HAPPY NEW YEAR

Just a last entry for the year to Wish you ALL a really happy and healthy new year, I know we have a lot of aspirations and goals for the coming year and a lot of changes to work towards, I hope you all achieve your goals and ambitions too. Thankyou to everyone who has helped us this year, Laura - (who still has to work full time when back from uni, even though we don't clean the cottages anymore, she thought she might have a rest...no such luck!), Pete - (Well we took it on so gotta get on with whatever it throws at us, we might get out one day), Steve - (for all that car cleaning and helping me when not at golf!), Mum - (Who wont miss making 400 scones next year!), Dad - (Sorry no change on this one!! grass still grows, you should have chosen scones, ha ha), Auntie Lou - ( For her entertaining words of wisdom??? and nutty time saving ideas oh and my cup of tea partner in crime), Geoff (You'll never finish, you think you do but its never ending you'll be here till your 100 and then some!!), Ant and Andy (the dream team, back on 4th Jan do the next phase!), Aaron - (you shouldn't offer help! then you wont get roped in!), Tom for our imminent roof! Scott & Tina and cleaning team who I can't do without! And obviously Julianne and her team. And a special mention and thanks to a dear friend Sylvia who is still here in spirit at Woodmill, but lost her battle in August. So I raise our glasses in appreciation to you all and Cheers, Thankyou. May all your dreams become reality, but don't forget Life is what you make it and its not a dress rehearsal. Live for today tomorrow is a gift XXX

CALM AFTER THE STORM

After a really busy xmas we have a bit of calm, after changing around bedrooms so that new toys and things could be housed, we had 4 hours of out time, never get that!! So went down to St.Ives only had just under two hours there as we had to get back for the animals but we had a brain wave whilst there, We are going to turn our summer house into an art studio and then if we ever get a few hours here and there we can be creative without having to drag it all out and put it away, it can stay out...all we have to do is get some water up there and try to insulate it a bit....its probably best that we dont go out, I have too many ideas if I stay in let alone being giving more inspiration out!! We are now getting to grips with redoing Little Toms ready to rent again for the season after it being an office for a while, so that will take a few weeks to fill and paint and sort. So I guess we dont stop do we????

STEVE LUCKY IT XMAS!!!!!

VERY VERY LUCKY its Christmas, do you know what that cheeky little toe rag Steve gave me as I have been really poory this year and lots of things have had to change.....a bow up zimmer frame!!! I could have killed him!! He thought it was highly amusing!!! I can still give him a REAL run for his money so he better watch out!

CATS EATEN TOO MUCH

I think even the cats know its Christmas and have a special treat and the dogs....I think Smurf has eaten too many after eights the evidence is on his hands, no need for forensics eh! and Squiggly is totally in love with pengu!

XMAS MORNING

Well luckily Santa arrived safe and sound for Laura and Steve who didn't waste a moment on the competitive games, and the challenge was set, neither of them like loosing especially to each other, you can see by the look of concentration on their faces, we got up at around 5am so probably not the best time to take pictures, in fact I seem to have come off the worst here!!! but laura and steve took their clothes straight on from the packets they came in, new clothes straight on! Me and Pete do the £30 quid challenge, this year was get 6 interesting pressies for £30 which is always a bit of fun, reckon I won this year!, cant really afford to spend anymore, rather spend it on the kids, so we had a really good day and a wonderful lunch even if I do say so myself!!! cooked for 11 and everyone loved it....genuinely!!!! It is a lot of planning and preparation but worth it, glad its only once a year though! we make table decorations and individual pressies for the table etc so it all looks really special so at least you feel its a big event!

WAITING FOR SANTA

After a few drinks and nibbles on xmas eve...well alot of nibbles! to thank everyone who has helped us here over the past year, its sort of a thankyou work do thingy me bob, we used to hold a open house but we just cant fit that in aswell, so we now have our work do on that day... We then cleared the decks got the kids to church sorted the table out for the next day and started to peel the veg, its really busy xmas eve, no time for sitting around, then late off to bed and early up to see if Santa has been. I dont sleep I just drive everyone nuts getting excited, I am shattered by xmas night!! Laura and Steve are now 19 and 14 so its not like they are little, but I love it. and we of course dressed up as Mr & Mrs Xmas and went about our normal jobs in costume, god knows what everyone thinks that stay here or drive by, seeing santa feeding the ducks!!!

ALL HAPPY

Talk about taking over the house, we now have 7 cats, Sassy, Smudge, Smartie, Scrappy, Smurf, Squiggly and Squeaker! And they all want a piece of the action in front the fire, no one else can get a look in they are always there as soon as we light it they appear from no where!

GEM GEM GEM

Gem is a real soppy dog, she loves attention ...but obviously strickly on her terms she can be a cantankerous ol' mare, Pete said cant they all??? Dont know what he was talking about eh! Laura was rubbing Gems belly and her feet were going around like in a washing machine! I did mention to Laura to try it with Shadow but as she weighs in at 62 kgs I think it might be a bit difficult!!

SANTA?

Found these on my line, I think Santa might be staying with us????

CHRISTMAS ON THE WAY

Haven't had a minute of time to sort Xmas, so I am hoping the Internet will provide and deliver to Santa!! and food...well Laura is back from uni so she is full time on duty, so we will be busy every minute until Xmas day now, just hope we can get all the food and clean the house and muck out and prepare everything for Xmas eve and Xmas day, going to be a good one if i can pull this year off, i will be impressed with myself!!!!! The kittens reckon they are helping?????

TILLEY POORLY

Tilley hasn't really been what I call well for quite some time and is on painkillers, her feet are very sore, the vet thinks it might be a low level laminitus a bit like a diabetic sort of thing. She is on medication and we will have to see how she responds and see how it goes really, we cant have her in not manageable pain, that's cruel, but as long as we can make her live as pain free as possible we will.

NOW THE BIG FREEZE!

From Floods to freeze, the duck pond was 6 inches thick ice that was barely breakable with a sledge, the animal feeds and water had to be distributed by hand every few hours as it kept re freezing, its been a hard few weeks really, its not like that's the only thing we have to do, there is so much, the animals are the smallest job!...The pipes were frozen for weeks and the ice was getting to us, I would rather have snow than ice, actually I would rather have sun but i realise its December!....

FLOODS

St.Blazey hit the news a few weeks ago, and Prince Charles duly visited,...the football club of all places, I heard he had a cuppa there, poor guy! only kidding its a great place really!!! Not quite Buckingham Palace though eh! We had a real flood, woke up to a helicopter shining its search light through our window at 5am! I thought we were under attack!, then I had a text from my brother to say I had better leave in plenty of time for school as the roads are closed and they are searching for someone in the river, I didn't realise how bad it was out there until Pete feed the animals and the road down by the duck pond was no longer a road but a 2 ft raging river and homes were already under water, Fowey, Mevagissey, Lostwithiel, St.Austell, the Eden Project were all flooded, crazy situation eh. We had to get to Millfield interview/viewing for Steve by 1.50 and somehow had to get out of Cornwall on what ever roads were open or somehow passable. The leat that we have been fighting for someone to dredge for 3 and a half years was a lot to blame but we are weeks after now and it still hasn't been done, they just don't listen or learn.....The big clean up has begun in the towns and villages, we were lucky we only had flooded land and not homes, I think it will be a while before some peoples homes are habitable, but the businesses are mostly up and running again. Walking around you wouldn't know any different but open the doors to some houses and they are empty. Our local chippy got flooded but hes up and chippying again now...phew! Oh and the people in the river, they were found and luckily no bad casualties which is a blessing. So St.Blazey is well and truly on the map!!

ITS BEEN A WHILE

Needless to say it has been hectic here.... we stupidly jested that we would like to build another bedroom off the first floor, and then mentioned it to a client, who suggested we swap some labour for drawings and what was a sort of idea was starting on Monday morning, so after drawing up the construction over the weekend i was all hands on deck....we worked every night and every hour at weekends to get it done for xmas, hence the lack of signing in here.....You will b glad to hear we have finished it a month and a day start to finish and with 2 foot thick walls to hack out it was no mean feat!!...Looks great, just a small bedroom, but enough to fit in a double futon thing....what has the world come to, i have given in to the lure of a futon, cant believe i bought an item, careful i might go the whole hog and get a jacuzzi, now that would be a worry!!!