630 miles = tired, but happy.

630 miles. That's the mileage I racked up this weekend. I'm absolutely shattered, but it was worth it.

I got to spend time with my BLT Oldies. They are my best friends.

We met on the British Literary Tour in 2006. As you can tell from the nickname, we were the oldest members of the group. The rest were younger, 19 or 20, and, within the first week, all six of us amalgamated. Bro M gave us the nickname and we kept it. They are awesome.

Here's a picture of all of us. And Ovis.

We have some great memories of the tour (the mineral water in Bath) and we're still close. It probably helps that I bring chocolate back from UK for our parties. Not all of us could be there (Angela ditched me for Wicked). Oh my word, it was fun! It was in Preston, Idaho (which is equi-distant for all of us). I got there just in time for dinner and then we played bolotoss (?)- where you have a three-tiered goal and three um... things (two golf balls on a string). I, apparently, have mad skills... for Maria and I won. Then it was the Wii for "Just Dance" and then, as is tradition, we watch a British film/tv show. We picked Dear Frankie, one of my favorite films. If you have not seen this film, WATCH it. It's beautiful, touching, and funny. And it has Gerard Butler... perfect.

I enjoyed watching it now that I have been to Scotland. Oh, I miss the accents! I never realized that Glasgow was beautiful. Maybe I will get over my fear of being knifed and go visit.

We stayed up talking until 3 am. The rad thing about these gals is that we talk about everything. We're all English majors, so we discuss the books we're reading and what we're doing with our lives. Great conversations, little sleep! 

Saturday was great fun. I planned the games for Tanya's bridal shower. They went over quite well. I was relieved. The last bridal shower I helped with was a disaster. This time I was only in charge of games, so that might be why it went well.

Then we had a after-party and played "Just Dance" on the Wii, again. I am not very good. Still, it's fun looking the fool with other people.

Then it was off to the Buckwalters for the night.

I don't like driving in Utah. I'd rather drive in London. Utah drivers are scary. 

Only in Utah am I going 15 mph over the posted speed limit and still getting passed. 

The Buckwalters are a senior missionary couple I met in Edinburgh. Wonderful people. They fed me and gave me this great room. I love double beds. I so need to get one. I felt at home.

We discussed our lives, how much we miss Edinburgh and Scotland and updates on our friends. Lovely.

I went to church with them, which was interesting. I haven't been to church in Utah in decades. It was intriguing. Power point lessons and Mormon contemporary songs for musical numbers. Nice people, though.

I ended up spending a lot of time after church talking to the Buckwalters, so I was a bit late leaving for Provo to visit my friend, Kirsten. It was great to meet up with so many Edinburgh people. It reminded me that I have actually lived there. It wasn't a dream.

Kirsten made a delicious dinner and I got to meet her cute dog. It was really nice to catch up. And her house has lots of clocks... which I heartily advocate. 

I was tempted to spend the night there or with the Buckwalters, but that would mean a five hour drive to Idaho Falls for my visa appointment on Monday.

Instead, I drove back to Tanya's. It was a lovely drive, rocking out to Michael W. Smith music and a tape of LDS music. Totally 90's!

Utah is beautiful, especially the mountains. I love seeing the Salt Lake Temple. I had planned on going to Temple Square, but I was tired and the prospect of driving into the city and trying to find a parking spot did not appeal. 

I need to go spend some time in Salt Lake City, not just the airport. It's a lovely city.

It was almost sunset. (Good thing I didn't attempt the whole drive back the next morning). The view coming down into Logan from Box Canyon was gorgeous, as the orange rays of the sun slide off the mountains. Wow. 

It was a nice night. Tanya fed me cherries while we talked and laughed. I am blessed with such great friends. Her cat woke me up the next morning, insistent that I pet him, even if I was asleep. Lovely cat. 

The only bad fate was my Visa appt. I want to get my visa application in before I have to leave. When I went to Sheffield, it was very last minute and a bit nerve-wracking, as it looked like I might not be able to leave when I had booked my flight. That will not happen this time, I hope.

Well, turns out I had printed out the wrong thing and so I couldn't do it that day. I've had to reschedule, drat. 

I could go on about the Tier 4 UK visa, which is confusing me to no end. But I won't in this blog. 

So it was a nice weekend. The clock counts down further to Edinburgh. So much to do before I leave.

'Til next time!