A new year and cold weather in The View from the Terrace

We had a lovely time at a New Year’s Eve party held by two members of our folk club. After some delicious food we all sat in a circle and listened to various poems and songs by different members. I sang A Winter’s Tale. Then we welcomed the new year with champagne and watched the London fireworks on the TV.

After that the weather turned really cold. I woke up early one morning and, on my way to the bathroom, I noticed that the window in boys’ old room had ice on the inside. Our bedroom was a bit better but I still had to turn the heater on after a nighttime visit to the bathroom to let the room heat up a bit before I could get back to sleep.
We live in a draughty old cottage in a rather exposed position, half way up a hill. We don’t have central heating. We always used to have the woodburner but when I booked a sweep to do the chimney he told me it was not installed correctly and not safe to use. This was a shock as Hubby installed it with a builder friend several years ago. I had always assumed that because his friend was a builder is was OK, but it seems he only fitted the flue liner and Hubby did the rest. So I am here with just electric heaters which cost a fortune to run. I only heat the room I am in and turn everything off at night. Chris has ordered various parts and is going to fix the woodburner soon.

One good thing about the cold frosty nights is that the skies have been clear and I have been able to see the alignment of the planets. Venus is the biggest hanging over our neighbours’ roof as I look out of the kitchen door. It looked beautiful a few nights ago, just below the moon with two of the other planets, much fainter but clearly visible. To see the others you need binoculars. Unfortunately mine are in Cardiff, must ask Hubby to bring them home.