After usual chores my main task this morning was to make some mince pis for tomorrows WI Carol Service. It is the turn of Over Haddon to host the group Carol Service and as a part of my contribution I said I would make some mince pies. Another fine day weather wise and all quiet in our peak district cottages. Andrew came up to mend a bit of stone wall that had fallen down. Work is progressing well in the cottage bedroom that is being refurbished so later in the afternoon we headed off to Haddon Hall. They are decorated and open for a week. This is the second year they have opened for Christmas. Chris prefers Haddon Hall to Chatsworth House and the more I go to Haddon Hall the more I see in it. The Hall is decorated in traditional style with lots of greenery. I shall find some pictures. We chatted with one of the caterers about how it is going, as this year they have erected a marquee in the courtyard for refreshments. We ended up being the last visitors there and had to leave by hidden doors!

Thankfully we don’t have too many days like this. Three cottages out with two back in to our Peak District cottages today. Luckily two cleaners up as one of the cottages needed was a bit grubby and in the other the duvet cover had been stained, I have managed to remove stains before so I will have to see what I can do. The cleaning took a lot longer overall and I needed to pop down to Bakewell which I did. We had just finished the first cottage, just before 3pm when the first cottage arrived and shortly afterwards we finished the second cottage. The guests arrived just before 4pm. Both cottages have been here before. One of the cleaners stayed on to start preparing one of the cottages for tomorrow. A busy day and the forecast is promising for the weekend too.

December? Where did the rest of 2009 go? On Tuesday we went to Sheffield to hand in the probate forms at the Probate Office. While we were there we did some shopping and tourist bits. Sheffield also has one of those big wheels at the moment and as it was a nice day we took a ride on it. Did you know Sheffield is the 4th largest city in the UK? Sheffield has a student population of 55000! We have always marvelled at the City Hall and as we walked past I thought why not take a look inside. Most of it is not open to the general public but there are some public display areas. Sheffield is a relatively young city, having been granted that status in 1893. On Wednesday we had two cottages depart from our peak district cottages. Went to Morrisons in Buxton and in the evening went to the WI committee meting at Joannas in my new capacity as Treasurer. Must spend some time getting to grips with the role. Weather stats for November. We had at least 6.7 in rain in November (probably more as I think the gauge was blocked on one day). In November 2008 we had 3.19 in rain so you can see how wet November was. The wettest day was the 23rd with .82in rain. The warmest day was 19th with that night being the warmest too. The highest temp was 13.9 deg. The lowest temp was 0.3 deg on 28/11 with the last night being the coldest. Unfortunately I didn’t note was the coldest day was and the records disappear after the end of the month.

Friday was cold and the rumour is that we could wake up to snow tomorrow. Down early to Bakewell and despite the fact that the Farmers Market is on tomorrow I bought some provisions just in case I cannot make it. No cottages out of our peak district cottages but one back in later in the day. One cleaner up to turn round cottage. Later in the day we popped back down to Bakewell to John Hattersley Wines, a small independant wine merchant as there was wine tasting. I got to sample a number of wines, Chris didn’t as he was driving, but we did come away with a number of bottles of wine. Woke up with a sigh of relief when realised there was no snow. Two cottages out with one back in. One cleaner up this morning. Had a grumble about non stick frying pans as we found another ruined one today. Provide utensils for non stick pans but in this case the surface had been sctrached off completely in one area, presumably where something had got burnt on. Down to the Farmers Market where I bumped into one of our guests. There was a lot of activity in Bakewell, with Birds of Prey and Carousels, they will bee switching on the Christmas lights in Bakewell this evening. Our handyman called in to discuss work for next week and reported that there was a few inches of snow from Longstone Edge northwards so we had a close escape. Cottage arrived just after 3pm. They have been a few times before. With two more cottages in tomorrow there were things still to do during the afternoon. Cooked a roast dinner and caught up with a few more episodes of Spooks.

The forecast was for a dry and bright day with a few showers but obviously the weather decided not to comply. When I took the dogs out just after 9am it was fine and when Chris asked what the best day would be for outdoor tasks I said today. By 10am it was raining, it was still raining at 11.30 am when the rubbish was collected and still raining still at 1.30 when the laundry was collected. By now we had had over 3/4 in rain. On the local news in the evening they showed the damage left by a tornado in Derby. No-one was hurt. Four cottages out of our peak district cottages this morning with none back in. One cleaner up to start cleaning cottages for mid week arrivals and strip beds for the laundry. The postman brought next years Peak District Visitor Guide, normally it arrives just before Christmas. Had thought about going to Bakewell market but guessed they would close early. Spent a bit of time with Chris going round the empty cottages making a list of things to do over the next few months when we have vacancies. We had done this on Saturday too. Booked some advertising space in the Country Walking Magazine, will probably booked some space in the WI Magazine too. Get plenty of phone calls from publications looking for our money!

A quiet day on Wednesday finishing off work in a cottage. One cottage into our peak district cottages today and one cleaner up to turn cottage round. Thursday was also quiet and for the first time in weeks Chris was able to go to Over Haddon in the afternoon for the digital workshop. I was able to to start catching up on accounts which have fallen behind with the events of the last month or so. Also I started to look into the books and role of Treasurer of Over Haddon WI seeing as I am now Treasurer having been voted into the role in my absence last week albeit with my permission. In the evening we met up with the previous owners of Bolehill for a meal. We went to Nonna’s, a recently opened restaurant in Chesterfield. A very nice meal in very nice company.

Two cottages out this morning with one cottage back into our peak district cottages later in the day. One cleaner up. Usual Monday tasks with laundry and waste collections. With a dryish day forecast more pointing got completed. Minor flooding in the area reported by guests and with more rain forecast will have to keep an eye on the rivers. Cottage arrived about 3pm. Chris went to the Bakewell Photographic Society and I did some housework. One cottage out on Tuesday and I went to Waitrose in Buxton. Final pointing work completed so some internal jobs to finish off before guests arrive on Friday. In evening went across to one of the cottages for a sociable few hours.

A quiet day with one cottage out of our peak district cottages. Went down to Bakewell to get the paper and after coffee discussed some plans for a bedroom revamp in one of the cottages. I had sourced a new wardrobe on the Internet but investigating further I found it had poor reviews so I thought I would use the Internet to find another one. I thought it wouldn’t take long but it took hours! I was amazed at the variety of websites that sold wardrobes but bearing in mind there are size restrictions in the bedroom this did prolong the search. This was successful in the end so we will have to see what the end result is. During the afternoon the previous owners called in and we had a sociable couple of hours.

In the dentist’s chair by 8.45am! By 9.30 was back at Bolehill having done the banking and provisions for the weekend. A busy morning with four cottages out and three back into our Peak District cottages, one of which has been here before. With three cottages and only one cleaner available I drafted myself in to help by doing the beds. With a batch of new mattresses also delivered (and one swapped in the rain) it was a relief to get everything done by 3pm! First guests arrived just after 3pm with second cottage just before 4pm with final guests just before 6pm. Time also to empty the car from yesterdays trip to York.