Sunny days :)

Although it's only spring, it seems summer has hit Inverness....it was 21 degrees today!!!!! This is pretty much unheard of for this time of year but so so welcome :)  Before I get on to today's outings, how are you?  I hope all is well in Tas/wherever you are. 

For me this week has seen more cafe-ing and cleaning.  It's sometimes tiring but on the whole quite rewarding, and I really value the relationships I've built through this.  Yesterday I was feeling quite exhausted but decided to go on a road trip anyway.  I went about 2 hours north-westish to a place called Gairloch.  It was great to have a day to re-energise and just enjoy the beautiful beach as long as I wanted.  Here are some lovely pics:

At the Pier at Gairloch

Another pic of Gairloch.  Good hot chips here!

I randomly discovered this place on the way home.
This country has beautiful surprises around every corner!

And so on to today....it started in a bizarre way as I completely forgot about daylight saving time starting and rocked up at church an hour late!  It wasn't until the Minister said "and to conclude today's service..." that things began to click...sigh!!

After the service I had lunch with some people from church.  We sat outside soaking up the sun and even ate Pavlova!  It felt like a brilliantly sunny Aussie summer day :)  After that I went with Carol (a friend of a friend of a friend who has turned out to be a rather wonderful friend to have!) to the Cairngorm Mountains.  It was a perfect day for walking around the loch and made even better with such wonderful company :)  I'm feeling super blessed by God today.  Here are some pics.  Let me know how your week has been...I want to stay up to date on all that has been happening in your life too! 

Walking around Loch Eilein






















My one opportunity for wearing sunnies...and no jacket or scarf!

Carol and I posing in front of the
castle in the middle of the loch



We were driving along and came upon a bunch of reindeer!
 They were quite friendly....I'm guessing they escaped from
somewhere. So cute!!

Bacon and Castles

What a busy week!  Not at all busy in the way I expected, but good just the same.  Lots of frying bacon, making salads, baking cakes, taking orders, mopping floors, vacuuming, dusting and cleaning toilets.  I've met some interesting people when holding a toilet brush in my hand, or getting splattered by bacon fat :)

I've discovered something about bacon too....it's a very Scottish thing to have bacon rolls (a bit of bacon, in a bread roll).  Some people are quite particular about how to cook bacon, and how crispy the bacon in their roll should be.  I didn't mind a bit of bacon, but after frying half a pig in the last week I seriously can't face it.  Each time someone comes in and asks for a bacon roll I feel like talking them out of it, or offering a nice salad instead.  Alas, my days of bacon-eating are over :(

With the cafe, cleaning and annoying the council about my paperwork I haven't had much time for looking around.  Nessie and I did make a trip on Saturday though, which turned out to be a wonderfully sunny day!  I went to Eilean Donan Castle (the castle on the background of my blog), just under 2 hours west-ish from here.  I had plans to go further than that but got sidetracked and decided to do a tour as well.  I keep forgetting how close I am to so many beautiful places just waiting to be explored.  Here are some pics...have a wonderful week :)



Beautiful scenery along the way....



 

At Eilean Donan Castle.  The Macrae family
still own it and live there from time to time,
but the main part is open for tourists



Note the transition from puffer jacket to regular jacket. Tis Spring!
When summer hits I'll ditch the scarf....

Daffodils in March... :)




Beautiful place...would love to be here for sunrise/sunset

One month gone already!

It's hard to believe that it's exactly one month since I left Tassie.  In many ways the time has flown by, but at the same time I feel quite comfortable here already.  (Ok, I did just get lost trying to find TESCO, found the wrong TESCO and then got lost getting home, but I'm blaming Nessie for that). Nessie's insurance is all sorted now, so we have been enjoying quality time together!



On a road trip with Nessie to Nairn Beach

I took this pic 10 mins before it started to snow!



There's still not progress on the teaching front...I am sure my paperwork is gathering dust on someone's desk somewhere!  I am working though which is great :) I'm volunteering 4 days a week 9-2:30 in the church cafe.  I've never worked in a cafe before but am loving the experience!  It's good timing in many ways since the manager is away sick at the moment and they are a bit short staffed.  On Friday (my second day) the manager and assistant manager were both away sick and the only paid staff member there had just 2 weeks experience....a stressful day but such a sense of teamwork...it was great!  The church was also needing someone to do the cleaning so I'm being paid for 10 hours a week to clean the church buildings.  I really felt God's leading to be a part of this church, and it seems once again His timing is perfect! 

I'm also getting to know my housemates more now.  I just spent this last weekend with Emma (one of my lovely housemates) at her parent's place in Spean Bridge, which is about 1.5 hrs south of Inverness near Ben Nevis (Britian's tallest mountain).  Unfortunately the mountain was covered in lovely Scottish mist but still beautiful!  Emma showed me some of the sights and it was a wonderfully relaxing weekend!  Ok, that's all from me....missing you all lots and lots! Praying for God's blessings on your week.  Let me know how life is going for you :)



At Glencoe...was a wee bit cold!

Bits of mountains...Ben Nevis is back there somewhere!



I love the old bells...very authentic!

Tirindrish House - Emma's parent's place



Meet Nessie

Hello lovely people.  I hope you have had a super week :)  Feel free to let me know what you are up to...I want to stay up to date on all the Tassie/Aussie/wherever news!
After being a bit put off by high insurance costs, I decided this week to get a car!  My bike riding skills turned out to be more average than I thought, and I was really missing the freedom of being able to explore.  Also I think it will make working easier.  So here she is:  She's a 2001 Peugeot 106 Zest I have named Nessie.  Unfortunately I can't drive her yet because she isn't insured, but I'm hoping to get that sorted out this week.  I've found a company that will take into account my Aus insurance record and give a cheaper price.  I'll keep you posted on our adventures together!

Leesa meets Nessie!

Apart from the excitement of getting Nessie this week has honestly been rather frustrating!  I'm slowly getting to know my housemates, but often it seems everyone sticks to themselves.  I've made it my aim to 'create community'....I'll see how it goes.

A major frustration is what seems like an endless cycle of forms and paperwork.  Just when I thought everything was done (Teacher registration, police check, national insurance, bank account ...etc...etc..) I'm told that my current police check from Janauary this year is not recent enough, because it doesn't account for the time since I've been in the UK.  Clearly they found out about the crime spree I have been on for the last 3 weeks!  So more forms and more waiting....  Sometimes I can laugh about it but othertimes it drives me mad, especially when I had all this organised before I got here so I could be working straight away. 

In the meantime, I'm eager to get out and explore, but also hesitant to spend money when I have no income.  Thankfully I live in a beautiful city that is just waiting to be explored!  Where I am living is just a few minutes from the Great Glen Way walking track and Craig Phadrig forest.  Also spring is coming so the weather is getting better and beautiful flowers are appearing everywhere.  I'm looking at doing some voluntary work too, so will see what happens there :)  Here are some lovely photos in and around Inverness.   God bless :)



The first signs of Spring on the Ness River




A beautiful rainbow seen from my window

Locks on the Caledonian Canal





Sunshine!!