Excitement Abounds

Next weekend (June 29th), I am headed down to London with Nancy, my new friend at work, for the British Army ball. It is "fancy dress" which of course means costumes and not formal wear. I was famously confused by this term when I first arrived in the UK; think Elle Woods showing up in the playboy bunny outfit, only reversed... Anyways, the ball is at the Kensington Barracks and I'm going to go as the Elephant and Castle tube stop OR Scarlett Johanssen from Match Point. What do you reckon?

THEN on Monday I'm going with David to a big, swanky auction house event. It's a book launch and lecture about cabinetmaking, followed by champagne, and I will probably choke on a canape and/or fall down a flight of stairs. I'm hoping to, as they say, "network," and feel out the London auction scene.

I will probably sweat through my dress.

Other news:
I'm being sent around the country on research excursions for upcoming sales. Yesterday I went to the national archives in Glasgow, and next week I'm off to Perthshire to see about some sculpture. Everything is terribly exciting.

Avery is coming to visit tomorrow from France! She's been at cooking school and I expect those skills to be put to proper use.

I'm incredibly, unforgivably busy, and for those of you who haven't heard from me in a while please know that I will see you on the other side. I think about you often. love.

I have officially become an adult

I am going on my first ever company-sponsored business trip today.

Photatoes

Pictures! And more pictures! Follow the links below for a smattering of photos from the last few weeks. I am finalizing a grant proposal (well doesn't that sound grown up) this afternoon and then I'm off to Falkland Palace to set up the Fife Chairs booth at the Big Tent Festival, so I'll be running around like a mad woman until Sunday.

Included in these two albums are:
- end of semester shenanigans
- Ike's visit
- my new digs
- a few from the auction house
- more of my hike to work

Enjoy! I am listening to Subterranean Homesick Blues and missing each and every one of you.

Album The First

Album The Second

Deep Breath.... OK GO!

So I know I've been a wretched blogger. I used to be so good! It plagues me. I miss you, I really do. Each and every one.

I've been building the museum website from chicken scratch and today, at last, I got most of it up! Joy and jubilation! Go to it, read!

www.fifefolkmuseum.org

Remember, when I arrived two months ago they didn't even have internet... I realize the template is boring and font looks like primary school; I am making up a new template which will probably take me the better part of a year to finish, complete with flash and animation and all kinds of bells and whistles. Forcing my English major brain to wrap around all of this has been sisyphusian at times but I'm pleased with the results. Oh, and if anyone could tell me how to link to microsoft word documents that would be the bee's knees.

In other news, life continues to zip along. When you don't have weekends everything just flows right together into this tantric melee of pencil skirts and to-do lists. Work at the auction house is turning out to be everything I wanted it to be and more. I have been helping catalogue the Arts and Antiques sale that is coming up on the 14th, so if you are feeling particularly devoted you can go to the website and look up the online catalogue to see my furniture descriptions. They read like this:

A Victorian mahogany boxwood strung chest of drawers:

The rectangular top boxwood stringing above an arrangement of two short and three long graduated drawers on shaped bracket feet. 150cm wide x 54cm deep x 100cm high,(59" wide x 21" deep x 39" high)

So that's basically what I've been training to do all year, and turns out I really enjoy it to boot. I've met some rockin' people, including photographer Nancy who is from the Highlands and wants me to find her a Southern husband who opens doors and says ma'am. She came to spend the night with me in Cupar a few days ago and took some photos of me feeding the chickens in the back garden:

They're hungry little buggers.

Chicken *%£% everywhere! Wellies, bless them.

I finally managed to remember my camera on my walk to work over the moor. I'm glad I did. The path to the museum from Cupar is pretty amazing. It runs up along an old, mossy rock wall; trees hang over your head and everything is very dense and green. Queen Anne's lace and wild pansies grow along the path. Have you ever seen a wild pansy? It's like seeing a celebrity shopping for groceries. So the walk is like this: at the edge of Cupar proper you plunge into the musty woods through a rabbit-hole of vines and twisted roots and walk gently up-hill for a mile or so along the ancient wall and then BAM you're at the top and it's all open, rolling pastures and the odd cherry tree. There are two beautiful black horses in a small paddock there. I fed them crabapples from a flattened palm and talked to them; I said, "you are a BAMF" and they nodded like they knew. The path descends slowly into Ceres like an extended sigh, and you land softly on the road just down from Meldrums, a pub built in 1687 that serves Real Ale. The church bells were ringing in Ceres as I walked up to the museum. I saw Lorna, one of our volunteers, and we had a nice chat. She asked about my 100 days cough, I asked about her son-in-law who has been ill, and I had one of those 'I really, actually, for real, live here' moments that arrive with greater frequency these days. I'm honestly starting to love it and I'm not sure if I'll want to leave... but I don't have to make that decision anytime soon.

Anyways, here are some photos I snapped on the walk:

Just setting out...

My only friend in Cupar besides David...

Ceres in the distance, not a mirage.

In fact, I need to get a move on now. I have to walk back and feed the chickens before they peck each other to death. They are very neurotic when they get hungry. Kind of like myself.

While I'm running up and down the stairs at work tomorrow take some time and read the new links I've put up, including Tom Allin's blog about his time spent being swindled and fed soup in the Vietcong.

Oh, and check back soon for a full account of my DAD'S trip to Scotland. My DAD was here and we had a great time. Again, my DAD was here and it was AWESOME. Photos imminent!

Where Has She Gone?

My computer crashed. Also, I am working 80 hours a week and spending 10 hours total on the train getting back and forth from Edinburgh. Despite all of this, I am ridiculously happy and upbeat. Life is good! I'm also finding plenty of time to lie on my back in fields of green Scottish grass while Jamie picks daisies!

[braces and waits for other shoe to drop]

The auction house is everything I hoped it would be and more. I love it. I spent the first two days helping the fine jewelry department and at one point had 84,000 pounds worth of diamonds on my left hand. I was absorbed into the furniture department after correctly identifying a pair of scottish oak caqueteuse chairs and I'm hoping I get to stay forever. There are a few St Andrews grads working there as well as a handful of David's old students, so we all can have good chat and drink lots of coffee together. Did I mention that I love it?

I'm officially en residence in Cupar. For the record, my mailing address is:

9 Kirk Wynd
Cupar, Fife
KY15

Send pressies. Specifically American foodstuffs.
Also, Jamie leaves tomorrow and I am sad.