Before we move on to Christmas however, let me tell you about our Thanksgiving… I got to have 2 days holiday last week! I took off Thursday and Friday knowing it was Thanksgiving, and… Ian’s graduation!! I got to sit and watch my hubby get tapped on the head with an old dirty hat and receive his official Master’s degree! It was all very exciting.
He got all gussied up in a black suit complete with white bowtie (required, I might add.. and stunning. I’m a fan of the white bowtie)
Here he is looking all GQ getting ready to have the degree conferred…
And here is the tapping.
Oh, and the part where he gets the hood added to his robe :) There are lots of traditions here at St Andrews, which is to be expected from a university this old. Most of the graduation service is conducted in Latin between the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor. The Heads of the departments present their students to the Chancellor, he says a little something in Latin, and the degree is conferred. The student has to come up on stage, present the hood to the helper man (I’m sure there is a more correct term for that guy), kneel before the Chancellor after which the graduate gets tapped on the head with the cap (some believe this cap was made from John Knox’s britches, I don’t remember what the more likely story is, but it’s been used for quite a while in the graduation ceremonies) while the Chancellor says the Latin words and the helper man puts the hood on. The graduate then rises and bows to the Chancellor who returns the formality, then proceeds off stage where he/she is handed their diploma and returns to his/her seat. It’s all very formal and fun to watch. Ian did an excellent job, but as you can see, I couldn’t use the flash so it’s all very blurry. I can’t hold still! I try so hard. I’m using a video camera next time..
If you can bear it, there will be lots more fuzzy pictures in the slideshow to the right when I post it later today :)
And, here he is… Master Ian
There was a big tent party afterwards, but I couldn’t stay (don’t worry, Ian did) because I had to run back to salvage our Thanksgiving turkey! And make stuffed mushrooms, and finish the pumpkin cheesecake and… Anyway, it was my first official turkey and I think it turned out really well. I got very good comments from the eaters :)
Here’s my few-hours-graduated Master Carver hard at work
The oven full of a few things needing to be kept warm until we were ready to eat..
And when we were all set to go, I took a quick snapshot of the group (sans myself, of course). You can see the lovely Thanksgiving decorations donated to the cause by Rebecca and Christian, and lots of food donated by everyone! There were three other big dishes on another table that you can’t see.. we had quite the spread :)
And here is a picture of the whole group all together
Left to right you will find: Sara and Shawn, David and Joy, Ian and Corrie, and Rebecca and Christian. All PhD students and their wives – goooooooooo husbands!!! We had a great time eating and enjoying one another’s company and eating and telling about things we’re thankful for and eating. Oh and we also had THREE desserts! Apple pie, Pecan pie (or crouton pie as we affectionately call it in the Church household), and pumpkin cheesecake. Mmmmmm…
So now that you’re drooling and wishing it was Thanksgiving all over again, I’ll sign off with promises of pictures from our amazing weekend excursion coming soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment