Courtship (B)- Gone Shopping

When you are married with a child-teenager at home, and the both of you are busting your asses to build your careers, family and to provide, shopping tends to be driven by a singular concept-  Responsibility.

So the purchases you make together/alone are weighty (and terribly boring for a non-shopper):
car (in Singapore = FAINT), 1st home (instant debt disguised as mortgage), private kindergarten (ouch), graduate education (thank God for that fellowship), relocation costs (uh oh), 2nd home, 3rd home (sorry Baby, that house was calling out to be saved), international school (ouch, OUCH), car again (moan), car, boarding school (YIKES), and car (every man needs toys).

3rd home- salvaged & sold.  Goodbye house!

On occasion, your husband surprises you with a gift you know you have no need of.  When the gift is placed in your arms, you forget your days before his arrival, and you wonder at how big love gets.

The Love Gift

He's been wanting to get me a raincoat.  He leaves later today and is worried about me schlepping in the rain.  Three days ago, I humoured him and attempted shopping.  We found something that sits well on me, but the coat was hoodless, so we left the store.  It rained quite heavily all afternoon.  We crossed the street, fingers laced.  He then surprised me with something chunky.

Surprise!

So I am learning, as with Courtship Round 1 circa 1995, shopping during Courtship Round 2, 2013 is indulgent, improvisational, impulsive, (almost) irresponsible.

It's chunky!

Sigh.  Even the most reluctant of shoppers/tomboy at heart, appreciates a gift born of flight and fancy!  Something unexpected, thoughtful in the gesture, and the touch of color against skin.  I am going to miss you when you leave.  As it was then, so it is now, this maddening, maddening long distance.  

Call me on my cell when you get into Singapore tomorrow, Baby.  If I don't pick up immediately, just know that I may be nursing an achy heart, and have possibly gone, shopping.

XXOO

Courtship

So, now we are officially, Empty-Nest-ers.  The very first thing we did after leaving Cheltenham was take TJ out, celebrate her birthday, attempt painting the town red.

  Bruno and I don't do late nights anymore.  I awoke with a hang-over the next morning, and very nearly missed our train to Edinburgh!

In the nick of time!!!

The Empty Nest?  It feels a lot like Courtship.  You go on a trip together, you eat in adult places (factoring Bruno into the equation of course), you hold hands when walking, spend long moments talking and listening to each other.  You kind of get to know each other again, but without the anxiety of having to impress.

You take pictures of each other because there is a part of you that wants to hold these moments, when you were (still) young, when you were young, forever.

Best of all, Courtship now is enacted on a stage built on the firmest foundations. You don't think of escape routes (what if, but,never mind, just divorce).  

Girl meets Boy.  Boy meets Girl.  For a long while, God and Life willing, they live happily every after.

Edinburgh Eats

My husband J rarely takes a  vacation.  When he does, he prefers lazy days, sleeping in, and dining out.  In Edinburgh, he was curious about The Kitchin.  I contacted them to ask if Bruno could be accommodated.  They regretfully said no, but helpfully suggested another of their restaurants- The Scran & Scallie.

 Located about 10-minutes from Old Town, Stockbridge is a lovely neighbourhood with just the right mix of cute independent stores.  Tom Kitchin seems to be the prodigal chef returned home, and putting Edinburgh firmly on the culinary map.  The Scran & Scallie is a warm gastropub, and the food (locally-sourced) excellent.  J is convinced its his best meal he's had in the UK so far.  Bruno nibbled on bread, and fell asleep.  I had a generous portion of cauliflower and cheese.

On our last night in Edinburgh, we ventured to Leith, by the shore, to eat at The Vintage.  I was curious about Leith as it is reportedly experiencing some kind of food/art renaissance.  In the darkened night, Leith appeared tired and on the cusp of gentrification.

Standing outside The Vintage on a tired street corner.

Inside, The Vintage was rocking and the noise-level deafening.  J had a lamb stew of sorts and an American ale.  I ate the vegetarian special (risotto).  Many locals are worried that The Vintage is getting too popular with its ascending cult status.  I wasn't crazy about my dish (vegetables were cut too chunkily), but appreciated the spartan sense of design, local-feel, terrific service, and dog-friendly stance.

The Vintage, 60 Henderson Street, Leith EH6 6DE

Prestonfield House- Interiors

Here's a glimpse at More is More is More... 

One of the many drawing rooms in the hotel.

The room above leads out to this patio space.

Close up view of the crazy ceiling in the above room.  More is more is more.

An elegant dining space (there are many).

Above the entrance hall.  I looked up and was freaked out by Cupid (left)!!!

Stairwell right outside my room.  The drawings are of the house (beautiful!), done in 194X when its owners worried that Prestonfields would be bombed by the invading Germans.

Breakfast is served in our living space, with generous views of the grounds.

Leopard-printed carpeting, gold-themed wallpaper, and ancestral portraits.  Not for the faint-hearted.

I like this antique desk, mirror and the orchids, but I'm not sure about the man in the painting staring down at me...

The bathroom with mosaic, marble and fresh flowers gets two thumbs up!

Silver-painted sleigh bed... I have no idea how Bruno managed to jump vertically onto it.  

Prestonfield House, Priesfield Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH16 5UT

Prestonfield House, Edinburgh (Brief Thoughts)

Yesterday, we caught the 14:00 train from King's Cross right at 14:00 as my head has gone to mush since sending Summie off to school.  All that sense of responsibility, punctuality, organizational skills I once possessed, have somehow dissipated.

In this vegetative state, I arrived in the magical city of Edinburgh.  

Prestonfield House is about a 10-minute taxi ride refuge from the heart of town. It sits on acres of lush land, in the shadow of Arthur's Seat, with resident cows and peacocks roaming its grounds.  

Prestonfield House, side view, Arthur's Seat in the background

Bruno could not believe his luck.

 After having to be on his very, very best behaviour for a 4.5 -hour train ride, I let him off his lead, and he jubilantly dashed away and back.

Bruno practising the re-call command...

 Forget Minimalism.  More is more is more.  The rooms are opulent.  Every nook and cranny is filled with antiques.  The walls are papered, painted red, hung with rows and rows of period etchings and paintings.  There is complimentary champagne served on arrival and a bucket of fresh lavender placed in the room.  

Spot the bucket of lavender!

Service is swift, helpful, discreet.  Breakfast is stupendous and included in the room rate.

  I'm not sure if I would stay here again, but for this brief trip, it meets our needs and allows a temporary escape into history and period design.

Bruno our seasoned traveler with his EU passport?  Wastes nary a moment making himself, right at home.

The Prestonfield House, Priestfield Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH16 5UT

Finally, at School

"Goodbye Parents" was scheduled at 1pm today.  But by 11:20am, when she was encircled by her new tutor group and tutor, we whispered our love, hugged her close, then left without any fuss.

I think the child takes her cue from her parents, if at 16 years old, she still respects and honors them.  Stay calm, positive, and unflinching, and your child stands tall, even if the returning girls are not at present, the friendliest.

Bruno checks out which tutor group she is in.

There are about thirty new girls in her year.  They come from everywhere- all over the UK, from Germany, Geneva, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Russia, Ireland, Africa.  Many friends who love her, have asked if we are sad to see her go.  But I look at her rooted like a tree, and all I feel is immense pride, and a lot of joy.

It has not been a straightforward path sending her here for school.  Now that she is finally at school, she knows that she is going to have to make the best of such an opportunity.  I've suggested that on the occasion(s) she feels homesick and miserable, best restrict the time allocated for self-pity and tears.

Just think of how you feel in the morning, if you spend all night awake crying, you are simply going to feel much worse without your beauty sleep.  And not forgetting your eyes are going to be all puffy and that is going to really bother you.

Priorities.  Problem-solving.  Making mistakes.  Moving forward, chin down, chin up, feet dragging, legs striding.

I'm confident she's going to experience all of the above and more.

Sunday in the Cotswolds

Sunday, dawn.  More packing, walked Bruno at length mainly because I could not find a trash bin within sight.  Helped Summie move into her house/dorm, and spent the rest of the morning at Welcome Week activities.  Best part of being an early bird is that no one else is quite awake and about, so I had the opportunity to admire art, shoot uninterrupted pictures.  The Montpellier Chapter is growing on me. I really, really like its art collection, and the sensitivity of decor and design of all shared spaces.

Painting titled Dog, Lamp and Bird Diptych, Manali Shroff

By late morning, Summie had fortified herself with a new group of friends.  So we decided to skip the afternoon field-trip,and retreated back instead for food and more vino blanc.

The Montpellier Chapter, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham