Work work work

It's going to be a short update today because very little has really happened, other than we've sat at our desks and worked. I've a few pictures of the sky, some little stories of stuff that has happened, and that is about it.

The sky

The weather has changed as forecast since last weeks snowfall. We had a couple of days of relatively nice weather, slightly cloudy and still chilly but lovely when the sun came out during the day and then dropping down below freezing at night (-5 when I checked, and Sassy's water again got frozen) and then yesterday late afternoon and over night it changed and it is currently raining with a heavy overcast, though right now the high winds that battered us for nearly 12 hours have finally stopped.

Sunday the day ended with a golden streak

Monday's sunset was a glorious riot of colour

The village is still quite snowy

Tuesday morning had mist in the valley, as usual

Looking across towards my parents' hotel

SandS's place is through that gap in the mountains a way

The ridge rises out of the flat mist

Wednesday morning dawned with some sunshine

It did not last, however.

So the pictures capture this change, from Sunday evening with a lovely evening and an understated sunset through Monday which was glorious blue skies all day and into a dramatic red sunset and then yesterday beginning with mist in the valley and the wind picking up all through the day until the storm last night (we were woken by a huge bang that we still don't know what caused; it sounded like a door but there were none swinging and I did get up to investigate) and then a brief hiatus at day break today with the sun briefly appearing just enough that I braved the winds and hung the washing out on the line for a couple of hours. When the promised rain arrived I noticed in time and together we pulled the washing inside very quickly and now it is finishing off in the living room. The wind was such that I had to put a rock on the washing basket, and take the little clothes peg holders off the line and bring them inside!

Escaping puppies

The girls are really very good and we now let them out on the land on their own for most of the day. Indeed right now they are on the top bank digging away (I know, I just checked).

The guilty twosome, looking guilty

Look how filthy their feet are!

This is how they were getting out

On Monday I was working away, and A was having a brief nap, when I realised I hadn't heard them for a little bit so I looked out the windows but couldn't see them anywhere. Not yet panicking I went downstairs and onto the land and called and heard a woof from the side gate; there they were, both of them OUTSIDE looking in and scratching. I immediately went over and opened the gate but it was clear they hadn't got out there; the extra catch of wire we put on to prevent this was firmly attached and I struggled to release it myself. They were absolutely filthy so I woke A up to take pictures and then it was in the trench with them for a shower to clean them off. A bit later on in the day I heard Thelma barking and looked out and sure enough Louise was out in the side path again. This time we called her in and watched as she went down to the lane and ran along to the vehicle gate before appearing and coming to us. A bit of investigation later by A found a huge hole in the front wall, leading into the little field next to the vehicle gate, which they were obviously using for access. I have since been down and filled this up with rocks however it does add one more relatively urgent job to this year; getting the whole of that front retaining wall and fence work replaced and fixed.

Pancake day

As you will know yesterday was pancake day and so for breakfast A made us a batch. I had three and she had four, but mine were much thicker.

Chef hard at work

Nearly ready to serve

They were really rather lovely and I had them with sugar and lemon juice which is obviously the healthier option over chocolate spread or Lyle's Golden Syrup which were my other options. We joked about having more for lunch but I was all pancaked out by then; I like them but I can't eat only them. In the end I cooked the Spicy Pork Pasta which I STILL haven't finished putting on the recipe site; I'll try and remember to link back to it when I get it done; or maybe I'll just go and do it straight away and link right now before publishing this.

Before shipping...

... and after. Oh dear

Pool table in its new semi permanent home

Also yesterday we received a text from ekont saying the banana tree we had bought on facebook was ready to be collected from their office. We got down there and found that it really hadn't done very well in transit particularly as it had been left in a van overnight in subzero temperatures. I strapped it onto the back bed of the truck and drove home carefully but the high winds shredded the already pretty damaged leaf so once we got it into place in the living room (having moved the pool table out onto the landing to make space) I trimmed the dead leaf off. All research suggests that it'll recover so here's hoping. It weighed a ton and I had some fun carrying it up the stairs so after all that effort I really do hope it recovers.

Sassy's room progress

After finishing on Saturday putting the cement behind the forms around the platform I haven't been in there doing anything at all. I was impatient to remove the forms to allow air to get to the lower concrete so it will go off quicker but then I didn't want to pull them off too early and have it all collapse and fail.

Carefully removing the wooden forms

That's quite a good finish, for a rough job

I left it until yesterday before checking and found the forms had done their job so I pulled them all away and I'm pretty happy with the result. I will still be putting my wooden frame around the edge and up and over onto the top so the chipboard doesn't rest directly on the concrete so there'll be more structure provided by that, but what I've done will allow me to more easily secure this framework to stop it moving. I think I'll have this done over the coming weekend and maybe I'll even get started on the back wall. The weather is set to remain rubbish so there certainly won't be much going on outside.

And there you have it. I told you it'd be quick. The only other things going on is we've just measured the kitchen and have a rough idea of tile cost for in there, and I've received a revised basketball court quote for the correct dimensions (slightly more than previously, but then it's a larger area) and I'm currently contemplating it. If I say "yes" then we'll have builders back in on Monday!