New arrivals

Elsie Louise

OK, so if I ever thought that there weren't enough hours in the day then I was just kidding myself. I am the embodiment of the book I used to read to the kids 'A Squash and a Squeeze'! I am the lady who thought her house was too small until she squashed various animals into it and then realised she had only been kidding herself. The lady in question managed to then ditch the animals one by one and suddenly her house seemed enormous. No such luck for me I imagine.

Before we get onto just why it's so busy lets pause for drumrolls and celebrations - Kerrie and Ryan have had their baby daughter!!!! Elsie was born just 6 hours after her due date exactly the way that Kerrie planned and all went amazingly smoothly - they were home that afternoon. They have both taken to parenthood like professionals, dealing with everything in their stride it seems. Even Grace who they were very worried about has accepted Elsie immediately and spends a lot of time guarding her (as well as the occasional kiss!).

So what else is keeping us busy? Well, horses it seems chew up an enormous amount of time whether you are directly involved or not. Nula has become a part of the family very quickly and Abi absolutely loves her and everything about having her own horse. She has fallen into a routine which is much healthier - up at a sensible time, go to stables, do what needs to be done, cycle home and then back up in the evening (with me, there goes some of my time) to ride and put her to bed. Izzy has been going too and enjoying the routine so this inevitably led onto her saying she wants a horse too. I quizzed her about whether she was sure ("yes, of course") but knowing her previous form I was reluctant to make any long term commitment.

Time waster extraordinaire

As if by fate someone in the yard said they knew of a horse for loan and so on Sunday Dandy arrived, with a list as long as my arm from his doting owners as to how we should care for him. He's a sweet boy, fat as a barrel, not been ridden much over the past 2 years so is a bit of a project. Day 1 was good - not least he stayed in his box, but on Day 2 we went to put him in his field and he pranced out like a stallion (he's a 15 yo gelding) and I think the reality dawned on Izzy that actually having a horse in real life is a little bit different to Instagram! After 3 days it's clear this is not what she wants so unfortunately Dandy will be going back. Shame as I liked him and Abi would add him to her herd in a heartbeat but that's not the plan and so I have to be firm. I'm proud of Izzy for being honest - what we proved over an above everything is that you do have to be passionate about horses to have one - it's an all or nothing game I'm afraid. 

In other news the last few weeks in the house have been more peaceful as we do less emergency snagging and more enjoyable things. We have removed all of the boring chippings down the side of the house and replaced with artificial grass which looks very colourful and the dogs love to lie on, we have continued to add colour in planters and wood stain, and put the rest of the screens up that we started. Inside we have replaced all of the internal doors to wood rather than paint, and painted in the hall toilet so its not bare chipboard. It's certainly coming together. Our biggest challenge inside has been one of compromise. While the floor to ceiling windows in the front room look great, the amount of heat that comes through on even just a warm day is intense. The sunlight beams through at just the wrong angle and hits like a laser where we stand to cook making it very unpleasant. On a hot day its unbearable. For the last few days we have had a heatwave and it has been ridiculous. After much discussion we've taken the brave decision to reduce the amount of glass to just bi-folds, replacing the top glass (which is a bugger to clean) with block work and plaster / cladding, as well as adding a veranda outside to provide some much needed shade. No sooner had I mentioned the idea of a veranda Glenn was ordering wood (I think as the chef in the house he was more desperate than I thought to address the issue), and yesterday in the space of a few hours he had knocked up a very professional looking, albeit temporary, wooden frame with sail shades! I love my husband for many things but his ability to do this blows me away every time. It would have take weeks and no doubt thousands of pounds to have 'professional' do this - he did it in under a day for less than £250 - genius. Cue the rainy weather!!

A final welcome to other new, but by no means less important, arrivals: Mum and Dad are the proud new parents of a baby land shark - Tolly the puppy. He is super sweet and completely lethal when surfing round looking for feet to play with. I'm glad we are past that point! Also a huge welcome to Margot Alice, Chris and Jess's baby daughter, born just a few days after Elsie. Babies everywhere!

Tolly the land-shark!