Outside-In

Hi folks. There was a great sea rolling in last Saturday morning so John came up with his camera from Little Bousta to take some photographs ... Lillian came too and we had hot chocolate as usual. Actually, the tide had come in a bit by the time he came and things were not so spectacular as they had been at daybreak ... after an 80mph or so gale. The day before it had been planned to have our new (Peggy Angus) wallpaper put up in the living room. Emma had printed the paper and a guy called Richard Swales - who had come to Shetland several years before to decorate Vaila Hall for the new owners and who had stayed - was coming to do it. I explained that I was rather nervous of putting up such unique paper. He told me that the first papering job he had had on Vaila was to hang one complete roll of Victorian paper on the staircase in a oner and each roll coast 80 quid ... so he was kinda relaxed about doing our living room.

We left him to it and being a Friday made off for a run and then to Richard and Victoria for lunch. There we learned that Emma and I had miscommunicated! She thought I only wanted to paper one gable end, I wanted both. Richard Swales had prepared the paper and found that there was not even quite enough to do one and decided not to start!! Ahh ... I nearly cried since I had spent the Thursday evening taking all the pictures down (after making sure by measurements that I knew exactly where they were to go back) and moving the furniture (gradually) on my own. Thinking also that Mum and I would be out the way. Also Richard S had told me that he was starting a long job on the Monday so if he didn't do it then it would be a month or so!

Anyway, Emma, bless her, printed two further rolls on the Saturday and Richard S returned on Sunday to hang them. Meanwhile I took Mum off to Sumburgh for Mother's Day lunch ... I tell a lie, I didn't know it was Mother's Day, but it did seem to impress people. On the way back we passed through Bigton and nipped down to St Ninian's where I took this pic of the sea over the tombolo.


But the paper ... looks fantastic doesn't it?It is composed of circa 10 inch repeated blocks of birds and beasts ... just a wee idea for Maya there ...? I've tried to take a picture of the whole wall but for some reason the left hand side of the picture never comes into focus. I'll get there. It has made an amazing difference to the room, making it feel (psychologically)much warmer and the colour of the paper seems to make the colour in the pictures stand out much more than they did against the old white background.

Aussie Peter was supposed to start putting the forest fence up in the walled yard today, but there has been so much rain trhe ground can't hold it anymore and he reckoned if he dug a hole for a strainer it would just fill up ... he would have got pretty wet too. So he's starting tomorrow ... weather permitting.

On Friday on our way to lunch with R&V I am planning to visit the cattery at Tingwall. I am still not sure I am doing the right thing in getting a cat, but without one there will be no garden (and probably no trees) because of the rabbits. The last time I felt like this was when we were going to get married. Well I suppose that has been a success ... so I should stop worrying