Good Things Happened: Weekend Warriors

Can you guess where I spent last weekend?  Yes - the annual Stone Mountain Highland Games, at which we celebrate our Scottish heritage. This vendor tent was doing a brisk business.  I love that so many weekend warriors get to do that Braveheart thing.  "Alba gu bra!" (Scotland forever!)

For some reason, there were a lot of Santas around the games this year.  (I spotted at least five.)  This Santa represented his Clan at the Sunday morning church service. 

My favorite part of the weekend is the Clan march.  I wish my photo could capture the scope of the endless array of Scottish Clans lined up to march onto the field.  It never ceases to thrill me to hear our surname called out as the massed bagpipe bands play us in.

We ended up lined up beside the Atlanta Pipe Band after we paraded in.  A young man in our group is interested in taking up Scottish drumming, so this was perfect placement for him.

By the closing ceremonies, late Sunday afternoon, I was ready for home, but loved being played out to my car by the pipes and drums.

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Celebration, highland games and people watching

This past weekend, as usual, I co-hosted my Clan's tent at the Stone Mountain Highland Games, at which we celebrate our Scottish heritage.  When I texted my sisters this photo to let them know where I would be all weekend, one sister cheekily asked if was wearing a "beret," too  No - just a tartan scarf pinned over my shoulder.  :)

Taking a stroll down "Clan Row," I spotted this tent with a life-sized cut out of a cowboy and his horse.  Of course I had to ask.  The gentleman there on the right told me that is Bill Boyd, aka Hopalong Cassidy, of vintage cowboy movie fame. 

I always like to watch the dancing - these young ladies were in the Highland Dance competition.

But I love being in our tent the most - it's a great spot in which to people watch.  And there are music performances all weekend in the tent to the left of ours.  Plus bagpipe music in the distance - it's all lovely.  And when they delivered the bottle of scotch to our tent (a thank you for being a sponsor), I told the committee who brought it that I'll bet that's the most fun job there is at the games.  I like how it matched the mums.  (One of the beret guys took it home.)  :)

How I spent my weekend, free entertainment and the young

-Here's how I spent my weekend - at the 43rd Stone Mountain Highland Games, at which we celebrate our Scottish heritage.  Pipers and drummers are standing at attention here during the opening ceremonies.  It was a bright, cool, sunny weekend - I wish we could have bottled that weather.

- The table at my Clan's tent with our Christmasy looking tartan (which goes rather well with the Walkers Shortbread package.)  :)  Someone made the cookies in the baggie, using Scottie dog cookie cutters.

- Our Clan tent looks out at a performance stage, in which various singers and musicians perform Celtic tunes all day.  It's a treat to have background music.  Our favorite is the man pictured:  Colin Grant-Adams - here singing "Loch Lomand."  Click on the red link if you'd like to give it a listen.  I sang that song to niece Amanda in 1997, when when we visited Scotland.  She and I walked around the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomand, while her mother and sister went on a tour of it in a boat.  I remember that as a young teenager she was probably a little mortified at her aunt singing out loud, but she graciously acted as if she wasn't.  I think of that every time I hear that song.

- This photo doesn't entirely capture the exuberance of this young piper, spontaneously performing on one of the walkways.  (His family was nearby.)  I loved that he was tapping his toe the whole time he played.  I'm always so glad to see young people involved.

Celebration of heritage, tartans everywhere and family stories

- That's the flag of Scotland there, along with our American flag at the Stone Mountain Highland Games, held this past weekend, at which we celebrate our Scottish heritage.  This was a massed pipe and drum band at the opening ceremonies on Saturday and there were about three times more pipers and drummers than you can see here.

- This is my clan's tent, along with the back of Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus there, posing with an excited fan.  (Click to enlarge.)  Wish I had gotten the photo from the front.  The kilted Santa was handing out candy canes.  That's my Christmas tablecloth from home on the table with our clan tartan on top.

- Here we are - walking to get in line for the Clan March onto the parade field on Sunday, where awards were given for the best tent, and to the winners of the kilted race.

- The father and son in front of us (while listening to speeches and awards) are from different clans (the son to his right is adopted.)  I loved that McTavish the Elder hauls around his own ale mug on his belt.  And the Younger told me that his dad took him in at age 15, because he had no home.  There was clearly a lot of love between them. 

I love the pageantry, and seeing once-a-year friends.  The best story of the weekend:  a young woman came to our tent and told a remarkable story.  Eight years ago, someone at our tent had helped her sort out the derivation of her family birth name (she was adopted), which lead to her finding her birth father, who she had never met.  He lives in the Atlanta area, too, and they are close now.  Just lovely.

Number 1 Best Friend, good idea and Mom Yoga Now

- The Celtic cross that I was given last weekend at the Highland games.  Some friends (a grandmother, mother and 12-year-old son) to our Clan tent got it from a vendor who makes Celtic woodcarvings and presented it to me at the Clan dinner on Saturday night for being their "Number 1 Best Friend" at the games.  That's what I like most about those games - we are all family for a couple of days.

- They have a loose connection with our Clan and adopted our tent to hang out in.  And I like it when they are there, because they are fun.  :)  The grandmother said (tongue in cheek, of course) that I should hang it at my doorway to "keep vampires away", and that seemed like a jolly good idea!  So there it is, hanging in my foyer.

- And if you have time for a peaceful six minutes, watch this video of a mom and yoga instructor, who lives in Kansas, who makes time for yoga while her children play around her.  It's lovely.

Soul thrilling, jam session and remembering the bonnie banks

- The opening ceremonies of the 2013 Stone Mountain (Georgia) Highland Games on Saturday.  The massed bands playing the pipes and drums never fails to thrill my soul.

 - Slightly fuzzier photos from my iPhone.  Saturday was just a drizzly day, but it didn't dampen the spirits of the crowd.  This group of musicians had an impromptu jam session in front of the tent city of the vendors.

- View from the side of my clan's tent:  the day brightened on Sunday, and we were serenaded all day by this musician, Colin Grant Adams, who sang traditional Scottish ballads.  When he sang, "The Bonnie Banks 'o Loch Lomand" (over and over, it seemed, but that's OK), it reminded me of walking around Loch Lomand several years ago with niece Amanda, who tried not to look embarrassed when I sang that song aloud to her.  :)

I keep candy on the table at our Clan tent for any children that come by.  A favorite moment:  the top of a blond head and a pair of big brown eyes peered over the table.  He put a tentative hand up into the candy basket and looked at me.  "It's OK - they are Twizzlers!  They're good."  He looked back at his mom, who nodded her consent, fished one out and ran over to display it to her as if he had scored pure gold.  Lovely innocence.  

View from the tent, visitors and glorious moment

- View from the tent at the 40th Annual Stone Mountain Highland Games.  I had a great vantage point for people watching both days.  I forgot my camera, so the one on my phone sufficed.  In this shot, I was trying to capture that guy on the right - all done up in blue spandex.  A walking flag of Scotland.  :)  Click to enlarge.

- The man on the right presented me with a spiral bound notebook filled with his genealogical information he had written out and asked if it looked right to me.  I asked him to come back in 15 minutes, when my beloved friend Larry (on the left) would be present.  There they are - discussing said notebook.  I knew Larry would know all about it and he did.

- This little guy is the son of the leader of the harp tent, adjacent to ours.  His main focus of the weekend was picking up piles of pine straw and throwing them in the air.  :)  He never stopped moving and we all watched after him, along with his dad and various others.  I loved it when his mom would collect him to sing the ABC song into the microphone while she plucked harp strings in accompaniment.

- On Sunday morning, he had this sign pinned to his back, "If lost, please return to the harp tent" (with phone number) below.  His blue jeaned dad there tried to get him to stand still for a photo of the note, to no avail.

- At the closing ceremonies, a moment that gave me goosebumps.  The pipers on the field raised their pipes slowly and in unison to play "Amazing Grace."  A beautiful moment I'll never forget.  Glorious really.

Farming, good morning message and this weekend

Photo by ALM

- Niece Amanda's view of her boyfriend's cotton fields in the southern tip of Georgia.  I love that she is dating a farmer!  He grows peanuts and soybeans, too.  

- I love seeing childhood friend Ralph's good morning message on facebook each morning.  This morning:  "Good Friday morning!  Coffee, omelet, anybody?  I hope you have a good one and go ahead and throw some fun in there, too, while you are at it!"  Always so cheerful.

- Gearing up for the Stone Mountain Highland games.  I was captured asked to be the commissioner for the state of Georgia a few years ago for my Scottish Clan, which pretty much means I am tent hostess for this one event.  :)  I do look forward to seeing old friends and "family" members this weekend and will buy candy to put in a basket for all visiting kids this afternoon.

I hope you all have a stellar weekend - it's supposed to be beautiful weather here.   I hope your weather is beautiful, too.

Q is for Quaich and Quinoa part 1 and 2

- This is a Quaich (pronounced "Quake", from the Gaelic word "Cuach"), a traditional Scottish drinking vessel used to offer a guest a cup of welcome and also as a farewell drink, usually a dram of whisky.  These days they are used for celebrations like weddings and christenings in Scotland or those having an association with Scotland by heritage like me.  Note:  that's my quaich resting on my family tartan in the photo above, with coffee in it.  I am commissioner for the state of Georgia for my Scottish Clan, which is a fancy title for one who gets saddled with the tent at Clan gatherings in Georgia.  :)

- This is what my niece Rebecca has for breakfast every morning.  Quinoa with kale, topped with radishes and poached eggs, with a splash of vinegar.  So I was home at lunchtime yesterday waiting for a technician to show up.  (Sigh. Another story.)  And decided to make it for lunch.  Note - I used my microwave egg poacher, steamed the kale and cooked the quinoa the old fashioned way.

- And this is how it looked all combined.  It was pretty good!  I felt so organic and in a peaceful state of mind when the technician showed up at 2:10pm, after the noon to 2pm window he was supposed to show up in.  It's easy to be forgiving when you're loaded with super foods and ready to seize the afternoon.  :)

It's Day 17 of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge featuring the letter "Q".  Things that give me pleasure!  (Except for that whole waiting for the technician thing.)  :)

Heritage weekend, family visit and marching

- The Stone Mountain (Georgia) Highland Games with its Scottish clan tents, pipe and drum bands, vendors, and fans of all things Scottish roaming around.

- The Atlanta Pipe Band marching onto the field during the opening ceremonies on Saturday, featuring many speeches from visiting dignitaries. We sing our United States national anthem, the national anthem of the United Kingdom "God Save the Queen" + an unofficial national anthem of Scotland, "Flower of Scotland." There is a Scottish woman standing next to me who sings "Flower of Scotland" with a wistful look on her face while her granddaughter films her.

- This wee visitor to the clan tent area kept her mom busy running after her.

- Lining up for the parade of tartans on Sunday. This member of Clan MacRae mixes two heritage looks - love the thistle beading.

- Marching onto the parade field while massed pipe and drum bands play is my favorite part of the whole weekend. My other favorite part - when visitors to my tent pull up chairs to chat. It's like a once-a-year family visit.

- Clan Lindsay won for best tent. Whatever. Maybe next year. :)

The games, happy to be stuck with you and trail

- Looking forward to hearing pipers like these (the Virginia Military Institute from another year) this weekend at the Stone Mountain (Georgia) Highland Games and hosting my Scottish Clan's tent for the fifth year in a row. All I had to do was walk into the tent and smile back then and suddenly I was in charge of it.

- It was kind of like that Air Tran commercial in which the last lines are, "Don't leave us with the babies! Don't leave us with the babies!" ...as the car is pulling away and the parents are going on vacation and leaving the grandparents with the babies. :)

- Someone leaves a trail of candy corn on the sidewalk outside my building. A guilty looking squirrel is startled when trying to sneak one away and scrambles off.

Candy corn seems so fallish. It's sure to be a beautiful fall weekend here in the ATL. I hope yours is lovely!

View from the portico, dressed up and no candy

- More from the weekend. View from the portico of the restaurant in which we held our "family" dinner on Saturday evening. When we left in the dark, we were greeted by fireworks over Stone Mountain, reflected in the lake.

- There must have been some sort of dance that evening, because carloads of high school kids came into the restaurant, all dressed up. The girls looked about 30 years old with their off-the-shoulder dresses and the boys looked unaccustomed in their suits and tuxes.

- Bringing leftover snack sized Twizzlers packs into work and hearing the bag rattle all day as co-workers picked them up up front. They were for visiting children to our Clan tent last weekend, but most parents didn't want their kids to have them. Note for next year: apples or granola bars. :)

Fàilte, contagious and winner

- A scene from the 38th annual Stone Mountain Highland Games. This was a dramatic part of the opening ceremonies on Saturday, in which massed pipe and drum bands marched onto the field. A sound that never fails to thrill my soul and the games way of saying fàilte (welcome.)

- Gathering in my clan's tent to celebrate our Scottish heritage, it is lovely to see old once-a-year friends and to welcome new ones. This year a young man was excited to be invited to walk with us on Sunday for the clan march onto the field. His excitement was contagious - he loves all things Scottish and tells us he has "Kilt Day" every Sunday afternoon at his house; everyone who comes over must be kilted.

- Later arriving home at the same time as my neighbor and her bagpipe playing teenage son, all decked out in his kilt for the games. He fingers a medal pinned to his vest and his mom tells me that he won first place in the Piobaireachd competition (pronounced peabrook - it is a classical form of piping, featuring long, melancholy tunes.) All the more impressive because he is blind and autistic.

Highland games, happy place and glorious

The 38th annual Stone Mountain Highland Games happened this weekend. A not altogether great weather day on Saturday. Sunday was still cold, but SUNNY. It was nice to see our friend the sun again.

- Entertainment of the non-bagpipe variety. The games in general make the park a happy place to be.

- The Virginia Military Institute pipe band near my Clan tent provided entertainment all weekend.

- 31 pipe bands played en masse providing a glorious assault to the ears. We follow the McTavish Clan onto the field for the Clan march. A lovely day.

Pecan Pie muffins, kind hands and it takes a village

- The Pecan Pie muffins* that went to work with me yesterday as a thank you treat to co-workers. The recipe came from a nice lady in Cantonment, Florida, who made them for niece Abby's bridal shower last month and kindly shared the recipe. They were a hit at the printing company, too.

- The Stone Mountain Highland Games are coming up next month and I do an annual mail-out to summon the southeastern members of Clan Maxwell to the games. Mentioning to my boss that I was going to stay late at the office to stuff, label and stamp, she surveyed what I was doing, summoned two co-workers and the four of us knocked it out in 20 minutes. So touched by the kind hands and speedy assistance that the least I can do is bake.

- A special thank you to friend Leisa who did the address labels for me and even supplied the labels. It takes a village to help Lynn! :)

*PECAN PIE MUFFINS

1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl; make a well in the center of mixture. Beat eggs until foamy. Stir together eggs and butter; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Place baking cups in muffin pans and coat with cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen muffins if you use the mini-muffins tins as I did. If you do that, bake just 15 minutes.

On the wane, yours aye and the SEC

- Flowers are on the wane in the southeast, a sure sign that Indian Summer is on the way. Temperatures are blessedly cooler, the back porch just begging to be used.

- Being asked to be on the officer nominating committee for my Scottish Clan (in America) and enjoying the emails flying back in forth. The New England commissioner signs off with the very lyrical "Yours Aye."

- The Today Show crowd this morning included a clump of Southeastern Conference football supporters from the University of Alabama, the University of Georgia and University of Florida. And reflecting that the major sport at my urban concrete college was smoking around the outside doors or dodging the smokers. :)

Highland sword dancing, lifted in the spirit and great name

- Watching young Clan member Michelle in the "11 and over novice group" dance her heart out.

- Marching in the Parade of Tartans, while hundreds of pipers in massed bands played, thrilled my soul.

- A 17-month-old toddler visiting our tent has a big name, Huckleberry, and is called Huck. With his blond curls and infectious grin, the name suits him.

Once a year family, all day party and happy exhaustion

- The Virginia Military Institute pipe band at the Stone Mountain Highland Games made for exquisite noise all day.

- Catching up with fellow Clan members. I especially love to see Catherine and Larry, both in their 70s, who are such a central part of our organization.

- A three hour meal at a nearby restaurant at the end of the day was "very European" according to Clan member Linda. She and husband Jon traveled all the way from Minnesota to be with us.