MAD's Visit

My awesome parents-in-law (who refer to themselves as MAD [Mom And Dad]) arrived safely home in Atlanta yesterday, and when we called to see if they'd made it, my mother-in-law was already outside watering the plants. She's a great gardener. :)

Here are some highlights from their trip. Unfortunately, there aren't many good ones. Many pictures I just downloaded were of Nathan's nostrils, the inside of his mouth, etc. because I was at sub jobs, job interviews, or preparing for job interviews for a lot of their time here. 

On with the show.

This is The Court Inn, our favorite pub with food.

This is the view of the cathedral from The Court Inn. I love this picture.

We hit the outdoor farmers' market on Thursday.

This is Edinburgh Castle. We made a whirlwind trip to Scotland for a few hours. :)

Edinburgh Castle

More Edinburgh

A William Wallace character on the Royal Mile

My MIL snapped this picture from the backseat. I think she was trying to get that mountain.

On their last night here, I was holed up in our bedroom preparing for my job interview, and they made dinner and planned a mini early birthday party, complete with presents and cake!

I got a summer scarf, purse, and nail polish from my sisters-in-law. Thanks Hannah and Joy!

My mother-in-law gave me a cookbook she put together herself. It is filled with Southern recipes from my father-in-law's aunts. Awesome! Thanks so much!

MAD, we are so glad you came into our lives here, and we miss you already!

Edinburgh With the 'Rents - Part 2

I just got the afternoon off as a Christmas bonus. Merry Christmas to everyone!

_______________________________________

On day two in Edinburgh we finished walking the Royal Mile with a lot of shopping stops and churches in between.

Here's Nathan practicing his preaching with Starbucks in hand.

I think this was an Episcopal church. It was pretty, and my mom was really into the charity Christmas cards being sold inside.

Fat guy in little coat... I was trying to find a warm puffy vest, but they all just made me look more puffy.

Nathan looks handsome in the vest he tried on, minus the mouth agape.

Father and daughter

Mother-in-law and son-in-law

John Knox's house

Nathan was pumped, but not pumped enough to pay the entry fee to go inside.

This is Hollyrood Palace, where the Queen resides when she's in town. It's right across the street from Scottish parliament. We walked all the way there but, again, didn't think it was worth it to go inside for the price. I just took these pictures from outside the iron gate.

And... because my dad was really into doors during our trip, here are three pictures of doors he wanted.

1

2

3

Edinburgh With the 'Rents - Part 1

We went to Edinburgh on Tuesday, and we stayed in a really nice hotel for one night. Here we are in one of the lobbies. I'm all layered up for our adventures outside.

Like daughter, like mother. She already looks cold.

Here's Daddy and me on Princes Street. Miraculously, this picture was taken without any buses in the road behind us.

Two sanguines up to no good, I'm sure.

Still being silly I see.

John Knox makes yet another appearance on a Parker holiday.

I'm think this is some sort of war memorial. I'm not sure... but my dad looks handsome so it made the blog cut.

We found The Witchery, as per Luke's recommendation, but as he warned us, it was quite expensive so we didn't eat there. Ignoring another one of Luke's recommendations, Nathan is "carrying around his passport in a frame" with his guidebook, athletic shoes, white socks, and jeans. He thinks the driving cap balances it all out, even though he only looks English from the neck up.

On second thought, Nathan, you sure do smile with your mouth open a lot. I don't know any Brits who do that. That cancels out the Englishness of your hat. You still look 100% American.

Here's Daddy looking out at Edinburgh from the entrance of the castle. It was a beautiful but cold day.

This is a classic shot from my childhood. My sister and I would get on either side of my dad, and my mother would say, "Look at your father, girls," and take a picture. Twine, I missed you especially much when we took this one.

The last time we were here it was free because of St. Andrew's Day, but it was also very, very crowded, so we didn't stay long. This time Nathan, Dad, and I went in the castle while mom did Christmas shopping at the gift shop. It turns out that the king of Britain during the time period Nathan is studying was born here. Nathan took tons of pictures inside, but none of them turned out really well because it was too dark.

Mom and Dad outside The Witchery on the way down the Royal Mile

The happy couple at the German Christmas Market

For dinner we went to a delightful restaurant called Brown's with our friends the Kellys, who fed and cared for us over Thanksgiving. I am so glad that they and my parents now know each other. So fun!

One more day in Edinburgh...

Exploring Edinburgh, Day 2, Part 3

Last post about Edinburgh...

B-Hog, do you remember these pants (trousers)? You handed them down to me at 3SE in 1999, and they've been faithful friends on the coldest of days. They're flannel (cream with red snowflakes) lined khakis from J.Crew, and I think the zipper is about 10 inches long. It definitely goes past my belly button. J.Crew has gone a long way away from flannel lined mom-khakis these days, but I digress. I don't really care that these pants are not the most (ahem) flattering, but hello... flannel? Yes, please!

The H&M bag has about £35 worth of thick knee high socks and tights. I'm wearing my army green ribbed tights now. Not as good as flannel, I admit, but I can't exactly wear those pants every day, much as it tempts me.

Oh, the picture above was taken on our second night exploring Edinburgh. We bought some cheese and venison salami from some French people at the outdoor market - the one with the vats of food. We enjoyed the spoils with the Kellys on our last night with them.

Okay, these are the pictures from St. Giles. The pictures are dark because, well, it was dark outside, and large old churches like this one have difficulties with lighting I guess.

The ceiling

The pulpit

The man behind the Scottish Reformation, John Knox

Exploring Edinburgh, Day 2, Part 2

This is a view of some church I can't remember the name of from the Royal Mile.

Speaking of churches, this is St. Giles' church. Nathan was really pumped about this one because John Knox, the Scottish reformer, was the pastor here.

Here is where John Knox is buried, under car parking spot number 23. No lie.

Nathan was ticked we couldn't go into the church when we got there. There happened to be a wedding just beginning. Can you see the bride at the door? "I can't believe they'd close this historic church for an hour just for a wedding!" he griped. Really Nathan? To kill some time, we headed to an empty field. Below you'll read why.

A certain George Whitefield preached in this very field to 14,000 in the open air. Even David Hume was there. Amazing. It made me miss Whitefield.

This is Nathan signing "preach" in ASL.

As the sun was setting, we decided to warm up in a proper Starbucks (We don't have one in Durham!) and head back to St. Giles.

I got myself the usual - a tall soy chai tea latte. Yum!

Hi puppy!