House work!!

Possibly from the title you might expect me to say that I have suddenly become domesticated....Nooooooooo........not me!

I have had a very satisfying weekend of house maintenance, I have cleared 2 gutters and unblocked a down pipe so the rainwater flows well.

I found an electric wood shaver (I did not even remember that we had one) and managed to shave the top of the door into my en-suite bathroom and now I can close the door again, hurragh!

The creeper that was going up over the velux window has now been chopped down and I weeded out all the grass around the pond.

The chickens are now in the greenhouse and making a good job of clearing all the ground weeds so that just leaves the run free for me to clean out the chicken house.

Last job today will be to open the velux window and do some maintenance work.  I just feel so satisfied that I have been able to get these jobs done on my own.

Cornwall

Debbie at Heligan

Vanessa, Socx and Maia at Heligan

How blessed we have been with the weather this week.  Debbie and I visited Cornwall and the Lost Gardens of Heligan.  I was last at Heligan about 13 years ago just after it opened to the public.  Now the gardens have matured and so much work has been done that it really is a very special place.

I also stayed with my nephew David and his wife Karen who are both Druids.  The evening conversations were wonderful and opened my eyes to another way of viewing life and this planet.   David has a connection to the spirit world that I find fascinating and intriguing - I would so like to know more but I am uncertain as to whether I want to know.

One evening we took the dogs for a late walk up the lane near David's cottage, the moon was crescent and the first evening star was just visible.  There are a lot of bats in the area and some came really low so they were easy to see, I love bats and find them fascinating.  In fact Debbie and I saw a bat in daylight over a lake at Heligan which is very unusual.  

I have a lot of bats in my garden here at home and this evening I was sitting with my neighbours in their new summerhouse watching bats (and drinking wine).  There are a lot of insects in the gardens and there must have been at least 4 different bats about tonight.

I also love spotting owls when I drive home at night.  David has a captive African Grass owl in his garden; Issie was not sure about another 2 dogs in her garden and she kept a close eye on both Socx and Maia.  I was not sure if she viewed them as 'lunch' or 'predator'.


Do you like this toilet roll holder?  I do!  this is in David and Karen's home!  Wonderful.  xx

How lovely!

As most people will know 2012 was a lovely year until the 28th September when David died suddenly.  

I really have not felt like blogging..... until today.  I have received a lovely email from a client that has restored my faith in life and made me smile.

'Hi Vanessa,

You very kindly sent my last year’s tax return and some good advice in order that I could complete my own self-assessment.

I am triumphant to say that the mission is accomplished!  I really didn’t think I would be able to do it without you!

The prevailing factors in our turbulence have been flooding and M's Mum.  One is receding, the other keeps going!  At least we have no snow, unlike your poor self and thousands of others.

I was so saddened to hear of your loss; the heartbreak of losing the beloved is beyond description and my heart goes out to you.  As you struggle to make your new normal in the months and years ahead, I pray that your memories and the love that continues, will warm you and bring comfort.

I will contact you if I need your help in the future, but I am deeply grateful for all that you have done for me, you are a true professional and a lovely lady,

Always with kindest regards,

S'

I am sitting here smiling and crying just a little, it means so much to me that S has said such kind words.  

Being without David 'sucks'; for over 35 years I had his love and support that never wavered (I was not always so kind in return) but being without my life partner is just LONELY.  

Impulse!!

Do any of us do much on impulse?

I did last night.  I went outside at about 11pm to shut the chickens away for the night, the house has been really quite stuffy and the night air was cool and inviting; so inviting that I decided to sleep outside!   The garden chairs were all still out with cushions on so I took a blanket and got comfy in 2 chairs.  The night sky was really visible it was like soft crushed velvet with glitter sprinkled all over it.  In fact it was so mesmerising that it was hard to sleep.  I woke at one point and saw a shooting star - what are the chances of that?

Socx came out in the night and found me in the garden so got comfy in a chair next to me and then Maia followed; she slept by my feet.

By about 4:30am the light was changing the colour of the sky and it was cold and damp, so I retired indoors.  It was such an adventure and I am still smiling about it now.  I watched the earth rotate against the stars, the garden was peaceful and safe - what fun!!  Well my idea of fun...

Chesterfield, July 2012

We have just spend a week in the Peak District in our first Homelink 'house swap'.  We stayed in a beautiful bungalow about 8 miles from Chatsworth House.  We were really pleased to find that we were only 50 miles south of Leeds, so on 2 days we drove up to see Ellie.

On Wednesday we visited the Royal Armouries Museum, quite interesting for David but I just tried to find a chair to go to sleep in for most of the time.

We were really late home Wednesday evening and slept rather late the next day!

Looking through the waterfall at the Tropical Park

When we went to Leeds on Thursday we visited a Tropical Park, which had a butterfly house and a meerkat family.  It was a most suprising place with lots of different climates zones and we really liked it and recommended it to Ellie.   That evening we had a Japanese 'wasabi' meal which is good fun and most entertaining. It was just lovely to see Ellie and catch up with her new job news.........  I think David might have to SKYPE her each week for an update. 

We have been remarkably lucky with the weather, when it was raining we were indoors in a museum or country house and when we wanted to walk around the gardens we only had 1 or 2 drizzles.  Our visit to Chatsworth House on Saturday was wonderful.  


We estimate is must be 18 years since we last visited the house and it has been updated and restored very well.  Mind you I do find walking slowly around a big house makes my legs tired, so our trip around the gardens did involve a lot of sitting and admiring the views!!  LOL










Please can I have one of these for Xmas - only a solid silver incense burner about 2ft high.

This is my favourite statue in the Chatsworth Collection, she is lovely

Yes we were sitting in the sun!

I love the 'rockery' in the garden - more like boulders really and much bigger than a house!!  Bit too big for my garden.

Salcombe, Devon

We have just returned from a long weekend in the Port Light Hotel near Salcombe, Devon.  The hotel is situated on the cliffs above Salcombe with amazing views of the coast in both directions and the one reason that I can confirm that the views are good is because Sunday slowly turned from a wet, grey and rainy day to one of glorious sunshine!  

Socx in flight!

David with the dogs on the beach - before the sun came out!

Maia in flight on the beach at Salcombe!

In the morning we went to North Sands a small sandy cove where dogs are allowed all year round and slowly the sun came out and I took off my hat, then my leather coat, gloves and scarf and eventually even took off my cardigan to bask in the heat!    We even had lunch by the beach in a wonderful cafe where the food was excellent and fresh.

That brings me back to the Port Light Hotel.  Oh how the internet can deceive!  ‘The chef loves to cook with the fresh ingredients’ yes but he is better at re-heating, overcooking and totally murdering the food!
David agrees that we are probably spoilt with Stuart’s cooking and our expectations are just too high.  When our vegetables arrived this evening they were exactly the same veg as last night!  I wonder how many times they can be re-heated.  Tonight I had the ice cream – very good – unlike the rest of the deserts that are ‘bought in’.

The plus points of this hotel; the views, the peace and quiet and their acceptance of dogs all over the hotel and grounds and that is why we are here.  We have been able to take Socx and Maia into the dining room when we have breakfast and dinner and the hotel provide a place to hang the dog towels and a fridge to store fresh dog food.   I would also say that our bedroom is very modern and has wonderful views over the cliffs so probably a ‘7 out of 10’ would be a fair mark for this hotel.

Sunday afternoon we visited an 'open garden' and had a cream tea.  The dogs also had a cream tea.... a child dropped it on the ground LOL

 Just before we went into dinner this evening I took Socx and Maia for a walk along the cliffs, the sun was warm and even the wind had died down and the only sounds were the skylarks wheeling over the fields, such a beautiful sound and to wake up to only the sounds of birds is a delight, I just love the quiet and the time to appreciate this wonderful Earth we live on.

Chickens

How exciting yesterday we received our new chicken coop!

We are going to have the chickens in the garden at the top near the water tank and I needed a new house for them.  It comes flat packed so I was up early this morning and started painting it ready to assemble at the weekend.

As per normal got it from the internet and the company were very efficient, I ordered it on Sunday and it was delivered on Wednesday from Cocoon

It does look very posh!

We are going to have 4 birds which will be ample eggs for ourselves and our neighbours who want to share the chickens with us.

Not sure what type of hen to buy but a really great friend was in today and he is picking up 20 point-of-lay hens and has kindly added 4 more to the order for us!

So now I will have to paint extra fast and get the coop ready.  A new client who does farm work has agreed to build a run for the chickens and then we will be all set.

I will post photo's of our new girls next week!!