laundry woes

I hate it when tissue somehow gets into the washing machine. Now I've got paper jism over all my clothes, and it won't come off except by being picked off piece by piece.

Also, whee, "we live in a damp wet climate, so we won't use dryers and will just hang our clothes!" Still damp 24+ hours later. Admittedly there's probably an art to hanging them, like making sure there's nothing bunched up... I'm just used to climates where it doesn't matter so much.

Wed/Thur Edinburgh

Yesterday Current Host took me on a drive around the city, up to some undeveloped hills for a view, down to a tidal flat, off to gallery of modern art with nice grounds, then to the Botanic Gardens, where I stayed for a fungi exhibit, Chinese hill, peat garden, and heath/heather garden. Felt rather less intense and shaped than other botanics.

Host makes some of the best lasagna I've ever had. No ricotta, but parmesan on top.
Host is an interior decorator, with tastes somewhat divergent from mine when it comes to utilitarian stuff. The kitchen is covered in tasteful plastic panels that offer no affordance of which way to open them, or whether they open at all. My shower has yet another set of controls, 3 knobs above each other. Top one controls volume of water, middle controls temperature without changing volume, in a range from very warm to scalding hot, bottom diverts some of the water to a flexible head. No indications of any of this, of course.

Today I walked down to the water, and port. Bus back a bit, then walking through residential/industrial areas. Two discoveries: a lot of the time I'm reminded of the Sunset district of San Francisco, for no clear reason; my best guess is the combination of angled sun on buildings and cool temperatures with breeze. Second is that restaurants are a lot less common than I assumed. I passed up a seafood bar early on... and saw nothing else like it. Walked by a cheap Indian place not open for another 10 minutes, ditto. Leith Walk has a bunch, but apparently one side has all the Chinese, Thai, and kebab places, and my side had the pubs, Polish, and Italian places. Surely they'd mix up more?

Decided to bus-tour again, as I'd tried but failed in London. 25 west across the city, quickly showing me Prince's Gardens and good views, then more old buildings, then newer and rattier parts of town. Then, seemingly, no town at all! Just open hills, but then a university and the end of the line. I switched to the 45 for the way back, and for a while wondered if I'd misjudged things and was being taken off into suburbs. But it eventually turned back east, along the south as I'd expected, passing hills and gorges on the right. Just been staying on the bus and looking, not getting out and walking around the somnolent neighborhoods.

I feel rather sad to see "ALL DAY BREAKFAST" above one of those hostile metal storefront shutters while it's light out. Lots of hostile metal shutters in places.

Lots of colleges for a town of half a million. U of Ed, Napier U, at least 2 others just on this ride that I forget.

Thought about getting off, but then the driver said it's running every 20 to 30 minutes and possibly not for much longer. It's 18:45.

Host made fish and chips.

Glasgow tomorrow.