May We Sail Across the Seas?

April was a month of bright and sunny weather--the most distinctive and constant summer I've ever seen in Scotland--and May began with equal sunny warmth. Isaac and I took the excuse of a sunny late evening on our last Sunday in Scotland and ran down to the East Sands to build a sandcastle:

Here's Isaac, for size:

On the following Thursday, we had a barbecue on the only rainy evening in the last two weeks of our stay. Much cider was drunk, and we finally burnt up our Christmas tree. Isaac discovered a rock that explodes with the application of heat.

I spent my last two Scotland weeks packing, cleaning, having coffee dates with friends, and trying to write another large chunk of thesis. I now have, in rough draft, just under 50,000 words: I've passed the halfway point. In the middle of all this bustle, we took a morning off to visit the Farmer's Market and eat the delicious smoked fish available there:

We left England on a gloriously sunny day, sailing down the English channel as we passed small towns, long piers, other boats, and beautiful green trees:

We spent six days in a shroud of fog:

And we arrived in New York in a blessed pouring rain that somewhat managed to alleviate, if temporarily, the wretched humidity that has plagued us ever since the boat docked. Here's another boat in the rain at dawn:

Now, every day, I visit the building pictured below, in which are contained manifold delights: manuscripts, early printed books, and a few dozen texts I've needed to read for quite some while.

My research is going well, Isaac is meeting today about a volunteering opportunity in the neighbourhood in which we're staying, and we're both enjoying certain aspects of Americaland. Our plans for next year are still very much uncertain, but we'll keep you posted should that change.