Nuts and bolts

How am I? What’s going on? Well, since you asked, I’ll spill. I’m pretty sure this is the boring stuff, so feel free to skip it.

Thing one: Who I live with.

I have a fantastic flatmate.  She is very kind, funny, smart, interesting, and thoughtful. When she comes home at night, she almost always brings sweet snackies to share. She is almost never home because she spends a lot of time with her folks who live about an hour away, as she is unemployed and they need her help.  When she left today, we literally could not figure out when the next time that we would both be home would be. Best. Roommate. Ever.

Thing two: Where I live.

I have a fantastic flat. I love that it is super-modern, with hot water on demand, big windows, and a huge tv. I love that it is quiet because it is hidden among a bunch of office buildings. I love that it is so centrally located, walk just one block and I can see the castle. I have done a bit of exploring, and so far I have strong opinions about where I buy my groceries, but not yet where I drink my beer or my coffee.  There’s a trick to balancing these with thing three.

Thing three: Work.

If you haven’t heard, I will be losing my job in a few months.  It’s not the end of the world, really, since I got several months notice and have a cushy little windfall should I need it. So far, working from this side of the pond has actually been tremendously productive, as most of my favorite workday distractions (I’m looking at you, Bronwyn and Erin) are not at work at the same time that I am (mostly). Anyway, my job goes to part time starting next week, which I think will still be enough to make ends meet, and then officially ends the first week of November.  My plan is to stay here for maybe another month and mooch off of those who love me before I go home and mooch off of some other people who love me while I look for a job.

Thing four: The British Boyfriend

Paul and I are great. We already knew from experience that we are really good with the romantic, adventurous bits, but now we’re learning that we’re pretty darn good at real life as well. Not only that, but it is so fun to be in love with someone and to be discovering all the many little ways that you are compatible. We have all manner of ridiculous travels planned for the summer, but I’ll update you as we go. For now, things are great.

Thing five: Free time

Edinburgh (not surprisingly) is lousy with knitters. There is a knitting group meeting practically every day of the week around here, and I’m thrilled with it. The past two weeks I have gone to the group that meets at a yarn store that I have been to with both my sister and my boyfriend. This week, I’m going to one at a fantastic coffee shop nearby.

Thing six: Everyone asks.

The weather is fine! It’s not glorious, like I hear Seattle has been, nor sweltering as Manchester, but still quite pleasant.  I get a bit of sun and a bit of rain every day. And on warm days, the sun gives way to unbelievable fog as it goes down. Still, here’s what I saw when I was walking to knitting group last Thursday:

One view of Edinburgh Castle, hold the clouds