All in its rightful place

Oh I'm so thrilled! It's simply the best news ever!

Just when I had given up hope of ever seeing my favourite sofa again, it has magically reappeared in the Torridon cottage. 

(Gail tells me it was there all along, upside down in another room while the renovation work was taking place.)

I'll be honest, travelling tires me these days, and aside from the occasional gentle stroll by the loch, I've barely shifted from the sofa since we arrived here on Friday. 

I mean, who knows, it might disappear again if not carefully guarded.

Gail tells me that my friends will want to see how the cottage is looking now that the renovation work is all but complete. She thinks you might not be so interested in more photos of me relaxing on an old piece of furniture. 

Well, here's a wee peek at the new kitchen at least.

And from the front garden you can see the big new windows and the not yet quite complete porch. 

I must apologise for neglecting my blog friends this weekend. When one's assistant is so preoccupied with duster, mop and vacuum cleaner etc. (most unusual...) what's a pup to do? 

Finally on Sunday afternoon, Gail recovered from her cleaning and tidying mania. She drove me across to the village of Shieldaig on the other side of Loch Torridon. While I puzzled over the local graffiti, Gail consumed a medicinal ice cream, and then we both enjoyed another short but scenic loch-side saunter.

Now back to my sofa...

Behind schedule?

 

So a couple of friends have been asking if the renovation and remodelling work on the Torridon cottage is yet complete.

While politely reminding my readers that this is supposed to be a dog blog and not a home improvement blog, I am happy to take you for a wee sniff around inside the cottage to see how things are going. 

 

So what do you think? 

Gail recalls how when she first bought the cottage (November 2002) a German neighbour warned her the prevailing attitude in the NW Highlands was deep suspicion of the 'mañana' concept as it implied far too much haste! Over the past few months, the pandemic and associated restrictions + Brexit + Highland Council's slow processing of a building warrant + the particular vagaries of the builder, have all combined to make for slow progress. The delays were to some extent anticipated, and Gail is working hard (and mostly succeeding) at not getting too frustrated by the situation...

And who can feel cross for long when just behind the cottage there are mountains to explore?

That's more like it! 

A quick trip west

So last week at short notice* Gail and I made an overnight trip to the Torridon cottage to check on the how the renovation work is going. 

Let's see how things are looking inside.

In what Gail says is the year's least surprising news, progress is, well it is progressing, but somewhat slower than she'd hoped...

What can I say? My sofa is still stacked against the wall in the downstairs bedroom, and there is dust and rubble everywhere...

I'm pleased to report that at least the view from the front garden is unchanged.

On the way back to Aberdeen we stopped off at the grand but also dog-friendly Coul House Hotel for a bite to eat.

The nice man on reception saw Gail taking my photo...

... and decided she too needed to practice her 'pose nicely please' stance.

 

*Gail says: A new set of Covid-related restrictions for Aberdeen, banning non-essential travel outside of our local area, was announced on Tuesday and came into effect on Friday. So I made haste over to the Torridon cottage for a quick visit, not knowing when our ever changing rules will allow me (and Bertie) across to the west coast again. So hard to plan anything at the moment. Sigh...

Confusion and dismay in Torridon

So we went across to the Torridon cottage earlier this week, for what Gail said would be a "flying visit" to "see how things were going".

I can't remember if I've mentioned this before but, after eighteen years of dithering, Gail has finally initiated a major renovation/remodelling of the cottage. The builder started work on schedule in October and I was warned to expect a few changes...

A few changes? Talk about British Understatement! 

Where is the kitchen?

Where is the bathroom?

Most importantly, where is my sofa? Gail, please make it reappear!

Oh and why does our lovely cottage garden look like some Appalachian hillbillies have just moved in....

Well at least we still had a bed  - albeit a rather dusty one - for our overnight stay.

If you think I am looking upset in the picture above, that's because I am.

However, I am pleased to say that Gail, recognising the extent of my trauma, took me out for a nice walk before we returned to Aberdeen. It might be all mayhem in the cottage but, thank heavens, the landscape around us is unchanged and as lovely as ever, resplendent in its late autumn clothing.

An exemplary roll model?

We were over at the Torridon cottage this weekend, catching the tail end of an extended period of atypically warm and dry weather - a rare event indeed in Scotland's NW Highlands.

On Saturday morning, Gail was hard at work in the garden and so I decided to give her a nice surprise and help out.

You might gave noticed that the patch of grass in front of the cottage is somewhat uneven.

Now it is true that I am not an expert gardener (and believe me neither is Gail) but I have heard how the done thing is to roll your lawn.

So I gave that a go while Gail's attention was elsewhere.

Who knew that lawn rolling is such hard work? With that and the heat (20°C!) I was soon exhausted so retreated inside to recuperate.

For some reason, when Gail came in and spotted me on the sofa, she was less than appreciative of my efforts… 

On Sunday we took a break from the garden and climbed up the Mountain Trail in the Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve. It was my first proper hill walk in ages, and I'm pleased to report that my paws are feeling really good just now!

The picture below shows you the bottom of the trail and the new header photo was taken near the top. It is a steep climb in places. I try not to feel too insulted when being repeatedly told how my predecessor Hamish the Westie was much more confident at scrambling over rocks than I am.

The Torridon Echo

Gail loves the garden of our cottage on Loch Torridon 'cos of the ever changing view over the sea loch and mountains, the colourful tangle of unkempt flowers, the fond memories of Hamish the Westie (whose ashes are buried here), the fresh salt-scented breeze, the, er, serenity...

I love it 'cos when I bark I can hear my own voice echoing back!

Can you hear me? Twice! (You may have to turn up the volume). The echo works better in some parts of the garden than in others - the acoustics experts amongst you will understand why.

Don't I sound great?

Oh. Gail is saying after all that row, I have to let her show you this tranquil photo of Loch Torridon, which she rushed outside to take at about 8:30 pm on Sunday evening, braving the clouds of wee midgies.

You can have too much peace and quiet Gail.