For those of you wondering if we've moved in to our 'castle' yet, here's a pictorial report of how things are going... and I suppose it will be patently obvious that we are NOWHERE NEAR moving in! Nothing has been done to the house yet, we are still consulting with various building firms. Opinions range widely about how much work needs to be done to the structure of the place - some people are advising us that it's all bad, bad, bad and we need to rip it all apart and rebuild it, others seem to...

The last two years have been pretty pathetic in the snow department - we have spent the past two Christmases waiting for the snow and having to endure slush and mud instead. Disappointing for a pack of Aussies who think snow is terribly exotic. But at least this year Mother Nature had a romantic and spectacular trick up her sleeve - she decided to hold back the snow until New Year's Eve. This year we celebrated with friends who have a house in the forest at Jūrmala - and before we got there,...