The cosy vegetarian cafe in Kirkcaldy (Anderson's) has been made-over as a grill house (by the same owners). Paint me heartbroken.
The Kirkcaldy Artisan Friday market is back! To celebrate, in exchange for goods, I gave money to Mix Fruit, Hughes Bakery, Grain and Sustain, (Not) Just Herbal Tea, The Happy Go Lucky Dog Company, Ecobean, and The Tiffin. I do love to keep the Kirkcaldy economy moving.
On this day in 2021 I moved into my flat. I got the keys two weeks prior, but one week prior the boiler gave up and it was freezing, so I had to postpone. On February the 14th, Dave and I unpacked boxes, cleaned anything we hadn't already cleaned, and exhaustedly wondered what we should do for dinner. I begrudgingly started getting out some vegetables. There was a knock at the door with an Indian food delivery. We hadn't ordered Indian food. The guy left, then came back again. Were we sure? Dave checked the name on the order. It was ours. Only then did we remember we had pre-ordered it some days before, knowing we would not be in the mood for cooking dinner that night. Great work, past us. When I bought this flat, I was full of doubts. I'd never expected to own property, nor particularly wanted to. It was in a middling state of disrepair - habitable, but not pleasant - and I didn't know anything about decorating or have any idea what work would be involved. I thought I'd be on the road again, nomadding, within a few months, and that this would be a place for Dave to live if he hadn't found somewhere else by then. It turned out to be a great decision. I've made amazing friends here. The local community is wonderful. The local nature is incredible. I can see the sea from my window and go down to the beach every day for spectacular sunrises. I can borrow my neighbours pets. I have learned a ton of DIY skills. I have barely had itchy feet to travel again the whole time. I still feel like I'm on holiday every time I walk outside. What I saved in rent I sunk into improving the flat interior, which would have been difficult if not impossible without the hands-on help of friends and family. I tried to do as much secondhand as possible, or failing that, using local companies. There were a few big chains involved as well though. All of my furniture is from local secondhand shops, Gumtree, Freegle, given by friends, or a nearby skip. As of last week, I've almost done all of the refurbishments I want, so this seems like a good time for some before and after pictures. You can see all of the in-progress DIY photos here. In lieu of a fisheye lens, I used vertical panoramas to capture as much of each room as possible, so some of the photos are a bit janky. Living room This is the boring one. No redecorating, just furnishings. Before, after: Dining table and chairs: thanks Felicity Sofabed: free from Gumtree Chaise long: Furniture Plus Cosy chair: Gumtree Coffee table: Furniture Plus Rug: Gumtree Chaotic plant table: Furniture Plus, was my desk in the old place Snazzy clock: Kirkcaldy Boot & Mart (20p) Oil paintings of Dysart Harbour and Ravenscraig Castle: Methuselah's Speakers: Freegle Projector: Kit and I bought this 50/50 in about 2012. My turn for custody. Curtains: original, but cut down and lined by a local seamstress I gave away two old sofas, two TV cabinets, a coffee table and a great deal of bric-a-brac on Freegle/Gumtree or to local charities. Kitchen The kitchen, once all the grime was cleaned off, was the best room in the flat. We took out some weird electricals, gave away a tiny dishwasher and washing machine, and carved out some cupboard space for an under-counter freezer (The Bed Shed). Replaced the fridge freezer (Andy's Buy & Sell) as the one in the flat gave up after a few months. Put up some hooks in a few different places. Before, after: I'd definitely like to replace the floor, as it's all warped MDF tiles. Maybe some dark green subway tiles on the walls, too... but that's a long way off. Bathroom I count myself extremely fortunate that my Dad is a qualified plumber. And that he was well up for coming up here for a month to completely refit my bathroom. I helped. Before: After: Wall tiles: Tile Warehouse (local) Floor: Tapi Toilet: ripped out of Mum's new house Corner bath: original; frame made from the old one plus floor tiles Shower, sink and bath taps: Ebay Shower screen: Gumtree Sink bowl: B&Q Sink cabinet: Furniture Plus, upcycled by me Mirror: gumtree Heated towel rail: B&Q Shelves: wood scavenged from R's shed down the road (sanded and oiled) Ceiling bar and towel rail: Ebay I gave away the old toilet locally, bath taps on Freegle and built-in cupboard on Gumtree. Dad took the mirror. The sink is still sitting in the flat stairwell because I refuse to send it to landfill. Many of the old tiles are smashed up and serving to help drainage in pots in my footpath garden. The radiator went to the scrap metal dealer. My bedroom The walls were such a violent blue that I had to repaint them before I even moved in. Removing the built-in wardrobe yielded gaping voids that needed plastered. The carpet in my room was the last to go, and I think what finally got the smell of 12 years of cigarette smoke out of the flat. Floorboards needed replaced. But any amount of work was worth it for the sea view. Before: After: Walls: Silver Birch from Victory Colours and Otillie from Craig & Rose Floor: Tapi; edging: ebay Hammock: ebay; wall fixings: R's shed Cosy chair: Kirkcaldy market Desk: thanks Kit and Mariette Chair: ebay Standing lamp: thanks Kit and Mariette Chest of drawers: thanks Kirstin Bookshelf: Furniture Plus Yarn shelf: Barnardo's Rug: Cancer Research Curtains: original I gave away the bed, smelly mattress, and built in wardrobe on Freegle/Gumtree. Dave's The guest room Removing all the built-in cupboards wasn't quite as bad as in my room, but we did do quite a lot of damage to the walls that needed plaster to fill in the process. As well as visible redecorating, a weekend was spent crawling around under the floor to insulate all the pipes. Before: After: Walls: Victory White and About Damson from Victory Colours Floor: Carpetright; edging: B&Q Bed: Furniture Plus; mattress: Freegle Desk: Ebay Chair: Dave's Drawers, bookcase, shelves, bedside: Furniture Plus Built in wardrobe: original Curtains: Barnardo's Blind: Furniture Plus I gave away the bed, smelly mattress and extremely excessive built-in cupboards on Freegle. Dave put up with extensive inconvenient redecorating by complaining the whole time, but I think he enjoyed it really. The ensuite Dad came for a second trip to refurbish Dave's bathroom the guestroom ensuite. This involved knocking out a bit of a wall, which went surprisingly well all things considered. Before, after: Walls: tiles from Tile Warehouse (local) and Victory White paint from Victory Colours Floor: B&Q Ceiling: Rembrand Timber (Glenrothes) Toilet: ebay Shower tray: original Shower, sink taps: Ebay Shower screen: B&Q Sink and cabinet: Freegle Mirror: Furniture Plus Shelf: wood scavenged from R's shed (sanded and varnished) Heated towel rail: ripped out of Dad's old bathroom Cabinet: Castle Furniture, yet to be upcycled Towel rail: original, moved Old sink, toilet and shower enclosure were rehomed on Gumtree. Dad took the mirror. Hallway This years dream is to replace the half of the hallway floor that is terrible MDF tiles with something nice. I also plan to rip out the two built in cupboards and replace them with organised shelves instead of chaos drawers or useless space. One of the cupboards (with the electric meter in) can only be opened when the bathroom door is open. Before: After: Walls: custom mixed of Craig & Rose Lady Emma, by Victory Colours Floor: original Barometer: Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland etching: Furniture Plus Coat hooks: original Hat stand: Ebay Shoe racks: one from the Bed Shed, the other homemade from scavenged wood The hallway was originally divided into two by a brown glass sliding door. I gave this away on Freegle. So what? This has been a really fun adventure, and absolutely not what I'd have imagined myself doing a year before. I don't think it's over yet.
Max thinks yoga is a funny game that is all about him.
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Sunrises, beach walkies, full moon.
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It's amazing what a bottle of raspberry coulis can do to make anything fancy. Today's michelin star quality Community Kitchen desserts, peach and coconut jelly set with agar, with a spring of mint from the garden. I also made lemon and coffee jelly this week, on my six-monthly agar kick.
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Rainy walk along Ravenscraig beach.
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Max was a lazy bean. Weather was drizzly so we only did little walks, but he didn't mind. Big rainbow.
A beautiful sunny day in Edinburgh. A wander around town, across the Meadows, climb up Arthur's Seat, food in Beetroot Sauvage and The Doghouse.
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Espresso machine havoc that lasted for weeks is finally put back together.
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Took up the smelly old carpet in my bedroom and removed damaged floorboards. Insulated what was possible of the pipes beneath, and fit new floorboards. Then laid new laminate floor, as modelled by Max.
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Finished floor edging and skirting for the missing bits of skirting, and put my room back together. Also got an adorable stool for the extra couple of inches I need to get into the hammock now.
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Berry muffins at Community Kitchen. Homemade seedy bread at home.
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Velvet shanks on homemade seedy bread. Blackcurrent pie with a nut/date crust and peanutbutter cup topping. Lemon pies and choc chip muffins in the Community Kitchen.
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Almond chocolate brownies in the Community Kitchen. Super gooey. Even the gluten free batch (which were identical except for gluten free flour). Refined-sugar-free blackcurrent cakes at home (contains banana and coconut sugar); the batter was art. And a loaf of seedy bread.
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First foray of the year. Winter oysters and velvet shank. A bit slimy, but fine on toast.
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Tomato, gherkin, courgette, cucumber and fancy squash seedlings are coming along. My purple sprouting broccoli, that I thought capterpillars killed last autumn, is sprouting once more! And onions I planted in December are still coming up.
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My hammock is now attached to the walls instead of on a stand. This gives me a lot more space around it, but more importantly makes it high enough that I can see the sea and the sunrise from it, so I never need to get up again.
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I made krompiruša! My favourite Bosnian (or in fact Balkan) food. I never made it at home before because the pastry is complicated, but I was left some pre-made puff pastry which worked out perfectly. I rolled one a bit thin and it broke but had the best texture, and the other less thin so it held together but wasn't exactly right. But still delicious. Obviously I also got some Vegeta for the occasion. I'm feeling very nostalgic for Sarajevo right now.
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Lowenna came to visit. She and Max tornado'd around for a while until Max decided she smells tooooo good and they had to be separated by a door. Outside, the ball was not enough of a distraction, and I had to pry Max off her then hold him down with my full weight while M took Lowenna out of the way. Sigh.
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Max had a run in with a beagle thing called Banjo in Ravenscraig Park. We crossed paths twice, the first time was fine though it was clear Banjo didn't like Max. The second time Max was strutting a bit but keeping his distance, then Banjo just went for him. It does Max good to get snapped at from time to time, especially by smaller dogs, because he's used to being the alpha. I didn't realise Banjo actually drew blood until we were a little way down the path (and I could hear Banjo getting a good telling off behind us). It was just a nick to his ear, but turns out they bleed a lot. When we got home he splattered blood all over the floors and back of the sofa. I washed it out and he rolled onto his back with his head in my lap to let me do it. Then I nipped to the pharmacy for bandages. I put an adhesive dressing on it and tied his ear down to stop him from flapping, but I wasn't sure I'd cleaned it well enough, but also didn't want to do more damage by cleaning too hard. Plus I was worried about infection from Banjo. So I called the vet, they booked me a slot an hour and a half later, and K came to rescue us in the car. That was an exciting adventure for Max. He was in there for over an hour. They shaved a bit of fur, cleaned him up properly and glued the skin flap down, then bandaged him really tightly to stop him flapping. He shook it off before I'd even paid. So they took him back, and tried again with extra heavy industrial strength bandage. He was gloomy about this, but had squirmed out of it by bedtime. Thankfully he seems to have stopped bleeding, though.
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Put socks on Max. He loved it. Silly Max.
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Max being cosy in various chairs.
A drizzly walk in between showers/snow/gales. After which Max had zero-gravity dreams in various places.
Velvet shank and jelly ear in Ravenscraig Park.
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Monster leeks from the garden! Also, not pictured, celeriac and salsify. And seedlings sprouting for another round... tomatoes, cucumbers, gherkins, squash, courgette.. and some strays.
Some braw sunrises, as usual. Some days freezing, some days mild. And views from my newly elevated hammock.
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The sky was such an unearthly shade of blue at sunrise today I was convinced we were in a simulation. Obviously my camera couldn't capture it in its true glory.
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Braw morning for a walk to Dysart harbour.
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New tea stall at the Friday market. Walkies and snoozles with Max.
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Max watched over me while I watched the sun rise. Then we ambled a third of the way to Wemyss before I decided I should change out of my pjs and put my coffee cup down, then try again for a proper walk. Braw day!
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The tide was out further than I've seen it in a long while. Perfect for a walk to Wemyss along the beach, instead of the coastal path which is really muddy at the moment. We visited the fossil spot, and Max chased the ball almost the whole time. The solid rock part of the 'beach' at Wemyss is usually completely submerged when I'm around there, so it was great to wander over it like the surface of an alien planet. Max was a Very Good Boy and zonked right out when we got home.
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Monday and Tuesday beach walkies.
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Sunrises, and walkies to East Wemyss (out along the coastal path, ice cream shop stop, back along the beach.
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Max takes downward dog very seriously.
Starting to wonder if I can get from the UK to Vancouver by freighter and long distance train for W3C TPAC in September. Definitely possible, but I'd need a good month and a half, and a few thousand $$. There were a lot more options before covid.
A year since I moved into my flat; drafted a post but haven't finished it yet. Hung out with Max loads and loads and went on short walkies and long walkies and shared sunrises and many snuggles and also yoga. Finished Xenocide, started Children of the Mind. Definitely Speaker for the Dead is best so far though. Also watched the Ender's Game movie, just to see. Not as bad as I'd been led to believe? But not good. Maybe better having read the book to fill in all the shortcuts the movie takes. Watched loads of Disenchantment. Read, napped, too much. Baked things. Finally reassembled my espresso machine! It espresses! And I learnt so much about espresso in the process! Potted up more gherkin and courgette seedlings, and watched things emerging in my footpath garden. Measured and sawed up all my door threshold strips, but haven't screwed them down yet.
More sunrises and walkies with Max before Max went home. Made krompirusa! Or some approximation thereof. Made dead fancy desserts in Community Kitchen. Finished a narwhal. Worked on BODS translation workflow. TAG IRL f2f got postponed/reconfigured again again again. Read How can I get through to you which was better than I expected (actually really good). N came to visit. We watched sunrises, walked Max to East Wemyss and had a day in Edinburgh.
Seedlings sprouting! Tomatoes, squash, cucumber, gherkin, onions. It all begins again.. Made berry muffins for Greener Kirkcaldy Community Kitchen. Reminded myself how the BODS translation workflow works. Attended a meeting of the Vipassana Trust Accessibility Committee. Found and fixed underfloor problems, and replaced some floorboards in my bedroom. Got the hammock up on the walls! Now I can see the sea from it, which means I never need to get up again. Laid new laminate in my bedroom. Dismantled my espresso machine. Cleaned out limescale and gunk. Discovered it never has had a shower screen. Have not yet reassembled it. Dave came back, brought Sri Lankan tea, made curry, left again. Tinkered a bit with sloph. Kirkcaldy Friday markets are back on!! Watched all of Reacher. Max is back! Walkies.
Found velvet shanks in Ravenscraig Park, and a couple more oysters. First forage of 2022. Made "peanut butter and jam" pies, with blackcurrents, coconut oil, and date/coconut/nuts crust at home, and lemon pies and choc chip muffins in Community Kitchen. Co-op coworking days. Visit from M and Lowenna. I have Max all to myself for a week. Many cuddles and a trip to the vets after a run in with a Beagle.. Sunrises and walkies. Still haven't reassembled the espresso machine, but cleaned more of it. More seedlings sprouted. My last cherry tomato ripened, but it's flowered again.... Started morning yoga again, with Max's help.
Wood ear mushrooms in Ravenscraig Park. They're very reliable all year round. I gave a handful away, and put a handful in a stirfry.