Category: moving in

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False spring

We awoke a few days ago to a silent white landscape. Quite magical in its way with the snow blanketing the building rubble in a sanitising coat of white.

White morning

But clearly way too cold to put any tender plants out into the unheated polycrub anytime soon.

We’ve had a bit of a mixed result with our early seed germination, and a further week of late snow here on the island. I think that some of the seeds took one look at the weather outside and thought, no way..

The cucumber and beans raced up to meet the world, but the chillies, kale, tomatoes and lettuce have been more reluctant to emerge into this chilly white landscape. And I can’t blame them.

The locals call February “false spring” as we enjoy gloriously bright, sunny days at this time of the year. It’s quite stunning.

But winter still has the land in its icy grasp and snow in March and April often follows. Plant out at your peril. It’s still frozen hard under those beams of trickster sunlight.

These are still days for big, warming breakfasts, pots of tea by the fire and much watching of the weather from the warmth of the sofa.

Çılbır, poached eggs with yoghurt and peppery butter
Shakshuka for breakfast

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Living more simply

As each box slowly gets unpacked I feel more weighed down by the stuff that we’ve accumulated over our lifetimes.

To be fair, it’s the accumulation of two lives and two households that couldn’t be sifted and streamlined before we left London because we were in lockdown, with no tips or charity shops taking anything.

And it’s also the result of lives lived fully, of travel, and children, and passions. Things just attach themselves to you as you move through these life experiences.

But oh lord, so much stuff. It feels quite overwhelming, and we’ve only just started.

Sensible me says just sort a box at a time. Keep, throw or donate. Do it gradually and you’ll get there. Don’t panic.

Overwhelmed me says why oh why do we have four thousand sheets all in different and unspecified sizes? I know that they’d come in useful as dust sheets for the studio or several other uses, but I am determined not to cram this house to the rafters. Determined.

We will streamline. We will simplify. We do not need all of this stuff. Someone would welcome it, I’m sure.

Deep breaths. I can see several trips to the local charity shops and a massive shed sale on the horizon very soon..

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The cold has come

In the race to get into the house before the highland winter really bit, we’re down to the wire now.

The weather over the last few days has been much colder as the winds have veered to the north east, and snow is forecast.

We are still at least a week away from moving in. Husband is trying to fit a toilet, sink and shower so that we have basic facilities in place, but it’s slow going. We have water to the upstairs bathroom now, we just need the fittings in place!

Mornings in the caravan are painful now. Temperatures drop to a few degrees centigrade overnight and even with the gas fire on full blast the caravan doesn’t reach more than sixteen degrees centigrade all day. I have dug out my fingerless gloves and thermals.

When it’s like this I retreat to the house and sit in the warmth of the bedroom whilst husband gets on with the plumbing. I can’t unpack anything whilst it’s still a building site, but I can sit and imagine. The solar gain from our big windows, combined with the underfloor heating are very efficient, and it’s warm!

Sunshiny day. But cold.

I dream of hot showers and drying off in a warm room without having to do the shivering dance to race into clothes before anything freezes.

Not long now.

I popped into the polycrub earlier this morning to see how things were faring. The temperature gauge recorded that it had dropped to 0.5C in there last night, but everything seems fine. The kale is looking perky, the slugs are having a bean feast with my pak choi, and the beetroot is looking pretty bulletproof.

I am still awed by the miracle of my winter lettuces.

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The last few weeks

Despite not having a joiner to finish the skirting boards, which are unceremoniously piled up in the living room, or the door linings and architraves, or a plasterer to finish the stairwell, we’re still making progress.

Chaos, building supplies, painted walls!

Good friends have helped with coats of paint in the bedroom, the upstairs bathroom, landing, dining room and kitchen. Andy is so much better at painting than I am, and so much more efficient, that a weeks work has resulted in a huge difference. It’s all starting to look dangerously white..

I’m hoping against hope that there will be enough rooms ready for us to move in over the next month. We’ve had surprisingly mild weather for the time of year, but it can’t last. We had snow on the hills at this point two years ago when we first moved here, so it may be delayed, but it’s surely coming.

Kitchen being painted

Husband has been fitting lights and sockets in the house and will move onto the bathrooms next. If we can get basic facilities up and running we can move in and enjoy the warmth. It’s already a comfortable and constant temperature compared to the caravan.

First wall light in

As we continue the build and start making plans for our first family Christmas for the last few years, I’m aware of how much we still have to do to finish it, but moving in feels very close now.

Whilst all this happens, life also goes on. The deer fencing for the vegetable and orchard area of the croft has arrived. I’m not quite sure when it will get installed, but it will at some point. We have a friends birthday coming up and I’ve baked her a pear, brandy and orange pie.

Because why not.

Pear pie