Scourie, 15:15

The good news: mother-in-law is out of hospital. I will shout this from the rooftops for ages to come: if you wake up in the morning and everything in your body is working properly, you're damn lucky.

Other good news: I've arrived in Scourie, where we'll be until January 6th. Scourie is a mere half hour's drive from Cape Wrath, the northwestern point of Scotland. There's a tiny Spar with the necessities and a few random items such as kiwi fruit, gorgonzola cheese, and organic potato chips. There's a hotel with a pub that's open a few hours every night. And apparently tomorrow evening the local kids do The Lion King at the village hall.

The light at this time of year is breathtaking. The pink skies shift a bluish light on the snow. I'm always taken aback by how different things look blanketed in white. Roads I've driven many times suddenly become more stark, the landscape more vivid after the snow. Mama Nature is ensuring we see everything with new eyes.

The photo above, of Mama Nature's Christmas tree, is just behind the cottage. The sea is just outside the window. A heavenly place, this.