Olde Edinburgh... Oh how I miss you

We arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland by train from London, GB on March 4th, 2014.  What a beautiful city!  After we checked into our hotel the first thing we did is head for "The Royal Mile" on foot.  My goal was to find the tartan plaid for clan McLallen from my late mother's side of the family.  My brother and I have been curious for years as to the look of the family plaid, and until this day were unable to locate the pattern.  The trip wasn't without some side tracks.  We got lost navigating the winding streets and courts and closes.  We ran across an older (ninetyish) couple out for a stroll and asked for directions. Twenty minutes later, after a climb up a long flight of ancient stone stairs that went from one street to another, we got some great advice from the older gentleman.  He looked me straight in the eye and says "mind your tongue now, use it!" If that was lost in translation, he meant that if we're lost again, ask again.  I was just besotted with the way he phrased it and the serious look on his face when he shared. so off we went in search of the plaid.  Several tartan stores later we found it, well, a sample of our plaid.  I've ordered a couple of yards and expect to see it soon.  In the meantime, I'll share a few of our favorite sites in Edinburgh.

Statue of Greyfriar's Bobby... you have to Google this, so interesting!

Memorial headstone for above mentioned "Greyfriar's Bobby."
No we didn't take Maggie with us.

The winding streets we were dealing with before we got lost.

Statue of Thomas Hume.  If you rub his right toe it's supped to bring you good luck!  Another Google opportunity!

Ruins of the abbey at Holyrood Castle.  
Breathtakingly beautiful!

I hope you enjoyed this short tour.

Hugz,

Gramma

The Train to Edinburgh!

What a fabulous time we had on our 4+ hour journey to the city of Edinburgh, Scotland from London, GB.  The train follows the eastern coast of the country and the views were amazing.  The food wasn't bad either.  We ate our first "Steak pie" on the train and it was yummy to say the least.  Here is a little taste of the magnificent views.

Hugz,
Gramma

Just a few pictures from London today...

The old London Phone Booth.

Most of the old phone booths are just for show now.  We did not see any in use on our tour of the city.  
This particular phone booth was just a short walk from 
The Mandeville Hotel where we stayed while in Great Britain.

Piccadilly Circus
Not a great picture.  We took it from the roof window of tour guides Mercedes.
Traffic in London is unbelievable!

St. Paul's Cathedral
Thinking this is where the late Princess Diana was wed to "whats his name"?

The Millennium Eye, yes, we rode on this!

Coming soon....... Our Trip of a lifetime!

Greetings,
Ron and I just returned from a ten day tour of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland and Ireland).  I'm in the process of sorting out our photos and will have a more extensive post with pictures soon.
Hugz,
Gramma

Pinterest reigns again!

I'm starting to believe that if it wasn't for Pinterest I'd be done as a cardmaker.   That site is just so inspirational.  Anyway, Our dear son is having a birthday on the 24th of February and this card front is one I totally scraplifted from Pinterest [thank you Karen Squires].  The inside on the other hand (wait, what other hand?) [inside joke, sorry] is all me and Dustin Pike's wonderful monster image.  Hopefully he'll see the contrast of the stunning out side next to the humorous inside and be amused.  If not, pbbhhhtttthhh!!
Enjoy!
Hugz,
Gramma

Shhhhhhhh.... mums the word!

Please keep this quiet... This is a very special card for one of the very special people in my life.  This is another scrap lift from "Pinterest."  I seem to get a lot of great ideas from there.  The creation of this card was not without a few headaches and redo's.  I wanted it perfect and ended up doing it twice and parts of it more than that.  All the papers were from my stash.  I blinged the butterflies (from the Cricut Picturesque" cartridge) with "Viva Pearl Pens and Ice Stickles."  I used the "Cuttlebug Leaves" folder for the upper part and a new punch from "EK Success" on the border that I wrapped with green gingham ribbon from my stash.  I decorated the inside of the envelope with butterflies in "Old Olive and Sahara Sand" ink from "SU."  I'll bet you've even figured out that the person I'm giving this to has a favorite color, green.  Now don't spread it around I want my dear daughter's birthday card to be a big surprise.  Enjoy!
Hugz,
Gramma