Fashion and Design in Europe Study Abroad: Edinburgh May 1 - May 7

I was blessed to go to Europe for the School of Family Life's Fashion and Design in Europe study abroad program. I was one of 3 directors. About a year ago, I told Natalie that I wanted to go on my own dime to learn how it works. Dawna Baugh will retire and Natalie would need a new co-director. Because of Covid precautions and our plan to travel to the UK and France, they designated me as a 3rd director. That meant BYU covered the cost of my trip and paid me a per diem for food. 

It was a ton of work to get ready to go. I was wrapping up winter semester, getting things ready for spring and summer, editing 340 online for summer, and trying to find time to help Jenny get ready to go on her mission. I was very stressed. I made it, though. Got everything packed and made it to the airport on Sunday, May 1, ready to fly to Europe. Many of us were on the same flight. 4 students went through Amsterdam. Dr. Baugh came from Paris, where she had attended a class. 

We flew to NYC, then to Edinburgh. We arrived around 10 am and got on the train into town. We walked to our hotel, the Ibis at St. Andrew's Square. They took very good care of us. It was hard to get used to no outlet in the bathroom and other oddities that we're not used to in the US. I had my own room which was very comfortable. Bathroom, queen bed, desk, mirror, closet, etc. I got unpacked, brushed my teeth, then met up with Natalie and the students. We all went on a little walking tour of Edinburgh. Natalie had found a self-guided Harry Potter tour. JK Rowling was inspired by and wrote the books in Edinburgh. We walked through cute streets, and down hidden closes. We also found headstones with names that were the inspiration for character names in Harry Potter books. We got delicious gelato. Natalie and I had reservations for an early dinner at Dishoom, right across the square from our hotel. It was the first of many delicious meals that she and I would enjoy. It's an Indian restaurant that has locations only in London and Edinburgh. It was AMAZING. It was so good that we made reservations for 4 for the next night. Dawna and Craig don't like Indian food, so we invited Jared and Logan, the only single guys on the trip to go with us. That made us fast friends. 

We had 23 students on the trip. The 3 directors were Natalie Hancock, Dawna Baugh, and me. Craig, Dawna's husband, came too. He owns his own insurance company, so he would join us during the day and work at night. It was great to have him along. A married couple, Jonathan and Abby, came on the trip. Sarah Adamson is married, but her husband wasn't on the trip. 2 of the young women were engaged. One student was from the University of Utah. All excellent students interested in some aspect of fashion, clothing, design, or creativity. 

Tuesday was the official first day of the program. It started with a walking tour of Edinburgh with Stuart Usher. He is the quintessential Scottish man. He wore red corduroy pants and a tweed jacket. He knows the city, as his family has a long history with Edinburgh. In fact, the performing hall in town is named Usher Hall. His family was wronged by the government and much of their land was taken due to eminent domain laws. He showed us so many great things and taught us about his city. We learned about King James of the King James version of the Bible, we learned where criminals would go for their last drink before getting hanged. We learned about early grave robbers Burke and Hare who sold corpses for medical research who got tired of the digging so they just killed people who were down on their luck and sold those bodies. They eventually got caught, Burke was hanged and his body went to medical research. Hare testified against Burke and ended up in England. We saw Edinburgh Castle, which was a community behind a wall. It was a great day. Dawna even bought Stuart's recently-published book, The Rape of the House of Usher. Natalie and I went back to Dishoom with Logan and Jared. We also took a walk to a neighborhood that is very Harry Potter-esque. It's called Dean Village. A high school friend, who has since lost his battle with cancer, Larry Huckestein, recommended it. We loved our little weird excursion. 

Our hotel was the Ibis. They had a breakfast buffet everyday. It was yummy. We all absolutely loved the potato scones. I've since looked up a recipe and I think I need to make them someday. We started each day with a thought and prayer. The students all signed up for a day to do share. Natalie was our supreme navigator. That woman is a homing pigeon. She also gets how to use the apps to find her way. She and I did a lot of fun things together in our free time. 

Wednesday we took a bus to Lochcarron  of Scotland in Selkirk to learn about weaving tartans. We toured a mill and saw how yarns are dyed, how threads are woven to make tartans. They make fabric for designers and for companies. When we were on the tour, we went to a room where 2 women were inspecting some pieces, inch by inch, for any imperfections. If they find a missed thread, they fix it. The fabric they were working on is for designer Victoria Beckham. We also saw fabric made for Gucci. I got to purchase some of the Hunter tartan. I learned that there is ancient and modern prints for tartans. The ancient is more muted colors. Modern is more bright. My ancient tartan has a stripe that's a bit orange. The modern is a true red. It's because of the improvement in dyes. They served us a wonderful lunch of sandwiches and desserts made by a local caterer. We learned that during the pandemic, they worked to source more local material from local sheep. We also went to a tiny textile museum that came highly recommended and is obviously the pride of the small town. 

Thursday we took a bus the opposite direction to Dundee. There we learned about the early years of the industrial revolution and factories in the textile industry. We toured a factory (Verdant Works) where jute used to be made and learned about life working in the factory. We also went to the V & A Museum. It's the only Victoria and Albert Museum outside of London. It houses a lot of modern art. The kaleidoscope was invented in Scotland. I bought myself a really cute silk scarf that has symbols of many items that represent Scotland. It was my first personal splurge of the trip. Natalie and I went to an Argentine restaurant that was highly recommended by some of our students. It was delicious, but neither of us is really into beef, so we probably won't be back. Yummy, but beef isn't my thing. Really yummy. 

Friday was our last full day in Edinburgh before traveling to London. We did a fun team building class at a chocolate place. We learned about the history of chocolate, tasted chocolate, and made chocolates. We all bought a lot of chocolate to take back home. I am taking some to book club on Wednesday. I bought a bacon, pancake, and maple flavored chocolate for mom and dad. I also brought a orange and tangerine, lime and sea salt, raspberry, banana, and one with nuts and fruit. One of our students spilled chocolate all over her pants, shoes, and a shirt. She was really upset. I helped her out in the bathroom. We got it off. She and I were already pretty close because she blew out her blow dryer on the first day of the trip, so she'd been borrowing my blow dryer each morning. Jane is a cutie.  After the chocolate class, Natalie and I went and saw some sights we still wanted to see and we did some shopping. I bought a cashmere scarf for Allie, some tweed gloves for Jamie for her birthday, and a tweed purse for myself. Splurge #2. I also got some kilt pins and tartan for Starlyn. We went to a surgeons museum, also recommended by Larry, but not that great, in my opinion. He said it's one of his favorite museums. I did like the installation of historical dental tools. 

Some other highlights of Edinburgh included:

1. A tour of the underground vaults where we learned about the horrible living conditions of the very poor in the 1800's. Some of the residents in the vaults were suspected to be victims of Burke and Hare. It was a very, very hard life of dark, death, and crime. 

2. It's such a great walking city. You can really get around just walking and we walked a lot. Loved the beauty of the city. Not so fun fact...Hitler didn't ever bomb Edinburgh during WWII. He refused to because he loved the architecture and art there. 

3. Watching our students start buying things, including, but not limited to, Harris Tweed purses.

4. Gelato

5. A typical Scottish meal, including haggis, that Natalie and I shared. It was really good. I think expensive haggis is probably better than the cheap stuff. 

6. Finding out that Debbie and Mark are going to sell their house and move into Jenny and Scott's house with Christian while they are on their mission. It's like Moses parting the Red Sea. What seemed impossible is now possible. Learned this news the same day Brianna shared her thought about being adopted and sealed to her parents. Adoption and fostering is a wonderful thing. What would our family do without Debbie?

7. Weather cooperated big time. We only got rained on the last day, as we were walking to the train station, and that didn't last long. 

Some not so bright spots:

1. Having to talk to many of our female students about their wardrobe choices. They were all expected to comply with BYU dress and grooming. We told them to not waste precious space in their luggage with clothes they couldn't wear. We were all limited to a carry on and a backpack. Best decision ever. I don't think I'll travel with a full-sized suitcase again. 

2. Not having WiFi that kept up with Natalie's. I'll pay for the upgrade next time so I can be more helpful. 

3. Missing Melia's birthday.

Some things I've learned:

1. I love everything I brought. I wish I hadn't brought my heavy water bottle. Next time I'll leave it home and just buy a water bottle now and then and refill. My wardrobe was perfect. Wish I hadn't brought sweatpants, but had brought shorts and a t-shirt for evenings instead. So so so glad I brought a compact down jacket, because I wore it daily in Edinburgh. 

2. Study abroad is a lot of work. The 3 of us directors met almost every night to discuss the next day and to craft a message to send out to the students. I sent that out each day in anticipation of the next day. I also carried all tickets.

3. Natalie and I are great travel companions. We have similar travel philosophies. See everything you can. Eat later. Drink later. Go to the bathroom later. Keep going. Share food because you want to try everything and you'll be sharing a meal again soon. 

4. Students don't watch the weather and they don't carry big bags with snacks, water, jackets, etc. 

The majority of the group made it to Edinburgh - Logan is our official selfie taker

Natalie and I at the Edinburgh sign

In the SLC airport, ready to leave. Just getting to know each other. I remember talking to Kenzie and she was so nervous because she goes to the U. Would she make friends? We all made friends!!!!!!

Logan and Jared took this photo on my phone in Dean Village

Crown on display at V&A in Dundee

Colorful shopping street in Edinburgh

                                                    

Plenty of stores that sold Harry Potter items

Cemetery with names that inspired JK Rowling

Tom Riddle

McGonagall

Some of my favorite things - journal, Book of Mormon, t-shirt

We love you Dishoom. Chicken Ruby, broccoli and mint salad, naan, rice. 

There's Stuart Usher in his cap

Edinburgh Castle was almost impossible to attack

View of cute homes from our walk near the castle

Look at those purple flowers. That's real!

The Last Drop...a pub that's been in Edinburgh since the 1800's

Loved the orange

Dishoom round 2...yes, it's very similar to round 1

Dean Village

Obligatory phone booth photo - Dean Village

Dean Village

Dean Village

Dean Village

Fabrics being inspected

I'm holding the modern Hunter tartan. I ended up buying the ancient because it had some orange. 

Wall of tartans

Borders Textile Museum

Fish at the Scottish restaurant. It was delicious. 

Directors: Natalie Hancock, Dawna Baugh, me

Verdant Works used to be a working jute factore

They say it's haunted and people have seen a young girl on this walking bridge

In front of and inside of the V&A. When I sent this picture to Derek he commented that it stood for Vera and Aarl. Yes, mom got a V&A bag

The architecture inside and out of the V&A in Dundee is beautiful and unique

This avocado toast was better than it looks

Can you believe how lovely this park is?

This was a waffle with popcorn, ice cream, and caramel sauce at the Boozy Cow. Wow, it was delicious

In front of the Ibis Styles St. Andrew's Square

The ancient Hunter tartan

Learning about, making, and tasting chocolate. We had a blast.

The vault tour with our awesome tour guide: Natalie, guide, me, Sophia, Jared, Mercedez, Maya, Rachel, and Taylee

This was near the vaults and it used to be the bad part of town, where cattle were driven and sold. Full of poop, blood, urine, etc. 

JK Rowling hands...those are some famous writing hands

Harris Tweed bag that I bought

Argentine restaurant

My hotel room and bathroom

Ready to head to London. Cuties. 

Everyone on the bus to London

Olives, bread, and hummus at the Scottish restaurant Howie's

Haggis served with mashed sweet potato and regular potato

Natalie got lamb. First time I've tried lamb and haggis and banoffee pie

Banoffee pie. 

Me and Natalie having fun at Verdant Works, Dundee

The whole group on the day we left Edinburgh

The Fab 4 outside of Dishoom and on our adventure to Dean Village

I loved the sentiment on this wall at the V&A and when I saw that Jared had captured a photo of it, I asked him to take this photo of me. It took some time to get it just right. 

I sent this to Derek and he said he loved the inclusion of Scottish comic book artists in the museum

He also couldn't believe this old video game was in the museum

I just love this building!

Because one photo of this saying isn't enough!

BYU President - Let Him Eat Cake

We make 2 layer cakes in SFL 340 and SFL 215. This year we were busy testing recipes using all-purpose flour and a cake flour substitute so we had lots of extra cakes. We took cakes to Dean Walker, SFL Director Dr. Holmes, FCSE Director Natalie Hancock, and the SFL office staff that do everything for us. 

We froze a cake to take to the BYU President. One of my SFL 110 students piped lettering on it. I called President Worthen's office to see if he was in town and he was. I fully expected to send TA's over with a cake, but his secretary suggested I bring the class. So, we scheduled to take the cake after class. 

It was a blast. We got there and found an official photographer there. President Worthen had each student come in one at a time, he shook their hands and asked where they were from. We had a great visit with him. We got to tell him about our class, about FCS classes in Utah high schools, and about our recipe testing. He was so kind. It was a highlight of the semester, if not of my career. 

See the phone in my pocket? I seriously took it with me to take pictures. Wasn't expecting an official photographer!

Sisters' San Diego Getaway

Last weekend, I was enjoying time with 4 of my sisters in San Diego. Kelly couldn't make it because she was at a conference. Derek and family were invited to join us, but it didn't work out for them. I remember those busy days of raising kids. I missed out on many family events in Utah and California because we lived in Texas. It was either too difficult or too expensive to fly to family for every event. These things just happen. 

Jenny, Debbie, and I met up in the Salt Lake Airport long term parking and took the shuttle together to our gate. It was an uneventful flight with Debbie getting to trade places with the man next to me so she and I could sit together. Jenny was across the aisle and behind us. It didn't matter because it's such a short flight. It was nice to sit by Debbie and catch up, though. She and Jen drove down together. They also see each other every once in a while due to their proximity and their love of quilting. 

Alaska Airlines gets us there!

We arrived and picked up the rental car just in time to go back to the terminal to get Kristen and Karen, who had found each other by then. We recalled when airports were small enough and there were few enough travelers that rental car desks were on site. They were near baggage claim. As more people travel, I suppose they've needed more rental cars and have moved the rental locations off site. It's easy, but not as easy as it used to be. I don't know how they did it. 

San Diego is such a beautiful city! We went grocery shopping and got to check in early to our place and it was fantastic. Jen got us a 2-bedroom 2 bathroom timeshare. They were able to check us in early. We kept mentioning that we were 5 sisters celebrating one's retirement, one's dream job, and one's assignment to Africa. It got us a free car upgrade, early check-in with treats, and a small lemon cake. Not bad. We changed and went to the San Diego Temple for an endowment session. A very nice sister showed us to the atrium and showed us around that area, including some great views of the Angel Moroni and the reflection of a painting of Christ. She commented that when she saw us all she couldn't help but think of the 5 wise virgins in the parable of the 10 virgins. I thought that was a very sweet thing to share with us. 

After the temple, we went to get pizza at a place called Pizza Nova that my neighbor Lynn had recommended. It was delicious! Sooooo good. We shared a couple of salads and a couple of pizzas. We went back to our place, played some games, and went to bed. Karen and I shared a room because we are the late sleepers. Jen took the sofa bed because she snores. Deb and Kris shared the other room because they get up early. It was a perfect set up. 

On Saturday, we went to Coronado Beach for a couple of hours. At Kristen's suggestion, we looked for a lifeguard station and set up behind it to take advantage of the shade. We are seriously such wimps. Then we went to Cabrillo to see a lighthouse. It was very interesting to see a lighthouse and to read about them. It was windy up there, but beautiful. Kristen didn't get her sunset at the beach because the timing never worked out. Jen got welcomed to Mexico via text. We got a laugh out of that. 

We also went to the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. That was very informative. I knew of the Mormon Battalion, but didn't know a lot of details. What a sacrifice! The sister missionaries asked for a volunteer to get dressed up in the soldier garb and Karen did it. She's a good sport. Each member of the battalion had a very small "backpack" thing to carry all of their belongings. In spite of its VERY small size, the members of the battalion also brought their scriptures and a journal as the prophet suggested. Much of what we know about their journey is from journals. After the tour, we got excellent Mexican food. Very delicious. It was a great day. 

Karen actually caught the hat on her head. Good job!

Sunday we went to church down the road, then drove back to Carlsbad to see the Flower Fields in full bloom with Ranunculus flowers. There are rows and rows of flowers in full bloom. They also have a huge American Flag made of petunias. The place sells out quickly. In fact, there were only tickets left for the last entrance time. It was still enough time for us. We walked around, took pictures, and loved it. Then we got yummy burgers at Hodad's. It's a fun place with a quirky atmosphere and great food. I'd go back to all the places where we ate - the pizza, the Mexican, and the burgers. 

Jenny and her family love these cutouts

Jenny was on a family call, so the rest of us waited in line and got our table

On Monday, we headed back to Carlsbad and hiked at Torey Pines Nature Reserve. It's a great walk that starts along the beach, then goes uphill on some rocky steps. There are great views of the ocean on the way to a ranger station. Then you walk down a road back to the start. It was a beautiful walk. After the walk, we met Sarah Christesen, Kristen's daughter, for lunch. She drove down just to spend the day with us. After lunch, Sarah showed us the BEST donut place. You order your specific donut flavor and they make it for you right there. They are hot and topped with wonderful toppings. I got one with chocolate, caramel, and pretzels. Sarah and Cam always find great places to eat. I love hanging out with her. 

On our way home from donuts, Karen, Jenny, Debbie, and I stopped at the grocery store to replenish our candy supply. Haha. While at the store, we decided to grab take and bake pizza and a salad mix for dinner. We all agreed that we were ready to just hang out in our great place and eat pizza and salad and continue playing games. Sarah actually brought some games and we had a blast. She is really fun to be with. 

Tuesday was our day to fly home. It had been a great trip. We talked, laughed, and did the "Come Follow Me" app together each day. I realized I hadn't bought a magnet for my fridge, but I did find one at the airport. I bought one that said San Diego and had a lifeguard stand and flowers on it. Reminds me of our shade at the beach and the flower fields. A really, really great trip with the sisters. I hope Kelly can join us someday. 

Time Management

I love General Conference weekend. It's been a great weekend. I went walking with Kim Blight yesterday morning then I dropped cinnamon rolls off at Andrea Busby's house for her and her family. She's new faculty in the School of Family Life and we work together with the student association. She's smart and wonderful. She helps me understand issues of race. 

I enjoyed the Saturday afternoon session then took a nap. Kamiko and Bekki brought Dotty over for the afternoon session. It's always great to have them here. They stuck around for pasta, asparagus, and breadsticks. We also played a couple of games of Yahtzee. My neighbor Lynn had reached out to see if I wanted to watch the afternoon session with her and Michael. I had plans with the kids already, but I invited her over to watch the women's session with me and mom. Kamiko and Bekki left just as mom and my neighbor Lynn came over for the women's session. Lynn got to meet the kids and Dotty. I fed mom and Lynn dinner and we watched the session together. Lynn is great and it was fun to visit with her and mom after the session.  

I went to bed and was thinking of the VERY overwhelming week I have coming up. There is so much to do to prepare for spring term, a month of travel in Europe, and other work responsibilities. I officially signed my contract for the upcoming academic year, so now it's time to write my expectations document. It's just a lot to think about. I have a lot of meetings, too. It seems that everyday I go to work, I cross 4 things off my to do list, but I add 3 more. Anyway, I was feeling the stress of it all and went to bed hoping there would be a talk in conference on time management. Then I realized there already WAS a talk on time management. The talk given by Sister Craven in the women's session was perfect. I always like to hear her speak. She's my friend RaDawn's sister-in-law. I recalled that her talk was on doing what "mattereth most." I realized that if I spend time with morning and evening prayers and scripture study, each day I will have time to do the other things on my list. Start with what mattereth most. I can do it. 

Here's a quote from her talk:

"In the Doctrine and Covenants, there are times when the Lord says, “It mattereth not.” If there are things that matter not or matter less, there are things that must matter more. 

“In our efforts to do something, or do anything, we might ask ourselves, what mattereth most?”

Satan wants people to misplace their values or waste time, talents and spiritual strength on things that matter not, and distract from those things that matter most."

I called RaDawn this morning and told her my realization through tears. She reached out to Sister Craven and told her how much her talk helped me. I'm grateful for the spirit's help in realizing what I can do. 

After the morning session, I went walking with Maria Trump. We walk and talk on the phone, as she lives in Manteca, California. Then I watched the afternoon session. I spent the afternoon reading about Moses and the plagues that led to the Israelites release. God really does take care of His children. I listened to a podcast and watched a Youtube video about the upcoming week's Come Follow Me study. I really do like this newer way of gospel study. Happy Sunday!