Home (almost) Alone

As everyone knows, Victoria is now living on Jersey and on Thursday George went off for a week on Lundy (I hope he's keeping away from the edges in this wind....).  He's doing conservation work out there - pulling up Rhododendrons and dry stone walling - hope he comes back with lots of photos.  So Jonathan and I are home alone.

Suddenly the house seems very quiet, it's surprising how much noise, mess, laughter and chat one extra person can make.  I know how it will be - just like when he boarded at Sparsholt.  First couple of days you mope around missing him, next two days you adapt, last two days you decide that actually it's great, and then he comes back.

Anyway, I re-visited one of our past workshops to make a present for my niece:

Hope she likes him.

And then Julie M sent me a couple of photos of her finished pieces from the last two workshops she came to:

Very Spring-like!

Countdown to April 1st has started - by next weekend there should be lambs popping out all over the place.....hope the sun shines for them!

First Days of Spring

The first day of spring was followed by a beautiful sunny Sunday.  After I'd planted some seeds (Sweet Peas, Foxy Foxgloves, and Cosmos), I went in to do some ironing but looked out of the kitchen window and decided to have a cup of tea outside instead.

It all had a real feel of re-awakening.  The geese were happy,

the rams were happy,

the chickens were happy.

In fact, the big grey one is starting to annoy me a bit.  He keeps eating eggs.  You are supposed to fill an empty shell with mustard so I duly filled one with mustard and curry powder and put it in the chicken house......she ate the whole thing....so that didn't work.

Everything is starting to bud.  The willows at the bottom have a green haze over them where the leaves are starting to come (they are always first) and the dogwood that Belinda gave me which is outside the workshop is really coming on

Then, just before it was time to come in, Reuben started making friends with the ram

Then last night we went to the first Ale of the year, hosted by a side called Cornucopia, and danced the night a way....

Five different styles!

March Hares

Just had a brilliant workshop doing the March Hare Primitive stitchery - just all busily hand-sewing away, no stress, just a lot of chat, laughing,

and comparing progress

 

To help with the embroidery stitches I dug out  my book of "100 Embroidery Stitches" which I have referred to so many times over the years.  As a rough guide to how old it is, the price on it is "1/3 (one shilling and thruppence) or 6p".  I will never forget how my pocket money started at thruppence, then went up to sixpence, then ninepence, and just when it was due to go up to a shilling decimalisation came in and it went back down to 5p.

Jacqui brought in the cushion she made at the Winter Stitchery workshop

She's going to make this stitchery into a spring cushion.  We are going to do a summer stitchery next term and then an Autumn one so by Christmas we will have all four seasons.

Meanwhile I finished quilting and binding my Clare Kingslake "Joanne's farm" Redwork hanging.  Clare designed it especially for us and it shows my Flytesofancy chicken house and the two pigs I used to have.  I am really pleased with it

Finally, one of those frustrating little things about 19 year olds.   I washed all 22 socks George put in the laundry basket yesterday and after they were dry, went to pair them up and discovered this

 

Three pairs of socks and 16 odd ones......

 

Crochet

Well, here's hoping all you mums out there had a lovely Mothering Sunday.  I certainly have.  It was a shame Victoria couldn't be here but it was great to have a long chat over the phone with her.  It's been a day full of flowers:  the one's from Victoria which came yesterday in our best room, then at the church where we enjoyed a lovely service - entertained by the West Berkshire Strings and singing some very cheerful hymns.  Then back home to find more flowers on the doorstep and we all sat down to a homely lunch.

Then I returned to my project.

On Wednesday we are doing a Spring stitchery and I had been looking at it and wondering how to finish it off.  I decided a bit of crochet edging would do the trick.  Now, where was that little book of mine which is the best book on crochet I have ever had.  I searched everywhere (and anyone who has ever been in the workshop when I've mislaid something will know just how painful that is) - I was sure it was in my 'Mum's Crochet Bag ( a mother's day gift from Victoria years ago) but it wasn't there.  Anyway, after going through all the bookshelves, cupboards, bags, boxes I thought it could be in, I finally found it in my second crochet bag in the workshop.  I was so pleased, it explains everything so well:

Then I had to drive over to Wantage to buy a smaller hook.  Then I sat down and set to work. 

It took me all afternoon but I do quite like it

Sunshine

Lovely, busy morning in the workshop today.  Again, lots of different crafts going on and an awful lot of chat - we really put the world to rights!
Both Sue and I had pulled out Clare Kingslake projects we started a long while ago, and I was working on the hanging she designed of our chicken house.  Unfortunately the proof of how long ago I started it is the presence of pigs - we haven't got them anymore!

 

I have nearly finished quilting it though - I'm using masking tape to mark where I go - so it should be finished soon.

I did tell them all about George going off to work this morning.....I'm so impressed with him, I was still in bed when he called out "Bye Mum" and went off to work whistling.  I was less impressed when I got downstairs and discovered he'd spilt sugar all over the larder shelves and floor!

Before going to Wantage this afternoon to buy food for our lunch tomorrow, it was so warm that I sat on the bench outside the workshop - heaven.

And the best thing about today was the sunset.....

                                            ........which promises another lovely day tomorrow!

Signs of Spring

Well, after driving to work in snow yesterday it was nice to see some sun (now and again) today.  And all around the farm there are signs that spring is hopefully just around the corner.

Calving is coming along and when I went down to the barn they were all snoozing and pottering about in the sunshine

On our pond the moorhens and ducks have paired up

The geese have been laying their eggs (in all the wrong places)

The chickens have started laying again

The Primroses are coming out

So, really the only thing to do is find a warm, sheltered spot in the sun

and snooze the afternoon away!