This month I have been mostly...

Reading:

I haven't been much in the mood for reading over the past few months. I've struggled to concentrate even on the Sarah Hilary book that I'm part of the way through. I decided on a change of pace, so I picked up a book from the pile of various mystery series that I was obsessed with buying back in February, and which have sat on a shelf ever since! I decided to start with the Perveen Mistry books by Sujata Massey. I've not been able to put them down! They are full of rich detail about the architecture, food, and clothing, and with a great main character who has an interesting back story. I'm glad that I'm enjoying them just as much as her Rei Shimura series (it was when I finished my re-read of that series I decided I needed to find some other books that I could get just as engrossed in).

Watching:

I'm coming towards the end of my rewatch of First Wave, and wasn't sure what could replace it. But luckily Dempsey & Makepeace (one of my favourite shows as a teenager) has been having a rerun. I have watched a few of them so far (with great delight, especially at the amazing theme tune, and Makepeace's outfits and hair!) and I'm keeping the rest for when I finish First Wave. I'm also finding the documentary series Once Upon a Time in Iraq really interesting.

Listening:

I'm still loving Melissa Harrison's podcast The Stubborn Light of Things, and I've discovered Slow Radio and Radio Lento, both of which also have really relaxing podcasts. And I listened to an episode of Strange Horizons which was a sci-fi story called 68:Hazard:Cold by Janelle Shane.

Eating:

I recreated my birthday meal from earlier in the year - crispy chilli tofu with fried rice.

Wearing:

Stripey tops and dresses, as you can see from the photos!

Making:

I'm still working on my 100 day embroidery project, and it is progressing well. It will be finished next month.

Doing:

I had my first proper day out since the 1st of February. I started with a visit to Kitty at Home, a vintage shop in Dollar. I'd been wanting to go for ages, and I ended up buying a few little things. I then went to Cowden Japanese Garden, which is one of my favourite places. It was a really strange feeling, as I kept thinking that it was May rather than July, because that's the time of year I'd usually start doing these sort of trips. For the first time I just used my phone to take photos there rather than taking my proper camera. 

I had my first post-lockdown takeaway coffee from the cafe there, and ate a picnic I'd taken with me. Then I explored the woodland walk which I hadn't been round before. On the way home I stopped off at the historic well in Scotlandwell. I had only been once before as a child, so I couldn't remember much about it, but it turned out to be well worth a look - it was fascinating to watch the water bubbling up from the spring.

I had to go to St Andrews to pick up something at Madras College for work, so I arranged to do it on a Friday afternoon so I could go for a walk afterwards. It was really interesting to see inside the historic Madras College. 

I then walked through St Mary's Quadrangle, which is a lovely grassy area with historic university buildings around it, and it was somewhere I hadn't been before. It was really strange to be exploring a town other than my own after so many months! I walked along the Kinness Burn to the harbour, then went beachcombing near the castle. Finally I had my first ice cream of the year!

I went to Falkland one Saturday morning and it was really busy there. I actually went to a craft fair while I was there! And I had a coffee outdoors at Fayre Earth and a lovely chat with Elizabeth who has the shop, and another local called Lars. Then I went on to the local farm shop, Pillars of Hercules, and after a short wait I was able to comfortably browse and buy some lovely food (they were only letting 5 people in).

I went for a walk at some local reservoirs. I started at Holl Reservoir, then went to Drumain, Ballo and Harperleas Reservoirs. My main reason for going was that I remembered seeing lots of butterflies the time I'd been there years ago, and I was not disappointed!

I heard about Tanshall Art Trail, which is a short walk from my house, so I went to try to find it, armed with only a fuzzy map from Facebook where the street names were unreadable! I couldn't find it on my first attempt, but, after reading that it was around Boblingen Way, I went out again and found it! It consists of about 10 groups of rocks, inlaid with the nature drawings of local children, which look a bit like fossils!

I went on another town art walk, this one in the north of Glenrothes. I started off at Gilvenbank Park, and from there I explored the art in Pitcoudie, Collydean, and Pitcairn. I felt inspired by some of the celtic designs, and may do some drawings of them in my sketchbook.

I've not been as into my jigsaws of late, so the one I'm doing of the Cinque Terre is not finished yet.