restless in February and was feeling desperate for something productive to do… keyword: productive. So, I figured I would share with all of you my new favorite hobby!

Here’s my little knitting corner. I picked up most of my needles at charity shops (I think I bought 4 of those sets of needles for £4 and that precious little caddy for it all for £0.50!).

Now, it was pretty full when I took the picture, but since then (1 week ago) I’ve bought 5 more skeins of wool… yeah, I’m addicted.

So here are some of my creations! A ribbed snood (snood = eternity scarf/cowl).

A basketweave scarf.

A warm slouchy hat.

And one of my ongoing projects is my blanket! I’m expecting this to take me a year or so because it’s my secondary project and I want it to be a large blanket I can wrap around myself. So, my plan is to knit a bunch of different patches, made up of as many different patterns as possible, and then sew them all together… like a quilt!

 My current primary project is this “burberry-ish” cowl by The Garter Girl.

The Garter Girl

If you’re a fellow knitter, you can check out  these  three  sites  I’ve found. And youtube is pretty much my bff.
Are there any sites you guys use for inspiration or help?

Leney!

A week and a half ago Leney was in town!

Leney and I met a little over a year ago during the Eighteen22 retreat. When I heard she was going to be in the UK we made last minute plans for her to come here. She arrived Thursday evening and left Saturday morning. Needless to say, Friday I put my game face on (read: perfect host face)!

I decided the first thing she needed to do was experience and Scottish breakfast. So, she did… or at least one bite of it and that’s all she wanted. Then we were off to my favorite yarn store, McAree Brothers! I’d like to say I’m a decisive person, but I can’t. At least not for myself. I can make decisions for other people quite easily, but it stops there. And apparently it does for Leney as well. So, we both enjoyed our indecisive selves for the better part of an hour as we went from skein to skein trying to figure out which colors we liked the best and what we would use them for and whether or not we could afford them and whether or not we considered this a “splurge” moment. You know, that whole process of justifying getting something you ultimately don’t need. Good times.

Then it was my favorite part of my planned day, the cafe! My favorite cafe… Henderson’s at St. John’s! I love this place and could sit there for hours every day! It’s minutes from our flat, has free wifi, has a delicious vegetarian menu (we had given up meat for Lent and have tried to keep that habit going), has local art decorating the stone walls, and the staff are sooooo nice! What more could I ask for? Well, a few things, but that’s neither here nor there.

 It was great just to be able to sit and chat with a friend and catch up. Of course the whole day was full of catching up, but it’s best when done over a cup of tea in a cozy cafe, right?! So, after a bit we decided to make a quick trip to Calton Hill. I love this hill so much because it allows you to see both Arthur’s seat AND the castle. You also get a panoramic view of the firth, the pentlands, Princes Street, and anywhere else in Edinburgh you wanna scope out. I love this view! Have I mentioned that enough?

 

After Calton Hill we walked back to the flat where we went to Villager for dinner and then crashed. The next morning we went to the Farmer’s market to pick up some pork shoulder for Easter brunch and then said our goodbye’s.
I loved loved LOVED having Leney here; even if it was for just 1 day. A fellow knitter (check out her Etsy store here), a fellow Richmond-er,  and a fellow budding photographer! I love you Leney!

To all of my non-Edinburgh friends: I miss you and I love playing host so come over! Please?!

If you’d like to know Leney’s accounts of our day you can read it here.

Also, I’d like to take a quick moment to give a shout out to my wonderful husband who loves hosting as much as I do:

Will, thank you for being just as concerned as I was making sure Leney would be comfortable in our home. Thank you for making me take her to Calton Hill even though I was feeling lazy. Thank you for chatting with Leney while I made dinner. Thank you for taking care of the dishes so Leney and I could catch up and knit by the fire. Thank you for re-telling my stories accurately so Leney wouldn’t have to pretend like she understood what I was talking about (I’m the worst storyteller/explainer of things ever). And thank you for being absolutely wonderful!
I love you Will!