We made it!

At the eleventh hour when we were tired, ratty and thought, in spite of all the unpacking and building of furniture (Ikea chairs, beds and bedside tables mainly) that we were getting nowhere and should give up, sit down (if we could find a chair) have a cup of tea and book us all in to a hotel for Christmas and the New Year. We managed with the help of our amazingly helpful kids

to bang another cupboard on the wall - at least I think that's what they're doing?!

and to make some sort of order out of the muddle. Our old danish leather chairs held up with string!

We found the Christmas table cloth

spruced up the kitchen

built the guest bedroom

tidied ours

stuck some frosted film to the bathroom window

and with the aid of a credit card removed the air bubbles and pricked out the pattern with a pin

The wonderful plumber gave us water

and we hung, though didn't complete, the bathroom basin to the wall. When fixed, the cupboard won't be supported by the planks of wood you can see on the floor - I don't think!

We put up the shower unit and Niels showed his displeasure at the loud squeaking noise the cabinet door made when opened and closed!

The squeaking is getting quieter!

The rain shower is wonderful but knows no bounds and the wet room quickly advanced beyond the bathroom door and out into the hall! We have temporarily stemmed the flow of rain by putting a piece of wood across the shower cubicle entrance on the floor. The shower room floor tiles need to be done all over again - but just at the minute I'm happy to be in denial and pretend all is perfect!

and even if the floor in the shower room slopes all the wrong way it still looks brilliant!

We decorated the Christmas Stove (not yet installed.) Ullapool had sold out of Christmas Trees and no one had the energy to go and dig one up

and we all had a very merry Christmas!

We had a Boxing Day walk

and between Christmas and the New Year, found the garden seat, stacked the wood and tidied the ladder collection

put up some bird feeders

and kept an eye on limping lamb chop. She's about the same. I don't think it's foot rot, it looks more like arthritis. I don't know anything about sheep ailments, but when she gets up she reminds me of my granny getting up out of her chair!

and lastly on New Years Eve we sat with our friends who had travelled all the way up from Brookwood and enjoyed their good company and food as we saw out the old year and welcomed in the new. The months of work, and towards the end, worry that it wasn't going to happen just faded and were forgotten. Although not finished we had at least managed to provide a degree of comfort with light, water and heat, with chairs to sit on and a place to be with time to enjoy the company of good friends. It was great fun. I'm confident in saying we all had a wonderful time together. The weather was brilliant, cold and frosty, with sunshine and blue skies. The only 'blip' being two of our friends who couldn't land at Inverness airport on the journey up, due to freezing fog, and who had to be diverted to Aberdeen and bussed to Inverness; faced a nightmare journey going home when due to the same weather conditions they sat on a bus all the way from Inverness to Gatwick!!
Thank you to all the workmen, family and friends who helped get us this far.
A happy 2009 to you all