A whole week gone.
Friday – Calmac decided they would run just one boat to Rum so Mum & Dad did the shopping and got to Mallaig. In the end their crossing was OK and they arrived safe. Davies, Scarlett and Bonnie stayed at the croft while Ady and I collected them. It started to rain as we arrived at the fork where we park the car so Dad pretty much legged it from there while Mum walked slower and Ady and I brought up the rear with wheelbarrows. Finally all in, kettle on and deep breaths all round as it had looked as though they may not make it.
A nice first evening. I had made my usual pledge to be nice and stay calm and for once I think I pretty much achieved it for the entire duration of their trip this time.
Saturday – Ady was working in the morning. It was tipping down with rain. Ady had gone off with a list of things to get from the shop but had taken no cash and we’d semi arranged to walk down and meet him when he finished work but with the rain everyone was reluctant. So in the end I headed off down to the shop. Ady arrived just behind me so we collected the bits we needed and came home together. I made hot cross buns and lasagne for dinner.
I think that was the night that it was crazily windy, it finally stopped being mad around 3am. The days rather blur…
Sunday – It had been the plan to have venison for dinner and we’d taken out a haunch to defrost but the very cold weather meant it had not defrosted at all. I walked down to get some sausages and bacon out of the freezer and Mum came with me. Later Mum, Dad and the kids went down to the shop. They did this every evening afterwards on the ‘beer run’. It probably did all four of them good to get some fresh air, exercise and have enforced time to chat. It certainly did me good to have an hour or so each day to sing really loudly and get dinner started all by myself… Oh it was Easter Sunday too, which of course means very little here other than added chocolate. I had been to the car first thing in the morning with Dad to collect the final bag they had brought with them (containing tools and wool) and then along to meet the ferry to put diesel cans off. The changed clocks meant I was the only person on the whole island to meet the ferry, quite surreal. After the storms the night before Ady spent lots of time tidying up all the blown about the place things.
Monday – Ady worked again in the morning. Dad and I walked to the car to start bringing the animal feed delivery which I had collected from the pier the day before back. Dad insisted on carrying a sack of feed on his shoulder, Ady arrived home as I was loading up my wheelbarrow with two more. I made pie filling with some of the venison that Ady was finally able to butcher as it had now defrosted.
Tuesday – The morning was  very showery, no real windows to get outside so I mostly crocheted while chatting to Mum and Dad. I did go out and chop some wood. Later in the day we checked the long term weather forecast and Mum and Dad decided they would leave the following day.
Wednesday – the boat was not until 4pm so we had all day together. Ady made pancakes with goose eggs. Mum and Dad paid for Davies to get a new tablet as his had given up the ghost while they were here after ailing for a while. Mum, Dad and the kids walked to the pier, Ady and I drove with their luggage and an empty gas bottle we needed to bring down and we waved them all off.
Home for a cup of tea and chat out in the sunshine on the decking. Their visits always leave me somewhat empty feeling, Empty that they have gone and I do miss them but also more poignantly empty for what might have been. This was probably their best visit in that no one fell out but it was still really hard. Hard to listen to them both slagging off the other one endlessly the moment they are out of earshot, to listen to them being so very miserable in their lives, so without joy in anything. I find it hard that they come all this was because they say they miss us but actually what they mostly do is make our already challenging lives even harder – we end up sleeping on the floor and carrying even more stuff around, cooking for and clearing up after even more people. Time and time again we suggest meeting up on the mainland explaining it would be easier for them (Mum slipped down the croft hill 3 times this visit) and they spent the whole time huddled infront of the log burner insisting on it being lit for ever waking hour getting through mountains of firewood which we have to cart up the hill and chop up – and not only easier for us but also actually a treat – to have a bath, electricity and access to things like takeaways rather than doing all the cooking for six people. They always ignore the suggestion though… Ah well.
The bed that night felt like a cloud, the caravan so huge and spacious 😉
Thursday – Ady was working. I woke up early enough but stayed in bed reading for hours as I was really enjoying both the book and the novelty of a bed. The kids had arranged to go and meet up with Claire’s boyfriends daughters who are over visiting and aged 11 and 13 so they headed off. Ady and I did various bits and pieces including chopping wood, clearing out under the sofas in the lounge and sorting out all my wool into colours then re-vacuum bag packing it, rfeeding animals and chatting to Bad Neil who came up for a cup of tea and a chat. I made dinner and rang my parents who had arrived home safely.
Today – it has rained and rained and rained. And pretty much nothing else. I crocheted two scarves, made some midge keyrings and watched 4 animal documentaries with Scarlett. Both kids had showers, I brushed Scarlett’s hair and rebraided her rainbow braid which was falling out and manky – I think this version of it was at least 2 years old. I made bread and pizza dough and pizza for dinner. Ady donned waterproofs and fed the animals and walked down to collect shopping and post from the village.
And that’s me back up to date 🙂