front of house

view from front drive

view from front drive (right)

side yard (right side as viewed from front)

side yard (left side as viewed from front; gardens here)

my room

my room

me transplanting strawberry plants

garden area (front left is where I planted peas)

Made it to my first stop. WooHoo!! Missed my connecting flight yesterday in Dublin and had to wait 7 hours for the next one. I made that flight, my backpack did not...but it worked out okay because I didn't have to carry 55lbs on my back while catching buses to Penicuik (pronounced Pennycook) from Edinburgh :) Bag was delivered this afternoon, so all is well.

My Hosts, Jane and Roger are wonderful, as is Matt. Matt is another HelpXer who is from New Zealand. I will add photos of them as soon as I can. The weather today was great...started out in the 50's and warmed up to about 70 in the sun. The property here is beautiful and all of the many daffodils are in bloom. There is a large pussy willow tree in the side yard that made my think of you Mom :)

Today Jane gave me a tour of the House and grounds and then I worked in the gardens. I planted peas in the vegetable garden, which also contains potatoes, onions, leeks, and asparagas. I also cleared a seperate garden of weeds, unwanted plants, and strawberries (which I transplanted to another garden area) in order to make an herb garden, which hopefully I will be a part of planting later.

The food is fresh and local grown/made and Roger makes great vegetarian dishes (Jane is also a vegetarian). Tomorrow I will be going with Jane to a craft show where she has a booth to sell her pottery. She has a potting studio in the House and makes beautiful dishes, mugs, tea pots, etc. and she also teaches classes from the House.

I'm looking forward to taking in the sights of Penicuik, Edinburgh, and Rosslyn Chapel. Matt and I are also planning on taking a bike ride to the shore one day next week. But for now, I'm going to bed...haven't quite caught up from my 36 hour sleep deficit yet!

Love to All,
Karen

written by  Karen on April 8, 2011 from Penicuik, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Karen's Travel Blog
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Sounds like you picked a great place to start. Thanks for updates and keep 'em coming.

written by  Spencer on April 13, 2011

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