Farewell Nessie

Here is the link to my new blog..."Leesa meets Nessie" just doesn't make sense on this side of the world!

www.thelifeofleesa.blogspot.com.au

God's blessings xxx

New beginnings

I have been putting off this entry, because I know this will be the last time I write on my Scotland blog.  It's quite bizarre being back here  - change in climate, people, scenery, timezone....lots to adjust to!  Before getting on to that though, a recap on the last 2ish weeks:

I had such a lovely time in London with Ray and Hilary....it was nice to have some time to catch my breath before the long journey home!  We went to Hampton Court, and then I took a last trip into the city for a bit more exploring.  It was quite nice to explore without a to do list or feeling that I had to fit lots into the day.

Food craving satisfied!

Following this were two rather long flights, both of which were full with me stuck in the middle!  They were lovely people to chat to but alas no sleep :(   Going through passport security and customs at Melbourne was crazy...we were in line for 1.5 hours and I nearly missed my flight back to tas.  It's quite sad to travel overseas and come back to realise the worst airport in the world is in your own country!  The lines were so long and full of people for whom this was their first impression of Australia...not a good impression I'm thinking!

And so, my first impressions of being back in tas? There's so much (too much?) space!  Roads are bigger, blocks of land are bigger, even the sky is bigger (don't get all scientific and tell me it's not...I say it is).  I really miss the cosyness of Scotland...I think somehow the atmosphere there creates a closer sense of community too.  Life here is taking shape again though.  I'm staying with lovely friends, have got a car, and am starting to reconnect with people.  A more permanent place to live is just around the corner too :)  Speaking of cars, I'd better introduce her:  Her name is Maud and she's a 1997 Toyota Corolla Sedan.

Meet Maud - my latest old lady car ;)

Hanging out with Dad :)

And so that's all.....for now.  I'm starting another blog so will post the link to it when it's set up.  Time now to go and soak up some sun.  Thank you for following my journey!  God's blessings xxxx

A year of blessings

I've just left Inverness on the train, starting the long journey back to Aus.  Usually saying goodbyes and leaving a place is hugely sad for me, but God is really protecting my heart.  I have an absolute feeling of thankfulness for this last year and every wonderful person I've met and shared life with.  What a life-changing adventure it's been and such a testimony to God's provision!  Humanly speaking, it's rather ridiculous to move to the other side of the world, knowing no one, having no job and completely unsure of what to expect.  And then to find that not only does God protect me and allow everything to fall perfectly into place, but He uses it to shape me and change me for the better :)  So in many ways this doesn't feel like the end of a journey, but rather just the beginning.......

This last week my camera has been working overtime, taking last-minute snaps of beautiful friends, places I want to remember, and....carrots.  Sorry in advance for the lovely people whom I didn't get piccys with.  Even without photos I'm unlikely to forget a lovely smile :)  

Leah and Ashish (Leah is
 Nessie's new owner!!)

I think everyone needs a favourite swing.  This is mine!

An early morning walk in the snow
and rain with Iwona

Hanging out in the office at my very favourite Hilton Church
(notice the standard freezing-cold-office attire!)

with the wonderfully talented Dot :)

At least for now, this has to be my fave music.  It's quite
lovely to shop to the sound of bagpipes! 

Duncan, Shona, Rory, Peter (and Eilidh
behind the camera) - a beautiful family!  

Favourite shop...a charity shop of course!

Victoria market....great place for window
shopping and craft stuff :)

Dinner with friends....Selina is looking particularly angelic :)

Part of the amazing LightHouse team
....lovely Annie and Adrienne :)

Compulsory hugs with non-hugger
Calum...tehehe!

This is the selection of carrots available at Morrisons.
Shredded carrot, carrot batons (a personal favourite), sliced
carrot, diced carrot and swede, and carrot and herb mix.
There are also regular carrots but that seems rather boring now!

 Emma - an amazing housemate and
fellow crochet-addict!

Favourite road sign.  Every time I drive
past I look out in vain for the humped
pelican but I've never seen him.  I'm thinking
someone didn't obey the sign and he got squished :(

Lovely housemate Bregtje and I posing in
the mirror :)

Time to sign off.  Six hours of train trip done, two more to go.  I'm spending tonight and tomorrow night
(Mon and Tues) in London with Ray and Hilary before flying out at 10pm on Wednesday.  Touchdown in Tas will be at 1:35pm on Friday.  God's blessings. See you soon/missing you already!

Christmas-ness

 

It's still the 20-something of December, so still ok to say MERRY CHRISTMAS I think!  I hope you and your family had a wonderful day.  I've been holding out for some snow so I could pretend it had been a white Christmas, but alas not to be :(  This was my third northern-hemisphere Christmas and still no luck....perhaps it is me that causes the lack of snow? There was one snowy day a week or so before Christmas but silly me thought there was surely more to come so didn't bother with photos!  I did however get a cool movie of the snow falling that night....hard to capture in a photo anyway:

I really enjoyed the build-up to Christmas this year, even all the shoppers rushing around getting last minute gifts.  Perhaps I enjoyed it because for once I was organised and had everything bought by the 5th of December :)  Being soooooo organised, there was plenty of time left for making an epic gingerbread house!  Annie and I spent Christmas eve decorating and chatting....it's such a blessing to have friends to share life with :)



Working hard....

With our Gingerbread ladies......

The finished result....hooray!

 

 

That evening at church we had a watchnight service, starting at 11pm and going until midnight.  It's not something I have heard of before, but it was so special to be together as a group of Christians belting out Christmas carols to welcome in the celebration of Christ's birth.  There are so many aspects of Christmas that are removed from it's true meaning, but what a way to claim it back as a Christian celebration! 

It was up early again Christmas morning to do family skype calls, then back to church for a Christmas day service.  My lovely friends Leah and Ashish had invited me for Christmas so it was back to their place, then together off to a lovely family celebration :)  After stuffing myself with too much food and sweeties we finished the evening by visiting more friends and chatting until I was nearly falling asleep.   It was such a blessing to meet new people and spend time with friends.... a lovely way to celebrate Jesus' birthday! 

 I didn't really take many photos on Christmas day, but here are some other random Christmassy pics.  I hope you have a wonderful new year.....next update: 2013!  God bless :)





Christmas flowers from Dad and Alison...
a lovely surprise!

Pretty staircase :)













 







Finally, my best reindeer impression....with real antlers.....how could I resist??? Tehehe.  I shall never grow up ;)

 

Paris Pics Part 2

Wow, it seems so long ago that i was in Paris!  It's a lovely place, but I'm glad to be back in Inverness again.  Five days was the perfect amount of time :)  So, here are the rest of my holiday pics:

Versailles:

This day I was kind of getting over taking photos, not helped by really dull skies :)  Still, the 40 min trip out to The Palace of Versailes was well worth it.  The palace was the home of French kings since 1630-ish and is now a museum of French history.  I can imagine the gardens are more impressive in summer, but the palace itself screamed over-the-top opulence!



A bit bigger and it would make an ok summer shack (this is only half...couldn't fit it all in the pic!)



A touch more gold leaf and it would meet ones expectations

Paris at Night:

Pictures don't do the Christmas market justice.  It's this whole avenue from the Arc de Triomphe to the ferris wheel of beautifully decorated little white huts selling lots of wonderfully Christmas things.  In the trees there were speakers playing christmassy music and the whole place smelled of mulled wine and crepes.  Everyone took so much care to decorate their stands with lights and figurines, and there was even an ice skating rink!  I also couldn't resist another visit to see the Eiffel Tower :) 




 

Sacre Coeur:

Sacre Coeur is an amazing church on a hill not far from where I was staying.  It was another dull day, so the photos look best black and white!  The church itself is amazing, but what was most wow was walking up the staircase to the dome at the top.  It was such a tourist free day that I had the whole dome to myself...hence the silly selfy photos! 

        

















































So that was my five day holiday!  As my mangled map shows, I have "done" Paris :)  Definite highlights were the lovely hostel, how easy it was to get around and really great buskers on the trains...one night they had the whole train laughing and singing!  The French people I talked to were really friendly and quite willing to speak English, which is something I wasn't expecting.  At the same time, coming back to Inverness feels like coming home....just in time for preparation for the even bigger trip home to Aus.  Bye for now. Hopefully the next post will be some lovely wintery pics!