The Journey: Waiting, waiting

Waiting for the snow to go

I seem to have spent most of the week waiting for someone or something. I started off the week waiting for the bus to get home. Ian collected me from the bus station to take me out to the land as we were expecting visitors. A family we had met to see their alpacas were making a return visit after a trip out to Sigulda. So after a quick change into suitable clothing, in other words out of my city clothes, and a quick trip to the bakery we set off. Well we waited and waited, we even gave in and ate some of the pastries we had bought specially - or more likely just in case they wanted a cuppa and something to eat.

Slowly but surely

You can see the frozen puddle though and it is only
the sun that is causing the melt, not the air
temperature, which has rarely got above freezing after
the mega melt earlier on in the week

We had just about given up on them and thought they must have found the roads too bad when they turned up. It wasn't the best of days for a sightseeing trip because, although it had warmed up quite a bit, that meant a mega melt, hence the bad roads. It was a very brief trip, as they had to get back to their animals and it was another hour and a half at least and that's on a good day. I hadn't even taken my computer so I hadn't been able to get on with any work while waiting.

Ice from our pond. Ian has to keep chipping away to get
water out of it.

There is more snow out on the land as it is slightly higher
in altitude, although even here it is going

I have also been waiting for my supervisor to report back to me on a paper. In the end I had to send him a list of things that needed doing and a priority list to get something done. I can't say I blame him as he is pretty busy, but it doesn't help me to get things finished. At least I got an abstract in on time for a conference, so that was one step forward. Mind you, he will probably end up presenting it as I won't be able to afford to go. Sigh! Still it was nice while the funding lasted to get to go to some rather nice places.

It is melting faster on our south facing ski hill. We still call it
a ski hill, even though there has only ever been one
person ski down it the whole time we have known it.
We don't know who it was, but the tracks were there

Peekaboo! With the sunnier weather, Ian has locked the
girls and their youngsters out to make them get outside in
the sunshine

I am still waiting for further news from the paper that has been submitted. I know it is now with the Special Edition editor, so hopefully that is a step in the right direction, but I haven't heard any more than that. It is so frustrating, as I could do with knowing whether that paper is complete or I have to do more work on it. It feels like the end is in sight but still a long way off and there could be a few twists and turns along the way. Still at least with all this waiting it has meant I could do some more felting and more preparation for our move.

A needle fetled picture with embroidery

Time outside

Freddie playing twister with mum

George out for a walk with his mum

Part of the preparations for our move meant tackling the cellar. I had to do that in two stints as it was pretty dusty. It was amazing what was down there. Lots of cardboard that had seen better days, some collapsible crates that were rather handy, three watering cans (why do we have three watering cans in our cellar I may hear you ask? No idea actually! One I could understand, but three!!!!), lots of bike bits, an overhead projector (anyone want one?), bags of soil, a gas powered bbq, electrical and plumbing bits and bobs, a folding camping chair, some gardening tools and a bag of something that was later identified as clay. At least we have plenty of room in our rubbish bin to get rid of some stuff, it usually takes us ages to fill a bin. I have had to cancel a collection several times because it is just not worth it.

George is getting a lot of fleece now, especially around his
face

Anyone need any coat hangars, I have a few

The boys like to get outside, apart from Herkules who is
probably still inside eating

Of course we recycle what we can, so all the old cardboard will go in the garden to suppress weeds and then we put manure on the top of that to make no dig beds, so that's actually quite handy. The bag of clay had me flummoxed for ages though, until I realised that it was the clay that I had used to show Latvian children the Derbyshire tradition of Well Dressings. The clay is spread out on a board and then flowers (or just the petals depending on which tradition you follow) are used to make a picture that is then used to decorate a well, at least that was the case in the old days, in more recent times they are purely decorations.

Tracks in the snow from daily walks with Ian

Mr. P enjoying the sunshine

Ian surprised me last week and said that he could bring the trailer back home and we could move somethings up to the other apartment. Well I waited and waited, in the end I asked when he was going to do that. He told me it was up to me. Communication is a wonderful thing when it works. Hahaha! Well it is getting kind of close to the time when I am off to the UK, so there isn't much time to get anything done before I set off, so we needed to get our act together. Despite the mega melt earlier on last week, it has been pretty cold here but fortunately without the snow, well not much more than a dusting anyway. However it is forecast to warm up and so that won't help with the state of the roads again and so we decided to get some things shifted today.

I think this might be a bit big for a Christmas tree in the
apartment

Sunset outside our other apartment

We currently live on the third floor (British second floor) and that feels like a lot of steps to carry boxes down, especially when we have as many books as we do. We took two bookcases and a writing bureau too. The heavier furniture will have to wait until we have some help of the younger, stronger kind. At least the other apartment is a first floor one (British ground floor) and so there are just a few steps up and so that stage was much easier, especially as my knee was giving me some gip (trouble) on the way down the stairs. Upstairs it is fine, but down not so much.

From the macro to the micro view. These berries are still
hanging on in there after the winter

Aggie

It was only possible to do the moving in the morning for two reasons. Firstly we were shattered from going up and down the stairs, but also the roads were melting, even though it was cold and that would mean it would be difficult to get the horse box onto the land. After picking up my lunch and laptop Ian dropped me back off at the other apartment before heading off to the animals. I spent most of the afternoon first cleaning the furniture and then filling them up from the numerous boxes we had brought in. I probably only sorted through about a third, if that. So I guess that will be my job again tomorrow. I do know that no further work will be done on my paper as my supervisor is away at a meeting. Oh well!

It amused me to see that some folks in the UK actually had more snow than we do. I guess that is what happens when the Beast from the East (or mini beast in this case) meets the damp atmosphere of the UK. The laments over the length of this winter reminded me of a poem I wrote about 8 years ago, so here you go!

I really like this view of our land

The Winter Sleep
The blanket lies white upon the ground
So deep,
Muffling sound
Hard to believe
What lies beneath
Colour locked in bulbs
So deep
Asleep
Waiting in their earthly dreams
For warmth to seep from above
To awaken and stretch
Their dress of velvet cloth
Refreshing drab senses
Dulled by the long winter months
Lethargy peels off
Hope arises
Winter loses its grip.

Ian has been thinning out the trees again this week. That
job will have to finish by the end of the month when tree
cutting season finishes so the birds can nest