Not sure where this week went to!
The new wind turbine died – the test of the big winds at the start of the week did for it. We got in touch with them and they are sorting out a replacement. I got reinstated as Mrs Post Office – well for this week anyway – I did today and will be doing Saturday as Jinty is away. A second week without vegetables though as the amended ferry timetable meant a super early boat today which had already left Mallaig before the veg truck arrived with Rum veg. I guess they may come on Saturday?! Who knows! Rickets R us…
Some outside time this week dodging the rain and winds – Ady as always manages to get lots of time outdoors, I am less inclined to risk getting wet or battle the elements as there is always plenty to do indoors instead. Our planned pig processing this week didn’t happen, our only real day that looked promising weather wise started with heavy rain so we put it off and then although it ended up nice we had missed the starting early window we like to allow incase things don’t go as planned. I have painted the other half of the floor though, it has absorbed more than I expected into the floor plywood which means it is more of a wash of colour than a painted surface, similar to what I had done, and intended with the walls not quite what I was after for the floor. I need to get all the stuff out which has gathered in there though and make a decision as to whether it is fine or whether I want to do a second coat and make it more of a block of colour. The biggest thing to do next is to build a bike store for the kids bikes at the fork of the road where we park the cars so that they can come out of the shed… There is a tiny bit more outside painting to do too but it could wait really. Next Ady is going to make some shelf units and I am thinking about bunting or similar type adornments.
Crafternoon and chats at Fliss’ with Fliss, Ali & Deb, walking part way down there with Lesley. A few hours of chatting and nice stuff almost not all about Rum! I bought a hank of Canna wool, from the Canna sheep, spun and dyed there. It’s very pretty blues and greens self striping sock wool and I’m going to make myself a scarf with it. I got my craft shop takings from this year, just under £100 which would have been about £125 if I was not paying Fliss commission for selling in the craft shop – next year all profits will be mine from the Shed 🙂
I spent some time in the polytunnel and raised bed area – lots of work to be done there next year / in the spring. The dead fence needs attention around the walled garden. I did some more weeding in the polytunnel and will start thinking about sowing stuff in there in the next few weeks. I can only really be in there when it’s not windy though as it can only be closed from the outside and if left open in the wind will create a parachute!
Scarlett had has a couple of late night hormonal melt downs, not like her but with a various set of circumstances – nearly being 13 and fretting about that being way more grown up than she is ready to be, a period, upset about Great Granny dying and general mother/daughter relationships in our family, tiredness from several wild windy nights keeping her awake. Two nights she has ended up coming into our room crying after everyone has gone to bed. Ady is excellent at just getting up and going into the lounge to give her and I space to cuddle and talk it out. Poor baby, it’s hard being a teenage girl! I hope she continues feeling able to come and blurt all her angst out to me so I can help her process it and either feel better or just feel okay about feeling sad.
I had some lovely email chats with the woman who did the article about us on her blog, inspired anew to crack on properly with some writing. We’ve been watching loads of iplayer stuff having realised the kindle fire I got ‘free’ with my phone is a much better screen than Ady’s phone to watch things on. Instead of watching something at lunchtime we have been watching something once it is dark at 5ish to kill that hour or two before we put the genny on and start getting dinner sorted. Better than sitting in the dark!
After many back and forth phonecalls with my parents and a couple of hours researching sleeper trains, flights, budget hotel rooms near arirports and coach travel I have decided / been persuaded not to go down south for Granny’s funeral next week. I was not able to make a sensible decision myself and needed someone else to make it for me. Wrapped up in that my Dad has not been well and I was struggling to get a handle on whether he was just ill with something minor or something sinister. I am now fairly confident it is more like flu than anything scary and at the very least if it is not then I am getting a clear message from both my parents that they do not want me to come down. I am relieved if still a tiny bit guilt ridden. An insight into my whole emotional reaction to living up here most of the time in relation to family down south really…
I think that’s caught up now. Winds are howling as we are in the middle of Abigail just now. I have a plan to go to bed and attempt sleep, but suspect it will be more dozing between roof rattling blasts.