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I love Britain! But I'll get back to that in a minute. First: Sorry TWS - I didn't mean to make you think I'd been abducted by aliens! We are just in a "dull" season on the farm - not dull for us but dull for blogging! Also I'm still typing away at my book like like a madwoman!! Except this past week and a half because I've been TRYING to clean the house.

Ok, can *someone* help me solve this house cleaning mystery?? It seems that my "cleaning" entails shuffling the same pile around to different locations. I've thrown away or given away tons of stuff. I've had an entire room converted into a huge shelved closet. And yet...and all of my domestic glory I'm still being stalked by The Pile. Sure, I get a room clean but...The Pile is sitting there either in the hallway or in another room...waiting for me. Watching me. What gives?? This Domestically Impared person just cannae seem to figure it out. IT'S AFTER ME!

Here you see my nice tidy livingroom! Doesn't it look like an inviting place to plop down for a cup of badly made tea? (I'm still learning...)


AH! But as soon as you settle down on the sofa with that awful cup of tea guess what? There's The Pile lurking on the other side of the room...cue "Jaws" music now... (This week The Pile is residing in the livingroom.)


Back to why I love Britain: this isn't America vs. Britian, this is America and Britain. I'm telling ya! For a tiny little country you Brits sure have some amazing diversity in everything! Culture.. .Art... Music... Food... Language... Folklore... Scenery... I love it here! I am very happy to be an American and I love America but if I was going to have to live outside of my country my goodness...I'm glad it was Britain. I'll never be bored here! I can spend the rest of my happy life buzzing around Britain and I'll never run out of culture etc etc etc to experience. Even here in Orkney there is an endless variety of interesting people from all over the British Isles. Let's take the After-Church-Coffee-Tea-Time on Sunday: Irish, English, Canadians, Scots, a token American (me...) I know I had my "I'm bored" moments when I first moved to Orkney but no more!

Speaking of never bored!! Here's me modeling my latest wardrobe addition. Originally this cacophany of green and white was slated for an art smock but I loved it soooo much I've kept it as a jersey jacket thing. (Note Zeb who saw me put on the jacket and now he thinks we're going for a nice long car ride!! Poor Zeb. Also note: I'm modeling the jacket, not myself. I am not photogenic!)


Another thing that's left me puzzled (but in a good way!) is this: In America it was not uncommon for me to dislike a shop or a rest... resuraunt... restaraunt...oh for pity sake! ("Erlend...how do you spell...") that place where you pay to eat foodt Ok, so anyway in America there were really good places and really bad places. I don't find that here in Orkney or even "doon sooth" in Scotland. (Sorry but I haven't been anywhere else in Britain yet!) Here in Orkney and Scotland everywhere I go I am happy! The food is great, the company great, the shops full of all sorts of interesting things! Or really good yummy things (think along the lines of Shearers etc). This is a mystery to me because I've never been any place where I'm always walking away with a huge grin on my face! "Wow...that was great!" And the variety!! For a wee collection of islands you Brits are not too shabby when it comes to TPWYPTEFs and shops!

I was buzzing through one of my favorite British magazines but I can't tell you what it is because that'd be advertising. Anyway, we have the same mag in America and I love it - but the British version is ten times better! So as I was perusing through page after page of houses and gardens etc I found this kiddie toy called a "Wheelybug." Hmmmm! I've been informed by my miracle worker of a physio therapist that more then likely I'm going to have trouble with this ankle for the rest of my life (but she has still done wonders with it!) and I couldn't help but think... What about a Michelle Sized Wheelybug?!?!?! My goodness! I could scoot all around Orkney on this thing and get all manner of exercise, mobility, odd looks - all without having to put a painful amount of weight on my unhappy ankle!! It says that the Wheelybugs are available in two sizes. Would that be Child Size and Weird Adult Size?!?!?

Imagine the possibilities...

Stromness Dragon sent me an email! I sent one back. My email refuses to send emails 99.999% of the time. It's evil and probably posessed by demons. By any chance did you ever recieve the email reply?? Probably not. It's the demons, you see... I've started using my husband's email address... I had my own new email adress but as soon as I used it the computer locked down and we had to put it in the shop. Now that I'm using husbands email it's become diabolic as well. Does someone have an email voodoo doll on me?!?! I'll have to ask Anne at IBHQ if she can change it on my IB file because at least it works 75% of the time!

We made it to the Harvest 主播大秀 in Harry and I had a wonderful time! This time I could actually get out there on the dance floor and attempt to dance around! (I couldn't walk for a week afterwards but that's why I want a Wheelybug!) Oooo I had the time of my life and I just love how Orcadians love to party! I'm still not sure how one is supposed to eat cold slices of meat (fork? fingers??) but that's ok - I managed to avoid dropping any down my dress. Here's my Viking Cotehardie style dress I wore to the Harvest 主播大秀 (I love excuses to dress up! I didn't wear the bonnet though.)



Well, Erlend is circling like a shark because he needs the computer to do...CATTLE RECORDS! (Doesn't that sound exciting? If ya'll don't behave I'll come and blog about cattle records!!!)

Have a grand night! Or day! Or whichever!

Cheerio from your neighborhood fake Orcadian

If anyone is intrested in that WONDERFUL organic raw milk cheese we purchased while "doon sooth" last month let me know in the comments section and I'll post the info on my other blog. Cheerio!

Winther hath arriveth! (King James I am not...) And so it was with great delight that I built our first coal fire of the season on this blustery morning! I can blog about it now because my fingers are no longer stiff and numb (hehehe!). Look at that photo...feel the warmth...see the glow...oh I'm telling you, central heating has NOTHING on a real roaring fire!

As you all know, Erlend is converting the farm to organic - which is going to take about five years. At the moment he is working on composting all of the nasty straw that the cattle so kindly decorate for us. Here is "Torf" our youngest Aberdeen Angus bull helping us with the beginning of the compost process: we toss paper and boxes etc into his pen and he poos all over them for us and then stomps them into a nice composty texture. (Thank you for doing your bit, Torf!)

And here is our...uh...compost pile? Ok so, I hunted Erlend down and asked him why our compost mountain turned into a composte mole hill. (Impressive, eh?) Erlend told me he has moved the compost heap up to the other farm and THAT explains the underwhelming photo below... Anyway! Erlend composts the poo-straw and flips the piles over every two weeks or so and then he stuffs the "dung" into a big machine that slings it all over the fields. I think I'm going to really love being an Organic farmwife because the animals and the people all work together to farm the land naturally!

Erlend was in the barn and so I was finally able to get a picture of my wee future ox! He's a month-old Holstein stot (steer) and I've named him "Isadore" after Saint Isador the Farmer. Here Isadore is gulping down his breakfast of warm milk. Isn't he sweet?! He's deffinately sweet - but he smells!! (Don't tell Isadore I said that...) My other stot did not want to be an ox - he made that very clear and so he's been released back into the herd. Erlend bought this new calf for me last month and so far so good...