DINNER!

As you are all aware we have neighbours...so we thought we had better invite them for a bite to eat to say welcome....Well last night was the night... we cleaned the cottages walked the dogs and then I prepared the meal, while Pete did the delectable poo collection!!!... Then just as the rush of the day was about to slow down and we could have a cuppa! Pete decided to fix the loo, bearing in mind our guests were arriving in an hour!... So he set about fixing the downstairs cloak loo, and dropped the fixings down the concealed hole in the loo!!!! what a nightmare, no way back now, we frantically searched the garage for more fixings but we had to give up, ...so quickly washed our hands etc, no time for a shower or anything, what a fiasco!.. Then as we appeared as cool and calm as we could to our new neighbours, a mouse rudely interrupted proceedings, we tried to catch it but the mouse leaped over my hand and across our guests feet, so as Pete and I are diving around the floor trying to catch the mouse with the tea towel, our new neighbours must have thought what on earth have they let them selves in for... but its always like this it is always a nightmare here, either cats or  Pete , one of then always causing some grief!

RELAXED, DOESNT SUIT PETE!!

I think Pete has relaxed a little too much and his muscles seem to have forgotten what they are for already...only one day!, so I think its back to work like usual for him, he has a day off and then when we get home he came tomy rescue and threw a spider out for me and pulled his chest muscle!!!....dont ask... it was the funniest thing ever... he couldnt laugh as it hurt, but I couldnt stop....sorry Pete... Hes ok again now!

DAY OFF!

Very very rarely do we have any time off, but this week Steve is away with the Army, doing all sorts of things, night exercises on rations, fitness assessments, tests, etc etc, he will be shattered when he gets home. SO we thought it would be nice to have a day or two off, we work in the morning, then again later at night but we have the middle bit of the day off. We took the dogs in the truck to Mawgan Porth, Constantine, Treyarnon amongst others and had lunch at Watergate bay cafe on the beach, calamari and gurnard! We were thinking of popping in to see Pete's mum but unfortunately our day off was nearly thwarted once again as Pete has a really bad cold... so we though she wouldn't thank us, if we took it over to her! Gem is a real beach babe and gets so excited in the sand, Lucky moves so quick its hard to catch her on camera, and Shadow doesn't know if its Xmas or Easter!! All the dogs were smiling and Pete, even with his cold! Sorry about the hundreds of pictures but couldn't select them!.... The waves were great and now Pete wants a half day lesson in surfing , he might take it up, I said I would be happy to use my new camera (which was a hint!) to photograph the surf and make sausage fry ups on the beach, or I would join him in a dry suit, but cold isn't my strong point as I have really bad circulation, and would probably shrivel up!!!

NEW PADDOCK FOR THE PONIES

We are finally in our own fields, it didn't take long really, but anything more than 5mins or yesterday seems like forever to me!! Patience of a saint I have!, but we are glad to not be imposing on our new neighbours. We have our field now separated into winter and summer small paddocks so hopefully storm wont get poorly, We spent a weekend putting up the fence and gates and water system, looks really cute now, although only having a very small amount of land now we are quite protective over it and not happy when the badger tries to move in!! At least now our guests can relax and sit outside with a chilled glass of wine and watch the ponies and goats... We love the peace here, its a great place to be..

THANKYOU ...

Thankyou Keith and Myrna and Jim and Caroline for our very kind gifts that you gave us, The heart from Caroline and Jim and the infinity candle form Keith and Myrna, we love having you all stay with us, it wouldnt be the same without you, see you soon and thank you..  XXX Obviously we have them up ...found a home straight away and lit the candle...You wouldnt expect any other would you!!

THEY RELAX.. WE WORK!

I have never known cats to get so relaxed as ours, they have gone out even less since we moved into the mill, just lounge about everywhere and shout occasionally for food... What a great life! I think I surprised Scrappy , she wasnt impressed that the flash awoke her from her fish dangling sofa with servants!

ACE IDEA!

Its probably old hat to most of you, but I saw this neat idea for a picnic lunch in a magazine, so I took a picture of it to show Pete how it should look when I attempt it and its nothing like this!!! Its a loaf of bread.. a round one with the middle dug out a bit and filled with goodies ..then the lid put on again so when you cut It for your picnic it comes out like this....allegedly!!!

DOUBLE !

A double yolk we don't get many of these, I am not sure I have had one here??I found it as I was separating the yolks from the whites to make a custard  and steam pudding, never made one before and the fact that the  tea towel was tied around the pudding and being boiled was  a little disconcerting!!! I was so excited to find the yolk that the next egg I separated I put the wrong bit in the wrong side, so I had to start again anyhow!!!! Any way better go and see how its doing!

SHADOW HAS BEEN WATCHING TOP DOG MODEL!!!

Shadow has been practising her poses ever since she saw Top Dog Model with Stacey Solomon, obviously we dont watch it but you know what these dogs are like, minds of there own... ha ha

Well Shadow has got it down to a fine art at present, even though she has her tail in my cake in one shot and her backside in my strawberry plants in the other, oh and squashing all my flowers in the other, but I guess you cant get it all right eh Shads!

A BIT OF A WEEK

Last week was one of those weeks, I think my phone went at least every half minute and my plans changed around the same kind of time frame!... Steve was supposed to be going Dartmoor training on Friday until Sunday and we had planned to have a much needed 5 minutes where we actually saw each other, and not just fleeting glances or the back of one of us as we walk the dogs with leads out stretched or in my case scrapping Shadow off the floor as she thinks its play time..... So all was planned (this is the second time now!) what could go wrong.....nothing eh... After a hectic Monday of hospital appointments and public meetings and then Tuesday was thwarted by other last minute appointments... Steve went to watch Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday night, he had a letter which arrived that day and I was itching to see what was in it, but I was good  and waited...(unlike my mum when she needs to see something..the woman that taught me to steam envelopes from an early age!!). Steve was catching a particular train and Pete left to get him form the station about 10.30, then Steve rang and said the train windscreen was broken so it had been held up, could only happen to us...., so I jumped in the truck, dressing gown flapping in the wind as I sped to the station to let him know... (good job Keith, Myrna, Caroline and Jim were here this week any one else would have thought us nuts.. at least they know we are!! )to tell Pete as he hasn't got the hang of a mobile yet, drives me nuts...he uses mine ok to text and phone, but cant quite bring himself to take custody of one!!! ... So long story short, Steve got home, opened the envelope and there before us was a letter which wasn't optional that Steve would be leaving Monday Morning next to spend a week with the army for fitness tests/interviews/24 hour exercise/ etc etc as part of his Army selection, which nowadays very very extensive, they are extremely picky now.......OMG this was a bit of a shock and it was in Oxford and North Yorkshire, he had a train to catch 7.28am on Monday morning ... I didn't sleep, I had kit lists running around my brain, packing schedules constant OMG that was quick....so with that thought and conscious I had to get Steve to bed to get up 6am for college Wednesday I didn't go through my list with him then..... So no sleep got up Wednesday got Steve to the college train, and settled down to draw up lists and work, which is what i need to be doing!.. Then the army ring and say can I nip down to collect the train tickets, which is redruth, so hardly a nip!!!...so plans change again, so I thought I would tie it in with a meeting and work later.... Then mum rang she had fallen in the isles of scilly on holiday and hurt her ribs so was trying to get a early flight, so I offered to collect her at some point from the airport to get her home and make sure she had heat and food until the morning... So on the way to the army I saw Steve at the bus stop after college and shouted across the main dual carriage way "does he want a lift?" I whizzed over to get him, he thought I was taking him straight home, but I had to take him to get the tickets in redruth... are you with me so far???? Then I get to redruth having already done my meeting, get the tickets and then mum rings and says her flight is landing at 3....Steve had homework to do so really needed to get back, so I stepped on it back to truro, just managed to get him on the train home 1.5mins to spare!Then whizzed to penzance shopping on the way to get a nice meal fro them when they get home from their holiday... got mum, got her back and settled then home to do the list which I haven't started!.. And so the week went on.... so up shot is we didn't get a nice five minutes after all... but maybe when Steves up with the army, maybe that is our moment!! I missed out the bit of sorting the tree fellers and clients etc etc but it really is too much to recount...I guess its all in a normal day for us here, as Justin next door asked..."is it always like this for you?" to which my reply is simply YES!