The Year Is Ending On A Good Note.

 A run through of what’s been happening.

I have been doing Farmers Markets with the Buffalo Meat

The meat has been really selling well, 

I have three more to do before Christmas, but of course it means if I am out and about doing farmers markets 

I have had my surgery yipppppeeeeee

I am now a month post surgery and recovering well getting back to normal, it’s a bit of a pain having to travel to Cardiff to see the surgeon, but there we go it’s done and I really hope I never ever go through that again. 

I am no longer having constant pressure headaches, not having to sleep  the days away is wonderful, tinnitus is gone most of the time, balance and coordination is coming back. 

I did lose 28 lbs pre surgery put a few ponds on in the following couple of weeks but have dropped it again. Losing the weight has made a vast improvement to my COPD. 

I am still having tests looking for the cause of high cranial pressure and I hope the find the cause and can treat it before another leak occurs. 

I won’t go through the details of the surgery here but if you want to know I have done some you tube videos on my CSF leak. 

We have been moving on with the building work and this week I hope the scaffold comes down for the last time, I now have a lovely walk in Pantry, this video show my pantry off.

I have been taking it easy recovering I have been getting the last of the canning done from poly tunnel produce

 

I also got a bargain of 6 pineapples for £1 so they got canned this week too.

I picked the first Satsuma of the Year too from the poly tunnel

There are still more to come and we should both have a satsuma for Christmas  

I am getting back to crafting as well, I did run a workshop the other week

They were making draught excluders with Applique robins.

I have had my loom out again and getting some weaving done, using up lots of scrap ends of yarn.

It is so lovely to spend time in the evening doing some crafts in front of the fire while listening to a audiobook  at the moment I am listening to The Allotment girls 

https://www.audible.co.uk/pd?asin=1528820258&source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=player_overflow  

It is lovely to feel almost normal again, and do normal things. I am planning to get out on my bike again soon, had a trial run around the field with Martin surpervising did lose my balance but I plan to be out properly on it in a few weeks, although we have snow forcast next week that might postpone it a bit. 

I am really looking forward to 2023 we have lots of plans having both suffered with health issues over the past couple of years it has made us take stock and descions on the future but that is a long way off heat we are still only part way through our adventure here.

stay safe and warm everyone.

Yep it’s August

 Yes we are heading into our last Bank Holiday of the year.

I have made Marmalade from our own home grown oranges

 And It seems like the world is going to pot

Energy costs are soaring,

Food prices are soaring, 

Postal workers are striking, 

Ports are striking, 

Rail workers are striking, 

Barristers are striking, 

Refuse Collectors are striking, 

Heatwaves and water shortages.

Crop failures.

And I have a courgette glut again, 

But I am not going to fret over it, this year I am prepared and have a few ideas on hand to deal with it. 

Some of the things I have done in the past with courgettes 

http://www.beingselfsufficientinwales.co.uk/search/label/Courgettes

Other news, our farm shop is open and has been going well except no one wants to buy courgettes.

The Buffalo have calved we have two lovely little females unfortunately we lost a bull calf from Petunia after another difficult delivery, she has now been retired. 

Other news, I still battle daily with my Cranial Leak, more on that another time.

I have lost 22lbs of weight more on that another time.

The polytunnels have served us well and we have had excellent crops this year, filling the cupboards and freezer.

The peach harvest was excellent, some we sold some I preserved some were eaten fresh off the tree.

Our Scaffolding business is now completely relocated to here and Martin is getting plenty of work lots of variety and more unusual requests 

Building work is progressing well on the house, our builder has just come back from his holidays and is now ready to get slates on the roof fascia boards and gutter stuff, then he can knock through to the exsisting kitchen 

We now have a compost loo which I love it our anniversary present to ourselves this year

We have also bought a big beast of a generator that runs on diesel and will be set up to run the whole house and outbuildings during a power cut. 

On that note I am signing off time to tackle those courgettes take care everyone.

Feel Like We Have Slapped In The Face

 Yes seriously a big slap in the face, 

after spending weeks juggling budgets, 

Trips to France 

Putting our plans on hold,

Endless visits viewing mobile homes, 

Time spent away when we had so much going on here

We found the perfect mobile home for Martins parents it was above the budget we set but hey it’s for his parents to be comfortable in for the remainder of there days.

We put down a deposit told them all about it, did a video and sent to them 

They watched the video then called us the next morning.

They have changed there mind, unbelievable.

Rising From The Ground

 It has been a super busy time here, shutting down the scaffolding business in Bedfordshire is now complete and we are working on building up a small works scaffolding business here which is going well, this week has seen the last of the equipment and lorries transported here.

Along with another new venture being started

We had a trip out to collect some railway sleepers to be used for the base of the farm shop, the floor was then laid 

Then the came back to start erecting the building

Five hours later and we have a farm shop and office for Martin

We both love it now we just have to turn it into the dream, a partition wall will be going up giving Martin an office space that will be insulated, and the larger end will be our farm shop, we are putting in a commercial freezer and chiller for buffalo meat and pork products, surplus fruit and veg, we will also have plants, alpaca fleece sheep fleece, honey eggs, herbs, tanned sheep and goat hides and a few crafty bits.

I am really excited and hope to be open by the end of the month.

Yesterday was shearing day for the Alpacas and sheep

Jubilee weekend saw us doing a bit of a garden makeover

With the left over sleepers we have boxed in the lavender border that was getting trampled by dogs visiting children etc we are going to get more sleepers and edge all the garden borders with them.

We have another big project to get on the go really really soon, Martin’s elderly parents who live in France want to return to the U.K., we have offered them to come and live here,  so the next thing to do is remove all the leylandi  trees from the end of the garden giving us a 50 foot by 20foot space and bringing in a mobile home for them to live out there days. It will need to be a four season one with double glazing and gas central heating, we will fence across the garden giving them there own private space and own entrance leading onto the drive and they will have a small garden on hard standing with a few raised beds..

Tomorrow we are off mobile home shopping .

Other news on the health front, I have met with a skull base surgeon at Cardiff hospital who has now added me to his urgent list, all my pre op assessments have been done and now just waiting on a date, it will be about a five day stay in hospital and they are putting a drain in my spine to help reduce cranial pressure as the fracture in my crib form plate (one of the plates in your skull) repairs. Recovery will be long about 10 months, he said I will never get back to as I was before but be a lot better than I am now. My daily functionality is deteriorating and most days I spend more time laying down than doing anything, but still keep busy and get done what I can when I can. 

Things are very productive in the poly tunnels although I am behind with some things, new ducklings have arrived, the building work continues we are now at the next major stage, steels have arrived at last and now the corner of the kitchen has to be knocked out and a temporary roof go on, it’s going to be very messy and lots of chaos but I really want this part over with before I go into hospital.

That it for today folks take care everyone.

Dealing With An Egg Glut

 They keep saying about an egg shortage but my girls don’t watch the news and continue to lay along with the duck gang, prices of eggs are rising in the shops but our eggs at the gate have stayed the same price for now

£1 for chicken eggs and £1.50 for duck eggs 

But sales have dropped off leaving me with a glut of eggs to use up.

I no sooner use them up and some asks if I have any eggs as the shop had run out, typical buy from the shop then when they don’t have any think I just keep eggs for them.

Two big jars of pickled eggs were done 34 eggs in total

Then it was on to the duck eggs

3 different quiches gave me the chance to add bits of ham, and veg etc from the bottom of the fridge, 6 eggs in each quiche 

When I run out of pastry it was frittata using up 10 eggs spinach ham peppers

Then there was some sausage meat left in the freezer from when we did sausages that got used with another 6 eggs for scotch eggs.

While I was in the freezer rummaging around found a portion of curried mince lamb so that got pulled out and made into some pasties for lunches.

Plenty of grab and go lunches available now, it’s a busy time of year and sometimes you just don’t want a sandwich, or I haven’t made any bread, .

Now I have Martin at home a lot more he needs feeding.

More news on the home front, next week I have an appointment with the surgeon, the farm shop and Martin’s new office also arrives next week, almost all the yard stuff from the business is here Martin just has two more lorry loads to bring up, then it will be the big sort out, we have already started listing lorries on eBay.

On the farm front we have started milking the goats again, the buffalo are now back out on grass

And we have collected another two hives of bees to replace the two we lost last year to wasp attacks.

That’s it for now be back soon, take care everyone.

Time To Share Our Big News

 Spring has sprung at Stickle Tarn, blossom on the fruit trees are alive with bees, which is great to see and seed sowing is on the way, but I am holding back on the reins with planting out, a bit of Spring sunshine gives a false sense of security, we still have very cold frosty nights, we could still get snow, so I am just taking it easy and enjoying the warmth of the sun.

WHATS BEEN HAPPENING 

SUCH A LOT 

Our goats have kidded, 

we have four lovely little bouncy kids, 

who always bring a smile to your face.

We are not lambing this year.

So what else is going on 

The building work is now coming on a storm which is a great relief to see and now we can see what we have, pop over to the Building page for a full update on what went wrong.

Martin has a new to us tractor this makes a big jobs easier you can see it here on this video

  I suppose I should tell you of our BIG NEWS this is life changing stuff for us.

In two weeks time Martin will be here full time, yes at last after 8 years of working away my husband will be at my side here on the smallholding.

We have been selling off our scaffolding business in Bedfordshire, he wont be fully retired just yet but no more working away, well perhaps the occasional night, we will be running a small works scaffold business from here and the past year has been getting the word out and small jobs have been done, Equipment has been moved up here that will be needed along with a couple of trucks.

Of course he will need an office to work from 

And this what is going on here, clearing a space for an office and a

FARM SHOP

Yes Stickle Tarn is going to have a little farm shop, a place we can sell our Buffalo Meat, plants, veg, eggs along with other things we produce here on the smallholding. 

On the subject of Buffalo meat, we have been working with a local butcher Mark Webb who is taking on some of our meat and also making burgers and sausages from it. 

Lots of big changes afoot 2022 is going to be an exciting year for us,

I hope it is for you too.

An Update is in Order

 I thought an update was in order, I am still battling with my health issue, my first hospital appointment with the surgeon was cancelled we drove for an hour just walked in the hospital doors and they phoned to cancel so it was back in the car and drive home again, we were both very disappointed  as we thought we were getting somewhere.

Anyway there was nothing we could do about it just suck it up.

I have now got another appointment next week fingers crossed this one will go ahead.

My GP did tell me results of the CT scan, it showed a hole in the skull, as it’s not his field he couldn’t really comment much more. 

I have good days we’re I feel somewhat normal and can get on with chores and try and play catch up on jobs, then I will be floored by bad days we’re I struggle to do anything and spend a lot of time laying down , bedtime is worse the nights are long and I toss and turn, which of course results in a battle with fatigue the following day.

I have been getting some things done a bit of canning

Training Poppy

Feeding Buffalo

And the freezers were given a big overhaul

I hope everyone is keeping well andI will update again after my hospital visit.