A very good day..

.. pictures say it all..brilliant. Love this little guy xx

yikes its April already

Buying Mr Waen this 12 days of Christmas thing with an activity each month makes me feek like the months are flying buy.. we are already up to number 3.. we have been horse riding in Feb (loved it) and clay pigeon shooting in March. I am still to find the activity that I shine at ... perhaps I am a natural Gorge walker (April) we shall see.

Its my my favourite time of year.. I love spring.. everything is waking up in he garden and its time for the veg patch to get going again and best of all.. the WI spring show is just around the corner (Hysterical) and so i have been full of busy crafting my entries. I am entering;
5 knitted items on a 12 inch doll (and have already caused controversy in doing that). a fruit flan (which I had forgotten until just now) and a machine sewn peg bag!
I am also featuring in  some of the combined displays.. get me!

In other news I have retired from working at the farm.. I have a little business plan on the go and have turned the spare room into a hive of activity.. More later when youngest Mr Waen son has created my logo and I am up and running.. exciting  :-)

My Bib for the spring show 

A little pink friend I made for a baby due any minute 

check out the name of this shop in the village on knockin.. amused me  :-)

How could I forget to mention that Mr W had his modelling début (the things I rope him into poor love) 

This is a splinter that poor Freddie had in his paw. .. after much caffuffle he let me tale it out and looked slightly miffed that he wasn't getting any more attention

Frog spawn.. woo hoo. 

and this year we also have toad spawn (check me out I know the difference) 

My favourite of all of our plants.. the fab stink weed.. crazy looking stuff

The broad beans are doing well 

leeks and onion bed 

garlic is doing good work 

Salad and carrots all planted.. I used mole hill soil for the carrots...  I may get straight ones this year

green house filling up 

The beetroot patch 

my WI spring show peg bag!

Well I spoke too soon about the fact that 2015 was off to a flying start.. can you believe that we had oil spill number 2.. they say lightening doesn't strike twice.. well that's rubbish because one freezing night at the end of January I smelt the horrid smell of heating oil and when I went to the tank found it flowing from the bowl underneath the valve.. Brilliant. I am ever grateful for amazing neighbours, the fact that the tank was almost empty and the fact I have a sense of smell otherwise it could have been a complete pa-lava. As is my luck these things always happen at the end of the day but thankfully when I called the oil supplier we were in luck and the amazing Robert came an hour later with new valve and in less than an hour had it all replaced.

Between the time I called and his arrival I was busied with catching the leaking oil from the tank whilst dashing off to the lake to catch the oil coming out of the pipe which comes from our ground water. At least this time I had a vague clue what to do. Mr Waen was away bless him and 21 missed calls later (a long meeting) when I was up to my neck in oil filled buckets, and the snow was falling, I am afraid he took quite a bit of abuse. In my defence it is fairly heartbreaking to watch something slowly being ruined that you spend so much time looking after and it was bloody snowing and I was very cold. 

The oil catching went on much of the night to prevent any more hitting the lake and then the next day I called our lovely farmer chums and that very evening I had a dumpy bag full of straw delivered.. time to clean up the lake. 

Some ingenious chicken wire baskets and a considerable amount of straw later we were starting to mop up.. its taken 2 weeks to get to the point where we are now, which is looking fairly good.. the weather was an amazing helping hand (thank you mother nature),.. just the right amount of rain to wash through the ground water and get it all out and the freezing over happened just at the right time :-) so alls well that ends well and so the frogs and ducks can now crack on with making me babies with no fear of poison.

straw oil catchers

and more

the clear up was finished off with the professional blue oil spill mat... I am like  a ginger version of Red Adair now with my knowledge  oil clear up :-)

Anyway I mustn't grumble too much .. poor Glenda has had a much much worse time than me.. brought on, we suspect by rooks or crows.. she has been plucked to an inch of her life.. this is the state she was in when I found her, a very sorry mess.. she has been cleaned up and sprayed with special chicken fixer upper and is on the mend but still fairly bald.. Mr Waen is now on high alert shot gun at the ready. 

So to counteract all of this gloom and doom I have been on a making spree, new frock for me, new cushions for our new seats (a Welsh and an English couch) you will note by the worded cushions and the start of the Xmas jumpers 

The lake is still frozen.. Blueberry is managing fine however, and little does she know we have a surprise for her this weekend :-)

And my most major plan for 2015 has been decided.. I will entice a hedgehog into my hedge hog house.. I have cleaned the house.. added a lovely straw bed and purchased hedgehog bites.. surely thats enough to make them want to come and live with us!

Christmas was amazing and 2015 is off to a good start..

Well since I last typed I am a year older and in proud possession of a Birthday bike.. I am a bit rubbish at riding it.. I daren't cycle down our hill and I can't cycle up our hill so the term 'push bike' is very apt. Though practice makes perfect and by the end of 2015 I fully intend to be able to cycle both down and up the hill. Watch this space.

Christmas break was fabulous and the festivities were great fun.. Christmas eve in Leeds, Christmas Day in Darlington and Boxing day in Chepstow.. so we got about a bit but it was lovely.
I was as ever spoilt but was really pleased with my Pressie for Mr Waen which was the 12 days of Christmas.. every month of 2015 we are doing an activity of something or another.. From trampolines to weekends away, Horse riding to cable cars.. should be fun.

Mr Waen was actually off work from Christmas day right through to the 5th Jan as was I and we spent 7 lovely days pottering about, getting  loads of jobs done and we went on Day 1 of the 12 days.. A trip to Bounce Below... http://www.bouncebelow.net/.. for those who don't know Bounce Below is a disused slate mine filled with gigantic bouncing nets on 3 levels .. we were lucky enough to go with Mr Waen's Big Son and his lovely partner and thank goodness because I bounced onto it.. had a minor panic scenario, a few tears, bit of mild hysteria and then scrambled (bouncing now out of the question) off it to watch.. the other 3 though.. had a great time and I did enjoy watching :-)

Apart from bouncing we have done a lot of jobs around the garden, decorated the snug had a major tidy of the outhouse,  and had a load of fun pottering, nesting and enjoying the rest.

The Piccies;

Getting ready for Xmas.. Santa or indeed Mr Waen.. comes to Kerry farm :-)

Best Xmas cake ever eaten .. Thank you Mrs Rose xx

No room in the car to take the pups to Kennels on Xmas eve so it was the foot well for them

This was the back seat and boot of the car. 

New solar light chickens from our Leeds Chum.. cute :-)

It got cold after Christmas.. skating ducks!!

Christmas Present for the birdies 

Time to add some nutrients into the fruit and veg patch.. and so 50 bags of that muck heap were wheelbarrowed through the garden .. that was a hard work day! 

Christmas pressy off my sister.. off a real boat.. hopefully will never have the need of it but will make a lovely feature  :-)

Mr Waen spent a day tidying his woodpile... 

.. and the big garden tools ....

.... and all of the animal provisions.. 

... and the left over wedding booze .. a good day's work at last we can move in the out house. 

At the Waen Welly Wedding a lovely chum helped to serve the bubbly.. she asked if I had a tray and was presented with a baking tray (I am not a propoer house wife) and so in the event of this situation ever happening again.. she has resolved my problem. In all honesty... no idea how I ever lived without a tray!!! What a difference a tray makes (there 's a song in there somewhere ! )

The wrist bands from bounce below.. some poor sod actually got number 13 .. that would have just finished me off!

We have another family wedding coming .. I am on table centres, favours and cake.. 50 of the  above.. are now finally finished.. peas in a pod saying 'on this Hap-pea day'.. such wit! 

We are nesting and embracing colour in the dull winter months.. Check out Mr W's lovely bright new kitchen lights ...

and our bright new snug chair .. 

... and our jolly new snug curtains :-)

BUT best of all.. introducing my lovely new sewing space.. Thank you mammy for my lovely sewing table and chair.. we have renovated it and now I have a sewing space.. which does not annoy the mouse.. My sewing machine is currently in hospital but never worry.. I have my new christmas overlocker .. whoop whoop !!!

Sewing heaven :-)