MORE WANDERINGS & Castles

Last Saturday we headed to Scotland's COSTCO--but took the long way and visited Tantallon Castle & Direlton Castle. Tantallon was built in 1354 and has a dramatic location perched on a cliff overlooking the North Sea. In 1651 a siege inflicted such damage that the castle was ruined. But before that one family, the Red Douglasses held the castle for 300 years. It was one of my favorite castles because of its serene location.

Tantallon Castle on a very windy day!

Island in the sea where prisoners were kept. Now colonized b;y
many wild bird groups.

I think this was the "Master Wing" of
Tantallon Castle?!

The second Castle was Dirleton Castle & Gardens. The castle has sat on its rocky perch for more than 800 years. In 1650 the siege by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers rendered it militarily unserviceable. The gardens are well maintained and beautiful to walk through. Some people say that if you've seen one castle--you've seen them all! Just the very age of these castles amaze me and they conjure up lots to the imagination. I plan to see them all--and since we only have Saturdays we can't waste time. While we were at Dirleton Castle we were able to talk to a family from Canada about the church and leave them with a mormon.org card.

This week has been so busy at the office. We are getting 23 new missionaries from all over the world and 19 are leaving us and going home. Which means extra work for all of us. I have to close down some flats that will now be empty and open new flats in different areas. It is all kept very hush-hush until the las minute and then WAMM we have to do things fast. Elders are transferred here and there, some have new companions--lots of changes. Very exciting days. My companion is in charge of all the travel arrangements both bringing them to Scotland and sending them home.

We worked at the office all day today (Saturday) so no sightseeing today. This happens about every 6 weeks.

I had something really nice happen to me on Friday. I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from a missionary's parents (one of the Elders that was beaten a couple of weeks ago). To keep them safe, I set them up in a hotel until I could find them a new flat. They wrote such a nice note and thanked me for taking care of their son. So sweet and very humbling. These young elders and sisters become like your extended family. Love them to pieces. My position as office Housing Coordinator really makes me stretch my mind and expand my horizons--I'm very busy and I love it!   Love to all,
                                                                                                                                  Sister Gifford

                                                                                                                NOTE: Love you Mom, hope you're doing well.

Dirleton Castle (roll your 'R' like a Scottish person)      

This space was the main dining hall of the castle

I could just see my grandchildren running in & out off these ruins
of Dirleton Castle

Well now that we done with the castle tour--let me tell you about the COSTCO store. Very interesting no USA brands and plenty of Haggis LOL  It was fun to shop there although I didn't buy much because we have a really small refrigerator and freezer so we go grocery shopping about every 3 days. My companion and I have our own refrigerator shelves and freezer space. We only cook combined meals on the weekends, mostly Sunday's. The rest of the time we are on our own. There aren't a lot of fast food restaurants here, but the stores are really into packaged to go fast meals. Some of the little markets are dedicated to these "to go" meals. They put corn in everything here! Even a tossed salad has corn in with it..