We then pushed on even further north, driving up through the granite city of Aberdeen and then a ways inland to spend a couple of days with our good friends Marian Youngblood and Keiji Nagahiro who happen to live in a wonderful 300 year old, multi-story stone house, the "Old Manse of Bourtie" Their home is surrounded by beech hedges, set in the rolling hills around Inverurie, Scotland (just for reference Inverurie is on approximately the same latitude [about 58 degrees north] as Juneau, Alaska). The main problem now is...let's say it all together now...it's even more unbelievably cold! The snow is getting deep and while I'm finally on the mend, Becky now has my (just call me Typhoid Gil) cold/flu and now Daniel is starting to feel poorly! Fortunately they are both quite a bit tougher than I and not nearly as inclined to whine.
The driveway out front could not be negotiated by our stalwart Fiat. After finding and rousting out Keiji (together with all the hoopla that goes along with friends seeing one another after a prolonged absence) he fired up his Land Rover and we attempted to hook up the Fiat to drag it up the 100 yards to the house. Alas, the car had nothing substantial to hook onto so with Daniel at the controls working the wheel and accelerator, Keiji and I pushed and muscled the beast up the remainder of the drive and into an appropriate parking spot. It was VERY manly stuff concluding with with high five's all around!
It was simply grand seeing our friends in the cozy comfort of their native surrounding and staying in their delightful old house. We had initially developed our friendship through Becky and Marian's business correspondence and then continued to email back and forth as we realized that we had found some kindred spirits here in Scotland. When they visited the U.S. a few years ago they stayed and played with us in our home in Humboldt County...a good time was had by all. This was our group's first introduction to coal fires (the iron stove in the kitchen cooks and heats the water for the house plus there are coal fireplaces in almost every room) and we all found it VERY conducive to conversation, eating and (with the exception of Awanna) drinking copious amounts of whiskey :-) Some of my fondest memories of this trip took place in their cozy kitchen (below) and in the upstairs drawing room just sitting and talking, exchanging points of view, telling wild stories and drinking single malt scotch (have I mentioned that it was cold...single malt is considered medicinal when in the cold). The house is far too large to heat the entire thing all the time so we would hang about in one room, the kitchen mainly, then if we felt like moving to a new location we would send someone (Keiji generally) "forward" to the new area to build a fire and start heating the room.
Begrudgingly we eventually all gave in to our illnesses and wearinesses(if that's a word) and called it a day. Tomorrow Marian promises us to go visit the ancient stones that are right outside the house!
Tuesday, March 6th
We awake to a clear, cold day (it didn't last long, clouds were coming). Fires were made, breakfast was made and eaten...with great relish I might add (I'm not sure whether Keiji and Marian have some unexpected culinary talents or whether there is just something in the air here but every meal eaten in the Old Manse was a complete and utter delight!). Coats, hats and gloves were donned and our brave little force headed out into the elements with Marian to lead us as our guide.
She started our mini-tour across the road from the Manse at the old Kirk (church) of Bourtie (above) where she gave us the tour inside and out. The church has been here for the past 800 years, an amazing place!!!
Marian, is quite a talented and knowledgeable (she simply can't be beat when it comes to ancient stones) writer (please visit this web site to which she contributes"Friends of the Grampian Stones"). She has also had a book published on the Kirk's history and some of its relationship with their house, the Old Manse. Becky spent quite a number of hours in the Old Manse's drawing room, nursing her now full blown (no pun intended...or perhaps it was) cold, curled up in a large wingback chair in front of the coal fire reading Marian's book in which the action takes place in the very locations that we were and often in the very rooms we were sitting.
One really got the feeling that we were not the first to seek shelter from the storm in the lee of these wonderful old stones.
Once back inside the Manse we were all ever so grateful for the warmth of a steaming hot cup of tea! Awanna was set to work feeding the "herd o'chickens" their daily ration of grain and the previous day's accumulated table scraps while Keiji explained what he knew about the hallmarking of silver items as we all sat about the kitchen table and nursed our tea.
The snow abated for awhile so back outside to view the property. Below is Awanna standing in the gate to the large walled garden.
Daniel and I were given a tour by the talented artist in residence, Keiji, of some of his sculptures...yes, these in the picture below are buried-in-the-ground, upside down "legs" outside the Manse.
Wednesday, March 7th
After yet another delicious breakfast in which we were given some important tips on areas of the country to be sure to see, we packed up the Fiat, said our goodbyes, gave hugs to dear Marian and Keiji, and slid our way back down the drive. We pointed ourselves west and headed deep into the heart of Scotland, the River Spey and one of the great whiskey distilling areas of Bonny Scotland!
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