Monday 15th April 2024

Monday already. Back to school today, so silly o'clock alarms set. Only for a week, though, before the exam leave starts. That time again.

Weather is still awful - rain, wind and so cold.

We had our monthly prayer fellowship on Saturday morning. It’s always exciting to see everyone and this time we had visitors from a bible college who were visiting the island. It was a fantastic morning, and I drove home feeling completely refreshed by the Holy Spirit.

After lunch, I lit the fire, because it was so miserable outside, and I got on with my knitting, while we watched the football.

Church on Sunday morning - it was good to be back after a couple of weeks. I missed starting the week off properly.

I had finished my book on Friday night, and the one I started on Saturday just didn't gel with me. It was an Alexander McCall Smith Philosophy Club story, that was languishing on the shelf. Not my cup of tea at all. I had forgotten how annoying middle class New Town Edinburgh was, so that was that.

I spent a lot of time scrolling book accounts on Instagram for some inspiration, and there were quite a few interesting ideas. I resurrected my old bookstagram account @leftontheshelf because I really feel my reading mojo is back.

Anyway, I'm now reading Trollope, who always makes me happy. Dr. Thorne.

Still cold and blustery today, but I worked away in the big polycrub. The strawberry runners are finally in. Some even had flowers. I also got the dwarf beans planted and a tray of purple podded peas.

In the potting shed, I sowed Chioggia beetroot, various lettuce and Spring onions and some nasturtiums. All in all, a nice afternoons work.

Town tomorrow - just gym and a couple of bits from the supermarket, so I should be home well before lunch. I’ve got a few admin jobs to do and some homework for my theology course.

Hoping for more gardening later in the week, but it looks like I’ll be dodging the showers. It is April, I suppose.

Thursday 11th April 2024

Just me, moaning about how busy I am again. Work type things seem relentless right now and there always seems to be something else popping up that takes me away from my garden plans. And, of course, there is the weather…

Anyway, I got through a couple of meetings that I wasn’t looking forward to, and they were fine. The Apostle Paul has some very good advice about anxiety.

Not really a lot to report that is bloggable this week. Had a nice visit from a Board colleague today to discuss a photographic project we are planning. It involves drones, which is exciting, but also means we have to wait weeks until this infernal wind dies down.

I’ve planted a few herbs and flower seeds, but I want to do a lot more. I lost a few of my delphinium plants which I thought I had put in a sheltered spot, but I turned out to be mistaken. I still haven’t got the strawberry plants in yet - blah, blah, blah… April is the cruellest month, as the man said.

I’m reading The Illyrian Spring, by Ann Bridge, a lyrical, gentle and romantic story, set in what is now Croatia, I think. I am really enjoying it - especially the descriptions of the countryside and architecture.

It is, however, making me long for some spring warmth, especially when the gales and rain are lashing my windows as I read. A wee trip to the Adriatic coast would be perfect right now.

Almost finished the hoodie for my grandson - possibly by next weekend, as I don’t think I have any meetings. Mind you, I feel that there may be something on the 16th, but can’t see what. It will emerge, I am sure.

Sunday 7th April 2024

What can I say? It’s still windy. I feel as if it has been blowing for months without a break. Its still whirling about out there, veering from east to south. I’m getting annoyed now, and there's no real sign of an end this coming week either.

I’m really keen to get on with tree planting and sorting out the cleared space at the shed, but that's not going to happen yet. I do have plenty to do in the polycrubs, mind you. Things to plant, sow, pot on, clear - all that stuff. Hopefully I can focus on that instead of this “old woman rants at cloud” stuff.

We had a lovely week with family home, but they have gone back now. The house is so quiet as we return to our routines.

I spent yesterday afternoon down at the community hall helping with the deep clean, as we gear up for this year's weddings. I spent a pleasant few hours, washing and drying the silverware, and arranging it tidily back in the containers. Various people stopped by to help, on and off, so I had some lovely conversations. I think I got the best job.

I didn't go to church this morning because of the gale and the storm surge that was forecast for that time. I had a nice lazy lie-in, reading We Made A Garden, by Margery Fish and drinking coffee.

Dinner was a fabulous ribeye from a local butcher. I used a rub with wild garlic salt I made last week, and some dried herbs. It was delicious. We had it with potato salad. Greek yogurt, raspberries and honey for dessert.

We've spent the afternoon and evening watching football on TV, although the boy has been popping in and out of the shed gym, and I have been knitting on the hoodie. Second sleeve underway now, so the end is in sight.

Bedtime read is The Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge - very enjoyable so far.

Tuesday 2nd April 2024

Easter came - full of the joy of the Resurrection. Also full of excited children, an excess of chocolate and a rather fine orange and vanilla cheesecake, decorated with primroses.

There was an egg hunt in the woodland garden, vases of tulips and a table full of family.

We're still in the thick of it here for another few days, but I thought I'd pop in anyway. I’m going to the gym shortly, then meeting up with everyone in town later.

We're all missing that lost hour - or was it an extra one?

Thursday 28th March 2024

Obviously all the tomato seeds germinated, so I’ll see what happens as they settle in.

All the tulips have flowered too - and, all at the same time. I suppose that’s what happens when they are grown in the polycrub where its nice and warm, but its been far too windy to put them outside. I don’t know what I was thinking, because its always the same every year. Gales and strong easterlies for weeks. I’ll need to re-evaluate my strategy for next year. Or move to Suffolk.

I’ve been giving away bunches to friends, which have been very appreciated, and cutting them for the house, which is nice for me.

I have family home for the Easter holiday - arriving tonight, in fact. I’m very much looking forward to that, but it will keep me busy. If I can I’ll pop in with the odd snap

Saturday 23rd March 2024

The wind has been crazy here the last few days. Its not so much the strength, although it has been a constant gale since Thursday night. It’s the direction - NNW. Such an unusual direction - everything is geared up to be sheltered from the South West, so by the time I realised, the blue recycling bin had blown over and disgorged its contents all over the croft.

That was quite annoying, because i’m usually very good at securing everything.

Yesterday was town and gym in the morning, and helping out with one of my community projects in the afternoon. I was so tired when I got home, I was in bed and lights out by 8, and didn't even read.

Felt better today, and had a nice relaxed morning. It’s been too windy and cold to do much outside, but I sowed the smaller tomatoes and a tray of beetroot. If all the tomato seedlings come up I will have about 50 plants. I’m definitely going to select the strongest to grow on. You see if I don't..

Wednesday 20th March 2024

It’s been a beautiful day here today. Very much the calm before the storm though. Another gale coming in overnight, and looking very dodgy on Friday too. I heard that the ferry has been cancelled. Of course its the Equinox today. We always get gales at this time.

I have some pots of tulips flowering beautifully in the polycrub, but I really was hoping to display them outside. Maybe by the end of next week they can go out, when the wind has died down a bit. If not I’ll just pick them and enjoy them in the house.

My big tomatoes germinated this morning. I was really pleased, as they were quite old seed. The Beefsteak were from 2019, and the Black Russian were even older, and saved from a previous crop. I had bought a packet of Marmande just to be safe, so I sowed 4 for insurance. I'll find a spot for them somewhere.

Really had a day of gardening today. I started forking over the third raised bed, and it was relatively easy going. I planted up a tray of broad beans into the big polycrub and gave everything a watering. I have some new strawberry runners to put in, but i’m letting them soak for a day or two.

Then a young lad from the next village arrived in his tractor to do some work for me. I had asked him to pull up some palletts and fencing that had become seriously embedded in long grass behind the potting shed. It was very easy for him with the tractor, so that’s a good job done. I’m not exactly sure what to do with that space now. I’ll strim it back and see what evolves.

We had moussaka for dinner tonight, with a tomato and onion salad. It was delicious, and the boy had seconds. I have a chicken cooking now to make a pie tomorrow. I’m definitley feeling more inspired this week, but it’s a lot more effort.

I don't think I'll be late in bed tonight. I was at the gym yesterday and did a lot of abs work. I’m feeling it today, along with the garden work, so an early night with hot water bottle and book is called for. Bliss.

I went back to Tristram Shandy. I think I've made the right decision - for now, anyway.

Sunday 17th March 2024

Sunday evening already. I haven’t lit the fire today as it hasn’t been cold, and it was light until after 6 pm. I tend to let it slip as the evenings get longer - mainly because I forget. I must be programmed by the length of day or something.

Yesterday was different - such a chill wind. I was outside most of the day - well, in the polycrub mostly. I was faffing around planting up pots and potting on some of the plants I had been keeping under cover over the winter. I sowed quite a few flowers and created a wee display of bulbs in pots on the table outside the potting shed. It is very pretty - I’ll take a picture.

I finished reading I Capture the Castle. I really enjoyed it, although I did get annoyed at them all near the end. It reminded me a lot of Cold Comfort Farm - in a good way, I think. I only finished it last night. (I was being a bit optimistic in my last post.)

Now I’m not sure what to pick up now. I have pulled out Brideshead Revisited, and also a vintage children’s book by Leon Garfield called The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris, but I can’t decide. I do feel Anna Karenina calling far off in the distance, but I’m not quite ready to commit to her yet. There’s also Tristram Shandy to get back to, and a couple of others that are waving to me from the shelves. So many choices, but thankfully I am in a reading groove again. I think I’ll go with the Leon Garfield and then see what appeals after that.

I’m still knitting away on my grandson’s hoodie and I started another sock to take to Edinburgh with me. I only got two rounds done while waiting in Stornoway airport for the flight down, then it sat, forgotten, in my bag.

I’m in a bit of a cooking slump just now. Nothing is quite hitting the mark. We had roast chicken today, which was really quite dry. The cardamom rice pudding was good though. Yesterday I made a lovely looking (and smelling) venison curry, but it turned out to be disappointingly tasteless. Spicy but bland, if that can be imagined. I’m definintely ready for some fresh spring and summer recipes now.

Not sure if there is much on next week. A couple of things I can think of, but nothing too onerous. Bet you can’t wait…

Thursday 14th March 2024

I've been away to the mainland for a few days. My Aunt, my Dad's younger sister, passed away a couple of weeks ago, so I travelled down for her funeral, which was at the beginning of the week.

It was a really lovely event - full of emotion and warmth. I enjoyed seeing my cousins and their families’. I hadn't seen them all together for such a long time. My daughter and son in law made it over too, and I stayed with my Dad and step-mum for a couple of nights. A good dose of family was exactly what we needed at that sad time.

I flew back yesterday and was straight into a Community Council meeting in the evening. It was fine- not a great deal to have to write up.

I spent today pottering around the garden. I had been on a bit of a roll with it, before I went away, but I found it hard to pick that up again. I just started pulling up weeds in one of the beds, and before I knew it, I was back into the rhythm.

I sowed some tomato seeds in the propagator - Beefsteak and Black Russian. I thought I would get them going first, as they take longer to grow. I’ll do the smaller ones in a week or so.

Dinner was steak, mushrooms and broccoli from the polycrub, and the best chips i’ve made for ages. I did them in the airfryer.

I’m feeling a bit stiff and sore after my travels, followed by a fairly strenuous day in the garden, so i’ll probably head to bed with a paracetamol and a hot water bottle.

I am reading I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith, which I saw in the airport bookshop and loved the cover. I’m loving the story too - funny, charming and absolutely perfect. I might finish it tonight.

Sunday 9th March 2024

The snowdrops have been amazing this year. Really strong and robust looking. This wee woodland corner of the garden is just beginning to look how I imagined it, years ago now. Still gaps to fill, and spaces that will evolve, but that’s what it's all about - that creative process.

I’ve got a lot of trays of seedlings on the go now, and the tree plugs have been sitting in a corner by the shed, for weeks, waiting to be planted. Work is slowly coming along. The weather hasn't been great, and on the fine days, I seemed to be busy with other commitments. I’ll get there, wherever that ends up being. Tomato seeds being sown this week.

Life has been bobbling along in it's usual rhythm. I was surprised to see it was a month since I had posted here. I can't really think of anything much that happened since then.

I just thought I should pop on, because I mentioned on instagram that I would be blogging more, so here I am.

I've not been enjoying instagram at all lately. Mindless scrolling of boring accounts I don't follow and don’t engage with. The fun and originality has gone.

So i’m taking an extended break from it.

Instead I’ll try and post here more consistently. The new squarespace app is much easier to work, so I don't need to haul the laptop out to blog, which is good.

It was a nice slow day today. Church in the morning, couple of meeting admin things this afternoon, while watching the football. Liverpool and Manchester City drew in a really exciting match. Liverpool really should have won, so I guess they dropped the points.

Dinner was roast beef, potatoes and cauliflower, with semolina pudding for dessert. It was alright. I’m not really scoring well myself, cooking wise lately - just not hitting the mark. I think we are ready for some lighter meals now that spring is on the way.

I’m thinking about getting hens again.

Sunday 11th February 2024

I realised a couple of hours ago, that I haven’t taken any photos over the last few days, so I had to nip out the back door and take a quick snap for the blog, Apologies for the same view twice in a row, but the snow has gone, the ewes are home, and its still light at 5.30 pm.

It’s been a busy few days. I have four meetings coming up next week, so there’s been a fair bit of preparation and reading up to do. I didn’t have a gym session on Friday, so just stayed home and got the housework and admin done, before a teams meeting in the afternoon.

The monthly women’s prayer meeting was yesterday. It was a joy to be there and share fellowship with this amazing group of women. We’ve only been going for a few months, and may of us had never met before, but it seems so established and I feel among true friends. Today, our theme was missions - local and global. Our speaker urged us to think “where is our mission field?” It is where we are at any given time.

Seeds have been popping up here and there in the propagator, so I’ve been moving things in and out. I sowed two big trays of sweet peas, one is in the propagator and one is waiting on the Musselburgh leeks to germinate and it can go in. Broad beans next I think. I’ll be glad when these meetings are over and things have hopefully settled down a bit, and I can spend a good few days in the garden and polycrubs getting on with that work.

Church this morning - a powerful sermon from Romans 11. The Biblical view of God’s promises to Israel. Thought-provoking stuff.

Dinner was roast gammon, roast potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. I made a semolina pudding for dessert, as I seemed to have a lot of milk. I spent the afternoon proofreading for a presentation for one of the meetings next week, while half watching the football.

I think the boy wants to watch the Superbowl, but it’s on very late and it’s school tomorrow. From what I’ve seen, they only appear to play for about 30 minutes out of about 4 hours of filler TV. But, what do I know - only 115 million people watched it last year.

In case you are wondering about the marmalade - they weren’t Seville oranges at all, but normal Jaffas! Someone must have put them in the wrong place on the supermarket display. I’ll get more next week, so keep tuning in…

Thursday 8th February 2024

A beautiful, sparkling, snowy morning. Worthy of all those adjectives. The car was pretty well iced up and took a lot of scraping. It was nice being out in that light, though. I noticed that I had left the polycrub door ajar overnight, so that was annoying. A couple of plants looked quite frosted, but they perked up as the sun came out.

I had my knitting group this morning, although there were only three of us there, due to the weather. We had a good chat and a laugh anyway. We’re meeting in a room the community hall while the visitor centre cafe is closed. I'm almost finished this sock, but it's not going very quickly. I'm keen to get it done before the Lent knitalong starts next week.

I came home and made lunch. There was some of the mince left from yesterday, so I had the bright idea of putting it in an omelette. I can't say I would recommend it…

In the afternoon I did a load of community council admin, as we have a meeting coming up soon. I lit the fire early as it was quite chilly, and enjoyed a hot chocolate too.

There's a couple of onion seedlings showing in the propagator and a few chillies from the Seeds of Scotland order. It's always a thrill. I've given them another night in the warm, then I’ll get them out tomorrow. That means space to sow a few more things - sweet peas maybe?

Dinner was beef and mushroom stroganoff with rice. We both enjoyed it and the boy had seconds, so I won't be tempted to try another leftover omelette. The cookies are finished now, so I had a yogurt instead.

After dinner I had to do some work for another organisation I volunteer for. It wasn't a lot, but it took longer than I thought. For some reason the TV is tuned to a Nigerian station - I hadn't noticed as I was busy on the laptop. I suppose its always good to broaden one's outlook.

Wednesday 7th February 2024

It snowed overnight - what was I saying about winter in the last entry? It started to thaw a bit, but then the temperature dropped, so its all crunchy and frozen now. The skies are crystal clear and full of stars tonight, so that will be fun in the morning.

I had my theology course early on this morning. Another wonderful session, this week looking at the death of Jesus and what it means for me. It means that He has done the work and I only have to receive that truth. Faith alone. Wonderful stuff.

I pondered on that for a while, and then had to get on with my tasks for the day. Lots of laundry to fold and put away, bit of admin and stuff to put back up in the loft

I had made a huge batch of cookie dough with some sourdough starter at the weekend and have been baking small batches every day since. I used the last of it today. They were very nice - maybe a bit cakey rather than cookie, but we weren't complaining that much.

I caught Prime Ministers Questions today - haven't seen it for months, but I was folding the laundry, so stuck the TV on. What a charade that place is - both sides as bad as each other.

Dinner was a huge plate of mince and tatties, a glass of milk and a couple of cookies. Went down very well.

I found a great wee YouTube channel about homebrewing. The man - a Canadian, was vlogging his attempt to grow his own beer from scratch. The barley, hops and yeast all from his own garden. He even had his own well for the water. It was fascinating. I think it was called Sui Generis Homebrewing, if you want to check it out.

I was interested because I have a pack of bere barley and was vaguely browsing how to grow it, when this came up. Another rabbit hole for me to plunge into - just what I need.

Tuesday 6th February 2024

The worst of the recent wave of storms has passed, but it's still winter, and I am still in the Hebrides, so there is no point getting all spring feverish just yet.

That said, there are bulb shoots poking up all over the place - snowdrops nodding away in every nook and cranny, and the first of the early crocus flashing a bit of welcome colour.

The first tray of leeks have germinated, and have been replaced in the propagator by another - Musselburgh this time.

I bought the seed potatoes this morning, when I was in town. I went for my favourites - Charlotte and King Edward, as usual, but I decided to give Sharpe's Express a whirl as my choice for first early this year. I’m seriously thinking about adding some Maris Piper too - talk about living on the edge…

Anyway, I set them out in trays, propped up in saved egg boxes, while they chit, and I think about where they could be planted. In front of the potting shed, maybe?

Traditionally, potatoes are planted on Good Friday in Scotland. I don't think there's any special significance in this, other than the fact it is the first public holiday in Spring, so, people had the day off and could catch up with garden work. This was obviously back in the day when annual leave arrangements were not quite as flexible as now. I think Easter is early this year, so we are potentially just over 6 weeks away. I highly doubt I'll be ready by then.

Otherwise, it was a normal Tuesday - gym, shopping, takeaway coffee, home, housework, laundry etc. Sorted the potatoes, sowed the leeks and looked out root-trainers for the sweet peas and broadbeans.

The winter crops haven't done very well this year at all. The chard is just beginning to put on some growth, and I'm still picking leaves from one of last year's dwarf kale, which appears to be indestructible. I have two purple sprouting broccoli plants that look like they might sprout any day, but the ordinary broccoli and autumn sown kale have been eaten, and not by us - possibly slug damage. Its very disappointing.

Not much else to report since last week. The weather has been bad, so we've mostly just stayed indoors, or around the croft.

Dinner was steak, bacon, chips and kimchi, with a blood orange for dessert. I bought marmalade oranges today, so might give that a go in the next few days. Stay tuned for that excitement …

Tuesday 30th January

It's over a week since I've blogged. I was doing so well, posting almost every day, but I suddenly got so busy and involved in a funding application that I just didn't have the mental capacity for anything else. Also it would have been very boring to read - well more than usual, anyway.

Nothing exciting has been going on, mind you. The weather has been just horrible with back to back storms, and another one on its way tomorrow. The schools are closed and Facebook is full of local businesses saying they will be later opening, and meetings being cancelled, so it's quite serious.

I didn't have any damage, apart from a couple of broken branches, so hopefully we'll get through this one safely.

We did have a lovely day yesterday, so I spent the afternoon outside taking down the branches, pruning and doing a wee tidy up. Time spent in the fresh air really lifts the spirits.

I dug the heated propagators from the depths of the shed, and cleaned them up. Today I sowed various sweet and chilli peppers, and a tray of leeks, and they are happily steaming away in there. Its nice to have made a small start.

Not much else to report. I'm almost finished my second sock, and I've cast on a hooded jumper for my grandson. He designed it himself when he was here in the summer, so I'm cobbling a couple of patterns together to hopefully achieve his vision.

Dinner was Spanish mince and rice, which has been requested at least twice since I made it a couple of weeks ago.

Oh, I nearly forgot to say - I picked up my tree saplings for the front of the croft, today. They look very strong and healthy. It might be a couple of weeks before I can get started planting them though, looking ahead at the forecast.

That was worth reading to the end for…

Sunday 21st January 2024

We’re getting Storm Isha today, although I think most of the UK is under a storm warning. It is a bit windy just now, and the rain was heavy earlier. I spent yesterday morning going around the croft and garden making sure that everything was secured. I had taken down some damaged tree branches a week or so ago and had just piled them up in a corner of the drive to deal with at some point in the future. That future was yesterday, as I got busy with the secateurs and saw. It’s all now piled up in the polycrub waiting to become a dead hedge. I don’t know if any more branches will come down tonight - or this week, as it looks like we are in for a windy spell.

The end of January is often like this - it’s why I wait until the beginning of February to collect the seaweed. The January gales pile it up on the shore in great heaps. Apparently on the night of poet Robert Burn’s birth on 25th January, a gale blew down the gable end of their cottage. I imagine that was quite a stressful situation for all concerned.

I had a load of radishes growing in the wee crub. I usually procrastinate for weeks with this sort of thing and then miss the chance as they end up going to seed. Not this time, with my new no-food-waste zeal, I harvested them and had them shredded and in a fermenting jar before you could blink. I put the process on my Instagram if you want to see how I went about it.

I had a nice day - one of those pottering about days that I like. Dinner was ribeye steak and real chips done in beef fat. I started a sourdough loaf to rise overnight, and I can’t really remember much else - TV and bed with some knitting - or more likely scrolling canning and preserving accounts on IG. I was too tired to blog.

I baked the bread early this morning. The boy said there is a noticeable improvement in quality, and I think he’s right. I had a few slices, some with butter and some with raspberry jam. I’m encouraged to keep trying.

I didn’t go to church today. I had a lot of reading to do for my theology course and for one of the projects I’m involved with. I don’t like doing that sort of thing on a Sunday, but I was feeling really stressed about it. However, I am saved by Grace and not by the Old Testament Law, and I would have been going to the church service with the wrong attitude, so I stayed home. I did do the reading, and it took up most of the day.

Dinner was roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and Brussels sprouts, with good old rice pudding as dessert. It was that kind of day.

Friday 19th January 2024

The snow is on its way out, although it's hanging about in big slushy piles now.

It was one of my mornings in town, so I headed off bright and early. The roads were still quite bad but better than they were. I stopped off at the butcher's - a different one than the other day, and got a few bits and pieces. All three butcher's shops in town are excellent, but I often end up at this one because they have decent parking right outside, so I can just nip in as I pass, and it has a good deli section.

Then on to the gym. It was a really good session- a lot of core strengthening today, which I'll probably feel tomorrow.

The dog had an appointment at the groomers next, so I dropped him there and went to Tesco. The car park was chaotic. People driving round and round looking for a space. I didn't even try and went on up the road to the big Co-op. It was much the same. Honestly- people were really only stuck in for a day, but you'd think we'd been cut off for three months. It didn't help that so many of the parking spaces were piled up with slush, so weren't accessible.

The shop was really busy too. They have recently had a refit there, and for some reason, the vegetables are in chiller cabinets behind perspex doors. There was a sizeable queue for the broccoli door, which was annoying. People waiting to open the door, pick up a pack of broccoli, put it in their trolley, close the door and move on to the carrots. Unintended consequences.

At least going to the Co-op I was able to get one of their excellent takeaway coffees on the way out. I didn't get much else. It was so busy and I was losing the will to carry on. I was a wee bit early for the dog, so sat and scrolled on the phone until he was ready.

Home in good time - quick lunch then back out in the opposite direction. It was my week to clean the church. My cleaning partner is away this week, and we had tried to get a swap, but the only one on offer meant we would be doing two in a row next month. It was easier just to do it myself. I hoped to persuade the boy to come and help, but he had other things to do.

Home again - dinner was spaghetti bolognese. It was nice but very filling. Nice chat with younger daughter, who is expecting her fourth child. She had been for her first ultrasound scan today, and everything looks fine. Lovely wee baby in the picture and I'm very excited. It never gets old.

Finished the first of the latest socks tonight and cast on the second one. I'm tired tonight, so looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

Thursday 18th January 2024

Another snow day. Having said that, the council didn't tell us until 10 minutes before we had to leave for the school bus. Since 6 am I had been refreshing the Facebook page for information - not a peep or a tweet. As the boy had an exam scheduled there was nothing for it than to get up and get going. By the time we had cleared the path and dug the car out, it was quite an anti climax when the text came in. Parents from the rural areas were very unhappy about the timing…

It left us at a bit of a loose end for a while, so we sat and chatted and drank tea, before the boy went off to do some biology and I did my bible readings.

I baked the bread this morning. It turned out well, although I think it might be a bit over proved. The long overnight rise in the fridge is maybe a bit too long, so I'll have to tweak my timings.

Aside from that, I cant say I did much else, aside from the usual household tasks. I did a bit sanding on some chairs that I'm planning to paint, but in a very half hearted way. I was quite distracted with the boy being home as he wants to eat all the time, and he's quite entertaining too, so it was pretty much a snow day.

Dinner was a Thai chicken curry with rice then we had giant slices of bread with peanut butter and raspberry jam. It was good.

Sad news this morning about a friend who's husband died suddenly during the night. He hadn't kept good health, but it was still unexpected and shocking. Probably that was part of my distraction.

Rain to come in overnight, so I imagine the snow will get a fright. Next exam is Wednesday so it's slower mornings here for a while.

Wednesday 17th January 2024

More snow, but a day at home for us both, so quite relaxed.

I was starting an online theology course this morning, run by the wife of a local minister. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at who we are in Christ. There's a lot of information to take in over the first couple of sessions, then we'll have more discussion, but it's shaping up to be very enriching. Lovely people in the group too.

I pottered around for the rest of the day - usual housework and laundry. I had fed my sourdough starter much earlier in the morning, so I mixed up a batch of dough and set it aside to do the lifting and folding. I've finally found a formula that works, and gives a nice bread. It's Gill Meller's recipe, if you can call bread a recipe - from his book Time.

After lunch I made jam. A bit random, in January, when everyone is up to their eyes in marmalade, but when I picked the raspberries and blackcurrants in the summer, I didn't have time to process them, so stuck them into the freezer. Today seemed the perfect day to tackle that job. What better way to spend a snowy afternoon than in a warm kitchen, with sticky bubbling pots of summer fruit. I got 4 full pots of blackcurrant and three of raspberry, so that should tide us over for a few months.

Dinner was Spanish mince and rice. I seem to have a lot of minced beef in the freezer, so I'm always looking for something different to do with it. This was a nice change and we both enjoyed it.

Later on I had a board meeting on zoom. It was fine, some decisions made that needed to be. We're all on the same page, so that was good.

I'm a bit concerned about the immersion heater again - the water wasn't quite as hot as I thought it should be. I did use a fair bit today though, so I'll see what it's like tomorrow. I hope it's OK.

Tuesday 16th January 2024

Well, it snowed a bit more overnight but didn’t freeze, which was good, as I had plans to go into town this morning. I needed to go for some food shopping, to the bank, and various other errands, as well as my Tuesday gym session. I debated staying in bed for another hour with a second cup of tea instead, but in the end, I went for it.

The roads were not great, to be honest. OK in parts, but treacherous in others. I saw two cars off the road on the journey, but I just gave myself plenty of time, and made it to the gym without too much stress

I’ve stopped doing the bike, and we are concentrating on strength and resistance exercises now. A good decision, as I dreaded those six minutes all week.

After that, I headed to Tesco for a few essentials. I did wonder if there would be a lot of gaps on the shelves, but happily, they were well stocked and I got everything I was looking for - and maybe a few things that I wasn’t. A quick trip to the council offices to drop off some community paperwork, and then into the town itself. Bank, deli, butchers, Superdrug, and my favourite takeaway coffee shop. I went for a vanilla latte today - that seemed appropriate for January.

It was snowing on and off all the time I was wandering around and it was actually quite heavy. It was very pretty, though, so I enjoyed tootling back and forward.

Back home safely. The boy is on exam leave, so I brought him a sandwich from the deli, and we also tried these new smoked beef and venison crepes from the butchers. I chucked them in the air fryer for 5 minutes and they were delicious - like meat-filled spring rolls. They would have been even better with some kind of dipping sauce, so I’ll definitely get them again.

What else? I put the shopping away, lit the fire, and did a few emails for the community council. I have a fair bit of reading of documents for a meeting tomorrow night, so I have been doing that. Dinner was tuna steak and crispy potatoes with some kimchi and a vague suggestion of a salad. The leaves are over in the big polycrub, and I couldn’t be bothered going over to pick them.

During dinner, we watched the highlights of the big boxing match from the weekend, and the boy gave an impromptu lecture on Artur Betterbiev’s unusual but effective fighting style. The power is in the hips, apparently. Now we know.