Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time just kind of hanging out. It’s been incredibly cold here in the southeast. The gardens are long gone. The chickens spend most of their time huddling and lying down. Pan has a part-time job for a few weeks so we haven’t been cooking a lot of fun stuff. Baking has all but stopped post-holidays. I have no photo shoots coming up. Work has slowed down for the time being. So I have been occupying my time daydreaming, writing, reading, blogging, etc. So, here’s a quick glimpse into what it boils down to:

• I think these would probably bring a little light and a whole lot of fun to any 3-season room or craft space
• I have been waiting for this show to air again since it left off last October or so
• I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands and this shall be my guide
• Looking at these guys for inspiration for the Buggy Town 1980s prom
• This is probably the coolest friend I have met on Flickr in a long time
• Learning to love REAL scotch
• One day I will have one of these in my hands
• I really want to adorn my walls with some of these

What about you? What are you filling your spare time with these days?

My time in Edinburgh has ended. I have had a most delightful time with my cousin Audra and her two roommates Eva and Rosanne. We have spent much time laughing, talking about fashion, critiquing bad movies and reviewing Dutch marijuana laws. In between I have worked quite a bit and been able to build a very strong MinuteFix community of Technicians. I have done a few personal things and had some very special conversations with some very special people in my life.

Most of all though, I have learned a few valuable lessons. I began to learn about true forgiveness yesterday and the release of honesty. It started in the morning with my realization the I have been carrying around the message of freedom on my wrist for so long that I have nearly forgotten its impact on my life. It continued in the afternoon as I began to come to grips with some issues that I thought would never surface. And then it boiled over with a cleansing conversation with her.

I recognize that these are only steps in the whole, larger process. I realize that it was not Scotland that brought this about in my life. But I also realized that I can’t continue to push things off and push them away. Fools look to tomorrow. It is time for me to use tonight.

If you would like to see the remainder of my Scotland pictures you can follow this link.

I have put up Day Four and Day Five of images from Edinburgh. You can view them here.

I thought it would be interesting to include my iPod playlist for walking the streets of Edinburgh. It is quite hard to describe but this city has a real vibe to it. At any minute the sun can escape into the clouds and give way to wicked rain. For that, the music needs to change. So, I constructed a playlist that has become a bit of a soundtrack to my time here.

Yesterday was just downright miserable.

I woke up and immediately went to work. I was knee deep in my emails when I realized that it was not only raining but also gale force windy outside. “Rats,” I thought. I had planned to work until about lunch time and then take the bus into City Centre to do a little sightseeing and perhaps shopping. But who wants to go in that weather? Well, I did anyway. Not an hour into the trip though and I started feeling like crap. My stomach was cramping up, I was sweating (even though it was 4 degrees C), I had a headache and my body was aching. I was sure I was coming down with the flu. I pressed on though battling mother nature as I forged on in the wind and the rain. I walked into stores and museums and other little sidewinds. I even made my way into a Starbucks for a most comforting grande drip. And then the loneliness set in. I don’t know why. I can’t pinpoint the moment it started. I just know I started getting this sinking feeling inside and I wanted to just crawl home with my tail between my legs. Please don’t get me wrong. I am so thankful for this time to travel and experience new things. But at that moment with my health against me and the weather headed that direction, I just wanted to throw up the white flag and go to sleep in the hopes the time would turn back.

By 6pm I had made it to Audra’s house and was snuggled in my bed. The chills were on in full swing and I popped a few more sinus pills. I started to watch a movie only to fall asleep five minutes into it. This was not before Britt and I got an email from the tax accountant informing us of the amount we owe to Uncle Sam. May I just take this time to say “SCREW SOCIAL SECURITY !!!!” Thank you. I feel better. I talked to her for several minutes and felt noticeably more comfortable. Enough to to drift into what would become a fourteen hour siesta.

I woke up this morning ready to go. I felt like a new man. All my symptoms were gone. As I came downstairs Audra greeted me with an invite to see Scotland. See Scotland, indeed! Eight hours later we arrived back home after driving slightly over 300 miles and seeing almost twenty or so town along the way. What a tremendously breathtaking countryside. We saw rain. We saw sunshine. We saw sheep. We saw deer. We saw a tiny bit of snow. We saw McDonalds. It was so much fun. What a great hostess, huh?

So, now it is time to hit the sack again. Redemption was mine today as I got to see Scotland in a way that most tourists probably never do. I hope you take the opportunity to view some of my pics. I know I am not the best photographer but at least you can see all the beauty I am privy too.

Not since the great meatloaf of ‘08 [Britt cooked me up an amazing meatloaf just before I left for Paris] have I eaten such a meal. Starting in late October my eating habits changed dramatically. My calorie intake shrunk to only 1500 a day and the majority of my food came from boxes. I rarely cooked and when I did it was really just putting something that was prepared and frozen into the oven, microwave or on the stove. That has all changed tonight. My cousin Audra came home from working all day and still had the energy to make some lovely baked chicken. It was quite tender as it lay resting in a peppery au jus. Beside it was a bit of mashed potatoes and some green beans. I ate two helpings even after I said I wasn’t that hungry. My friends, the drought is over. I have again eaten home cooked food. Now, if you will excuse me I am going to snack on some british chocolate or something.

I arrived in Edinburgh around 7pm. It was already getting dark so picture taking opportunities were slim. The rest of the day was little more than eating, chatting and going to bed. I couldn’t believe how exhausted I had finally become. By 4am I was ready to sleep. In fact, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. Instead of a long post on the plane ride (which I slept through) I will just tell you to check out the pictures I did take.

I promise I will do a better job of seeing the land real soon!

Life is not always what it seems. Many times the thing we rest so steadily on are shaken at the very foundation. Things we thought would last forever, sadly, end prematurely. But life is a journey. It is a road that we walk with God at our side. I am reminded of that poem “Footprints”. I actually despise that poem and almost anything like it that displays some corny message. But I guess tonight I realize that that poem holds so much truth. Those times when we look back at the sand and there is only one set of footprints it is not because God left us but because it was at that those times that He carried us. Those times are the hard ones. Those are the ones when promises are broken, hearts are left shattered and dreams are wrecked. But life is a journey. I am reflecting on all this because on February 26th at 7:25pm one of my friends’ journey ended.

Renee Dueck (seen at left in image) was born on March 18, 1984. She grew up in Canada and ultimately landed in the bought-used retirement bus that shuttled us around the United States in 2005 as a ragtag group of missionaries known as The Wave USA. In mid-2005 she was diagnosed with leukemia. She was a very special young woman and one that Brittany grew especially close too. She was interested in film and filmmaking and created some great clips along with Brittany for our Wave journeys. We last spoke with Renee in 2006. I have kept up with her blog though and newsletters and even exchanged emails with her on many occasions. She was a fighter, an optimist, and a helluva Canadian defending it against every crass remark I could come up with.

Tonight as I go to sleep in Scotland, thousands of miles away from Savannah and my former life, I pray to God that He was holding a special place for Renee. I also pray that right now as I look back and I swear I only see one set of prints it is because He carried me. There is a rainbow after the storm, emotional stitches to mend the broken heart and new promises to fulfill the loss of the old ones. I know there is much beach left to walk and I know that this life is, indeed, a journey worth taking.