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!