Cheating

Lately, with the half-melted snow lingering in the mountains and movies like True Grit and Ondine on my list of recently-watched, I've been dreaming about getting out of the "city" and into quieter places. I drove out to the lake a couple of days ago and spent a while feeding, petting, and nuzzling the horses down there, and it was quiet and cold and wonderful. It goes along with the post I made over on blog #3 today. In fact, I think I'll repost it here, just 'cos. And because I don't have the wherewithal to write a new post for you. Sorry!

About a month ago I purchased these boots from Walmart for about $20:

I love them. I wear them all the time (literally). The only thing wrong with them is that I had to buy them a size down because they were all out of 7s. Since rubber boots usually run a little big (because they don’t stretch), I thought it’d be okay, but they’ve been pretty tight at times lately, making my poor toes uncomfortable :(

In any case, the reason I bought them is not because they’re practical, nope, that had almost nothing to do with it. My excuse was that I could wear them with my Harry Potter premiere outfit in November (surprise! I love Harry Potter), but that’s not the real reason. For me, these boots embody a world of dream and childlike attitude. That sounds totally ridiculous, but it’s true.

One of my favorite memories from my childhood is of walking alone through the rain and mud on our then-unpaved road to meet my sisters at their piano lessons in my yellow plastic raincoat and black galoshes. I think I was about five years old. I remember stomping in the mud puddles and thoroughly enjoying the rain, since we hardly got any in Southern California.

I also always had a dream of being a veterinarian when I grew up. When I was in junior high, I first read the books by James Herriot.

James in his Wellington boots...and with a lamb

I loved reading about how he would pull on his Wellies and go to work with the animals. I love James Herriot, I even made it a point to make sure we went to Thirsk (aka Darrowby) on our trip to England this year.

Later, in High School, I was in Ag, or FFA, or whatever you want to call it. Though my animal projects never worked out (just fyi, rabbits need air conditioning or they will die– not my fault though), I had friends who raised steer, goats, and pigs, and they all had rubber boots. I spent plenty of time in the barn and stables–but without the boots– though the whole time I was in there cleaning and caring for the animals I sure wished I had a pair.

In any case, galoshes mean more to me than just keeping my feet dry, they contain all the memories I love and dreams I haven’t fulfilled. Call me crazy, but there it is. So now I’m wondering, is there anything you’ve purchased for reasons you might’ve been a little embarrassed by (like me…don’t tell!) or for reasons with “deeper meaning” if you will? I hope I’m making sense… Anyway, share in the comments!

MacFarlane

This morning for some reason I decided to look up my family's tartan/plaid/whatever they call it. I'm only a little bit Scottish, on my mom's dad's side, but it's in there. Anyway, so the Scottish last name I come from is "Sproul" (spelling?), which came from "Spruel," which is a subset or whatever of the MacFarlane Clan. So I looked up the MacFarlanes, and this is what I learned about them:

"The progenitor of the Macfarlanes is generally considered to be Alwyn, one of the Celtic Earls of Lennox. The fortunes of the family became established when his son, Gilchrist, was awarded with the lands at Arrochar towards the end of the 12th century. Gilchrist's grandson, Malduin, is remembered for aiding Robert the Bruce when his power was failing and his enemies were strong. The Macfarlanes remained loyal to Robert the Bruce and fought for him at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. When the last Celtic Earl of Lennox, Duncan, was executed by James I, the succession was left open. Although the Macfarlanes could have claimed the earldom they were prevented from doing so and the earldom was passed to John Stewart, Lord Darnley. This move was not taken kindly to by the Macfarlanes and they chose to oppose the Stewarts. This was, however, not the most strategic of moves as the Macfarlanes quickly realised the force of the Stewarts was too great for them. To rectify the rift between them the 10th chief married the daughter of Lord Darnley to create a new friendship. The Macfarlanes were amongst those who dealt with the loses at Flodden as well as the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 where the 13th chief and his son died. Upon the death of Mary, Queen of Scots' husband, Lord Darnley, the Macfarlanes immediately chose to fight against Mary and were noted for their valour at the Battle of Langside where she finally surrendered. The Macfarlanes stood with the Stewarts until the reign of James VII when they switched their loyalty to Queen Mary and William of Orange. They chose not to come out for the Jacobite risings. In 1767 the direct line failed and the lands were sold to pay debts; consequently the Macfarlanes are not on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs."

The tartan was a little harder to find, but here it is (there are a few of them, but this one is my favorite):

There's also apparently a clan tattoo, but I feel like it's more of a modern thing, and anyway, it's more of a crest anyway (the one on the right is the "tattoo"):

Anyway, if you're related to me, that might've been interesting to you. If you're not, and you're Scottish too, tell me what your clan is. If you're not Scottish...that's okay too.

Crazy

School is making me crazy right now, which is why I haven't posted in a while. There's so much to do and so little time, and it's only looking at things like these two that keep me sane throughout it all:




Now it seems like only laugh at animals' expense. Maybe that's true...