Hi from the Highlands

Greetings from the Highlands of Scotland. Nathan and I are here with our friends Brent and Aline for our half-term holiday. While most schools in the US are finished for the summer, Aline and I will go back to teaching on Monday until the middle of July. Booooo! However, I guess having lots of vacation time during the year makes it worth it. 

We are staying together in a very cozy (read: small) one-room cottage with a loft. It has a fireplace, which Nathan has been dutifully manning since our arrival on Saturday. Yesterday's weather was gorgeous, and we took full advantage of it by going for a long walk to check out our surroundings on the Isle of Lismore. The landscape of the Highlands kind of reminds me of a combination of the Pacific Northwest and England. 

The first few pictures are from our first night. The days are very long here, with darkness coming around 10:30 p.m. and the light coming around 4:30 a.m.. 

Nathan cooks breakfast in our little kitchen. The ladder goes up to a loft where Nathan and I sleep.

Our little cottage has a grass roof. Cool.

We hiked to the top of a mountain next to us to see the view. It was beautiful!

I found a beautiful seashell by the rocky coast.

Nathan and Brent saw these guys farming oysters, so they trekked out there to check things out.

Not quite ready for eating...

Today is very rainy, so the four of us are gathered around the fire reading (Nathan), working on writing school reports (Aline, not me, clearly), doing research (Brent), and blogging. Tomorrow we are going to Loch Ness, and all I can think about is when Napoleon Dynamite does a school presentation on Nessie.

Oh yeah! Today is my birthday (I'm thirty-two-hot-to-handle), and Brent and Aline made a lovely birthday brunch and gifted me with the most thoughtful card. Inside they listed the top 10 things they love about me. It was right up my mom's alley. She loves "top 10 things you love about me" lists. I loved it too!

I'm sure there will be lots more from the Highlands later on... I'll keep you posted (pun fully intended).