Delightful transports.

I was going to say that we went to a classic car rally today, but actually it was billed as the Western Isles Transport Group show. There were a few tractors and motorbikes, but it was mostly cars.  James is very interested in transport, he happily plays at 'garages' every day and we read a lot about cars and trucks.  So, seeing this as a sort of field trip on the subject, we headed off. 
We have a friend back down in the Central belt who refers to Lewis as The Isle of Rust!  Not a lot of rust in evidence here, I have to say.  Lots of shiny, shiny metal glinting in the sun. 
Ford had a big presence on the field, with this gorgeous turquoise Popular and lots of Escort Mexico's.

  Nice Hillman Humber.

James and his dad studying the inner workings of a Triumph Stag.

 A couple of immaculate Morris(es) or should that be Morrisii?

And a Vauxhaull Cresta!  I had forgotten all about them, but now I recall that our next door neighbour had one.  OK, I know I am sounding a bit anoraky here, but it was a very pleasant afternoon of nostalgia.  All around us were cries of  "Oh- my Dad had one of those!"  "Look - I've not seen one of those for years!" 

Like this old Bedford van, which was a former workers' minibus.  Mind you, there were some cars which I didn't think were actually vintage - that snappy red Escort GTI, or the Capri, for instance - surely some mistake!

 So, after all that, we couldn't wait to get home to have a go on our own latest form of transportation.

 James thinks it is a very sleek machine.

Wandering Wednesday

Here I stand, my feet placed firmly on rock that is estimated to be 3 billion years old.  It is a shelf of Lewisian Gneiss, that is the bedrock of this land.  I am wearing my hiking boots, because I know that soon I will be scrambling around on rocks of a similar age with my 3 year old son.  I have stopped here, as it is my favourite spot to take a photograph of the Callanish Stones.

This stone circle has been standing in this place for at least 5,000 years - pre-dating Stonehenge and the Pyramids.  It gives me a great sense of comfort and security standing here and imagining the vast community of people whose feet have trod this same rock over that time.  I feel grounded, certainly and able to see any worries or troubles from a much bigger perspective.

I look towards the South and see The Sleeping Beauty mountain over in Harris.  Once every 18 years, or so, there is a Lunar standstill, when the Moon comes very close to the Earth.  When this phenomenon is viewed from the stones, it appears as if the mountain is actually giving birth to the Moon.  I imagine crowds of people gathered all those millenia ago watching this miracle, just as they do today.  The next time this will happen will be around the year 2025/6

Looking West over the bay, I notice the contours of ancient lazybeds, or runrigs - a common method of land cultivation used for centuries in this area, before sheep farming became the default use for the land. As we begin our own growing venture here, it is heartening to see these traces of a once productive countryside.

The Stones have seen so much, yet stand, welcoming, without judging or condemning, all those feet who wander to theirs.  A consummate example of being in the present.
Where will your feet wander today?  Visit GardenMama's beautiful space and take part in Wandering Wednesday  - you may be surprised where you find yourself.

Today.

Uig sands.

The Show.

We have had a really busy week,and i have been flopping into bed at absurdly early hours, trying to keep pace with this hectic lifestyle we seem to be leading (who said the pace of life here was slow?).  We did have our day out at the Carloway Show on Wednesday and really enjoyed ourselves, despite the lack of sunshine and rosettes.  Still, the Lewis folk really know how to turn on the style despite the rain - how cool are these wellies?

There were plenty of sheep to be admired.  

The sheep shearing competition was a pretty fierce event.  They make it look so easy, don't they?

Not sure what this chap thinks about it though.

The home industries section was another hotly contested area.  I was pleasantly surprised by the number of teenagers taking part in this - especially the cake making.  By the time i got close enough to take this picture, though, some of the entries had already gone home.

I was very interested in seeing the vegetable section, however.  Many people imagine that Lewis is a barren treeless peat bog of an island.  It most definitely is not.  The table was covered in various baskets of the most wonderful produce - a lot of it grown outside too.  No excuses for me then.

The winning fruit basket was just sublime.  We visited this man's amazing garden today, as he is quite nearby, and he was incredibly  helpful with his advice on growing conditions here.  It was a really useful visit, but I think it may be a few years before he needs to worry about any competition from here :)  Mind you, I didn't get round to entering my lettuces, and, although I say it myself, I might have had a wee chance.
Faint heart, though...

And finally - the heavy events.  Here is the eventual champion of the day (Ranald Fraser) as he prepares to toss the caber (the a sound as in apple).  The caber is an 18 foot tree trunk , which weighs up to 175pounds.  The competitor has to hold the caber upright, by the thin end, and throw it so that it lands on its heavy end and flips over.  Distance is not the object here; the caber must fall directly in front of the thrower - at 12 o'clock if you like.

Looks good to me.

And here he is again, throwing the 28lb weight over the high bar.

Great stuff!  And a great day out. We even met quite a few people we knew, which gave it more of a community feel for us.
It seems so long ago since my last melancholic post, and yet I can't believe how quickly the time is going past. Another busy week is ahead already and a few days of summer have been promised. Life goes on. x

Home Making

 

 It has been two months since we came here.  Alan, the painter is almost finished - just a few bits and pieces totidy up.  The carpets are being fitted on Tuesday,and my sewing machine is ready for the fabric I will purchase tomorrow.  We spent the day putting up new light shades, washing down woodwork and hanging our familiar clothes onto new wooden hangers.  I washed new towels and bed sheets - placing them with lavender sachets into the linen cupboard.  I've never had a linen cupboard before!  Only blanket boxes or top shelves of wardrobes. I enjoy saying "It's in the linen cupboard"  such a fine phrase.  We are determined to be mindful about how we live here, and that includes the things we surround ourselves with.  I have read Sacred Space, Living a beautiful life and Timeless Beauty, still subscribe to Country Living and I am an avid reader of many beautiful and mindful blogs.  And yet....it still feels so ... what?  False?  Forced?  Artificial? Our initial euphoria of finding this place and the momentous decision to move has abated now as we get down to the business of living here. Something is missing - ok, carpets, curtains, furniture are missing, but as I plan the rooms, place candles, vases and wooden bowls, I gaze out of the windows at the stunning views all around and I feel as if i am going through the motions- I am not present. It feels - indifferent, somehow.  I had imagined that living the dream - and it has been a long held dream, would be constant joy and delight. I would be finally Home. But now, I wonder when a place to live becomes -  a home.

My Sister phones from Canada.  She remarks on the clarity of the line.  I say that it is because we are much closer to her now.  She laughs and asks what the  shopping is like, then "Do you like living there?"  I reply in the affirmative.  I wonder if she believes me - I wonder if I do.

We go for a walk earlier than usual.  There are a lot of people at the stones today.  A large group of Spanish/American tourists are on top of the rocks, taking pictures, while a private tour guide is pointing various things out to a Japanese family.  A young French couple take photographs of each other leaning against the stones and someone has placed a bunch of wildflowers wrapped in Christmas paper in the cairn at the centre of the circle. I watch James running around, as usual, trying to hide behind a stone, his bright blue jacket and golden hair making his hiding place fairly obvious.  "Count to fourteen and then come and find me!" he shouts.

We climb up to sit on the rocks and observe the people moving around - Big Daddy Sheep is grazing beside us - not even pausing to look up, such is his enjoyment of the summer grass.  We sit for a while, as James searches, unsuccessfully  for baby rabbits.  A large boat is anchored in the bay and we watch as a smaller craft detaches and heads for the shore. Another group of young people head up the hill and we see them stop and take in their first view of the monument.  I love to see people enjoying this space. A tiny something inside shifts, imperceptibly  and I begin to feel a bit better. I want to tell everyone - "I live here!"  Instead I remember that dinner is cooking in the oven and I am hungry. As I set the table on our return, I root around in some of the unopened boxes and find the new cutlery I had bought for this house. Yes, it is time to start living in the present.

We were recently back down at the old house for a week, catching up on various bits of business and loading the truck with more things for the return journey.  While we were there, Kenneth and his girlfriend took a trip up to see the house and explore the Island.  Our paths crossed briefly on our return as we disembarked the ferry just as they were boarding.  A quick hug in the terminal building waiting room and they were off.  He looked so grown up, confident, his own man. and I felt that pang of loss that happens when you realise your child is no longer yours alone.  Back at the house I could sense his presence and felt a huge emptiness, which gave way to tears. I missed him - really missed him, and wanted to be home.

Connection - that's what is missing. We have removed ourselves from hundreds of year of family - of instinctive knowing of a place and people. Recognising the faces - knowing the stories, being part of another's history - this place holds none of that. The home I was pining for is no longer there. It exists in my mind - a recollection of different times, different scenarios  different people - the pain of nostalgia.  Home is made from memories, conversations, meals, joys, sorrows - all those things-  not waxed wood floors and vintage pillowslips.  I know Kenneth and Louise will be back here - as will our daughters. James will grow up here and his all his childhood memories will be of Lewis.  My grandchildren will come on extended holidays, friends and neighbours will drop by.  Home Making is a slow business - it takes time and energy and love, but like the fabric on tomorrow's shopping list, we will weave ourselves - thread by thread into the warp and weft of this place.

Wandering Wednesday

Here I stand, my bare feet cooling in the foaming Atlantic Ocean, after a hot afternoon working on our croft.  I am wearing my favourite summer skirt, which is billowing out in the ever present breeze, making me lean forward to see my toes. The waves surge over my feet in their endless rhythm

My husband and son paddle at the water's edge.  There can be no rushing and plunging headlong into the waves here;  the currents are very strong and dangerous and small boys could easily be swept out towards America  - the next landfall. So we stand truly on the edge of our country, gazing out to the West.  Many people from here left for The New World - some willingly, but most were forced to by the Highland Clearances. The rich landowners thought that sheep were more important than the indigenous people, and so they were cleared off the land and into the emigrant ships.

But the land endures, and so do the people.  Now we are reclaiming a tiny couple of acres back for ourselves.  We have so many ideas, and much work to do.  My husband, John, takes up his scythe and begins. ..

while James revels in the lush summer grass, hunting for bugs and flowers and hearing the steady rhythmic sound of his father mowing..

Wandering Wednesday is a beautiful new photo challenge from Nicole at GardenMama. She says:
"Lets all take notice of where our feet take us and point our cameras down to take notice of where we are planted."
It is good to reflect on where we are - in the world - in the day - in our lives.  Do join in... you never know where you might end up!

Introducing...

Our latest grandchild!!!!  Due in February!! We are very excited about this news, and so happy for daughter Karen and son-in-law Daniel.

And not forgetting big brother Finlay, taking a very close interest in events.  

Good things.

Well, we've been here a few weeks now and it is safe to say that we all love it. Now we even have broadband, so i can tell you  how much I love it too.  Unfortunately i brought the wrong camera/ laptop lead, so I can't show any new pictures, but hopefully next week I can rectify that.  i have so many shots to download and am really looking forward to seeing them.
So - here are a few verbal snapshots of what i love about living here - in no particular order.

The fresh clean air.
Silent nights
Boys who sleep all night
Doing my weekly shopping from a van
Having to factor in an extra hour and a half to do anything, as people stop to talk all the time.
The people
The community feeling.
The scenery
The changeable weather 
The wind - keeps the midges away
Being on an island
Having our own peat banks to cut our own fuel
The croft and outbuildings
Working out our plans for the croft
Visiting the Stones
The beach
The people
The people
The view
Just - being here.....

Unexpected Prizes!

The Point Agricultural Show is one of the first of several held on the Islands during the summer.  Although it was not our local show, people outside the area were allowed to enter the photography section.  I have never done anything like this before, and have only really been seriously taking pictures for a year or so, but I gave it a go.  And guess what?  I got 3 rosettes!    This snap of James at The Mother camp in May won 3rd prize in the portrait section. 

This picture is a favourite taken at Horgabost beach in the Isle of Harris earlier in the Spring.  It won 2nd prize in the open section.  I am also very honored and delighted that this photograph is the cover shot of the current The Mother magazine.

Finally - this picture took first prize in the abstract section.  I was very surprised by this, as I wasn't even going to enter that section, and just printed this one off at the last minute.  It is simply a picture of our open fire taken on a winter's evening. I liked the way the piece of wood was burning down. 

So there you go.  i am so thrilled with my red, blue and yellow rosettes - our own local show is in 2 weeks time, so I will try a few more.  As I am a resident in the area, I am allowed to enter other sections of the show too, so I am nursing along one of the lettuces we brought up as seedlings last month to enter, as well as a bottle of elderflower cordial, made from our own tree.  It is very addictive this rural show business. Great fun and a good way to integrate into a community too.

The 51st State?

When I asked for my latest amazon order to be delivered to the new address on Lewis, they very kindly asked if  I would prefer to pay in US dollars, that being (as they imagined) my home currency.  Have I been out of contact so long that I have missed something?  Have Mr Cameron and Mr Obama come to some sort of arrangement , in which the Outer Hebrides is the price?  What is Mr Salmond doing abut it - does he even know? Hmmmm....

Anyway - quick post as we are back down in the Central belt for K's birthday and various appointments and stuff.  Back up on the early ferry tomorrow - leaving the house at 4 am to be in time!!  We should have out broadband on by the end of next week, so I will be live from Lewis then. (Assuming there have been no border checkpoints put up in the last few days)
Wondering about a change of name for the blog to fit in with the island, crofting  type life.  Not usre, really, because I am still an interrupted gardener - different things to distract me now.
xx