And you thought haggis was strange

People show up at the little grocery tents to pick up the Scottish delights that are so difficult to find around here throughout the rest of the year.

Some of the foods don't surprise me in the least, such as the canned haggis (and vegetarian haggis), shortbread cookies, marmite, and Irn-Bru (like orange soda but a little less sweet).

Some things just leave me shaking my head.

I don't do canned peas to start with, "mushy" canned peas is just a little too much.



Salad cream - looks like straight miracle whip.



and of course, no meal is complete without eating spotted dick (surely there's a pill for that).




UPDATE: We went grocery shopping today and found the salad cream (which still sounds to me like something you would put in your hair) and the spotted dick at our store. Who knew? At least we've been spared the mushy peas. I'm sure you're all relieved to know you can get spotted dick in Seattle.

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The Original Marching Bands

Part of the ritual of the Highland games is the massing of the bands.

At moment's like these, it is not difficult to understand why the bagpipes were considered weapons of war.



The piper in the blue and green kilt below is Tyrone. He is the Pipe Major for the Elliot Bay Pipe Band and he played at our wedding. It was at our wedding that my husband decided to start playing the bagpipes and two weeks later he was well on his way in that endeavor. Tyrone was one of his teachers.









Once the bands march in field, they announce the winners of the days competitions and retire the colors



then the bands turn around and march their way back off the field









It's a deafening, goosebumpy kind of experience.
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PNW Highland Games 2008

This weekend Mr. H, The Outlaw Baker (my little brother, Timmy), and I attended the PNW Highland Games. Mr. H was not competing this year so our presence at the games was entirely for the purpose of listening to some loud music









eating a lot of food (no haggis this year, we couldn't handle the 40 minute wait)



and then engaging in the most cherished of Scottish traditions






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Little Highlander

2006 PNW Highland Games

Tartans and Pipers and Swords Oh My...

This weeked was the Pacific Northwast Highland Games at the fairgrounds in Enumclaw, Washington. We try to get up there every year, and each time we go we have a blast and get sunburned. This year we were especially careful about using sunblock, staying in the shade and my husband even bought me a hat, but we're just not used to 95+ degrees and we both managed to get crispy again this year. No worries though, we had so much fun, it was definitely worth it.