NEW BALLAUSTRADING

We are trying to start some jobs before the closure of the Mill on October 2nd 2011. So we thought we could rebuild the balcony area, we cant lay the flag stone floor though until after October. We ripped out the balcony and rebuilt it in between guests leaving and arriving, we went into the Sunday but I dont think we wee in anyones way and I think it looks great, its difficult to see here, but the uprights are metal baroque style in between chunky wood newel posts and handrail. Its going to be a lovely balcony with planting viewed from the new kitchen area... Team Pete and Michelle strike again!!

OUR DUNLOP!!

Laura and I decided that it was such a waste to throw away wellies so we are making animals with them, its ok Pete as these dont cost in vets bills or feeding except Laura!!, although Dunlop is partial to a bit of battenburg cake!!!

MILL AT THE MO!

Well this is the Mill as it stands, we have a whole load of plans for this, I just hope we can pull it off, if we do it will be lovely. I think it may take quite some time!!! meanwhile our detached 1 bed cottages (Buttercup and Little Toms)will be continued to be let as this conversion does not really affect them, the only time we will close is over the winter this year to get the new office and car port built.  Exciting isn't it!! ...I think!!!

NEW BIT OF GARDEN FOR BUTTERCUP COTTAGE

We have added a little more garden to Buttercup Cottage garden area, Laura and I decided to do it one morning and bobs your uncle it was done by the afternoon!!!, although guests are free to sit on any of the grass this fenced off bit is safe from Shadow our dog who loves to give you a kiss when you least expect it.....not for the faint hearted!!!

CAR WASH??? STICK TO GOLF I THINK!!!

Steve decided in his wisdom to wash the truck, good of him I thought.....I didn't think we had any car shampoo and told him he would probably have to use fairy liquid.....So i was surprised when he said he had found some....He came up to the house after an hour or so, complaining that when he tried to wash off the soap it left a white residue and he couldn't shift it. So thinking not much of it....walked down to see what he was on about and then it dawned on me he had put Car shine in the bucket of water and rubbed it all over the car......but car shine is wax!!!!!! it looked a right state, i had nipped down there to look at the car from the bath so had my dressing gown on.....SO you can imagine the wonderful picture on me with a sponge in one hand and fairy liquid in the other trying to get the wax off the wet car, I was rubbing it frantically trying to remove the wax and Steve was rinsing off, I really hope none of our guests were watching this fiasco!!!! Stick to golf or get a pair of glasses and read the label!!!! Thought I would just add a picture of this sensible young man!!! Looking great in that Cornwall County Golf suit, I think that's more of the job for you eh!

A POSH DAY!

We dont often have the chance to dress up as we are usually up to our necks in the proverbial and dont have time to sleep or eat sometimes let alone go out.....what is that phrase 'going out'...does that mean the feed run ha ha.... Well my brother got married so we donned our glad rags, Laura and Steve looked great  especially in Nannys hat Steve!!!....Auntie Lou looked great too but havent a picture of her. So thought I would show you what we may have looked like before we took on Woodmill and now The Mill!!!

WELCOME BACK!

Well it has been a while since I signed in and there is so much to tell you. I cant remember all of it but the general gist is.... As you know due to me being poorly and doctors advice we had to hand over the cottages to a letting agent, what a nightmare, I could have booked more weeks from my bed without lifting a finger!! SO needless to say we knew pretty quickly we were on a one way trip to financial disaster! It was hard to take really as we had worked so hard and it was just due to my health that we had to make this decision, it took us a long time to come to terms that a company that said how wonderful they were nearly had us in ruins. So thinking on our feet, survival instinct kicks in....We produced a planning application that would allow us to gut the Mill building from 4 x 1 bed holiday cottages to full residential of one house. It was a huge gamble, Pete spent weeks formulating documents and supporting evidence of why they should consider this for us even though it was contrary to policy. It was really our last hope of staying here, if the approval didn't come through for us we would have to put the whole lot on the market and move before it was called in really. We had put our souls and hard blood sweat and tears into this and wasn't going to leave without a fight. Then after a tense few months we finally got permission at the end of May, just in time to let our long time regular guests Keith and Myrna and Jim and Caroline amongst others the news hot of the press. We had to go from thinking this was a disastrous situation to getting exciting about the new adventure to come. It was going to have to happen so the best thing we could do was to be excited about it. No good crying over spilt milk!... But now we are really looking forward to it. We will have half the land to manage and only two holiday cottages and another brand new office for Purl, so a lot more manageable for us, especially on my not so good days. The future looks great...hard work again but great!

TADPOLES

We found some frog spawn in the little pond, but it was below the water more than 6 inches so wouldnt have survived, so we moved the spawn to the top very small wet area, we werent sure if it would survive or not, but today I took this photo which will look odd to you...but I can assure you there are some moving little black tails, I think they or a few of them might be of and El Frog land will be at Woodmill soon ...hopefully

AND THATS JUST HALF A DAY!

WOke up to find that Smartie had injured her foot, and on closer inspection it was real bad, it looked like her lower front leg had been skinned and the fur was seperate to her insides, so emergency vet visit early in the morning, this was after an A & E visit with Steve to stop a real bad nose bleed that just wouldnt stop and it took the hospital a while, by which time he had lost a fair amount of blood. After dropping cat to hospital and steve to doctors to recheck blood pressure it was found he had a nose infection which is why he felt so rotten, so tucked Steve up and told him not to move, meanwhile meeting with solicitors to try to protect our land from the Council who seem to think the answer to ST. Blazey flooding is to flood us instead...NOT GOING TO HAPPEN...OVER MY DEAD BODY!!! which at the moment isnt out the question!!!! PIcked up smartie from vets and only hours later had to take her back as she had ripped off the dressing, meanwhile had to get steve to orthodontist and they advised me the normal orthodontist had left all of a sudden and the new orthodontist was not prepared to take on the 3 years of work the other one had done and we have to have teeth out and basically start again a different way which will take another 12 months minimum, so after frantic angry phonecalls ...Nic a friend helped out and made a private (COSTLY!) appointment with a orthodontist for a second opinion to see where we stand on the 23rd, Laura has a computer virus so trying at the same time to sort this on the phone, and trying to make sure all her contracts and funding are under control for the next year at uni, Pete out all this time, trying to secure a new job which meant a 2 hour difficult interview so he came home in a worse state than me.....um what else oh I forgotten now, its too much to mention, so now dont you think you have had an alright sort of day, mine so far has been stressful, off to do the feed run and start work and earn some money for the lovely mortgage, had a meting with my wonderful bank manager today too!!! yipppeee do!!!...Its ok I will be hunky dorey tomorrow!!! Just glad its Friday eh!...Onwards and upwards!

MEET BARNABY!

We were having our jacuzzi tonight and looked up to see that we had company, a bat!!!, I think it might be a horse shoe bat, or that might be wishful thinking, but they do nest in the woods behind us. Well we have named him Barnaby the Bat! I hope he is here to stay, fancy having a pet bat! better than an old bat!!! No comments you lot.