this and that

Well last time I was here I had been itching!! After an appointment with an Immunologist it transpires that what I had wasn't an allergic reaction (yay!!) but rather an immune response to an infection. It's highly unlikely to happen again, thank goodness!! At the beginning of June, Oz and I went to Barcelona to spend a week with my papa. The journey involved lots of trains :)but i'm going to blog about that separately. As with so many other people we've been suffering rain and endless grey skies. The garden is looking very sorry for itself, and we've spent hardly any leisure time out there at all. Most disappointingly the low light levels, constant damp and low heat has meant that the kitchen garden is hardly producing anything this year. I just can't get my head round this blogging thing though. I read a few other wonderful blogs and wish I could come up with a daily or even weekly update that is nearly as wonderful, including some gorgeous photos, but I just don't seem to be able to find the inspiration to do it!

aarrrghhh itching!!

On Friday morning i was woken abruptly by intense itching behind my right ear. I soon realised I was itching all over!
I took an anti-histamine and got an appointment with the Nurse Practioner who confirmed it was an allergic rash/hives and to keep taking the one a day anti-h for a few days. By 5pm I was covered in hives/urticaria and itching sooo badly. I felt like I was on fire too - especially my ears which felt like they were badly sunburnt. I returned to the GP for an emergency appt and was prescribed some stronger anti-histamines to take.
In the early hours I woke with a raging thirst, bodly seriously overheating and swollen eyes. I called the 111 service and was told to go to A&E immediately!! This meant getting Oz and Lemmy out of bed at 3am *oops*. They dropped me at the hospital and came home back to bed.
I was triaged quite quickly, though the nurse couldn't get any blood out of me and boy did she hurt me trying. I'm now sporting a sore and bruised left inner elbow.
I then waited for 3 and half hours...
I was eventually seen by a Junior DR who said they need to take blood and get a cannula in to administer some drugs. By this point I was so tired and scared that I'm afraid I burst into tears and refused! My left arm was incredibly painful from the previous attempt and I just couldn't face it. They got a lovely lady to come and have a chat with me and she persuaded me to let her try again. So this time in the right arm - and she was gentle and very, very good with me. I did tell her she was only getting one attempt though!
5 mins later and was moved from my cramped and uncomfortable cubicle to a slightly more comfortable bed as I was told the drugs would make me woozy. So I had a large amount of Piriton and hydrocortisone pumped into my IV and then about 20 mins later was discharged.
I was so tired, from lack of sleep and spaced out from the Piriton but totally hyper from the cortisone. Came home and sent Oz back to bed (he'd not been able to sleep, he was worrying about me) and I eventually managed to snooze on the sofa while Lemmy watched a film.
I've only just stopped itching this morning. I feel like my whole skin is a Chinese Burn. This has been a very frightening experience - all the more so because there is no obvious trigger for this episode. I suppose now I'm going to have to push for referral to get tested. I have no desire to go through that again.
I feel quite worn out by it all, partly because it made it very difficult to get a decent sleep and partly because my body has obviously been hit quite hard by this.

But I'm not itching anymore!!

Good bye to a member of the festival family.

Some people make an impact on your life even though they only hold a physical presence in it for a few days out of the year.
I have always gone to festivals during the summer, it's my way of taking a holiday. Over the years we have built up a 'festival family'. It's very big this family and includes people of all ages and from all walks of life. Over the years there have been new partners brought into the fold, and marriages along with that. Some of them had children already and some of us have had children as the years have gone by - extending the family again.
Some of us have developed very close friendships and arrange to get together across the winter months, some of us only communicate via the web outside of festy season. It makes no odds which of these it is - when we get together in a field in the summer it's like we were never apart.
Some people have drifted away from this family, it's the nature of life for things to ebb and flow.
Up until now what we haven't dealt with is the permanent loss of one our fold to death. It is one of those things that you just never, ever expect. Not in a million years.
This week it happened. And it has hit us hard.
So, like i say - some people make a big impact on your life even if their physical presence in it is only for a few days. Ade was one of those people. He was big, both physically and in personality. He laughed. He laughed a lot and he laughed loud. At 5am when you are in a tent and trying to sleep because your 5 year old will have you up at 7am no matter what, this gregarious laughter is somewhat annoying. Right now I'd give almost anything to have the chance to get annoyed with that laugh again. Even if you've suffered loss before, each and every time it happens you still have to go through that process of disbelief - of trying to comprehend that you will never see that person again. There will be no more hugs, no more laughter. There will be an empty space. There will be many times when you forget and think 'Ade will love this' or simply expect to see him in that field at Glastonbury because somehow there is something seriously wrong with a reality that does not have a 6ft odd bald man in a halter neck dress, refusing to put a top on when he's cold because 'i haven't got anything that goes with the dress'...
When the news spread among the family we gathered online and just didn't know what to say to each other. Part of this festival family also includes very close blood relatives of Ade. Not only are we dealing with our own grief at losing a friend, we are dealing with grief of two people we also care about very much. And if our hearts are breaking at this loss then it is so hard to think how much harder it must be for them.

It's been a couple of days now since this happened. I'm still so very sad. The raw shock has gone. The grief is still there. The disbelief is fading.

Ade may be gone in a physical sense but he has left his festival family with a myriad of memories. All of them happy ones. The next time we all get together in a field it's going to be different. The dynamic will have changed. But we'll remember Ade. We'll remember his laughter and his phrases and all the little quirks of our individual friendship, the way we interacted with him. We'll fill that Ade shaped hole with laughter. Lots of it.

another sad good bye

Such a sad thing to write about :( On Weds 30th November our lovely Oz-dog just wasn't right. By the afternoon I was sufficiently worried enough to have to make an emergency trip to the vet. We thought that maybe the pain in his joints was making him really uncomfortable so the vet administered a powerful injection of painkillers to see if it would help him overnight, and we hoped for an improvement the next day. It wasn't so. We got up the next morning to a dog who was clearly ready to go over the bridge. It was an awful drive to the vet with him that morning, knowing that in all likelihood we wouldn't be bringing him back. We had a long chat with the vet about our options but we knew that really the only kind thing to do was to let him go. Oz-man sat on the floor with him while the vet administered that last act of kindness. He felt Oz-dog's head get heavy and was holding him when he finally fell asleep for the last time.
I knelt down and kissed his nose and stroked his ears and my tears were falling onto his fur. I felt my heart breaking :(
I can't begin to explain how wonderful this dog was, what a wonderful loving and amusing companion he has been to me for the last four years. He had the biggest personality of any dog I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He enchanted everyone he came into contact with.
Home is an odd place right now. It's the first time I've lived in a home without a pet wandering around. I miss his prescence. I miss tripping over the daft hound every time I move about. I miss retrieving his head from the bin (he frequently got the bin lid stuck on his head!). I miss him coming to greet me when I get in from a trip out. I miss the routine of the morning with him, watching from the kitchen window as he mooches about the garden while I make the morning cuppa. I just miss him being here.
He came into my life (as did his companion Kelly, who I blogged about last year when we lost her) at a very difficult time for me. I was recently separated from Lemmy's dad and for the first time in just over two years getting used to not being with my son every day. Those days when he was with his dad were emotionally draining. If it hadn't been for these dogs I probably would have stayed in bed those days. I certainly would have descended into deep depression. But I had these two furry creatures to look after, and they comforted me during lonely times. Oz-dog more so than Kelly (she was defintely Oz-man's dog). I cried into his fur - he would nudge me to keep fussing him and was a great distraction for me.
He's not had an easy life with many operations and somewhat limited mobility, and yet even up to the ripe old age of 11 he kept his puppy like enthusiasm for life right up until those last two days.
I miss him. I want my stupid, forever hungry, totally clumsy, ever friendly dog back.
My son was right in his statement when told that Oz-dog had gone 'i'll miss him, but I had lots of fun with him and that's the most important thing'
We're very sad at losing him, but very glad that we had the pleasure of him in our lives.

the mantel and the shower

We finally found a mantel shelf we liked! With the help of our friendly lodger (more about that later) it was fitted yesterday!



And there it is. I'm hoping to get my sewing machine set up so that I can make some pretty things to adorn the front with. I also have a few photos I'd like to place on it and will probably have several candles up there too.

We've also had a new shower fitted. The shower is fitted into the porch space where one of the old doors used to be (still is!) on the front of the house. It's an interesting use of the space. The existing shower had seen much better days, and as it's one thing in the house we do use everyday we decided to spend some of the renovation money on having a shiny new one fitted.



The back of the old front door!
When we ripped the old shower out we discovered in the cavity in the apex of the porch a light fitting! An electrician popped round and thankfully told us it was not connected, but imagine our horror at thought of two years showering inches from what may have been live electrics. Oh the joys you discover when renovating an old property.



The finished shower!
This was also done by our lodger, with the plumbing done by a friend of his. I can tell you that working to a space that isn't uniform created lots of creative and colourful language in the process. And not just from the man doing the work!

And so to the man who did all of this. I was at college with him many moons ago. We lost touch but recently contacted each other again. He's primarily a friend, but also a dab hand with building work and has done a lot of work on the house for us. He's been living with us the last couple of weeks so he can save rent and sort out his belongings, as a week today we'll be waving him off. I'll be sad to see him go, but happy that after a long and frustrating 3 years he's finally got his Visa to move to the USA to be with his beautiful fiancee out there. Her gain is most definitely our loss.......and no not just because we'll need to find another builder!

So, more things are starting to come together at the Old School House. We've made big changes in the garden which I'll blog about another time.

So a glimpse of the new windows. Still need to be finished off outside, and we have a man onto that - just need to wait until he is free! Eventually we'll be re-painting the house as neither of us are that enamoured with the colour!

We've been making the most of the glorious weather and spending a lot of time in the garden the last couple of weeks. We cleared a bed that had two (unwanted) stag-horn trees in, and ornamental grasses (of which I am not a fan) and have made a start on replanting it. I'm very much a slow gardener in this respect, waiting for the right plant to wind it's way to me.
We did want to replace the trees though and so off to the garden centre we went. After much umming and ahhing the perfect tree called to us. And here she is.....


Her name is Katy. We do love a glass of Katy cider and so it seemed fitting to bring the apple into our garden. We already have three very old apple trees, and probably didn't really need another but - we fell in love with her.

I'm not a huge fan of roses if i'm honest, though our garden has many and they all have a beautiful scent. That is a must for me if they are going to take up the space in the garden. Unfortunately many of them have got leggy and unruly and as I'm not a rose expert I wonder if they can be saved?
Oz has really been responsible for the major changes in the garden as I'm physically not up to most of it. He does like roses and wanted one for the bed, so i steered him towards the David Austin stand (my years in the flower business mean that i can be fussy about growers) and he eventually picked this beauty


L D Braithwaite. A beautiful deep red, the blooms are full right now. This one has a delicate fragrance, you really have to get your nose right in to appreciate it and having to do that has reminded me of the sensual, velvet feeling of rose petals next to skin. I keep going out there and burying my face in the bloom! Oz was given instructions though that he needs to learn how to look after roses if he wants them in the garden!

He's really found a passion for the garden, I think he's actually overtaking me in that respect!
And this is one of Oz's first additions to the garden

our Buddha statue. Up until now he's been sat in this bed almost hidden from view in a drift of forget-me-nots, and quite beautiful it was - but we cleared the bed completely so he needed some new companion plants and we decided to go for some striking Zantedeschia, and then some marigolds. The one he has placed in his hand was Lemmy's contribution, and led to a discussion about who Buddha is.

Well as usual life plods along here. Had a lovely hour with a relative who is over from Australia on a quick visit, always a pleasure to see her - always tinged with sadness that she will be going back, so far away from me. The exhaust on the car gave up on me this week, so my bank account took a bit of a beating.....

And rain......we finally got some much needed rain, though the soil is still so dry out in the garden....

Halfway!

The window fitters have been here the last two days, and will be here for two more. We now have three new windows in upstairs, they will be doing the two in the living room tomorrow and Friday they will be boxing in and finishing off.

Now when I say halfway - i mean halfway through this stage of the job. When it's finished it will be halfway through getting the windows replaced on the house. There are several more but I'm afraid we need to save some pennies to get those done.

This afternoon I have unpicked the old curtains that i hurriedly put together for Lemmy's two rooms when we first moved in and have been stitching calico round the edges to make them bigger/better. The sewing machine has been liberated from it box and it has made me realise that I really do need to find a space to set up a permanent sewing corner. It seems such a hassle to clear a space on a table, run an extension cable and then have to put it all away again - so I just don't get it out unless there is a job that I MUST do.
I have to admit I really don't have much of an idea what I'm doing with this machine. I'm honestly just making it up as a I go along. I'm not sure i'll ever realise my dream of making my own clothes!

Sunshine!

What a glorious weekend we have had! It's been so warm that even I ditched the jeans in favour of a short skirt and summery vest. We have spent the whole weekend in the garden. There's still quite a lot to do here with the garden, but i'm determined to do it at a reasonable pace and let it develop rather than wade in and change things for the sake of it. I didn't mean to do it but this weekend we cleared eveything that was growing under the pear tree. Much of this garden had been neglected in the couple of years before we bought the house and so much of it has to be stripped right back if i'm ever going to make it truly beautiful
In front of the pear tree is an area that we cleared of pampas grass last year and made a little seating area with a fire pit. We've had old carpet down the side of this to keep the weeds down while we waited for inspiration. Saturday afternoon we decided it would be good to pave it, so we had somewhere to site the barbeque. Sunday afternoon Oz did it! We have an old table next to it that was given to us by a friend, and we sanded the top of it the other week and gave it a coat of emulsion. Next we're going to decorate it as a family and after a coat of varnish it will be done.
Lots of other jobs were done too, tidying up the bed full of garlic, checking the seeds in the greenhouse.

After lunch on Saturday we decided to head up the road to Sibsey Trader Mill and after climbing right to the top had a lovely cup of tea and slice of cake outside in the sunshine. They had a few plats for sale so i bought three saxifrage, an aquilegia and a twisted willow. It was also the first outing this year for Ethel our VW campervan. We were going to sell her, but have decided to keep her just a little while longer and so have ordered a hammock bed to go in the front so Lemmy can sleep in there with us rather than having to fight to put the huge awning up everytime we camp out.

New Year, New Hopes

So it's the second day of a whole new year, and a whole new decade!

Today I collected Bam from his dad's and we went out for lunch. He was difficult - and it wasn't a very enjoyable experience if I'm honest.
We got home and after a cup of tea we went up to start prepping his bedroom for re-decorating (he's currently sleeping in the spare room).

Oz and I settled down tonight at 7pm to hear the much hyped bumper episode of The Archers. Um - it was a bit of a damp squib really.....I suppose we'll see how the storyline unfolds from here.

After a somewhat subdued Christmas (which in all honesty I did not enjoy and was glad to see the back of) we had a quiet New Year's Eve in together, the woodburner blazing away and good music and a few drinks.

I've been struggling with Winter Blues this year. The most down I've been for a couple of years now and I keep waiting to turn a corner with it. I'm now showing the early signs of a cold too, which I'm hoping will not develop any further. I need to be physically well to fight off the blues.

And so another year begins. I have hopes, and goals - we shall see which of my wishes come true and which of my goals I achieve as the year goes by.

the photos!

This is what we inherited when we bought the house. That is actually York stone, and the mantel shelf is a solid piece of slate. All saved to be re-used somehow.



Stage one of dismantling complete.



Found this in the next layer of brick?


Stage two


Damn Jackdaws!

Done!

We took the plywood arch down.

And found a scrap of amazing wallpaper behind it.

And the finished result!


Still need a fire surround making and installing, but we now have a much improved room. Carpet down, furniture in, bookshelves and most importantly a lovely warm woodburner. We've started spending our evenings in here again now instead of the living room!

the dining room saga.....

The original plan was just to open up the fireplace and have a woodburner installed. We spoke to a builder in June who said he could do it but not until the beginning of Sept......which we thought was OK. Then it started to be a case of 'well i'm quite busy'.....so I got my Dad to come along and knock out the old fireplace so the builder could just come in and do the installation.
BUT........he kept giving us the runaround. I was annoyed because i'd rather he'd just been honest and said he was tied up with a job and couldn't do it. It was the endless 'i'll call you' or 'i'll drop in tonight after work' and then doing neither that really got me mad.
So we ended up getting a different firm to look at the job (through a friend).......and suddenly the job got bigger. We decided to just get the whole room finished.
So we had a bricky in to tidy up the fireplace and put a hearth stone in. He was a right grumpy sod!
Then the plasterers came in. They knocked back one really messy wall and fresh plastered that and they plastered the chimney breast too. Plaster dust gets everywhere. I'm not a stranger the to the mess of building works but honestly that was just awful. Still finding layers of plaster dust on stuff now! (no comments about my housekeeping, if you don't mind). The plasterers were good guys. I liked them.
Then a joiner to fix the ceiling. He was a good lad too.
Then scaffold went up. The guys came to install the woodburner. They got up the scaffold. They came back down the scaffold.

'We can't do it'

'oh'

Chimneys not safe. So. More scaffold. More delays. Wait for bricklayer to come. More money.

An argument about the bricklayers pricing policy and our project manager not being entirely clear about that. We resolved it. Not entirely to my satisfaction but that's because i'm a miserly sod!

So on the 19th of November, considerably later in the year than we anticipated our woodburner was finally installed!

*big cheer*

I have to mention here that independently of this work we had a couple of other builders in to do some odd jobs and finishing off and they were a pleasure to have here. Well, mostly. Cos if Cookie reads this I don't want him getting all self-important.
Will post the photos in another entry because it will be easier.

Goodbyes.....

We've said sad goodbyes to two beloved four legged companions in recent weeks.

Our beautiful Kelly-dog.


She was a grand old lady. In August 2009 we very nearly lost her when she collapsed one morning. We rushed her to the vet and after an emergency op she came home with us and made a remarkable recovery. What we discovered as a result of this episode was that Kelly had a very aggressive form of cancer and we were told to expect her to die within a couple of months. Well, never one to conform - she just kept on going. She still loved her walks, still scooted off to munch on fresh horse droppings or find some rotten old bait that a fisherman had left on the bank. She even still eyed up the ducks and swans on the drain, threatening every so often to dive in.......something we discouraged because she was never in a hurry to get out again! and of course the inevitable wet dog smell that would invade the house afterwards!

She actually had three types of cancer diagnosed and it was one of the others which eventually grew back, a lump on her belly. The first one we had removed, but she didn't cope so well post-op so we decided that really was the last time we intervened. The lump did eventually grow back, though wasn't bothering her. In her last days she went downhill quite quickly, physically but not mentally. Her back legs seemed to get weak and the lump suddenly got much bigger. She couldn't lie down and get comfy, and could no longer get up into her favourite armchair. It's the little things like that which make you realise it's time.
That last day we took the dogs for a walk in the morning and she seemed to enjoy it, though she had slowed down considerably. That afternoon we took her to the vet and in our hearts we knew she wouldn't be coming back :(
So it was. I stayed with her while the vet carried out the last act of kindness. So very sad, to hold her in my arms and feel her leave. It was sad but peaceful.
We brought our girl home and laid her in her basket, where she stayed overnight so our other dog would hopefully have some sense that she had gone. The next morning we laid her to rest in our garden and eventually we will plant a tree over her.

I don't have a photo of my other dog on this computer, so if i track one down i'll add it at a later date. Jarvis is the dog that I owned with my ex, my son's father. I got a text at tea-time on Sunday to say that Jarvis had died that afternoon, peacefully. I was obviously upset. Not only because it was so soon after losing Kelly but also because Jarvis had been such a big part of my life. He was the first dog i ever owned. We got him as a pup, and knew both his parents. He was bloomin' hard work at times - a real chewer. He chewed the tongues out of my first ever pair of Dr Marten boots, and had a taste for books *argghh*. He dug the foam out of a succession of old sofas that we had. When I was pregnant with Bam it became obvious that he was too much for me to look after (and would be while i had a small baby) and so the very hard decision was made that he had to go, though thankfully for us my ex's parents agreed to take him in. Letting him go was one of the hardest days of my life, even though i got to see him most days anyway I still felt like i'd let him down. Actually he was in his element down there - loads of space to roam in and a constant stream of visitors who adored him.
My beautiful dog returned to the ex some time ago, when he started to slow down. He'd become an old man in the last few months and I suppose his death was a release for him, but I'm sad I never got to say a proper goodbye.

Both these dogs lived to the grand old age of 14. Both of them had happy lives. They both brought joy and comfort to me in different ways and at different stages on my life and I shall miss them both very much.

So now we just have Ozzie.



What can i say? He's become my shadow since we lost Kelly. They've always been together and so I think he's finding it difficult not having his companion. This dog has defied the odds really in getting to the age of 10......his back legs aren't so good after a serious back problem some years ago and now he's started to drag his feet more so we've bought boots to stop him cutting his toes, though it's going to take some adjusting and fiddling to get them to last! He's a real character, typically labrador (he's absolutely starved, y'know......*rolleyes*) and he is the friendliest dog, he wants to say hello to everyone!

delays

So....they came to install the woodburner on Friday. Blokes got on with erecting the scaffold. The guys arrived to install the woodburner. The installation guys got up on the roof to start putting the chimney liner in and then i got a knock on the door.

'er.....we can't do it I'm afraid'

*sigh*

The chimneys are not safe. In fact they are leaning quite a lot, and when Oz went up on the scaffold (and how brave! he really doesn't like ladders or heights) he could see just how unstable they were. So yet another delay. The scaffold guys are back tomorrow to put some more up around the chimney stacks, then hopefully later in the week the brickie will be here to start dismantling and then re-building the stacks. The firm who are installing the woodburner currently say they can't do it until the 19th November! We're pushing them to find time to do it earlier. We're also not too happy about paying the call out fee for last week as their engineer really should have queried the chimneys stability when he did the site visit a couple of weeks ago.

We originally got a builder in to look at this job in June and it was supposed to be finished by the end of Sept. That builder let us down *grr* and so here we are in November and still waiting.

Oz has been getting on with painting the walls and I'm really pleased with the colour I chose for the chimney breast. Carpet will be going down on Thursday *fingers crossed* and then at least i can get the furniture back in!

So, still waiting.

gah!

will do some blog posts with photos over the next week as the building work has been moving along on the house. Whole place is covered in plaster dust.

And i never want to hear the words 'there may be a problem' and 'structural' used in the same sentence again.

Been a good summer, lots of festivals, lots of good times with friends and now winding down to the calmer time of Autumn and Winter, though with a spirited 5 year old in residence life is never really calm!

The Good Life

Ah yes.....the blog. This bloomin' thing stops and starts doesn't it. I just rarely have the inspiration to write. But today has been a great day and so i decided to just sling the words at the screen. Maybe if i try and do a weekly blog it won't be so daunting as trying to get on daily?

So today......the weather this afternoon has been absolutely glorious and we have spent time out in the garden. With a late spring everything is going in much later than usual. Partly due to lack of motivation I must admit, but then having got up to ice on the car windscreen two days in a row i think that may have been a blessing in disguise.

The garlic that went in at the end of last year is growing really well. There won't be nearly enough to be self-sufficient on it until next year's crop, but will probably do us six months. I've got spinach, beetroot and carrots looking promising as well as some salad crop. Some things i sowed never germinated, and so i have got boughtens......the aubergines didn't manage even one :( but it's the first time i've tried them.
I've finally got the potatoes in today......really, really late. Have been waiting on the ground being prepared for them though. We've had a lot of clearing to do in this garden to make space for growing food and so I think next year we will do much better.

I heard a rustling in the greenhouse and discovered that we have a critter! A little mouse.....Bam was creeping quietly in and whispering to it 'We won't hurt you, it's ok you can come out'......so we're going to have to dispose of this little creature when he's not here. I can't afford to have my crops nibbled by country mouse!

Bam has started making a Dalek out of a box and some bits and bobs he found in the shed. He has a slight obsession with Dr Who.....i shall photograph this delightful creation when it is finished and post the picture here.
He's all tucked up in bed now......Oz is cooking a curry and I am sat in front of an open fire (it's been very chilly in the evenings) with a glass of home-made sloe gin and tonic warming my insides.

It really is a Good Life :)

rainbow

Yesterday as i was driving Bam to Home Ed group we saw a glorious rainbow. We live in the fens, but on the edge of them and we were on a road approaching where the Wolds begin. So in front of us we could see the scenery rising up, a church on the hill and houses here and there. And suddenly i noticed the edge of a rainbow and as we travelled along the road it grew until eventually there was a whole rainbow framing the view of the Wolds rising up behind them. What a glorious thing to share with my son...........

the earth turns

I went to collect Bam from his dad's today......his dad mentioned something he had said the other day. It was along these lines......

'Daddy,if i was on the moon, and if the moon is spinning.....if i walk very fast will i stay in the same place?'

Then in the car on the way home

'Mummy......on the opposite side of the world, when we have the sun they have the moon. It's light here and dark there'

On a Monday before i take Bam back to his dad's we go to a Home Ed group. We've been having a lady from a goverment funded music programme coming in. Bam has really enjoyed that, but he is immersed in music in both his homes and regularly makes up songs. This Monday just gone the group had a visit from a Morris Man. We all sat round in a circle and sang some songs, the children suggesting words and rhymes for the verses. They had a go at playing the accordian and the spoons, and then the older children learnt to do some Morris Dancing. Bam thoroughly enjoyed the whole session! Every day that goes by with him we are more convinced that our decision to Home Ed this bright, spirited young man is the right one.

This week for me has not been a good one. I've been full of cold (Oz took us to Home Ed on Monday because i was too ill to drive) and on Tuesday morning i managed to fall down the stairs. I ended up in A&E (courtesy of the Taxi of Mum and Dad) but x-rays show no serious injury and so i am sporting a somewhat tender behind (yes! i bounced down 5 steps on my bottom) and can almost laugh at it now.......

Stairs

The 'before'.......the original victorian stairs that went up the main bedroom. Oh we were really loathe to remove them, but they were just not safe. Partly because they were rickety (and when the plywood casing came off it was apparent they were more dangerous than we realised), and partly because they were more ladder than staircase and really quite difficult to negotiate. The top photo was taken standing halfway up.....you would enter the bedroom on your hands and knees! So we took the decision to have them replaced with a staircase that we can use. We employed a small local firm and had a proper wooden staircase fitted (none of your MDF nonsense). All old buildings have to evolve or they become uninhabitable, and we have tried to do this as sympathetically as possible.

And so here they are.....our new stairs. Looking a bit stark and 'new' in our old Victorian schoolhouse but i have beeswax ready to feed them and over time they will age and settle into the house. We are really happy with them, and the quality of work is fantastic.

My first attempt at a blog with photos!!

I'v edited this because i forgot to say.....we have kept all the wood from the old staircase and when we find a creative joiner/carpenter will be having it made into a table or storgae box. All the wood will be re-used in the house in some way.

a moment with nature and a childhood book

This morning i had one of those beautiful, unexpected moments that nature likes to send us now and then. I got up and as i passed the landing window i looked out of it, as i always do. It looks out from the back of the house, over the bit of overgrown scrub directly behind us and over the fields and to the houses in the distance. This morning it is wet outside, though not too cold and so there is a slight mist hanging low over the ground and that strange silence the countryside holds on such a morning.
This morning that view was different though. This morning there was a creature sat on the wall in the scrub. At first i thought it was a cat, which caught my eye because there are not many round here. But then i realised it was too big for a cat......and then i noticed the black tips to it's ears and the huge bushy tail as it moved to get a more comfortable footing. A FOX!! Oh what beauty, it was glowing in the half-light. It sat on the wall for ten minutes, it's ears turning to follow sounds.......it's nose lifting in the air catching a smell on the breeze. Then it gingerly felt it's way down the bramble that has grown over an old metal frame leaning against the wall.....and disappeared from view into the bramble patch.
And so to the childhood memory. I have noticed that a new film is coming out, and it is a stop animation of one of my favourite books from childhood. And what should this book be about? Oh but a fox. A fantastic fox. The Fantastic Mr Fox! I loved this story as i child, i read it over and over. And i was going to buy it for Bam for Christmas and a tiny part of me feels jealous that now this wonderful story which so few had heard of, and that felt like a little secret i could share with my son, is now going to be seen by the whole world. I should be happy though that so many more are now going to enjoy this story and i hope love it as much as I.

What a difference though between Mr Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox and my glowing morning companion.

new stairs and poorly children

So, after a week of banging and sawing and making lots of mess the joiners have got our new stairs in. When i figure it out i will post before and after pictures on here for you all to see (whoever 'you' are).

Oz has been away all week, and won't be back until Monday. I miss him so much....the little things like the hug when he gets in from work, and chatting in the kitchen while he cooks dinner. Bam is missing him too......

And talking of Bam, he didn't go to nursery today as he is full of cold and didn't feel upto it. So i collected him from his dad's a little earlier than usual, and we've had a lovely afternoon together including a dog walk. We went down by the drain and someone was fishing down there. I think maybe he was after peace and quiet but seemed more than happy to answer Bam's questions. Oh boy........do four year olds know how to ask questions. If you've seen the film Uncle Buck..........well the scene with John Candy, Macaulay Culkin and the string of questions should give you some idea of the scene by the water today *chuckle*
The swans were on the water this afternoon too.....with their wings spread up in the classic pose you always see in drawings. What a serene sight indeed, but anyone who's been up close to a swan will know just how BIG they really are....truly an animal to be respected in close proximity.

It is wonderful to see the changing landscape.....the colours as the season turns. I have taken it for granted for so many years, having always lived here....but now i am in some ways seeing it afresh both as my son notices it with a childs eyes and as Oz see's it as a newcomer to the area.