Auld Lang Syne [Old Long Ago]

Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne?

Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl't in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o' thine,
And we'll tak a right guid willie-waught
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye'll be your pint' stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

Translation:

Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And days of long ago !

Chorus:
For old long ago, my dear
For old long ago,
We will take a cup of kindness yet
For old long ago.

We two have run about the hillsides
And pulled the daisies fine,
But we have wandered many a weary foot
For old long ago.

We two have paddled (waded) in the stream
From noon until dinner time,
But seas between us broad have roared
Since old long ago.

And there is a hand, my trusty friend,
And give us a hand of yours,
And we will take a goodwill draught (of ale)
For old long ago!

And surely you will pay for your pint,
And surely I will pay for mine!
And we will take a cup of kindness yet
For old long ago!

Source

Before doing the research for this blog’s song title, I had no idea the New Year’s Eve Song or Auld Lang Syne was written by the famous Scot, Robert Burns. How appropriate! Enjoy this bag pipe version while you stroll down our memory lane of 2012.




January

 Moved from Singapore to Scotland 

 Celebrated 2 years of marriage

February

 First Snow in Scotland

Mardi Gras, Aberdeen Style

March

Barcelona, Spain with the girls

April

 Hiking Loch Muick in the snow

Running the Balmoral 10K

May

 We expanded our family and welcomed Angus to our home

First BBQ of the season

June

Griff and Laura's Wedding

July

Rocks of Solitude Hike

August

 Mykonos, Santorini and Athens, Greece

Kasey Nicole came to Scotland

September

Sandefjord, Norway

October

Dublin, Ireland with Donna and Faye

 Celebrating Faye's 30th in Scotland

Celebrating my mom, the Hall of Famer

November

Clachnaben Hike

December

Christmas Markets in Germany

 Ryan turns the big 3-0!!

 Christmas with friends

2012 was a wonderful year and I'm excited to see what 2013 has in store. From our family to yours, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wishing you lots of love and laughter in 2013!

Merry Christmas to You

.....And so, I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said, many times, many ways
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to you!


Despite being away from family for the last three Christmases we’ve still managed to have a wonderful and memorable time with friends. This Christmas we hosted a Christmas Eve party with our closest couple friends that were still in town. Ryan made a delicious brisket and beans. We played Christmas BINGO and a mean game of UNO. Lots of laughs were had and I am truly thankful for our friends here in Aberdeen.

Christmas Day we headed over to our friend Falene’s house for more yummy food and A LOT more laughs. We played a noun/verb charades type (check out Tanvi's post) game and TABOO in which the girls kicked butt. Again, so thankful to be able to spend Christmas with great friends when our families are thousands of miles away.

One last pic of my tree, I was sad to take it down

Hope your Christmas was filled with as many laughs as mine :-)

Let It Rain, Let it Rain, Let it Rain

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Rain! Let It Rain! Let It Rain!

 I know, I know these are not the right lyrics but the whole week before Christmas it rained and it rained and it rained some more. This makes one stir crazy and ready to get out of the house! So, despite the forcast for torential downpour forcasted for Saturday, me, Ryan, Debbie, Luke and Tanvi headed out on a day road trip to Pitlochry and Blair Atholl.

pictures from the car

Pitlochry is a perfect little Scottish town filled with great restaurants and shopping. We stopped for lunch here but because it was pouring down rain we didn’t walk the town street to peruse the store fronts. Instead, we headed north just a little bit to Killiecrankie to see the Solider’s Leap. [The large flat rock you see in the picture below, at the water’s edge is said to be the site from which Donald McBane, a Redcoat solider fleeing the battle of Killiecrankie, leapt 5.5 meters/18 feet across the River Garry while being pursued by Jacobite clansmen.] This was a beautiful area with great walks and I can only imagine was it looks like when the sun is shining. We’ll have to go back in the Spring/Summer!

The rock

                                    

                                    

                                              

We then made our way to Blair Castle. You may remember way back in January this was my first castle to visit upon arriving in Scotland. I can’t believe that’s been almost a year ago! The castle tour was great and it was a nice break from the rain.

Blair Castle

The Ballroom

Killin' time before the tour

Before heading back to Aberdeen, we made a quick stop by House of Bruar to the beautiful cashmere and traditional Scottish clothing.