Dunnotar Castle and Steptoes Yard

After Mahjong today, Jessica and I decided to take Flat Stanley to Dunnotar Castle, despite the weather. We could barely walk straight down the path because the wind was so fierce. The waves were pounding the rocks and cliffs and the sleet was pounding our faces. All we could do was laugh. I struggled to pull out the little paper Flat Stanley while Jessica got the camera ready. I told her that we had to be really careful because I did not want to have to tell my little cousin that Flat Stanley took a dive into the North Sea to never return.

I think we got a pretty good picture considering the odds we were against. :)

We were FREEZING... The sleet was pelting us in the face while we took this... haha

Don't blow away Jessica!

Dunnotar Castle is stunning even in bad weather. You can see the waves crashing below!

After taking a few more pictures, we stumbled back to the car (did I mention the wind?). Then, we decided to have a look around Steptoes Yard in St. Cyrus. It's a giant junk yard/market with tons of stuff littered around the yard outside and crammed onto shelves floor to ceiling inside various buildings. There is no heating so dress warm! They also only take cash. Yes, you do want to go here. This is a treasure trove of goodies at bargain (and haggled) prices. We only had about 2 hours to spend there, but I think we could have spent ALL DAY looking through everything. It was so cool. Totally going back. My Grandma Nelson would love this place!

Doesn't look like much from the entrance...

Jessica is digging for goodies!

This was just one aisle of many

Great stand that I got for £25! I have a tree theme in my living room. I was so excited to find it.

The tea sets were so cute there! I mixed and matched. :o)

The drive home was pretty. I really like the rolling hills here. We even saw some geese...they hissed at us.

 

House of Farnell - Schoolhouse turned shop and cafe twice a year

 "However in December 1999 I rented the Village Hall in Farnell and that was the start of House of Farnell. The next year we opened for Christmas 2000 in the School, and we have been there ever since. The School was built in 1600 and after it closed as a school it was used for repairing vintage cars. It is a lovely building with a lot of atmosphere."

-Paula and Hans Nissen-

The House of Farnell is a cute little shop and tea room set up in this old school house. It's only open twice a year: 1 month during Spring and Winter each. It's located in Brechin, Scotland. It's worth a trip with friends for a little shopping and lunch. They accept cash or cards for payment. The atmosphere is so nice and the sandwiches are yummy! I had a mozzarella, basil pesto, and avocado toastie. The bread was really good!

I had a wonderful time with the ladies, and I even found some really cute things for my house! Plan to spend no less than £50 if you go here for some shopping, and after you pay do yourself a favor... just stop looking around. It's too dangerous.

Going home with the loot!

My new flag pillow! £21

Cute new concrete homes for my herbs! £6 each. Teresa told me that in Scotland you need to line the bottom of your pots with small rocks/pebbles before adding your soil to avoid root rot. Done!

The owner had lanterns (£26) around the store with stuff in them. I thought, 'What a great idea, especially since Steve and I collect rocks and shells.' So, I bought one and added some of our collection to it. What do you think?

 

"My house smells like a giant oyster threw up sea water in it."

The sleet here looks like salt crystals. Today was one of those wintry mix days where it rained, snowed, and sleeted. We are continuing to get cold, windy days with mixed types of precipitation. It's odd to see something like that and still see flowers blooming everywhere! Speaking of flowers, this week I decided to go with pink roses. Again, just grabbed the clearance stuff. They don't have to be perfect to be beautiful to me. :o)

Anyway, tonight I made steamed mussels for dinner. I got them fresh from the fishmonger today. Wherever she got those things, it must have been one 'hella' salty bay. My house smells like a giant oyster threw up sea water in it. Steve said it smelled like salt and feet. HAHA. It was so strange. They smelled so terrible, but they still tasted really good! I made sure that every mussel was closed, scrubbed, and de-bearded before steaming, and I removed all mussels that didn't open after steaming. So.... why the heck did it smell so bad?? Is that just the price of cooking really fresh seafood in your house? Anybody?

Can you guess the pizza?

Lots of things vary across countries. One of the things that can sometimes trip you is the name of a product, especially if it turns out to be different from what your home country would label as that product. For example, the pizza above. I've cropped the name out but left the list of ingredients. Can you guess what this pizza is called here in Scotland? No cheating with Google searches! I'll post the full picture tomorrow night... unless none of you guess it correctly. Then, I'll make you suffer in anticipation.  ;)

Moving on. I took Frog to the vet this morning. It's about a 1.2 mile walk. Then, Angel and I walked home. At 3:00 PM, I walked back to get Frog. All in all, I walked about 5 miles today. :) All of his tests were normal except his protein levels. The vet thinks he may have a urinary infection. We are waiting for lab results. She told me that Frog did very well and received lots of snuggles. I told her, "Yeah, he's pretty good at getting snuggles from people."

St. Patrick's Day in Aberdeen, Apple TV, and a healthy chicken recipe that you'll love!

  

My frogdog goes to the vet tomorrow for testing. Please send positive thoughts and prayers his way that they will either find nothing or figure out what's wrong.

Anyway, yesterday Steve and I went to The Beautiful Mountain for breakfast. We decided that the rain should not keep us in and make us lethargic! Their breakfast is pretty good. With my breakfast I had corn and chili pepper pancakes. They consider it a "savory" so you don't put syrup on them. They were good! It was nice to enjoy a good cup of tea in a warm, cute cafe while it rained outside. There is something comforting in all of that. After breakfast, we walked around the mall for a while until Oz started. I don't think I really liked Oz that much. I was so bored, and I thought the wicked witch's makeup was similar to the green makeup they put on the Hulk in the original TV series. Terrible. On a happier note, we visited the Apple store and got to play with everything. We even bought an Apple TV while we were there. If you have a Mac and you watch Netflix, Slingbox, or other streaming sites often, I highly recommend one! You can get more information here: http://www.apple.com/support/appletv/.

After the movie we stopped at O'Neill's pub since it was St. Patrick's Day. There was a live band, that was really good, and we even ran into a couple of friends! We bought some St. Patrick's Day hats and sang along with the Irish music... just for a couple of drinks. :o)  It was so fun! My friend took pictures, but I'll have to get them from her first! I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Moving on. Today was rainy and then snowy. My walk to the market was made uncomfortable by tiny balls of snow.. yes balls not flakes... pelting me in the face. At least it wasn't rain. :)

I walked Angel to Steve's office to walk home with him. Giant snowflakes were falling by then; Angel keep shaking them from her face. It was a beautiful walk. For dinner tonight Steve wanted something simple. I found this great recipe for chicken with mushrooms and scallions. I added a little sriracha sauce because I like a kick. I served it with a side of rice and some mango slices for sweetness. Steve said it was really good. I'd have to agree! It was also easy and quick to make.

Chicken with Mushrooms and Scallions

From: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/quick-recipes/dinner/6-quick-chicken-recipes/?page=2  
Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
Ingredients
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 small bunch scallions, sliced, whites and greens separated
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
4 cups water
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 2-inch piece gingerroot, peeled and cut into 1/4 -inch rounds
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4 -inch cubes
Directions
1. In a very large skillet or soup pot, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the scallion whites and garlic; cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
2. Pour the water into the pan. Stir in the soy sauce and ginger and let simmer for 2 minutes. Gently place the chicken pieces in the broth. Reduce heat to low; cover and poach until the chicken is just cooked through, about 7 minutes.
3. Transfer the chicken pieces to wide, shallow bowls. Ladle broth over the chicken. Garnish with the scallion greens and serve.
Nutrition facts per serving: 190 calories, 28g protein, 7g carbohydrate, 5g fat (0.9g saturated), 1g fiber