I can't believe how quickly this past week flew by.

The holiday was lovely. The cottage was comfy and warm, and big enough for the seven of us not to feel crowded or too much on top of each other. Predominant memories - long cold walks in the fog, sheep (the cottage is deep in sheep-farming country), board games, chinese jumprope, and reading by the fire. (We got a little carried away when we visited Wigtown, a little town famous for its many wonderful bookshops, causing the cottage to look, as my mom put it, "like a demented library"). I do love second-hand bookshops. Their range is so much wider and more varied than anything the big chains can offer. And we went for several drives when we'd done all the walks which were close to hand. The scenery was beautiful in an undramatic sort of way - rolling green hills, sheep, fog-coloured lochs, ruined churches and spiky leafless trees.




I took loads of pictures; I think I might put one up every day for the next couple of weeks, to remind myself of the holiday when the daily grind begins again.

Looking back, the holiday wasn't very typical of us - normally we don't really go in for just sitting around and relaxing, especially for so long. But everyone enjoyed it, so I think it must have been what we needed.

So. Happy new year to everyone! Back to school and work tomorrow; house chores and laundry today. It is cold today (oh how I hate this icy house, my fingers are literally getting numb as I type here - I cannot WAIT to move) but the sun is shining so I should get going.