"The pendulum of the mind alternates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong" Carl Jung

Sounds a bit highfalutin for a blog quote but the pendulum of my mind alternates between Eigg and my current home at Hill of Fechel in Aberdeenshire. The reality is I have to divide my labours between the two. So, with this in mind, during the first part of February I built this

and with the help of a friend from Nottinghamshire assembled this

Then it was off to Eigg and what a wondrous journey it was. The Road to the Isles was magnificent. 

and the view from The Manse was, as ever, beautiful; with snow on the hills on the mainland

Next day, while Owain and I scratched our heads over fitting a window which I had measured wrongly

Joe covered the water pipe which had frozen overnight

It was real brass monkeys weather so, once we'd finished, the only thing to do was to have a dram or three in the warmest room in the house

So now the downstairs windows are all replaced and the house is wind and waterproof and starting to look much less like an abandoned wreck

Next day Joe and I plasterboarded, taped and filled the room next to the bathroom

Then, after an all to brief a visit, it was time to head back to Aberdeenshire. It was hard to leave in such beautiful weather

and the views back down the Road to the Isles were jaw dropping

Next time will be a longer break with Do

"Tomorrow morning, when the sun shines through your window, choose to make it a happy day" Lynda Resnick

Every day is a good day - that's how I try and look at life. Sometimes it's a bit of a struggle, but on Eigg - with sunrise looking like this - it couldn't be easier.

After a prolonged period of grey, the clouds disappeared, the wind dropped and it was all systems go again.

The house stood up pretty well to the winter storms but a leak in the roof I thought I had fixed reappeared in the bedroom. So it was out with the ladders and off with the cladding around one of the new windows.

I replaced the lead sheeting (top left) which should hopefully solve the problem. Then it was onto the second new door and two new windows.

The door was, like the windows so far, a perfect fit. Not too sure about the brass draught strip though and definitely confounded by the choice of a white weather seal! (Replacement black one sent immediately from the manufacturers)

On close inspection, I decided it might be better if the lintels above the snug window were replaced

4 inch square section pressure treated fence posts are ideal for this job

With the floor joist reinforced, it was a straightforward job to fit the new sash window

and then on to the first of the two new kitchen windows. First, out with the old rotten one

and in with the new

so together...

and, including the new double window in the dining room,

the downstairs is beginning to get sorted. Next visit will be to fit the second kitchen window and measure up for the two windows in the porch.

Weather permitting, my next trip will be later this month.