Adventures in Homeownership (continued) - 30/9/2007

I've been distracted and then ill, so decorating has been slower than anticipated. The bedroom is done, shiny new floor, shiny new light, shiny new paint, shiny new bed. The kitchen has shiny new paint and a shiny new light, but needs its skanky old floor replaced. The first attempt sitting room paint has been vetoed for something lighter and warmer. A test splotch and now some of the sitting room trim are pale terracotta. I still haven't found the charger for my camera, so a camera phone shot will have to do for now.

One room down, three to go.

Venturing Outside Edinburgh with Rachel - 17/9/2007 - 18/9/2007

Monday was a bank holiday and Tuesday seemed a good day to take off, so I showed Rachel some interesting parts of Scotland outside of Edinburgh.

On Monday, we cycled out to Cramond. We made the first pitstop at the Shetland ponies just beside the River Almond. The babies were more shy this time around, though we did get to pet a few of them. One bit me when he got jealous of one of the other puppies. At the pony stop, the rain started spitting at us. We cycled along the River Almond, took a detour to not carry up the steps and ended at the Firth of Forth coast. The tide was in our favour so we cycled/walked to Cramond Island for a look around. Then we ventured to the Cramond Inn for lunch inside in the warm and dry. We cycled back to Brian's through a short urban stretch and then the Water of Leith, only getting lost once along the way, again attempting to avoid some stairs.

Tuesday morning, after much pouring over random forecast generators, we headed north toward Perthshire. The RFGs suggested it was most interesting place likely to stay dry. A stop at the visitor centre when the A9 traffic started stacking up yielded a useful book of nice walks in Scotland. We chose one of the Beatrix Potter walks in Birnam just across the river from Dunkeld.

The Birnam Hill summit was supposed to offer nice views of Fife, Angus and Perthshire. We got lost along the path mainly because we were attempting to do it backwards. Once on the right course, the steepness led to winded Rachel and eventually winded me. I'm more used to ups and downs. TN can be hilly, but not Scotland hilly. Some midges welcomed her as well.

We reached the first rocky overlook and could see down to Birnam and Dunkeld. An older guy with two cute puppies wasn't far behind us. One of the dogs, a Bearded Collie, seemed more muppet than dog. After some photos, including creative placement of cameras on rock, we followed the trail around to reach the true summit and its sweeping views around the countryside. A steep and then long and windy downhill brought us back down to the start, but not before Rachel found more blackberries and a few red raspberries for me.

We had a late lunch or early supper at the Atholl Arms Hotel in Dunkeld. I thanked Brian for his (well) extended family's hospitality -- the hotel menu had **choices** for me, not just chips and juice. We got back to Edinburgh about dark with a couple of good sized storms chasing us home. Our day out was well-timed!

Rachel made friends with a Shetland pony. This pony later bit me when I tried to pet one of the other ponies at the same time that I was petting him. Jealousy!

Rachel found some blackberries on Cramond Island, an island that is a short walk from the Cramond coast at low tide.

Not the summit of Birnam Hill, but this pitstop near the top was my favourite overlook.

Rachel found more blackberries near the end of the walk.

Adventures in Homeownership - 14/9/2007 - ????

My plunge into the world of homeownership became official on Friday. I picked up my keys to the new place and by evening was overwhelmed with thoughts of paint, floor, furniture, light fixtures, and all that other crazy stuff that people have to think about. So far, Brian has been expensive. I'm learning that his cost estimates need to be doubled to be closer to accurate. As of Sunday night, the bedroom is painted and lit, the kitchen trim is less bright of a yellow and the "light hazel" is drying in the sitting room awaiting my approval in the morning. I'm unconvinced as of yet. Flooring the bedroom starts tomorrow as well as more painting. So far, no major leaks or breaks, or zapped boyfriends flying across the room.

If you find me, I may be lost...

Treed Brian helps make the bedroom "toffee cream".

Hardworking Rachel

Shiny new bedroom light.

I'm not convinced about the sitting room yet, but we'll see how natural light and dryness make it look.

The yellow kitchen is going to be slightly more subtle of a yellow kitchen.

The casualties of the day...

Glen Almond Cycle – 10/9/2007

The last day of our long weekend, I was feeling more spry and the weather was feeling more conducive to cycling, so Brian and I headed north to Perthshire again. The little red book offered a nice venue – a loop through Glen Almond starting and finishing at Pitcairngreen. Technically, the ride started at Perth train station in the book, but we decided to skip those boring bits.

The great big fireball in the sky was doing its job and then some, which had me down to a mere two layers despite the breeze. We headed north with NCN 77 and then hung a left onto another B road that took us west through Glen Almond to the town of Buchanty (which my brain misremembered as sounding closer to Bacardi) where we followed a couple more B roads back to the village green.

I think the little red book called the track mostly level, but in reality it was gently to not-so-gently rolling hills throughout. Either I’m getting fitter or Brian is getting better at slowing down for me, but I managed to keep up better than any ride previously, and although he may not realize it, I made up some of the gaps between us on the uphills. Shhh!

Rolling countryside meant we had views of bigger hills to the north and south of us. I remember thinking The Last Gasp Saloon was placed improperly on the outbound ride. It should have been atop a steep hill, not a gently rising hill across from some not-so-ferocious sheep. The road was well-treed on the outbound leg of the cycle, so the bigger payoffs of pretty views were on the return trip. The zoomy downhills were there, too. Water flows downhill. Bicycles go faster on downhills. Zoom!

We found a nice spot near a wee burn for lunch and lounging. Sweet potato crisps did not impress Brian, much to my amusement. After lunch, Brian went exploring while I did my back homework.

We crossed the River Almond for the second time just outside of Almondbank, which sort of makes sense. I tried the patience of a motorist because I was too busy checking out the river as I rolled across the bridge to notice him waiting patiently for me to be out of his way. We arrived back to the village green at Pitcairngreen more or less just in time to be hitting rush hour traffic, so a stop at the Pitcairn Green Inn seemed a better plan. We made another stop at Kinross to see the castle and island at Loch Leven that I won’t buy Brian and were surprised to find a huge play park with all kinds of toys. My favourite was the zip line, but the rope swing merry-go-round was a close second.

Our second attempt at pub quiz found us in a more competitive environment. Neil and Fraser were fun companions but our wealth of useless knowledge overlapped too much. Sport and music were our downfall topics. We placed 2nd to last, but it was an everybody gets a prize quiz, so each of us got a malt of the month (Glen Garioch). Er, actually, Fraser and Brian got doubles of the malt of the month and Neil and I chose different poisons. We brainstormed possibilities for sport and musically inclined teammates, but couldn’t come up with suitable people who lived in this country. We’ll figure it out!

There were a few other places where this saloon would have been more appropriate.

The view north toward the Highlands.

The wee burn made a lovely lunch and lounge stop just beyond the halfway point.

The zip line was my favourite toy at the play park. Brian enjoyed it, too.

Maid of the Forth and the Lone Supposed Puffin Escapee – 9/9/2007

A combination of wind and sore me led us to look for a more leisurely Sunday plan. All credit goes to Brian for the actual idea. We took one of those Forth cruises to Inchcolm to get lost in the abbey and annoy the wildlife. Some parts of the abbey date back to the 13th Century and they have the twisty, windy, steep stairs to prove it. Other structures around it were constructed during the first and second World Wars to house various weapons to defend against German naval vessels, particularly submarines, who came looking for a fight. They have the temporary unattractiveness typical of government buildings.

Perhaps a full day’s worth of tourists landing on the island, or the high winds, or both, the wildlife was feeling bashful. We saw seagulls galore, plenty of guano, but not a lot of variety in birds otherwise. I think I saw a lone puffin frantically flying away from the boat after Brian disappeared to the bar for some crisps, but he doesn’t believe me.

In the evening, Brian and I tried our luck at pub quiz, a second for me but a first for him. We placed 2nd of 5 teams, with a prize of a box of chocolates, and an addict was born…

Inchcolm Abbey dates back to the 13th Century, perhaps earlier.

Among the grown up and loud seagulls, we found what seemed to be a baby seagull. Its protective parent squauked loudly overhead until we removed ourselves to a safe distance.

Brian charges the Inchcolm defenses.

Self-Propelled toward North Berwick – 8/9/2007

My back wasn’t up for camping again, so we ended up back in Edinburgh Friday night. Saturday morning brought sunshine and warmth, so we decided to cycle to North Berwick along the coast. With the Westerly wind mostly at our backs, we cycled to Leith then east and south to Musselburgh. On the other side of Musselburgh or Cockenzie, we passed another fine example of hell on earth (caravan park) and soon after, we found ourselves on the familiar road to Gullane. Sometimes, we cycled on the coastal path itself, other times on the A road with the cars. Though I preferred the former, comfort sometimes insisted on the latter.

Familiar territory ended after the Fire College at Gullane. Dirleton got us a wee turned around, as the coastal path treks out to Yellowcraigs beach and then along the coast. That went a little wrong and we were back on the A road into North Berwick. I caught glimpses of the Bass Rock and the Isle of May through occasional gaps in the trees. In Gullane, Brian had ice cream on the brain, but I suggested we wait until North Berwick for that treat. We rolled into North Berwick and went to the train station to see when the next train home would be. It rolled into its part of the station just as we rolled into ours. Brian chose trip home over ice cream, but sulked over ice cream for a good chunk of that journey. As we reached Brian’s front door, the trip odometer read 29.8 miles, a new record for post-injury me.

Loch Rannoch Cycle – 7/9/2007

The weekend after festival end, Brian and I planned a long weekend to be enjoyed locally. With my big field test behind me, the timing was perfect. Options included a multi-day canoe trip, cycle trips, hillwalking and perhaps some combination of those possibilities. We settled on logistical simplicity, car camping and cycling, and headed north on Thursday night for the north shore of Loch Rannoch in Perthshire.

The midges greeted us on arrival and helped us set up camp for the evening. Friday morning, sunshine and a nice breeze set the mood for the day. On the drive in, a couple of fighter jets streaking down the glen got our attention. More followed that morning. Not long after we started our cycle, I got to keep pace with one through the trees for about half a second.

The cycle was mostly flat, with occasional gentle rises that might be considered hills in southern New Jersey. Loch Rannoch has a Clan Trail that follows the loch shore and identifies the clan associated with that area. We stopped at the MacGregors, which had views across to a wee island and tower that once served as a prison. Loch Rannoch is sort of dammed, so perhaps the loch level was lower in the day, but not by a huge amount. It wasn’t much of an island for a prison.

The southwestern end of the loch was Cameron territory and I thought of my friend Jim from TSRA. I’m not sure whose clan territory occupied our lounge break, but the midges had claimed it as theirs now. Rest didn’t last too long. Soon, we arrived at the eastern shore of the loch, the official start of the clan trail with the Stewarts and more fighter jets zoomed very close overhead and startled me to put it politely. I got a photo of their tails in the distance. Perhaps if I hadn’t been too busy choking on my heart, that distance may have been less.

We stopped for lunch at the Loch Rannoch Hotel and Brian phoned in for his conference call. During that call, I had time to finish lunch, explore the path beside the hotel in both directions, lounge in front of a window in another part of the hotel and annoy another patron of the hotel who seemed to think I had swiped “her” view. Brian retrieved me and we finished the last few miles back to the car.

The original plan for Saturday was cycling the perimeter of Loch Tay, but the combination of lack of nice camping, busy A road for half the cycle, fussy back and disagreeable omelet sent us back to Edinburgh for the night.

The castle/prison island across from the MacGregor clan stop.

A Murray in Cameron country.

All natural furniture...

If you squint, you can see the jets in the distance, centre.

Farewell, Window, and Fireworks 1/9/2007 – 2/9/2007

I’m still not sure how I managed it, but I talked myself into property ownership ahead of Mini ownership. The biggest blame is perhaps the cost of rent. On Saturday, 1 September, I bid farewell to my beautiful sitting room window and became semi-homeless for two weeks. I’m not going to miss the drafty winter nights or the rent, but I am going to miss the view of Arthur’s Seat, majestic or moody depending on the mood of the weather, and the (lack of) commute. I will be replacing it with a cycle commute around Arthur’s Seat and closer access for running, so losses do have gains.

Brian and I enjoyed a leisurely cycle to Musselburgh on Sunday and that night, we went to the fireworks concert at Princes Street Gardens that marked the official end to the Edinburgh International Festival. Amy and Bram joined us for a picnic in the gardens. Amy and Brian sprinted into the park to find a suitable picnic spot among the herd of other concert goers. Bram and I caught up a minute or so later. The theme of the concert was American classical music, ranging from Sousa to Gershwin. The fireworks were semi-choreographed with the music, and we wondered how someone might enter into such a niche career path. Most amusing was learning that Sousa’s "The Liberty Bell" was the theme to Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a show that was unfortunately before my time.

It's not that much stuff, but it's still more than I expected...

Open Canoeing on the River Tweed – 26/8/2007

After a few miscommunicated weekends, Charlie got his open canoeing trip on the Tweed organized. The boat layout had Charlie in his solo boat, Emily paddling with ¾ of the Bassetts in their open canoe, Charlie’s in-laws in the EKC open canoe and Brian and I paddling his Prospector. Charlie’s logic was pearls before swine, putting us in the Prospector and his in-laws in the larger, more stable Discovery.

We ran the section from Peel to Galashiels, which was supposedly flat save one set of rapids. We were off to a leisurely start around noon. Imogen and Freya Bassett had a great time helping their mum and Emily steer the canoe. I tried to show Brian a few open canoe manoeuvres, but quickly remembered the first commandment of paddling, and tried to teach myself how to use his skills to make those manoeuvres. We sort of surfed one wave.

Leisurely start meant lunch stop was not far down stream, maybe a few miles and perhaps 1/3 of the total trip distance.

After lunch, we spent perhaps more time working our way downstream and less time playing. Having not been in the Tweed Valley for many months, I had forgotten how much I enjoy the scenery there. I spent much of that second 1/3 of the trip ruddering and enjoying the views while Brian provided most of the boat’s momentum. He had two speeds, paddling and not, so my guilt was minimal.

The bridge at Fairnalee signalled the only serious rapids of the day. The low water level would mean they were more challenging than usual, but still navigable. Retrospect suggests we should have scouted and perhaps walked the wee ones around it, but it’s a bit late for that. Charlie led the way. Emily and the Bassetts went next and unfortunately ended up in the drink. Imogen and especially Freya were not happy about that. Brian and I saw the end result from the eddy above the bridge and we motored past the in-laws (Anna and I forget her husband’s name) to see about helping. Unfortunately, sort of, we were too late for screaming child rescue, but we did get to pick up a paddle and other bits of kit. Fear tears became show tears as Freya became adamant about not getting back in the canoe.

Debbie and the girls stayed at Fairnalee and the rest of us forged downstream to Galashiels. The last 1/3 of the trip passed quicker than the previous 2 and the familiar tall bridge at the get-out was soon in sight.

Although I felt really good for being back in a canoe, I was barred from boat loading duty when we packed up and prepared to drive back to collect the Bassetts. The girls were in much better spirits when we arrived and waved all of us in. The Woods took Brian and me back to Peel and we parted company with tentative plans for boat unloading later that evening.

Peel launch.

Charlie leads the way.

Not Really Round the Forth – 25/8/2007

With Sarynna and Chase not planning to be free until the evening, we had a glorious and free summer day on our hands. We decided to follow the first part of “Round the Forth” cycle signs to Blackness Castle then divert to the canal and either pick up the train back from Linlithgow or cycle back to Edinburgh along the canal.

The usual route to South Queensferry treated us to baby Shetland ponies at Cramond. They were very cute and not very shy, eating grass from our hands not-quite-gently. After the ponies, we stopped at the Cramond Brig Inn for chips and juice at our first break of the day.

Back on the bikes for a wee while and we arrived to the Firth of Forth and South Queensferry. We got slightly lost in South Queensferry trying to find the RTF cycle signs. Lost isn’t the right word. We knew where we were, just not where the signs continued.

Third time’s a charm and we were en route to Hopetoun House and the beginning of where the route went really wrong. I should have brought my Spokes map for West Lothian because it would have helped. Next time. Some helpful soul at Hopetoun House decided they preferred cyclists to go around the house grounds rather than across them, so we were routed out an entrance that faced the Forth Bridges. We traced the perimeter of the grounds and found the NCN signs on the other side.

A second lounge break followed and then we officially diverged from the RTF trail by following the NCN signs. Perhaps Blackness Castle was the flag we saw in the distance in the direction we thought we should be going.

The NCN signs led us farther astray until we crossed bridges over some train tracks and then the telltale still water of the Union Canal. We decided to follow the canal home rather than backtrack to Blackness. Brian thought we were just west of Ratho, so we headed east. My doubts grew and then a little over a mile into that, a sign corrected his perception. Fifteen miles to Edinburgh heading east or six miles west to Linlithgow. I chose Linlithgow.

We backtracked, took a third lounge break and rolled into Linlithgow all in less than an hour. The train whisked us back to Edinburgh where we eventually met up with Sarynna and Chase for a late evening at the Sheep Heid Inn.

Shetland ponies are cute. Baby Shetland ponies are cuter.

More cuteness.

DLL and Chase visit – 21/8/2007 – 25/8/2007

So Sarynna and Chase had planned to visit during festival time deliberately, but by the time we actually caught up with them, I was not convinced that they regretted not visiting at a less chaotic time for the city. The upside was plenty to do, day or night. The downside was people everywhere. They arrived sometime on Tuesday. Brian and I caught up with them sometime on Thursday, with Sarynna and Chase meeting me at my office, following me home and then heading closer to city centre to enjoy dinner at a favourite vegetarian Indian restaurant. Brian caught up with us toward the end of the meal. We finished the night at Dagda.

Their plans had them off to Rosslyn Chapel on Friday and waiting for Aberdonian Mexicans on Saturday, so we planned for our outing to the Sheep Heid Inn for Saturday evening at the tail end of their annual beer festival. Chase is a beer drinker, so at least he would benefit from that.

Mixed up and lack of communication meant we were quite late getting to the Sheep Heid. It was a dark walk there and back. The place was the most crowded I remember seeing it, with both inside and outside jammed with bodies. Rudeness and naivety scored us a table outside and we enjoyed more time to catch up. Two rounds later, we were walking back in the dark and bidding farewell to Chase and Sarynna, with the next reunion set for Thanksgiving in November.

For pictures, see the Wonderful World of Superbabe and the Superbabe photo extravaganza.