For just over the past week I've been on my own here. Because of the logistics of travel, Rich and I normally go everywhere together. Luckily we get on quite well!
However Rich needed to visit his Dad and I'm intending on visiting family nearer to Christmas and not wanting to make two trips we decided that we'd do separate journeys.
Rich caught the postboat and I stayed here. It was strange as he left, I had the sudden feeling he'd abandoned me, leaving me in a shed in the Scottish Highlands!
Unfortunately it has rained much of the time he's been away. I'd hoped to get the polytunnel area completely weed free but it hasn't happened. I went out yesterday as it was sunny, it even got hot for a few minutes. I'd just started weeding when I looked up and realised I could no longer see across the Loch, a mist was hanging there. Then the heavens opened and I was forced in. I have worked on the garden in between showers, removing brambles, weeds and generally tidying up.
I also spent one day watching the entire series of Pride and Prejudice on Netflix!
I've baked bread and for some reason it's lasted much longer! I ran out of milk though, we've been vegan for a while now so use cashew nut milk in tea. I find it the nearest taste to cows milk but it's difficult to find. We buy it in bulk from a wholesaler. Rich is calling for some on his way home. I was very resourceful though and made some from the leftover cashews that we'd used for a cheesecake.
Today I am going to light the Rayburn for my weekly bath. My sister kindly sent me a bath bomb, luckily I got down to the post just after it arrived. The plastic box we use for our deliveries had a bit of a run in with a horse, it's definitely time we got something more permanent. I've collected post a couple of times to find a stream running through the box which doesn't do letters or bath bombs much good. Rich is planning on returning on the postboat tomorrow so I'll probably walk down to meet him. I'll be the one standing on the jetty waving the welcome home banner!
It has been strange without him but I've managed. I was relieved not to feel frightened at night even with a gale blowing.
Rich returned and it's good to have company again, I'm not cut out to be quiet for that long. We got back down to work today. We did some gardening inbetween rain showers and then went into the house to look at the second new gas cooker. I mentioned in a previous blog how the first one wouldn't work and despite being assured for weeks that a gas engineer would come to fit it, were informed on the day of his proposed arrival he wouldn't be able to travel here. We managed to do the LPG conversion ourselves and it all works. This will make a big difference to us as the old gas cooker is really quite dangerous. I've decided it will be useful having a gas cooker as well as the Rayburn in the house. The Rayburn is ideal for the colder months when it will on all day so will be used to cook on and heat water. During warmer months it'll easier to use the gas cooker.
We've been given a small upright freezer so I'm considering trying to bake as much bread as possible in one batch to make the most of the gas and then freezing some. Now we've got the solar panels as well as the wind turbine we seem to have plenty of electricity, in fact much of it is going to waste. We need to sort out getting it to dump into the hot water tank. That will be wonderful as it'll mean we don't have to have the Rayburn on all day in order to have a bath.
It's been quite windy for the past few days and looks like it's going to continue that way for a while. Because Rich returned on the post boat, most of his luggage is still in the car over the other side of the Loch. First opportunity we'll go over in our boat to collect it. He called at the wholesalers on his way back so the cars quite full of provisions. We're trying to stock up before the bad weather arrives. I'm secretly hoping for snow like we had the first winter we were here.
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