My grandson and his beloved Mr Fox.

Sorry, just couldnt resist !
Nothing to do with bed and breakfasts, moving house, or anything. But this is my blog!
Well now, Greenbrae is sold.
The people who have bought it I feel comfortable with in that they love Greenbrae as we have.
A house like this, with it's history, it has been a real plus that, eventually, we have sold to those who will take the house forward whilst respecting what has gone before.
I am sure that a lot will change.
And when I walk out of the door, finally, it will not be with a large grin, which in some houses of our past, it certainly has been.
Greenbrae has been a joy to live in. Not without its problems and, usually down to me, disasters!
Greenbrae has been part of the Buchan countryside since the 1800s. I feel proud to have been part of it's history.
Rewarded, in part, by the many appreciative guests who we have catered for.
But, our rewards, to have lived here, have outweighed all that.
It is a house of peace. Daft as it sounds, many times, I have walked in and said aloud, "Hello house." and felt that peace calm me.
Part of the countryside, part of Buchan's history.
This is my last blog.
Although we are still here till the 15th April. The next period is packing up for the next chapter in our lives.
It has been a shaky, bitty start with my new blog, hard for me to finally accept I am moving, but if you are still interested and want to read, hopefully a light hearted of what happens next to me and mine, then look at Land of the Big Sky. Although there never will be the same uplifting views of the Big Sky that I have experienced at Greenbrae.

Amazing picture.

It was taken by Ben Hall, via RSPB images. A pair of grebes courtship in the early morning mist. Whoooo wish I could be as good. Soon have the time but never will have the patience.
I have been watching too much Harry Potter. It doesnt work tho - Expelliarmus spell didnt work, everything remained where it was. Nor the one where you make things move. Like from the loft to the tip. All still there, well it has moved. Down here where I have the job of sorting it. Why does a daughter who is now a Doctor of Sociology want to keep folders and folders of coursework when she was at secondary school?
There is a big box full of cds and cassette tapes. Some of which I remember when they were all growing up and used to cringe at the language. Perhaps they are valuable now? Him from Nirvana is dead, so perhaps they are. Quite liked him tho.
There are a pair of Pelham Puppets, string puppets. Beautiful. I am guilty this time. I have hung on to them as I know they are valuable, but enough is enough. Car boot beckons.
I am having to stop Mike sorting stuff into car boot. Would any one really want a box full of electric cable?
They should have someone on duty at the skip to say, "Hey up mate, thats worth some money that is."
Or at least take out and have their own car boot sale.
Do you think theres a rubbish consultant we could call in?
All these years we have recycled everything and anything (ok mostly into the loft) but I refuse to move with it all.
There isnt room anyway, no loft for a start. Although there is a garage.........

Spring!

And a glorious sunset.

We have had a week of beautiful sunny, calm days. Cold, but well above freezing. The sun is setting around 5.45. now. And it is light when we get up. What a difference that makes!

Mike is muttering about cutting the grass. We have had quite a busy little mole creating havoc on the top lawn. Thinking positively he is making some excellent compost.

A lot of my plant pots cracked in the severe frosts we had over the winter. I shall have to get outside and rescue the bulbs that are in them. They mainly contain my big beautiful lilies and I do not want to lose them. Problem is that the bulbs are now so big they could do with a pot each. I may well just bag them up til we move and then sort them. Probably far more sensible, as I can't see any removal men being enthusiastic about shifting tons of pots around. And I am not that enthusiastic myself.

I am not that enthusiastic about sorting the loft out either. Mike pulled a muscle bringing down some of the boxes, none so far have anything to do with us!

His car is loaded to the gunnels again with stuff for the tip.

The phone never stops ringing with people trying to book in with us, but we are full.

A friend of mine went for a meal at the Waterside the other evening and she said the place was full to bursting with men and women working on the power station. I remember a past manager there, who when something like this occurred had them sleeping on the snooker tables.

I suppose I could shove a few up in the loft once its emptied. Now theres a thought.

You just have to laugh.

This post was to be called 'tearing my hair out'. But I came across this picture and began to smile.
I will not bore you with how our home moving is (not) going. Suffice it to say that this morning we had the surreal situation of workmen tramping around measuring to give quotes to our buyers who were on the phone to their solicitor basically telling them to get their finger out.
We just made the coffee.
After they had all left I got on with the day job.
Our two chaps erecting conservatories left. They wanted to come back next week, but we are full.
Our chap sorting out the power station is still with us.
We have a couple in over the weekend who have been before. So on with the bed changes. Power station had his bed changed, done every 4 days, and clean towels. The Conservatory 2 had beds stripped and the beds made into Super King Size for the couple. Phew.
We took a booking for the 31st March.
One area from whence our regular visitors come are the music examiners heading for the local secondary school.
As this is our last day of doing b&b I wonder if we should mark the occasion. I have packed up my piano key board, but not yet, the one string fiddle. So should I ask him to play us out? There is also a harmonica somewhere, and the recorder I rescued from the loft, and a penny whistle. We could have a real musical send off!

Stay calm....

Rattray lighthouse.
Very difficult to stay this calm.
Thwarted at every turn it seems.
Plan was to go to new home this weekend and measure up to make the final decision as to what furniture would fit and what would not.
Today our buyers solicitors came up with new requests which will put the whole transaction off for more weeks.
By which time our new home may well be sold to someone else. No way are they going to let us through the door with tape measure.
No firm offer can be made by our buyers until we mark crosses on a map to say where the septic tanks are. Despite us having complied with the law and given SEPA ORDNANCE SURVEY MAP references. Andthey are also asking for building warrants for the extension which was done years ago and they do have all the planning consents, building warrants are by now waste paper, but requests to the council are now in motion, but councils take a long time , so more delay.
Tomorrow morning our buyer brings in his work force to quote for work he wants doing.
And we cant even go measure up to see if a chest of drawers will fit.
Alright for some.
Have decided to stop being a nice person.
Howsomever. Daffodills in bud, all ready to take over from the snowdrops, masses of them, all different types. All the trees and bushes are in bud and some actually blossoming, just a few.
March is my month. My birthday month. And when I look in the mirror on the wall above my lap top I dont look all that bad! Does not reflect in any way, shape or form what I feel inside.
BLOODY FED UP.

End of another day.

Jemima vacuuming up the bird seed that has fallen on to the ground. And Smoky Robinson 'on guard'. There is wire fencing around their garden, so they can't just disappear to the river in the valley. Their bodies are so heavy that their wings don't give much lift off either! But they are happy enough pootling about, must be a duck heaven for them really. Jemima has started laying again, so I have one enormous duck egg a day.
We are full of paying guests. One chap working at the power station, and two erecting conservatories in the village. At the weekend we have a couple who have been here before, returning for three nights. Such a compliment when people return. Next week full again all week.
In between all the cleaning of rooms, making beds, we are sorting through stuff.
Stuff to recycle, stuff for the tip, stuff we are taking. The latter changes by the minute.
The top shed has had its first trawl through. This has all the tools, screws, nuts and bolts, leading to a car full for the tip. "Why have you put that in the car?" "Been bust for years." "So why wait till now?"
Our first foray up into the loft.
There is stuff up there left by the people who ran it as a care home. Incontinence pads, zimmer frames, enough cotton wool to build a thousand snow men, a Christmas Tree. Obviously the people we bought the house from just decided to ignore it all. Which is what we have done for years, but no longer.
That's not taking into account our additions. Or should I say the daughter's additions. They are all over 25 now, but we have boxes of Barbies, soft toys, clothes, school and university stuff.
So far I have rescued a recorder.
The rest - well.
And the times I have asked - go up in the loft and sort it. What you want to keep - label it and pack it properly. What I have is torn dustbin bags which I am having to sort through, boxes falling apart, ditto.
There was me thinking we could move earlier than the given exit day. I doubt we will have that lot sorted before next Christmas.
It might be next Christmas as we still havent heard anything from the solicitors.
Still, it has been a beautiful day weather wise. We have had a few lovely days which lifts your spirits. Ploughing continues.
Tomorrow we will be carrying on ploughing through the loft.

Our nearest village, when we move.

Inverallochy and Cairnbulg are two ex fishing villages on the North Sea. Once separated by just a stream, this is now buried beneath a road. The road that leads through the villages and then left or right to the sea. Inverallochy has a harbour, soon to be upgraded. Whereas in Cairnbulg the fishermen just pulled their boats up on to the shore, and parked them between the houses. The houses were built gable end to the sea. For obvious reasons. But in todays double/triple glazing wouldnt it be nice to have had a view of the sea!

This was Inverallochy Castle. One of the "Nine Castles of Knuckle." Doesnt that just sound so spooky. Knuckle is the North East Corner of Scotland. Never heard that one before I started to research into the are we are moving to. Knuckle. Fascinating.

Cairnbulg Castle is still lived in.

Inverallochy has an 18 hole link golf course. Link courses are by the sea.

We have golfers from all over the world playing. Germany has no link courses and they find them a really enjoyable and exciting challenge.

I played golf many years ago but did find I got my ballet classes of years before that having an effect and always did some sort of pirouette when teeing off. It worked though!