Walking is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside. Elizabeth von Arnim

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Friday, October 28, 2016

Kinnaird Castle

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40 degrees this morning and cloudy and a bit of a wind at times. 
Never even saw a peek of the sun
during my walk.
We did have a sunny afternoon though.

Had my usual walk all around town and the cemeteries and ball park.
Not much opportunities to take many pictures with it being so dark.
I've not walked around the Farm Loop because of the dark.
No street lights up that way!!
But still, at least I can get out to walk.

Didn't see any one else out walking.
Walked an extra mile to make up a bit for yesterday and
walked 7.2 miles
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This is especially for you Vee. 😊
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Ken was in the Navy and one of the places we got to go to was Scotland.
 We lived there for four years and part of that time we lived in
Kinnaird Castle which is located in Brechin.
The Earl and Countess of Southesk own the castle
and its been in the family for over 600 years.
Sorry for the poor quality of pictures. 
I took  pictures of pictures which weren't that great to start out with.
Back in the mid 70's when we were there the Earl had one wing of the
castle made into several flats and rented them out.
 We rented the Laundry Room flat.
The entrance to the flat was in the corner of the courtyard
and in the picture that is Ken in front of the kitchen window and
the entrance is down past him.
Here I am sitting in front of the kitchen window and that is our son
David in the playpen enjoying a bit of sun. 
 The flat wasn't anything fancy but we enjoyed our stay there.
The electric for the house was paid for using a shilling meter.
The meter was  located in the hall and you had to put shillings in the meter when you needed electricity.  The flat was heated by an electric heater which was called
an electric fire.
We only lived there for a little over 4 months.  It was just a one bedroom
and David was 1 and Debbi was on the way so we needed more room.
There was a very long narrow kitchen and at one end of the room
were floor to ceiling cupboards.
There was a decent sized sitting room,
and a long narrow bathroom with one of those big porcelain bathtubs.
When we first moved into the castle I sent everyone back home a picture
of the front of the castle and wrote,
This is our new home.

Once a year the Earl would open up the castle and we got a
tour of the rest of the castle.

Of course you have to have a ghost in a castle and this one was seen in the flat 
where our friends Barb and Todd (also Navy people) lived.  I can't remember the name of that flat but it was where the seamstress lived.
Barb tells the story of sewing a hem of a dress and didn't finish it.
When morning came the dress was hemmed.
Her explanation was that the ghost finished it.
That was her story anyway.
A guess if you're going to have a ghost is it good to have a friendly and useful one.

We moved out of the castle to a little house in the village of Montrose.
We lived there for about a year and then 
one more move on to the base in Edzell.
Would have been nice to stay off base but living on base
was convenient and cheaper.
We loved living in Scotland and I'd love to go back one day.
I cried when we had to leave.
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Back in April Ken brought home three large tree trunks that were cut down at our church.  A friend knew someone who had a sawmill on his farm was going to cut them into slab wood for us to use on the cabin up at HT.
So we brought the logs over to Don's house for him to cut them up.
Here are the tree trucks on the truck back in April.


 Don called,  said he had cut two of the trees and we could come and pick them up.  After lunch we went there and got the boards.
Here they sit out in the field.
These are some really nice wide boards and we love how they turned out.
Don helped load the lumber onto our trailer and here the trailer
sits up at HT all ready for the cabin.
Monday we will start putting them on the front of the cabin.
 Slab wood is also called bacon siding, or live edge.

It's been another good day.
Life is Good

A happy day to you.
happyone 🎈
 "Charlie Brown: A penny! Rats!
Why couldn't I have found a nickel?
What good is a penny these days?
Why do things like that always happen to me?!
Walks off frustrated.
Lucy:  Gee, he found a penny!
Why don't things like that ever happen to me?!"
~ Charles M Schulz

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Matthew 4:17 Repent, for The Kingdom of Heaven has come near. Matthew 18:11 For The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

Lowcarb team member said...

Oh what a lovely post ... I know you said it was for Vee, but I enjoyed reading all about the time when you were in Scotland. Thank you so much for sharing the pictures too, you so obviously had a wonderful time there.

The slab wood looks good and I know you will put it to good use.

Enjoy your weekend, enjoy your walks.

Life is definitely good!

All the best Jan

The Furry Gnome said...

What a fabulous story about living in a castle! I knew you lived in Scotland, but I never knew you lived in a castle! Must have been really interesting.

Adam said...

I couldn't imagine living on a electricity meter like that.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, I enjoyed your Scotland photos and story too. It had to be neat living in the castle. Happy weekend to you!

Christine said...

I really enjoyed hearing about your time in Scotland and what a marvellous castle! Quite an experience! I remember going to a wee Sunday School hall where the electricity was paid for like that!
I love 'bacon siding'! It looks great!

Cat Lover said...

Thanks for sharing your story of your time living in Scotland. Sounds wonderful!
Can't wait to see how your cabin looks with the new siding.
Have a good weekend.

Pom Pom said...

How great! Living in a castle!
I love the slabs. Smart!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Wow---had no idea you all ever lived in Scotland---AND in a castle. How special is that!!!! Some of my ancestors (Bruce side) came from Scotland.... Your time there must have been tremendous. What great memories you must have....

The Slab Wood will look awesome in your cabin...

Hugs,
Betsy

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I love the story and the photos - especially those beautiful orange trees!

Spare Parts and Pics said...

How cool to have lived in a castle!!? A memory you will cherish forever, I'm sure.

CountryMum said...

Wow! What an incredible place to live, albeit for just a short while.

At Rivercrest Cottage said...

saw a table and bench made from this type of slab of wood. the legs were metal. I have to say I loved them dearly. Hubs did not though, so we didn't get them.

Henny Penny said...

How interesting that you lived in a castle. My goodness! Looks like the pretty colored leaves are falling there. Ours are still green. I'm beginning to wonder if any of the leaves are going to turn or just fall off the trees.

doodles n daydreams said...

How lucky to live in a castle.I have an elderly friend who was evacuated to a castle during the war years and she has very fond memories of being there.
Looking forward to seeing the cabin with the boards on :)

Diana

Deb J. in Utah said...

It is so fun to relive memories. I love the picture from a few years back. You look much the same - just shorter hair. You have aged very well. It's all that walking ;-) Thanks for sharing some interesting memories. You have had quite the fascinating life! Have a great week!

Turn The Page said...

Oh my...this is wonderful! Delicious Autumn! And those slab pics, very cool! Aloha!

Anonymous said...

I prefer Summer

Aritha V. said...

I love to see your old photos. Long hair!!!

Breathing In Grace said...

Awesome memories and pics! I love that last little conversation....it's all about perspective!!! ;-)

Lisa said...

How nice it would be to live in a castle. This was a fun read.
Lisa

Snow said...

Hi Karen, I sent you an e-mail today, 10/31/16. Happy Halloween! MJ

Vee said...

Thank you, Karen! That was fun to read and so interesting. Fun to see Ken and you back in the 70s and your son in a playpen. Gosh. I hope that you can travel back to Scotland one day. Any chance you'd go by ship as Susan Branch has done? Are you reading about her Scotland adventures?

Also interesting to see where the planks came from...just very cool!