Me-no-quite-here-yet...

Let me first say here, a hearty thank you and hugs all round to all who continued to check in; extra Love with the capital 'ell' to those who left comments.  

This is by way of a cheat really.  You see, the internet is still not with me.  It's a long and sordid tale, this bizzo of settling into a new place.  Doesn't matter I was born here.  I am as a stranger in a strange land.  The service standards here have Fawlty Towers looking positively Michelin rated five stars plus...  

Am I happy? Underneath the glazed stare and gritted teeth, of course I am!!  Who wouldn't be with a view like this?

Do not adjust your screens; that is true colour.  It gets like that round here. Seconds later it will be all bright and blue with nary a cloud in view.  Then hail.  Or horizontal rain.  Or clouds that lost their direction and blot out the landscape so thoroughly, the Mauritania could slip by un-noticed.

What you are looking at there, dear readers, is the Clyde Estuary.  One of the busiest shipping channels in the British Isles.  Donchya jus' know you are gonna be hearing more about that....&~]

Meanwhile, back at level one.  During the month from viewing to removing, the previous owners had let things slip a bit.  I knew there were two cats and a dog and that both were smokers. Humans. Not cats. Or dog. However. One held out the hope that the level of hygiene observed during pre-purchase would be maintained.

Silly YAM.

I am not, as a rule, a naive person.  On the other hand, I do tend to expect the best of folk.  Until they prove me wrong. I tend to get a bit spinny-roony when that happens.  Let us not go into the misery of allergies and asthma being triggered - or the odour.  Best leave that alone.  Suffice to say that windows wide on wintry days and multiple incense burnings have done little to alleviate it.  Part of the trouble, no doubt, is the ancient and very spongy couch that has been left.  I own no furniture to speak of at this time.  That will come.  The use of an old couch seemed like a good idea at the time of offering.

It has gotta go.  The carpet needs steam cleaned and there is a lot - A LOT - of scrubbing to do.  Electrics need rewiring and the kitchen...well...oh just don't take me there.

So the property which apparently required minimal done is turning into quite the project.

Then there was the trying to get utilities sorted.  Menoloop-worthy.  The non-appearance of my phone and internet equipments is just the cherry on top of the s***-cake.  The line is there.  BT engineer was on time and quick-smart at his work.  It's the connecting bits that are astray in the wilds of Scotland.  Hence the desperate measures of buying into a piggy-back service.  Money I ought not to have to be spending.  But man am I grateful there are folk who are willing to let others skip along their etherways, albeit for a fee. Not an exorbitant one.  Extra, however, to costs already being expended as of yesterday when the line went live - with nothing to plug into it.

IS YAM a touch tetchy?  No. Volcanic is a better term. You see, I was told delivery could have been any of the days leading up till now.  Which means I have been housebound for a week.

There are other things that need doing.  I cancelled a trip back to Edinburgh.  Groceries are down to beans and potatoes.  It is not a healthy situation here. It'll improve though. Eventually I'll get through to the correct leprechaun who can magic it all better for me.

Underneath the glazed look and gritted teeth, I am as happy as the proverbial.