Christmas is …

now over.

We had a good time with our family in West Lothian. The snow held off, so our drive there was uneventful. We’ve had good food, good fun, eaten lots and played lots of games. On Boxing Day we went for a walk  and enjoyed the cold crisp weather.

Yesterday we went to the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena. The grandchildren loved it!

This is the youngest granddaughter (age just 5) doing her first ever climb:

Grandson (age 8), who went up like a rocket:

and eldest granddaughter (age 10), who climbed with great confidence and ease, really excellent – and that’s not just me saying it but the instructor too:

Winter Wonderland

It’s been snowing here, but not as much as in the south of England and I do find it odd that we’ved moved north where it’s supposed to be colder and it isn’t!  This snow is the best kind – crisp and even. The roads have been gritted and are clear so we’re still able to get out and about. We haven’t had time to do anything but shop so far, except for two visits to our family in Scotland, now much nearer than before. We’re off there today for a school carol service with the two older grandchildren. They have had more snow than us, so I hope we’ll get there and back ok.

We’re still emptying boxes and trying to find the best places to put things. I can’t imagine how I fitted everything into the wall unit for example, but what came out should go back in, shouldn’t it? And will we have the bedrooms ready for the family to stay on Sunday – I hope so?!

The computer is in a room overlooking the back garden – this is the view from the window.

View from my desk
View from my desk

Amazingly, there is an apple tree out there that still has its apples. The birds love it!

Close up of apple tree
Close up of apple tree

 The garden has a small stream runing through it going into a small coppice.

Stream at the back
Stream at the back

Here is a view of the front garden as seen through the lounge window 

Front garden as seen through the lounge window
Christmas tree in the front garden

Still not much time for reading. Drood is proving to be a test. It started off really well with the train accident that Dickens was in at Staplehurst, great descriptions of London and so on. But Simmons’s inclusion of great tracts of background research is slowing down the story interminably. It reminds me a bit of Les Miserables!

Grand Union Canal Boat Trip

Last week it was D’s birthday and we spent the day with the family on the Grand Union Canal. It was a beautiful, hot summer’s day and we had a great time on a  little (30ft) boat, stopping for lunch at a canal-side pub.

Our boat for the day
The view from our boat

 

Approaching a lock
Our boat approaching a lock

 

The view from the boat
Another view from the boat
 
The first lock
We went through several locks - this was the first one
 
Swans come looking for food
Swans came looking for food

 

Pub-lunch stop
The pub & garden seen from the boat

My background reading before the boat trip was from the excellent Waterways Guide 1 – Grand Union, Oxford & the South East published by Collins/Nicholson new edition 2009. And my souvenir from the marina shop is a leather bookmark.

canal-book-bkmk