Highlandhearts

There was a glimmer of sunshine when we awoke so, as I hadn't been out of the house for the last three days, we decided to make the most of it and head to the coast. We parked up in a small street  of lovely cottages  and this good looking building which had 1894 in stone on the side  I liked its green door and it said Architects office above it The road was a little icy but we headed towards the sea across this fast moving stream this lovely house has its road access through the water You can see the frost on the ground as we walked through the gate You could hear the gentle sound of the waves and the sea gulls.  We walked along the coastal path, passing a few people wrapped up like us against the cold but the sun was shining. Looking behind us you can just see the monument to the Duke of Sutherland on top of Ben Braggie. I got a wet backside but couldn't resist just sitting a while and looking out ove

A big thank you to everyone who sent me lovely messages with Christmas wishes and I hope you all had a lovely time too. I got these 3 lovely books as presents this year and I am enjoying having time just to sit and look through them. I also got this shopping list and menu planner as part of my gift from my son, very practical and it has already found a home on the side of the bread bin. I was given this lovely bird material and also a pack of material squares to play with.  My friends know me well! This morning it is drizzling with rain and is 4 degrees but the cottage feels a bit too damp and cold so we have already lit the stove and will keep it ticking over all day. We nipped out down the village to the Post Office just to get a bit of air as i was a bit headachy, not because of the booze honest, just because i haven't been outside for two days! The forecasted snow over Christmas turned to winds and rain so we didn't have a white Christmas after all. I have seen the news on

We were out till late last night at my sis-in-laws house along with some friends and we had a lovely meal of salmon, new potatoes and minty peas followed by pear and raspberry crumble which was delicious. Then we danced our socks off! I was happy to collapse into my bed I love my bed with the jewelled fairy lights and my patchwork above, I think it looks quite Christmasy.  Today has flown by.  It's very cold and we have had a few snow flurries but they are forecasting 20cms overnight and more high winds are on their way.  I'm glad that i have finished with all my food shopping now and won't have to go out. I've been to our community church this morning and i really enjoyed the praise singing today.  We went to the carol service in the village hall this afternoon followed by mince pies and tea with everybody.  There was a much bigger turnout of people than expected which was lovely and again i enjoyed the music and singing with the children playing percussion instruments

I slept really well last night as I was so tired and only woke a few times due to the winds but they weren't as strong for us as a couple of weeks ago.  Some people up here are still without their phone lines that were knocked out from the lightening.  The forecast today is for snow so my OH brought the wood and coal inside ready to lay the stove whilst I cleaned the bathroom.  Unfortunately entering our bathroom is like going to the North Pole!  It is freezing!!  Our friends very rarely want to use our facilities because it freezes mid flow!  Now the mats are in the wash, floor mopped and everything in sight disinfected, I even cleaned out the cupboard and tidied all the medicines, flannels and towels are now in neat piles and i now have space to stockpile the toilet rolls. OH then suggested we go for a little walk before the weather got too bad so after making me climb over the fence, we walked up the hill to the front of our cottage.  You can see the front of the cottage in

OH has been working this week building housing for these parrots.  A friend of ours used to breed them when he lived in the south of England and has now decided to try to breed them up here.  A few of the local crofters think he is crazy especially because of the weather conditions we get here but with the help of my OH his crazy idea just might work! I'm not that keen on parrots, a bit nervous of their beaks but I can admire their colourful plumage. It was freezing in the blustery wind this morning and by the time we had stood outside for an hour chatting with the above friend, I felt battered around the ears as I hadn't put a hat on.  We eventually left him to his birds and drove into the village to catch the post office before it closed.  I posted off what I think will be the last of the Christmas cards but you always end up getting one from someone you've forgotten don't you. We then went to pick up some milk for another friend who was housebound for the day and had

The tide had only just gone out when we arrived at Loch Fleet this morning.  It was a bit cloudy but the wind had dropped and we strolled over the dunes to get onto the beach. No one else was in sight as we walked over the wet sand only a few oyster catchers and a heron.  No sign of the seals either. It is such a lovely beach with a huge expanse of sand and I was on the look out for any sea glass but I only found a small piece.  There were a lot of razor shells today I took a photo of the pebbles as we walked over them, such lovely colours Then off went to the cafe in Dornoch and  while we were there we popped in to the cathedral.  It is only the size of a church but was built in 1239.  It's modern day claim to fame is that Madonna married Guy Ritchie there!  No one else was inside so I took a few pics of the stained glass windows.  Some of the windows are quite modern and brightly coloured. I am cooking us a nice meal this evening, Nigella's rapid Ragu recipe which is made wit

I had wanted a real tree this year so I checked with the forestry commission website to see where they were selling them this year only to find I had missed out.  They only sell them on one day and it was last Sunday so I had to make do with what we had and although you can't really tell from the photo, it looks very pretty.  It's so dark again today and I took pics at 2.30pm with the lights on but they are still not great. I like to see homemade things on my tree Which do you prefer, the knitted or the crocheted snowman? I ended up making seven of these angels one year for family and friends! This star pattern was on Lucy's blog Attic24 and I like the different colours so i have hung it up in my kitchen as its too big for the tree. Played about with bits of felt and buttons More hearts of course! Last year I made a rag wreath so that has gone up on the kitchen door My crafting influence has worn off on my son as he has made us this lovely homemade card this year.   Our roo