Sunday, April 18, 2010

Gratitued

Last night I did a birth for a young woman. I had worked with her twice before for baby girls, this time it was a boy. They had decided that this would be their last. After the baby was born and had nursed, been bathed and the room cleaned. The big sisters came to the hospital with Grandpa to see their new baby brother. It was neat to see them hold the baby and interact with their new baby brother. There was joy and talking and laughing. Life was good. Then to top it off, Grandpa came up to me and gave me a big hug and said "Thank you for helping my daughter with her babies. I know this is the last grandchild we will have from her. You did a great job." I was so proud, I could have popped my buttons had I been wearing any. It was really nice to be recognized for my contribution to starting an awesome family.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Back to work

After a lovely vacay with the family in England and Scotland, I have returned to the land of the real. The good news is it has gone better than I expected. The bad news is that I still need to work. Our weather in Oregon has been no different than the weather abroad, rainy, windy, grey and interspersed with bits of sunshine. The office has been busy. I returned to find out that the computer in one of the exam rooms had died completely (hard drive failure) and so I have needed to carry in the lap top room to room. This works, except I need more battery power for the lap top than it has. By the end of the day - I have to carry the power cord and plug in. This is frustrating. So far, though, this has been my biggest frustration, and I'm O.K. with that. My midwife partner leaves tomorrow for vacation and she will be back in May - so it is a long stretch on call for me. Hopefully, I will not get too over tired, have terrible births, or deal with rude people.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Back across the pond and home again

Very, very, early, April 10th, Saturday morning (3:45a.m. UK time) we got up and Adam drove us to the airport in Manchester where we caught a flight to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, we changed planes and flew to Portland where we caught a hop to Eugene from whence we drove home stopping only for a bit of dinner.

As I write this note, I am re-living the wonderful times we had with our family. We shared good times, talked about hard things and walked and walked and walked. We walked, on average, about 6 miles each day of the vacation. The kids aged 8,6,4, and of course 3 walked everywhere the adults did with essentially no complaining. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to share this bit of life with them. Olivia and I decided that we could readily live together in a commune and share more of our lives together. Adam and I talked about life after the Air Force. Stu and I talked about where we go from here and what else we want to accomplish in this life.

I chuckle about the language differences between English and American. While on the highway we stopped for a potty emergency and I took the kids in to the bathroom while Olivia got fuel. The door of the Women's room had a sign that read "operative on duty". I didn't know if I could go into the bathroom or not. I sure didn't have any state secrets to give up and was confused about the function of said operative. The sign, I find out, means that the rest room is being cleaned at the moment. I also discovered "jacket potatoes" which are potatoes baked in foil. I frequently saw signs on the round abouts that say "give way" which in America means yield. There were many more language bits which made me smile and think and I am reminded how fun it is to play with words.
For now we are home, tomorrow I start the day with a 7:30a.m. C-section and a full slate of patients. I'm already wishing I was back on vacation.

Leila's Birthday

From the moment we arrived in the UK, Leila told us that her birthday was April 9th and she would be 3 years old. She also informed us that we were having home made pizza for dinner. This means that the kids each get dough for a personal pizza which they roll out and they add their own toppings. She also said she wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. So we had our work cut out for us especially since we would be in Scotland until the Thursday before her birthday.
We arrived back in Leeds late Thursday (April 8), exhausted and happy after our Scotland adventure. We made chocolate fondant - yes chocolate! so that it could sit all night and be ready to put on the birthday cake on Friday.
On Friday, we wrapped presents, we attempted to clean, sort, pick and put. We went to the market, baked a cake, mended and sewed. Friday afternoon the presents found their way into the living room while the kids were outside playing. Leila passed by and noticed the presents and came into the kitchen and told her Mom excitedly "My presents came!!" Like Olivia wouldn't know this already. We worked the chocolate fondant into a sheet and covered the chocolate cake that Olivia made. I spent the remainder of the time until dinner playing with the fondant and making hearts and roses to put on Leila's cake. The kids made their pizzas and the adults made their pizza and we had a delicious birthday dinner. Then Leila opened presents, the kids had cake and went to bed and a delightful birthday celebration was had by all.

Another day - another castle

On April 8th we started our trip back to Leeds. We woke early, had a bit of breakfast, packed up our "stuff", loaded the cars and headed out. We stopped in Edinburgh and had a proper English breakfast (veg) consisting of eggs, toast, haggis, tomatoes, potato scone, corn cake and tea. After breakfast we started home. Along the way, surprise - We visited another castle, Bamburgh castle. This castle is still lived in and has 14 apartments which are available/occupied. This castle is privately owned and is a showplace for the family treasures for many generations and was not really a defensive castle in English history. We took a leisurely walk thru the parts that were open. Went down to the stables and the kid had a play in the stalls. We then loaded back into the car and continued the drive back to Leeds.

A castle in a loch - Loch Leven

We visited yet another castle on the 7th of April - this one in the middle of a lake. We took the ferry over and it was a pleasant ride. The castle was mostly ruins, but there were underground rooms that we could access as well as one remaining tower that had been stabilized and had access. The children had a wonderful time exploring, running and playing Tig. The island was peaceful and beautiful. We spent a couple of hours there and then went down to the dock to await the ferry for our return to the mainland.

Once back to the mainland we planned our lunch and our afternoon journey. There was a trail that went about 12k around the Loch and had many geocaches hidden along the way. Stu and I took the cooler and the kids and started on the hike. Olivia and Adam took both cars and drove to the end of the trail where they left one car. They both got into the same car and drove back to the beginning of the trail, parked, and the hiked over to where Stu and I were feeding the kids lunch. They had some lunch too and we got started on our hike! We hiked the entire 12k (about 8 miles), found almost all the geocaches and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The kids walked, ran, skipped all the way under their own power. We saw swans. We saw gliders launch and fly. We saw para-sails. We saw deer. We saw bunnies. All in all a good time was had by all. Again we went out for dinner and then back to our flat in Edinburgh totally exhausted one and all!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Falkirk Wheel & Stirling Castle

Today we visited a tribute to modern engineering the Falkirk Wheel which is a mechanism designed to move boats from one level to another without the use of locks. It is absolutely amazing. We were able to take a boat ride in the wheel. It was fun and so quiet. We were able to get some fantastic pictures, have a nice ride, and enjoy more time with our family. Originally, there were a series of canals in Scotland to move goods from the ocean to the inland. Over time the canals were used less and less and then fell into decay. The Scots decided that they were going to re-open the canals for pleasure boat/recreational use. Rather than re-create all the locks they created the Falkirk Wheel - it is now a big tourist attraction.

After the boat ride we had a picnic in the cars - too wet, windy and cold to picnic outside. Then we drove on to Stirling Castle. Stirling Castle dates from the early 1100's. It is in a strong defensive position with the castle built on stone face on three sides of the hill. The geologic formation is that of a volcanic Crag and Tail which is the result of glaciation and is prevalent in Scotland. The Castle was incredible and we had a fantastic afternoon wandering about, learning some British history and being amazed at what was accomplished without use of modern machines and architecture. It was truly fantastic. There were plenty of exhibits to keep the children interested. After we had obtained appropriate education and English culture for the day we went back into Stirling and had a delightful dinner, then back to Edinburgh for a sleep to prepare for another adventure tomorrow!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Holyrood House & Edinburgh Castle

We have now traveled the length and breadth of the Royal Mile. Yesterday we visited Holyrood House where the queen stays when in Scotland (directly across from the Scottish Parliament). This is at the lower end of the Royal Mile. Holyrood House and the Abbey are spectacular. We very much enjoyed the visit and the education. (I personally am fascinated with Mary Queen of Scots and need to learn more about her life.) Today we hiked up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle and toured there. Among other things we saw the honours of Scotland (crown, scepter, and sword) which are very impressive. We also saw Edinburgh from the castle mount. The history is amazing. The views spectacular. The weather wet and blustery. We all came back to the flat with wind burned cheeks.

The children are amazing. We are walking between 6 and 8 miles daily. They are also making some interesting observations. Elie realized and commented that only Christians were involved with the Scottish Monarchy. Isaac gave me gray hear by lifting his feet off the ground while leaning out the hole in the wall where the cannon's were fired. Talia focused on being cute. Leila shared with me that "Mommy told me that I don't have to wash my hands after I go potty" which Olivia claims to have no knowledge of this statement. They read the menus in the restaurants and order for themselves. This has been a challenge as we are in the midst of passover which means that we do not consume wheat, spelt, barley, rye, and oats so no bread, oatmeal, or beer!!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Holy Island

Today we were on our way to a Castle south of Edinburgh and we took a turn for the wild. My daughter, who is the driver of the lead car (we can't all fit into one vehicle) saw a sign for Holy Island and immediately took the turn. Stating that she remembered reading about Holy Island 10 or 15 years ago in a National Geographic. So after a family discussion and a quick check of the tide tables we proceeded out the causeway to the island. The thing about Holy island is that it is a huge castle that is only accessible at low tide. At high tide, the causeway is completely under water. So we arrived at the island, got parked and then we hiked out and up to the castle. It is truly amazing. It is part of the British National Trust, and has been preserved/cared for/maintained. We were able to go out onto the parapet and see the places the cannons had been. We were able to travel thru 10 main rooms. We saw where there were newer additions (a mere hundred years old) and we admired beautiful antique furniture. We left the island about 40 minutes before the high tide mark and just got off the island when we were stuck in a que at a railway gate. We were worried that some were going to be stuck on the causeway but it appeared to have resolved prior to the high tide. After a lunch in the car (tuna salad on matza) because by now the wind is howling around us, we headed into Edinburgh for more adventured. We are now installed in our flat after a yummy Turkish dinner. (Keeping kosher for passover while traveling in a foreign country is a unique challenge all its own.)