Home is where the Scotch is

Greetings from over seas-

 So after about 15 signed documents, hours of legalities, and a whopping 2500$CAN Christopher and I have a place to call home. We moved in last Thursday and we both really appreciate having a place to settle in. We've signed a 6 month fixed lease so we committed to this city for at least that long. Additionally after spending 20 minutes on the phone with a lovely man named Derrick, who had an awesome Scottish accent, from Virgin Media, we actually got our WiFi set up by Friday morning because the last tenants had left the modem and router. Things are moving along nicely.

We love our new flat. The subtle differences between apartments back home and European "flats" are interesting but we're getting used to it. It’s a little chilly, but heat cost a fortune here so for now we're getting by with double layers and hot water bottles. The living room is gorgeous with three big windows because our flat is the corner unit, but they are single glazed only (I know I know Mom! But the place was soo pretty :) so it’s pretty drafty. We've stuffed the cracks with towels and odd socks, but this should only last another month or so, and we should be fine. It never really gets hot here in Scotland (Nique, maybe you should bring your warmy bottle when you come visit! Can’t wait to see you guys!) but it gets pleasantly mild. Speaking of weather we are starting to understand why people keep saying "Oh that’s Scottish weather for you". Everyday is a four season experience. Almost every morning it starts off bright and sunny and then as the day progresses we get some clouds, a little rain, then the sun comes out again and then oh look its snowing! Oh there’s the sun again, oh hey nice of you to join us wind, what you feel left out hail, hey the more the merrier!... okay I'm losing my mind. But seriously you can never dress for a day out, you need to be prepared, the only good part is the sun comes out at least once for a period every day.

We toasted our flat with the Scotch we had been searching the city for. I took a video of Christopher’s first sip... . The Scotch is really tasty and we have had some fun trying to find different ways for Christopher to enjoy it. I'm determined to get him to take a sip without having his facial features completely rearranged. We spent Friday job hunting. Also we both got library cards, which gives us access to all the libraries in the city. Christopher took out some anatomy drawing books which he is practicing regularly; he’s actually getting pretty good. We then spent the weekend taking it easy, just relaxing drinking Scotch and tea. Christopher decided he enjoys Scotch the most a little warmed with hot water. Says it takes away the “kick”.

Interesting experience doing laundry. Our washing machine is in our little kitchen, apparently this is all very normal by UK standards to wash your clothes where you wash your dishes. The washing machine is an odd thing. It opens from the top which the women from the renting agency said “well you must be used to that coming from North America, you always have a top openings in laundry machines there” which I thought funny. But this is not like any washing machine I’ve ever seen. The barrel is turned sideways and to open it, I first take up a part of the counter top then open the lid and then there is little trap door where the laundry goes in…. the trick was finding where to put the detergent. The button options were also fun to figure out… I just took a guess and hoped for the best. Seemed to work because the clothes came out clean expect we don’t have a dryer, so I proceeded to hang our clean clothes in various places around the apartment, however about a day and half later due to the fact that it f-ing freezing in here our clothes were still not dry, so I attempted different hanging methods and 48 hours later we achieved only slight dampness instead of all out wet clothes. Yay!! Across the street I see a dryer tube stocking out of the building… it’s the first time I ever considered breaking and entering…! At this rate its not worth it to wash clothes, we should just wear them out and buy new ones, because after a few days when the clothes finally got dry they are rough and stiff… blah, plus my jeans are not shrinking back to they’re usual snugness, , I guess I’ll just have to go shopping, what a shame.

Other then the laundry thrills, we finally went out and got decent bedding. The only option the price range we were looking at was purple and pink, so Christopher is currant sleeping on a set of dark purple sheets while I opted for the fuchsia. We don’t yet have any pillow cases but the duvet comforters we have are blissfully warm thank God! I am still snuggling my hot water bottle every night though.

Yesterday we had our first job interview with a catering company who travels around Scotland and Northern England. We would be away a few days at a time and they pay for all travel and accommodation, we want this job very badly. We’re still waiting to hear back. The interview went though so we’re confident. We also received our first Organic Veggie basket yesterday, which we were excited about because we haven’t had real nutrition in a while. The basket cost a total of 18 pounds a week and is huge and we also ordered some organic milk and eggs. Which by the way are really yummy. The veggies require quiet a bit of washing but are so worth it. Everything taste rich a crisp. I never knew a carrot straight from the dirt could taste so sweet. So this is all part of our attempted vegetarianism. I miss my red meat but this seems like a good as time as any to attempt being a vegetarian. And it means a lot to Christopher so away we go. I’ve found some good recipes online that look fun, I’ll let you know. We also get fruits with our basket which so far we’ve gotten bananas (little ones) oranges, some kind of plum wannabe and apples oh and one tiny avocado.

Other then all that, we’re just getting over a cold front here. On a day that you people in Montreal had plus 7 we were hovering around 0. But it’s creeping back up there and we’re at about 10 now. Christopher and I are going to head out and finish the Portrait Gallery and hopefully have time for the National Museum. Today is St Patrick’s day and I’m missing it badly being over here. But apparently the celebrations here are pretty good so we plan to roam around the Royal Mile (the city center) and see what kind of Guinness party’s we can find! Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone!

Cheers!

Christopher created a IMIGUR account to put all all our pictures up.

chrisandelle.imgur.com 

 We have some on facebook but for all the pictures (much to my chagrin) you can check out the link... although we are having some techinical difficulties and will let you know when its up and running.