Anything goes
Countdown
Sunday 14 March, 2010
Well, it's eight weeks and five days until we get the keys of our new place. It's exciting AND frustrating. Dan's folks are now living in their caravan in Dunning, which is lovely. We called yesterday and were so surprised to see a foot of snow in the fields. There's still snow on the Ochils, but it's taking a shift in the lovely Spring weather we've been having so far this month. I hope March isn't going to live up to the old saying and go out like a lion.
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Finally, missives concluded
Thursday 4 March, 2010
Well, the missives on our new smallholding have finally been concluded, with an entry date of 14th May. We're relieved and excited but we now have a lot to do.
We hope to get in to inspect the property with our architect in the next week or two. We won't need planning permission as all the alterations are internal but we will need a building warrant. We also need to firm up on the list of other work to be done so that our builder can start costing it.
We're asking the Energy Saving Trust for advice on insulation and heating. The windows need replaced, the loft insulation upgraded and, since the solum needs sealed and new heating pipes put in, we'll insulate under the floor too. On heating, we're quite keen on using a wood pellet boiler for heating and hot water. There's no mains gas so we need an alternative and LPG or oil won't do. That will leave us with electricity, so we're thinking about installing PV cells, but perhaps not immediately.
It had to happen...
Friday 15 January, 2010
We've had snow and ice for about 4 weeks now and I've been so careful not to fall. Tonight, with it almost back to normal, I took a clattering fall in the field. I went full length on an icy patch and smacked the back of my head on the ground (no chance of damage there, then). I was SO cross with myself.
My neck'sa bit sore but other than that, I'm OK, although I might be stiff in the morning. I checked the weather forecast and I was happy to see rain forecast - can you believe that?
Is the freeze over?
Sunday 10 January, 2010
It's +3 today, sunny and windy - things are definitely thawing. Hopefully the wind will keep it dry as it thaws and we won't be left with too much mud. The five day forecast is for more of the same so maybe the worst is past.
The sheep are off grazing instead of hanging round the hayrack and the birds are chirping like mad. The horses were all excited this morning too, so maybe they know a change is in the air.
DANGER! MANIFLU
Friday 8 January, 2010
This is a poem by my sister, Janice
DANGER MANIFLU !!!!!!!!!
Of course it isn't "Just a cold"
I'll have to call the Doc,
I looked up "Swine Flu" symptoms
It gave me quite a shock.
I'll have to go to bed now,
While you get "Tamiflu"
But just before you leave the house
I have a list for you.
I'll need some magazines to read,
And maybe you could try,
To find me some on fishing,
The freeze continues
Tuesday 5 January, 2010
It's still frozen here; we had a dusting of snow last night and it was -5 this morning, but with no wind, it didn't seem too cold. By the time I had finished at the stables, it was a positively balmy 0C. This afternoon, the wind has risen and it was bitterly cold. Some of the hens are developing quite a nice skating technique - too late for the Winter Olympics, regretably.
Although it desn't feel at all spring-like, our young cockerel's sap is rising. I heard him crow yesterday and try to "catch" one of the Back Rocks. I think Hector is turning a blind eye to it all; with 20 odd hens, there is more than enough for two.
Happy New Year!
Friday 1 January, 2010
Happy New Year!
Before the festive season, May 1st seemed forever away; now that it's past, our entry date seems to so far away at all. I have a list of phonecalls to make on Tuesday (Scotland will still be closed on Monday) but I have been distracted by things like bathroom suites and tiles, so I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
We've made contact with a likely architect and hope to meet up with him in the next week or two, preferably at the new place so we can start more serious planning. I've been through the Home Report and started to draft a specification for the builder and my bedtime reading is "The Housebuilder's Bible". I'm reading selectively rather than cover to cover, but it's quite useful, especially for a non-techy like me.
What a beautiful day!
Monday 28 December, 2009
It's just lovely here today. Although it's -7, it feels warmer because the sun is out, the sky is blue, there's not a cloud to spoil the view... Are you singing yet?
I'm off to walk the dogs now - I had a cup of beefy "Bovril" to keep me going. If I drink it, I don't have the desire to eat sweet things, like mince pies, Christmas cake, chocolate.
I'll throw the sheep some more hay as I go past; in the load we bought, there were two bales of Jimmy's "special" meadow hay and the sheep love it! It's very fine textured compared to the normal offering. All the girls have a rim of frost on their fleeces but seem quite content.
Frugal!
Sunday 27 December, 2009
With the prospect of a new mortgage, dana nd I are trying to save money. Sort of. Actually, we have this conversation every year, sometimes with more effect than others.
Anyway, we've got off to a reasonable start; when we went for bread yesterday, the supermarket had loads of boxes of mushrooms for 17p, so we bought 6 and Dan made mushroom soup. It's one of my favourites and it cost about 10p per portion.
This is the recipe Dan uses:
For 6 (small by our standards) portions
Happy Christmas!
Saturday 26 December, 2009
Dan and I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We've had a lovely time with the family - but now the house is back in order and we'll be starting the serious planning for our relocation to Carnoustie in the summer.
If you haven't read on the forums, we've bought a new property just outside Carnoustie, on the Angus coast. We'll be about 10 miles north of Dundee and 5 miles south of Arbroath.
The house was built around 1860, we've been told, and needs a bit of upgrading. We need to improve the insulation and install central heating. The bathroom is very small, so we're going to move it into the smallest bedroom and the existing bathroom will become my office. The wall between the kitchen and utility room will come down to make a larger kitchen; there's a back porch that will be the scullery.
