Finding Enough

Despite being ill for a couple of weeks, I managed to squeeze quite a lot into September. The theme was definitely swimming, as I figured that I could still complete my sport relief 10k challenge in the month if I put my mind to it, even though I was out of the water for 12 days of it. So, I put my mind to it, and did it.

I was rather helped by a week of summer in the middle of September. Scotland enjoyed 27 degree sunshine while the rest of the UK struggled under torrential rain. It does happen that way round sometimes!

As well as all that swimming, we had a couple of friends visit with Dexter their springer spaniel who, you may remember, we have sat for on a couple of occasions. We did a lot of tourist things, visited the Stranraer Oyster Festival for the first time – and took Dexter for lots of walks. If you are in the UK and happen to watch the 13th Oct episode of Countryfile, you will see Dexter make a brief cameo at the oyster festival about half way through, just after they cooked oysters on the beach. Camera crews love dogs.

We even took on a short house sit to help out a local couple who had been let down last minute. As they live close to the coast, I was able to easily add a couple of new sea swim spots to the list and rack up a few more hundred metres. We can also now add goats, ducks and geese to the list of animals we have cared for. The geese were definitely characters.

We finished off the month getting back to the wall pointing after a bit of a break. We were trying to finish the bottom 1.5m across the damp wall by the end of the month. I had removed the paint and cement from this area, but we needed to point it before it gets too cold to use lime. We just managed it and finished a week before the first sub-5 deg night. It seems to be curing well so far…….🤞

I will continue to slowly remove the plastic paint over the winter, but won’t take any of the big chunks of cement pointing out until the spring for fear of leaving big holes that I won’t be able to fill until it warms up. Most of our attention will move indoors.

We also finally managed to track down a heritage minded structural engineer who was available to come out and review the dubious work we found behind the damp plasterboard inside that end wall. We now have a report detailing several options to move forwards, but all are a little beyond our DIY capability, so the next task is to find a suitable contractor for the job. Given our remote location and the semi-specialist nature of the job (and the fact it’s not a big job by their standards), I am anticipating a bit of a wait. The sooner we start hunting the better. We knew the renovation would be a marathon, not a sprint. I am just glad we continue to move in the right direction, albeit never as fast as I would like.

September marks a year since we moved in and, looking back, we have achieved a lot. The slower pace of life is a big part of why we moved here, but I haven’t quite shaken off my fast-paced get-things-done mentality, so it can be frustrating when we need outside help. Luckily there are plenty of things we can get in with without help – just being able to source the right materials. Thank goodness for Screwfix.

While I was swimming, pointing and gardening, the freedom fund was holding steady and creeping up slightly to finish September up £5k on last month.

Financial Update:

Freedom fund value – £1,312,615 (up almost £5K on last month)

Expenditure – £2,898.78 (or a 2.7% withdrawal rate)

Earned income – £0

Despite having to refill the oil tank refill (£582) and renew the home insurance (£662) this month, the total spend wasn’t as high as I had expected. The former was £50 cheaper than the last refill in March and the latter was up considerably despite hours and hours of shopping around. The deal we settled on was £20 cheaper than the automatic renewal and with more cover. We also spent £100 on a small piece from a local artist that we had our eye on for a while and £111 pre-booking airport parking for a trip in a few months.

Beyond the above there weren’t any exceptional spends this month. There also was no income, nor effort to generate any.

Non-Financial Goals:

Forage something every month – September was sloes

Not being gin drinkers, we opted for sloe and apple chutney, especially because last winter’s apple tree pruning seems to have done the trick, and this year we have MASSES of apples – both cookers and eaters. I am slowly filling the chest freezer with apple cake, apple crumble, apple tart and am just waiting for some preserving bottles to arrive to enable me to store some apple juice too.

The jars of chutney have turned out a stunning colour and should be nicely matured for Christmas presents. We might start some sloe gin for presents next year, but I believe it will be the year after before it would be ready for drinking.

Wild swim at least once a month in as many different places as possible

Because of my 10k sport relief challenge, I fitted in 14 swims in 13 days in 7 different places in September. A total of approx 8hrs in the water included 4 sea swimming spots, 2 fresh water lochs and a river.

There is no competition for the most memorable – a trip out to Ailsa Craig, 10 miles off the coast of Ayrshire with 10 others for a swim and wander around. This was on 1st September, just before becoming ill and it turned out to be nearly 2 weeks before I got back in the water again. Ailsa Craig is an RSPB reserve and home to thousands of gannets, but also where all the granite for Olympic curling stones is quarried.

I completed the 10k on 28th September, with 2 days to spare. The last few swims were definitely challenging with autumn most definitely returning after a week of summer weather. Although the water temperature can’t have dropped that much, the cooler air, and wind chill made a noticeable difference. At the time of writing, I have raised £312 for Sport Relief, and that was without harassing friends and family for money (I hate that), just documenting my progress on social media. I am enjoying having no pressure on distance when I now get into the water………

Swimming did rather dominate September, but there were also plenty of rainbows and a healthy harvest from the small veg garden. We hope to have more growing space by next season.