A quieter life??

Well having completed on the house in Belmont it would be reasonable to think that life would get a little quieter - but no! Richard left for Moy and Liz departed to the nurses home at St Helier to start a run of seven nights. Ironic that after housing so many over the years she found herself 'homeless' the day she left. It was an 'experience' to stay at Ferguson House which took her back over thirty years to her early student days. After a week of trying to sleep through drilling and hour long fire alarm testing she was more than ready to depart for the peace of the highlands! The plus side though was that she was able to catch up with some friends - and it wasn't far to go to work!!

The day before we got back our kitchen table was delivered, a lovely oak farmhouse table big enough to seat ten - ordered ten weeks ago and arrived in the nick of time as we had an influx of guests.

Having taken a weeks annual leave to give me a longer period in Moy we enjoyed having Tim, Ruth, Bethan and Toby to stay for a week. It was great to have a bit more time with them instead of the flying visits that seem to have been a feature of the last few months and suffice to say that there was much cake eating interspersed with occasional bursts of activity!! Friends Nick and Jane joined us unexpectedly on Friday for the weekend and we were delighted to be able to introduce them to some aspects of highland life (more cake eating!) including a trip up Cairngorm during a spell of lovely weather.

Much of the rest of the week was spent in the garden and Sarah has already posted a shot taken while I was sweeping a mountain of leaves from the front lawn. The colours at the moment are beautiful and we are hoping that the leaves hold until next week when Joes Mum, Kay is visiting. The veggie patch is looking impressive and the fabric has arrived to re-cover the settees and make curtains for the front room as well as cushions for our wonderful kitchen chairs and roller blinds so I expect to be busy when I get back.

We had another amazing experience with our coffee table. Those of you who have holidayed with us at Dalfaber will remember the huge marble coffee table in the living room. The units are being upgraded and the coffee tables sold off. We were keen to buy the one from our lodge as it is perfect for board games (or food) in front of the log fire. The price they were asking seemed extortionate but we went to look at it anyway and found it cracked from side to side. The resort declared it worthless and gave it to us. We gingerly drove it to a marble restoration company in Inverness who have repaired it almost invisibly at a fraction of the cost that the resort were asking. We are thrilled to have it as we spent many great evenings around it with family and friends in Aviemore.

I continue to battle with the internet and am reluctantly coming to the conclusion that the combination of 18" thick walls and a geriatric laptop are working against me - frustrating when Richard and Sarah can both connect with few problems. I'm now back in N Cheam though, staying in the flat of a good friend who is away for a while and enjoying the luxury of a good connection! I think some of my spare time this week might need to be spent researching routers and laptops!