Winter time...and the living ain't easy

Happy New Year from us all. Hope it brings good health and good fortune to you.

Photo taken at 4pm this afternoon as the light was starting to fail. Steve had returned from a meeting in Kinross-shire a couple of hours previously and was concerned about the road conditions as I was travelling from Perthshire. In this age of instant communications the fact that I didn't have a mobile phone today (cos he was using mine!) heightened the concern......if we weren't constantly available we'd never think twice about it.

Being in the caravan is fine with the snow because at least it means the air temperature is around zero whereas in the week before Christmas it was quite quite miserable with several days of frozen pipes making life unpleasant. In a strange kind of way, it also adds an extra layer of insulation to the caravan roof, igloo-style! We were pleased to be away for Christmas even if only for a few days.

Hogmanay and the first couple of days of 2008 were the usual round of house parties/invitations so we've spent many hours in real houses with good friends, lovely heating and comfortable living. Thankfully Scotland is blessed with two public holidays at New Year as well as a huge level of hospitality (which came first?).

We are moving out of the caravan in 2 weeks, initially to house sit for a friend who is going on holiday and then we're taking a 7 week let of a holiday house nearby. This will bring us to mid March. Originally our builder had indicated a completion around the end of February and there have been delays, particularly with the timber frame manufacturer and material shortages so we shall catch up with him next week for a revised date. After 7 months of living in the caravan we are now soooo looking forward to increased comfort, space and amenity.