(includes corrections from Steve) I’m sitting in the front room of the Leathes House, which looks out on Borrowdale and the fells beyond. Last week was a blur, trying to wind up at work, coop , weird meals at home as we tried to use up this and that.
Stayed latish at work, came back latish, & made a not v. inspired chicken w/ tomatoes & zucchini. Got up, packed & erranded in AM. Borders is closing. I went in to get some paperbacks to read on the plane. It felt so sad – all the times I’d gone there when L & A were little – all the books I’d bought for them (& me) there. Bought a bunch of kids books for the guys in the shelters.
S claimed my suitcase was > 50 lbs (comment by S: which would generate a fee), but in fact it was 44. V. pissed at him that his preference for window seats landed us in a back row where the seats wouldn’t recline, and landed me in a middle seat WHICH I DID NOT LIKE. Kept muttering “shxx”. I should say, he’d gifted me his US Air miles to try to upgrade, but upgrades not available, in the end the flight was oversold & they had to elicit volunteers to fly to London & then Glasgow.
Glasgow airport small – we were staying in Holiday Express (comment by s: with a 2 pm checkin). They couldn’t give us a room in the morning when we arrived, so we took a but into town & went to the Kelvingrove Museum, part of the University. V. eclectic – couple of rooms of French, couple of rooms of Italians, assorted antiquities, couple of rooms of local artists whom I found forgetable) and a v. massive Dali Christ on the Cross. S looked at the Glasgow boys, thought theirs a good use of Matisse-type colors. S proposed lunch in the downstairs cafe (more expensive, fewer little kids), which was smart (I was still pissed at him). Wound up watching Tango demonstrations, and I just ached w/ fatigue. Finally, we could check in; we promptly fell asleep & woke up maybe 6 pm feeling much better. No airport restaurants to speak of, so we ate in the hotel --- ok curry.
Next day, I persuaded S to switch our rental to an automatic, even tho it almost doubled the cost (he's a wuss in his old age, isn't he). Got down to Borrowdale in abt 3 hrs & ate lunch in Keswick (pronounced Kessick) at an overpriced Indian (but service not slow & food fine). Went out for a couple hours walking starting in back of the hotel -- v. bright day w/ beautiful clouds, and the scenery in Borrowdale just beautiful -- and the intense green of the valley bottome filled w/ sheep byres.
Where we are (Leathes Head), the steep slopes are mostly forrested.
Tues was rainy -- we sent into Keswick & visited the pencil factory (they were invented there -- there are graphite deposits) & Castlerig stone circle -- beautiful view of fields & fells, but pretty steady rain & then walked deown to Friars Craig -- good views of Derwentwater. S saw a pub advertising a lunch special at GPB 3.99 including "mushy peas" for lunch, so insisted we go there (as his BD celebration). Then we walked a couple hours along a RR line converted to a bicycle / pedestrian trail, along the River Greta. V. woodsey, not much in the way of views.
Slight excitement -- S (whose Estonian-based cell phone service couldn't get reception at our hotel) saw a missed phone call # & ID'd it as our neighbor's. I was able to call out on my bberry. She wanted to say, there'd been 5"of rain the other day and did our sump pump work? Much discussion abt did she had a key, but then S called the lady who cleans our house, who came in first to check that the sump pump worked, then (several times) to unstick the float that made it run without stopping.
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