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Snow Bunting at Voe of Sound, Lerwick.

Its been a rainy and dismal weekend. I've been getting stressed about my house purchase, because of the slowness of the seller's solicitor – I feel I'm constantly chasing things. At the same time I have been looking at flights and accommodation and was planning to visit my sisters in early February – I wanted to be back for Lucy's birthday on the 10th. I have not seen my sisters since late April, its been too long. I've realised its far too risky to book flights and accommodation, as my completion and move date (currently new dates of 18th and 19th January) might change and also it will only be a couple of weeks after I move – its too much to deal with, I've decided. So my new plan is to visit my sisters in early/mid March, Zoom meetings are ok, but you can't hug over Zoom – I will have to be sensible and deal with it. Once I'm in my forever home, I can plan my life better!

The frustrating thing about returning to Norfolk is that I can't stay with my sisters, not allowed to stay with Lucy and can't really stay on Vivien and Ray's narrowboat for a long week! Accommodation is expensive and I have decided I'm not going to hire a car, as that will add another £400+ to the cost of the trip. For a short trip, its financially cheaper to fly (rather than take the ferry) to Norwich, then I will get a train to Ely, then King's Lynn. In good weather and a longer trip, I would get the ferry, but no point in spending a fortune on petrol on a 8-9 hour drive and contending with dodgy roads in the Winter weather. The main point of my trip is to see my sisters, anyone else I want to visit, I will be taking the coastliner bus! This way, I will be able to afford to come back a couple of times a year at least, well, that's the plan anyway.

 

This afternoon I cruised over to Watsness to see Jill and Rob. Its only the second time I have visited them, since I have been here. I was looking forward to seeing all the work done on renovating their house and also to see the lovely cats! 'Pepper' sat very contentedly on my lap, which was lovely. My favourite cat is Morgan, he is a gorgeous boldly marked tabby.

The house looks much better painted white, much more cheerful. Its amazing what's been done inside the house, I especially loved the wrought iron ceiling lights upstairs and all the decor looks very stylish. The staircase looks completely different and their Christmas lights gave everything a festive feel. Jill and Rob have the most stunning views of loch and sea from their house!