Friday, July 17, 2009
Got Elisabeth's mom signed in to Google...
...so she can follow this blog. Elisabeth is exhausted from this effort and will now take a nap.
Friday, July 10, 2009
We've got our kilts and our pounds sterling--8 days to go
Welcome to the first entry of Elisabeth Graham and Michael Elliot's blog. We both took today off to head for Blandford's in Rancho Cucamunga to pick up our kilts. This has been an expenditure we've been awaiting but now's the time--we can't exactly go to the Clan Elliot Gathering at Redheugh in the Borders and the International Gathering of the Clans in Edinburgh without them, we reasoned. They are beautiful and we're so happy to be doing business with our friend Diana, who took over the running of Blandford's fairly recently. If you've been to a Highland Games or Scottish Festival, the name Blandford will be familiar to you--they are the booth with the big red canopy and they are usually the busiest place at any gathering. There was a small mix-up with Elisabeth's kilt--she ordered a kilted skirt (the style with pleats all around) but somehow the order got confused somewhere between California and the mill in Scotland and she now has a real kilt. Diana was, of course, very apologetic and is kindly allowing Elisabeth to take this kilt to Scotland and if she still wants the skirt instead after we get back, it'll be ordered at a sizable discount. Michael thinks the kilt looks just great but Elisabeth still thinks the pleats suit her better. We'll decide after she's worn it a while after we get back. Thank you Diana for your terrific customer service!
We then headed for American Express where we converted a few bucks to pounds sterling--just enough to pay for small purchases before we get to an ATM. Our flight plans are rather convoluted--we're not complaining because hey, we're using frequent flyer miles after all--so we really don't know when we will have our first ATM date. We considered traveler's cheques but in this day and age of ATMs, they really aren't necessary.
We've almost solved the phone challenge--we successfully unlocked Elisabeth's ATT phone and were able to insert another company's SIM card and get service. Now all we have to do is get Michael's phone rolling. He has Verizon so it wasn't as simple. Luckily, brother Dane Elliot sent us one of his don't-need it-anymore phones that does use a SIM card. As soon as we get to the UK, we'll pick up SIM cards from one of the local companies to avoid international charges when we have to call eachother. If we do need to make a call to the States, we'll bite the bullet and use the ATT service and how-many-whatever hundred dollars a minute.
We will both have our laptops so we will have access to e-mail. The UK is wireless internet heaven--it's everywhere.
We will be breaking in our kilts tomorrow at the celebration of Lynn Dunton's life. We know Lynn would heartily approve. Then Elisabeth is off to dazzle everyone at Plaza Gardens for her last night stage managing the Jump, Jive Boogie Swing Party. Stompy Jones is our band so it should be a great bon voyage party.
Looking forward to seeing old and dear friends at Lynn's party. Even though the occasion is melancholy, we know that it will be full of love and laughs. Just like Lynn.
We then headed for American Express where we converted a few bucks to pounds sterling--just enough to pay for small purchases before we get to an ATM. Our flight plans are rather convoluted--we're not complaining because hey, we're using frequent flyer miles after all--so we really don't know when we will have our first ATM date. We considered traveler's cheques but in this day and age of ATMs, they really aren't necessary.
We've almost solved the phone challenge--we successfully unlocked Elisabeth's ATT phone and were able to insert another company's SIM card and get service. Now all we have to do is get Michael's phone rolling. He has Verizon so it wasn't as simple. Luckily, brother Dane Elliot sent us one of his don't-need it-anymore phones that does use a SIM card. As soon as we get to the UK, we'll pick up SIM cards from one of the local companies to avoid international charges when we have to call eachother. If we do need to make a call to the States, we'll bite the bullet and use the ATT service and how-many-whatever hundred dollars a minute.
We will both have our laptops so we will have access to e-mail. The UK is wireless internet heaven--it's everywhere.
We will be breaking in our kilts tomorrow at the celebration of Lynn Dunton's life. We know Lynn would heartily approve. Then Elisabeth is off to dazzle everyone at Plaza Gardens for her last night stage managing the Jump, Jive Boogie Swing Party. Stompy Jones is our band so it should be a great bon voyage party.
Looking forward to seeing old and dear friends at Lynn's party. Even though the occasion is melancholy, we know that it will be full of love and laughs. Just like Lynn.
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