Blowing away the Cobwebs

Making the most of the good weather while we can - getting out and about around the croft and the beach. We had such a lovely Christmas, and are looking forward to a quiet New Year, appreciating every moment of these holidays.Wishing you all so many blessings as we begin another year. Much love and thanks for all your support over the last months  xxx

The day after...

Sharing a moment that I want to remember. No words, just a single special image. Joining in with Soulemama for This Moment. Wishing you all a relaxing holiday weekend. Merry Christmas xx

The Snowmen

It was the Sunday School Christmas party on Saturday. It also snowed! A fairly rare occurrence for us here on the islands - and by most people's standards, it was only a light dusting - but to us it was just so exciting. Of course, we had to make the most of it right away - these opportunities don't come around every Winter.

So - we built our Snowman - and pretty fine he looks too. Mind you, we used up most of the snow  making him, and by the evening, he had left with the heavy rain. Still, we were glad to meet him all the same.

Then we had our contribution to the party buffet to make - marshmallow snowmen! Quick, simple, effective and very delicious. What a jolly little group they made.

They are easy to make - no baking, just assembling with the aid of some melted chocolate ( how bad can that be?). melt a bar of white chocolate and pour a teaspoon into the bottom of a paper case. Push a marshmallow into the chocolate - sandwich another marshmallow on top with some more melted chocolate. Then melt some dark chocolate - half a large bar will be enough and use it to stick a giant chocolate button on the top of the 'head'. I then used a bag of Twirl bites to make rough top hats - you could use any suitable shaped chocolate confection to do this. using a cocktail stick, paint on the face and some buttons. Finish off with a red candy lace scarf, and a sprinkling of edible glitter, just for a wee touch of Christmas bling. Imperfectly perfect..

Luckily, there were a couple of out-takes that didn't make the final cut.

 Hurrah for Cook's perks - absolutely perfect ;)

Don't call me....

Think I'm going to be offline for a wee while! That is how my phone and broadband connection box looked after the most horrendous thunder and lightning storm I've ever heard. We are all fine. Hoping that the fleeting 3G signal is enough to post this. Be back when I can xxx

Seven things

❄ Walks in the sunshine

❄ Hot chocolate with friends

❄ Well loved stories

❄ A bit of mismatched darning

❄ Walks in the moonlight

❄ Beginning to look a bit like Christmas?

❄ Sunday afternoon by the fire and perhaps a little mulled wine aperitif - yes!

Wishing you all a peaceful week ahead. xx

Taking a bow

Sharing a moment that I want to remember. No words, just a single special image. Joining in with Soulemama for This Moment. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend xx

Home and Away

We set off from our local airport, (love the shop) expecting to fly to Inverness. The weather, however, thwarted our plans, and as we circled the airport for the umpteenth time,the Captain announced that due to the fog, we would be diverting to Edinburgh. A bus would be laid on to transport us the 3 hour journey back up to Inverness. Well - as we would have missed John's appointments and had planned to head down to Edinburgh the following day, it would have been a pointless journey.

So a quick call to the hotel and we were booked in for an extra night. Fortunately John's consultant was able to arrange for him to have his MRI scan in Edinburgh, and he will telephone him this week to discuss the result.

Actually, it was a bit disorientating to find ourselves in Edinburgh almost two days ahead of schedule. Friday to Monday was pretty much packed with family visits, and so this extra time was very unexpected. We had a relaxing day around the hotel, James and I went for a swim, did a bit of shopping, had a nice meal, and generally enjoyed being back home for a while. 

The following day, James and I visited the National Museum of Scotland - a favourite place of mine growing up, but James had never been before. There was so much to see, and we spent the whole day browsing happily around part of the Natural Science collection. Lots of scope for future visits.

But we couldn't leave without paying a visit to the Lewis Chessmen - found on one of our favourite beaches. James remembered when they were exhibited on Lewis a few years ago.

Then it was into a weekend full of family visits. Most of the time they came to see us at the hotel, but we had a few trips out and about too.  I had a problem with my iPhone battery, so I am a bit short on photos of everyone, but hopefully you get the idea.

All that and more. What a wonderful weekend, and how good it was to catch up with grandchildren, Finlay and Erin. (The film wasn't too bad either!)

Then when we returned to the island, a very welcome face was waiting to welcome us home. Breagha and her Mum and Dad are staying with us for a few days. So -I'd say December has started off pretty well so far.