Half Term Handy Work

Sorry for the large gap in between posts and thank you all for the feedback on the last blog entry. It was particularly nice to hear from Auntie Joan and Uncle Peter with some useful hen knowledge. Since receiving their email I have also started to wonder about keeping some ducks for egg laying purposes. I have found some called Indian runner ducks which look quite fun as they stand upright rather than flat like a normal duck. They also lay between 150 and 200 eggs a year (yes they do Anne) which is not bad going is it? Joanna has not come round to the idea yet, but she will,she will.

We have not put the egg dispensary out again since the first time because we have sold all our eggs to random visitors. However this week we have managed to keep four boxes back so,it will out again today! The chickens coop is an absolute quagmire still, even worse now that the snow has melted. I will have to get out there today and try and do something or they are going to disappear under the water completely.

The thatcher is getting very close to completion now and I have been painting all the leadwork and window frames black so that they blend in a bit better. It is looking so much better than before. The next job is to get the trees cut back around the house and pond, especially the ones that drop their leaves onto the roof. The leaves tend to get caught in the gullies which stops the water running off and causes rotting of the first layer of reed. If we do not get that done immediately then the leaves will start to undo some of his good work come Autumn.

Bunting by Katherine Alice and Hannah Grace
Fox by Jonathan

Katherine, with a good deal of help from Hannah, has finally finished her bunting. It looks pretty good for a first attempt and we currently have it hanging in the dining room where it looks very sweet indeed! The girls said it was quite easy in the end (don't know why it took so long to finish then! ) so please email,your orders in and I will get them cracking on another batch. They are also about to start making some bath creamers which Katherine has found in her new Kirsty Allsop craft book which she got for Christmas from Auntie Sonya. We picked up (and ordered via Amazon where necessary) the incredibly expensive set of ingredients (thanks for that Kirsty) and we are now ready for the apocathery to begin. I will, of course, provide pictures of the finished results.


Bunting Detail



Last week was half term. Brodie went to Saltzsburg ski-ing for the whole week (yes I am very jealous) and had a great time and says that he wants to go again so that gives me twelve months to convince Joanna that a family ski trip,is what we need next winter. Back at home we received Grandmother and Aunty Anne as overnight visitors for the first time. Granner slept in Brodie's bed and Anne slept in Liz's room and we all had a very nice time indeed. On Wednesday we went out for both breakfast and lunch, very extravagant but very nice! Carluccios for breakfast and Loch Fyne for lunch. I know! How the other half live eh?

Felt Hearts by Katherine Alice and Grandmother
(Yes Anne you might have done a little bit too)

The girls had a lovely time doing crafty things things with mum and Anne. They made some lovely little felt hearts, decorated with lazy daisies and filled with lavender. They also made some paper hearts which I think still need to be finished off (Hannah ....)



Now then,about this feedback request. Having received both good and bad I realise that what I meant to ask for was positive feedback. For those of you that think it is too long please treat it like a long letter from a relative - just skip read to the interesting bits and ignore the rest. Also be grateful for the fact that this "letter" is typed, so much easier to read than a hand written affair. For those of you that said nice complimentary things, thank you, flattery will definitely get you everywhere. In advance of any comments I apologise if this post is too long, too short, too boring, too exciting, all or none of the above and in particular I apolgise for the alleged overuse of the word "consistently" (which I refute I might add!)

Right then, off to the quagmire.....

STOP PRESS: Just before I publish I must tell you that on a total whim we have bought four more chickens! Mostly from the proceeds of a car boot sale that we did last year from which we still had fifty quid in a box and also from egg sales which again went very well today - all four boxes sold! I will show you pictures next time. The pecking order is being established as we speak - ouch!!