the good news ...

... or, as Maggie (Thatcher) might say, we are (going to be) a grandmother (again). I am so pleased, I could jump for joy. My baby, i.e., my youngest daughter, is expecting her second in July. That'll be five altogether, four little ones, as her eldest will be 4 by then, and the boy cousins will be respectively 3 and 2. Like organ pipes. And plenty of time to knit!!

Meanwhile, here it just rains and rains and rains. This morning we even had an inch of hail in five minutes. We now have a new stream running by the side of the house, and a new river further away. Thank goodness the car is parked on higher ground, just in case we need to make a quick get-away.

Yesterday we had the greatest fun. In a brief rain-free interlude, the farmer next door decided to bring a single-storey house in on a trailer drawn by a jeep. Now for the last month, said farmer has been carefully constructing a lovely, solid new three-bar fence out of thick posts and four-inch planks along one side of the drive. Along the other side towards us is mixed hedge and ditch. In full view of our house then, the farmer decides to bring in said house, which is some 9 feet wide and say 25 feet long. But somehow he seems to have overlooked the fact that thanks to his nice new fence, the drive is only maybe 7, maybe 7 and a half feet wide.

I fetch hubby to watch, pointing out, as the only woman around, and therefore, obviously, the only person who clearly sees the problem, that they will have to take the fence down. But no, the driver inches the house forward, doors, windows, curtains - yes, curtains, and for all I know, fully furnished - through the gateway, helpers lopping branches from the trees as he goes, until the inevitable happens, and he gets stuck. By this time several more men have come to help, while others including some passing children as well as ourselves, kibbitz, calling out friendly advice, or, in my husband's case, singing 'right, said Fred,' none too sotto voce , but then, tact never was his strong point!

By this time the farmer's wife is also there, arms folded across her chest, laudably silent, but her face as she watches speaks volumes. The driver inches backwards, until he gets stuck in that direction too. Long pause for consultation, examination and much head-shaking. Then, guess what, down comes part of the fence with the aid of a digger, the chainsaw and much brute force. Inch forward some more. Inch backward some more. Take down some more fence. And - repeat. Until finally, the house is down the drive and round the corner.

But my sides are still aching. Ah, the joys of life in the New Forest!!! And of being an expectant grandmama!! :)

... a slapped wrist ...

... has again been administered, quite justifiably, it's true, for my failure to blog. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Well, I do have a bit of an excuse. I was brought low by something that if it was not swine 'flu, was certainly akin to. And very unpleasant it was too. Lasted for the best part of a fortnight, 3 days of which I spent entirely in bed, being ministered unto! I will spare the gory details of how it seemed to visit every part of my poor, ailing frame, and instead give you a lovely picture of New Forest pigs (swine - geddit???!!!) in pannage!



The pigs are loosed onto the forest floor to gobble up all the acorns, which are apparently very bad for the ponies. Their pork is said to have a superb flavour, which I shall put to the test very soon, and let you know the results of my research!

Work on our house renovation is proving very slow, as we struggle to find solutions we both like and can afford. Still, I have progress to report: we have wonderful new, automatic, garage doors! Now that may not seem much to you, but to us it signifies a beginning at last, and the opportunity to empty one of our hired storerooms thereby liberating a little more gelt for the project. So here - imagine big fanfare, tada!!! - proudly present, before:

and after:

Watch this space for the next thrilling installment, I promise it will not be so long a wait this time. I have some wonderful family pix, and some great news which I can't wait to spill. Oh, and I'm still knitting in and amongst, of course.