Our good friend Kathryn was keen to come up again, to see both of us and experience more of what Argyll has to offer. The beginning of January was a good time and we were excited to see her again. Usually Kathryn is up for absolutely anything, but she understood that the situation was wildly different to last summer and we would be needing an altogether slower pace of things.
As John's physical health started to grow and grow we were able to pick up some activities here and there. We had been given two free vouchers for a yoga session at the Christmas Fair at The Oystercatcher. We've never really been drawn to Yoga but with West Coast Wellness just around the corner and a fantastic dome with a view over Loch Fyne, we needed to give it a go. First session in early January with Kathryn was the perfect opportunity. Even with a beginners class, John was tired 1/2 an hour into the 1 hour session, but it was and is good rehabilitation exercise for him. It was a wonderful session with a lovely teacher and we vowed to be back very soon.
On the way back from yoga we stopped to collect shells for a fun little art project Kathryn suggested. We spent the afternoon stringing them up and attaching beads to make some wind chime type mobiles to hang in the garden. I think they turned out really well and it was a really chilled couple of hours.
John's 'independent' (unsupervised) DIY is mainly focused on the stuff Liz doesn't see - in the attic or under the floor, where he doesn't get 'told' what to do. Liz is more focused on the visible improvements to the house and it was the turn of the utility room. Originally this room housed the old boiler (which made it an indoor sauna!), a sink and plumbing for the washer. We'd planned knocking it through into the adjoining guest cloakroom to make a second bathroom but with recent health events and thinking it through - a utility room for the washer, freezer, ironing board etc felt more of a need than a second shower. John set about the ground work - quite literally - adjusting pipework under the floor, filling holes in the ceiling that had been left from the boiler flue (future post!), sanding skirting boards, finishing the coving and finally fitting a carpet. Liz was more focused on the overall aesthetics and chose a lovely paint with a textured finish from Crown. Kathryn and Liz set about scraping the loose paint off the walls, filling little holes and, finally, getting the lovely paint on. Still work to be done stripping the door frame and then it's ready for Wren Kitchens to fit our new utility room cupboards and integrated appliances to make it look really smart.
We had a lovely dinner out at Tide & Thyme and Kathryn happily joined us at church (see previous posts), and we spent the evenings watching movies over a glass of wine or hot chocolate. We are all fans of BBC1's Traitors and hungrily watched and analysed the contestants fumbling through three episodes of the contest.
We also had fun making sushi rolls together and then eating them for dinner. It was a first for Kathryn, and I think it all turned out really well, and was delicious!
On the last morning of her visit Kathryn surprised me with another lovely poem about her stay:
Night one (Thursday):-
Talking about health
Talking about wealth
Talking about future plans
Discussing past scans
Day two (Friday):-
Yoga, with a. view from a dome
Stretching, dozing, then returning home
Dinner and the Tide & Thyme
Shells that make up a door chime
Day three (Saturday):-
Doing jobs and painting round the house
Being careful of chewed up heads and dead mouse
Watching red squirrel and birds and the view
Enjoying an evening movie or two
Day four (Sunday):-
Liz is all ready with her kitchen plan
We head to church, sleepy, just because we can
Soup for lunch and a wakening walk by the stream
Glendaruel is beautiful, just like a dream
Day five (Monday):-
Time to return home a sushi chef
Enjoyed my time with friends, who are the best
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