Workshop window.

The tree house full of people.

Don't try this at home.

Girls on ice.
The pond is only six inches deep so this is a lot safer than it looks.

Boys on ice.

Ramps for the bridge.

So now the bridge is finished.

This is the new back carry shelf for the tractor.

It also doubles as a people carrier.

The house before it was converted.

These photos are of the house before it was converted in 1998 were left for us by the previous owners. We believe that it was originally a long house - people lived at one end and the animals were kept at the other.

Mother and child.

Boys on ice.

The duck pond is still frozen. Fortunately for Steve.

Chris' christmas reading matter.

Books from my girls (and their boys) with little nibbles as I read.

Water butt shelf.

This is to hold two water butts so that we can get a gravity feed to the greenhouses. Two 220litre tanks are on order from eBay. They are ex fruit juice concentrate containers. They will collect the rainwater from the workshop roof.

Workshop window.

We need a window into the new woodturning workshop to get natural light on the lathe.

Working with Bella.

Hard work.

This is how much we got done.

Entertaining Bella.

Girls on ice.

Entertaining Noah.

Back to work then.

Working on the pond. Literally. The pond is still frozen solid so I am walking on it to clear the brambles and fence posts.

Leftovers supper.

A quiet day resting. And leftover supper. We did put put the turkey carcass and were rewarded by a kite and a buzzard swooping in for a meal. But too fleeting for a photo.

Merry cold Christmas.

Brrrr.

The Christmas Cake 2010

A Christmas present from the planning department.

Planning approval for the tunnel. If only I could get at the ground to start putting it up!!

Shopping.

The Christmas shopping trip went well. The road is still bad part way down
to Llandovery and the snow shoes made driving very easy. The shops were not
too busy - and we even had a Welsh Male Voice Choir carol singing in the
Co-Op. Yingle Yule.

The ground is still frozen but some work is getting done.

I have set up the big greenhouse. Beds all round and a removable shelf.

The ice patterns are back.

It must be cold!

Still very beautiful.

Digging the car out.

I have excavated the car and fitted the snow socks. I haven't used them before but we must get to town on Thursday to pick up the turkey. From the butcher not the livestock market.

A pleasant walk.

I walked to Llandovery and back today to pick up supplies. An eight mile round trip. Wonderful scenery. But milk is very heavy I have discovered!

Sheep on the road.

Family trees

There is a foot of frozen snow out there. So I am sat at my computer working on the update of the family tree ( Gail and Bella take note!). It is a complete overhaul and requires retyping the whole thing. Still the snow is no going anywhere for a while. And neither are we.

Avalanche (cont'd)

The snow has been falling off the front of the house - there is a great
rumble then a crash as it hits the ground. Best not use the front door if
you are visiting. (I wonder if the older Robertsons remember being read to
at mealtimes at Taena? One story was called Avalanche and each day as the
reader continued the story it was introduced as 'Avalanche, continued'. Ever
since the word Avalanche is followed by the word continued in my head. And
who can forget 'The Wheel on the School'?)

More snow.

Another couple of inches.

More snow two.

If you put this one by the first one you get a panorama.

I made this today.

Can y'tell what it is yit?

Yay. We got snow again.

Art

Chickens don't like snow.

Rabbits don't mind.

Snow

Snow.

Bugger! Even more snow.

A quiet day......

Not much going on today. Most of the ground is still frozen solid but the veg and fruit beds are usable. So I dug some potatoes while I could and also planted 24 strawberry plants, a whitecurrant and two gooseberry bushes. Then off to the pub for our pensioners lunch - very ordinary mass-catering turkey etc. But good company and good beer. Now it has started snowing again and the temperature is back below freezing. Ho ho ho.

The most important job since we arrived.

Now the tree is up Christmas can begin.

More work on the bridge.

Now it has bars to stop young folk from falling into the water. And it has a guardian!!

The bridge gargoyle.

The gargoyle is there to scare away any bridge trolls that try to live under the bridge.

'come home to a real fire'.....

Woodburning stove in place and working.