My friends said we were mad to move two week before Christmas, but believing it only takes three days to build a log cabin is mad. Last week everyone rallied around to move us, this week they were round again, but this time to protect us. No one trusts me with any mechanical tools, but then it’ll only take three days, so I should be in before Christmas… yea, right.

Got to be fair, with a bit of organising before hand, it only takes a few hours to get the doors and windows in, they just didn’t say, organising and carrying everything round the back would take a day.

That said, there is a great sense of achievement when all the walls are up, it even felt like the three days were possible. My nephew Jake had offered to help, and for a while I thought I didn’t need him, how wrong I was. Friends Steve Dowman and Mark Dunt also put some came to help, even my kids got involved.

Despite all the help we didn’t finish off the roof until lunchtime Christmas Eve, just in time for Shaun and Dave to help put down the floor. Fortunately we had everyone round our place, Christmas Eve so I was able to get a couple of coats of varnish down between drinks, though Sally thinks I’ve got a compulsive disorder.

Not sure if it’s the kids getting older, but we were awake from 5:30 waiting for the kids to wake up. We had my sister’s family stay the next day and night; handy to have a few boys to help me move the gym kit in, wondered why they all slept after lunch.

Boxing day was my brother’s treat. He love’s to cook and with all of us there was plenty of us to feed. The rib of beef he cooked up has to be the best bit of meat I’ve ever had, as for the nibbles before hand, just perfect would be an understatement. I can just about cook scramble egg.

We haven’t had wind for a couple of weeks, and to be honest it’s the first time it’s the way I wanted it. Not only was I trying to get everything build, the van was acting as a storage for a piece of gym kit I’d tracked down. Over the years I’ve been building my kit up, but also looking to find stuff that I’ll get the most out of for the amount of room it takes. I found a friendly company called Totally Fitness that helped with advice and put me onto pulley system that should complete the gym.

Its all coming together, the build is nearly done, for forecast was good for a sail today, no pix of windsurfing, but somehow we found some time to get a few more pictures of Toppers new Topaz 14. Just looking forward to a calmer week

And if you're wondering why the pic on Nik in hospital, the boy kees trying to be a hero and F***ing up his knee, sorry but that'll be another ten days in bed then... I'm sure its not true, but someone said it was the worst case of man flu the hospitals ever seen :) keep smiling nik

I hope you had a better Christmas than Nik, it just leaves me to wish you a speedy new year