I think I got to Thursday… when we didn’t get a ferry. I confess to holding out hope of a ferry pretty much up until the last minute on Christmas Eve even though everyone else had been doom-mongering all week and Calmac were promising nothing.
I think I made the chocolate log (which was not actually that nice in the end, but the pigs enjoyed it) and Scarlett iced and decorated the Christmas cake.
Friday – Ady and I went over to Harris to feed the cattle and ponies. It was mad windy and we got out to take photos at the lodge. I managed to drop our freezer key at the deer gate and didn’t realise until we went to the freezer. I’d only got out at the deer gate and at the lodge but we thought we might have to drive all the way back over again and were worried it could have just been blown away but it was still there. Phew.
Saturday – Christmas Eve – we popped down to the village in the afternoon and had a quick beer at the shop with some islanders, dropped off gifts to Fliss and fed Ali’s chickens. We had intended to go down again on Christmas Day but decided against it. First time we’ve not done so but there are so few people here for Christmas it felt a bit desperate and bomb shelter in the blitz-esque.
We had a lovely curry for dinner, a throwback to the days we always used to get a takeaway delivered on Christmas Eve, watched Nativity 3 (which was really, really crap) and all stayed up very late to see in Christmas. The kids went to bed about 1230, Ady and I got the presents under the tree and in stockings and then had a last dram while listening to carols before heading to bed around 2am.
Christmas Day – we were missing a fair bit of stuff – Davies’ main present, plus another two smaller gifts for him and three gifts for Scarlett. Plus quite a lot of food and drink supplies although we had got more or less everything from Jinty’s shop and we are pretty philosophical about ferries not coming and what that means. I did feel sorry for Davies but we’d said all along that it might not arrive once ferries got cancelled so he already knew, he had several other things to open and use (headphones with mic, new 3ds game) plus loads of silly things. The kids had threatened a 7am start but in the end Ady woke them about 830. A really nice day of nice food, nice drink, lovely presents and the promise of more on the next boat, good stuff to listen to on the radio and iplayer. We played a hilarious game of charades from a pack Scarlett had got in her stocking and just about saw the day out before bed.
Boxing Day – we all four went over to Harris for pony and cattle feeding, heading over after lunch. Ady and I had popped to the village to feed Ali’s chickens, take some rubbish to the skip and put a load of laundry on and the kids had walked down to meet us at the fork. It was a nice drive across the island and on the higher ground there was quite a lot of snow. It took ages for both the ponies and the cattle to come for feeding, they had all been tucked down on lower, sheltered ground so it was getting dark when we came back scuppering plans to get out and play in the snow for a while. The usual loads of food but nothing to make a dinner with festive dilemma in the evening.
Tuesday – at last a ferry!!! It came early on an amended timetable so Ady and I went and collected everything, waited in the village for the post to be sorted and brought it all up to the caravan and sorted it /put it away before waking the kids. It was definitely like a second Christmas with Davies’ tablet plus his other gifts of a t shirt and some new boots, two cake decorating books and mini muffin tin plus cases for Scarlett, my secret santa from online friends, a box of goodies from Mairi, a joint birthday and Christmas present from Scarlett’s friend, loads of cards including one filled with new from friends in Berlin, 18 Â bottles of wine, an order from the CoOp including fresh fruit and vegetables and our monthly amazon order with things like cat food, sugar, tea and coffee (which we had fortunately not run out of already!) plus an animal feed delivery.
I made bagels for dinner which had been our Boxing day planned meal. The CoOp had sent a tiny pack of smoked salmon though so it was stretched very thinly between us.
Today – A wet and windy day. This morning I did some crochet while Ady was outside repairing a fenced area. We don’t have anything in it at the moment – it was the first sheep pen – but might need it so it’s good to keep it as a safe and secure area just incase. I woke Scarlett as she had asked to make cakes today but then we realised there were no eggs. So we rejigged the day and Ady and I went to the village to collect the laundry, feed Ali’s chickens (and collect some eggs) and grab some stuff from the freezer before coming home for lunch and cupcake making. Scarlett also made some rose and violet creams as part of a present she is sending to a friend.