Pensioners in the New Forest ...

I have a confession to make: I have not been entirely honest with you all. But I have good reason, I promise.

For some considerable time now we have been endeavouring to turn ourselves from City slickers into country bumpkins. However, I have not been blogging about it, because under the peculiar way that property is bought and sold in England, the whole process is riddled with such uncertainty that one dassent think it's going to happen until it does happen! In fact it is enough to turn even me, who am the least superstitious person I know, into a fully paid up member of the ladder-avoiding, salt-over-shoulder-chucking, no-way-are-we-having-13-at-the-table died-in-the-wool crazy brigade!

Which is why I haven't been blogging about it. And I'm still not gonna! Except to say, that when it eventually comes good, we will be in the beautiful New Forest. And that is where we are now, in a cottage we are renting for reasons that will be explained all in good time. We are sitting in the living area, with the french door to the garden which is backed by the woods with nothing but green and birdsong and fresh, fresh air - marvellous. Oh, and the occasional braying of the donkey. And the New Forest ponies. And the deer. I could get used to this. In fact I intend to!

We are here until Tuesday, so I have brought lots of knitting: my Kimono jacket, which needs just a bit of stitching to finish it in time to wear for the English summer, i.e., slightly warmer rain than winter. In April we were promised a 'barbecue summer', but no sign yet. Unless of course one thinks of the usual English barbecue summer, whereby you set it all up and just as it is ready, the heavens open and everyone makes a dash for indoors!! ;)

Also, my Niebling tablecloth, Dahlie (on the left below)and a jumper for my granddaughter, when she gets back from France, in two shades of denim (the stuff that comes off all over your fingers as you knit, so you look like an Ancient Briton covered in woad - yuk - but it looks so good when it's finished and improves as it fades in the wash that it's worth the suffering). And finally some socks that I am knitting for Molly of the Celtic Swan Forge, for her Great Handknit Sock Trade 2009, in exchange for some of her lovely needles.

What with all that, and the Saturday papers, and no landline, and no mobile 'phone reception, life doesn't get much better than this - except if it becomes permanent, which I cross my fingers it soon will - watch this space!!! ;)

Sorry there are no pix, both our cameras are sick and at the menders. But you can look at the links for lovely pix, instead.

Oh my ears and whiskers ...!!!

Once again it has been an unconscionably long time since I blogged. The usual causes, I guess. Rushing round visiting grandchildren, places, etc. And now more, we have finally sold the flat, so although there is a long way to go before we actually leave (end July), there is also a lot to be done in the meantime.

As it has taken us so long to get this far, now we find that there are very few properties on the market where we want to buy. Properties that were on the market finally sold when they reached a realistic price. Few are coming onto the market, because people who don't have to sell right now are waiting in the hope that things will pick up. So we can look forward to a long search for something suitable. At the same time, we must start packing. My study lowers at me, with so many books, files and stacks of papers. As we shall probably end up renting for a time, I have to be careful to separate packing for store and packing to keep with us. What fun! not!!

Add to that two imminent grandchild birthdays, both of which will be celebrated in Ireland, and I have a schedule that makes me feel like going for a lie-down in advance. But I shall not complain, we are only too pleased to be sold, and at a reasonable price.

In anticipation of our removal, we have been assiduously visiting things that will be harder to reach once we have moved away from London. Our recent delightful visits to Kew and Wisley have been followed by other joys. We started by visiting Bateman's, the house of Rudyard Kipling. This involved a lengthy journey through Kent, into the delightful countryside around Tunbridge Wells. The house is utterly charming, and I for one could not help feeling awed when looking round the writer's study. Not least when I realised he had a couch, and more important, he frequently lay upon it, thinking!!!!!

The gardens and grounds were already showing promise of their beauty to come. An especial delight was a visit to the working mill. It was wonderful to recognise the millstone grit of my native North Derbyshire in the grinding stones. We took away some wholemeal flour to bake bread at home.

The latest of these was a visit to Pashley Manor Gardens, on the East Sussex/Kent border, to their Tulip Festival. Absolutely wonderful. The house itself, although not open to the public, was beautiful from the outside, with the most magnificent wisteria I have ever seen - and I've seen some good'uns in my time - and a wonderful Rosa banksia lutea climbing right to the roof. We lunched on the terrace, beleaguered by ducks and drakes who were so tame they thought nothing of poking their beaks into our laps to beg for scraps!

The tulips themselves were indescribably lovely, and I was so tempted as to place an order in the hope that we will have a garden by the autumn! Husband Peter was mightily taken by this clematis, which we may also have to add. Just hope we get an appropriate garden.

Pashley Manor is also host to an outdoor sculpture exhibition later in the year. There were already some sculptures in the gardens. OK, they are hares, not bunnies, but that's near enough for me!

Not to mention the beautiful bluebell wood:

And here for good measures, two more wonderful trees:

I recently purchased a large set of Erich Engeln knitting instructions/charts and am knitting my way pleasurably through a number of doilies, but so far no pix. Watch this space!!