Birthday Party Aboard the Rail Runner

Abe turned 7 on October 14th, and what could be a better birthday party than a party aboard the NM Rail Runner (commuter train.) We met the kids (and some parents, thankfully) at the train station where I passed out engineer hats for everyone and Abe shared some train safety tips. Then we hopped on the train and enjoyed our ride to Belen. Once in Belen, we set up a table at the station and enjoyed the 30 minute layover eating cupcakes and opening presents. After taking pictures in front of the rail runner and with a cooperating north bound freight train, which then choo choo-ed south again to pick up more cars (it was as if they were trying to stay within site of our little train party!) We hopped back aboard the train for the ride to Los Lunas while looking for items in their individual folder games. The ticket agent announced to everyone that "It's a special day aboard the rail runner, because Abraham Park was celebrating his 7th birthday!" That was soooooo cool! The kids enjoyed their folder game I put together and it kept them quiet and entertained for the ride home when the newness and excitement of the train would have worn off. We gathered all our stuff and made our way to the doors when the train started slowing for the Los Lunas station. We de-boarded with the same amount of kids we started out with! After passing out their loot bags they all headed home. No house or yard to clean up! It was GREAT fun!

Edinburgh Mormons

Church on Sunday was an adventure. We were a bit late heading out the door with the stroller and everything. After a 15 minute walk, we had to wait for a later bus than we had planned which dropped us off at the aptly named ’Holy Corner’ because there are churches on three corners. Too bad ours wasn’t one of them. We had another 15 minute walk to get to our church. As we turned what we thought was the correct corner, it was confirmed by people getting out of their cars in dresses and suits. We asked one of them where the LDS church was and she exclaimed with her brogue ’that’s where we’re heading now, isn't’ it? Just follow us!” So we did. Actually, they let us pass because they were rather slow. We were in this gorgeous neighborhood of old prestigious houses and big beautiful trees just starting to turn fall colors. Then we turned into the church parking lot and, to put it in Catherine’s words, ‘Bleh’. The church is a rather old LDS building style—I think from the 60’s or something. Not very fitting for the neighborhood—but what it lacked in esthetics, it made up for in hustle and bustle! The parking lot was packed! We walked into the full foyer and asked one of the six elders standing there where the RS room was and he said that today was stake conference. I said, “You mean this is not your typical attendance at Sacrament Meeting?” He laughed and said he wished. So, instead of being late for church, our timing was perfect getting there 10 minutes before stake conference started. But we had to locate our own chairs and sit single file along the edge of the cultural hall because the gym and stage were packed, as were the chapel and overflow. Before you’re too amazed, the building is a smaller building—everything is about half the size of our building. But still, there were a lot of people!

And it was delightful to hear everything with a Scotish Brogue. There was this adorable prospective missionary that talked about preparing to serve a mission but included some of the things he was going to miss. He said, “Brother’s & sisters—I have to be honest with ya. I’m going to miss the girls.” If you could have heard it in his brogue—you would have laughed out loud.

I was able to attend the next Sunday with them, and we were there in plenty of time. They had a lot of chairs set up in the Relief Society Room and I thought perhaps Sunday School would be in there as well, but turns out they needed all those chairs for sisters! There were at least 3 that were new that day, including Catherine. I was visiting and they had at least 4 investigators. In fact, during Sacrament meeting, they confirmed 5 new members—not one of them was an 8 year old! They have 3 sets of elders in that ward, and man are they busy! I guess two Sundays ago, they had 8 new member confirmations! It seemed that many of them were Chinese—they must have some great contacts, don’t you think? I had looked forward to RS and SS lessons with the Scottish accent, but alas the RS lesson was taught by a Senior missionary from Utah (the mission home is adjacent to the church) and the SS lesson was taught by another sister from northern Utah. Sacrament meeting was fun though. Ben commented that the only thing different in his priesthood meeting is that the boring priesthood lesson was given in a Scottish accent.

Touring Edinburgh

We did take one day to go on a city bus tour—the upper level of a double decker bus. We got drizzled on a little bit, but it didn’t last long. Our tour guide looked like he gave the tour while half asleep. I don’t think he ever looked outside the bus once. He just lifted his hand and gestured vaguely towards the things he was talking about. We should have got off at one of the stops and got on the next bus, but we had some pretty good
seats and decided to endure him. He knew a lot, but just was not very animated or excited to be there. The main part of touristy Edinburgh is the Royal Mile, which is just a block and a half away from Ben’s apartment. One end of the Royal Mile has the Edinburgh Castle and the other end is the parliament and Royal gardens. Other than a few monuments a few blocks here and there away from the Royal Mile, everything worth seeing is clustered around the Royal Mile—walking distance for us! We did take another day to explore the castle. My favorite part is when you pass a lone bagpipe player all gussied up in his kilt.

Speaking of kilts - they only became popular as a tourist attraction and marketing ploy - along with the tartan fabric. In the old days, only the highlanders used to wear kilts and if they wore them into the cities they might get killed. Haha - maybe that's why they're called 'kilts!'




This School of Divinity is where Ben will attend all of his classes this semester. It is considered the ‘new campus’ - I guess the 1700’s is new. The ‘old’ campus is closer than Ben’s apartment. This campus is up the Royal Mile towards the castle—in fact the castle is just past this school to the left. Ben ‘pities’ those who have to attend a university that is not within a hundred yards of a castle. Silly boy.

This cafeteria is where we stopped a couple of times to log onto the internet using Ben’s school ID. Rather incongruous don’t you think? Internet in this old fashioned cafeteria straight out of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, except for the ceiling—which was rather cool in it’s own way. Baby Sara didn’t care for this place too much—or else she liked the sound of her cries echoing… We weren’t there for long. We could either exit through the big gate in front of the building, or walk up a few flights of stairs and exit a side street just feet away from the Royal Mile and yards way from the castle entrance.

It was so frustrating not having internet at the apartment. In order to get the internet at home, you have to have a checking account, which Ben applied for soon after arriving in Scotland. For an international student to get a checking account, there is a 3 week holding period for some reason or other. After I came home, they received confirmation for their checking account, so now they’re eligible to apply for the internet which will take another week or so. Grrr. I hope they get it soon, so we can ‘skype’ which is like a visual telephone call using the computer. It worked pretty good when Ben logged on at the school library and Catherine logged on while still at home. I can't wait, but I'm not nearly as anxious as Ben & Catherine - especially Catherine who doesn't have the opportunity to log on at school each day like Ben!

Everyday Shopping in Edinburgh

Ben bought a ‘pay as you go’ phone from a little shop and it didn’t take long to figure out we needed to get another phone so he and Catherine could communicate. So Catherine and I went to that same little shop to get another phone. We also stopped at a little grocery store that was owned by people from the middle east. We wondered if they eat eggs, because their store, and the other store close by that was also owned by middle easterners did not sell eggs. We did pick up some fresh produce. They have a couple of five and dime stores—called Pound Savers (remember pounds are like dollars) and Stretchers (I guess to stretch the pounds.) It’s hard to maneuver a stroller around those stores because they’re packed tight with every thing under the sun to cater to the students that live in this area. Those stores, and the grocery stores were SO BUSY because of the semester beginning. We had heard that it’s not wise to order produce online to have it delivered, because they tend to give you the fruit/vegetables that don’t look as fresh (although you can always refuse it). Anyway, I took an afternoon to go to the main grocery store and it was wall to wall people. The little ‘trolly’ was built differently and I had a difficult time steering it. And I remembered to think of the walk home—I did bring a little fold out pull cart that was in the apartment closet in which to roll the groceries home. So I kept that in mind as I was shopping. What an adventure. The check out line went all the way to the back of the store. But six checkout stations were pulling from that one line. I wish I could tell you what they yelled when calling for the next person in line (or should I say, ‘Queue’), but I never did make it out. It sounded like ‘next till, please.’ There were no conveyor belts to put the groceries on—they just pull it out of your hand basket or you hand it to them from the trolley, then you sack it up on the other side of the register. I just loaded the groceries into my little pull cart (trolley?) as well as into a cloth shoulder bag. I felt very ‘green’ and urban. Then I bounced and pulled my little cart over the cobblestones back to the apartment building where I lugged it up the three flights of stairs.

We took a day that Ben didn’t have classes to have him help us find our way out to Ikea. I had never been to an Ikea store, but your Aunt Jolene loves it and drags Uncle Greg there every time they’re in Utah. We saw it on the bus schedule while waiting for the bus that took us near the church. It’s a pretty fun store, but again, you need to be careful what you buy if you don’t have a car, so you can get it home. It was a pretty fun place and we bought some cool dishes and a few gadgets for their apartment. Catherine and I found a bookshelf, small desk, and rolling drawers that were very reasonable, but we decided that rather than haul them home on the bus, we’d have them delivered. Come to find out Ikea doesn’t deliver in Scotland. So I bought the bookshelf and a crib (cot) from the Wal-mart equivalent to have it delivered. Then Catherine and I took the folding cart and stroller and took off for Ikea on our own. We bought the desk and rolling drawers—both of which were in flat boxes and rather heavy, but we thought they were manageable so off we went. We were able to balance the drawers on the handles of the stroller and balance the desk on top of the rolling cart—which worked well except when getting on and off the bus. I bet we were a sight, trying to maneuver everything off the bus while everyone just stood back and watched. I had worked up a sweat by the time we got them up to their 3rd floor apartment. Catherine put them together without any problem. And they look great! I didn’t get to see the bookshelf & crib (cot) because they were delivered after I left.

Scottish Food Delicious!

We were told not to expect much from Scotland food, but whenever we went to a Scottish restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed my fish & chips (fries) & vinegar. Scones (a glorified baking powdered biscuit) & clotted cream (a cross between butter and cream). And I was very impressed with the ‘Haggis, Neeps & Tatties’. I’m not sure what ‘Haggis’ is, but I think it’s a ground beef mixture of some kind that is on the bottom with ‘neeps’ (turnips which are very mild) and ‘tatties’ (mashed potatoes). It was like a shepherds pie, but with more flavor from the meat mixture. Both times we had it, it was delicious. Of course, since they live near the Royal Mile, the restaurants were rather competitive. I would imagine their food would have to stay good to keep enough people coming in to pay the rent.

The Queen's English

It was fun to notice a few words that are different in the UK. Carts are called trolleys. Detours are diversions. Which made me chuckle. After all, aren't detours just a different way to get to the same place? With a diversion, you might not end up where you want to go, right? For example, when reasoning with a stubborn two-year-old, (or an almost 7 year-old for that matter) you use ‘diversions’ to get involved in something else, NEVER to get where stubbornness wants to go. ‘Diversions’ should NOT be used in place of detour in my way of thinking! Haha. Schedule is pronounced with a soft ‘ch’ sound (but we know that from Mary Poppins..) Take out is ‘take away.’ Entrance is ‘way in’. Exit is ‘way out’. Those were just a few things I discovered just walking around. I discovered LOTS of differences, however, when we went to order groceries online (a GREAT way to go grocery shopping when you don’t have a car and you live on the 3rd floor!) For 3.50 p, they’ll deliver groceries right to your kitchen. I certainly wish that is available in Los Lunas! Anyway, you type in your shopping list, then they bring up your choices. You just need to know the proper term in the Queen’s English. I could not pull up the products I intended after typing in the following from my grocery list:

Diaper Cream is ‘nappie’ cream. Which means diapers are nappies. But napkins were still napkins. Weird.
Paper towels (feminine protection products came up) are kitchen rolls.
Dish soap was ‘washing up’ liquid. Only products under dish soap was hand soap.
Pickles are ‘pickled cucumbers’. Product choices under ‘pickles’ were unidentifiable.
Crib is a ‘cot’
(Those are all I can remember right now.)

It also would have been helpful to know what produce would weigh in metric...

Scotland Arrival & Apartment

Ben has been accepted into a Masters Program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. In one intense year, he hopes to have a Masters in Theology/History. Who knows where he will be in another year??? Either another Masters or hopefully a PhD program. Having left on September 10, I felt compelled to fly with Ben's wife Catherine and 2 month daughter Sara to Edinburgh. A tough job, but someone has to do it! (heehee). I sent Spencer a letter detailing the trip and thought I'd post parts of it to the blog (since it's been rather neglected) in case others are interested in reading it! Here goes...

Catherine, Sara & I left Thursday, Sept. 17th after lunch. I packed two suitcases—one with Ben & Catherine’s stuff (books, baby blankets, winter coats, etc.) I had only had two medium suitcases—Jared had my big one (I meant to bring it home with me, but forgot!) We had to pay taxes & airport fees for Sara to fly with us, but that also allowed us to check in one piece of luggage for her so we had FIVE pieces of checked luggage, two carry ons each for me and Catherine, and Sara’s car seat and stroller. Grandma helped us take all the suitcases to the check in counter and we were glad to be rid of them until we picked them up in Edinburgh. The flights were uneventful—pleasant even. Of course we were spoiled in first class. Even baby Sara cooperated. She stayed with Catherine in their little cubicle the whole time. Catherine had reclined her chair and put Sara to sleep on a pillow in her lap. I didn’t hear a peep out of her the entire transatlantic flight! We arrived in London, caught the correct shuttle to the correct terminal where we caught our plane to Edinburgh.

We arrived, claimed our luggage and caught a taxi to their new apartment. Edinburgh is beautiful! The ride into town took us through a pretty modern area, but the closer we got to the apartment, the older the buildings. Ben met us outside the building (he’d been anxiously watching for us) and we climbed the three flights of stairs with all our stuff to their apartment.

Their apartment is great! You walk into a hallway which has a utility closet and bathroom on the left side and the two bedrooms on the right side. You come out of the hallway into the living room to the right and the kitchen to the left.


It’s great that it is arranged that way because that puts the living room in the corner of the building so it has two long windows making the corner with the view to the North incredible! You see all the way across the ‘Royal Mile’ to Calton Hill and it’s historical monuments and toward the east you can see the ‘Firth of Fourth’ which is the channel leading to the ocean. You can see ships from their window! Further to the east is ‘Arthur’s Seat’ a green hill where Orson Pratt (or Orson Hyde???) dedicated Scotland for... hmmmm???. Can't remember. We’ll have to ask Ben. Either for a temple or for the coming of the gospel.


These are pictures of the streets in front of Ben's apartment complex. Looking up the hill just past the yellow apartments, you turn left into a parking lot. You'd then be able to see Ben's apartment building as the last one on the right.





In the ceiling just inside the front door is access to an attic that extends the full length of the apartment although the walls are sloped up to a peak in the middle. There is a desk at the end and a clothesline that extend the length to hang up the clothes after washing them in the washing machine that is under the counter in the kitchen.—right where a dishwasher should be! There is no dishwasher, but there is a built-in drain board for the dish drainer which is kinda cool. The window in the kitchen is big and allows a bunch of light in. The fridge is rather small, but the most unusual thing about it, is that it has an upper door to the refrigerator and a lower door to the freezer and the freezer is a third size bigger than the refrigerator. I guess fresh foods doesn’t last very long, so people store more food in the freezer than in the fridge.

What’s really hard to get used to, is, each plug in each outlet has an on/off switch. So after you plug something in you have to remember to turn on the outlet when you want to use it. So each time you want to use the microwave or stove or lamp or heater or even the shower, you need to remember to turn the outlet on. It’s probably o.k. to leave the switch on if you’re going to use whatever is plugged into it often. But there were times when we couldn’t figure out why something wouldn’t work, and then remembered or reminded each other to turn on the outlet switch.

At some point while setting up housekeeping, we realized that we were missing two suitcases. Turns out we just didn’t claim them from the baggage claim. After trying unsuccessfully to call the airport (using one of those cute telephone booths by the old campus) Catherine suggested we just take a taxi to go get them. So I did. I got to the British Airways desk and told the two gentlemen behind the counter that I did not claim two bags earlier that morning. They pointed behind me and exclaimed (imagine a Scottish Brogue) “Are those yours?” “Yes!” I replied. Again the brogue “Well take them, then!” So I did. What a relief. We didn’t want a re-play of Ben and his suitcase nightmare. I had taken a change of clothes in my carry-on just in case. It was awfully embarrassing to have it be our own fault. I think with all the carry on stuff we were allowed because of Sara—and having the suitcases be the first ones off the plane, I just filled my little push trolley (cart to us Americans) and we went on our way. The suitcase with MY clothes was one of the ones I had left!