Never say never again

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I know our last entry was supposedly the final one but this blogging thing becomes addictive.

Not a lot of change since our last entry, but lots of little things - we sold our other house and over a hectic week in late August moved our bits and bobs here so that it now feels like home.

The tempo has dropped dramatically and I find that I can spend a couple of hours just looking out the window watching the changing light on the loch and hills, the changing colours of the leaves and the local birdlife. We've said goodbye to the martins so no more aerial displays each morning and evening.

Socially things seem to be winding down for the winter, although there was another good party complete with spectacular bonfire last weekend for Ben's 21st and we still get the occasional visitor dropping by and asking if they can see round.

That was Willy...meanwhile... back in the bustling capital, I'm still working full-time in a basement round the back of the Odeon at Tollcross. Not for long though - in the middle of October, I go part-time, so I shall spend three days a week in Edinburgh and four here on Loch Tay. It's good to actually live in Edinburgh after working there so long, but living outside the city. Edinburgh's a really nice city to walk around - if you can get away from the noise of the tram works.

I've been swimming at Gorgie baths, which are old-fashioned probably Victorian and good to swim in, unlike these modern things with wave machines and other stuff. I also joined Stockbridge library, which is also a lovely Victorian building, but the big imposing desk, which went ideally with the building, has been replaced by a vile green small plastic organically curved thing, which should be in a nursery school.

Now that the house is finished, I've been thinking about the garden; of course not much can be done until Hamie comes back with the digger, spreads the topsoil back on the garden and uses the rocks to make a retaining wall for the patio. He's back from holiday next week, so hopefullky we'll get a period of settled weather.

Once that's done, then as per the brilliant MasterPlan drafted by Hamish (Hamish & Hamie are not the same person) , there will be hedges to plant - ideally this autumn when bare-rooted hedging can be planted. Then there will be paths to be laid out and a fire-pit with seats around it and raised beds to be made and planted. I just entered a prize draw and the prize is a small poly tunnel, so maybe we'll have that to erect too.

I've been reading about how to retain the soil in raised beds and as well as the traditional railway sleepers, you can also use low woven hurdles or upturned bottles. I'm not sure how well the upturned bottles would actually work, but it would certainly save taking them to the bottle bank, though it might take us a while to drink enough to edge a raised bed, even at the rate wine disappears here. There's always the possibility that the writer meant upturned plastic soft drink bottles and there's no chance we could ever save enough of those.

It'll be next spring at the earliest before we get the patio paved and paths laid out around the house, which will give us the level entrance we need to get a completion certificate.

I haven't much idea how long it's all going to take and the schedule depends on when the stuff with digger gets done, but I'm really looking forward to having a garden with plants in in 2010.

Does anyone out there fancy coming along to give us a hand with either the construction or the planting? We can now offer warm, comfortable beds, a hot bath and real toilets. Let us know what you'd like to do and we'll let you know when it's going to happen - see if we can build some garden and have a good time too.

The weather on Sunday was a complete turn around from Friday/Saturday where we'd had gales and driving rain we had warmth and sunshine so took afternoon off and went out for lunch then a nice walk up past Acharn Falls (where we had our wedding reception/party weekend - a long time ago).

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Photos

The view from across the loch
Looking back from above Ardeonaig

Living Room looking out
complete with new curtains to block out the rain

Acharn Falls
Acharn is at the Kenmore end of the loch and is where we had our wedding party/reception

Th view west from old Lawers village
The village moved away from the loch side when they put the new road in around 1900

Outside looking lot tidier
Thanks Robin