An explanation, a completion and a return...

Its been a long time between posts, a long, long time. To be honest i wasn't sure if Id ever get round to posting again. What started as a chronicle of our life in Yorkshire was in danger of becoming another thing on the never ending list of things to do that never got done. We started this adventure with a house to rescue, roofs to be put on and damp to be prevented whilst still trying to make sure our children enjoyed the journey with us. What we've found is that too often things get in the way, things too many to list but the following would certainly make it into the top ten,

1. Work, work and more work...I love my job but who doesn't wish all weekends were three days long.

2. Children's hobbies, parties, birthdays, gym clubs, brownies, extra curricular activities, homework - all very worthwhile but I cant remember the last time I sat down before 9pm

3. House work and laundry - One day I will have a cleaner who I will love and cherish and who will rescue me from all this washing!

4. Dogs, chickens, dogs who find their way into the chickens and eat all the chickens, dogs who then break into a neighbours and eat their chickens - don't ask, I cant elaborate, its still too traumatic, suffice to say we no longer leave the dogs with a dog walker and our two surviving chooks are seeing out the winter with the grandparents. 

5. Bad backs - to top it all just when we are getting on top of everything both of our backs have a tendency to give way in unison. What used to be cured with a paracetamol and a radox bath now needs 48 hours and a tramadol - is this the future?

6. My impending big birthday - okay so for....thirty plus ten isn't such a big deal to everyone but I just thought Id be thinner/smarter/taller/richer/have better hair by now! I'm not in full melt down yet but I've got some big goals to achieve by August!

However, we have been cracking on with the build - we finally have a 'grown up' bedroom!

At last we have a landing that doesn't scare the children - the cold creepy tunnel that it once was is now a distant memory!

 Let there be light!

The down stairs room is no longer a pile of bricks - its a real room with real furniture and everything!!!

 and even a corner for crafting and blogging (okay it still needs shelves and skirting boards but hey it didnt even exist this time last year!!!)

so all in all were getting there...still slowly... but we're definitely getting closer. 

And I finally have somewhere to sit down and blog, so I guess....I'm back!

Where did the time go....

Hello again...is there anybody there? The last thing I remember school was breaking up in July, we had a big list of things to do and then what do you know...its September and we're back at school!

We have been busy though honest! I can prove it...

We almost finished the hallway...

Even John Deer is finally in his rightful place,

we made a start on decorating the new build - the room that will one day, finally, be our grown up bedroom!

 despite a dreadful harvest in the garden, the broad beans did us proud...

and this was our best year yet for gooseberries - red ones at that!

 and our dragons egg cucumber - we only managed one, and it didn't taste great but it grew!

and then what with the weather and the kids activities and playdates and packing and unpacking and laundry and putting away...the summer was gone - hey ho!
The plus side for me though is I have time for blogging again - every cloud has a silver lining!

We did have one other big distraction over the summer...I took the following picture there - can you guess?

 to be continued....

Digging and planting...and a plant sale to prepare!!!

Its been a big weekend in the Freerange household. Been as it was bank holiday we couldn't resist the urge to hire heavy equipment and do a spot of digging...

Believe it or not this was a pile of bricks and rubble on Friday, and while it may not look so pretty just yet, to me it looks fabulous - fabulously rubble free...hooray!

 And by Monday it looked like this...

                                       

Ahhhh....happiness is a full skip! Blimey we really need to get out more!

On the planting front its been all hands to the deck. Im holding a plant sale in our village this Saturday to raise funds for our village church. It sounded like a great idea when I suggested it last year but now I'm panicking ...the green house is only half full...

 Ive only got 3 more days to take cuttings and get potting - yikes!

On the plus side, the cuttings I took last weekend are already taking well. This is the Eau de Cologne mint I grew last year...it smells amazing...

and my phone is starting to fill up with messages to say that friends and neighbours have been taking cuttings too...phew! fingers crossed we'll have stuff to sell after all...

Now I just need people to come...I sense sleepless nights ahead...

The boy done good!

Up until not so long ago we had a staircase that looked like this...




And that was after lots of knocking down and dust creation!

But now I'm pleased to say it looks like this...



I know, I know ... It's not finished but i couldnt wait to show you! BH did this all by himself this weekend - didn't he do well?!!

We still have to decorate it and put down new flooring and carpet - but hey, we have light! And a hallway that no longer scares the minis! So even though its now Sunday night and I'm wondering where the weekend went, I could slide down a bannister with joy!




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How we're getting on...

We not only have a roof - we have windows too!


The big build is getting there at last! After months of scaffolding and cement we have a building that looks like we might one day be using!



The windows and the paint have made all the difference and thankfully they were done before the weather turned - hurrah! The glass is now in all of the doors and concrete floors have been laid. We're getting closer to picking curtains - but as BH assures me we're not there yet.

Our current project is this...



The beloved insulation! Its such a boring topic, task and thing to spend money on - but I know we'll be thankful for it in the cold Yorkshire nights ( which aren't limited to winter unfortunately!)

So that's how we're getting on...and why I've been absent from the blogspace...it's like I said, we're getting there...slowly! But when we get there- oh brother its going to be worth it!



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A roof at last...

Finally, the roof is in place, the last bits of pointing have been done and the scaffolding is coming down a tier! At this rate we might let BH down to ground level tomorrow for Fathers Day! To be truthful he did finish cementing last Sunday, but then had to watch as the rains came and washed away all his hard work, we will laugh about it one day, but not for a while!

We've been cracking on a pace here and as usual there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Veg are bolting, weeds are rampaging and everything and everyone is demanding more attention than usual.

The borders however are blooming marvellous...

What these pictures don't show, thank goodness, are the showstopping nettles just waiting to pounce and reclaim the land - they're everywhere!

But its not all work and no play, we might feel fit to drop by the end of the day but we cracked open the Pimms today, it is summer after all, and whilst it didn't quite revive us, it certainly made having a sit down more relaxing...

Up on the roof...

He has been allowed down since the last building blog - I promise!

The other side is on and the forecasts good - we could be 'roof completed' by the end of the week - not bad for a fella with no roofing training and a bit of a thing about heights ( the less said about that the better...)

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An Inspector calls and calls again...

This is me with my feet up. A rare sight, but exactly where I intend them to be this week, no excuses and guilt free. And this is why...

1. we have finally got our roof structure in place - 'topped out' as they say...After sitting under piles of snow for seven weeks these timbers were lifted into place by BH. I was at work when they had their little ceremony and raised the Yorkshire flag - but was mighty glad to see it in place! So its finally in place and was inspected this week and passed muster - of course!

2...and then on Monday when the world was in a heart shaped haze for Valentines day I got the Ofsted phone call. I don't write about work on this blog for obvious reasons but lets just say when the school inspectors phone to say they're coming for a visit its enough to strike fear into the heart of any school leader. Well, they came, they saw and they left, oh and they said they were very pleased with everything we're doing, so that's good! The inspection couldn't have gone better to be honest but by Friday the adrenaline I'd been running on all week sapped out of me and all I was fit for was to be sent to lie down in a darkened room!

But now the clouds are lifting, there are recipes to be sampled, seeds to be planted, blogs to visit and a whole load of tiles to shift. But first, back to the feet up, for just a bit longer...

Pumpkins, pasta and plenty of painkillers...

Well I feel as though I'm a stranger to my own blog at the moment. Once again being able to sit down and type seems like the greatest luxury, perhaps when I talk you through the last week you ll see why!

It all started pretty well, I was following Jamie's thirty minute suppers and we made porcini tagliatelle, mushroom pasta in fact. The raw materials were assembled, the timer was started and I'm pleased to say that before the thirty minutes were up...pasta was served.

That Jamie really knows his onions, and his mushrooms for that matter. The result was delicious...

The only thing I would question are his portion sizes, this made enough for both of us and packed lunched the following day, Jules Oliver certainly doesn't fit into those frocks on this this diet!

So far so good... then came the day of the great support. No, not a fitting for ladies undergarments, but the the day the steel support were lifted in through the window and put into place ready for the hall wall to be knocked out. Now on Grand Designs this always involves a crane and lots of men in hard hats shouting 'steady on ' - not in this house it doesn't! Instead the sturdiest chaps we could muster were assembled and the thing was lifted in by hand to cries of , well its probably best not to repeat them to be honest!

So the blog was put on hold again...

And then just as the skip arrived and the all of the rubble needed removing BHs back took a turn for the worse. Skips don't fill themselves so sleeves had to be rolled up and wheelbarrows had to be filled. Of course children had to be fed and pumpkins had to be carved too!

So the blog was put on hold again...

So now I'm glad to say wall have been demolished,  rubble is removed, children have been fed, pumpkins carved, tricks treated, invalids medicated and were all well on the way to recovery.

Its nice to be back...Happy Halloween!!!

From all of us xxx

A room with a view...

We are so bogged down in building and chores and trying to keep on top of everything that the idea of taking time for ourselves right now seems very distant and strangely surreal - even sitting down for half an hour to blog is the greatest treat! So today in amongst the building and cooking and cleaning and all the rest of it I thought I better stop and take stock. I was summoned to the build to see where we've got to by my little rebels shouting from the ramparts!

                                     

I dread to think how they got up there, but before I could say 'wheres your hard hat?' I was up there too. Well if you cant beat them , join em! This was the first time I've stood in the first floor room - our future bedroom. I was so excited I hardly trusted my self on the ladder!

I think BH must have seen the look on my face and guessed that my mind was skipping on to curtains and cushions as he was very quick to point out that things will take a long time yet - oh if only it was like on the telly and we'd all be sorted by teatime! couldn't resist getting a quick preview of what our view will be one day, so here it is....

                                               

I'd love to say the view will be much tidier, but I'm not asking miracles, just a bit of greenery outside the window will make a very very happy mum!

So my top tip for today is to stop - stop and take stock, stop and look around you , stop and climb a ladder if needs to be to get a better view, but definitely stop and smell the roses, or soak up the asters because its all alright really!!!

Nightbuilding...

Bh has taken the suggestion that there's not enough hours in the day to heart. He's invested in a light rig so that he can carry on into the wee hours. I'll be so glad when it's done just so that he can chill out a bit - no doubt he'll have another project by then so it's unlikely that he'll slow down soon! At least he stops for the occasional cake break - got to keep him well fuelled!


This is the first time I've blogged from the phone. Fingers crossed it will work!

Workers teatime and a sad sunday...

The building is cracking on a pace. Its unbelievable how quickly things start to take shape once bricks are being laid. Finally our children dont think Dad's building a swimming pool - its going up instead of down at last!

For the longest time BH has been talking me through the finest details of the drawings and plans and managed not to throw them at me when Ive drifted off under the weight of all the technical detail. It was never that I was interested but I just keep leaping too far ahead to the curtains and cushions stage!

But now weve got holes for windows and doors, i'm practically giddy with excitement!  We've already practised sitting in various parts of the room to imagine looking out of the window - but I am under strict orders that if I buy any furniture before its finished tools will be downed in protest!

At least I can feel confident that at last we'll have a room with a view!

This doorway isn't quite as huge as it looks - BH is stood quite a way up the hill - either that or our Yorkshire mist is making him shrink!

Despite the rumours, builders dont survive on tea alone - they quite like a bit of cake to go with it. We had a rare trip to the famous Bettys tea rooms and couldnt resist these beauties. The French fancies have gone down a storm, Mr Kiplings won't ever seem the same again! Personally I'm quite quite taken with the chocolate chestnut conkers!

We'd planned a Sunday tea to serve these up at, but alas things didnt quite go to plan, not least but because we made a discovery in the chicken coop which knocked us for six.  We lost our favourite baby buff bantam this weekend to the pecking order. We noticed that the Marys (our bossy hybrids who we hatched earlier this year) were getting increasingly dominant with our oldest Buff Bantam offspring. She was beautiful and had just laid her first egg. They bossed her about but it seemed no more than that, only when we checked them Sunday teatime we found that she'd been pecked to death. I know, I know  - rural life can be brutal, but right now I could throttle the Murdering Marys myself. BH is really sad too as she was the first chick we ever hatched and he had hoped to show her next year. 

So heres to BB, our baby buff, we'll miss her very much.

Buildings a Go Go...

First of all thankyou for sticking with me whilst I disappeared from blogland for the last week. Citygirl treated us all to a very much appreciated break and we packed up the the tribe and headed for the hills.



Our minifreerangers couldnt have been happier - at last a chance to release their inner princess and pirate without mum and dad moping on about cement mixers!

Bless that Citygirl! She certainly knows whats needed and when! Waiting for planning approval had us both at the end of our tether - I'd convinced myself that it wasnt going to happen, we would have to move and start again and my veg patch would belong to someone else - boo hoo! But Citygirl knows better than to give into amateur dramatics and shoved us on bikes for the week to take our mind off things ( she also knows just when a mojito is called for!) so Mojitos, bikes and lots of rest were prescribed and we certainly feel all the better for it.


Especially because...our building plans have been approved!!!! Hoorah!!!


We got the call a couple of days early and it took us completely by surprise, but now its full steam ahead. Bricks are being laid at last!



Secondly - can I thank everybody who posted suggestions for what to do with my courgettes - in the culinary sense that is! Bionic Grandpa kept watering while we were away and they just kept producing more and more. So in honour of you all I am going to try and cook a different courgette dish from your suggestions every night this week (also Ive run out room in the freezer!)

Tonights was nice and easy - Spicy Vegetable Soup. Onions, Courgettes, tomatoes, Peppers, more courgettes, an anonymous chilli, some basil, more courgettes and plenty of seasoning.



Its very simple but very yum! Its also very low calorie to compensate for all the lovely food citygirl plied us with, but theres no compromise on the taste. Im going to try freezing some as a lunchtime standby...



Im already planning tomorrows creation...