After Christmas

Well, Christmas seems to have been and gone without my having 'blogged' about any of it! I thought about having a little blog over the last few days, but realise I haven't actually very much to blog about! Maybe that's a good thing?  We had a wonderful Christmas with family, though for the first time ever Jo didn't spend it with us due to her work commitments not helped by her parents moving six hundred miles away to the Scottish Highlands which makes it nigh on impossible for her to 'nip' up here for forty eight hours with her boyfriend - sorry Jo. Your parents are inconsiderate! However the boys made it together with Ollie's girl friend Anna, and without wanting Anna to feel like the 'token' girl or Jo to feel she's being left out, we did all have a very enjoyable and relaxing time. 

The best Christmas tree decorations from Olek and Jarno  arrived in the post as I was decorating the tree. 'Thank You Olek & Jarno' (and possibly Mum & Dad!)  they're wonderful and weigh the tree down nicely! I suspect we could even have stood the tree outside and it wouldn't have blown away despite the constant Christmassy gales and rain we've had we're having.

Among my presents was a very smart compost bin for my compostable peelings

And a lovely lovely grey and white striped table cloth - 'Thank You' lovely children. And being your Mother I've gone on and on about it

And on! I couldn't resist this jug, I thought it would look very lovely standing on the table cloth - and it does - and it doesn't drip!

On our journey home before Christmas from the warm and sunny south we diverted to wet and soggy  north Wales and bought a piece of slate from a Quarry with a name we couldn't pronounce

It sits on a low wall dividing the kitchen from the dining area and looks very lovely 

- and needless to say goes very well  with the table cloth! I probably need to get out more!

Here is the Christmas card I eventually sent, just in time (hopefully) for Christmas! I drew it from a photo I'd taken, then  scanned it into photoshop and added a few more lines and some colour and after lots of getting very cross and with the help of one husband (who's much better at these things than I am) printed 'Merry Christmas' the right way up on the right side of the card!

I'm sorry I didn't get to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I had some lovely comments left on my blog and felt very undeserving. I've even been given an award I must post it on my blog. But before I go and prepare supper I just want to wish everyone a very 'Happy and Peaceful New Year' And 'Thank You' for your lovely comments, they really do make a difference.

Flotsam and Jetsam

We've had storms here recently. We were away last week down in Surrey in the gentle south visiting family and friends. We came back home to snow and ice and last Thursday night we were battered by storm force winds

Sadly this dolphin washed up on the beach looked as if he may have suffered due to the stormy weather

In spite of his ordeal he still smiled

and I like to think his ending hadn't been too traumatic.

I bent down and touched his skin, it felt like neoprene. He was rather lovely and quite perfect.

Another casualty this week caused by the storm was Edith's boat and boat-house down on the shore of Lochbroom

The remains of Edith's boathouse were scattered far and wide

This was the boat-house last year

and here was the roof today flung 100 yards or more along the shore by the wind

The boat was rescued and taken further up the hill to safety

And the willing bunch of helpers who restored some order to the chaos. Fortunately the boat-house can be rebuilt and the boat repaired. Unfortunately this isn't the boathouse they are standing in front of but another casualty of the storm, a  neighbour's shed brought down by the wind. There have been outbuildings, porches, greenhouses, fences and trees that have all come down. It's the worst storm we've experienced since moving up here. But we've seen how neighbours simply muck in and help one another in time of trouble - and that's a good feeling.