The holiday is over

Took advantage of slow bookings in January and headed off to northern Spain for a well deserved holiday. The Basque country is very green and beautiful and there are some wonderful old villages as well as fantastic new architecture like the Guggenheim are gallery in Bilbao.
Best of all is the food, breathtaking displays of pintxos in almost every bar, these are the norther equivalent of tapas, but are more substantial. It is easy to end up eating far too much, just one or two here and then a couple more in the next bar and so on, before you know it you have eaten half a dozen or more and are waddling! The food everywhere is so fresh and local, especially fresh fish being sold on the quay at Lekeitio. It is a delight to look at, let alone eat. Next time I think we will get an apartment so we con do some cooking.
Back home to freezing Scotland, temperature minus 5. All the chickens safe and well, thanks to our lovely lollipop man Andy, who looked after them for us. It was too late at night to pick up Juno from Neil and Christine, the neighbours who looked after her. The next morning the house seem so empty without her, could not wait to go and get her. She was obviously very happy with them, but if anything is even more cuddly since she came home.
Now Trevor is catching up on all the little jobs that need doing before we start getting some guests, and I am itching for the weather to get just a little bit warmer, so I can get out in the garden and start getting it tidied up for the spring. There are already some snowdrops flowering in the woods behind the house.

So that was Christmas

Had a wonderful Christmas with both daughters and son in laws, plus wonderful Jaime, the grand daughter and of course the 'bump', due to make an appearance at the end of January. Juno, our poor excuse for a Rottweiler, was frightened of our manic 'laughing Santa' so here she is hiding behind a 5 year old. Trevor outdid himself with a seven bird roast, and I did a home made 'hidden orange' Christmas pudding. Everyone agreed that the whole meal was fantastic, it's going to take a lot of exercise to work all the Christmas over indulgence off!

New Year we had friends who have children over for a house party. That's one of the many good things about having a B&B, we have plenty of bedrooms for people when we want to entertain.

Now all the decorations are down and the house is back to 'normal' and we are looking forward to lots of visitors (fingers crossed), but first we are going to have a little break.

Extream Wether

Woke up this morning to gale force winds and driving rain. Trev was supposed to be putting the lights on the outdoor tree, but decided to let him have a lie in as there was no way he could go up a ladder in that wind. We had to buy new lights as the previous ones had died on us, after two of the hardest winters I have ever know, I'm not surprised. This is a picture of the tree last year in all the snow. It was much admired by people in the town, and I should not gloat, but it is considerably bigger than the 'official' tree, ours does have the advantage of being a living tree.

Despite the howling gale we are off to Cupar tonight to a wine tasting, would take more that a bit of high wind to keep Trev away from that, just hope there are no trees down on the way. Tomorrow promises to be much improved, so I might get my tree lit after all.

Had to stop there last night as it was time to go, the wine tasting was very informative but I'm afraid I can not see the justification for a bottle of wine at £90, to my unsophisticated pallet the one we had at a tenner was just as good. Sort of glad I can't -I could not afford the 'good' stuff.

Perthshire wildlife

Invited to the Burnam Hotel, courtesy of Perth and Kinross Council, as part of the rural development programme, to hear speakers from the RSPB and Scottish Wildlife Trust. Fascinating talk about the reintroduction of the White Tailed Eagle to the east coast of Scotland. There have been occasional viewings at Loch Leven, so we are hoping that one day we may get a nesting pair in the area, (the introductions are due to start breeding next year).

Also heard about the work of the RSPB at Vane Farm, living so close we visit quite often, but I did not realise just how much landscape management went into creating the wetland for the wading birds, including the use of highland cattle to graze the land. The speaker for the SWT showed slides of several of the wildlife reserves, including some which are not accessible to the public, but very important from a conservation prospective,many species of wild flowers including some rare orchids.

The evening closed with a delicious buffet using many local products. Our thanks to all concerned especially Fiona and Sarah and the staff of the hotel, who looked after us so well.

Winter mini break

Since the clocks went back it feels as if winter has come already, although the weather is still fine and dry, it is just that it seems to go dusk so early.Here is our Christmas fairy (granddaughter) to brighten the day.

Now is definitely the time to think about winter treats. This year we are offering a two night stay, for two people, mulled wine and Christmas Stollen on arrival, a two course dinner on one of the nights, for the all inclusive price of £160. This offer runs from 20th November to 31st January, excluding 24th, 25th 26th December, which are already booked.

Back at long last

Oh dear, it is so long since I did this I've forgotten how to! However, prompted by two very 'social media' savvy daughters, and a few of our guests, I've decided it is about time I did something about it.

First we have a new puppy, Juno, who is an absolute delight, very popular with the guests, whom she loves, mainly I think because she gets loads of cuddles from them.

We have had a week of bright dry autumn days and Trevor has spent them planting over 1000 bulbs, I am really looking forward to seeing them all on bloom in the spring.

Went for a Slow Food meal at the Willows in Perth last night, very good, we had venison as a main course. There are so many good restaurants in the area, we are spoilt for choice, we are very fortunate to live in an area with so many excellent local produce. Which reminds me, we are now part of the Perthshire Breakfast scheme. Fifty percent of our breakfast menu has to be grown or produced in Perthshire, which was easy for us to achieve, because we make so much ourselves. A particular favorite is my lemon curd, I wish we could get local grown lemons! However the eggs from our own chickens do help to make it something special.

Perthshire Gardens Collection

Had a great day out the other day, visiting three of the eleven gardens which are available on one ticket. We went to Scone Palace, Dundee Botanic Gardens and Glendoik Garden. We were so impressed that we have decided to offer a free five day pass to anyone staying with us for four or more nights during the summer. If you want to have a look go to www.perthshiregardens.co.uk

I know I've said it before, but one of the best parts of running a B&B is the great people you meet, but some are exceptional. The other day we had a guest staying who is walking from John O'groats to Lands End! He is doing it entirely unsupported and recons it will take him 71 walking days! Exceptional enough, but then he told us he is nearly 76, how fantastic is that. Good luck Barry, and don't forget to let us know how you got on.