Monday 28 November 2016

Ramble on

Apologies for the blogging hiatus, I appear to have lost my blogging mojo of late, coupled with getting my head around being a landlord and attempting to start a business.  Those of you following on Facebook will have been privy to the scant posts I made showing my feeble bargains over the past few months, which is more than I have put on here!

My head is bursting with paperwork, landlord law, problems with the rental property that I hope are almost sorted, despite being pretty major, and the all round headless chicken mode that comes from being fully responsible for everything I do to earn money and keep afloat, it's terrifying but empowering at the same time.

Where to begin?  Not sure really, Christmas is coming, I've done all my shopping, my gift bags for friends and family are sorted.  Some non seasonal generic products (like foodstuffs and toiletries) I have recently purchased in shops or online, other things, individual to the person, are picked up as I shop in the year.  I have found great purchases in the charity shops over the year, and hopefully they will be liked by the recipients (despite the fact I paid pennies instead of pounds)

On a sadder note, I lost one of my chickens at the end of October.  Maisie was just under six and a half, quite a good age for a light Sussex bantam.  She was a lone hatch at the time and I had to keep a mirror and cuddly toy with her to stop her crying.  She spent time in the kitchen with me when she was tiny, she loved me sliding her along the tiled floor and raced back to me for me to do it again!  She moved with us to the countryside and thoroughly enjoyed the freedom, the views and once she was used to them, the horses in the field next door.


Here she is with her mirror


Still living in the kitchen


The terrible trio last summer, Duck passed away last Christmas and now only Lola remains.

I do have two new chickens I was given by the person who keeps horses in the adjoining field.  Lola is now integrated with the female, Florence.  The male, Brian is rather amorous so has to be kept separately!  Both were not in a good condition when I was given them.  Florence obviously has vision problems, this is frustrating Lola big time as Florence does not go to bed or follow her around foraging.  Both chickens had very bad feet when they arrived, the toes were covered in hard balls of caked soil, and after some gentle removal of the loose stuff, and several days walking on good ground, their toes emerged.  Brian has managed his own foot problems, and has no further trouble, but Florence has lost some toes, had to have her ridiculously long nails trimmed and had some sort of scale disorder, which is healing and appears to no longer be causing discomfort.  She is being monitored closely!

On a lighter note, the OH and I now have two days a week when we get to go out and just relax.  We have been to some lovely places, and I hope to start sharing our visits with you all soon.  We are both struggling with a work/life balance at the moment, and hopefully will sort this out soon, especially as things on my side calm down a little and I get used to my new work pattern.

I'll leave you with this bargain I picked up from a charity shop in Broadway (yes, there are charity shops in the Cotswolds) not a cheapy cheap buy at £5.50 but so worth it!

 I  am so fussy with jumpers and only have three that have to last me through every winter.  as a charity shopper I find buying woollens so difficult as donated woollens are usually not in great condition.  We generally hang on to our beloved jumpers and cardis more than anything else I think.

  The jumper is green and lavender and I actually took the photos before I washed it, it came out a little lighter as it was filthy!  Never mind, it is now the softest and most comfy jumper to wear, and must have cost over £100 brand new.  Sometimes it pays to spend a little more, it has certainly expanded my range in the chazzas.  

Right, I think it's time for me to get out there and get commenting on your blogs!
  
  

19 comments:

  1. I know that chickens become very tame and affectionate and it must be especially so when they are with you from the egg. Good that your new birdies have a loving home and I smiled at the reference to amorous Brian. There is a book called 'The Hills is Lonely' where Morag pens the cockerel up on Sundays to stop his amorous activities because she considered it not fitting for the sabbath!

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    1. Haha! I've probably been very cruel to Brian by separating them but he was going to cause some damage to the hens with his spurs, and Lola is my priority as she is my little favourite.

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  2. I'm so glad to see you back!! Don't stay away. I understand it must be hard managing all that you are though! I love the sweater- it looks super comfy! It's worth it when you find something amazing!!x

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    1. Thank you, Kezzie. I'm very bad at time management at the mo, and yes, the jumper is comfy!

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  3. Lovely to see you back, so enjoy reading your posts x

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  4. So good to see you back , my you are so busy with everything but it must be so rewarding. Your Christmas organisation is most impressive.The new jumper was such a great find and will keep you warm for many Winters to come.

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    1. Ahh, I love having Christmas sorted early, it makes December much more enjoyable

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  5. I hope the renting and business are going well. I rented out a property for a few years while the market was finding it's feet after the last recession. Put it this way, I'd never do it again. Hope your experience is a million times better. Good to see you back! x

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    1. You and me both, Vix. If I knew then what I know now, I would not be a landlord!!

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  6. Good to see you back, Claire. Seems you have been quite busy! Sorry to hear about Maisie. As for poor Florence and Brian, I'm glad to hear that they are getting a new lease of life at yours. Looking forward to reading about your visits again, which I've always enjoyed very much. Keep well. xxx

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    1. Thank you, Ann, lots of visits coming up for me to blog about :)

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  7. Heelllooo. I don't think charity shops are all that cheap of late and some of the stuff isn't fit for the bin ! If you are not on before , Happy Christmas and New year xx

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    1. Hello back, are you going to blog again? Mmm have found a few bad things in the chazzas, concealed holes and damage. Makes rummaging hard, you need four pairs of eyes!

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  8. So sorry to hear about Maisie. Kitchen-kept chooks really do have an extra hold on our heartsm don't they?

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    1. Thank you, yes, as you know they are right little heart grabbers!

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  9. Ah sorry about Maisie I would love to have chickens but not until we've stopped travelling as too much commitment. As I've mentioned on a few other blogs I have no luck in charity shops I just don't have an eye for hunting out a bargain not in clothes anyway lol. Your life sounds incredibly busy managing a business like yours takes a lot of work, my friend owns a lettings agency in Kent and oh I don't envy her at all it sounds like a nightmare. I'm loving my work free life despite my limited funds lol. Don't work too hard.

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    1. Hi, no I'm just bad at time management! I will improve and need a timetable as I like structure. Hope you get your chickens one day.

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  10. This is a tender post about the poor Maisie. Animals are affectionate and special friends...

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