Easter Monday

Although today has been a “Public Holiday” in Orkney (Easter Monday) I’ve been working as I had planned going over to the Orkney Mainland tomorrow (one of my usual workdays). But we have had snow showers throughout the day plus freezing winds so have cancelled my appointment for tomorrow. I shall stay home and work instead!

Although there have been heavy snow and sleet showers the snow is not settling, it’s just VERY cold in the wind. I am getting fed up with the weather now – I want it to be Spring with mild temperatures!

I’m longing to get out and work on the garden borders where the daffodils are huddling together for warmth. However it’s either too cold or too wet. Ah well hopefully warmer weather will arrive sometime soon.

I've had the heating on "constant" all day as it is so cold. The house has underfloor heating downstairs and conventional radiators upstairs and the boiler is fuelled by oil. Usually I have the heating on for a few hours in the morning, and then it comes on again late afternoon for the evening and then off overnight. It’s a very efficient system, but when it is *so* cold it seems better to keep the heating on most of the time. Unfortunately with the price of oil that can get quite expensive. My last tank of 1000 litres cost £540 and in the winter it only lasts three months! Wonder if it would be cheaper to burn pound notes…… We have no “natural gas” in Orkney so the alternative to oil fuelled heating is either electric which is also expensive or solid fuel (coal), but I hate the dust from coal, plus the effort of lugging large coal buckets around. But as I would much rather be cosy I will continue to spend vast sums of money on heating!

I have heard tractors passing the house today. No doubt it was the farmers taking silage to the sheep in the fields and the coos in the byres. Rather them than me. Even Fitz has refused to put his head outside the door today. Normally he enjoys a breath of fresh air, always waiting till I have moved away from the door before demanding to come back in. But today he flatly refused to go anywhere near an outside door and has spent the entire day snoozing in the sitting room. Lucky cat! In my next life I want to come back as a well cared for cat!!

I am beginning to get “cabin fever” though – hopefully the weather will clear up by the end of the week and I can get over to the shops and meet up with friends.