Newest Member!

Introducing Harper Rose Anderson, born September 12th at 5:58 am, 8lbs 1oz, 19 inches long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Douglas County Highland Games

Unfortunately, we did not have our camera with us this trip...so no pictures. But we had fun! Our favorite Irishman was there, doing his great shows...he really knows how to draw a crowd!

They did something different this year, they mingled the vendors in with the clans, which meant we could actually interact with them more...plus, they moved the small stage up in the center of the clan area. This meant we could actually see the entertainment as well as hear them! Made our days much nicer.

We thoroughly enjoyed the after hours party at the Mexican restaurant up the way...very good food by the way...and gathering in the parking lot afterwards to sing 'Clan Tent Cavaliers' was a hoot! I had never heard this song before and was lucky enough to find a Men of Worth CD at the Scottish Shop tent before we left. You should give it a listen!

Kate

Whidbey Island Games

Todd's son Mitch has been posted to the Navy base on Whidbey Island, which means he is much closer to home now. We went up to spent a few days and got to visit the Whidbey Island Games, a first for me! Had a lot of fun getting to see the Washington contingent, we don't get to see them as often as we would like. Had our picture taken by Scot's Pic while we were there also.

Me, Becky, Mitch & Todd

The whole Clan Donald gang

Holly's Wedding or Why we were not at the Portland Games

The Arbor Todd built for the wedding

Holly & Mitch with Her brother Mitch & his wife Becky

Yes, that is Mitch being Holly's Maid of Honor

Todd & Holly

Holly & Mitch with his folks Sean & Mary

Holly & Mitch with their flower dog, Timber

Me, Todd with Holly & Mitch

Showing off her Donald Tartan

Caber toss - in her wedding dress

and it's GOOD!

Todd showing how it's done

We had quite a few of the females giving it a try

Catching up...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...been a lot happening! Todd's Daughter got married the same day as the Portland Highland Games, so we were not present, but the Clan tent was! We went over on Friday night to pitch the tent and set up for the next day, Tammy Soto and her family manned the tent Saturday and we came by at the end of the day to tear down. Tammy said she got some photos, so as soon as she gets them to me I will share.

I will also post a few pics from the wedding...Todd bought the bride and groom a nice bit of Clan Donald Tartan...we got the bride to don it for a few pics. They also had a bit of a caber toss after the reception and we got pics of the bride (in her gown) making a toss!

We have also been down with the nasty bug that has been going around...on top of the high temps, well...it has not been a whole lot of fun around here...sigh.

High Desert Festival has been Cancelled this year, they say that they will be back next year though! Which means that we get a chance to go to the Whidbey Island Games this year. I will post pics if we get some...

Hope you are staying cool!

Kate

Newport 2014 - pictures

                                 Friday night on the beach

                              Todd in front of the tent

                                 Jacobite invasion

                                 Our neighbors on the right

                  Kate, fighting the wet and chill on Sunday

                 Iain Sherwood, piper and photographer

            Irish, otherwise known as Billy with Clan Cian

                                 Our neighbors on the left

Newport Celtic Festival 2014

Newport was great as always...this was their (and our) 4th year. Saturday saw lots of folk, the weather was sunny and a bit breezy, but not as windy as last year! Sunday started out wet, but the rain cleared off after noon. I will post pictures tomorrow.

The Cattleman who brought the wee highland cows found out that he was part of Clan Donald...I don't think we got a picture of him (or the cows) it is hard to do it with just the two of us manning the tent. Talked to a lot of nice folk and managed to steer quite a few in the right direction when they were not a Donald. I have some pages to scan and send to people who found some information in our genealogy books. And we had a chance to catch up with many clan folk who we only get to see during the season.

Had a grand time with the Irish fella who sold the swords...he put on a great show and he knows our Idaho Commissioner Sharon Goff! I know we got his picture (and his name).

We were next to a lady who did marvelous leatherwork...and we discussed maybe having a get together or 2 with them giving us some lessons...so, keep tuned for more info on that going forward.

Kate
(still recuperating)

Eugene Scottish Festival 2014 pictures

Eugene Scottish Festival

We attended the Eugene Scottish Festival this last Saturday...it was held back at the church this year, and while the school site had many perks...we still like this site better! We were down on the end of clan row and had a great view of the whole festival!

Lot's of folk stopped by the tent to chat, including a lot of MacKillops who were MacDonalds of Keppoch...so it was a pleasure to direct them to speak with Ivan, our State Chaplain.

We sold 3 of the NPR cookbooks and are happy to welcome a returning member, Matt McDonald!

We did get pictures and I will post them as soon as we get them uploaded from the camera. Next event will be the Newport Games in June.

Kate

Links Updated!

I have finished updating the North Pacific Region Links...all the Festivals and Games for Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Washington are now there. If you see one I missed, drop me a line and let me know!

This coming weekend is the Eugene Highland Festival, hope to see you there! It is also the Friends of MacDonald's annual celebration in Astoria.

Kate

Links

I have checked and verified the Links for Clan Donald and for all the Oregon events. I will get the links checked and updated for all the NPR events and get the Montana events added to that list over the next week or so.

Kate

Albany Scottish Festival

The Albany Festival is not happening again this year, but according to their page, they will be back in 2015. We look forward to attending this fine event again next year.

April 1st

Hunt the Gowk (Scotland)

 On this day people would play tricks and tell lies to catch each other out. But the jokes had to stop at mid-day. Now called April Fool's Day, hunting the gowk was originally sending someone on a foolish errand to hand someone a paper with the words "Dinna laugh, an' dinna smile But hunt the gowk another mile." The "fool" would then be sent on to the next person to find.

Signal

With the Spring issue of the Signal, June Thompson will be taking over the editorial duties. She has a background in publishing and makes it to many more of the events than I was able to. I am sorry to give it up but, with my duties also as Oregon Deputy Commissioner and our Foster Home, my plate was overloaded. I am looking forward to having more time for my commissioner duties and being able to keep this blog a bit more active.

I enjoyed doing the Signal for the last 2 years, I learned a lot! I want to thank the Regional Commissioners that gave me the opportunity and the help while I undertook the assignment.

Kate

Calendar is updated!

I just finished updating the 2014 calendar...I fixed a couple of broken links and added the Montana Games, so if you are in the area, you have a chance to catch what I hear are some great games!

Not all of the websites have been updated as of yet...and the AGM website is set up, but has nothing on the AGM yet. I will keep an eye on it and if they change the website or update it, I will give y'all a heads up.

I will update the links and NPR events...adding the Montana events and links there also. I am also working on a Travel page for the blog.

Kate

Monthly Web Meeting

We have started a monthly web meeting on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Last night was our first actual meeting as we have been dealing with different issues the last couple of months. Servers were down one month due to the nasty weather across the country, but we had both video and audio last night!
Thank you to Gretchen for joining us! If you would like to join us...drop me a line at dragonbroom@yahoo.com and we will get you an invite sent out to the meeting.

Kate

Glencoe 2014 - Cancelled

We had to cancel the Glencoe memorial this year. We had a death in the family...the Weight master that was murdered a couple of weeks ago was married to Todd's cousin. The funeral/memorial service was the same day as we had planned Glencoe. We also had word from many folks that they were still combating the Flu bug that has been particularly nasty this year. And with others still dealing with the tail end of the frozen weather, we thought that it was best to cancel.

Unfortunately, due to a resident issue here at home we were not able to attend the funeral either.

Kate

Catching up...

I hope you all survived the holidays and the cold, snowy weather! We had that nasty bug that has been going around...lasted about a month, that was REALLY miserable!
We are gearing up for the new season...I will be updating this years calendar as I confirm events. I also will be updating any broken links or items that have been moved...you know, spring cleaning!!
Stay tuned for more frequent posting as we head into the new season.

Kate