Backwards and forwards

Outside the Estonian University of Life Sciences.
Not bad heh!

Well I applied for residency in Estonia and got it. It was all done in one day for the sum of €25. If I had waited until Brexit goes through, that would not be the same situation. I wouldn't say it was a totally pain free process as it was a good job that my Estonian friend was there to ferry me around and sign some papers. I went to the police station first, where they process the applications and the very nice policewoman gave me back the form I had filled in and said it wasn't necessary. She sent me off to the council offices to register there and told me to come back when that was sorted. We managed to get there about half an hour before their three hour lunch break or maybe it was the half hour lunch break and two and half hours where they get on with other work. Who knows! The lady at the council office gave me a form to fill in and sign, which my friend translated. He also had to sign that it was fine for me to stay at his place - which I do sometimes and off we went back with my piece of paper and a personal code back to the police station.

Meanwhile back at home

The frosted trees lend a magical touch even in the city

In the police station they have photo booths, it takes a digital photo that is sent direct to the system for the ID card they give you. I thought I felt a bit dizzy when the machine was preparing to take the photo, until I realised it was the machine that was moving downwards and it wasn't me having a turn. Of course the machine needed to move a long way down, since I'm so small. My friend had found the lady who had sent me off to the council offices and she took my paper and my passport. I signed another paper, paid by card and that was it. I just have to wait for the ID card now and that can take up to 30 days but usually less.

Chanel trying to disguise herself as a snowman

Outside the cafe of the uni

I got to my office (I even now officially have a desk, well officially for my use anyway) and then went for lunch. It was a long day of work ahead of me after that. I had already done a little in the morning in preparation for an afternoon meeting, but there was more to read in the evening when I got back to my friend's apartment. She was a star, she cooked me some good food that kept my blood sugar under control, which was a bonus. We had snatched conversations, but not much more on that day.

The gym building glowing in the winter evening. 

Anyone for an outside al fresco meal?
The ski track is just beyond the first
fewtrees

The next day I walked to work on a very crisp morning, it was glorious, but in common with many people it would be dark by the time I set back off to my friend's place in the evening. My day was made up with meetings, online with the international team and locally with my other supervisor after lunch. Then back to work in the office. At least lunch was in a nicer spot than the previous day. I found there was another room to the cafeteria and I could look out on the frost encrusted trees and watch the cross country skiers on the university ski track. At least that evening I got to chat with my friend instead of working.

Come on mam, let me in! Josefs in his frosted coat

Our old oak tree in the distance as gorgeous as ever

Thursday I headed off back home to Ian. The last time I was up in Tartu, Ian and I had got our wires crossed and he was expecting me back on the Wednesday, not the Thursday. A bit awkward, but this time we made sure we knew when I was due back. I worked in the morning in my friend's apartment and then met her in town to hand over the key, as she was teaching that morning. We had time for a coffee before my bus and then off I went. First by bus, cup of cocoa in the train station cafe, on the train with internet access, hang around for just over an hour in the next train/bus station, cup of tea from the little shop there, on the bus and home. Door to door it is about 8 hours. At least I get to set off at a civilised hour and I can work okay on buses and trains.

Ian has been giving Vanessa's crew a bit of room

Trying to keep the channel next the greenhouse clear 

On Friday I was able to do a little flexi-working as Ian came home with the trailer and we shifted two loads of wood from the wood store to the store down in our basement. Sounds easy, apart from the fact we had to first dig our way past a snow bank where a tractor had obviously cleared a path down to the garages but not the wood stores. We then had to push the trailer through the snow to the wood store before Ian reversed the car down. At least the second time around it was easier. Hopefully that should now see us through most of the heating season.

Glowing trees

The oak tree again sporting a more subdued colour

Saturday I did a bit of catching up for work since I had had Monday and Friday afternoon off . It took me all day but I caught up with what needed doing. Sunday I took the day off. I lay in bed until 8:30am reading, and then spent the day pottering around doing things like putting the Christmas decorations away, polishing our wood furniture, cleaning up the pine needles. I actually took the Christmas tree down on Friday morning. I threw the tree out of the door and over the balcony (we are on the ground floor) so Ian could take it away in the trailer. I also made my bread, some cheesy biscuits for Ian to snack on and some pizzas. I had planned on going out with Ian so I could do some skiing but couldn't be bothered being up and ready for when he leaves the house. He has always been a bit of an early bird.

We have a magical place

Lots of paths to make Ian's job easier

Today was back to academia but working on a paper for my PhD. I'm still plodding on with that but at least I feel I am making progress, so all's good. Inside was the best place to be today anyway, since it snowed all day and there has been some drifting too. Apparently the alpacas stayed in too, only occasionally venturing out. It's a good job we sorted out the wood supply on Friday.

Turbjørn lapping up the sun

The snow is a bit deeper in Vanessa's crew's paddock

I am always so amazed by the frosted trees in winter

The contrast is stunning

Mr. P soaking up some sun too

Our neighbour's greenhouses are beginning to disappear in
the snow and our wood store is to the right of that lot

Looking the other way out of the back of our apartment

Out the front of our apartment. The ridge is getting
quite high

Hmmm! I think I might have to do a bit of snow clearing here

Happy days

Another reason to be happy, isn't this
sunrise glorious? What a joy to wake up
to scenes like these

Our youngest is now a happy boy, his computer got fixed and best of all they recovered all his data. All he lost was a days work whilst he waited for his computer to be fixed. The nice people at Apple even fixed it for free, because he had had previous problems with his computer. Phew! We were happy too, our glass bowl which we had sent with our friend filled with a meal for her husband, who hadn't joined us for last week's meal, because he had to work, came back with a rather nice dessert in it. No idea what it is, but it tasted good! I also got lots of interesting books to read this week, "Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley," "Conflict and Cooperation in Participating Natural Resource Management" and "Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts" - you can spot the theme can't you? These are all books that have either been recommended to me, or came up in my literature research for my Master's thesis and so hopefully they will all be useful in my write up. At least they will help me while away the winter evenings with a little light reading. Our vet wasn't left out too as we bought her a book "Alpaca and Llama Health Management." I know we are not getting alpacas until next year, and we haven't even been to see the guy who we hopefully will be buying the animals from - that's next month - but we need to be laying the groundwork now; it is no good waiting for something to go wrong with our alpacas to then try finding out how to deal with it, and winter is a good time for reading. She seemed happy enough to be getting the book anyway.

Tate Modern here we come! I spent a good afternoon's
work on these objects of great artistry, commonly
known as wrapping trees up for winter to stop the deer
eating them or sharpening their antlers on them.

We finally made it once again to the Farmers' Market in Straupe (link in Latvian), where a brave group of people are endeavouring to create a market for local farmers and businesses and at the same time increase the quality of goods sold. It is hard trying to get the concept going, as it is not as simple as importing the idea from elsewhere, although other examples are useful, but it is working and the market place looked busy while we were there. In fact there are many companies/farmers from further afield who would like to sell their goods at the market. It is difficult to balance the concept of a local initiative with the need to have enough stalls to attract people to come to the market and one that they are still working on. It is also hard trying to work out who is a genuine trader of goods produced by them or their family and those who buy in goods from abroad. Having contact with the organisers of this market, I hope will be useful for our own area when the roads are tarmacked making travel easier for traders and customers alike. I did buy a couple of presents while I was there, and I didn't go for the cheapest, but I bought my goods from a lady who was making the goods while she was there - so I know she produced the things I bought. What are they? Well I can't tell you, I know the recipients will be reading this! We also bought seeds and beans, partly for consumption over the winter but also for plants for next year, as it will be interesting to see how well they do, compared to the beans and seeds I buy in from the UK.

Not so happy to find this! This is the
kind of damage those dear little pigs
can make. I have to admit though that
it is quite incredible the depth of holes
they can dig with their snouts, and
the size of stones they can move. 

We also finally made it to a little craft shop that we have passed many times. The owner started out as a stone mason for gravestones but he is a creative soul at heart, so the website says,  and so some of the stones ended up as ants and tortoises. The best one I saw was a wild boar shaped stone, complete with wrought iron ears, snout, tail and legs - the best type of wild boar, apart from one on a plate, I think at the moment. Unfortunately it was a lot of money, and rightly so, but I was seriously tempted to erect this as a dire warning to the wild boar that traipse across our land. I bought an angel instead to add to my Christmas decorations from around the world, not that they will be going up again this year, as we are away in England. Probably a good job though, as I think our dear little kittens would have a field day with decorations. Better to wait till next year and they maybe (only maybe) a little calmer.

These are four Capercaillies, which we came across when
we took a detour just for the sake of it. Amazing what
you can see when you get off the main roads.

It has been another amazing week in the news, some of it is just downright depressing, but some of it is quite exhilarating and powerful. I was horrified to see a policeman casually spraying sitting students with pepper spray. I am not quite sure what horrified me the most, the fact that he sprayed obviously non-violent students, or the casual manner in which it was done. However it was amazing to watch how each student present was recording what was happening, no longer can incidents take out the journalist to remove any chance of recording it, all have the opportunity to record an event with the use of phones, video cameras, ipads and computers - many uploading the images as it happened. If that fact was not amazing enough to see people bringing accountability to the situation, it was more impressive to hear the rise of the chant "Shame on you" and the students peacefully but firmly causing the police, armed to the teeth, to fall back. Not a rock was thrown. The police appeared to only have two options, carnage or retreat, and they chose retreat thankfully. When the chancellor of the university, where the students belonged, decided to leave the campus the following evening, despite the presence of many students outside she was treated to a most powerful sit down silent protest that lined the route to the car. There was an atmosphere of restraint and yet somehow there was also the force of an unspoken argument, disapproval that hung in the air. Is this what was meant by the New York Mayor, post Occupy evictions at Zuccotti park, when he said "Now they will have to occupy the space with the power of their arguments?" I doubt it, but those students certainly occupied the space in a very powerful way.

"I think I'm stuck again!"
She is up there so often now we are going to have to install
something to stop her walking across the fleece lining,
preferably before it gives way underneath her.

More wood chippings for our garden, as Ian continues to
thin out our forest to provide us with firewood for next year
but also to improve the health of the forest.

Alder oxidises on exposure to air and so
you get these bright orange stumps when
they are cut.

Our raspberry bushes with their fir coats. Looks like they
needed it!

It snowed again this week, not much but still a reminder
that winter is on its way.