Including Christmas Day

I've been meaning to write this update since Boxing Day and every day hasn't allowed me time or inclination to sit down and just now, Friday morning, I've sat and opened the camera and found over three hundred photographs for me to go through. Oh dear. This could take some time.

Christmas Day

Let us start with Christmas day, which is actually the bulk of this update anyway. I've only just sat back down to type this up as my day today ended up being busy; even more reason to try and keep this as short as I can.

A lovely lump of stuffing

A making sausage rolls for me

Rocket fuel to keep us moving

Fun time on the back bank with the puppies

Rather shocked at the size of the bones

Playing a game on the new board

There's a couple of pictures from Christmas Eve as we got ourselves ready for the Big Day. A was in the kitchen preparing anything she could to reduce the workload on Christmas Day; she got a fair amount done including the stuffing in the fridge and some sausage rolls made for me - excellent. She also made a really lovely mulled wine which we sipped through the day. It was a glorious one, warm in the sun and she took some time to throw some toys for the puppies and Rambo on the top bank; I joined her and the fresh air was very welcome. We also got round to finally going through the big bag of bones we had been given by the butcher in town. There was almost an entire cow in there and nothing small enough for the puppies. We did think Rambo may like this big pelvis bone so put it to one side to give to him on Christmas Day. We ended the day playing a game of Hobbit SBG, the first time we could use my walls that I have been building. They were brilliant and we had loads of fun and it was a super way to end a lovely day.

Christmas Day dawns

The whole family together

A fresh start to the day; who needs a t shirt anyway

Warming back up once I got inside

Thelma with her burst ball

And so it was a very excited Beard who went to sleep and woke up very early the next morning and very kindly waited until A woke up and didn't wake her at all. I did say "ahh, finally!" when she came to but I think that is fair enough on Christmas Day morning. It was a glorious clear start to the day and so after a quick photograph of that we headed downstairs to open one present each. A decided to let Rambo in which was a lovely touch and he seemed to really enjoy it and just sat at my feet and relaxed. A opened the bottle of bubbly and we drank that between us while we woke up and so it was a slightly tiddly pair who went onto the balcony to enjoy the view. I was pleased, when I came back in, that we had lit the fire in the lounge - it was pretty nippy out there. Thelma's old ball is now totally dead but she still had fun chasing it.

Rambo bouncing around with excitement

Thelma and Louise waiting for us

Sun glistens on the trees

A found a comfy seat

Rambo thinks this "stick" is his

With the bubbly done with and the lounge fire burning we set out for our now-traditional Christmas walk (I think we did this on Boxing day last year but still). It was a lovely day still and Rambo was hyper excited to be going out. The puppies were in their coats and weren't seeming too put out by this at all. It was chilly but the sun was shining and glistening across the valley on the trees - a magical sight which actually came out OK on the pictures. We decided to go to the lower lake this time rather than up all the way and so cut across the field, throwing a stick for Thelma as we went. We paused so Rambo could have a drink and A found a comfortable seat on a tree, then picked up a Rambo sized stick which he immediately started chewing on. He is a beast.

The frozen lake

Louise having a sniff on the ice

Hazy view looking north

A hill emerges in the distance

When we reached the pond we found that it was completely frozen over, and so thick that the puppies could walk on it without fear of going through. We held them back so I could get a photograph but then they were all running onto the ice to get sticks. Well, Rambo and Thelma did - Louise just strolled on and sniffed around until she was called back. It was lovely, great fun for them and hilarious for us to watch as they skidded and slid and failed to stop. I shot a number of videos which you can see above. After a little while we decided to head back down the hill; as you can see the clouds were starting to blow in and the haze across the valley looking north was quite something.

Rambo gets his bone for Christmas

Hackles raised if you got this close to it

Candles to decorate the table with

A wonderful roast is unwrapped to rest

Two very tired puppies (and one of their pressies)

Christmas Dinner

When we got back it was time for present opening and what a lovely collection of gifts there was; I was so happy with everything A got me and I think she liked what I got her so that is what matters. The puppies were also very excited by their gifts - they both got some doggy chocolates, Louise got some chewy shoes while Thelma got a new ball to go on the balcony that she could shout out. Rambo then was given his bone which he took off and stood and guarded for ages but didn't eat. This was eventually removed and thrown out just yesterday and he still hadn't touched it! He was NOT letting anyone near it on the day though and growled and raised his hackles! With this excitement done with we got ready for the main event - Christmas Dinner. I dressed the table with candles and A prepared the plates. The puppies were totally exhausted from all the playing they had done and slept right through the meal. It was such a lovely meal which we ate while continuing to listen to the Christmas tunes that had been playing almost all day. We then had a lovely hour long chat with my parents on Skype. The day ended with us watching the last bit of The Hobbit extended edition and then the Father Ted Christmas Special episode before we went to bed and slept like logs.

What an epic day.

The rest of the time

Well that took some doing, but it was such a wonderful day it was lovely to go back through the pictures and remind myself. I'm now going to try and sweep through the rest of the week and get this out the door so I can get on to something else.

Frying up the leftovers for breakfast

Thelma with her Christmas present - already destroyed

A happy puppy with a big bone

Louise with bone and chew toy

Boxing day started with the traditional fry up of all the leftovers which was really tasty indeed - can't beat sprouts two days in a row as well. A had been shocked when she went onto the balcony to find that the new ball, bought because it was going to last longer, was already destroyed, flat and totalled. Thelma didn't seem to care though and was still playing with it. When I was in Belgium I'd bought a present for both of us which was indoor bowls. We set this up in the kitchen and played for a while though as you can see from the short clip above I was useless and A totally beat me. It was a good laugh and I can't wait to do it on the balcony. Dinner was the Goat, reheated with mash, stuffing and parsley sauce and was amazing - the puppies were quiet as they munched on the goat bones they were given. They both had goat breath afterwards and those two bones are still being chewed today.

First light sneaks over the Green Building

An absolutely stunning vista greets me from the balcony

Dramatic cloud and sun effects

Goat Curry for dinner

The next day dawned with a stunning display of colours through the clouds however it was a really quiet one for us both. A went back to bed and slept most of the morning and while she was doing that I took a short stroll with the puppies but didn't take any pictures. I did some modelling, had a snooze myself, and then it was time for the third part of the Goat Epic - Goat Curry and how superb was it! We actually haven't finished all of this and have frozen one portion for lunch later. There was a sad episode in the evening when two of the chickens didn't appear for their dinner; eventually Kat turned up however Ginger never did and despite continual searching we had to go to bed with one chicken missing.

Ginger RIP

Frozen waterfall just down our road

A sets out up the hill with the puppies

The girls were really loving being out

The river is frozen almost all the way across here

Looking across the valley from the edge of the bluff

The bird of prey we disturbed

Three years ago, nearly, we were up the top of that hill

The stinking local dump

A snow storm blows past

A doing some chainsawing

Of course the next morning did not bring good news; Thelma and Louise sniffed out where Ginger was hidden in the undergrowth, right near where we had looked the night before, but she had been dead a while. There wasn't a scratch on her that we could see so we're thinking one of three things; polecat, she ate a shard of glass, or bird flu. Fingers crossed it isn't the latter - we shall be keeping a close eye on the rest of the flock. We decided, after the super lazy day the day before, to get out and explore for a bit today so we packed the puppies up and drove towards a range of bluffs that we see every time we drive to town; A had decided she wanted to climb them. We drove for a while and turned round when the road reached the town dump, which stank and actually was still noticeable where we parked to climb the hill. It was an easy enough walk, though there were a lot of thorn bushes to dodge, and we reached the summit quickly. What stunning views there were from up there and we almost got an excellent photograph of a huge bird of prey that had been sitting up there - it flew off as we approached. The puppies were loving it and running around sniffing everything while I was being very nervous of the edge. From the top we had a great view of the castle that I climbed up to with my parents just after I first arrived here. The river was frozen in the shaded parts showing just how cold it has been recently. We walked back down the hill after a while and headed to do our chores in town and then decided against another walk on the way home as the weather was starting to close in and snow was falling. This cleared after a while and A was able to get out and do some chainsawing of wood. I got the floor in Room 13 swept clean finally in the hope that the weather will hold for Bekir and Sally to return on Monday - it is not looking likely though.

Thelma fully camouflaged on my chair

Ready to get stuck into another game

Proudly wearing my new snood

The last four bottles (there are only three left now)

The next morning the weather really had arrived and it has stayed pretty much set in ever since; the road down the hill is very icy, though it had cleared today when I came back from my unexpected trip to the further big town. I was trying to build some storage units and ran out of wood so had to go hunting and this ended up taking me on an hour drive both ways. Not much has really gone on in the last couple of days - we had a lovely chat with my best mate yesterday which was epic, we've played some more games, I've had a SUPER snood made for me by A which I have worn out twice now, the first time yesterday when we met up with some friends for lunch which was lovely. I'm also drinking my way through the last bottles of beer from Islay Ales and enjoying them all.

Tomorrow is the last day of the year and we're both hoping that the threatened snow holds off so we can get out to our New Year party that we are booked into; if it doesn't we'll have the pleasure of sharing more time with the neighbours who invited us once again. It's ended up being a long update but I hope it hasn't bored you. If you get this far then well done and thank you. I love that people still read this :)

See you next year!

Christmas Eve joy

Happy Christmas from The Beard and Louise

This update is being written while I am being serenaded by a mix of Christmas songs and A is behind me preparing sausage rolls for me (the only thing I actually requested be made for Christmas) and so it is that I wish you all, my lovely readers, a very Happy Christmas :) thank you for reading my ramblings.

Right, let's get this over with :)

Us

It's been a pretty cool week for us; we've had work and play time and enjoyed ourselves very much. The puppies have also had a good one and even Rambo and the chickens have got involved.

A steers a course on Mario Kart

Breaking up frozen earth with a fork

Plastic tunnel hoping to warm the soil a bit

A wheelbarrow full of coal for the neighbours

The first picture is from while I was writing the last update; A was in the nook playing Mario Kart on her Wii and loving it; she's sat closer to the sensor which makes the controller respond better and it was great fun to watch her having such fun. We haven't only been stuck inside though - it's been largely glorious weather here and so we got outside and prepared some more of the garden. We also put some seedlings out which was necessitated by a lack of space inside to keep them growing however they all died - it was WAY too early for them and the frost at night is very hard. I also got into the coal store again and dug out a wheelbarrow full of coal to take next door as a little gift.

Louise rocking her moustache

This is NOT for you, puppies

Threading a cabbage

Hard at work scrubbing the windows

Having a lovely meal to celebrate the beginning of Christmas

This next picture just had to be taken - Louise got a bit of fluff caught and it looks like a moustache. Bless her - I think she knew we were laughing about it. We had a very welcome visitor during the week when Bekir arrived bearing a huge goat leg for us as requested. The puppies were so interested, and no surprise. It's huge. One job that had been on my list for a while was to drill a hole in a cabbage that A had bought to hang in the chicken house. I finally remembered to do this and then A used the drill bit to drag some cord through. It made a huge mess but if they eat it then it'll be worth it. I was put back to work after this and cleaned one of the windows in the kitchen - it was filthy. I was aiming on hanging the blinds but found that the surround was mainly insulation under the skim so had to go out to get fixings and it still isn't up. We took ourselves out for a meal again, as we enjoy at least once a week, and it was a lovely evening. A had to go shopping afterwards so she dropped me at the bottom of the hill and I walked up looking at the stars and enjoying the peace and quiet of where we live - I think I'll be doing that more often.

Two puppies tugging

Louise giving it a good rip

They love playing

Super shaking time

Thelma all tucked up and hidden

So as I said we have been having some fun with the puppies - they continue to bring huge amounts of joy to our lives. Thelma is the one who is addicted to toys and often she wants her ball or her ring, which she plays with on her own as Louise just isn't interested. Quite often, however, she'll demand the rope tug toy and that then brings Louise into it. Louise is the noisy one and growls as she shakes and tugs and then Thelma gets more into it and joins in. It's great fun. Of course the mornings are a massive contrast as Thelma refuses to move for at least an hour after she's come down to in front of the fire. One morning I didn't get it lit quite quickly enough so she dug herself into the rug on the sofa and hid there for ages. You almost couldn't see her.

Family Photograph 2016

Family Photograph 2014

Finally for this section we have managed to get the family photograph taken, reproducing as closely as possible the picture that S of SandS took two years ago. This will be sent to the printers and put onto a canvas to go on the wall. What a lovely shot, and how awesome the place looks now compared to before!

Workmen

Ahhh it's slightly later in our Christmas Eve here - much has gone on (of which more in a bit) but we've just finished watching Die Hard and dinner is not far off so I've got some time to crack on with this.

Our two workers

Pushing barrows through the snow

Sand going onto the floor

We had two days of workmen this week as Nejo came back with a friend and got on with digging out the floor in the men's room. He really is a very hard worker and it's a pleasure having him in the building - he turns up at 8am and leaves at about 5.30 and only takes about an hour break in total through the day. They were very cheerful and chattering away all the time and I do hope that when he returns in the New Year this worker comes back with him. He was keen to work yesterday and Monday and Tuesday but we didn't want our holiday disturbed however he did get all the floor dug out and the sand put down on the lot so when he does come back he'll be straight on to putting insulation, waterproof membrane, steel and concrete down. Exciting times!

Weather etc

As the more observant of you will have noticed the workmen were pushing their barrows through some snow. That, however, was the total of it and we are once again back to no snow on the ground - our promised 20cm of snow for a White Christmas has just not happened.

Snow falling at night

The next morning, fire in the sky and ice on the ground

Four chickens running through the snow

Blue skies return and they have stayed

It snowed over night on Tuesday night but as I say it didn't fall for long, though it was quite hard while it was coming down. The next morning was lovely over the valley with the white hills and a firey sunrise. The chickens normally avoid snow (indeed yesterday they didn't come out of their house at all all day!) but they were running towards the front lawn while I was washing up. The early clouds cleared through the day and have not been back since and as I say all the snow has disappeared now. It'll be back, probably in January and February.

A very cold morning (about -8 C if you must know)

Red snow clouds head our way

The sun drops below the cloud level

Beautiful the next morning though

An amazing salmon coloured display

Other than that I've just got the photographs above of some lovely sunrises and sunsets as per usual. It never ever ever gets old. I cannot get bored of watching these shows. What an awesome place we live!

Live music

And so I'll leave you with a few videos taken last night when we went to watch our friend's band playing at a cafe in town. There were two bands playing and they were both really good - it was a great night. I took four videos of my friend and one of the other band. Please do check them out, if you get time.

This was them jamming while the guitarist changed his strings - just a total off the cuff improvisation piece. Brilliant.

I don't know the name of this tune but it was great to watch.

This is their version of "Fever" - a classic!

Finally most of "Birdland". I'm gutted to have missed the first bit as it was superb. Next time, maybe?

Finally a brilliant version of "Rock Steady".

The first four are my friend and the last one is the other band...

So it's now time to go and enjoy the evening with A and be very very excited for tomorrow.

Happy Christmas everyone!