A New Flat and a Volcano

We have welcomed spring into our lives with open arms.  Edinburgh has erupted with vast expanses of beautiful daffodils.  And, we in the Bechtel household have been busy.  Last Saturday we bid farewell to our cozy, fourth-floor home of the last 19 months and moved into a new ground-floor flat with a little more elbow [...]

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Writer’s Block

So, in case you couldn’t tell, I’m not easily motivated to write blog posts.  That is, until you sit me down and ask me to write something much more difficult, like an article tracing why human dignity often trumps human autonomy as seen through the history of European law and why this is relevant to [...]

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Funny

Christopher wrote earlier that apparently the Seattle area gets more rain than Edinburgh.  Here’s yet one more confirmation. Every Monday morning I help lead a community-based Baby and Toddler group through my church.  This week I was talking to a Scottish dad who, some time ago, lived in Seattle for a year.  He was at [...]

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What Would You Do? (Take 2)

What would you do if you opened up your bag of fresh broccoli for dinner and found a little slug happily feeding (sliming?) away inside?  Sorry, folks.  No picture this time.  I couldn’t get that thing out of my sight fast enough.

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Running Errands

Yesterday I had an errand to run across town and just for the fun of it, decided to take my camera along.  We don’t generally think to take the camera with us for the simple reason that most of our days are just normal, daily grind sort of days.  We go to the grocery store, [...]

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Year Two

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of our arrival in Edinburgh.  Unlike our first day here, our 366th was sunny, and we hope that’s a portent of the year to come.  Below are a few pictures from our recent visit to Washington. Though it was good to be there, we’re glad to be back in [...]

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Saturday

One sign that our lives are sluggishly regaining recognizability is  Saturday’s little excursion to the park.  We managed to get out of the flat much as we have on Saturdays past, only this time with a baby!  Though the temp was a bit over 50F and the sun bright, the blustery wind brought quite a [...]

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Hogmanay 2008

Edinburgh is the self-proclaimed world capital for New Year’s Eve parties.  For three days, the city centre is cordoned off.   All traffic, except beer trucks, presumably, is diverted.  On December 31, even pedestrians are kept out of the city centre, that is, unless they have a pass for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.  With that pass, one [...]

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Kumabumba?

Several weeks back, on our Saturday adventure, I endured what ranks as one of the oddest experiences in recent memory.  We stopped at a little store so that J could use the WC, and  I waited outside.  Seconds later a jolly Indian fellow in a baggy red sweatshirt bounded down the sidewalk. He stopped only inches from [...]

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The One That Got Away

For several days now I’ve been meaning to take the camera on my walk to the Uni.  We’ve enjoyed generally sunny weather, and, when the weather is clear, Edinburgh offers some really terrific views.  From the top of Calton Hill (which I cross when I take route-B; more on my routes to the Uni some [...]

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