The back of the house faces south-west- which is the direction most of our weather comes from- and it has taken a beating over the past 90 years. We've had quotes for cladding- but cladding is expensive- and now we're looking at having the brickwork rendered. There's an Irish guy who lives in a house we can see from the front windows who has done a lot of building work on the street and we've asked him for a quote. It would be good to give the job to a neighbour. Ailz calls from the bedroom to say she has just had a notification from the weather bureau to say the snow will be stopping soon. Which is nice of them, only it hasn't been snowing... But perhaps it will. It's a cold morning- quiet and still. The light is soft. Perhaps it's snowing further inland. Winter has nearly run its course. Next month we'll have been in the house a year- and will have seen what this part of the world is like in every season. We get lots of sunshine, but the wind and the rain can be fierce...