I Forgot To Take A Photo

Take 3 balls of this wool,

follow the pattern carefully,

sew together,

add 3 of these pretty buttons

(I bought 4 because I couldn't remember how many buttons I needed !)

And you end up with a colourful shawl cardigan for your neice's 1st birthday,

albeit almost 2 months late - Sorry Molly.

I was so keen to post it off to her I forgot to take a photo of it.

It's the pale pink one in the middle.

Our Chickens Have Arrived !

I went over to Cambridge Poultry to collect our chickens today. They were very quiet on the way back in their cardboard boxes. When I got home I put the boxes in the run but the hens didn't want to come out of the boxes, I had to almost tip them upside down, you would have thought they were holding on to something in the box.

Anyway they were very quiet and nervous all afternoon and didn't really move around the run very much. Let's hope they settle in quickly and start laying eggs.

Mavis is a Babcock (Julian's)

Misty is a Blubelle (Mine)

Maiden is a Black Sussex (Ben's)

Marmite is a Gold Nera (Sam's)

Sore Feet

Sam keeps getting sores on his heels and ankles. He has stopped wearing his AFO's because the orthotic bod said they were not doing any good any more - his feet are too far gone now :(

We are now awaiting an appointment with the surgeon to see if there is anything he can do.

He had an awful infection in his left ankle just after Christmas - this cleared up eventually after a couse of AB's, but he spent weeks not wearing any shoes, which probably caused more damage to his feet.

He then got a pressure sore on the bottom of his heel on the left foot - this cleared up after a few weeks, but it reappeared on his right heel, and he needed another course of AB's to clear this one and some dressings from the nurse.

I wish I knew how to prevent these - we take his shoes off at home, place cushions & sheepskins on his bed so his feet are protected ....

But he is still a happy chappy :-

A Sleepover Without Any Sleep !

Ben had a friend round for a sleepover this weekend. They had it all planned out what they wanted to do, and it didn't involve any sleeping - just playing on the xbox.

They made a list of all the games they wanted to play and they ticked them off as they achieved their goals !

We had KFC for tea, as A had never had it before - not my favourite, but they were happy :)

We went off to bed at about 11pm and they moved the xbox into the front room because the telly is abit bigger in there.

In the morning when I got up they were still playing games, albeit a little quieter than the evening before and they still had school uniform on !

But by 11am - sleep hit Ben, A got bored so I ran him home.


Ben slept in the armchair till about 2pm - then got up, asked where A was, and disappeared off to bed, till I woke him for his tea at 8.30.


It's a great idea - they stay up all night while you sleep, and then they sleep during the day - I think I might survive his teenage days if this could continue !

Updating my blog

I will be attempting to fill in the gaps in my blog since I haven't updated it since 31st Oct - I have taken quite a few photos so hopefully they will jog my memory as to what has happened in our life.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

We have finally found a way to get Ben to eat beetroot.

Not entirely sure it is that healthy though !

But it is yummy !!!

Here is the recipe we use.

KERRANG !

Ben has just been to a concert at the UEA (University of East Anglia) - he went on his own as either his friends weren't yet 14 or they weren't into that type of music (don't ask me what type of music it is !!)

He really enjoyed himself - so I guess it wont be the last concert he goes to.

A Wintery Walk At Blickling Hall

Today was a beautiful crisp wintery day - so we drove to Blickling Hall (claimed birthplace of Anne Boleyn) and had a walk around the lake and finished off in the coffee shop for drinks and cake !

There are some amazingly large trees in the grounds.

This is Ben standing next to a tree !

It had been so cold that a large part of the lake surface was frozen - so Julian & Ben spent ages throwing stones over the top to see how far they would skim and how big a hole they could make - BOYS !

When we got back to the car, a robin came and sat on the wing mirror waiting to have it's photo taken.

Our Christmas Present

We have decided that we are going to keep some chickens in our garden for egg laying. So just after Christmas we went onto eBay and bought a chicken house & run.

Julian has spent a few hours today putting it all together in our dining room - all the time I kept asking if it would fit through the back door - THANK GOODNESS IT DID !!

We have also chosen which chickens we would like but they are out of stock at the moment - so figures crossed it wont be too long before they arrive.

Here is their new house :-

Happy New Year !

We had Julian's sister Nicola & her husband Peter round last night for a meal - it was lovely to see them. We don't see enough of them and they don't live very far away - but we all live very busy lives and time just flies by so quickly.

Ben's ipod nano recently broke - he took it on a Scout group hike (Don't ask me why !!), and someone dropped it in a puddle. I took it to a local shop to see if it could be repaired, but sadly no.

So on Monday this week we went onto Amazon and ordered a new ipod classic, with a staggering 120GB memory !!!!! Ben paid for it with his christmas money and his wages from his after school job.

Anyway it arrived yesterday while Ben was out, so I put it away because I knew if I gave it to him before Nicola & Peter arrived we wouldn't see him all evening.

So this morning I went through to his bedroom to tell him it had arrived -

but I had to fight my way through this :-

Then I had to wake him !! Isn't he cute ?

I think he was very pleased with it !

Fish & Chips at the seaside - Yum Yum

My Dad and Sylvia came down on Sunday for a few days - it was lovely to see them again.

We introduced them to the Wii and had them playing ten pin bowling, golf & baseball - they said they might buy one when they return home ! I was chatting to my friend Denys the other day and she said her parents have got one and when they get together with her children they can't get any of them off the Wii - and the grandparents are the worst !

Today the weather was dry and bright so we decided to wrap up warm and go to Cromer on the north Norfolk coast for a walk and a blow. Quite alot of other people had the same idea - so by the time we wanted some fish and chips for lunch the queue at the shop was very long !!

Christmas Day

Our Tree

Ben helping Sam open his presents

And the tradtional wearing of cracker hats !

Sam's never stays in one piece for more than 30 seconds !

Even Phoebe enjoys Christmas !

Ice Sculptures

Today was not the best day to be trailing through Norwich city centre on the 4th annual Ice Sculpture as it was very mild and the sculptures were rapidly melting in front of our eyes.

As usual Ben didn't feel this would be an exciting use of his time, so he stayed in bed (after all he is a teenager !) Had he come with us he could have visited his favourite stall on Norwich Market, where he spends most of his hard earned money !

This is the first time I have been on the trail and it was very interesting - here are some of the sculptures that we saw :-

The Friar

The City Dweller

The Dragon

The Church & State

And my favourite - Norwich Cathedral Spire

Sam's 12th Birthday

Molly & Layla's Christening

Molly is my neice ,Jason (my youngest brother) & Amy's daughter and Layla is Molly's cousin.


I went up to Glossop in Derbyshire on Friday on my own, as luckily Sam had a respite weekend, and as Norwich were playing Ipswich (our local derby) on the Sunday neither Ben or Julian wanted to miss the match. (The christening had been postponed by one week already because it clashed with the Manchester United/City derby !)

I stayed at my Dad's and we went out for an indian meal on the Saturday evening with my Dad and Sylvia, my middle brother Alex and his partner Helen, my Dad's best friend Michael and my mum.

Sunday morning we all met at the Methodist Church in Glossop and joined the Brownies and Guides for their toy service and Molly & Layla were christened. They both wore matching outfits and were really well behaved. Molly was waving at everybody.

Molly with her favourite rabbit blanket

Proud parents Jason & Amy

After the service we all went over to Hadfield for a buffet. It was lovely to see most of my family all together. My oldest brother Greg only made it to the church as he was feeling quite poorly (something had disagreed with him !)

In the evening I went over to Jason & Amy's new house where Molly & Layla opened all their lovely presents.

A GREAT DAY - topped off with a beautiful sunset over Hadfield.