Wenches, Wurst(brat), Water and Wine

Wow! Has it really been over three months since we last posted?! It is amazing how fast this fall has gone by. We have been so busy that there has barely been a moment of down time. We apologize in advance for the length of this entry as we try to re-cap all of the exciting things we have done.

First, an update on our moving situation. Our house is still for sale in WI, so Marin has continued to live and work in WI, to hold down the fort. Erik has been working in Houston for several months already and is temporarily living in a hotel until we find a house in Houston. We have had several house hunting weekends, but have yet to secure a firm offer. Living apart is really difficult, and we are hoping to resolve the housing situation on both ends as soon as possible. Thankfully, we have been able to see each other every weekend, which has made commuting a bit easier!

In addition to traveling back and forth to Houston, we have had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Our first adventure was at the Renaissance Faire in MN, with Marin's family. We had a blast interacting with the "wenches" and sampling great food. Here are a few pictures from that weekend:

On our way home from the Faire we were able to meet up with Erik’s parents in Milwaukee for a fantastic meal at Maders German restaurant. It was a fantastic meal and even better company.



In November, we travelled to the Wisconsin Dells to spend the weekend with the Barton family. It is a tradition to get the entire immediate family (19 in total) together before the chaos of the holidays begins. Despite a collision with a deer (Erik’s Mom’s 2nd!), we had a wonderful time hanging out with all the nieces and nephews and spending adult time playing games in the evening. We even found a new board game that we really like called “Carcassonne.” The Germans really know how to make board games…who would’ve thought! Here is how big the Barton family has become!



To round out November, we spent Thanksgiving weekend with the Tucci’s, Lewis-Roscoe’s and Holt’s at the Willamette Valley Wine Festival in Oregon. The weekend was filled with a lot of catching up, laughs, and phenomenal wine. We travelled through wine country in the (Oregon) Duck-mobile, complete with Duck flags, car-stickers, and the driver fully decked-out in Duck gear. We got quite a bit of attention each time we pulled into a new winery. We here chaperoned by the Duck and you could say we were the ducklings! Yes, we will be cheering for the Ducks at the Rose Bowl this year! Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

When you come and visit us in Texas, we will have to share a fine bottle of Oregon Pinot! As the Christmas holiday season is upon us, we have been reflecting on how blessed we are with the supportive family and friends that make it much easier to get through this time of transition. We are very thankful for all the prayers and words of encouragement from everyone.

Love, Marin and Erik

We’re Moving!

Well, it is official…we are moving to Houston, TX. After many months of interviewing and negotiating, Erik accepted a position as the Commercial Manager for GE’s High Speed Reciprocating Compressor product line. Erik will be responsible for new pricing initiatives, customer responsiveness and growing the international segment of the business. Erik will officially start this role on August 31st, however he has already been doing some work to get up to speed with business operations. Thankfully he will be able to work from Oshkosh through September until he has to permanently be in Houston.

We will be putting the house on the market in the next week. We are very sad to leave our home, neighborhood and friends here, but are very thankful for this professional opportunity. Marin will continue to work for Family Services until the house sells. We don’t anticipate having to commute for more than 4 months, since there is an option for a buy-out of the house if we are unable to sell it quickly.

After our house sells, we will be purchasing a new home in Houston. We will be looking at neighborhoods on the northwest side. Once we do get settled, we would love to have guests. We are guaranteed to have a much more pleasant winter than Wisconsin!

Thanks to everyone who has been thinking about us and praying for us through this time of transition. It is reassuring that despite the current economy and layoffs within GE, Erik was able to receive a promotional position…even if it means moving to Houston.

We promise to keep everyone posted in the next few weeks and months!

Marin and Erik

Summertime Update

June and July have been busy months for the Barton’s. We spent many weekends away from home and had several fun adventures. We spent a weekend up at the Ross’s cottage on Lake Michigan playing shuffleboard and burning mattresses and doors in the bonfire. We also set off several fireworks…a cottage tradition! It is necessary to mention the excellent filet mignon’s from Jaime parent’s restaurant….yum! For the 4th of July we travelled to Duluth, MN, to see Marin’s Aunt Janine and Uncle Bob. Marin’s parents also joined us. We took a day and traveled up the Gunflint Trail and onto Seagull Lake where Marin’s mom grew up, her parents met and Marin spent most of her childhood summers. Erik got to meet some of the “regulars” up there and even went out on the lake for a brief tour. It was sad to see all of the damage that the fires caused, but reassuring to see that it is growing back quickly. We hope to spend some more time up there in the years to come. The picture below is us at Palisade Point on Lake Superior.



For Marin’s 30th birthday we took a short trip to Chicago. We had a fabulous Italian dinner at Carmine’s on Rush and visited the Science and Industry Museum. It was really neat to see the innovative things that are being designed, but does it really need to be so expensive…I mean $16 just to park? Erik’s parents also came to visit for a weekend. We had a really good time and enjoyed some great food. We tried some new Greek recipes that went over pretty well. We also visited the Appleton Farmers Market and played a new card game called “Golf.”

The summer seems to be flying by. Marin continues to work as a Project Consultant and is making a lot of progress for the Residential Treatment Program. Surprisingly, the staff is open to and willing to make the recommended changes. Erik is still negotiating for a new position within GE. He recently had interviews for a new role that would be located in Houston, TX. Most likely, we will be moving to Houston within the next few months and hope to have some answers about that soon.

We hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful summer weather, even our friends in Tacoma who are setting record high temps!

Love, Marin and Erik

All Settled In...

The last few months since returning to the U.S have been quite busy. Just days after arriving home, we traveled to Houston for Erik's JOLP (Junior Officer Leadership Program) Graduation. We were able to see many work friends that we hadn't seen in a long while. We were hoping to get a round of golf in, but the torrential rains in the days before our arrival caused the course to be closed. Nonetheless, we had a great time! Our next trip was a drive down to Wheaton, IL (Erik's hometown) to celebrate the MDiv Graduation of our brother-in-law, Jonathan. We spent a lot of time with our family and were able to see all the nieces and nephews on the Barton side (7+2 on the way!). It is truly amazing how fast kids grow!


We have also been able to spend some time with Marin's family. Marin's parents took care of Lola when we were gone and although they didn't mind having the fat cat, they were more than willing to bring her back shortly after our return!! Marin's childhood cat "Murphy" did not take to Lola so well. When the Anderson's came they helped us prune our yard to get it ready for summer. We are now enjoying the fruits of all of the boys labor! Here are some pictures of our backyard in bloom!

Still waiting for the daffodils to bloom....

We also took a last minute trip to Las Vegas with the Anderson's. It was a great weekend, and Erik and I had some luck. The weather was actually perfect for walking around (mid-seventies). We are looking forward to spending the 4th of July with Marin's parents, Aunt/Uncle and cousins in Duluth. If we're lucky, we might also squeeze a trip up to the Boundary Waters where Marin spent a lot of time as a kid.


Marin is back at work full time for the same non-profit that she worked for before, but no longer managing the foster home. Her new role is as a project based consultant, which she really enjoys. She is currently working on updating policy/procedure and conducting a organizational review and workflow/process analysis of the residential treatment program. Erik is finishing up his Blackbelt projects from Aberdeen and negotiating his next position within GE, which could require a move to Houston, TX.


As we patiently wait to see where we might be headed next, we are enjoying the WI summer. We have been golfing, spending time with the Ross's, enjoying BBQ's with the neighbors and Marin has rejoined her neighborhood bunco group.


We hope this post finds everyone enjoying the beginning of summer. Happy Father's Day to all the dads in our life!

Back in the U.S.A

On 21 April we left Aberdeen for our home in Wisconsin. We are very grateful for the opportunities that we had and the people that we met while living in Scotland. Although we already miss our Scottish lifestyle, upon our return we realized that there are several luxuries that we had forgotten....or at least missed a lot:

• A dishwasher - never realized how many dishes can be broken by handwashing!
• Full size washing machine - we were only able to wash 3 t-shirts at a time (I know that Erik is a bigger guy, but c'mon he's not that big!!)
• A yard with green grass - no snow thank goodness!
• A king size bed and large soaking tub
• Our piano
• Being in the same time zones as family and friends
• Lola (although she won't arrive until Friday, a HUGE thanks to Marin's folks for taking her)

What we will miss most from Scotland is:

• Football matches at the pubs
• Walking everywhere we needed to go
• Having a gym in our building basement - (no excuses there!)
• Trying new foods - even if it was haggis...
• Our weekend adventures
• The ocean, highlands and history
• Everyone saying "cheers" for absolutely everything
• Sticky Toffee Pudding

Even though our travels are done for the time being, it is our intention to keep up with the blog. We will do our best to keep the Chronicles up to date.

Thanks to everyone who has been checking our blog so far!!

Cheers,

Marin and Erik

It was a Lovely Weekend for a Guinness

Erik and I spent last weekend in Dublin with the Tucci’s. We were really excited for the trip although a little nervous for the Ryanair flight (they are considering payment to use the on-board bathroom!). Needless to say, we arrived on time and quickly found ourselves in a cab with a very chatty and informative driver. Our first night was spent at the Porterhouse listening to some live music. At this establishment we first learned just how expensive Dublin was. To put it in perspective, a round of 4 pints of beer cost the equivalent of $30!!

The second day was our official Guinness Day. We toured the Storehouse and old factory. They really did a nice job walking you through the brewery process without actually being in the functional brewery. The building was 7 floors high, with the gravity bar on the top floor where we redeemed our free pint overlooking the city. One of the most interesting things that I learned during this experience was that doctors used to prescribe (literally) Guinness for aliments and recovery. They also prescribed it for moms who were breastfeeding! My, how times have changed.

The following day we took a tour of the city on the open top bus. Despite the windy chill the tour was a really good way to see the city. The tour highlighted almost all of the major sights in Dublin, as well as their “White House,” which is where their Prime Minister lives, and literally is a small version of what we have in the US. We spent the evening visiting different pubs seeking out authentic live Irish music. We found several pubs where people just brought their instruments in and started playing, others had set bands. There was spontaneous Irish dancing at almost all of the pubs we visited.

Although we really enjoyed our trip to Dublin, we were definitely surprised by the cost (ranks up there with Oslo in our opinion) as well as the state of the city. The tourist section, Temple Bar, was very nice and pretty much clean; however, as you went away from that area we saw a lot of abandoned and closed shops. For me, it wasn’t as clean as had expected it to be. We are certainly glad we had the opportunity to visit Dublin. If we are able to visit Ireland in the future, we would like to take our time exploring more of the countryside.

Trekking with the Tucci's

This past weekend we travelled into Whisky Country and the Highlands with Erika and Pat Tucci who are visiting us all the way from Washington State. Our initial plan was for it to be a whisky tasting weekend, but plans changed the second day when we were thwarted by snow! Our first day began bright and early with a distillery tour at Glen Moray (we learned it’s pronounced “murry” like “curry”). Since we had been there several times before, we had the pleasure of receiving a distillery tour hosted by the Manager. The tour was phenomenal. The four of us learned even more intricacies of whisky making and were able to enjoy several wee drams, including some reserve bottles! Erika even had the honor of helping the manager open two bottles for our tasting which totaled over 300GBP or $450! Definitely the most expensive whisky any of us had ever sampled. After spending 3 hours there, we moved on to Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Macallan for a few more wee drams. That evening we stayed at one of our favorite B&B’s - The Craighurst. To cap a fantastic evening of whisky tasting and to truly become Scottish, we ended the night by trying some traditional Haggis Bites. Needless to say, we have now had haggis once and will probably never have it again….

The original plan for Saturday was to head to two more distilleries a bit further in the Highlands. However it was snowing when we woke up! About 2 hours into our drive, we found ourselves on a Highland road that was closed due to the snow (our car almost got stuck in the ice/snow when we were trying to turn around). Since we were unable to make it across the mountain to the next distillery we decided to take an extended day trip through Fort Augustus, around Loch Ness, Inverness and then back to Aberlour. The drive was absolutely beautiful with the snow through the highlands, but the weather was quite unpredictable. We had everything from sun, hail, snow, wind, below freezing temps, and then more sun, which was a bit much for Erik who forgot to bring a jacket on this trip!! Despite Marin finding out that car sickness isn’t something that you grow out of, the day was fantastic and picturesque. We covered over 300 miles and were even stopped by a Shepherd on one road to allow a flock of sheep to cross!

Saturday evening was spent at The Mash Tun. This B&B had a restaurant and Whisky Bar attached, so we were able to relax with a fantastic meal and a few more drams. On Sunday morning we woke up, had a traditional Scottish Breakfast (baked beans and all), and headed back to Aberdeen. We spent the afternoon watching some Gavin and Stacy then had dinner accompanied with some 2005 Witness Tree that the Tucci’s graciously brought to share.

Day Tripping Down South

On Saturday we decided to take a day trip down South. When we woke up, the day was bright and sunny (sunrise is currently 6:05a.m.). Since it was such a beautiful day, we set off on the coastal route towards Dundee and St. Andrews. We were looking forward to seeing the ocean on our drive…but then the typical Scottish weather set in. Intense thick fog made it impossible to see more than five feet in front of our car and lasted for about two hours until we hit St. Andrews.

Our first stop was the prestigious St. Andrews golf club, the birthplace of golf! We weren’t able to go into the clubhouse as it isn’t open to the public, but we were able to walk along the course for a bit. At first glance, the course doesn’t look like anything special or too challenging. However, when you see it up close, you notice the subtle rolls, dips and angles in the fairways and greens. The bunkers also resemble black holes! We would have loved to play a round…but that costs more than a few pence and you have to book far in advance, only to find out if you were selected by the lottery system the day before you want to play!

While in St. Andrews we also visited the Castle and Abbey. As you can see from the pictures of both the Castle and Abbey, there isn’t much left. But even from the ruins, you can imagine how impressive it was in the 11th and 12th Century. The pictures don’t show it well, but both they are located on the ocean, which was finally beautiful now that the fog disappeared. Before we left for our next stop, we had a fish and chips lunch in a local pub that was finally served in the traditional style – wrapped in newspaper. Aberdeen doesn’t allow this for sanitary reasons.

After our lovely lunch, we got back in the car and travelled to Loch Leven. This loch is home to Loch Leven Castle were Mary Queen of Scots was exiled for several years. The castle is located on an island in the middle of the loch.

Our last stop for the day was Stirling Castle and the Church of Holy Rude. This castle is set up at the top of the city, and seems to have its own little village. It really looks like a miniature Edinburgh Castle. The history is also somewhat similar, as it was used for a military garrison after being a functional castle. The Church was also the location for the coronation of King James IV.

After that, we had a quick drive home. Amazing how much you can see in a day!

Pancake Day!

Today is Pancake Day here in the UK so “tuck in” and enjoy a plate of pancakes however you fancy them: crepe or buttermilk style, although thinner is more traditional. Everyday is a good day for a pancake, however eating pancakes today has more meaning that you may have known…today is Shrove Tuesday.

Shrove Tuesday is always celebrated the day before Lent begins. Since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, Shrove Tuesday is today - 24 February. As Wikipedia explains, “The word shrove is the past tense of the English Verb shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of Confession and doing penance. Thus, Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the shriving that English Christians were expected to do prior to receiving absolution immediately before lent begins.” As some of you may put together, today is also Fat Tuesday within the Mardi Gras celebrations.

So why pancakes? Shrove Tuesday originally began with eating pancakes because they included ingredients such as fat, butter, eggs and sugar, which were traditionally restricted during lent. A Scottish Shrovetide tradition, which appears to have gone by the wayside, was known as the “Festy Cock.” This is a ball of extra finely ground meal, wetted until it can be patted and rolled into a round shape, then roasted or baked in the hot ashes and burning seeds from a mill kiln. It was made to eat up the food items prior to fasting and substituted for cockerel. Festy indicates “Feast Day.”

Pancake Day, as most call it here, has been publicized throughout supermarkets and television programs. There are also organized events including a fundraiser, The UK Parliamentary Pancake Race, which has teams from the House of Commons, House of Lords and the Fourth Estate. The object of the race is to get to the finishing line first whilst flipping a pancake in a frying pan a pre-decided number of times. The skill lies not so much in the running of the race but in flipping and catching the pancake, which must still be intact at the finish line.

In the past, it was considered a “half day” from work and businesses would stop at 11:00a.m. with the signaling of the Church bells. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.

So today, enjoy your pancakes with whatever toppings you prefer. The most common toppings here are sugar and lemon or jelly. If you ask for syrup on your pancakes they may assume you are from Canada…since that is where maple syrup comes from!! Although not as traditional, we prefer a small spread of Nutella on ours.

Enjoy your pancakes!

Marin and Erik

Winter Wonderland

Well, winter is finally upon us here in Aberdeen. It did not arrive until February, but it came with some might. Prior to the storm, the weather had been chilly and windy, but nothing unbearable. It has actually been quite pleasant compared to what our previous hometowns have been facing this winter, Tacoma included! When we would comment on the weather, everyone responded “hold tight until January and February,” as those were supposed to be the bad months. January came and went without much to comment on. Then as February rolled in, so did the winter storms.

Most of you have probably seen the weather reports of London on the news. They received several inches of snow and the city basically shut down. We thought we were lucky, until Thursday arrived. We woke up to a very pretty snowfall that actually stuck around. Since then, we have been through sleet, snow and ice. The climate is quite interesting here as the storms literally blow in due to the ocean. It will be sunny and blue skies one moment, then within two minutes, it will be dark skies and blizzard like conditions. We have yet to see snow fall gently; it is really all or nothing here.

To present our weather visually, we have three pictures below that we took on a hike to Glen Affric when Erik’s parents were visiting us in mid-January. The photos weren’t taken in Aberdeen, but rather a mountain range outside of Loch Ness. This first photo shows what a beautiful morning it was when we were getting ready to start our hike.



This next picture was taken when we started our hike, the skies were still blue.

The last picture we captured as we returned just 30 minutes later after actually seeing the snow blow in from the mountains over the lake. We had hoped for a longer hike that morning, but were thwarted by the unexpected snow storm!

We hope everyone is staying warm and hopefully defrosting a bit. A special thanks to Warren and Jaime Ross who have been taking care of our house in Neenah, frozen pipes and water damage included…..

Cheers,

Marin and Erik

Aberdeen F.C

As the NFL is approaching the end of another season, we felt it was a brilliant time to provide some insight on our “football” experience here in Scotland. For starters and as most of you know, soccer is called Football here. In fact, there has been only one occasion where we have seen kids practicing American football, and we think that was on the grounds of an American School! Since our move, we have attended two matches of our hometown Aberdeen Dons. The first was against Kilmarnock, a smaller city team, and the other was against the Hearts, a better-known Scottish team from Edinburgh. Aberdeen plays within the Scottish Premier League and generally doesn’t mingle with the English Premier league. That being said, it needs to be mentioned that Aberdeen just beat Celtic yesterday (4-2) which was quite an upset.

In the event that you catch a football match on the tele, or make it to a game when you visit, we want to make sure you are prepared for what to expect.

1) Although English is spoken here, several words are different in the football world. The following list includes the American English word followed by the U.K English word

Field = Pitch
Schedule = Fixtures
Equipment = Kits
Receiving a yellow/red card = Getting booked

2) If you are attending a match, it is important to wear the appropriate colors or team scarf. The picture below shows us decked out to support our Aberdeen Dons. If you are not adequately showing your home support, you may not be able to enter pubs before / after the match and you may get yelled at on the streets!



3) Once you arrive at the stadium, take note of a few basic rules and expectations of crowd behavior.



3) Upon entering, should you fail to convince the ticket agents and security that you are a home supporter, you will be forced to sit in the visitor section pictured below. Note the high security fence that separates you from other spectators as well as the police every three feet to monitor your behavior.



4) Lastly, expect to be on your feet and chanting for the majority of the game. We found that there is a chant for absolutely everything and that most are not PG rated. Apparently, chants that use profanity directed at the opposing team are accepted and encouraged. Parents and wee-ones don’t seem to be bothered or surprised. We do have a couple recorded, but will not be including them on the blog!

The home stadium of the Aberdeen Dons is Pittordrie. It is located right on the ocean and has an open view to the city skyline.



Cheers!