Let there be snow!

Well there is some snow in Liverpool - at Winterberry Hall to be precise!   Not sure we'll get any of the real stuff,  we have, of course, got rain.  There is a definite drop in temperature,  in fact Harvey decided to keep warm on my lap today, while I got out the thick socks, so it IS cold.   Not had to put the central heating on any earlier, or for longer, so the cavity wall stuff is doing its job. 

I had an exceptionally gooey and messy day yesterday creating snow for the base.   I mixed some sand with paint then dolloped it on.    You understand that 'dollop' is a technical term...     and there was plenty of dolloping.  The tricky bit was getting it tight to the Hall itself but without getting the mix all over the walls.   

There is also some snow round the back of the Hall.  I'm just getting round to putting snow on the wooden frame and window sills.   And that small gap in the roof has now been fixed!    The left over glitter has settled nicely on the grassy bits unintentionally.   Harvey also got covered in glitter when he clambered up onto my lap, so he spent the rest of the day all sparkly.   You can always tell when a cat is owned by a crafter, they usually have glitter or things stuck to them!

Coming round the Hall and there is more lumpy snow.  I had to paint it all white as the sand had caused the white paint to go a grubby grey.   The bush continues to sprout foliage,  and there is a nice covering of snow on the lower window sill. 

I've not yet managed to put roof tiles on this side of the roof, though I did make some today.  The middle section is going to be tricky, in fact I wish now that I'd put the roof tiles on before glueing it together. 

And now the other side.   The logs are now tucked into the log store, it has had some snow added to the roof, more to be put on the logs. 

And did you spot the gate?   I had to get the glue gun out to secure it into place.  It does look fetching, and adds a nice touch to a rustic scene. 

It is now a case of finishing things off, the tiling, fencing, a few more bushes here and there.   But I am pleased with it. 

I decided to go out today,  needed a change of scenery so I went to my least favourite place: the nearby shopping centre.   I just felt like a mooch round, but also allowed myself some 'treat' money.   So, of course, I didn't find any 'treats', not at thing.  I ended up getting Harvey some food, the fishy variety,  and that was it.   I did bump into one of mum's old friends, it was lovely to see her, and hard to believe that she is 93!   Such a spry lady,  she does have aches and pains but tends to ignore them.  So we had a natter,  I was sad to hear that another of mum's friends isn't so well,  and in fact seems to be very depressed.   It's always the same: good news followed by bad news. 

I fully supported the junior doctor's strike yesterday.   It reminded me of the only time that I went on strike.  I was in the ambulance service, we'd been complaining about poor equipment, the life saving stuff for months,  then two members of staff were suspended for something trivial,  then we discovered that our control room had been revamped and that the controllers were all sitting in £200 chairs - that was while we tried to build stretchers from spare parts (I kid you not). So we had a few meetings, a ballot was held, and we entered talks, but we had said that if the talks failed then we'd walk out.  So a few days later I found myself having to make a horrible decision: would I walk away from the emergency vehicle?   I did, I had no choice,  all of us made it clear that we were available for emergencies but management attempted to lock us out, and they tried to blacken our reputations.  We stuck to our guns, but then we decided to take matters into our own hands we went over our management's heads and went straight to the head of the Northwest NHS,  we kinda stormed the boardroom!  We refused to budge until the chief idiot came to talk to us, can't use his name cos he ended up with a knighthood (not sure how cos he was an idiot), but we did cobble an agreement together.   So I hope the junior doctors win their battle, this government is out to destroy the NHS, and if it wants a 7 day NHS then it will have to fund it properly, and it will need to employ a lot more staff.   Had to get that off my chest... and don't get me started on housing!  There was a perfectly good scheme in place that was designed to upgrade all council/housing assoc. properties, it was axed by - The Tories!   Now they're 'reinstating' it, only with no money...  not sure how that works.  Oh and there were no sink estates before the right to buy came in, and I do not live on a sink estate, or in 'social housing',  my property is owned by a Housing Association - got that?  Good!   And another thing, this 'lie' about properties such as mine being handed down to other family member is a big FAT lie!  I had to apply to remain in this property after mum died,  luckily I met the criteria, and because it was not deemed to be a family sized property.   And yes, I do have  secure tenancy, someone tell me what is so wrong about that?    Now I'll get off my platform...

Let's all look forward to a cold, but apparently 'dryish' weekend!   Keep warm and safe.