It's going to be a long night

Just a quick post to let you know that we have now released our ducks and they have been exploring their new home. Not getting on the pond much and now it is dark and we have tried to get them in again, but no luck. We are having to leave them out all night and hope and pray they are still here in the morning, I can't stand the thought of losing them before we get to know them. Smokey of course looked at me and said Oooh mummy, new toys!! We have been assured that they will find their way onto the pond and stay there during the night. Oh well, we are in for a long night I think, listening while we are sleeping, if we get to sleep that is. I will be going to bed thinking.......clip their wings or not clip them. I will be letting you know if they are still there in the morning. Goodnight Thomas, Poppy and Duck.

"D" Day has arrived

Well the day has arrived and today we went to pick up our 3 call ducks. We thought it would be very difficult to catch them, but in fact it only took us about 20 minutes. You have to realise that their wings haven't been clipped so they could have just flown off. Bless them they didn't, so we now have Thomas, Poppy and Duck installed in their enclosure for the next 3 days so they can get adjusted and know that this is their new home. They are so pretty, we just know we are going to spend a lot of time just looking at them. My son-in-law and a very good friend of ours, Brian is going to look at this photo and cringe because they would know how to take the photo without having the wire netting showing. I don't know how to do it so sorry guys, I will learn from you later. My 3 grandchildren, who named the ducks, I'm sorry I can't tell you which is which from this photo, but once they are outside I will try and do better. We will soon get to know them hopefully.

Apart from getting ducks ready, I have been busy making tulips. We have been invited to a birthday party and it is a friend who lives in the next village. We have never bought each other presents before and not even cards, and I didn't want to go without anything at all, so I thought I would make her a little bunch of tulips. Here they are, and they are such fun to do, I hope you like them. In fact I took them along to the sewing group I go to and they loved them so we will have a little workshop making them.

Smokey's leg is now completely dried up and the fur is beginning to grow, but we think he is going to be a high maintenance cat as he is always getting into scraps. Does it make us love him less, not on your life.

Now for the really BIG news. In my last blog I said that I was getting rather depressed about our Ruby wedding anniversary which is on the 15th March. We just didn't know what to do to celebrate, it just wouldn't be the same without my family. Well...... my girls are coming over for the weekend, they arrive on the Friday and go back early Monday morning. You should have seen us when we got the phone call, both weeping, great big softies. Now that I have written this I am wondering if I told you this in my last post, if so, sorry, I'm just so excited :-)

"D" Day is coming ... Ducks

Since I last posted, Spring has come, gone, come back again and is now teetering on the edge somewhere. The day after I mentioned SNOWdrops this is what happened. Everything looked beautiful of course, including this wonderful iris, bless it and it is still going strong. The trouble is the ground is now so waterlogged we can't do anything. I stood on the lawn and you can see what happened, I thought I was going to sink, my poor wellies were going deeper and deeper. Having said that, it is beginning to get better, sun is warm though there is a biting wind which chills you through, the answer is to stay in the sunshine.

Richard has been busy getting ready for the three ducks a friend is giving us. For people who know about these things, they are call ducks and are so cute, I can't wait. I asked my 3 grandchildren to name them, we have 2 males and 1 female, which I realise might prove a problem but we will cross that bridge when we get there; anyway, Vicki called this morning and said the children had the names ready, wait for it........ Thomas, Poppy and Duck. You have to remember that the twin girls are only 2 so they chose Poppy and Duck. I love the names and wouldn't change them for anything. You can see the floating raft that Richard has built for them, this way they can get away from predators. It's brilliant and is attached on both sides of the pond so we can reach it whenever the need arises. We have made a feeding station for them and they will be shut in there for about 3 days so they know where they live and who is feeding them. This is all so new to us, to please keep your fingers crossed for us. Later on in the summer when the pond has considerably gone down, Richard is going to sink 4 posts in it and build a house with a ladder, keep them nice and snuggly.

Over the last couple of days I have been busy making some tulips, I know this sounds strange, but it's all to do with quilting and craft etc. Cut flowers in France are really a No No because they are so expensive, it is one thing that I really miss, I always had fresh flowers in the house in the UK. Anyway, they are nearly finished and I will take a photo of them and post them later on in the week. I hope you like them.

We are both wondering what to do in March because it is our 40th (Ruby) wedding anniversary and we feel we should celebrate it in some way. The problem is, I don't really want to do anything without my family around me. I could get quite depressed about it. I think we shall just wait and have a party when we go back to the UK. If only I could win the lottery, I would fly them all out so we could celebrate in style. Ho Hum ..... dream on. Perhaps I should buy a ticket first.

Spring is here - oh no, it's gone

We had a few lovely days, warm enough for us to eat a snack lunch outside and I have a couple of snowdrops out and a lot of crocus and even a miniature iris. They just make you feel so good don't they? Having said that, the sun didn't last long and we now have high winds again and sleety rain coming down in stair rods!! Great!

Smokey is certainly feeling better, his leg is healing nicely and we are just waiting for his fur to grow, then he will look normal again. He is into such mischief and is a joy to have around, we were so very lucky to have him walk into the garden and say "Would you take care of me and love me?" No! Really, he did, I heard it :-)

My new year's resolution is to make more time for my quilting so there may be a few pictures later on down the line. I have decided which celtic knot block to do next, I just need to draw it out on the fabric and get going. The sewing room is rather cold, so once it is drawn out, at least I can then bring it downstairs to do in the evenings. I was asked in my comments by Jacky about quilt shows and shops in the Gers. Don't hold your breath Jacky, I haven't found a fabric shop yet that I would say sold "quilting fabrics". That is one thing I really miss. Thank goodness for internet shopping!! As for quilt shows, NOTHING at all in this area. Should you be in our area though, we would certainly make you most welcome for a cup of tea and a chat about quilting. I tried to look you up by clicking on your name, but assume you don't have a blog?? If you leave me another comment, there must be some way we can get in touch without putting personal information on here.

My dad is still on the road to recovery and I am so grateful that my wonderful sister lives close by to them because she does so much for them. Thanks sis. I love you. I hope Ron is feeling better, did he get to the dentist?

I promise I will try and take some photos and make this more interesting, but for now I will say cheerio. Take care one and all, much love to my girls, their husbands and of course my beautiful grandchildren.

Smokey - Little Tinker

I thought I would update you on Smokey. After our trip to the vet we were keeping him in until his wound started to heal and dry over. For those of you who have asked, we have no idea what bit him, but he loves putting his paw down holes, just to see what is there, so it could have been anything. Very nasty bite though. The first 5 days of keeping him in weren't too bad, but then that evening, oh my goodness he just went mad. He was running all through the house, jumping up on every bit of furniture, every time we walked past him he would jump out at us and cling to our legs. Luckily he doesn't play with his claws out!! We had out every toy we could find and tried to keep him amused. We managed to keep him in for that night and then the next morning it all started again and to finish it off he really disgraced himself because, when Richard was sitting on the sofa talking to his sister who had come to visit, Smokey jumped up beside him and tiddled on the sofa. How bad was that??? Needless to say, he went outside. He survived out there but we didn't see him until about 8.30 in the evening and I was beginning to panic. He came back and his leg was fine, so we have let him out again today. Now waiting for him to come home, again. I half expect this little figure to come down the road with a stick over his shoulder and a red and white spotted hankie carrying all his worldly goods. He is very loveable but also terribly independant. Just adorable really.

Outside and in the surrounding area at the moment you are greeted with the smell of bonfires and the sound of chain saws. Everyone is clearing up after the storm. So much damage and all the trees that were lost. Such a shame. My dad should be here at the moment because he loves a bonfire. What is it with men and bonfires, the bigger the better as far as they are concerned.

I will soon get into the swing of things and get some photos taken but in the meantime, it is just getting into the habit of posting again and enjoying everyone elses tales. Still haven't caught up with everyone yet, but I'll get there. Take care all of you, talk again soon.