What a difference a day makes

So, quite a week last week - certainly emotionally. And then we got to Friday and went to stay with friends in the Highlands - and on Saturday morning, I woke up and this view was outside my bedroom window. The size of this photo doesn't do it justice - if you click on it and enlarge it you get a bit more of the feeling I got. The ability of Scotland to sooth the soul never ceases to amaze me - whether it's my school run which takes me down the banks of the Tay or the kind of view you are looking at now, the country is a marvel. You can just see the start of the snow on the left hand hill and the clouds lapping round the edges of the loch were just beautiful. What you can't see is that the hills were also teaming with the most magnificent stags which just moved away slowly when they saw us out walking. Breathtaking. Anyway, what with the surroundings and the great company, the weekend was exactly what the doctor ordered. Feeling much more chipper now.

I have had so many really lovely responses to "Ups & Downs" - thank you to everyone who took the time to be encouraging. It has really helped actually. It probably doesn't hurt either that the web orders have been flying in - helped by having one of the Hotty Covers in the Times on Sunday (thanks to Not On The High Street - interesting for those of us who have been chatting about it on other blogs). The Twice website has been busier than ever too, so the rush for the post each day is getting to be quite something, but that is the kind of problem I do like.

James is packing the van (big thank you to him, because it is freezing tonight) for me to set off in the morning for the very last trip of the Christmas season. I'm going down to a little sale near Lancaster with just three of us selling, which as any similar operation to Twice will tell you, can be the absolute best of sales. Not only do people only come if they really want to buy but they can really concentrate on your stuff and they also tend to be really friendly affairs. I will report back, but I am quite sure it will all be much jollier than other recent events!

Caroline