In the house

Well the planned trip along the road to the isles was preceded by a trip down the road to the doctors on Friday. My shoulder and left arm had been quite sore for a while but Thursday evening I hardly slept and knew I wasn't in a fit state to make the four hour car journey to the west coast. Luckily the doctor fitted me in late morning and after a very thorough examination diagnosed the problem as acute frozen shoulder. I had to have a steroid injection into the joint, whilst clinging onto the lovely nurse who kindly undressed me and offered a hand to squeeze. This was most unpleasant and I came home to rest on the sofa thinking the trip was off but fortunately after a couple of hours and a talking to from Mr FF I felt some improvement so armed with pain killers and anti inflammatories we set off late afternoon.

The prospect of being ill away from home was daunting and I certainly wasn't feeling 100% over the weekend, we didn't get to do any walking, use the bikes or the canoe that come with the property, but we did spend a lot of time looking out of the windows, had a couple of gentle runs out in the car and tried to relax.

You all seem to have got as excited as me at the thought of staying in such a grand design, so I took lots of photographs for you which I hope give you a feel for the place. It is a beautiful family home with a very natural and nautical feel created by lime washed boarding to the walls and wooden floors. Built on stilts between rocky outcrops it fits into the landscape beautifully and being extremely well insulated felt cozy even when the rain poured down. The house came into its own when the sun shone, huge sliding doors open out onto the decking bringing the outside in.

Lets start with the view from the kitchen window.A perfect place to sit and knit.

The living area is open plan, kitchen, dining featured here , sitting, all looking onto this

Mr FF, structural engineer that he is, spent a lot of time contemplating the exposed construction , I just admired it.

The deer isn't real, its inflatable.

Helen and I found this boat in an antique shop in Edinburgh many years ago and she bought it for her husband's birthday, long before she ever dreamt of this house but she did design a shelf above a door especially for it.

View from our bedroom window at the back of the house with the tumbling burn that runs into the loch and will be used to generate power.

I have explained to Helen already that since I wasn't up to par this trip really doesn't count and I should have another visit when I'm well, she agrees totally. Next time I'll show you more of the outside and the places we visited. For now try to imagine the sounds of the water, the call of sea birds and the wonderful timber smell of the house.