Thursday

We slept very well for a first night back and even managed a lie in but it was very, very cold and we had a frost!

After breakfast I hung out the washing and did a few things around the house and put things away after out trip.

We went up to the garden centre for coffee and it was by now really warm and so we sat outside.

Jon had seen a terracotta warrior ornament in the garden centre a few weeks back and liked it. He wanted to know if I liked it as he wanted to buy it. We decided to get it as it will make a good talking point/focal point in the garden and remind us of our visit to China. It is about a metre tall and we need to think of a name for him. He is out on the deck at the moment and I keep thinking it is someone standing there.

After lunch we went to a shop to buy some curtains for our bedroom as the ones we put up there from the lounge are now needed back downstairs to keep the draught out at night.

I found some already with metal eyelets in the tops and you buy it by the metre. It was a good deal and reduced from $50 a metre to $12. They only had 6 metres so I cut it into three even pieces and although they don't look great, as there is only one curtain per window, they keep the light out and I can probably use them back in UK.

We then went to buy some wood to put the wall panel heater on. We don't want to attach it to the wall and make holes so Jon built a little frame for it and it stands in the bedroom and now works very well.

We sorted out the clock on the heat pump and it is really nice and cosy and heats up the rooms downstairs very well not sure what the cost will be but we can't be cold again like last winter. We also have the gas fire to use in the lounge and that looks and works fine. The gas man said it would eat the gas but the gas is a lot cheaper than logs that we had to buy last winter and I don't have to light a fire!

We had dinner and watched Coronation Street and then went to bed and felt warm for the first time in winter!!

WEATHER
Cold but sunny