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Winkle money all spent!

We've had Bonnie spayed, she is now wearing a Cone of Shame and hates it. The vets went to great lengths to remind us how she needs to be kept calm, quiet, clean and dry. They did then say 'but we have met her, so just do your best!' as she spent the whole time they were telling us leaping up for cuddles and licks. Ady carried her up the croft hill - we're ankle deep in mud so clean and dry is not easily managed! We really missed her and spent the first 24 hours looking around for her everywhere we went and doing regular head counts and finding one missing. Fingers crossed that's the last she'll see of the vets.

We really enjoyed the holiday cottage. It is very lovely, really clean and shiny with lots of chrome and spotlights. It was lovely to sit infront of the TV even if we did mostly end up watching a Grand Designs episode about a couple building a house on Skye and a show about doing up small spaces and blinging up your caravan! We made full use of the washing machine, microwave, electricity and the bath.

We took a trip to Inverness for enhanced shopping opportunities and fast food experiences, stopping along the way for a photo opportunity at an old favourite spot and reminiscing as we drove by Loch Ness about our times in Willow and Great Overnight Parking Spots We Have Known.

We visited supermarkets and have come back with new clothes, supplies of toiletries, lots of tinned food and treats such as chocolates, peanuts fancy breakfast cereal to keep us going til spring. Dragon and Star blew Christmas money on Lego and Playmobil and Ady got a tablet (of the android variety, not the sickly sweet Scottish sugar fest!).

I can't deny I enjoyed the bath (glass of fizz, dish of nuts, lots of bubbles and a trashy novel on the kindle, fluffy warmed towels, pjs, sofa and TV for afterwards make for a full on luxury bath experience) and it was indeed a novelty to not have to wipe the walls and ceiling down before bedtime to remove condensation. A washing machine on hand without a mile walk was lovely and being able to plug stuff in at any time was a real luxury. But the central heating was too hot (we slept with a window open and the heating off), we all missed home cooked proper food (we were so pushed for time making the most of shopping and baths that we ate frozen pizzas and curry cooked with sauce from a jar rather than made from scratch) and while the novelty of not having to wear wellies was nice we all got dehydrated and bad tempered and over heated in the shops.

For me the highlight of the trip was probably this view today

Rum, getting nearer, sun shining down on the sparkling blue sea and the piermaster greeting us as we stepped off the boat with the wonderful words: Welcome Home.