Scottish Hospitality: Bom Dia!

Hello! I have risen from my silent cave! Sorry I took so long to write a new entry but honestly, you can't blame me for not wanting to get the word out, 'Yeah, I lost first round.' But with that being said, yes, I did lose first round. I played really bad. The girl had a good forehand and took advantage of my way too many double faults. I think it was more mental than anything. I mean I fly overseas for the first time to play tennis tournaments, no pressure, I've just spent all this money and time and energy and planning and wondering and calling and entering and...well, yeah, so I get out on the court knowing that a lot of effort has gone into getting me to this exact court at this exact time. Anyways, I came up with an analogy to think of every point as it's own chain link. Each point/link has a clear beginning and end. Sometimes I ride emotional waves (good and bad emotions) throughout the match and do not play with a clear head. I play a point thinking about the last one, or thinking about what the score will be if a win the current point. Not good! But with this approach each point is a link and at the end of the match they all add up to make a chain. With this in mind I've had a much more calm and efficient practice over the past two days. You may think this is cheesey, but hey, it's working for me right now. No negative comments without trying it first! :)
For us southern folk, there may be a new standard for having guests at our home! If all Scottish people are as inviting, easy going and fun as our new friends here are, we may need to rethink that term, 'Southern Hospitality' and trade it for 'Scottish Hospitality.' Let me bring you up to speed with one of the most remarkable weeks of my life. Our retired Scottish hosts, Jim and Elizabeth, make us feel right at home and have shown us an unforgettable time. Not only has this been wonderful as far as playing a tournament and seeing the Algarve, but just to learn about their Scottish culture and heritage has been extremely interesting. Typically when a player gets housing, they go to the grocery store first thing to get essentials: bread, milk, cereal, peanut butter (if they didn't bring their own on the plane like I did) and apples. I offered to go to the store and Jim looked at me with a puzzled expression and in his distinct accent politely said, 'For what?' With that being said, we wake up every morning and breakfast foods are on the nicely set table with the quiet and sunny outside shining through their backdoor. They both are like chirping little birds and I try to greet them with, 'Bom dia!' (Good morning) every day. (They actually had fresh squeezed orange juice from the oranges in their back yard and it was the bomb! They don't prefer them b/c they think it is too tart. Fruit down here is sweet, similar to about 10 shocktarts or 15 sweettarts in your mouth at once but your taste buds reamin intact: awesome!) Sometimes we eat b-fast with them, other times we wake up a little later than they do. Lunch is usually cooked by Elizabeth or I make my peanut butter/honey/banana sandwich and then she cooks dinner or we go out. I know, you're thinking, 'You better be helping her!' The truth is she is so quick and really doesn't want or need any help, BUT Anna and I do the dishes and clean up the kitchen every night and empty the dishwasher when it's full.
Today Anna and I practiced at their tennis club which is near the host site and when they came over to get us they had their coffee (we always tease Jim about his coffee breaks several times throughout the day...like 4 or 5!) and Jim said, 'What do you want to do now?' They've already taken us to several surrounding cities so we can 'get the most out of the trip' as Elizabeth said. Wow, What a great thought! I claim I've been throughout most of the U.S. becuase of tennis, but how much have I actually seen besides cemented fenced in courts and hotels? Yesterday we went to Faro and walked around the beautifully designed cobblestone streets amidst stores and coffee shops with Portuguese music playing in the background (I really miss my dancing partner!!!). We stopped for tea, coffee and hot chocolate (me) and these cream pastry things that are a Portuguese favorite. I looked in little shops at their well-known handpainted pottery but didn't buy anything, it's all so beautiful and hopefully I can take some back to America in one piece. We've seen the downtown where they live, Loule, as well as Faro, Albufiera (next tourney town), Almancil, and one more but I can't remember the name. Needless to say, without their help, our trip to the Algarve would have been entirely different and not nearly as fun.
Jim and Elizabeth have shown us all around, taken us to great restaurants and been excellent hosts. However even if they hadn't done all that they have, I would still love to spend time with them. They are around each other pretty much all day every day and the atmosphere is always light. Neither one has said anything at all negatively directed at or behind the back of the other. Sometimes they don't agree on something, like directions, but then one will say, 'Oh yeah, you can go that way' and the conversation is dropped. Jim has added his engineering touches to the exterior of the house by building this awning thing over the sidewalk for ivy to grow over in the summer, a pond full of fish, and several stone fences. He also made a wooden ball picker upper contraption that you push around the court. He is a very intelligent man and actually retired about 10 years after selling his engineering company in Scotland. His story is quite impressive and he seems to live with the same energy and creativity he must have had when he owned his own company. Being the kind of man he is, he said he enjoyed working when his company was smaller because he knew the workers. He said when it got bigger he would walk around and could tell that people got nervous. He is an extremely personable man and always looking out for other's interests, whether it is his wife's, Anna's or mine or people at the church. Elizabeth is such a dear to us. We played Scrabble last night with her and she cleaned our clocks! I love how she notices nature and flowers in particular. She said this the other day as we were driving and came to a stop, 'Look at those two lilacs beginning to bud behind that wall, you can barely see them, actually you won't be able to...' Then as we started again I had given up looking for them, but she got my attention again to make sure I saw them. She is so easy going and I'm not sure if she could ever raise her voice or get upset for more than a few minutes. Anna and I have had a lot of fun talking and particularly laughing with her. 'Gran', as her 4 grandsons call her, is a Dear.
Last thing: I really wasn't a tea drinker before I came here, but now I thoroughly enjoy a hot cup of tea with milk and sugar in it. Usually after dinner Elizabeth brings in a tray (she makes tea probably 3 times a day) with tea and cookies, 'biscuits' on it! I've told them I'm living a tea party. They just laugh at my ignorant mind. I laugh with them.