On Sunday, Georgie and I packed up our stuff, climbed into Georgie's gorgeous little mini. Destination? Unknown. We ended up in St. Andrews (via Perth), where we were greeted by beautiful sunshine and loads to look at. St. Andrews, for those who are unaware, has the oldest golf course in the world. It also houses the very prestigeous University of St. Andrews, well known for its arts, economics and humanities faculties. I always wished I could have gone to St. Andrews and studied International Politics or something, but no, it wasnt to be. Instead, I had to come to St. Andrews as a tourist. And I thoroughly loved the place. In fact, I'm thinking of heading back there in the next couple of weeks, because I dont think these photos did it any justice!

The Beast! What a darling car!











The Campus of St. Andrews.

Road Trip on Sunday - St. Andrews..

More pictures from beautiful St. Andrews.

Its Finally Happened....

.....I got my first pay check today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can Anyone Spot Charlotte?

This has got to be the funniest photo of Charlotte I have seen yet. She is such a nugget.

Has anyone seen my Auntie Kate?

Clearing The Mind

Good Morning all,

Yesterday, Georgie (my new flatmate) and I were both in a bit of a funk, so we decided we'd take a walk up Carlton Hill to clear the mind. I of course took my camera (which appears to be joined at my hip these days). One of the great things about Edinburgh at the moment is that it can be almost 10pm at night and it will still be daylight. I suppose the opposite to that is when it comes time for winter, it will be midday and it will be pitch black, but Georgie and I have promised each other that we are going to make the most of the summer while it is here!

So on Sunday? ROAD TRIP!

A Bout of Homesickness

I'm learning that Happiness and Homesickness are not mutually exclusive.

:(

Keeping Myself A-mooo-sed

This top one is one of my favourites - Phar-mooo-ceutical. he he he

Hip-To-Be-Square

Little munchkin has a bung hip, it appears. Mild Displasmia or somthing or other. I dont know. I will wait for Annie to comment. Basically, Charlotte needs to wear a brace, which will make her hip straighted up, cause at the moment, its not pointing in the right direction. We suspected it was the case the minute she was born, because her foot turned inwards, but the doctors told us to wait in case it corrected itself. She's not going to like being restricted. Poor munchkin.

What Can A Girl Do?

My readership numbers have dropped this week. Why? Is it because of my obsession with cows at the moment? Or is it because I am not producing enough gossip about my wild and promiscuous lifestyle here in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Well, I am afraid that there is no gossip. Life at the moment is all about settling in and establishing some kind of routine after having two months on the run. Has it only been two months since I left Sydney (and my family) behind?

Let me think... I could do a lot to spice up this page....

...I could report on Angelina's birth of her Pitt-child.... (has it happened yet?)

.... I could give running commentary on England's preparation for the World Cup.... (ie. preparing to LOSE! ha ha)

... I could give an update on Nicole Richie's "alleged" weight gain (now that she finally admits she has an anorexia problem) and Ashlee Simpson's recent nose job....

*gasp* There are photos on www.hotmommadrama.blogspot of Jessica Simpson WITHOUT makeup....

Hmmmm...

I may just wait and see where my own life takes me for the next couple of days.

k

Playing Around With PhotoShop

Beef-ore I Get Too Carried Away...

The Edinburgh Blog has found over 30 of the blasted cows and have even attached the names of them to the picture (http://www.theedinburghblog.co.uk/edinburgh-cow-parade-2006/). I have only been able to snap a mere 18 of them. I must dedicate moooo-re time to this search. Alas, I have gone onto the website and I have found myself a cow-map.

Watch this space!

Cow-ting the Statues.

The first being my favourite now - Braveheart.

A Room With A View!

Okay, admittedly, its a view of a courtyard with a swamp-like patch of grass but I love it. I love it because it is my very own little piece of space in Edinburgh and its a place I can hang my hat each day and finally call home.

I didnt even bother packing things away from the hostel. I just found a load of plastic bags, systematically shoved every piece of clothing, every shoe, every bit of food left in my designated space in the hostel kitchen, and then loaded all of the plastic bags into a taxi and said "get me out of here". I didnt look back.

I then fell asleep to the sound of my own breath (mixed in with the odd meow from Uma, the cat, who's taken a liking to my new duvet cover). I didnt wake up once through the night - the first sleep of this kind in probably two months. Then yesterday, I had a hot bath, and then just lazed around all day, reading, watching TV (for the first time in ages) and generally being a lump.

Ah, domestic bliss.

Some more good news is that I think I will be doing a flying visit back to Australia in November. Its something I cant confirm just yet, but things are looking good (it helps when your new flatmate is a travel agent in an Australian Tourism agency and she has got a good deal). I am not sure if it will be two weeks or one month but the main thing is that I will get to see my family again, squeeze the life out of my fluffy cat Tiggsie, and most importantly, give my darling Charlotte a huge kiss.

Woohoo! Life is great.

Some Moooooooooore Cows (Geddit? He He)

So here are two of my favourite cows. Believe me, I've only touched the surface with these pictures. There are literally cows EVERYWHERE here in Edinburgh. Maybe I will make it my mission this weekend to make sure every cow is photographed. Hmm.. perhaps I just need to get myself a hobby. The first one is my favourite, because it is sitting outside the National Gallery of Scotland, and the artist has mimicked one of the sculptures from the Gallery. The real sculpture is called the Three Graces. The artist has gone and called this the Three Graziers..... Its hilarious.

So tonight is the night where I hope to have my first decent sleep in two months. I am more or less going to grab my stuff from the hostel this afternoon, drag it downhill to the new place, crawl into bed (hmm.. I have no idea what I intend to use as sheets and a pillow!) and then sleep for what I hope will be the entire weekend. Bliss. Peace and quiet. My own space. Love it.

The Cow Parade

In Europe, they have an obsession with cows. And as a result of this obsession, they have created a thing called the "Cow Parade" where artists must decorate cows in the city's theme and then the cow gets auctioned for charity. Well, all of a sudden, cows are appearing all over Edinburgh... its so cool...

Everyone Together Say....Awwwww....

Little munchkin.

Counting Down The Days

I have been a little quiet on the Blog front for a couple of days. Well, there are a couple of reasons. Firstly, I am broke. El' Broko. Nada Mulla, if you get my drift. Which means I havent been able to go anywhere or do anything. Secondly, I am just sitting like a (poverty-stricken) duck, waiting to move out of the hostel and into the new place. Thankfully, I have only three more days until its time for me to wheel all of my wordly possessions (being one roller-bag, a bequeathed croquet blanket given to me in Sweden by some random girl, and my suit bag).

I've worked out that Scottish people like being given money in return for them not doing all that much work. You see, I came to the conclusion because the Rental Agency wants £58 from me, to simply say "Yes, you can move in to the property". They press a button on the computer which produces a brand new lease, and away they go - that will be £58 thank you very much, they say.

What bollocks. £58??? Ridiculous. Thats nearly AU$150. Thats, like.... twenty five beers. Thank the Lord I am not still selling tartan to the citizens of Scotland. I would have to work a heck of a lot of hours on minimum wage in order to pay those jerks to sit in their warm office and press buttons on their computer (hmmm.. kinda sounds a lot like what I now do for a living here...).

Actually, in all seriousness, the above theory (re. lazy Scottish people) doesnt apply to Scottish lawyers. They work some serious hours here, and I am trying not to fall into the same trap. I try to get in early, say, around 8am and make sure I am out of here around 5pm - 5.30pm. The rest generally hang out here until 8ish. No way, I am over here on a holiday. No crazy lawyer hours for me.

Anyhoo, will write more soon. As soon as I organise my broadband in the new place, I guarantee better blog entries and more pictures.

hugs n stuff,

k

Gorgeous Edinburgh This Morning

Took this pic on the way to work! The stands are already up for the Edinburgh Tattoo... which doesnt begin until August! (??!)

HOW CUTE!

I hope Annie doesnt mind me posting this, but here is a cute little picture of Charlotte, wearing the little kilt I purchased here in Edinburgh and sent back home.

Landing On My Feet

I remember when I was contemplating moving overseas, someone said to me "it doesnt matter what you choose to do, whatever happens, you will fall on your own feet." At that stage, it didnt matter how many times that person said it, there was always that tiny voice in the back of my head saying "but what if I dont?".

The prospect of not falling on my feet now seems outrageous. I have well and truly fallen on my feet, landing in Edinburgh with one big massive "thud". It seems that I have landed on my feet to such an extent, my feet are well and truly entrenched in the green grass of the Edinburgh fields.

The best news is that I finally have a place to stay. I dont move in until the 19th of May, but when I do, I will feel a lot better. I am not really getting that much sleep at the hostel, due to the noise and regular comings and (drunken) goings, but I suppose I get what I pay for. I will be living more or less right in the heart of the city, near the Theatre area, with three English people aged 25 years. They are relaxed, sensible (??!) people who I know I will get along with. The most important thing is that they also have a wee little cat, called Uma (named Uma Thurman, after the actress). I will send photos of the place, as well as the cat, shortly.

Anyway, work is coming along nicely and so is the social life. I have been out playing touch football for RBS, I have the hockey season beginning soon, plus many more activities in the pipeline to keep me amused!

Will write more shortly, but in the meantime, keep enjoying the photos. You guys are slowly but surely convincing me to do something with them... but its just a matter of working out exactly what to do with them, and how!

Kisses for all,

K

Trying Something New

I have also tried another type of photograph, using Photoshop - "Diffused Glow". Let me know if you like it... I actually think it looks pretty good...