The Tree-Man Has Been..,.

It's yet another wild and wet winter night here at Roskhill....

The Barn pretty-much faces straight into the prevailing wind direction, so we are grateful for the short row of spruce trees (and one spindly birch) that provide us with some protection from the worst of the not-infrequent gales.

However - over the years we have become increasingly concerned that the largest and closest spruce was getting just a bit too big, bringing the risk that if it were to come down (or the top break off - which is another possibility) it would almost certainly do damage to our house.

So - we have recently enjoyed the services of a tree surgeon. We asked him to do what he could to maintain the appearance of our biggest tree, and the protection it provides us, but to make it less likely for the tree to fall or break. He cut off a lot of branches, and reduced the height by over 8 feet. He also 'opened up' the tree, so it offers less resistance to the wind. He assured us the end result would not look a lot different to before, but that the tree would be considerably safer.

I will be interested to see how the newly trimmed tree grows in the coming years... 

As it was...

Tree man at work - look carefully...!!!

As it is now...

Buying Furniture

It has been a very long time since we have had to source furniture and furnishings for a house. We came to Skye with a substantial collection of our own bits and pieces - and then were lucky enough to buy two properties which came pretty-much fully furnished, so aside from the occasional need for a new mattress or carpet, we haven't been customers of any home furnishing stores for many, many years.

Until now....

The purchase of our cute little property in Strathpeffer bought us an empty building. It had quite attractive wooden venetian blinds at all the windows, but otherwise, the cottage was bare. We still had some cutlery, crockery and kitchen bits, plus a number of rugs and a few small pieces of furniture in our wonderful storage shed at Summer Cottage - so they have all come in handy. But mostly, we are having to re-learn what it is like to furnish a home.

We are finding the exercise to be both fun and exciting! Because the Old Bakery in Strathpeffer dates from the late 1800s, we are keeping well clear of most modern-style furnishings. We are also keen to avoid spending shed-loads of money! Thankfully, Inverness has a few sensationally popular charity furniture stores, and we are becoming one of their best customers.

We are now 'nearly there' in terms of furnishing the Old Bakery. We are still looking for a few items, but we now know that every time we pop into the shops, new items will have arrived. It is also good to know that when we buy from a charity shop, our money is going towards the causes they support.

This was delivered today. It is beautiful!
It will stand in the hall and house books and a few bits of glass or porcelain.

We just could not resist this wonderful dressing table.
Now we are seeking a pair of single headboards
and a bedside cabinet to compliment it...!