GREAT NEWS!

After a day and a half yesterday we finally exchanged this morning, we have had a lot better day today! We are not sure when we will complete the buyers have up to a year, but we are happy to vacate as soon as they need us too, I am sure once Spring is in the air they will want to enjoy Woodmill, I reckon they will be down ha ha.... So champagne on ice and celebrate, plus its our wedding anniversary tomorrow so double whammy!... Today has been productive too, we have Rays builders here, our A team and they are laying the screed, its all go now, I confirmed order on the kitchen so we have to get it plaster boarded and plastered/painted tiled urgently!!! The kitchen will be here in around 6-8 weeks but there is an awful lot to do before then. The electrician should be here tomorrow to start second fix as will be the plumber, although he is gone AWOL at the mo, so that's a worry!...and seeing a second fix carpenter tomorrow to see if they can help.... Tiling is done top floor bathrooms and I think Andy and Ant and Nic , our dream team!! are fibre glassing tomorrow under what will be our deck, you won't see the fibre glass!....I never thought there would be sooo much to do, but we are working every night and all weekend to get it done too. Oh and thanks guys for the top soil to Dad & mums today, much appreciated, now Dad can get on and grow things!.... Oh fire was also fitted today and we cleared out the rubbish from top floor...Oh and laid a few slabs for a seat to go on in the picnic area....oh and cleaned out animals..thanks auntie Lou!!...Um what else, oh planted out a mound, can't remember what else but its been a busy one, and of course we have been drawing and now doing our real work till late X

STRESSFUL!

Trying to avoid what I am told by the GPs is impossible is you are selling a house!!, we still didn't exchange yesterday and it was possibly one of the most stressful days we have had, in fact we nearly said forget it to the solicitor yesterday it hardly seems worth the stress and agro, it made me really ill yesterday, so really hoping all goes through this morning, wait and see, don't want to end up back in hospital over a house! especially as we love our house and would cheerfully not sell if that became an option!... If we didn't know our buyer we would have said forget it yesterday, so fingers crossed this morning!

UNDERFLOOR HEATING DOWN

Ready for the screed tomorrow, the underfloor pipes are ready and waiting on the ground floor, I can't wait to move in, as soon as a room is ready Ill be in!... We have moved into the loft already!... There is an awful lot to do still on the top floor though not to mention the rest of it, but in true Michelle patient fashion I have ordered the kitchen, no idea how to pay for it right now but its ordered, nothing ventured nothing gained and a few calculated risks along the way. No wonder we work all hours!!! I think there will be a few late nights coming up though as we have some very time consuming work coming in, which we are very pleased about...exciting stuff but we know its going to take all hours.

NEW FLOWER BED!

We will use the gravel area in front of the Mill for BBQs and car turning area but thought it would be nice to add a little colour so a new flower bed was born! I kind of mentioned it to Pete... Ie... don't suppose you can give me a few minutes to build a little flower bed?? Then after the first or maybe second boulder, I don't think I was quite so popular!!! (they don't look as big as they were here though)... I bribed him with food and the thought of stopping for a cuppa!... After this one I couldn't move!, I am not supposed to lift anything and not being too steady on my feet today its not the smartest plan! But hey that's life, I needed a flower bed! But we did it and planted it out with some bulbs and azaleas, hopefully it will look quite good, Ill add more to it as we can.

SOME SUN BRINGS SOME EARLY SPRING FLOWERS

Great to see the plants starting to shoot and the daffodils out in full bloom, although it is still early. The camilia on the front flower bed is looking fantastic at the moment. Its weird here, until you live here you can't image how beautiful it is to see nature at its best and the peacefulness of Woodmill. It makes you appreciate the sometimes hard winters with the animal feeds and frozen feed water when you see the start of the spring. All the people that have lived here seem to have had a special bond with Woodmill and we have met a fair few of them and the grand daughters who used to play here as children, one lady who was the grand daughter is now 74 and still has a special place in her heart for Woodmill, so its kind of nice to have been and still be part of the story really. We are only custodians of the old buildings and enjoy them  and their quirkiness!!

CATS CELEBRATE!

The cats thought we were going to exchange today but alas not, apparently its tomorrow so the cats will have to hold off their "new fish bowl" party until then!...

THE MILL BROUGHT US TO OUR KNEES FOR 3 DAYS!

That title made you read it didn't it... well guys nothing exciting.... We have just been scrubbing aggregate to expose it from the cement  and clear staining/protecting the middle floor of the mill. The painter hasn't finished or even close to it, but I thought I would seal the floor before all my hard work of sanding was in vain and it got ruined with dust again. At least now we can wash and sweep it easier, and I think it looks great...but then I would say that eh!... The old tones of the wood that has been in the Mill for 400 years, well some of it,  has been brought to life without loosing the old battered look... No I am not talking about Pete... Only kidding I think he has faired better than me actually!! But now our knees are very sore and my bones don't work very well today! Oh and the new little stumpy log burner gets fitted on Wednesday! Thanks to Dad, Mum and Auntie Lou for their help this Saturday too... even thought Auntie lou threw away all our thermostats for the Mill by accident, luckily eagle eye dad rescued them!

MILL UPDATE

Its been so hectic I haven't updated on the mill for a while, we are now painting the top floor and laying the bathroom tiles to the top floor only ready for electrical second fix to Laura and Steve's bedroom next week maybe, then we will have second fix carpentry although the doors are not made yet so that will hold us up and then plumbing and carpets to top floor we can then move down to the next floor, so I think another 6 weeks and maybe the top floor will be habitable...that is optimistic though!!! We are digging out the ground floor to lay the floor today although the plumber has just cancelled on us so that could be a nightmare, last night we were laying underfloor cables until late so it now looks like we will be working very late into the night for the next few days... The middle floor is plastered and I have spent the last two gruelling days sanding the floorboards, which having been down for a few hundred years it wasn't easy! and I was glad to get the machine back off hire and recover from blistered hands!!!

We have tilers and tree surgeons here today hopefully in the right places and the right way around!... The Mill is a mammoth task and we are trying to keep to a tight budget, I choose what we need and then we have to get a cheaper option as everything is so expensive, its a bit like monopoly money at the moment , nothing feels real, until I meet with the bank!!!... The sale is seemingly still on course but still no exchange, it will be a deferred completion of up to a year but the exchange has to be quick if we are to get on with the Mill, or we will have to pull everyone off the build on Friday.... I'll keep you posted on that one!

Ill take some pictures when I get a mo and you can then see some progress!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!!!!

Steve is 16 today, where does the time go!!! So Laura and I made him a cake or two, he wanted a frog and bananas in pyjamas, he sets us a challenge to make a particular cake for him every year, and this year he thought he had us stumped but after 6 hours we had it sorted..... what a job though...thanks Steve! We bought him half day racing in a Subaru rally car, he will be taught to drive it and go about the track and then have a round at competition speed with a racing driver!!! This will take place in April so I will have to teach him the basics before he goes... I think I would be good at rally driving according to Pete as he holds on the doors when I drive????  ha ha HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE, HAVE A GREAT DAY XXX

ESCAPE PONIES!

We were busy moving boulders on Saturday and then Colin and Dave turned up to rescue up for a cuppa.... thanks guys! In desperate need of a rest we just sat down when Hazel ran up from Little Toms, and shouted...You- hoooo! I thought odd she seems a bit out of breath and then I worried something was wrong with Harold... But thankfully not, It was our ponies they had escaped and were running down towards the road!... My back was killing me but no time to be in pain I sprinted down to the feed store while Pete went the other way to get to the road quicker and Colin and Dave followed me... Grabbed some nuts to get Storm back in, I was at the end of the drive when I caught sight of them... We were so lucky that Ron across the road was in and he jumped over his fence and stopped them from entering the main road and got them into Gabby's next door.... Meanwhile Colin parked his car across the entrance and I head collared Storm and got Studley to follow and securely put them back in the field.... That was close it could have been a very different out come if Ron hadn't stopped them in time.... So thanks everyone!.... When we stopped and thought how they got out it came back to Pete...funny that,,...hes at the route cause of all our nightmares!!!! He had unloaded the feed and left the gate open somehow....and when I let the ponies out I would have assumed all gates were shut so wouldn't have checked.... and then Laura said oh yeah I saw it open in the morning....but she just thought we were working in the field so didn't think to shut it.... What a nightmare!... Anyway back was quite loose after that exercise! mind you suffering today!!...We did finally get our cuppa, I bet people hate visiting us, they always get involved in something.... It usually happens when Mum and Dad visit, but they sneakily got away with it this time!!

CAKES GALLORE!

Well we had Laura's family birthday tea for her 21st on Thursday when she got back from uni,her birthday seems to be taking for ever!! She had a lovely cake with an air plane on the top made by Aaron's mum with a firework sparkler thing on it.... As I tried to light the candles on the other one I set fire to the tablecloth, but it was OK I did a little dance and shouted fire, while the uni one!!!! (Laura calmly blew it out) Just shows our money paying for her to go to uni is clearly not in vain  ha ha...

Then Pete and I took us and Mum and Dad, Steve, Laura and Aaron out for a meal at Manning's and My cousin Hayley from Cornwall Cupcake bouquets made a wonderful cake for the table, all in edible flower cup cakes, I think people were very envious of our table! Thanks Hayley it was stunning:) X

I hope and think the birthday is well and truly over now eh!! Steve's next birthday tea next Saturday with Auntie loud closely after!

I WAS ALSO 21!!

Ok stopping laughing and choking thats not nice.... ha ha... It was my birthday a few days ago, didn't really have time to sort anything really but did manage to get out and have a lunch in a lovely little restaurant so that was nice , and Pete bought me some play dough to make animals!!!! I know but if you knew our life and how busy we are right now you would understand!... But we had a few minutes last night to make the animals age 3 + on the box and here they are!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA 21 TODAY!!!!!!

Laura is 21 today, and we certainly know it ha ha, Laura and her friends came back from uni for the weakend and we gave them a cottage to stay in and Pete and I made a cake for her.. a real grown up type of cake!!!!!. They had a great night out in Truro and a few days here before having to get back for a few lectures before she breaks up fir reading week. We are having a family doooo here on Thursday when she returns, nothing to extravagant as we have already paid for the taxi to and fro the night out and we have bought some nice jewellery for her to keep safe .... I hope!!!... Oh I sent a cary bouquet to her in chichester today, its sort of like a bouquet but where the flowers should be its ri09bbns 90and ... sorry that was surf going in there... the mental cat!...anyway as I was saying its ribbons and sweets...  I think I will sign out as Smurf is now eating my pencil case and trying to climb on my head!!!

NEW SEAT!

Ant and Andy are on a mission to create seats where ever they create a stone wall, as they know that I love seats, I think the fascination with seats is that I never get to sit down on one, but I have a thing about them,... I guess some people have shoes... I have seats ha ha.... This one you can't see very well here but is a seat and backrest with a raised side bit for my cuppa!! oh and I moved my banana seat up on the bank which is accessed up the new stone steps on the other side of this... I love all the quirks and craziness you can achieve with an older property, it makes a house a home I think

HEY NEW POST BOX!

I loved the post box Dad made and its served its purpose for 5 years, but I have always wanted one of these, never thought we would be able to have a place that would warrant one, but we came up with a plan for the entrance to denote the start of our house and that's where the post box came in.. I knew I could get it somehow... So it has our number on it and a slot for parcels and one for post. We have also had two small stone walls built to hang a gate on, not that it will be shut at all just looks nice!... And on the other wall we have had a plaque done with The Mill on it, I love it, I think it looks really cute, but in keeping with  the rustic nature of here. We put these up at the weekend, really love them, Hazel & Harold in Little Toms joked that we would have an arch soon with honeysuckle over the driveway and a sign up high!!!Actually now theres a thought... Only kidding won't go that far eh!!!

FRESH!!! -5 DEGREES TODAY!

Really lovely to see the sun today but it is -5 so it is really really cold, we broke all the water for the animals and then had to do it again within an hour, really hard to keep up with it, but you wouldn't think it was freezing as its not white here at all. The feed store was covered in icicles so was the trims of the car, not a very good picture but I think you can see them.

A RAT???

I heard a commotion the porch last night and knew it must be another cat or animal of sorts... Smurf one of our cats was crouching down and looking at the log basket.... as I moved the basket something jumped and I thought it was a rabbit... so got Pete to help me, but when I looked closer behind the basket it appeared to have a huge thick tail and a big humped body, so I said OH MY GOD get your boots one that thing must have massive teeth I think its a dirty big rat!... Not afraid of rats but we have had issues in the past with rats and teeth so didn't want to take any chances. SO Pete returned with a towel and boots on to catch the big bad rat, but when I pulled the basket out to catch it, it was a cute baby bunny and the long thick tail so I bought was a wiggly stick that he was sitting on.... I really must get my eyes tested what a plonker!!!

ANOTHER PICKLE!

Today is like every other day in our life at the mo, going from manic to super manic in a matter of seconds, we don't run about we fly at lightening speed it seems, always tired and confused by mid day !!!... Today was funny, we had a glass guy booked in to measure the office window to replace, my office that is ...in the house....I had a few quick turn around with one thing and another only venturing home for minutes at a time, so left the chap to turn up and leave him in pets capable hands...choke choke!!... I went through what needed to be measured and all was well when I left... when i returned on one of my fleeting visits I saw the chap measuring pets office window??? confused??? so I asked what was going on and the chap said Pete had told him the saga of Sweden messing up the doors and we were waiting for the glass....and he couldn't get the seals off properly to have a good look...So I stopped him right there... I said you are supposed to measuring my office not Pete's!!!.... Suddenly it all dawned on Pete and he went a bit red and white at the same time and said OOOOOHHHH Yeah I forgot what you said but heard office!!!! So luckily in my 7 minutes I caught him just in time to sort, what a bit of luck and maybe a brief visit to the special hospital for PETE?????? God knows what the bloke thought, it must think we never talk to each other!!!