I Blame Judy Miller

Okay, so in all seriousness, I wouldn't have gone to Scotland if Judy Miller hadn't dragged me there kicking and screaming. :)  Well, not exactly, but the trip really was her idea and so I blame her. I mean I wanted to go and spend time with Liz Higgs and see Scotland again, but it was Judy who set the trip in motion. For those of you who don't know Ms Judith Miller, let me tell you she has her bag of tricks for getting her way.  I've co-written about 12 books with Judy and have always been amazed at her writing techniques and ability to spin a wonderful yarn.  She's a super friend and I blame her for spoiling me.  Here's a pic of our latest release just out this month.  

But I digress.  On our 3rd day in Scotland we took a beautiful drive to Stirling. Here we are in Stirling at Stirling Castle. James V’s Palace at Stirling, Scotland is one of the finest and best-preserved Renaissance buildings in Great Britain.

 I hadn't explored this castle prior to our visit there and I have to say it was great fun.  My knees are still complaining from the uneven cobblestones and stairs,

but I guess I can blame Judy for that too because she made me go the extra distance to the weaving room where they were making exact replicas of medieval tapestries.

They use this patterned piece of linen and then weave accordingly trying to exactly match the colors that were originally used.  It's amazing the way they are able to give us another view of the ancient.

This is a picture of what the tapestry will one day look like.

The castle offeres beautifully restored rooms and wonderful historical detail.

 

You can used this link to learn more about Stirling Castle

 

www.stirlingcastle.gov.uk

 

So we had a pretty incredible day and learned so much about Stirling and James V, and I blame Judy for that too.  Judy furthered her influence by introducing me to the Downton Abbey PBS series.  I blame her that haven't gotten nearly enough writing done this week for having to stop and watch episodes in order to get "caught up" for the January debut of season 3. Shame on you, Judy.

 

So you can see the kind of influence our Judy has on me.  I guess rather than blame Judy, I should say thank you, instead.  It was a super great time with a very dear friend and I will never watch Downton Abbey without thinking of her, but for the sake of my writing career you probably shouldn't tell me about any other PBS series, favorite movies or girlfriend trips for a while.