And then there were three . . . .

Well, what a wet,grey and miserable day it is today - just not used to it after the lovely Summer we've had so mustn't complain too much.  There are plus sides to a day like today too, a good chance to catch up on paperwork, blogging and so on and it does make you look forward to the next season.  I wouldn't like to live somewhere that's hot (or cold) all the time, I love the changing seasons and each has its good points just so long as none of them outstay their welcome.  Woolley jumpers, chutney-making, meat and potato pie, see there's lots to look forward to!  

 A good day to sweep the chimney and clean out the Ironheart ready for firing up again.  Because there is an oven, hotplates and a backboiler, there are all sorts of nooks and crannys to clean out and bits to take off.  Although we have had the lounge woodburner going in the last week, we haven't lit this one yet this season.  Excuse Bob's pants by the way - he wasn't posing for this!

 

So, we've had quite a busy time with visitors again starting with my school work colleagues who drove all the way over from Northamptonshire for lunch and a couple of hours sat in the garden in the sun.  Then Mum and Dad were here for a few days at the same time as Laura and Ben came after they'd gone, but before Laura went.  In that time we also had two birthdays (Mum and Laura) and our wedding anniversary.  We seemed to have a busy time doing nothing much which was nice and it was lovely to see everyone as always.  Yesterday we went over to Northamptonshire to collect another carful of Ben's stuff ready for his return to uni in Aberystwyth.  He should be coming over with the last of it tomorrow and then sorting out what's being stored and what's going with him before going on to Aber on Tues/Wed.  That will then be the offspring settled for a while until Laura leaves Samye Ling next Easter.  She will have done three years as a Buddhist nun and has enjoyed every minute of it and learned so much, but she now feels it's time to move on.  She has plans in Scotland for what to do next - teaching Mindfulness and doing a play therapy course.  She has loads of contacts and friends up there so will be better placed to get on with things there than she would here.  I think she'll have a break here before she starts all the new stuff while her hair grows and she catches up with all the people she's not seen much of over the last few years.  Can you believe it, she had actually forgotten to tell me anything about the plans she's made and sounded quite surprised that I didn't know anything about them!

And then there were three . . . . . during our visitor time one of our chickens departed this mortal coil.  Bonny was one of the real chickens we bought almost two years ago (real as opposed to ex-battery).  She was always a bit of a sickly child with lots of breaks from egg-laying . . . . actually, it would be more accurate to say she had the odd break where she laid an egg!  So, she didn't exactly lead a hard life.  She had been looking peaky and wobbly on her feet for a few days, but still ran to peck at scraps and didn't seem distressed.  It was no surprise though when Bob went to get them up on Laura's birthday and found her in a rather stiff pose across the hen house doorway.  And so that is number six chicken grave in the garden!

While Ben was here with his muscles, he helped us move that huge stone that was too big for us to manoeuvre into place for the steps.  It has now been added to the patio and has just about doubled it's size.  Well, not really, but it is quite big! 

A few weeks ago, I wrote on this blog that we were going to get some little low-growing plants for in between the stones on the steps we re-built.  One evening we went for a walk around the 'block' and got chatting to Ray who suddenly remembered that he had something he had to give us.  Trisha had been reading the blog and had then gone and dug up some plants from their garden and put them in pots for us.  They were exactly the sort of thing we were looking for - isn't that kind of her?  We planted them as soon as we got home and they all seem to be doing well - lovely.

On Friday, we finally got around to looking at that guttering that got damaged by the snow - yes, I know that was months ago, but you can't rush these things!  I don't know about you, but I hate having to mend things you've not long made and that was the trouble we had with this.  It was hard to work up the enthusiasm for mending it when it doesn't seem two ticks since we put it up in the first place.  That and the fact that it is really awkward to get to as someone built an extension in the way!  Anyway, with pieces of insulation to support and spread the weight under the ladder and a sturdy spike knocked in the ground to stop the ladder slipping, Bob on the roof and me running round passing things and helping from the other ladder, we have about done it.  We just need to get another couple of brackets (some were more damaged than we first thought), but they go on the bit that can be reached from an ordinary ladder on the ground, so not so bad.

While Laura was here, she showed me how to do needle felting which is quite good fun and a bit addictive.  Basically, felt is made when wool fibres mat together and you can use a barbed needle to jab in and out of unworked wool to mat it together.  You have a thick bit of foam underneath and aim to keep your fingers out of the way while you're doing it.  Laura has been making cards in her spare time to sell in aid of the charity she works for at Samye Ling.  People make large quite intricate pictures and 3D things - here are my first efforts:



My felt chicken which I'm quite proud of.  The little chicks
started off as some corn on the floor, but were a little too
big for that so transmogrified into baby chicks!

 

A Herwick sheep and its lamb - the lamb actually looks
more like a large mouse or a piglet and Bob says the
sheep has the face of an Airedale dog, but its OK if
you fuzz your eyes up a bit, with the lights dimmed and
at a distance!

Now then, talking of crafty things, how about this for more crafty than a crafty thing:

Yeah, OK its just a bit of knitting I hear you say, but it's not
just any old knitting.  The wool is mega chunky and for that you
need mega chunky needles (12mm, that's nearly half an inch thick!)
of which there were non in the shop.  So guess what?!
These are homemade knitting needles too, made by my good
friend Bob especially for me.  How darned cool is that?
This is going to be one of those snuggly woolley jumpers I've
been thinking about since the weather turned autumnal.

Tis the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness as someone
once said.  It has been quite windy as well as wet today and
the apple tree gave up some of its fruit a bit prematurely.  It seems
a shame to waste them though, so along with some of our blackberries
they went in a cake this afternoon.  The carrots have fattened up a bit
and the green beens are limping along (not too impressive this year).
We had curry last night with homemade garlic in it as well as
homemade chillies!