The end of the holidays

So today it was back to work for Gavin, Luke and Adam, and today my brother also left to return home back to Johannesburg.

First thing this morning the plumber came to attend to a leak in the pipes leading to the boiler and another leak in another pipe leading to the water tank. At first we thought the water tank had a problem and would have to be replaced which would have been a big job. For a 3 year old top quality house we seem to have many maintenance issues, there is always someone coming to fix something. 

Between talking to the plumber, and then dealing with someone else who came to service another thing, and the cleaners arriving (I could have hugged them when they arrived as the house really took a beating over Christmas with everyone home) it was a while before I could get out to take Xena for a walk. Sadly it was my brother's last walk with Xena so I took a photo of them, added to extras. He has become quite attached to her but now goes home to his own much loved dogs. Today Xena is 7 months old!

There was some lovely light in the woods today, which was unexpected as rain was forecast. It is raining lightly now so we did get to the woods at the best time of the day.

I quickly made some soup for lunch and then I took my brother to the airport. It was sad saying goodbye and he is not happy to be going back to all the difficulties that one experiences living there. His stories he told us about life there made our minds boggle, the level of corruption is quite something. 

Now that everyone is gone I am working my way through changing all the bedding in all the rooms, the washing machine has been working over time with loads of towels and bedding. I also need to catch up on all the Christmas TV that I have not yet seen, although seeing Christmas themed TV in January seems a bit odd.