Visitors, volunteers and possible ventures.

On Saturday, we were visited by a friend who we met when we were living in an intentional community in Cornwall, prior to our move here (with the neighbours). She has also moved on and is embarking on self-build in a recently formed eco-village. They are using volunteers to help and she brought four of them up with her because they were interested in visiting The Centre for Alternative Technology http://www.cat.org.uk/ and having a look around Mid-Wales, including a visit to where our landlords live, which is quite an amazing place http://oldchapelfarm.org/
The neighbours came around and ten of us had dinner in the barn on Saturday, which was great, the four volunteers were in their mid-twenties (so made me feel quite old and mumsy), really switched on and interesting. They have gained a fair bit of knowledge and skills whilst travelling and volunteering, including some straw bale building. This really got me thinking..........

We talked about the possibility of having our own volunteers when we arrived here last year, but didn't get any further. We could certainly do with some help in the garden, the menfolk both work full time, Cathie and I have part time jobs (although I am currently not working, thanks to a back injury, but should be working again soon) and children, the garden is huge and the weeds got the better of us last year. We feel like we are more on top of it this year, but I am frustrated with my inability to physically do what I want to do. A bit of help would be great. Having some young people about would be fun, cooking for a few extra mouths is no problem. These particular volunteers have their own accomadation in the form of caravans. These particular volunteers were also lovely, so ever the opportunist, I suggested that they might consider coming here later in the year. I don't know what will happen, but it's planted a seed. What we could really do with in the first instance is people with straw bale building experience, because within the land we have this little gem......................

An even shonkier, wonkier little straw bale house. It has been used for volunteers and as a retreat in the past and it would be a real shame if it fell apart. It needs some TLC. I know nothing about these things, but apparently the timber frame is supporting the roof, which is keeping the weather out, but the walls need taking out and re-building. If we could get some help with this, we may be able to use it as a retreat or volunteer accomadation again. A quick call to our landlords to confirm that they are OK in principle for us to maybe do this gets the thumbs up. They built it years ago when they lived here and have built and restored other interesting structures so should be able to advise.

One of the good things (or maybe not) about blogging about this means, to me that it is slightly more than just an idea. Now I've written about it and it's "out there" I feel slightly obligated to follow through.

Spring is in the air

It's been a beautiful day, unfortunately my painful back meant that I couldn't do the stuff I really wanted to be doing in the garden. Never mind, I've had a pleasant potter in the kitchen , we have guests later and I'm feeding ten.

I did get out to take some pictures.Whilst putting them on the laptap I was reminded that my photography skills are not the best - in fact I get plenty of micky taking about it in this house. Perhaps this blogging malarky will help me improve.

One of the wonderful things about our set up here is that the children (my one and my neighbour's three) have such an amazing environment to play in together. They (mostly) get on really well and have spent most of the day outside. All very wholesome and lovely. They are experiencing what I feel a lot of children now don't have a chance to. They have quite a lot of freedom which is great.

Something had them engrossed.

The pond is teeming with frogs and spawn, they are surprisingly noisy.

A recurring theme in this blog is likely to be our late, short growing season, I'm sure that many people are enjoying their daffodils, ours are still a little way off. I've picked some in the hope that they may warm up and open up indoors.

The snowdrops are at their best now.

And there is a little bit of colour to be found. I have no idea what this is, but it's pretty. (See what I mean about my photographs? The blue pipe doesn't really enhance it).

I also took a picture of the first shoots of wild garlic (ramsons) which we had a lovely crop of last year, but I'd managed to capture a rusty old lighter, so that one is not going to be included. We need to move the chickens, they've been very free range all winter, but we don't want them plopping on the ramsons and they are actually really irritating if you are trying to do anything in the garden, they lack any sense of danger which is not good combined with a garden fork. They will still be free range, just not where we are growing stuff.

First Post

It's taken several months of thinking about doing this to finally take the plunge and just do it.
I have followed a number of lovely blogs over the past few years, some of which have inspired me and motivated me to do things I wouldn't have contemplated before. A lot that I look at, I look at simply because they are colourful, beautiful and brighten up my day. Others have been informative, interesting or amusing.

What will mine be? Well, the first reason for doing this, if I am honest is because I am working towards peddling some of my crocheted creations and setting up an etsy shop. From a bit of research it looks like having an etsy shop and a blog go hand in hand.

It's not just about that, though, I like the idea of having a record of things with pictures, but I'm terrible at keeping a diary, doing this might discipline me to regularly write something (it might not).
Other people's blogs have encouraged me to revisit creativity, something I left behind me many years ago. Lucy's blog http://attic24.typepad.com/ a few years ago had me rushing urgently to the local yarn shop to buy a stash of yarn and a crochet hook then teaching myself how to crochet. I had a deadline to meet at the time, so really needed another distraction. Since then I have become slightly addicted and have an expensive yarn habit. I don't expect that selling my stuff will mean I can give up my day job, but if it helps pay for the habit that would be a start.

My lovely neighbour has a blog that I contributed to for a very short while, http://becomingdomestic.co.uk/ in fact we initially made contact through her blog a few years ago before we ended up being neighbours in Cornwall and then moved here together where our families rent next door homes and share some land and gardens. I have "met" some lovely people online through blogs, including the lovely Sue http://thequincetree65.blogspot.com/ who I used to correspond with via another website, lost touch with and then discovered her blog and an uncannily similar taste for things lovely and crocheted.
I have also met (in the conventional way) some people over the past few years via the internet who have become real friends.

At the same time I have mixed feelings about blogging, I'm quite private, why would I want everyone to be able to read my ramblings, more to the point, why would anyone want to read my ramblings? I don't know. There is another blog post in this for another time.

I don't know what direction this will take, I want to blog about crochet, simple, mundane domestic stuff, being frugal  and anything else that pops up, this will probably change and evolve.

You are welcome to join me on my adventures.