I headed back up early Monday as Wendy returned to the carnage/chaos that is the current financial world. It was a gorgeous morning. the early sunlight showing the various trees along the way in their full autumn glory - the golds, yellows, bronzes of the beeches and birches, the occassional flash of vibrant reds and maroons from rowan, cherry or maple and the remainder a scintillating spectrum of greens, reds, yellows etc. The journey up was also improved by the fact that the road was now empty of caravans... but then again, maybe they knew something about the coming weather . Main task for his week was to prepare for the coming of the lime. Main job was to cover wool insulation with plastic whilst tidying up other odds and sods (eg painting facings). Ewan was ... read more

Having made the most of our weeekend off catching up on sleep etc. We returned to Tombreck on Tuesday. Continued stuffing roof and completed both west and central sections (now 5/6ths done) but ran out of mesh. Then to Manse for birthday bash for Bryn - the usual enjoyable if chaotic melee of music and mayhem. Also farewell to Tasha and Marcus who were departing the following day for London and Sweden respectively. On Wednesday, Wendy started stuffing and trimming the straw walls on the ground floor (with scissors) and this continued on Thursday - between meetings with Douglas to talk about electrics and John Rennie to discuss floor insulation . meantime Willy kept Hamie company as he drilled holes for posts for balcony and woodshed/veranda Went to Lawers Hotel for dinner only to meet Ian ... read more

Monday - Hardly seemed to be there then back up the road after calling in at screwfix in Livingston. Delays all the way, either roadworks or slow traffic took over 2 hours so Ewan made a temporary door while he waited for me to turn up. Ended up spending evening with Tober and a bottle of wine. By Wednesday the top half of the gable was clad and from the west the house resembles a Swiss chalet. It was the last night at Tombreck for Lea and Christine, our German woofers, so we went for dinner at the Ben Lawers Hotel then back to the manse for a small farewell party with Ewan, Marieke, Marcus and Tober - ending up as yet another late night with Tober. Thursday I ran the girls into Killin to catch ... read more

The English language has such a wonderful selection of idioms describing the consumption of alcohol to excess and perhaps. on occasion, alcohol has indeed been consumed to excess in the straw bale house after a hard day's work, but I shall leave such occasions to your imagination. This entry describes the frenetic burst of activity required to achieve weather-tightness before the first frosts and co-incidentally before a spell of very wet weather hits the UK. This wet weather is related to the hurricanes threatening the Caribbean... but you didn't log on for a metereology lecture did you?. On Sunday, I came home from my holiday on the building site ready for a week of sitting in front of a PC resting those aching muscles. On Monday, Dean and John arrived with the Infernal Sprayer. The Infernal ... read more

Really just a diary entry. Window delivery arranged for Tuesday 26th, so continued with stuffing and trimming, continual use of hedge trimmers seems to have given me tennis elbow or something similar. Sometimes I think my body will give up the ghost before we get this thing finished, I seem to be continually knackered. Anyway after my last brief return home it was back to Tombreck. Wendy's parents arrrived on the Monday evening they were up for a few days with a couple of friends (Brom and Hilary). Unfortunately by the time they returned on the Tuesday I had been struck down by the bug that swept Tombreck. Tuesday was a strange day I managed about an hour's work before returning to bed only to surface periodically during the day to wander wraith like round the ... read more