Toasty warm

Toasty warm being what I am currently not. 

However last weekend was the schools' February long weekend so we headed up north to see my parents and I spent as much time as possible basking in front of their stove. Aaaaah, bliss, bliss, bliss. It warms their living-room so efficiently that it was actually too hot by the standards of others*, though just right by mine. I was only sitting, knitting, reading or talking after all.

Lichen princess.

Lichen shapes.   Looks a bit like seaweed, doesn't it?

We went to the Highland Wildlife Park one day and saw the red pandas. I can't tell them apart in my photos but there were three - mum, dad and the cub who is about seven months old. I thought this picture was of the cub but now I'm not sure.  Back around the time the cub was born my dad was supplying bamboo shoots to the wildlife park - they'd asked if anyone in the area could provide any and as Dad has a lot of bamboo in the garden (he loves the stuff) he took some along every few days.

When we were there in the summer, Miss M went along on a bamboo trip - ah, it looks so warm!

But in February it was distinctly chilly. We headed back south on Tuesday morning. We'd had a wonderful time (not just basking in front of the fire - spending time with Mum and Dad is also excellent) and it was too short as always.

I think we timed it quite well though - according to Traffic Scotland, who I follow on twitter, there were various road closures due to accidents and weather conditions the day before and later that day and probably into the next day.

Back here it's been occasionally snowy, occasionally wet, occasionally windy. Today it was grey and dreich until ten to three when it started raining (just in time for standing in a cold windswept playground waiting for the kids to get out of school - you'd be amazed at how often the weather turns unpleasant at ten to three), rapidly followed by sleet and then snow.

Rather wet snow so I imagine it'll be gone by morning, but it's distinctly chilly and I'm dreaming of my parents' stove.  It's been a really mild winter, mostly wind and rain, and Scotland is for the most part far too hilly for flooding, so it's been an easy winter really. But it's okay to be dreaming of some warmth now, isn't it?

*i.e. the rest of the family, who do not feel the cold ever. Weirdos.