Sorry it's been so long since we posted. Once the snow came, the mountains looked much the same from day to day - when we could see them at all - so we took fewer photos. However, the snow in the town has come and, for the present, gone, and the weather has been milder, even sunny. The days are definitely getting longer.
And it has been windy.
About two weeks ago there were high winds in the night, but no damage that we could see except a few panes of glass blown out or in. However, last night it really blew. Our building is pretty well OK but the block next door is a different matter. Much of its roof blew off and either hit the block of apartments behind or landed on cars below.
As you can see, one car was very badly damaged and at least three others will need some expensive repairs. There are chunks out of the building where the roof sheets and beams hit it. And as well as the tin and timber there are bricks and tiles everywhere. In addition, the building which shed its roof also lost several large windows, some of which had only just been replaced after the previous storm.
We should explain that the building which was damaged most is not yet complete. They have been working on it slowly ever since we have been here but there is no tenant yet so no incentive to finish the job. Probably if they had finished the roof would have stayed on. As it was it lifted off in in large pieces.
Of course, with all the excitement there were plenty of onlookers. Also in attendance was the fire brigade (not much they could do, no-one to rescue), the police and the local newspaper photographer.
Other buildings have also lost panes of glass, but nothing like this. The building the other side of us lost a few panes in each storm but they had been cleared away by the time we went out. The only thing which happened to us was that we gained a 6 ft (2 m) length of aluminium angle on one balcony. We didn't lose any of the window boxes and we didn't even lose power or broadband for long.
They have been very quick to clean up, and were removing debris by mid morning.
Mind you we can't complain that nothing ever happens here. Only last Saturday we found we coudn't get near the post office to check our mail box because the President of Albania was visiting the city.
