A whole snowy week....

      ....it's rare that snow lasts here for more than a few days at a time, but it managed to stay for the whole week before the rain washed it away last night.  Watched our icicles grow longer by the day until the largest reached from the roof down to the bed room window sill.  As they fell, with an amazing crash, onto the garage roof they set off a barking frenzy from the dog, who clearly can't tell the difference between crashing icicles and burglars trying to climb in through the bedroom windows.  I can tell the difference, but he managed to make me jump every blinking time. 
      Darsh finally got back on Wednesday evening after leaving the car with Sara and John and coming back on the train and bus.  He had to walk a fair way from the bus stop to the house, and now he is obsessed with bus routes and timetables, if I've heard the story about getting home once.....I've heard it a dozen times.
     Stayed  around the house most of the week, doing jobs and sorting cupboards.  Managed a couple of very short dog walks.  One ended on the drive, as it was snowing and there was a child going past on a sledge that he didn't like the look of.  One ended after he stepped off the path and the snow went up  to his belly-he wasn't on his lead-that was it he walked off and refused to come out of the porch again, and once I had to carry him home because he was crying and limping badly.  I think a bit of frozen grit stuck in his pad and by the time we got home it had melted out and the dog went galloping gleefully into the house.
      Made one excursion into Birmingham for a few bits off food and a look round the shops.  Caught the end of a Cath Kidston sale and picked up a little bag of half price goodies.  Also started a weekly veg box delivery again.  This week came with a free cook-book incentive.  Spent a warm and happy time curled up poring over that one.  Charlotte gave us a "Love Film" subscription as a Chrissy present.  Been enjoying that as well.  I like "Body of Proof" series, and am working my way through them in bed at night-at least until the next darned icicle falls off the roof....

           .....Girls .......a reminder of one of the days on our holiday....one that was just too darned hot to move far.....Remember.......Devils Bridge in Antigua-the day we almost missed the boat!

It's 11pm on Sunday night...

      ....sat talking to Selina on the phone and I noticed that it just seemed to be getting lighter and lighter as the whole of the garden was bathed in an orange glow....
       It is a bit blurry, but this was without any flash, just natural light.....

                      ...our icicles are growing nicely and seem to glow in  the reflection of the street light....

         ....and you can almost see the colour of the bricks in the houses opposite.

     All is quiet here again.  Darsh decided to drive to London to drop Charlotte off  after all.  It has snowed steadily for 24 hours now, but he finally set off at 6pm this evening.  He rang at 9.30 to say they had got to Sara's safely.  He didn't want to take a quilt, spade, wellies or food.  I don't think either of them believe that you can get into trouble in bad weather, at least they are there ok,but it was still a bit off a silly idea to me.

Charlotte is home for a few days...

...so she is showing me how to download pictures again, yes the settings have changed at the blogger end, it's not just me being an idiot.

       .....Sara sat on the cruise ship, enjoying her book and a cup of tea as we sailed away from Madeira.
She was pointing out the route we had walked around the city of Funchal.  The city is built on a very steep hillside, and we could see the roads we had spent the day walking along as we sailed away.
     That day had been wet, but fairly warm whilst we were on land, but by the next morning the sun was out, and got hotter and hotter for the whole holiday.

      Not like today, it hasn't stopped snowing yet, and we are ...
 

                                       ....HIBERNATING.....

 
                         ....only very quick trips to the garden,[ mainly to eat the bird's food], and then back in the warm......where it easier to wrap him in a warm towel and cuddle him until the snow melts, than it is to try and dry him off as he is charging wet snow all over the carpets

      .
                But this can't last as Charlotte has to go to the station later to catch the London train ready for work tomorrow.  She is going to Sara's for the night, if we can get the car off the drive.

I have done nothing today.....

 

....apart from try to get my blog working again, so I can download pictures.  It has been so long since I used it and there has been so many changes, both with Blogger and our computer settings. 

The I-Pad doesn't help matters, it is quick and easy, but it doesn't link to my camera and certainly doesn't help with computer skills.

By doing all the old stuff "backwards" it looks as if I might be able to download my 1st wedding picture.   

 

         .....if not I am going to bed and hoping the snow is very deep by morning....

     The Pc and the laptop are refusing to cooperate with blogs or pics, so I simply give in.  It's so darned cold here that I am going to shut the conservatory up for the night and try aagaain in Spring...maybe.

Lets try again....

                   .....I'm not wasting time writing anything....just struggling with pics....

     ....right, now lets see if the laptop can recognise picasa again...

       Oh.. Selina and Sara making their way to the boat at the start of the cruise.  Selina with her Wedding Gown slung casually over her arm

This all I have to show for the last hours work.....pictures.... writing....all gone where?

2013....

  
     .....happy new year after my long break.  I must try an do updates at least once a week this year. 

      .....Finally got round to getting all the decorations down yesterday evening.. talk about leaving it to the last minute...but they are all boxed and back in the loft after giving Joe a very anxious couple of hours, he gets so upset when bags and boxes come down.  The mess makes him so scared, I think he worries we are going away again.  But once all was tidy again he soon curled up and went to sleep.

No pictures, laptop simply not playing....