Last School group at the Hunterian!

Today was my last opportunity of volunteering at the museum with the school groups. Another girl specifically asked to do the wool, so I did wood drilling instead! I don't know if I've ever done this before. But it was a good group - talkative and interested, so that was good. I couldn't have my picture taken with the children, but Jill, the woman running the program, took my picture afterwards. (There's a small bit of wood secured in the larger wood contraption on the table. a stick with a metal tip is held down while one rubs a bow (strung with leather and wrapped around the stick) back and forth. This eventually creates a hole in the wood. A similar process is used for stone drilling, which is another of the activities that we did at the museum.

Domestic Forays

Last week I had an Enchanted April party. I got this from Heather, who every year, invites close female friends over to munch on snacks and watch the very beautiful film Enchanted April. I will say, that the evening went very well. I invited three friends: Patsy (who makes amazing, huge, delicious dinners every fast Sunday for the YSA and young marrieds), her sister-in-law Becca (who spins wool like a dream!) and Rachel. We relaxed, talked, watched the movie and all round had a lovely time.

I made my ginger molasses cookies for the event, and even frosted them. The next day I had lots of left-overs (as it makes an ENORMOUS batch) and I decided to make them into sandwich cookies. They turned out very well. I took some into work and everyone sampled them and liked them. I took a picture:

Then, today, just for fun, I took another food picture. I made salmon cakes (with lovely Tesco Italian herbs!) and had them with brussels sprouts and basmati rice. And here is how it looked:

I don't know that this looks all that picturesque, but the dish was tasty!

The Event!

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the archaeology department at Glasgow University. When the archaeology department was recently threatened with cuts (which, as far as I understand, will NOT take place!) this event was planned to draw awareness to the joy and wonder of archaeology!

I helped out by spending a large part of the day spinning! So that was fun. It was a good day (quite warm too - 66 degrees F) and there were quite a lot of people throughout the day.

Approaching the main gates to go to the archaeology event.

One booth had archaeology cakes: this one is a stone circle w/ a burial cist & cairn in the middle - complete with skeleton! Yay!

A styrofoam "stone" circle with cist in the middle.

Ooh! Real bones!!!!

A mini dig. Not a real skeleton!

Ceremonial dancing around the cist.

Barbed wire, candles & a pony shoe from WW1!

Burying someone in the cist.

Neolithic garb. Very fashionable!

Next Year in Jerusalem!

Tonight in FHE we celebrated Passover. This was my idea. Rachel's sort-of "in charge" of FHE, and I suggested it to her. She and the new missionary couple (The Richins) really liked it. I really wish I'd had the Haggadah from the Mason's, as I'm so used to that one. The one I found was not as good, so it wasn't as smooth as I could have wished, but it did go well nonetheless, and Rachel had looked up some great quotes and scriptures about how Jesus ties into the Passover as well, and we talked about Elijah coming to the Kirtland Temple at Passover and everything. So it was a very good evening.

On the way to the church: approaching Hillhead Street.

Left to Right: Elliot, Winnie, Ray, Chen (I'm drawing a blank on his English name), investigator (can't remember his name), myself, Rachel & Nothando.

Perambulations

I met up with the Elders in my ward today, but we got stood up! So I wandered around the city centre a bit and did some shopping. The old buildings intrigued me - that's the only reason I took these pictures.

Easter!

Next week, as I think all of us know, is Easter. Mother sent me  a few Easter things, and I bought myself an Easter bucket, so here are a couple of pictures. Happy Easter everyone!

I love how Nick's pumpkin is the pumpkin of all seasons!

A close-up of my bucket, plus some lovely things sent by mother.

Glasgow Cathedral (again!) and the Necropolis

I know I've been to Glasgow Cathedral several times, but really, you can't see cathedrals too often, I believe. Besides, I thought that the scaffolding was gone from the front of the cathedral. I was mistaken in this (I believe it's only shifted a little, and thus, from one side of it, thought it was gone). Nevertheless, the cathedral is lovely in the spring. I also went to The Necropolis (an enormous Victorian cemetery above the cathedral) which was very accessible from the cathedral (I had thought it at more of a distance). I also visited the Provand's Lordship once again. It's good to tramp around old Glasgow from time to time.

The Cathedral with blossoming trees. As seen on the way to The Necropolis.

Be sure to click on this picture to make it bigger so's you can make out the words: this is the fellow who wrote "Wee Willie Winkie"

An ivy-clad Gothic monument. Very Victorian.

This was inside the mausoleum pictured above - the hole through which something like an arch could be seen. Intriguing and a little spooky.

There was a Wylie named on this stone, so I took a picture.

Isn't this fellow fabulous? Lying out like a Medieval knight.

A magpie sitting atop an obelisk.

A stunning view from the top of the Necropolis.

Inside the Provand's Lordship - a Pieta from the 16th Century.

Detail of her face - can you see the tears on her cheek?

The Provand's Lordship from the gardens.

Maybe it's something to do with Spring!

This past Saturday, I wandered about town, walking from my flat to Partick, and back again. It was such a glorious day! The sun was shining and temperatures were in the 60's. The earth and the pavement gave off that lovely warm smell. I was wearing a corduroy skirt and was far too warm (I was wearing flip-flops though!). Spring can be so glorious - warm and pleasant and lively, but not too hot (I'm hoping Glaswegian summers will be much the same thing!)

The lovely narcissus, a delicate relation of the daffodil (though technically, I think, they're all in the narcissus family)

Detail on St Bride's church, Hyndland Rd. 

Plied wool

Back in early February you may remember (or not) that I talked about spinning with a drop-spindle. Well, the poor spindle, and the small bit of wool I had left just sat on my shelf looking picturesque, of course, but very idle. Today I decided to finish spinning with the wool I had left, and then I plied it! I don't have a bobbin winder or any handy tools to help me, but I managed to ply the wool fairly smoothly. I'll put up before & after pictures, just for laughs:

Unfinished spinning...

Plied. Now what shall I do with it?