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.