And so it is....just like I thought it would be. I am home sweet home - a bittersweet state of limbo between where I was and where I am going. Bitter because I've left a life, a home and some of the most fabulous people one could wish to know. Sweet because, well, PEI will always be home, familiarity is sometimes a comfort we take for granted and because my family is here and they are all such wonderful company. No really, they are. I actually like living at home. How crazy is that? But it's nice to be in a house again, its even nicer knowing that my respective elders pretty much take me as I am :)

Anyways, I've only been home for four days and, in some ways, it has been extremely easy to settle back into life on the Island.

For instance, my first full day back and I was already at the AFC signing up to reduce the size of my gut and butt! So far I have stayed clean - no candy, chocolate, fatty foods or eating. According to the scales this has already resulted in 2 pound weight loss! I have no intention of easing up on the workout sched or eating plan. I am in it for the long haul!

I also popped into the School of Business to catch up with some familiar faces. It was great seeing everyone again, especially the 2 Js - Joan & Janet :) Two very inspiring women !

Gettingback on the road was a piece of cake, although looking at the gas prices was not so enticing. They have gone up almost doublefold since I left. Holy shite. PEI dearly needs a public transit system. It seems ridiculous to me that they spent $1 Billion to build the Bridge, yet have no public transit system whatsoever.

Ah, but there are those tricky little things I have to get used to. In Edinburgh I trained myself to walk across the streets with the flow of traffic -s ometimes this meant standing in the middle of the street while traffic whizzed by in both directions. I tried the same trick on Queen street only to find a driver come to a dead stop to let me walk across. And I keep saying 'cheers' and 'falt'. I can't help it, it just comes out!

OH - and there is no one left. Everyone I ever really knew on PEI is gone - with the exception of Rana, Natasha and (maybe?) Adam. So, yeah - no trivia crew, no Kelley Building crew. So I am thinknig fast on my feet about how to keep myself entertained and avoid being completely lonely. AS a first attempt, I went to dance classes last night- Scottish & English Country dancing! It was SO fun and I met some really nice people of all ages. So I am definitely keeping that up.

OK - time for a list or two - I haven't done one of those in awhile!

Things I Miss About Edinburgh (or anticpate missing in the near future)

• Friends to do things with - Brandon, Anne, Grand, Ailbhe, Margaret, Beth, Helene, Derek, Michelle, Gary & Rachel and, of course, all those who left before I did - you know who you are!
• Things to do - Like quiz nights, ceilidhs, hot chocolate at Garfunkels, wandering the city until a candy shop appears at your feet, dancing until all hours, going to the park for lie down
• Being able to walk everywhere or use public transit
• Being a two minute walk from Tescos
• Being able to add up the cost of a purchase in head without needing to remember to add on 17% tax
• Having a steady income from a job (it should be noted I do not mis the job itself!)
• My mobile and texting!
• All the nice-looking youngish men
• The anononimity of it all
• The regulars - Walk About, Drop Kicks, maybe even Filthys!
• The chocolate & candy & Woolworths pick n mix

Things I Will Not Miss About Edinburgh

• The small washing machines and fridges
• Our flat guest - Mr Mouse
• Being a two minute walk from Tescos
• The cobblestone streets - nice to look at, a killer on the feet
• Texting rules that I never learned
• My job - enough said
• The long , dark winters

Things I Love About Canada/PEI

• I get to drive!
• Bigger washing machines, a clothes line & dryer if required
• A normal-sized kitchen that is fully stocked
• Cheap gym memberships
• Going to town and knowing I will likely run into someone I know.
• The chocolate is not as good, so less tempting to indulge
• The green, open spaces & peacefulness
• The friends & people that are still here are fabulouso and so welcoming of a returnee
• The peanut butter and salad dressing
• Mom's vegetable garden
• Desperate Housewives new season is on TV now ..no waiting until the new year!
• Tim Hortons - not that I visit it, but I know it's there if I ever feel the urge
• last but by no means least - NO SMOKING LAWS!

Things I Am not So Fond of about Canada/PEI

• The Island accent. I am sorry but compared to the lovely, lilting accents of the Scottish & Irish it's just not that pleasing to the ear
• Having to figure out GST & PST - what taxes are on what items and how much more is it going to cost me
• The lack of temp agencies & jobs in general
• The chocolate, which is not as good as European chocolate
• The lack of friendliness at pubs/bars - people are just way more amiable over in Scotland - especially the males. Maybe its because they've conumed five pints by teh time five o'clock rolls around. Who knows?
• Genetically Modified foods - banned in Europe

K, that's all I have time for at the moment, but I'll be back in a wee while to post final thoughts on Edinburgh experience. Hope you are all enjoying your lives, whever they may be taking you!

Well, that's me back on good ol' PEI! Flight was pretty non-eventful - highlight of the trip was not having to pay ANY excess baggage despite being two times the limit! Ah, gotta love complacency , it saved me $100 or 50 pounds (back to keyborads with $ sign so reverting to this currency)! Also, I got to spend the entire flight catching up with Natasha instead of watching mediocre movies. I did buy the headset but didn't end up using it. I also did not end up starting Harry Potter. Whoops. Ah well plenty for time for that now.

OK, well I haven't been home long enough to have contemplated my time in Edniburgh or be reflective..I'm not even sure its a post anyone wuold want to read, but i"'ll probably write it anyway.

For now I am just going to go out and enjoy teh sunshine and heat and maybe haev some fresh corn on the cob!

So this is it - my last blog post from Edinburgh/Scotland/Europe. Since I've started this blog I've done 227 posts - that's pretty good for a year and a half of living eh? And yes, I will be continuing to post after my return to PEI. Sadly I can guarantee more frequent and probably mre creative posts in the future due to lack of employment and social circle :)

Sad & Lonely Shan Planet. Sigh. I can't believe I am spending my last afternoon in Edinburgh ALONE. I am going to try not to read too much into that and remind myself that half of my favorite people/friends have left the country already.

Notes from the past few days:

Tuesday - Wandered around town, did some shopping, enjoyed the last of Edinburgh's summer adn sat in Princes Street Gardens reading 101 Things to Do Before you Die, which I had just purchased at FOPP. It is the coolest book with ideas and instructions on how to go about dong some rather outrageous and exciting things such as doing a runner from a restaurant, gate crashing a fancy party and meeting someone with the same name as you.

SIDENOTE #1 - There are too many Shannon Courtneys out there. A week or so ago I recieved an email from a guy named Andrew, whom I had no recollection of ever meeting. I opened the email anyway. This dude was just writing to let me know he had a friend with the same name - a male friend! And he had attached a picture of his friend, Shannon Courtney, for my benefit and requested I write the guy. What a laugh! So, of course, I did email Shannon and let Andrew konw I'd done so and heard back from both. Maybe the first step to meeting someone with the smae name as me and checking off one of those 101 things to do....

Tuesday evening I went to see Crash with Helene, Derek & Beth. An interesting movie, not entirely amazing but disturbing enough. Afterwards Beth and I went to the 3 Sisters for a few bevys of the non-alcoholic nature and had a lovely chat.

Wednesday - Met Raeanne at the airport - another Islander in the house :) It was great to see someone from home, especially Rae Rae! We had a bite to eat at the Last Drop then wandered and wandered and wandered some more. Eventually we stopped again for another bite then headed to Stockbridge to do a pub quiz withBrandon & Ross. Predicatably we bombed but who cares - it was fun anyways!

Thursday - Met Chris & Wendy at the airport - two more Canadians in the house! They had cute matching suticases with huge Canada flag stickers on them. We met up with Rae at the hostel and I proceeded to lead them down the mile (both Rae & Chris asked me if it was really a mile long. I don't know - I am not a details person :) Anyways after a quick stop for a free sample at the Fudge Kitchen we proceeded to climb Arthur's Seat. This is when I decided that wearing sandals was not the wisest idea :) Following on our hike up the hill we sat down for a Chinese buffet - Saigon Saigon one last time and yes, it was 2 for 1 !! In the evening I took them to the Walk About because the drinks are cheap (£1) on Thursday night. Chris quite enjoyed this deal and consumed 5 pints of Stella. Stella is one gal in high demand. We ended up at Finnegnan's Wake where the band that usually plays at Drop Kick's were fiddilng away. It was brilliant EXCEPT that my feet decided to give out on me. I was in pure agony and am still in quite a bit of pain - teh pads of my feet are always burning. Blah - I need insoles in a bad way.

Friday - the rainiest, coldest day I've experienced in a LONG time. I had a lunch date with Beth who generously offered to take me to a fancy place for lunch as a birthday/leaving pressie. It was delicious and thorougly enjoyable. Thank you Beth :) The poor girl has been having a rough time of it lately as she discovered that there are bed bugs at her flat. After lunch I met up with my Canuck visitors and we went to a pub for haggis. it was definitely a day of eating. Sigh.

I said my goodbyes to Helene at her flat. Sigh, it is getting harder and harder. I also had to say goodbye to Rae, but I know I will see her soonish...back in Canada.

That evening Chris, Wendy & I had dessert and then a bit of cider at Drop Kicks.

Today - Did some last minute shopping with Chris & Wendy then saw them off. I hope I will see them again soon as they are brilliant company and both very lucky to have found each other....

Got roped into doing a market research survey about electrical goods and then wandered in here.

So that's where I am now - no last prophetic wordsfrom Edinburgh. It's all a bit too surreal and sad at the moment. Not to mention expensive. I'll do the whole contemplative/reflective post from the comforts of home sweet home.

Well here I go again, throwing myself into the unknown, but familiar. ReadyI am not, but I'll cope. Singing off key from Edinburgh one last time......