Scotland

Where to begin? Since my last post I’ve only really done one thing…

I just returned from checking off the trip of a lifetime to the Highlands of Scotland for the past 3 weeks!! Our trip started and ended in Edinburgh and we put 1577 miles on a rented camper van.  

How grateful I am to have seen such lush natural beauty, met the most hospitable Scots that puts the word ‘welcoming’ on a whole new level, hiked to many cascading waterfalls, walked through ancient castle ruins and cathedrals that transported us in time as we learned about Scottish history, mountain biked trails that put to shame anything I’ve seen in the US, and tasted bizarre and unusual foods such as Cullen Skink, Scottish Tablet, haggis, black pudding, neeps & tatties, Iron Bru drink, sticky toffee pudding and langoustines… just to name a few. 

We wanted to see a mountainous area called Glencoe but the midges, or no-see-ums, were too bad to warrant going there at this time of the year. But we did spend 6 days on the Isle of Skye, and drove most of what’s called the NC500 or 500 miles of the Scottish North Coast. We went inland to the Cairngorm National Park region & all the hills and mountains were full of blooming heather so the hill sides were purple pink and green! Next we drove to the coasts where we saw lighthouses and quaint fishing villages that were postcard perfect.

We spent an entire day watching and listening to one of the Highland Games which is like a county fair but includes competitions of bagpipers, pipe and drum bands, Highland dancers, Caber tossing, relay racing, bike racing, long jump, strength competitions with Scottish hammer throwing, stone put, throwing a 16 lb weight over a bar, etc. And it all takes place at the same time in one big outdoor area. The Scottish Highland Games date back to 1314 AD!! 

John had his 59th birthday while we were in Scotland and he got in the North Sea that day. I encouraged him to buy a real Scottish kilt and new jacket while in Scotland. We were informed that the best weavers in the country are from Lochcarron weavers. Since we were driving through the village of Lochcarron, we stopped in and he was measured for a custom kilt. I may have purchased a few tartan patterned gifts for friends and family Christmas presents as well!!

We went to many off the beaten paths and drove on extremely narrow, pot holed, one lane roads with cows and sheep roaming freely all over the place in the country.

Our weather was mostly perfect. It only rained 3 of the 19 days, which is unusual for Scotland, so we are told. But if one is prepared for any weather, it is no issue. 

We were surprised at the copious number of German speaking tourists we encountered, but really we heard everything from Swiss to Italian and German to US/Canadian accents. 

Back home in the US now and working through only mild jet lag. 

This Friday I have another infusion. I’m so grateful that all my previous skin issues reported last time are totally healed up. 

I tried at least 8 sticky toffee puddings in 3 weeks. My favorite is when it’s served with warm custard, but vanilla ice cream is the more common way it’s served. 

Cathedral where Mary Queen of Scot’s worshipped and baptized her son who became King James. 

Stirling Castle

The mountains and rushing rivers were all over the place

This is what I call fireweed in the US. It is known as rosebay willowherb. It’s everywhere!! But notice the purple tint to the mountains in the background. 

Saw these magnificent creatures while driving on a back country road on the Isle of Skye in Sleat Peninsula. 

Waterfalls are everywhere in the Highlands. 

Woke up to these friendly cows walking around the parking lot right next to our van. They belonged to the local fisherman/farmer. 

Lakes in Scotland are referred to as lochs. They almost never had any boats on them so they are peaceful and clean. 

A local fisherman’s wife, Hermione, sells her husband’s catch of the day in a food truck in Elgol on the Isle of Skye. Shrimp, crab and langoustines. 

This is the ONLY Cullen Skink I loved in Scotland. Made in Killin at the Falls of Douchart Inn. 

Yet another sticky toffee pudding. 

The famous Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye is a long series of waterfalls that create pools and flow into another. Best to get there early before the throngs of tourist buses. 

Fairy pools

Cows and sheep roam all over Scotland. It’s way more agricultural than we realized. 

Lighthouse at Neist Point, Isle of Skye

Near Uig on the Isle of Skye is Fairy Glen that looks like something I imagine is in Lord of the Rings or where gnomes live. 

Portree, Isle of Skye. We didn’t spend much time here but this is the iconic photo of the town. 

These are on the Isle of Skye too. The Old Man of Storr. Hiking it was steep and windy with rain much of the way. Well worth it!

Shopping for the new kilt!

A wild red deer buck grazing in someone’s front yard near Applecross. 

Driving along the NC500

We parked along the side of the road one night and saw this view. One of the most beautiful landscapes. 

A typical little harbor town. 

Deserted castle ruins are littered all across Scotland 

Shocked to see the amount of farming all over. 

Quaint little town of Tain on the east coast. 

Tarbat Ness lighthouse. 

The iconic Highland cow, but one must pronounce it as He-lin coo. 

The most picturesque mountain bike trail. Literally it was slightly slipped so one could coast for miles going down without using brakes! 

Pitlochry Highlands Games

Saying good morning as we woke up off a country road outside Pitlochry. 

Dinner nightly in pubs where the best food is served. 

Our favorite cafe is in Pitlochry called Cafe Calluna. 

Here’s the owner, Tracy, who made the best scone I had in Scotland and gifted my hubby with a free baggie of home made shortbread cookies. 

Pitlochry had the most gorgeous hanging baskets all throughout the village. 

Falls of Bruar are not to be missed. The stone bridges were hundreds of years old. 

Dunnotar Castle

Sunrise at Dunnotar 

Churches never cease to amaze me with their architectural talent and history. 

Aberdeenshire coastal fishing villages

More waterfalls. They never get old to find and listen to. 

The Cullen Sink in Killin was so delicious at this pub that we drove back there on our way back to Edinburgh just to have it one more time. 

I believe this was St Giles in Edinburgh. 

The gate at Edinburgh Castle. 

Only at the Highland Games and in places tourists go would we hear bagpipes. 

Edinburgh 

Fairy Pools

Fairy Glen 

Dunrobin Castle

Loved riding these trails. The owner of the bike shop personally rides with and is friends with Danny McGaskill!! 

Scotland is a place where one doesn’t need a church to sense God’s beauty and presence. I’m grateful I got to experience it all. 

Tests, Bumps and Cramps.

This will be short and sweet. Since being home from Yosemite, I have dealt with managing my skin infection and some bug bites from an unknown source. I have finally completed the massive amounts of antibiotics and am in the throes of oral and topical steroids. I’m grateful to say that things are improving and it only took 3 ER visits to get under control. 

A week ago. 

Today. 

I also foolishly held off on a lot of water on the day I flew home and for the next 2 nights I had probably 20-30 Charlie horses each night which landed me at the ER for fluids around 4 am. 

Lastly, I had my quarterly echocardiogram, MRI & CT scans and I’m praising God that nothing is worse with the detected cancerous lesions noted in multiple bones, and my lungs only show scar tissue from last year’s lymphangitic lung cancer, plus there’s no detectable tumors in my lymph nodes, and nothing definite in my liver. So, I praise my Lord and Savior Jesus that I’m feeling great and am deeply grateful. Then on Friday, I had my infusions which went miraculously well!!! 

Lastly, I’m now about to start a big adventure that I’ll share more about as I can. Keep an eye out for posts coming from Scotland soon!! 

Charlotte’s Big Adventure with Grandma Tricia

 It has been several years since I have been able to visit with my Chinese son’s daughter, Charlotte, and this summer was our time to take an adventure together. Alex is in China much of the time now due to him running his parents company, but thankfully he gets to come back to the States. I’m so grateful I got to see him for Mother’s Day both this and last year!! He asked if I’d be interested in spending time with Charlotte this summer, which of course I said yes!

We had 5 days alone together in Yosemite National Park and saw amazing vistas, conquered some fears (mostly mine), took in the scenery and wildlife, read lots of books, practiced lots of English grammar and vocabulary, and my favorite…taught Charlotte about God as I read to her from The Lamb, by John Cross. I often would pause along a glorious mountain trail and look up and say, “Thank you, Shangdi, for this beautiful mountain!” (The Chinese word for God). We would stand in awe of His creation and it wasn’t long before Charlotte stopped once and said, “Grandma Tricia, LOOK!”, as she pointed to a majestic view then said, “Thank you Shangdi.” One of the highlights of my trip was that moment. More precious than the sunsets, waterfalls and mountains was that moment! I’m so grateful to have had this time with her to experience Yosemite for the first time. We had two miraculous encounters with two women, both Christians. The first was a Californian who just hiked to the top of a trail where we “just happened” to be walking past her the very moment she called her husband to inform him that there wasn’t a shuttle back down the mountain as she had incorrectly been informed and she physically just could not do it by hiking! She was calling him to ask him to pray with her for a safe way down as I walked by her and heard her say she didn’t know what to do. So in typical Tricia fashion, I stopped and asked her if she was ok and she explained the predicament to me. It was my assignment that God placed before me and God’s way of blessing her and me and showing Charlotte how God works in our lives! We had the most sweet God conversations as I drove her back to her truck at the bottom of the Valley and I hope we continue to keep in touch! She sells fresh artichoke hearts and I hope to order some when I get home. Check out her website at Monterey Farms She has an amazing testimony of how God has blessed her life and it was truly a miracle meeting of my sister in Christ!!

The second woman I met in Yosemite was as I was climbing a huge bald rock and feeling fearful of failing. I wanted to turn back but Charlotte wasn’t scared and wanted to go further up. I wished I could have, but fear stopped me. Then I noticed a family of Chinese English speaking people a little ways away and figured it must be less steep where they were so we started in that direction. Indeed it was easier! We passed them and I noticed a water bottle left behind on a rock where they had just paused for a photo so I asked if it was theirs. It was and the woman, Sofia, was so kind and grateful. She asked about us because of Charlotte being Chinese and we got to chatting. Come to find out this 60 something year old woman was once a teenager from China that had an American host family that she lived with and she had just spent time with them (now in their 90s!!) and she was so grateful to ME for the love and sacrifice I’ve probably poured into Alex and his family!?  Because she was the recipient of an American mom who did that for her, she assumed I have loved them as much and wanted to thank me!! She went on to share how grateful she is because they taught her about this country and God and she shared that she’s now a Christian because they planted those seeds. In fact Sofia talked to Charlotte for a few minutes in Chinese about how God loves her. I was amazed at these Divine appointments and pray that God will use them to open Charlotte’s heart and mind to a relationship with Jesus. While I didn’t get a photo with this Sophia, it’s because of this vista that we met and where she and her family stopped to take a picture and where she forgot her water bottle. 

Charlotte enjoyed having crayons and a drawing tablet to color the beautiful, iconic Yosemite nature. 

We hiked for about 5 hours one day while learning about the giant Sequoias (one was 3000 years old!) and Charlotte found great entertainment in aiming at a tree and throwing a pine cone at it…This slowed our hikes down significantly and it was worth every minute!

The breath taking vistas were surreal. It’s like walking inside of a postcard being in Yosemite! I had to pause once again and thank God for feeling well enough to experience this! 

From a health perspective, I only have one little issue. Not sure if it was from a poison ivy encounter or from a spider bite but my forearm doesn’t seem to be getting any better after a week!! I do have a call in to my oncologist to see what she thinks as sometimes the medications can cause rashes but this definitely started out looking like a bite that has grown and blistered. 

2 Infusions and a Bell

Three weeks ago I had my infusion and it all seemed to go well other than a grouchy nurse who seemed irritated that I wanted to video my procedure and when she started my saline fluids I think it was flowing a little too fast because I got slightly light headed, but other than that it went normally. But a couple days post infusion I noticed this redness around my port. Dr Sudheendra’s nurse suggested marking the borders with a permanent marker to see if it changes. The only thing I can imagine that might have caused it was the materials used to access my port were new and since I do have an adhesive sensitivity, perhaps this was my body’s reaction to a new bandage adhesive?? It didn’t hurt or itch and it had no sensation of heat around it so nobody really knows why my skin reacted this way. 

For the next two weeks I really struggled with multiple, like dozens, of charlie horses at night especially in my shins and feet! And as per my usual I have had the typical diarrhea off and on that is par for the course with my Herceptin and Perjeta, so it’s likely my electrolytes are wonky from that? But a couple Wednesday nights ago was the worst! I think I bolted awake out of a deep sleep 6-8 times that night. I drank pickle juice and even resorted to a prescription muscle relaxer, which helped some. It’s not terrible to deal with these side effects, but it does make me wary of going hiking or mountain biking when I’ve had several bouts because I know I’ll sweat and disrupt my fluids even more. Wary, yes…but it hasn’t stopped me!

On the bright side, I’m excited to share just a little bit more news about something I’ve briefly mentioned in my blog that is a HUGE project I’m working on! I can spill the beans now as I have a confirmation from a company out East! To start, let’s just say that the song Gratitude (which has been my anthem song since being diagnosed with stage 4 last April, 2022) will have a whole new ring to it soon!! The full story will be in my blog entry once it’s available, but I’m having my very own GRATITUDE BELL made!! It will be produced and available to purchase soon and it’s my goal and vision to get one of these in every cancer treatment centers in the world! What’s my “Why”? You’ll have to wait to read the full story…let’s suffice it to say I’m so Grateful this dream is becoming a reality. Just one little legacy I hope to leave on this earth! A reminder for all of us to live in gratitude no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. 

My hubby and I continue to work on the many hours it’s taking to complete our WonderVan. John is an engineering genius as I watch him modify, plan, and create the guts of this. He thinks it will likely take him 1000 hours by the time he’s done! It is going slower than either of us imagined but it’s not for lack of working on it. Here’s just a snapshot of where things are as of today. These may look like there’s not much here but if one only knew what has gone into this they be blown away!

Last week I popped to Florida for a few days to be with my daughter and her family, which was delightful and I’m grateful to have the ability to do that kind of travel last minute, but coming home was a struggle as Frontier Airlines just outright canceled my flights two days in a row and informed me that the next flight open was even 3 days later!!! Nothing like scrambling at the airport to find a last second flight on a different airline! This was especially upsetting because I had to cancel and reschedule my infusion because of it!! I’m no longer a fan of this airline despite its cheap flights! 

While there I got to visit with some friends, too! Thankful for their kindness in being my Uber drivers back to the airport! 

Yesterday, Friday August 4th, was yet another infusion. It was super easy! I thank God every day I’m alive and have the joy of breathing in deeply. I heard from my son who is traveling to Ecuador, I got to experience yet another gorgeous sunrise, ate a delicious summer BLT with Neuske’s bacon on it, spent the day with LillyMae, enjoyed a Pistachio Matcha Latte from Alchemy Kitchen after the infusion AND went on a bike ride!!! It was a blessed great day!!