Kate's 365

FAIL

2009-04-30T19:56:00.003+01:00

I'm afraid I'm a 365 failure...

I tried. And I failed. Life took over... moving, work, laziness (mostly moving, to be fair). And all of a sudden, it's 4 months later, and I miss my 365 like crazy.

So I have decided to have another go!

Please scoot on over to my new 365 - tomorrow is Day 1!

274/365

2009-01-11T19:06:00.001Z

The packing has finally begun - T minus five days!

273/365

2009-01-10T19:04:00.000Z

Coffee and millionaire's shortbread at the excellent cafe at the SNPG.

272/365

2009-01-09T19:03:00.000Z

A nice sleepy dog on the bus.

271/365

2009-01-08T19:00:00.001Z

The nice church where we had our union meeting. To strike or not to strike - WWJD?

270/365

2009-01-07T18:58:00.000Z

We had sooooo much fun spending the Amazon voucher we got from my folks for Christmas.

269/365

2009-01-06T18:56:00.001Z

My new pencil sharpener at work.

268/365

2009-01-05T18:50:00.001Z

I stole some pin-ups out of Sally's old 2008 pin-up calendar - I love this one!

267/365

2009-01-04T19:44:00.001Z

We are determined to get our diets back to normal now that the holidays are done. Here, fruit galore.

266/365

2009-01-03T19:41:00.001Z

Magnus and I went for tapas at the excellent Bar Rioja last night before meeting Emma and Neil for a couple of end-of-festive-season drinks. I meant to take a photo when all our lovely dishes came out, but forgot and got stuck right in. I managed to remember just before they took our dishes away!

265/365

2009-01-02T15:48:00.003Z

Poor Magnus had to go back to work today, but I'm still off. So I've enjoyed the day curled up on the sofa reading my Buffy graphic novel and eating the nice leftover cheese from Wednesday. I also finally managed to motivate myself to get my 365 updated, and what a pain in the ass! Never again will I leave it this long!!

264/365

2009-01-01T15:47:00.000Z

Happy New Year!!

263/365

2008-12-31T15:37:00.002Z

We had a great night on Hogmanay. First, we had some friends round for drinks and nibbles at ours, followed by dancing to fantastic 60's music at the wonderful goth/rock/metal club round the corner. Here is Magnus in the dazzling lights upstairs at Studio 24 (this might technically have been taken on the 1st of January, but meh).

As we were leaving, we decided to have a peek downstairs in the metal/rock bit of the club. Much to my rather drunken glee, a Metallica cover band were playing, and they were awesome! Ah, Mentallica, you were a perfect end to my night!

262/365

2008-12-30T15:32:00.000Z

Again, a 365 cheat... a pictoral representation of what we accomplished today.

We have justified this week's laziness by acknowledging that we only have two weeks left in this place, and we want to get as much out of it as we can before we move out. I will be really really sad to leave this little flat - it was our first home together and we have been very happy here.

261/365

2008-12-29T15:30:00.002Z

Ooo...we actually left the flat! For beer.

260/365

2008-12-28T15:24:00.000Z

On Sunday, in addition to doing all the things I mentioned in my previous post, we also watched a whole load of DVDs.

259/365

2008-12-27T15:16:00.002Z

Now here begins the 365 cheating. Magnus and I became pretty much disabled with laziness from Saturday the 27th until Hogmanay (we did leave the flat once on Monday night for drinks with friends - but I suspect that doesn't count as a break in the laziness!). So disabled, in fact, that I couldn't even motivate myself to take photos. Plus, all we were doing was eating, drinking, sitting around in our jammies, playing GTA and listening to music. It was pretty awesome.

So I'm afraid this photo is nothing but a pictoral representation of what we were doing on Saturday.

258/365

2008-12-26T15:12:00.000Z

This was my favourite gift this year - a wonderful birdie necklace from Magnus.

257/365

2008-12-25T15:06:00.001Z

Christmas at the in-laws means lots and lots of Raffles cuddles for Magnus. It also means a lovely delicious meal prepared by Magnus' mum and loads of pressies. I'm so glad I have lovely in-laws!

256/365

2008-12-24T15:03:00.000Z

The survey was fine yesterday, so now it's official! Our solicitor called to tell us to put the SOLD sticker on our For Sale board. What a fantastic Christmas present!

255/365

2008-12-23T15:01:00.001Z

Work Christmas cards.

254/365

2008-12-22T14:56:00.000Z

Today, I was the only person in the studio for a large part of the day. So it was just me and MY music - bliss!

Something wonderful happened today, but I didn't capture it on camera - I got a phone call from our solicitor this morning, and a very nice lady has offered the full asking price for our flat! The survey will be done tomorrow, and if that goes ok, we can consider it sold - hallelujah!

253/365

2008-12-21T14:53:00.000Z

Kiki gave me this gorgeous thick die-cut felt thingy for Christmas. I don't quite know what to do with it (I have been putting my fruitbowl on it), but I absolutely love it. Die-cut felt is so hot right now, btw.

252/365

2008-12-20T14:50:00.000Z

Now this is a proper tree - Emma had us round for Guitar Hero and festive nibbles. I won't shame anyone with Guitar Hero action shots... but a little birdie told me that someone might have uploaded some to Facebook...

251/365

2008-12-19T14:48:00.000Z

Ohhhhh, M, how I love you.

250/365

2008-12-18T14:45:00.000Z

This morning I put up our 'Christmas tree': a foot-tall red perspex thing from Muji. Very minimalist and just the right size for our little flat - I love it! Next year, we'll have a proper tree in the new flat.

249/365

2008-12-17T14:42:00.000Z

One of my favourite tools - a cutsey little measuring tape I bought in Toronto. For some reason, everyone is always borrowing it!

248/365

2008-12-16T14:41:00.000Z

More work - Giordana taking the spine off of a lovely early 18th Century book

247/365

2008-12-15T14:38:00.000Z

I'm sorry - this week I took a lot of work photos. Here, I'm trimming down heat-set tissue after applying it to very brittle paper to make it safe for microfilming. Perfect mindless work for a Monday morning!

246/365

2008-12-14T14:36:00.000Z

Look who we got back from grandma and grandpa's today. Birdie the Destroyer. There goes the lovely clean flat!

245/365

2008-12-13T09:54:00.000Z

I think I was so traumatized from dancing the Macarena that I put myself to bed without taking off my make-up. This was the shocking result in the morning.

Also, I have lost my tweezers in the tidy up of the flat - this photo has made me realise my eyebrows are starting to revolt! Prompt action is required, I think...

244/365

2008-12-12T09:53:00.001Z

Work Christmas do at the Voodoo rooms. I'm afraid there was dancing. To the Macarena. Oh, the shame. But that's what work Christmas do's are for, I suppose...

243/365

2008-12-11T09:50:00.000Z

This is my very last wet press book. I have treated 83 of these, at 600 pages each - that's 49,800 pages! It only took me 27 months!

242/365

2008-12-10T09:48:00.000Z

This is an amazing object - a sheet of parchment has been cut with scissors into bible verses and decoration. It's unbelievably ornate and detailed. Lucky Giordana gets to conserve it!

241/365

2008-12-09T09:47:00.000Z

The excellent Frightened Rabbit at the Liquid Rooms with Magnus and Emma.

240/365

2008-12-08T09:45:00.000Z

Today Gordon and I spent the day de-installing the Heroes exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

239/365

2008-12-07T09:43:00.000Z

Today we went for a walk before our flat viewings - we had two viewers and both were very keen!

238/365

2008-12-06T09:41:00.000Z

Today we borrowed Magnus' parent's car to do some errands around town. Getting the car is often just an excuse for Magnus to get cuddles from Raffles. He's her favourite person.

237/365

2008-12-05T09:39:00.000Z

Kiki has a Playmobile advent calendar at work. Every morning we're greeted by Playmobile cuteness.

236/365

2008-12-04T09:37:00.000Z

After makeover - with everything moved back in and the walls repainted. A huge improvement, I think! And we are finally able to move back home!

235/365

2008-12-03T09:35:00.000Z

During makeover - Magnus and I popped in to see the progress of the work on Wednesday.

234/365

2008-12-02T09:34:00.000Z

Our teensy tiny kitchen - before makeover.

233/365

2008-12-01T20:33:00.002Z

Magnus and I are staying at his sister's lovely flat in Newington while we get our kitchen done. Rather than mess up her impeccable kitchen (she's trying to sell too), we ate out tonight at Kalpna, a famous Edinburgh vegetarian Indian restaurant. It was possibly the best meal we've had for a very long time. This is the cool mosaic peacock in the dining room.
------------------

232/365

2008-11-30T19:02:00.002Z

Our ESPC web listing went live on Friday, and we had our first open viewing today - we had TWO viewers! Yay! After loads of cleaning, the old hole in the wall is surprisingly photogenic!

231/365

2008-11-29T18:33:00.001Z

Tonight, Emma had us round for a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. She made roast potatoes, roast veg, and sprouts. I made vegetarian meatloaf and good ol' green bean casserole. Neil made an AMAZING pumpkin pie from scratch with rum-soaked raisins. Andi brought tasty wine.

Afterwards, we went to the Caves for a marathon of music for the Shelter charity, and loads of excellent local bands played. Unfortunately, the few bands we wanted to see were on too late for us oldies, but we got to see a great selection of bands earlier on. We left around 1am, and there were loads of bands still to play. This is the excellently-named Jesus H Foxx.

230/365

2008-11-28T18:29:00.000Z

Our flat went on the market today, and we had to tidy to within an inch of our lives. It's looking pretty good, if I do say so!

229/365

2008-11-27T18:07:00.000Z

The latest torture devices administered by my foot doctor-new custom insoles. Can't wait to go shopping for granny shoes.

228/365

2008-11-26T18:03:00.000Z

My first photo on my new toy - a secondhand BlackBerry Pearl. I love it - shame the camera is a bit crap! Sally was kind enough to pose - she's a very mysterious lady.

227/365

2008-11-25T17:55:00.000Z

Team meeting at our remote bindery. We had to use the visitor's mugs, and this was the one I ended up with - love it!

226/365

2008-11-24T17:54:00.000Z

Finally back at work. This is my favouritest tool in the whole world - a brass boxmaking square given to me by a friend as a wedding present.

225/365

2008-11-23T17:52:00.000Z

Early hours of Sunday morning... on the way back from a friend's house post-pub, we were rewarded by a lovely dusting of snow. Of course, I had to make sure everyone knew it!

224/365

2008-11-22T17:50:00.000Z

Had Emma round for some wine and a catch-up. I was so stir-crazy from my week off work, I allowed myself to be talked into going to the pub after a bottle of wine!

223/365

2008-11-21T13:01:00.002Z

Off sick again today. I downloaded Super Mario 2 on the Wii.
Perfect sickie game, kickin' it oldskool.

222/365

2008-11-20T12:59:00.001Z

A cool bit of graffiti on my way home from work.

(I actually went to work today, thinking I was better. Bad idea.)

221/365

2008-11-19T12:59:00.000Z

Yes, another day off sick.

220/365

2008-11-18T12:58:00.000Z

Another day off sick.

219/365

2008-11-17T12:57:00.000Z

Day off sick. This is all I did today.

218/365

2008-11-16T19:37:00.004Z

I'm heartbroken. Magnus and I had bought tickets to see the bestest live act band in the whole world, The Black Keys, tonight at the Queen's Hall. But a trip to the Royal Infirmary for an emergency appointment this afternoon confirmed that I have a chest infection, and therefor should not be listening to awesome toe-tapping gritty blues-tinged rock'n'roll and drinking beer from a bar full of delicious microbrewery beers. Instead, I sit here a mere mucous-filled shadow of my former self, watching Scrubs reruns and feeling sorry for myself while Magnus has gone alone to the gig. To add insult to injury, none of our friends were available to go along this evening, so Magnus had to sell my ticket for less than face value outside the venue. Boo!

PS - Have I said recently how much I freaking LOVE the NHS?! I probably have, but I'm going to say it again. Time and time again, I am impressed by the treatment I have received from this wonderful service. I called NHS 24 this afternoon at 1:30, the nurse on the phone decided that I should be seen by an out-of-hours doctor, so she made me an appointment for 2:40 at the Royal Infirmary. She even offered to arrange transport to the hospital for me! Instead, we decided to take a taxi to the hospital, I was seen immediately, and we were home half an hour later. No forms to fill in, no insurance to deal with. I love me my socialized medicine!!

217/365

2008-11-15T16:36:00.000Z

This has been keeping me upright for the past couple of days.

216/365

2008-11-14T16:35:00.000Z

Sally bought this card for her brother's birthday - I love it!

215/365

2008-11-13T16:19:00.002Z

(click for full-size. It should be legible.)

Kiki was working on this handbill today, and I think it is absolutely brilliant. Dated 1847, it pleads with the people of Scotland to turn their backs on two gentleman from Virginia who are 'at present lecturing throughout Scotland on Christian Union'. These two gentlemen, you see, 'assert that slavery, considered in itself, is not sinful - is not opposed to the spirit and principles of Christianity - and that the Saviour, and his Apostles, sanctioned the practice of man holding property in man.'

It goes on:

'For the sake of suffering humanity - for the sake of THREE MILLIONS OF YOUR FELLOW CREATURES groaning under the cruel bondage of American Slavery - People of Scotland, see that you do not in any way countenance that abominable system; beware lest you, in any degree, sacrifice your well-known Anti-Slavery principles, by apparently assenting to the absurd opinions of these men on this matter. Protest against their pro-Slavery views - tell them that you can have no connection with them, until they go home and urge upon their Slaveholding brethren to cease to do evil, to learn to do well, to seek judgement, and to EMANCIPATE ALL THEIR SLAVES!'

Excuse my French, but fuck yeah!!! This gave me goosebumps. Powerful stuff!

214/365

2008-11-12T16:18:00.001Z

The moon rising over St. Giles Cathedral on the walk home tonight. Atmospheric!

213/365

2008-11-11T16:15:00.001Z

Last day of holiday - mass filing operation in progress in preparation for mortgage/moving madness.

212/365

2008-11-10T23:23:00.002Z

This is a bit of a cheat. We actually WENT to Ikea today on the bus (man, I HATE taking the bus to Ikea!). We didn't buy anything (except veggie hotdogs!) - it was just a bit of a fact-finding mission for the new flat. I was too annoyed with the whole Edinburgh-roadworks-bus-traffic-hellhole to remember to actually take a photo until we got back to the peaceful sanctuary of our flat. I do love the Ikea catalogue though, so I guess it does really deserve its own photo.

211/365

2008-11-09T23:15:00.001Z

Ok, so it kind of feels like I'm stalking this band Broken Records. I'm not, really! But we found out they were supporting this band Okkervil River (sweaty lead singer above) at the Oran Mor in Glasgow, and decided to go spur-of-the-moment (thanks to a good few inhibition-lowering beers with some very lovely company in the afternoon). We congratulated ourselves on our reckless spontaneity, ended up really enjoying the gig, and got home way past our bedtime. And did you know that Burger King does surprisingly decent bean burgers? And that Burger King is the only place to get food at Queen Street Station at 11pm on Sunday night? Very useful facts, indeed.

210/365

2008-11-08T23:13:00.001Z

The excellent Fleet Foxes at the ABC in Glasgow with Magnus and Emma. They were impressively bearded and suitably brown-cardiganned.

209/365

2008-11-07T23:11:00.001Z

Magnus and I stopped for a couple of drinks at a cool super secret bar off the Royal Mile on our way home from shopping. This is the cool Narnia-esque entryway.

208/365

2008-11-06T10:06:00.000Z

This is a brilliant headline.

207/365

2008-11-05T10:04:00.000Z

He's done it - Chicago goes apeshit!!!!!

206/365

2008-11-04T11:25:00.000Z

Getting settled in for a long night of election watching.

205/365

2008-11-03T19:01:00.003Z

My amazingly talented friend Kiki made me this awesome Obama bunting for our election party tomorrow night. It really is incredible. I can't wait to put it up at Emma's house!

204/365

2008-11-02T19:01:00.000Z

The park was very beautiful tonight

203/365

2008-11-01T13:05:00.002Z

I'm cheating and posting two photos because I did two awesome things today, and I can't choose. This was the Obama rally organised by Democrats Abroad UK in Edinburgh. Neil and Emma came along to show their support, despite the fact that they can't vote! The weather was lovely and the speakers were great.

In the evening, Emma and Neil came for dinner, then we went to see the amazing Edinburgh band Broken Records at the Bongo Club to celebrate the launch of their new single. This was the second time I've seen them, and they are just brilliant. Afterwards, we went dancing to 60s mod/underground music at Studio 24. Much fun was had by all.

202/365

2008-10-31T20:09:00.003Z

Today, our offer was accepted on the flat. It still feels unreal. Magnus is away in Brighton this weekend, and this is how I'm celebrating by myself! Wine, Jelly Bellies, music, and election blogs. (Perhaps a little Guitar Hero later). What could be better?!

201/365

2008-10-30T20:07:00.000Z

I'm giddy with excitement over Saturday's Obama support rally here in Edinburgh. I even made myself a poster and a matching felt brooch.

200/365

2008-10-29T20:05:00.001Z

Some crazy stuff going down near the Parliament. Apparently, a guy was threatening to kill himself with a knife. So of course, this required twelve police cars and two armed units. What are they going to do?! 'Oh, no...he's cutting himself!! SHOOT HIM!!' Thankfully, he was taken to hospital unharmed.

199/365

2008-10-28T19:59:00.004Z

Mmm...Demijohn. I pass this place every day on my way home from work. These cold dark wintery evenings make me crave a bottle of their apricot brandy.

198/365

2008-10-27T21:01:00.002Z

I love this fudge shop on the Royal Mile. A bunch of skeezy little indie kids work there, they always advertise cool gigs in the window, and hey, free blood. I mean fudge, yes.

197/365

2008-10-26T17:43:00.001Z

A cool light thingy at the Camera Obscura.
More here.

196/365

2008-10-25T00:17:00.000+01:00

Kay's Bar with the lovely American ladies who I wish I had met ages ago!

195/365

2008-10-24T10:33:00.000+01:00

Exhibition opening at the City Art Centre. A couple of my friends worked very hard on this exhibition, and it really was a job well done.

194/365

2008-10-23T18:51:00.001+01:00

A library user was caught today WRITING IN THE LIBRARY BOOKS. Who the hell does this?! Thank goodness he was kind enough to use pencil, and I spent the entire afternoon erasing his scribblings.

193/365

2008-10-22T18:46:00.000+01:00

Oh no...the Precious has an owwie - somehow the plastic has cracked, and I put a plaster on it to protect it until I can get at it with some Super Glue.

192/365

2008-10-21T18:05:00.004+01:00

I got this in the mail today from my dad... a column by a Democrat Obama-supporting woman coming to terms with the fact that her dad will always be a Republican. This rings true for me. We may not see eye to eye when it comes to politics, but I will always love my dad!

191/365

2008-10-20T19:22:00.002+01:00

Crazy weather today - rain, sunshine, and blue sky all at once!

190/365

2008-10-19T19:33:00.001+01:00

This is all we did today - a massive one day binge of BSG.

Who is the last Cylon?!?! The waiting is going to be unbearable.

189/365

2008-10-18T19:32:00.000+01:00

Cozy pub with Magnus and Emma on Saturday night.

188/365

2008-10-17T14:41:00.004+01:00

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about Election Week already. Firstly, the election - which is becoming increasingly difficult to not get giddy about. Deep Breath! Secondly, we're having an awesome election sleepover with my wonderful Obama-supporting friends to watch the results come in. Thirdly, Magnus and I have a whole week off starting the day after the election. Fourthly, we're going to see Fleet Foxes in Glasgow on Saturday night with Emma. And fifthly and finally, we'll be staying over in Glasgow for two days to do a bit of sightseeing. Roll on, 4th of November!!

187/365

2008-10-16T14:40:00.002+01:00

Lovely crisp afternoon sunshine through the trees over Holyrood Palace

186/365

2008-10-15T14:38:00.001+01:00

More Royal Mile mayhem - the City Chambers evacuated and the fire brigade called in.

185/365

2008-10-14T19:44:00.000+01:00

The Birdie loves to help Magnus study.

184/365

2008-10-13T21:23:00.003+01:00

The source of much chaos for the past couple of weeks - the Royal Mile completely closed to traffic. And good to see those boys working so hard.

183/365

2008-10-12T19:33:00.002+01:00

Sitting in Mhairi's flat this afternoon in case anyone showed up for a viewing. No one came, but at least we got to watch a couple of episodes of the Wire. It's a nice flat for sale in Newington, if anyone's looking!

182/365

2008-10-11T20:57:00.002+01:00

Talk about alarmist headlines - sheesh! The end of the world is surely nigh!!

181/365

2008-10-10T12:21:00.001+01:00

The very generous gift card I got as thanks for doing some training for local law librarians at work. No, thank YOU, librarians!

180/365

2008-10-09T19:32:00.003+01:00

Magnus and I stopped after work for a couple of pints at the pub where we met almost nine years ago.

179/365

2008-10-08T19:14:00.001+01:00

Applying cyclododecan to water-soluble inks in a ledger book before washing.

178/365

2008-10-07T19:12:00.001+01:00

A beautiful Autumn sunrise on our way to work this morning.

177/365

2008-10-06T20:04:00.002+01:00

Dunsapie Loch, Holyrood Park overlooking the Firth of Forth

176/365

2008-10-05T20:02:00.001+01:00

Some lovely roses we passed on the way to Mhairi's flat.