Hello! Yes, I am back. I have finished the course I was taking, which sucked up all of my time, but was really amazing as well. It was such a good chance to really evaluate the last few years, especially, and to set some goals for the future. I might share more later, but there are some people I need to talk to first! Anyway, so now it's over, and I am having a little holiday here in Scotland. I love Scotland. Have I mentioned that? On Sunday, two other ladies, Anna and Yvonne, and I headed up north to the Isle of Mull. We stopped at Loch Lomond, and also hung out for a bit at Glencoe on the way. I've pretty much gotten driving our little rental car down-- knock on wood! It's small but zippy and fun to drive.
Anyway, the Isle of Mull is beautiful, and I wish we'd had more time to explore it, because there was a lot to see. There are these wild-looking cliffs and hills completely purple with wild rhodedendrons, and all these ridiculous one-lane roads. We stayed at a hotel called the "Argyll Arms," which apparently used to be a hunting lodge for the Duke of Argyll, but now is a hotel. One of the things included with our stay was a Scottish breakfast, which includes black pudding and haggis. And so I ate it. I do not actually know what black pudding is. This is because I do not want to know, so please don't tell me.
Okay, but the best thing was that on Monday, we went to Iona, which is right next to Mull. Most people probably don't know this, but I am really interested in the old Celtic saints and all that history, so going to Iona was a bit of a dream come true for me. Iona is the island where St. Columba ("Colum Cille") set up shop when he came from Ireland to bring Christianity to Scotland. This was around 480 AD, I think. Give or take. Circa, even, for all of you history buffs.
Iona is this beautiful little island. The Iona abbey is still there, although it's been destroyed and re-built. There are certain walls and things that are still from the medieval abbey, but the really old buildings are gone. There is a nunnery that is in ruins from 1200 AD or so, and a medieval walkway called the "path of the dead" that goes by the cemetery, which was the burial site for many ancient Scottish kings, including Macbeth. Also, there are all of these beautiful and wild-looking rock formations all over the place, which add to the air of mystery. 
It was one of the most beautiful and warm days I've had for a long time yesterday, and we walked to the opposite side of the island from the abbey and discovered that Iona is also home to these incredible white sand beaches. The water looked like it was going to be warm, but we tested it, and it was not. However, I did spend a lot of time laying on the rocks next to the water, and drawing and painting, and it's pretty much a really good place to spend a day. There was a seal who thought so, too.
Sometimes there are moments that just feel like should be frozen in time, and yesterday was a whole day full of those moments. It was so beautiful, and so refreshing, and the sky was so blue, and the water was so clear, and the island is so full of the footprints of saints who lived out an ancient faith-- the same faith that I practice now. It puts things in perspective, I guess. And there's nothing like a little perspective.
I also consider the amazing weather to be a total blessing from God to me. So congratulations to all you lucky people who came to the island on the same day as me. You can thank me later. :)
