Home Sweet Home

 It has been a very busy month as we moved into our new home.  We were very lucky to find the house that we did, as it is much bigger than we thought we would have here.  It's definitely nice to have all the space after spending 2 months in hotels and a very small 1 bedroom flat. We have been busy unpacking, arranging, re-arranging and getting settled in.  We have spent most of our weekends doing the unpacking, gardening, shopping, and various household projects to make it feel like HOME.


 The Lochinchard House
(yes, our house has a name)

 We are enjoying the fruits from our garden
Apples, Plums, Blueberries and Grapes

We are also enjoying beautiful roses from over 20 bushes in the rose garden.

The house was partially furnished with some neat antiques.
 Yes, the Grandfather clock chimes every hour.

We have a beautiful view of the garden from the dining room.
We found a dining table a local charity shop and ordered chairs online to go with it. 

                       

The Sunroom

It's a great place to enjoy coffee in the morning, afternoon tea or a glass of wine in the evening. 

(A great inspiring place to paint also.)

The Livingroom with a coal fireplace. 

After living in Florida for over twenty years, we had to re-learn how to build a coal fire.

The Guest Bedroom is ready for visitors to enjoy.

You can start making your reservations now.

The Master Bedroom

It was great to sleep in our bed after almost 2 months

we replaced the lights above the bed with updated fixtures

along with others throughout the house. 

We took a day off from house stuff and headed to Kilcreggan for an Ale Fest

where we were entertained by a local blues band named "Harmonica Lewinsky"

We were entertained on the bus ride home with an impromptu sing-a-long by the locals.

 We then ended up in the local pub with them for a nightcap. 

For another night out we hopped the train to Cardross to try our hand at Pub Quiz.

We found out that we are not very good with UK trivia, yet. For instance one question was "What is the name of the drink mixing champagne and OJ?" Oh we got this one... NOT. Note to all: they have no idea what a Mimosa is as they call it a Buck's Fizz.  

 However, We did win a round, Of course it was the Brain Teasers round and had nothing to do with our knowledge 

of the UK.  

We met some nice people and were invited to come back to play again. 

Grocery shopping has also been an adventure here. We have been able to find most things we need, except American style crispy bacon for John and flavored coffee creamer for CJ, but we are making do and trying new things.

We have gotten a kick out of some of the names of the products and thought we would share some with you.

and even if it says Chicken broth... its really chicken soup with rice and veggies.    

Moving has been quite the adventure and unpacking was just as exciting, not knowing what we would end up with.  The movers packed everything they saw, including garbage cans with the garbage still in it. (good thing it was only paper)

We found various items that were to suppose to go to storage (Lamps, summer clothes, crafting supplies)  and 

are missing a few important items, that we assume are in storage instead of here. 

(remote controls for both TV's, and CJ's favorite Scarves)  

Although the unpacking is now finished, we still have a few more rooms to put together, curtains to buy, garage to organize and furniture to sand and stain, but it is feeling more like home everyday.  

Sending much love to all of our family and friends, we hope to see you all soon!

John and CJ

Exploring New Areas

Spent the day sightseeing with the Juels on their last day in Scotland.

We started with a tour of the Glengoyne Scotch Whiskey Tour. 

 Glengoyne

We then headed to Stirling, Scotland for a tour of the Castle.

Stirling Castle

It was a absolutely amazing and beautiful sight to see.

 

Inside the Castle is the The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum where they have exhibits and memorabilia from conflicts all round the world.

We found this plaque that was taken aboard the Endeavour in February 2000

I, Of course had to take pictures of all of the 

John Mitchell Memorabilia.

Coasters I bought in the gift shop with the Mitchell Crest and Tartan

Walking around in Stirling

After Stirling the 3 of us headed into to Glasgow, John took the train and met us for dinner. 

We met at one of our favorites finds from our last trip here. 

Bar Soba, Mitchell Lane 

After a great meal we headed back to Helensburgh and said goodbye to the Juels as they left the next morning to continue on their European Journey. 

 It was a fun filled few days as we all learned our way around the area together! (yes, we did find ourselves a little lost at times.)

Our next road trip was to Kilcreggan 

 on the Roseneath Penisula, a short drive from Helensburgh.

It was a beautiful drive with a mixture of sunshine and rain. 

There are some beautiful houses,

 the beautiful Knockderry House Hotel and Restaurant 

the Kilcreggan Hotel

And whats a road trip in Scotland without Sheep in the road?

 and our favorite crazy sheep....

 

For our "Sunday Funday Roadtrip"

We decided to head south this time.

Our first stop was the Newark Castle in Port Glasgow

Cruise Ships docked in Greenock

Our next Holiday? 

Cloch Lighthouse in Gourock

Looking for food, we wandered in to the Cardwell Garden Centre where we found the Patio Cafe. After a toastie and a panini we decided to check out the rest of the centre.  It has plants both indoor and outdoor and everything for the patio and garden. (so all that know me know that I was definitely in my element) What a great find!  

But WAIT!! It gets better, it has an Art Centre as well.

The grounds were beautiful and we found a few sights that reminded us of home.

I know that it is hard to tell in the picture but these rabbits were huge!
(they were about 2 feet long!)

We continued to browse through the shops and had a little fun trying on hats, we laughed but will probably regret not buying them in a few more months.  

For those of you asking about the weather..

It has been in the low to mid 60's during the day and in the low 50's at night. (Or In the low to high teens if I ever learn to read in Celsius.) Yes, that's quite a change for us Floridians, but we are enjoying it and hoping to adapt to the weather soon.

We have been enjoying walking to the grocery store and downtown area, browsing the various establishments: Charity stores, gift stores, pharmacies, chemists, bookstores, butchers and of course PUBS. 

John found some reading materials on one of our trips, that should keep him busy for awhile.

Well that's our travel adventures for this week, now it's  

time to rest and see what we can get into next week.

Cheers to another Fabulous Week!

Much Love to our Family and Friends,

John and CJ