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....