Alberto's Hutte

31st August 2021 (Tuesday)     10.30 .... the last day of August;  only 116 days until Christmas Day.     We have a nice morning... although we did have a bit of light drizzle at 08.00(ish).   The sun is trying to break through, so it looks like we should have a bonnie afternoon.   I was ‘up’ at my normal time and out for the paper at 07.30, and can tell you that everything is where it should be in Elie and Earlsferry.   There were a few people out enjoying a breath of our Elie and Earlsferry morning air.... on what is a quiet and peaceful morning.    I think I need morrrrrrrning coffee now. 16.30     The sun has occasionally broken through the cloud, bringing us a few sunny spells, but not of any great duration.    I have done some ‘work’.... and I feel tired, but I can’t think why because I didn’t do that much.    Thinking about ‘work’ can be very tiring; and, I do a lot of that.    I spent a bit of time sorting out this morning’s batch of photographs;   it wasn’t the bonniest of mo

30th August 2021 (Monday)    07.30 ....The sky is overcast, but.... with blue patches here and there, so we should have sunny spells.   There’s a light Northeast breeze that will dry the washing I hung out first thing.     I’m not fond of any wind with East in it but that seems to be the prevailing wind direction now.   The prevailing wind used to be from the Southwest, as can be seen from the way trees, that are exposed to the wind, lean towards the East.   Oh well .... it should straighten them up.   We should have a bonnie afternoon... which is when I’ll go out on the bike.  10.00    The blue patches are few and far between now.... in fact, some of the clouds passing over, have the look of the, ....’chance of precipitation’, kind.   The afternoon should be brighter.   At the moment I’m having coffee, and toast.  The breeze has freshened into a good drying wind,.... but not a very warm one. 21.30    Although not the best of ‘drying days’ the washing dried.... and has been ironed;  

29th August 2021 (Sunday)    08.00 .... low cloud has drifted in from the North Sea, everything is quiet and still.... and it’s warm.   I am feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed, after a good night’s sleep.   I’ll get the bike out in a wee while and go for the paper after a cuppa.     11.30   Derek phoned to let me know that Lesley’s (my niece) Kenny passed away last night’.   Kenny had been fighting, a roller coaster battle, with COVID for the past few weeks, but, sadly, victory was not to be.   My thoughts are with Lesley, Janet and all the family and friends devastated by Kenny’s passing.   The sad news about Kenny has ‘put my fire oot’ this mornin’ .... but I guess ‘we’ have to get up and go.    I have been for the paper, and ‘roond the villages’... all is where it should be... and looking good at Elie and Earlsferry.    It’s a quiet, peaceful kind of morning.... quite pleasant really even without the sun.   I'm going to have 'morrrrrrrrrrning coffee' then do a wee b

28th August 2021 (Saturday)     14.30 ....It was that bonnie a mornin’ that I got intae a state o’ excitement, and the paper.    I left Ivy at 07.00 and got back again at 09.15... and...  never left Elie and Earlsferry.   When I was coming away from the harbour (I’d been there for nigh on an hour)  I met James, and some other rowers, making the skiffs ready for action;  both ‘Archie’ (Elie) and ‘Sea Queen’ (St Monans) were going out.   I promptly made my way up to the seats overlooking the harbour, where I got a few photographs of the skiffs being launched and setting out across the bay.   I then made my way to Chapel Green and got a few more of them by the Beacon.    What a morning;  it was one of those especial Elie and Earlsferry mornings, and a lot of folk were out enjoying it.  I've come to the conclusion that Paddle Boarding is the way to go on mornings like this;  it looks so ‘falling apart’ and relaxing.   Work?    No I haven’t done any of that! 20.00     This afternoon I

27th August 2021 (Friday)    08.00 .... I’ll take the car for a run this morning;  don’t know where but I fancy a wee change of scene.    The weather is, as was forecast;  a cloudy morning.... but the sun should break though by midday, giving us a nice afternoon and evening.      17.30     My ‘change of scene’ ended up being Leven High Street, (and Sainsbury’s).... neither of them exciting, but I wanted to see what the High Street looked like.   The frontage of the former Cummings shop has been ‘fenced off:  whether this is the start of something new, remains to be seen.   I’ll have to go back in a couple of weeks to find out;  apart from that the High Street is depressing.   I got the bits and pieces I wanted, then, ‘cos I was in Leven I moved on to Sainsbury’s.... that didn’t excite me either, but I did a shopping, .... so I won’t have to go to ‘The Store’ on Sunday morning.   I think that I was (subconsciously) hoping to find the ‘old normal’.... but I think that has gone forever. 

26th August 2021 (Thursday)    09.30 .... We have ‘sunny spells with a brisk, cool, Northerly wind’ this morning, .... I’ll go for the paper later in the morning; the air will be warmer once the sun is higher.  There’s always going to be wind chill to be factored in today, so:  I’ll begin my day with a warm job .... the ironing. 17.30     ‘ The Boy’ has been reasonably busy, on what has been a bonnie day:   the ironing was done first thing, a bit ‘ousework, then ‘morrrrning coffee before going out on the bike.    Oh my God.... I’ve just seen the news from Afghanistan:   Is there ever going to be peace, and the hope of some kind of ‘normal life’ in that that country?    No wonder so many Afghans want to leave their homeland.    The news (from Afghanistan) continues to be updated.... it’s so sad how people, with extremist belief’s, operate.    There appears to be little hope for peace in Afghanistan. Where was I before I switched the tele ‘on’?.... oh aye:   I went for the paper onl

25th August 2021 (Wednesday)    09.00 .... It’s misty with a cool onshore Barbara. breeze this morning, but ... the sun should burn the mist back by the afternoon,....  unfortunately  the east Coast is forecast to be cooler and cloudier today.   I’ll go for the paper about 11.00 .... once the sun starts to make inroads on the mist.   It’s not the best of ‘drying days’ but I have a washing going through the machine;  I’m feeling optimistic that the combination of breeze, sunshine ... and moonshine tonight, should dry it. 15.00     It was misty when I eventually went for the paper, but it was pleasantly warm.... and, although generally grey, there was a lot going on, and the colourful sails of the dinghies etc. are always there to brighten the scene.   The broke through after lunch and we have a ‘sunny with the threat of haar’ kind of afternoon.    I must venture up to The Hutte;   there’s Soduko that needs to be done. 22.00   My word ... we did have a lovely evening;  and I just had to

24th August 2021 (Tuesday)    09.00 ....I set out to go for the paper but found that the bike battery was low, so I went to Chapel Green to get a few misty photos.    The battery is being charged and should be fully charged by lunch time. When I got round to Chapel Green I spotted a creel boat coming in by the Beacon so I quickly (my ‘quickly’ isn’t very fast) trotted down the path to get a clear picture.    When I got back to Maggie’s seat a ‘Aychouk’, (Mark’s dog) came across to see me:   I had seen someone on the green, but thought it was the Elie Yoga folks getting ready to go.    What a welcome I got ;   I thought ‘Aychouk’ would have forgotten me.    She’s a lovely dog, and we’ve always got on well... a 'love' affair that started when she was a pup.    The sun is forecast to burn the fog back by lunchtime, by which time I will have a fully charged bike, and I’m in the mood for Balcarres.    So.... hopefully the forecast is right. Balcarres Estate. 12.30    The new wi

23rd August 2021 (Monday)     08.00 .... ‘Light cloud with a light breeze’ is Sturgeon moon. what is forecast for us today... and that is what we have;  a, quiet, colourless kind of morning.    At least it’s dry and warm, with the chance of sunny spells later in the afternoon/evening.    I’ll go for the paper later in the morning;  I had thought of going to Balcarres but I’ll leave that until a sunnier day.   Last night we had a full moon, a Sturgeon Moon as it is being called this year;  the different North American Indian tribes had their own names for this moon, Sturgeon (Great Lakes), Harvest (Dakota), Flying Up moon (Cree), Corn Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwa), and Mountain Shadow Moon being a few: all that information came from the Cambridgeshire News.  16.00   I had a decent ‘paper run’ this morning;  up to Kinneuchar, then back home via the estate, harbour, ‘paper shop’, Breakwater and Chapel Green.    It was a grey morning but there was a lot going on, and I got a lot of photographs

22nd August 2021 (Sunday)   09.30 .... We had a bonnie start to the morning, but the fog has rolled in again.... so .... it’s a lovely, albeit misty, morning now.    I went to ‘The Store’ to do a shopping.... and introduced myself to John McKenzie, who I have seen in the shop but only realised last week who the gentleman was.   John likes to get the shopping done early (as I do), before the shop gets busy.   We caught up with each other’s ‘news’, before rattling round ‘the Store’ to do the shopping. Back in The Ferry I unloaded the car, and had a wander to the beach after parking it.    At that time (07.50) the sun had broken through the fog and we had a really atmospheric morning.    I could see the fog wasn’t far away as, by the time I was coming off the beach, it was starting to hide the sun again.    The sun should eventually win the battle, to give us ‘sunny spells’ by the afternoon. 11.00    Everybody I met this morning, when I went for the paper, has been asking where I got t

21st August 2021 (Saturday)    07.00 ....After some light rain overnight,   the overcast sky is starting to show some signs brightening, with paler patches here and there.   I’ll leave off going for the paper until mid morning in the hope that we have brighter weather by then.... though I expect it to be ‘mostly cloudy with the ‘chance of precipitation’, in the form of showers, or spells of light rain/drizzle, for most of the day.   I’m hoping that, by the late afternoon and we should have ‘sunny spells’.   18.00   Well .... the sunny spells I hoped for never came our way.... in fact it has been a wet, and generally dreich afternoon;  so much so that I decided to de-frost the freezer;  something I have been meaning to do for a few weeks.   I thought I’d have a few items to dump but I only found one;   a litre container of milk.    I don’t know why I froze that ‘cos I buy my milk from the ‘paper shop’.   Anyway it was a good day for de-frosting the freezer ....a job that I am not parti

20th August 2021 (Friday)    10.00   I’ve been for the paper, and at the harbour.... and had a walk to the beach after ‘mooring up’ the car.    It’s mistier this morning, but the light was fantastic and the tide was out, so I just had to go to the beach.  I wasn’t the only one out enjoying the tranquil morning:  a lady was out on a paddle board ... and a few folk were walking the beach.   The sun has broken through since then and we now have a lovely morning;   I’ll get the bike out after breakfast. 16.30    We ended up with a gorgeous day and I did go out on the bike.   The Master Plan was to have my ‘morrrrrrrrning coffee’ at Chapel Green.   I did the Chapel Green bit nae bother.... only to find that I’d left the coffee in the kitchen.   It was still hot when I got back to Ivy (it was in one of those Thermos mugs) so I had my morrrrrning coffee.... but not at Chapel Green.    I met James and Jennifer at Chapel Green, they’d been for their morning walk; out to Shell Bay and back alon

19th August 2021 (Thursday)   06.30 .... The weather is as was forecast .... “overcast, with an Easterly breeze off the North Sea bringing with it the threat of light rain”, so, not a morning for going out to play, even if I am feeling frisky.  And I am; feeling frisky i.e.    It’s a computer and ‘ousework kind of day;   in fact, if the forecasters have got it right, tomorrow’s weather is going to be the same.... I’ll have to rein in this frisky feeling for two whole days!  I need to put the kettle on. 15.00     We’ve had a nice enough day so far.... yes, the air is cooler, but it has been dry.   I had a pleasant trip to Elie in the morning, by which time folk were enjoying the beach and Elie Water Sports dinghies were on the water, adding some colour to what was a generally grey scene at that time.     Since then we have had the sun break through now and again, giving us some decent sunny spells.    I am actually thinking of going out to the garden and loping a twig off the Doo’s bus

18th August 2021 (Wednesday)     08.00 .... We have a bonnie morning,  bright Maggie at Wakehurst (2005). and sunny (most of the time) with a moderate breeze.... there are fluffy clouds bumbling across, and they hide the sun now and again, but it should be a nice, if breezy, day, the twelfth anniversary of Maggie’s sudden passing.   I shall have a quiet morning, with coffee at Chapel Green.  10.30   I’ve been to Elie for the paper, and Barnett’s the Baker’s for cake oops food;  I then did the harbour and came home by way of the estate.   All is good and where it should be.   The villages appeared quieter this morning, and I had no breathing problems.... the brisk breeze clears the air. Without question the best decision I have made in recent months is to have the central heating boiler replaced;   the old one had been worrying me;     (I’ll have to find something else to ‘worry’ about now).      I feel much happier;    especially having it fitted so quickly and well before the cold

  17th August 2021 (Tuesday)      08.00 .... ‘Light cloud and a moderate breeze’ it our weather for today, after some light rain overnight;  no mention of sunny spells (or light rain), but we might get lucky and have a few sunny spells in the afternoon;   it will be pleasantly warm.    I am working in the kitchen (Cottage Pies) in the morrrrrrrning... and playing in the afternoon. 10.00     It will be 12 years ago tomorrow that Maggie died.... and.... I am still here, thanks to the support from my family and friends;   even the kitchen has lost its ‘man cave’ look, (thanks to Janice and Michael).    It, the kitchen, is still tidy .... I’ll take a photo on the 25th.   Every time I have coffee at Chapel Green I get ‘instructions’... ‘The Boss’ may not be around physically but she keeps a ‘supportive’ eye on me.... so much so that I may need to buy a new ‘oover.    13.00    I had a successful Cottage Pie making session this morning; ending up with one Janice portion for lunch, and 4 rea