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I can't believe I caught photos of this! I've seen lots of random Santa hats around Edinburgh lately, but these were the most outrageous ones.

Two people on a motorcycle is called "Two-Up"! Perhaps this is Santa-up!

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Last year we didn't brave the adventure of buying a Christmas tree, but this year we decided to give it a go. We headed down to a nearby Christmas tree lot.

But their prices were high and the trees looked a bit scrawny. We would have had to buy a stand for it and we didn't know where we'd keep it the rest of the year... etc. etc. So we ended up buying a LIVE tree from the nearby florist - whose prices were surprisingly reasonable, and it came in its own bucket. Course, Stan had to carry it home uphill for a mile... No taxi for him!It fit just right...And we actually had enough doodads and such around that the place decorated up rather nicely. (I included a red and white stripey straw from a recent lunch - it's stuck in the tree.) It was definitely worth the effort. So nice!And it has joined all the other Christmas tree lights we can see in our neighbor's windows. Festive! Happy yule y'all!

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Each year after deadlines we students have had a pot-luck Christmas Party in student housing. It's a new group of students this year from last, but they were just as good cooks. The feast was multi-cultural and amazing.

I made Mexican cornbread this year, which is a bit of a trick since there is no such thing as cornbread mix here. It turned out great, and Catherine made guacamole, which went perfectly together. I was still under my dissertation deadline, so wasn't quite in party mode yet, but it was still lots of fun to connect with this amazing talented and smart bunch of people.
Here I am with Eshow (ee-ShOW, as in Ow!)

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This weekend was our last Picture Hooks workshop. This time we studied picture book covers with Tiffany Leeson, Creative Director of Egmont!

     As usual, it was held at the Portrait Gallery in the wonderful space available there which we completely destroyed (this was at lunch).
     Much of the same gang showed up again (we've become friends). Here's Anka in the foreground and Hazel in the background.     And once again, I learned a TON and had a fabulous and creative time!
     On day 1 we studied existing covers and their target markets. The differences were so obvious when seen together. We discussed color, fonts, graphics - everything! Then we were each assigned a story and we had a go at a purely illustrated cover, and then an all text cover. It was left to everybody else to guess what title we'd been assigned. Can you guess? I got Sleeping Beauty.
     Day 2 was even better. We focused on creating bespoke type, starting with pure mark-making to various tunes. Guess what the music sounded like...

     From there we worked on creating our own fonts. I hope to finish mine as I really liked it - based on "Yikes!"
     After lunch Tiffany assigned us books to re-design. I was thrilled to be handed MOG, which is as much of a classic here in the UK as Snoopy is in the US. And while I wasn't happy with my Sleeping Beauty art from the day before, I was thrilled with what I did with Mog. Everybody else seemed to like it too. I even achieved a foil by putting glue on my cut out letters and rubbing foil wrapping paper onto it.     All said, it was a wonderful and creative way to spend a weekend and I learned SO much! I have adored these workshops and look forward to whatever they come up with for next year!

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You probably all played with this in Kindergarten, I know I did. But I started using tissue paper in an entirely new way. It all began over at Hazel Terry's blog - Printing With Tissue Paper. Hazel is always experimenting with new and creative ways of working. Well, this particular post lit a fire under me. It's so cool! So on the way to uni after reading her post, I stopped to pick up some tissue paper and try it for myself. One problem. Most tissue paper these days has a binder in it so that the ink doesn't run. Well, that's exactly what I wanted it to do, so none of the stuff I tried worked. I asked Hazel about the tissue paper she used and she, lovely lady, actually sent me a pack. And I was OFF!

First, I experimented. You just rip off a piece of the paper, lay it where you want, then apply water to the back. Layering different colors creates new colors. Some of the papers are juicier than others. Some lift ink off of the ink below them. And you can use a piece of paper more than once. If you're lucky, it'll pick up the ink from a previous layer of color and create entirely new things. All in all, it is a very messy and fun process!But that's exactly what's so fun about it. It put me in touch with my inner kindergartener, and is wonderfully unpredictable.I have a ton more experimenting to do (which I am looking forward to with my upcoming semester of pure studio time!), but already, I just adore this media. I'm applying it to a new line of illustrations I've been working on - more on that soon. Here it is, still a work in progress as I haven't removed the tissue paper yet. I'll show you the results soon.

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This one is for a grade! It's end of the 3rd semester in my MFA in Illustration - our most difficult semester of all! I'm on the couch working on my dissertation, which I will submit this Friday. *pant, pant* Meanwhile, the studio is off limits to us because the tutors are reviewing our summative submissions. Mine looks like this.

On my desk are works-in-progress like my Textiles workshop projects. Gads, the pillow turned out so freaking CUTE!Some finished projects, like the cover I did for the elementary school I visited - Vivian was doing a writing workshop with them and invited me along to show the kids how to draw manga. This is their story. You saw my See Noise submission already. And you've seen most of my Marginal Creatures project - in black and white. They're now in color, accompanied by haikus and I will make them into a book next semester. There's also all my ongoing picture book projects - the ones I can share like this one. And the ones I can't share just yet - you'll have to guess at that. All said, I'm pleased with my work this semester. However, I'm not done yet! Enough goofing off, I've got to get back to my dissertation. Wish me luck!

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One of the best things about where we live here in Edinburgh is my walk to and from Uni. It's 1.6 miles and it goes through the heart of some of the best twinkle light displays in the city. Here's my path. I go around the castle, which has colored lights shining on it. Yesterday was blue, today was red. I go north on Lothian, cut across Princes Street, then hook a right on George Street. Which is where I encounter this.

It's a giant arch construction covered in lights choreographed to choral Christmas music and it is the main tourist draw this holiday season. It's so fun to navigate through the happy crowd on the way home.
     I then walk down the length of George Street where I see things like this.
and this
     The Dome is always spectacular. Sometimes they even pump fake snow onto the sidewalk!     At the east end of George Street is St. Andrews Square (our square). They set up a skating rink around the monument and shine a light show onto the column, making it snow, saying "Merry Christmas (shown here), and then turning into a candle.     I walk around the skating rink, listen to carolers, and watch little kids use penguin-shaped supports as they learn to skate.      On the other side of the park is Harvey Nichols and Multrees Walk. HN always does crazy window displays.      Then I cut left and go downhill, enjoying the view of the Kingdom of Fife in the distance, to finally get home. There's no better way to get into the spirit of the season!

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Each month I attend the Literary Salon hosted by the City of Literature. To get there I left the Edinburgh College of Art, walked through Grassmarket, and up Victoria Street...

which looks a lot better in the Edinburgh Holiday Guide - click their image below to check it out.I cut across the Royal Mile and past the Writers Museum, which cuts through a wee alley that opens up to this view of Princes Street and the Christmas Village.     Anyhow, I cut left to the Literary Salon, which is usually hosted by The Wash Bar... and stays there. But not this past time. We started at the bar, but we soon moved on to the John Knox House, home to the Storytelling Centre and the oldest house in Edinburgh, to kick off a new tour. It began with roasted chestnuts. (I really love these things!) And a story, of course!The tour continued from there, but we hadn't eaten yet. So we headed to an Italian restaurant we hadn't yet tried. This was our view.So, yeah. That was a Tuesday in Edinburgh. :)

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It's a bit quiet on my blog this week because I'm in the middle of writing my Masters Dissertation (called a Thesis in the US). It will be 6,000 words on, "Comparing US and UK Picture Books: An Analysis of Cultural Contexts Between Medal-winning Titles" - or at least, that's what it is right now. I'm at 11,000 words with more to go and lots to cut.
     I'm also finishing up studio work for our December 6th semester deadline. So, please be patient with me while I get through this enormous hurdle. And know that this is indeed part of my Edinburgh adventure - just a very demanding part!
     Meanwhile, here are some random images and hints at my experiences right now. This first one is a sign I pass every morning on my way to buy a cup of tea from Mustafah.

My textiles workshop, in progress...

I'm still finding gloves on fence tines and recording them. This will turn into something, not sure what just yet. I have about thirty of them.

Best of all, the MAs are graduating right now. Lilly (peace sign) came by to say 'hi' to all of us who are still slogging it out. This will be us come the end of May. Lilly is an inspiration to us right now. This is me, Karin (also graduated), Boris, Lily and Nadee.

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Rather than rush around to see all the touristy things in Edinburgh at one time, Stan and I have been waiting for friends to come in town to see the main attractions. That way, we get to see them for the first time too, and with friends. So far, it's worked out great. And our friends are so varied and interesting, we have yet to duplicate anything!
     For example, recently Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman came to visit from New York. It was a whirlwind trip for them with book signings in Glasgow and London, finally landing with Terri Windling in Chagford (Devon) for some quiet writing time. We were lucky enough to have them in Edinburgh for a few days.
     As a thank you for lodging, they treated us to dinner at The Witchery. I had been eager to try this place and it's no wonder. It's right on the Royal Mile, just near the castle. In fact, our friend Dave B Mac was playing his slap guitar just up the street when I arrived. He jumped up to give me a hug. (I think he was just really cold!) We often go see him play at venues, and the Royal Mile is one of his regular spots during the day.

     Back to The Witchery... The interior exceeds expectations. Here's the dining room and us in it:
     Heck, even the ceiling was stunning!     Ellen and Delia chose to see The Palace of Holyrood House as their big thing. This is where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland. Luckily, she wasn't in, so it was open to the public for tours.You're not allowed to take pictures inside, so you'll have to settle for these exterior shots. But I think this will give you an idea of the grandeur.
The best thing about visiting the palace was seeing it with two history buffs who really know their subjects! We hung out in the portrait rooms (a.k.a. the Throne Room) while Ellen and Delia relayed fantastic stories about the people I was looking at and the scandals around them - awesome!
     It was dark when we left (4:00pm) and we'd been walking/standing all day. Ellen found us a lovely little tea shop where we could unwind.     She loves catching candid shots of folks when they're not paying attention. Here are me and Delia sporting all our glorious grey locks.Although sometimes she gets caught, like here at The Ox for dinner.     Truly, we have been so fortunate to have such wonderful friends come to visit us. We feel spoiled and grateful and so happy to share our new adventure with those we love!

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Once again, our friend Connie hosted her Edinburgh Salon at our flat for Thanksgiving. (This is a dining club that moves around each month.) Being the Americans in the bunch, with the recipes for all the 'strange' Thanksgiving food, it seems only natural. But our flat is a bit hard to find. So, Amandine came over early to help blow up balloons as signage.

While Connie set out the champagne glasses for the opening toast.Decorations were provided from Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman who visited over the weekend from New York - more on their trip soon!
Once again, our flat held a lovely group of people. "Where interesting people meet for great food" is the salon's motto after all!
They waited patiently as Connie and Stan said a few words about the spread (although Amandine's expression relays how hard that must have been.
And then the carnage began! Our flat filled up beautifully with happy people eating green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows (that's the most talked-about dish), cornbread stuffing, and TURKEY!
Best of all, Connie made a gluten-free pumpkin pie just for me! Awwww! It was YUMMY!I hope your Thanksgiving is as lovely as ours. Stan and I wish you a very Happy Holiday!

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I often take photos of the work I've accomplished in a day to share with Stan when I get home. This time, I thought I'd share them with you too.
     You've seen the crosshatch pieces I've been creating. Well, Vivian showed me a picture book recently, John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat. The artwork was crosshatched and then colored, much like Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. I wondered what my pieces would like like with color added. What do you think?

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It's hard to believe we've been in Edinburgh long enough to be a part of annual traditions, but that's exactly what's happened! Our friends Connie and Marta celebrate their birthdays on the same day and Stan and I were lucky enough to be part of the festivities again this year. First we caught up with Connie at The Dome for her annual Birthday Bellini (after she had a lovely spa day).

The Dome is already beautifully decorated for Christmas so it was a festive kick-off to the evening. We then went to a Kurdish restaurant just off the Royal Mile for dinner. There we met up with Marta, Ash and Pedro.On the way back down the mound, we were treated to an amazing fireworks display just under that caste. We joked it was for our friends' birthdays, but it turned out to be a celebration for Diwali. Crowds were stopped in clumps along the sidewalks to get a good view.
It was a beautiful evening, so we slowly meandered back to Stockbridge where a gorgeous cake awaited.Connie and Marta made a wish and...Magic things happen in Marta's dining room and it was so nice to be back there again. Time seems to stop when you're with good friends.Happy birthday my lovelies and I hope we can help you celebrate many more!

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This past week, the University of Edinburgh hosted the symposium Shaping the View: Understanding Landscape through Illustration. For two days we were treated to lectures by expert illustrators and illustration academics talking about this year's theme. The CD project we did was part of the exhibit in honor of the symposium.

     Opening night was a blast - we MAs and MFAs 1 and 2 (I'm an MFA2, meaning 2nd-year) were the gang!      The symposium had 42 speakers discussing topics from "Mythical Speech in Reportage Illustration" to "The Time Travelling Antiquarian: illustrated guide books to North Wales."
     That last topic was Desdemona McCannon's, which I sadly missed as I had other uni obligations (dissertation meeting). She is the symposium's organizer and an illustrator and illustration scholar from the Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. I met Desdemona when she came to speak to us last year and I kidnapped her for tea. She was extremely helpful in the early stages of putting together my PhD proposal so it was lovely to connect with her once again. Here she is introducing a speaker alongside my tutor (teacher), Jonathan Gibbs...      who I also had to miss. However, I finally got to hear him play guitar at the Wee Red Bar on closing night. (Yes, my uni has a bar in the building.) He's extremely good - maybe I can get him to teach me guitar as well as art?      I did get to enjoy several other wonderful speakers, such as children's book creators Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom.
     Printer Angie Lewin shared her linocut/screen printing process with us, which I was especially keen to see considering my recent linocut experiments.
     I was also able to meet the incredibly kind and talented Patrick Benson. He is the illustrator of such greats as Owl Babies and The Minpins.        I put his work on the same level with the creators who made me want to become a children's book illustrator in the first place, such as Chris Van Allsburgh, Garth Williams and Paul O. Zelinsky. I mean, look at this!     He shared his storyboard for The Minpins.     I loved seeing all these work-in-progress slides!
     Here I am with my mentor and friend Vivian French and Patrick Benson - lucky me!      I also ended up meeting several of the speakers, such as Catrin Morgan of Falmouth University (one of the schools I considered for my MFA). And since Stan and I were going out to dinner Friday evening after the symposium finished up anyway, we invited along some of the speakers who didn't have plans: Doug B. Dowd of Washington University in St. Louis, Robyn Phillips-Pendleton of the University of Delaware, and Sylvia ___ who I hope will email me so that I can give her proper credit.
     All said, it was one of those events wherein I'm reminded that I am a student at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. What a wonderful event to attend!

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Remember I told you about the CD cover I made for an illustration brief at the University of Edinburgh College of Art? Well, the project has really come together. All of the 25 students in the MA and MFA program came up with a CD case -

And then our tutor, Mike Windle, created a compilation of 30-second snippets of the music we had gathered from literally all over the world. I don't know if the video will stay live as there may be some copyright issues. But while you can, I think it's worth your time to have a look at all the various creations and sounds. Happily, the video begins with my piece created for Playing on the Planet's Muddy Road to Ducktown. Click the image below to watch on Youtube.

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The Fruitmarket Gallery has an annual gathering of book publishers and book creators to share the love of reading and stories with the little ones here in Edinburgh. It is appropriately called the LITTLES MARKET.

My friend and mentor, Vivian French made sure we all knew about it. Even better, she invited me to draw along with her story, Oliver's Vegetables. Lots of wee ones were in attendance and it was very fun. Several publishing houses were also represented in the show area including Walker Books (Candlewick), Flying Eye, and a publishing house that is specializing in featuring creators from the middle east, Tiny Owl Publishing. I connected with them all and hope to share some of their lovely creations with you soon. What a lovely day!

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Throughout my studies here at the University of Edinburgh College of Art, we have been given briefs to do various projects. They're good for students who don't quite know what they want to work on, and they're excellent for trying out new ways of working.
     You may recall the 15 prints project I did last year - The Wild Hunt via woodcut. This year we've been assigned a CD cover, tying together the ideas of Landscape (for an upcoming conference on the theme), music from our homes, and created images. I decided to go with an Appalachian bluegrass tune from our mountain home in Epworth - "Muddy Road to Ducktown." I loved that it was so distinctly American and also honored a friend...
     The tune was written by a copper hauler trying to calm his beasts as they trudged along the Ocoee River Road, hauling copper ore to Cleveland, Tennessee via mule or oxen. If you've read my novel, A Bird on Water Street, you'll know that the area was completely deforested as miners cut down trees to feed the smelting pits that spewed sulfuric dioxide into the atmosphere and came down as acid rain, which killed any remaining plant life. In other words, the road in and out of the area was nothing but MUD.
     I've written stories (not yet published) about how the song has been handed down from fiddle player to fiddle player, a cultural treasure, but I'd yet to illustrate it. Now, Lisa Jacobi, my friend and one of the latest treasure-keepers of the song (it was handed down to her by 99 year old Bob Douglas, who played it live one year later on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in celebration of his 100th birthday), she will get on me about the oxen - they used mules more often than oxen. But they did use oxen too, and that's what I've had in my head for ages. So, in the very short amount of time I had to do this project, I went with the oxen. Here's my process.
     It began with a quick sketch.

I refined it a little bit. I then scanned the drawing to make sure it would fit my CD template and refined it even further. I added a third man in the wagon, and made sure I'd have room for the title. Notice this is all backwards! Then I transferred the drawing to a piece of linocut board that I'd dyed blue (simply because I had some blue ink around). It helps me see the darks and lights better when I carve. I use carbon paper for the transfer.Here's what it looks like, ready to carve.Here are the tools I use - an inexpensive, student-grade set of carving tools.I'm still not very good at linocut, but I have learned to carve in the direction things would exist in in real life. For instance, carve hair in the direction the hair would flow. It looks like this as I work.And here is the finished carving. At this point I was covered in lino shavings and my desk was a complete disaster! :)I wasn't kidding about the tight deadline on this. (Gads, they keep us busy here!) My carving was finished on Friday - after the print studio had closed for the weekend. No worries. I took a monoprinting workshop not too long ago. You don't need a big fancy workspace to do this. So, I bought a piece of plexiglass, a tube of screen printing ink, and borrowed a roller. I put down some newspaper and rolled the ink on. I laid the paper on top and pressed it down with a wooden spoon.It took several attempts to get the ink dark enough and make sure the motion of my spoon wasn't obvious.But y'know what? It did work! And I ended up with a lovely texture in the dark areas that I never could have predicted. In fact, that's what I love about linocuts - the happy accidents - of which, there are many. And I just love the energy you get with linocuts. Here's my final print.The reason I couldn't wait for Monday to get into the print lab is it takes a good day for the ink to dry, which I wouldn't have. So, Sunday I scanned the dry print and laid it into my template, where I designed the rest of the CD. Don't forget - this is a school project and may not be completely or legally accurate with copyrights and such. But credit is given to the musicians in Lisa's band, PLAYING ON THE PLANET, and it serves the point of the brief. I turned the image to sepia to be reflective of the MUD. And here is the cover.And here's the interior with the credits and the summary Lisa sent me (thank you, Lisa!). Oh - and I added an actual photo of one of the mule trains hauling copper. Ha! All said, I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. But I'm especially thrilled by the breakthrough that relief printing is something I can do anywhere. THAT is exciting!!!

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Something I have embraced here at the University of Edinburgh is the art of the handmade book. There is an entire community of people who love, collect and make handmade books. And their ideas of what a book is are all over the place.
     Take this recent exhibit by Artist-in-Residence Susie Wilson. If you look at the presentation in the College of Art library, it explains a bit about the project.

She talks about the marriage of the book and the human body - on the cellular level. Indeed, her latest project resembles what you might see under a microscope while studying human tissues. But what was truly stunning about this project was the book itself. While it could be folded up to fit in the box in the display case, it is meant to be viewed like this:It goes all the way up...and all the way down five stories of the College of Art lobby.
     Our ECA librarian Jane Furness and I have become friends (you know I love librarians!) and so I had the chance to meet Susie during the recent official opening of her project.     It was a treat to hear the vision behind this book from the artist herself. And although I've said it before, it's still such a joy to experience art taken so seriously in this art-embracing city. Because truly, who says what a book must be? It's the creative mind that literally thinks outside the box.
     Check out more of Susie's work at her website.

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One of the many things that the University of Edinburgh does very well is check in with the students regularly to make sure everything is going okay. They do this through an incredible support system of tutors, advisors, and student representation. I've recently become part of the support structure in this last capacity. Along with Ann-Kathrin Müller, who is the class rep for all our MA & MFA1 Illustration students, I am the MFA2 Illustration class rep.
     At my level as a post-graduate student, that is not a tremendous job - there are only four of us including myself (26 total between the MAs and MFAs 1 and 2). But for the undergrads, that can sometimes mean representing over 200 students - being their voice – and that is no small task. Training teaches us how to listen, then objectively and anonymously share topics with advisors.
     Being a class representative is also a nice responsibility to share on one's resume. For an undergrad, that can be a big deal. Granted, at my stage in life I don't need the resume help so much (I’m an older student). But it is nice to be a person students feel comfortable coming to as needed. Click the logo to learn more.

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Have you wondered why I've not shared a big outing, meal or adventure of late? It's because it's time for formative reviews. We're already half way through our fall semester (can you believe it!?) and this is a marker for how we students are doing.
     Monday I turned in what I have so far of my dissertation. Must admit, I geeked out and overwrote my topic. But this will be the only opportunity I have for my tutor to actually see and comment on my work specifically before the actual deadline. Academic writing is new to me, so I'm trying to learn as much as I can at this stage.
     The other formative review is for my studio course. Here's what my desk looks like as I type.

     We aren't allowed in the studio as our tutors go over our projects to see what we've been up to. Here, I'm showing five projects along with some outside projects. (I have two volunteer positions going on - one for Authors for Refugees and I'm also the class rep this year.)
     None of my projects are complete at this stage, but they're all coming along quite well. I'm pleased.
     But I'm also antsy. I have so much to do! I need back in my studio with all my stuff so that I can keep working!

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It's backwards here in the UK - you write a Dissertation for your Masters and a Thesis for your PhD. So, I am in the thick of writing my Dissertation. No play time for me!
     My title is, "Comparing and Contrasting a Decade of the US Randolph Caldecott And UK Kate Greenaway Medal Children's Books to Identify Trends, Similarities and Differences Between the US and UK Markets." And it is fascinating. I am learning so much by really examining these titles and seeing how they are presented to their respective markets. You may be familiar with the Caldecotts...

     But how about the Greenaways? This is the equivalent award for the UK.      Probably the coolest discovery I've made so far is the difference between the overall color palettes. Check this out - the US Caldecotts are on the left - the UK Greenaways are on the right.Is that not the coolest? It's so fun to talk about!
      That's just a taste of what I'm learning. It's also why you'll only be seeing the top of my head for most of this term as I lean over reading, studying, and writing, writing, writing.

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I was stumped what to share with you today, dear readers, because I have been laid up in bed sick for most of this week. PAH! But no worries, this is Edinburgh. Sometimes, the wonder of this town comes to you. I started to feel a little better so had moved to the couch. After dinner, we heard an odd noise outside. And then again, and again.
     "That sounds like fireworks?"
     Indeed it was.
     Turns out the end of the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival was being celebrated with a Virgin Money Fireworks Concert on Calton Hill...which is right up the hill from our flat. This was our view. We got to see the whole thing. The ball of light on the left side of 'our tree' is the moon. The ball of light on the right is the fireworks show getting going.

     The show got bigger and higher - we really did get to see the whole thing from our living room window. But this shot with the moon was the coolest of them all! In all the nearby flats we could see our neighbors enjoying the show too. Any excuse to celebrate - that's Edinburgh. I love it here. :)

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I suppose it's an American thing to do leisurely Sunday gatherings too, but it's truly become part of our lives since moving to Edinburgh. Uni keeps me extremely busy, but I usually try to give myself one play-day per weekend, so I really value these gatherings.
     Karin's (Romania) and Antti's (Finland) flat was a warm and happy place, filled with treasures, where we all relaxed.

Here is our lovely hostess, Karin (photo by Nadee).
Catherine (Chile), Me (US), Antti and Karin.

Nadee (Thailand) and Antti.
Stan (US).
Boris (Taiwan) and his adorable new wife, Vicki (Taiwan).
Remember I said Boris saw seals on his trip up? He had to show us what they looked like, striking a pose in stripey socks.
Then the food came out - oh my! Antti spent two days cooking.
The centerpiece was lamb stew (called Sultan's Delight) served over mashed aubergines (eggplant), surrounded by tabouli, tadziki sauce, a roasted red pepper dip, a greens and garbanzo beans dish (which I also need to get the recipe for), and hearty bread. You'll also notice Nadee's spring rolls. (She created a cookbook last year for her MFA1, so we were dying to try some of her creations.)And Vicki brought mushrooms all the way from Taiwan to add to noodles.OMG - YUM!!! We ate SO MUCH!!!!
     The reason I mention everybody's home countries (including ours - the US) is because we counted up, and between us and the dishes, we had no less than 17 nationalities represented. I absolutely adore how international our lives have become here! It's such an easy and comfortable thing that I wish more people in the world would get to experience. When it was finally time to leave, we all meandered slowly to the train station, taking some last group shots.
We got silly waiting for the train as we realized how many of us wore glasses. We traded them all around to compare how blind we were.But really, when you see the world through other people's eyes, you are anything but blind. We are all just people, and we are friends.

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A lot of folks who work in Edinburgh live in Cupar. It's a short train or car ride in, prices are cheaper, and it's adorable to boot. We enjoyed looking around and Stan had fun playing with his camera. That's me taking pictures, although most of these images are his shots.

These adorable flower boxes were at several of the train stations we passed on the way up.Here was the skyline.
Here are Stan, Karin and Catherine.And me with Catherine and Karin. Cupar has a cathedral, as all small UK towns should.And old wonderfulness.We also noticed a yard where you can go buy your classic British shed (they're a big deal here).Karin's wee flat was just around the corner...

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I've got another story which will take several posts to cover! My friends Karin and Antti invited the Fabulous Four to their sweet flat in Cupar. Karin graduated with her MA at the end of the summer, but happily she is still at the Uni as Artist-in-Residence. So, really we're the Fabulous FIVE! Karin invited us all up for a leisurely Sunday gathering. So, off to our friendly Waverly train station we went.
     I've shown you photos before, but here were some funny things I noticed this time, like this trash train. I know it's only rubbish, but isn't this totally cute? I would have loved to jump in that engine car and spun around in this when I was a kid.

When the train arrives, we have to sometimes wait while they run through it and clean it and such. You know it's okay to get on when the button lights up. You push the button to open the door. There's a lot of pushing buttons on trains, and anybody who knows me, knows how I LOVE to push buttons! (See Stan in the reflection?)      So, Cupar is in the Kingdom of Fife - just shy of St. Andrews. In fact, we took the same train as to St. Andrews, but this time it was sunny. It made a difference!
Boris said he saw seals on the way up, although I have yet to spot any.

The lovely ride up got us to the sweet town of Cupar - more coming soon...

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