My cousin, Cait, came to visit Ian and me for Christmas. She and her husband Ed wanted to hang out in London with our Charlie Brown Christmas tree and check out the sights. Originally, I had planned just to see them for about a days time, however all went to hell in a hand basket when Ian and I fell ill in CA and brought our germs across the Atlantic. We cancelled our trip to Edinburgh and stayed pent up in our room while we hosted our Toner clan guests. I don't think we contaminated the two of them, but we managed to have a couple of nights out and get a few pints in and a good pub meal.

We had a good time hanging out at London Bridge, one of my favourite spots for old school London. Cait and Ed had spent time in the City as well as tracking old haunts of Dickens. I informed Cait of the newest serialist in the UK who writes weekly in the Scotsman, Alexander McCall Smith, Sandy if you will. I told her how great it would be to share it with her English class and how sure I was that the students would get a kick out of the tales of 44 Scotland Street. (Remember, my old Edinburgh stomping grounds.) I was telling Cait that is she wanted to check out his most recent writings that I was most positive she could find some microfiche and share the stories with her students. That pesky little internet just wasn't in the forefront of my mind. What era is it?! Maybe I'm losing it, lord knows sometimes I struggle.

Well good times were had by all. Ian is planning on joining Ed and his family on the cattle ranch one of these days and living out his dreams of becoming an american cowboy. Coughing and sniffles aside, it was good to hang with fam and ring in the New Year.

xoxo.

Lo

Lo