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.
Some braw sunrises, as usual. Some days freezing, some days mild. And views from my newly elevated hammock.
Berry muffins at Community Kitchen. Homemade seedy bread at home.
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.
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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.
New tea stall at the Friday market. Walkies and snoozles with Max.
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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First foray of the year. Winter oysters and velvet shank. A bit slimy, but fine on toast.
Beautiful Dysart.
Rainy walk along Ravenscraig beach.
The cosy vegetarian cafe in Kirkcaldy (Anderson's) has been made-over as a grill house (by the same owners). Paint me heartbroken.
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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.
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.
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.
Another beautiful day with Max.
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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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.
This is the boring one. No redecorating, just furnishings.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I gave away the bed, smelly mattress, and built in wardrobe on Freegle/Gumtree.
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.
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.
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.
Old sink, toilet and shower enclosure were rehomed on Gumtree. Dad took the mirror.
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.
The hallway was originally divided into two by a brown glass sliding door. I gave this away on Freegle.
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.
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Today's ambling around Dysart.
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.
Sunrises, beach walkies, full moon.
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.
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Braw day with the braw dog.
Max being cosy in various chairs.
Max takes downward dog very seriously.
A drizzly walk in between showers/snow/gales. After which Max had zero-gravity dreams in various places.
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!
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.
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.
Max thinks yoga is a funny game that is all about him.
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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.
Espresso machine havoc that lasted for weeks is finally put back together.
Max was a lazy bean. Weather was drizzly so we only did little walks, but he didn't mind. Big rainbow.
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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.
I made krompiruĊĦa! 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.
Monday and Tuesday beach walkies.
Put socks on Max. He loved it. Silly Max.
Braw morning for a walk to Dysart harbour.
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.
Velvet shank and jelly ear in Ravenscraig Park.
A narwhal for E.
Sunrises, and walkies to East Wemyss (out along the coastal path, ice cream shop stop, back along the beach.
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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