This is the view out of the window right now:
Last week it looked like this....
the week before....
and a couple of days into the New Year....
It has not been snowy all the time, in between it has alternately blown a gale and drizzled; there have been days of blustery showers with a wind chill factor of -5, periods of freezing fog, and one morning in mid-December where it was mild and occasionally sunny where we managed a walk around a local reservoir.
Herein lies the problem; if you spend weeks on end in Southern Europe mooching about in shorts, every couple of days moving on to explore somewhere new, how do you cope with the routine of home?
Of course it was great to see the kids; Christmas was fun - they may be all grown-up now, but Christmas stockings remain de-rigueur and we still can't work out who is pinching the chocolates off the tree when no-one is looking!
We have tried to keep busy...
Christmas morning...presents and bucks fizz -
Boxing Day - up to the North-East for a family get-together...
A 'house gig' in Buxton by the multi-talented Heidi Brown organised by our friends Joan and Noel. Heidi Browne is a very sasy and talented singer song-writer; you can find examples of her material here: http://www.heidibrowne.co.uk/
Next - down to Oxford then Hackney to see les enfants..
..and a quick visit to the National Maritime Museum.
Then this week-end up to Tyneside to call into to see my sister, Carol, then on to Gill's dad, who is looking very hale and hearty for someone aged 90 and still living independently.
And in between all of this, I published a book. -
So, we've tried to be busy, but it's not the same as the freedom that the van gives us. Perhaps I am easily irritated, but after a few days anywhere people, things and places start to get on my nerves - so having the freedom to up-sticks and move suits me fine. Being at home for any length of time makes me grumpy.
Next blog post - back on the road! Hooray!
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