Notes from the week

Edition 18

As I write this, the Labradors are asleep in front of the stove. One of them has melted out of the bed and the other is lying with her head on the hearth. I didn’t manage to capture a photo, so enjoy this pile of dogs from a different day. I couldn’t quite get Badger in the shot, but the way Rosie and Daisy snuggle in together is just the most adorable thing. Sure, one time Rosie ate my shoe, but she can be super cute when she’s asleep.

We had an aurora here last week, although we live in town, so the light pollution somewhat hampered our ability to see it from our garden. The first photo above was taken from our back garden, and the one below from the side of the house. Both times you could just about see the colours move in the sky, but it was very faint and I’m not sure I would have noticed it, had I not been made aware of it by people sharing photos in my work group WhatsApp. I’ve downloaded an aurora forecasting app, so hopefully next time I’ll get an alert in advance and can drive out of town a short distance for a better view. I will say though, the stars are so much brighter from my back garden than they ever were in Edinburgh.

British daffodils are starting to arrive in the shops, which is making me look forward to spring. I bought myself a couple of bunches and distributed them around the house to enjoy. I love this olive tin, I kept it from when my bestie came to visit and brought me fancy olives from London. I’ve since found them in a local deli, so I won’t be deprived of my bougie snacks.

Andrew and I have been organising the under stairs cupboard. It’s one of those unglamourous tasks that never looks as good in real life as people make it look online. However, with some filling, sanding and painting the walls look much cleaner, and Andrew deployed his new 3D printer to great effect, making custom brackets to fit the exact dimensions we needed. He designed a simple shoe rack, using plywood offcuts from other projects, and brackets to hold our shoes upright and off the floor. He customised some chunky hooks to hold various bags and backpacks, which makes getting packed and out of the door for work or errands a lot easier than when everything was in a pile on the floor. Lastly, we mounted the picture shelf on the wall. We made it from plywood by copying a design we bought from Etsy. This one was a trial run for the real version, which is now pride of place in the lounge. The trial shelf works well in the cupboard for all the doodads and nibbins you need on hand before leaving the house - sunglasses, poo bags, a pen, lip balm etc.

We’ve still got the opposing wall to finish - Andrew is currently printing trial hooks and organiser clips for the mop, hand brush, floor brush and the dog collars and towels. We’re debating how to attach them all, since the second wall is plasterboard rather than concrete (side note: the concrete was an absolute mission to drill and I burned through 2 drill bits in the process, plus made some rather large holes to fill at a later date). I’ve used plasterboard anchors before but never found them particularly easy, so I’m pushing to pull down the plasterboard and replace it with OSB (chipboard). I like the industrial look, especially inside a cupboard, and I could drill light hooks directly into the wood, without having to worry about plasterboard anchors.

I’m currently reading The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. I loved the film, and as a sober curious person I wanted to read the book, to experience the inner thoughts of the main character in the film, based on Amy, a recovering alcoholic. I might write more about my sober curious journey when I open up paid subscriptions, it feels a weird private thing to put out on the public internet, where my parents or boss might read. I’m very much enjoying the book though.

I made pumpkin soup from one of my summer gourds, and have been enjoying it with homemade hummus (aesthetically presented in an old gravy container here) and home baked focaccia. I recently baked one of my best sourdough loaves to date, so I’m pleased with that progress. It’s hard to replicate though, and often a success like that is followed swiftly by a failure. Bread likes to keep you humble I find.

I've been playing around with this silk scarf I found in a charity shop for 25p, seen here with my Sweater No. 18.

First finished object of 2026

I love the colours but I'm not sure it doesn't make me look a bit landed gentry. I'm going more for ‘Monty Don and Bilbo Baggins had a sartorial love child’. My quest for a silk scarf continues.