Snow!

Meant to say yesterday that it snowed for the first time this winter! Not that there was a lot but it was a covering of nice crunchy snow - crunchy because it is like walking over dried autumn leaves, it crunches softly as you walk on it! And that leads me on very nicely to the subject for Joe's art class yesterday afternoon! How fast these Monday classes come round! Today Joe painted a beautiful snow scene, showing us how to paint winter trees with their bare branches. And you know what? I am so proud of my own picture I am actually going to show it to you today! It's not quite finished and maybe it never will be, but I am so pleased with myself! Joe was most complimentary too. I know there are one or two things that aren't quite right and I might try to correct them - the ones I can - but here's Joe's painting first!

And here is mine! Taaraah!

I had a quick look round the class as everyone was finishing up to see how other peoples' had turned out! They were all so different, despite the view being the same, and - dare I say it - I think I was far from being bottom of the class today!!!!!

It snowed again during the night last night, and it is cold! I am waiting or the gas board man who is coming to look at the boiler today! He'll also be servicing the gas fire in the living room so I have had to turn that off too or it will be too hot for the man to work on! It's one of those cast iron stoves so retains the heat. Boy, it's cold in here now!

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Well, the mannie came and had a look at the boiler and realised he'd have to spend some time on it, so he said he'd go and do another call that had to be done by 2.00 and then he'd be back! I haven't heard from him since, and it's way after 6.00 now! I turned the fire back on about an hour ago, realising that if he did still arrive, he wouldn't manage to do both the boiler repair and service the fire. So at least I have some heat again! More snow is forecast tomorrow and the temperature is pretty low tonight!

Just another scrapbook picture before I finish off for today! This is the house where the Inglis brothers, sons of Rev. James and his wife Grace, were born and brought up. This is the old Manse, Midlem, near Selkirk. The church has gone now and the Manse sold off, but in the narrative by Charles Inglis there is quite a section all about the family's life in the village, including a description of the congregation gathering on the village Green before service.

The family left Midlem for Edinburgh in 1828 where Robert went into the printing and bookselling business. He eventually went into partnership with James Gall, printer, married Gall's granddaughter, Eliza. One of their four children, James, married Charlotte Kinmont, whose only child was my father.

So there we are! My family history in a nutshell!

Talk again soon. (It's snowing again, by the way!)