Averagely Adventurous

It wasn't until visiting the market in Edinburgh that I realized how much I missed browsing art and handmade crafts.  I hardly ever buy anything, but I enjoy looking at everything; it's like an interactive museum where you can buy the art on display.  In my hometown, there's a farmer's market every Saturday from fall through spring, called the Green Market.  It's right along the waterfront with music, food, and sometimes antiques. If we managed to wake up early enough, my mom and I would go down to the Green Market, find our favorite snacks (usually mini apple cider donuts and smoothies) and then browse through the tents of antiques.  I felt like there was always this anticipation of the possibility of finding something special and unique.  If you're lucky, it's good quality too.  My treasured find is a thumb ring that I still wear today, ten years later.  

I wish I could get Pedro's perspective on this, but he's busy!  His first day of EMS on the went great. Before he got there, it was a complete mystery.  He had no idea what it would be like, and there had been plenty of stories from his fellow classmates that didn't help.  

Last time we went to Edinburgh, we were out of the house before the sun rose, and back home after the sun set.  This time, we had light to watch the journey on the train.  Doesn't seem like much is between  Glasgow and Edinburgh, at least along the tracks.  We saw a lot of fields, some sheep, and a few cities peppered near the bigger stations.  

Today was tax day. I'll be honest, I was dreading this one. Usually I finish everything as soon as I have all my documents, and get my tax return before March. But the uniqueness of last year made me hesitant. Today I finally bit the bullet. Luckily, nowadays almost everything has a virtual option, so I was able to do ours online and ask my questions about foreign accounts. But even after completing all the appropriate forms, it came down to Pedro's birthday.  The IRS must have it wrong in their system somewhere and he never has issues with it until it comes to taxes. So we have to mail it in.  Of course, that meant a whole other adventure...finding a printer. We had yet to find a good reason to buy a printer since all our school work is done online (the present reason being too late). The nearest one we could think of was Pedro's school, and after a quick check to make sure it was open, we headed out.  

 Pedro and I are going back to Edinburgh! I have been wanting to see an art exhibit since The States, and then I finally saw an ad for it in Scotland. We're going to make a day of it again.  Once last adventure before he goes off to his first EMS.  His EMS (extra-mural studies) starts on Monday, so he'll be leaving on Sunday to stay on a farm for two weeks to help out with spring lambing.  This is only two out of twelve weeks that he'll have to complete.  

Every morning when we wake up, Pedro and I seem to gravitate towards the front window.  Whether we're trying to assess the weather or people watch, we seem to thoroughly enjoy our new view after years of boring backyard scenes of our old apartment buildings. This morning I saw a new addition to our little cul-de-sac.  There was a little puddle of white paint on the street on the side of the building, and it looks like someone drove through it and trailed it down the road.  We were giggling for awhile, mostly because we know exactly who did it. Pedro dubbed them the "Streaks of Shame", leading right to the culprit.  Even better was later on, when I caught a glimpse out the window and just busted out laughing. He went to see what I was laughing at and joined in.  

 It's been awhile since we've truly had another adventure, but we've enjoyed the little things here and there.  We've been so busy with our school work that the most we've gone out to is brunch.  But even that was interesting and Pedro has now found "the best almond croissant" he's ever had. He found a spot away from our usual breakfast place, called Beefcake Cafe. That made me laugh a bit as an American.  I know that here, beefcakes and pasties are a norm, but when I hear "beefcake", I think of the American slang for a guy with a lot of muscles. (Though I swear a picked up on a few American accents in the kitchen, so it's even funnier.) It's a small whole in the wall with a few tables, bright colored china, and a lot of pastries.  We picked out a few different kinds from the giant display and instantly liked every single one.  I decided to make it a proper British breakfast and ordered tea as well.  The kitchen brought me a giant tea...