Christmas Eve in the Old Bakery (by sarah)

We finally got round to decorating but called it tradition!

Jean loved 'helping' with putting up the decs!

We have eaten cheese and cracker and a few mince pies - wrapped all those presants we had forgotten to wrap - missed the village festivaties as felt too ill. Jean is loving it so far. I di consider cancerlling Christmas altogether after I trod on a bualble destroying it and then in the process of picking the others up crushed a nice little wooden one and then Al droped a maglite onto my christmas mug and then I droped a bell on the cats milk dish - ablittorating it! Then my tacky christmas clock appeared to be broken meaning the little snowmen and reindeers didnt go round in a circle whilst playing christmas carols but it was just on the wronge setting so Christmas was back on 😉

Jean is really into it at the mo - She even sprinkeled the special magic reindeer food her grandmother sent.

Unfortunatly her sprinking it was very rapid and so I missed the exact moment with the camera!

The thing is though - it appears to really work!

Reindeer stake anyone?

Jean has also been really busy at nursery making things, for a while now she has been coming home with bits of glitter still attached or paint under the nails - this is becuase she has been a very busy young lady - I have posted about the things she made on the Salaric Craft Blog - so go there!

Mulled Wine (by sarah)

Right - tis that time of year again!!!!

We are not having a specific week this year - mainly as we are stranded in Gloucestershire due to lack of money - ie we cant visit any of you - so we hope you will all come and visit us over this festive time!

In other words get your bums over here and enjoy our hospitallity and recieve your cards and gifts cos we have no money for posting (all presants and some cards are hand crafted!). We do however have left over wine from the christening - red wine, that is, and lots of oranges and apples and the like - throw in some spice (I could make some really bad Scifi puns here as we've just watched Dune but I wont I promise!) = Mulled wine.

We also have mince pies in the freezer, chocs and plenty of filter coffee and the like!

If you dont turn up we will have to hunt you down in the new year and make you stay with us - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!

Please come and visit - we have a bed setee and a real fire place with real fire in - perfect for those roasted chestnuts - come stay for as long as you like - all we ask is that you tell us at least 1 hr before you arrive so that we can make sure the mulled wine is a heating!

Feel free to bring partners, friends etc...

I will endevour to email everyone - but this is me so - Ella, Becca and Charllee let the regulars know and I will endevour to be more organised than normal (HAHAHAHA).

Whoever controls the spice, controls the Empire.

Disastor Central (by sarah)

Man I dont think the curse is ever going to go away 🙁

We've had yet another frought weekend from hell - sigh.

Ok first of the kittens must have cuaght a dodgy mouse or something as they both went a loo inside - H went in the bath like a good girl though - over the plug whole and everything and shes supposed to be the thick one! He on the other hand decided to poo on the carpet and wee in our wooden cube cabinet - that isnt varnished 🙁

Of course urine soaked into the wood and worse than that when we moved it to clean the carpet we found that where they had been going a wee on the carpet before - it had due to capillary action (I suppose) seeped under said unvarnished wooden cabinate - so guess who was boiling kettles of water (the water heater having died) and pouring what was left of the disinfectants into the bath - to soak the wood. The cabinate I would think will warp - but it was this or fire wood and a bit of warping we can cope with!

The cabinate after server soaking and some elbow grease is now in the workshop drying out - the bit that was soaking had swollen out side ways by at least 1/3 of an inch either side!

Then - Al was going on the night hike with the cubs - when he got there he discovered that somehow the back door of the van had been left ajar - but not enough to worry about - or so he thought!

Then on his way back he found all the Scout files in the drive - in the puddles :/

So I found my self laying out lots of things to dry including all the certificates we are supposed to give them on Wednesday! We checked and we had everything improtant - so breathed a sigh of relief that it hadnt been worse - this was probably our mistake!

Al had lost his special Cubs 90th birthday woggle on the hike so was sad about that.

I mean while had been attempting to do the washing up(the dishwasher still being broken) with Jean still awake as she was refusing to sleep - no afternoon nap, no nothing! It was getting quiet late and she was hyper with tiredness but refusing to sleep 🙁 We only ever leave her with controlled crying for a max of 10 mins - on the umpteenth attempt I'd given up and bought her down stair. however, somehow the ceramic mixing bowl had been placed with the plastic ones I have on the lower shelves for Jean saftey. The very reason it is not placed on the lower shelves is that Jean pulls everything off of those shelves - and vala - one broken bowl - fortunatly no broken bobble!

Anyway, Al came back and we finailly got bobble to sleep at about 11:30, we put the table back after its temporary rearrangement for carpet shampooing - ie aftermath of cats! We sit down to eat dinner - towards the end of the meal a smell arises and a guilty looking kitten emerges 🙁 We where not impressed I can tell you. Al cleaned it up and readed the carpet cleaner - again - this time with the speicial pet shampoo in it. He set it to ultra clean ie with conc. detergant and everything. Unfortunatly the thing had somehow been switched into upholstery mode. The result?

The certificates we had drying get sprayed, the clean jars for jam making get sprayed and the coats all get sprayed including my grandmothers fun fur.

Poor Al was distrote!

I delt with the certificates saving all but one, the jars have yet to be washed but I also had to wash down every coat - using the shower! Once more the house was full of soggy things drying - sigh. Al was finishing off his work work whilst I was cleaning the coats - we went to bed exhusted 🙁

Sunday we had what we thought was a productive day in Gloucester but when we got home the place smelt of urine - we did lots of carpet sniffing. It turned out to be my nans old fun fur coat, it smelt dreadful-it was hanging up in the bath drying from the little bit of water we'd sprayed on it to make it clean of carpet cleaning detergant. So with Al back to work I begain washing the coat - I used shampoo as in my hair shampoo - knowing that I was probably ruining the coat. I was horrified at the colour of water that coat produced!

We left the foul and feted thing, soaking in conditioner - I thought we'll its fur texture so I'll treat it like hair - besides I noticed that the cuddly toys that got covered in the leaked conditionar from the move, came up really nicely when washed and where really soft etc...

Off we went five minutes late (or so we thought) to Babaras for the wild life programme we've been watching with her every Sunday - to our horror she started shouting at us and asking where we had been etc... appearently she had cooked us a three course meal 🙁 I knew nothing of this and Al thought he had said wecouldnt make it. Understandably she was really upset - having expected us at 7 and it now being 9. This made Al feel even worse and like he'd mucked everything up 🙁 Still we did get a nice pudding which was welcome as we hadnt actually had dinner.

Back at the house at about midnight I was trying to put the soggy fun fur up to dry not realising how much it would way - in the process I pulled a muscle in my hand and in my belly and then when me and Al got it to hang up - it bent the metal thing we hung it on 🙁 We where not happy - nope not one little bit 🙁

Maternal Minni? (by sarah)

Babara told us today that Minni gave the kittens a shrew to play with that she had cuaght which they thourally enjoyed! Now this is most definatly a mother cat behaviour.

Apparently Betsy (Babaras cat) did the same when Tim was a kitten with a mouse and it was the only time she has ever seen Betsy catch anything. It just seems strange that she spends so much time beating them up though she is definatly tolerating them more these days.

Oh well maybe the ol' broodyness is kicking in or something!

The Worm Has Turned, Yeti Mothers and Other Despotic Adventures of Cats (by sarah)

Minni is always beating up He, always hunting her, specifically seeking her out to have a go. She corners the poor thing and holds her hostage for hours (if we dont realise whats going on). Minni tolerates H though, who she is quiet happy to sit on the bed next to. We've been musing that this may well be becuase H tends to trail Minni and still try to be friends, being the stupider of the kittens she doesnt get the message when Minni hisses at her. We think that perhapse H has somehow managed to endear herself to Minni in doing this puppy dog act.

However, the kittens are getting bigger and He is bright and a bit bigger than H and is getting fed up with Minni always pouncing her. I came down stairs to see a sleeping Minni being stalked by He! He then proceeded to attack Minni - It was interesting as He isnt quiet as big as Minni but is definatly braver and bolder. Poor Minni now sometimes waits for her food until the kittens have finished eating. Though she has uped her crumpy sneak attacks on both of them, in the hope they will go away.

Minni also watches the kittens play fight each other with avid interest - we think she's hoping one will kill the other as they have a tendency to come running if the others mewing - ie if Minni pounces one the other (well He not H who is a bit hippy) will come charging in to say her sister! We didnt think cats where supposed to have these types of relationships!

On a nother not the cats all love the Yeti outfit, I left it on the settee after we had washed it, Minni likes it so much she refused to take up her normal place on the bed last night! The kittens seem to think its Missy their mother, they really where trying to feed from it! It was really cute to watch. Missy is almost all white with just a few black spots so we think the kittens see the white fur and think Mummy! The fur though course to us would probably the same coursness as a mother cats fur is to a new born. They adore it, I vetoed Als suggestion of him sleeping in the outfit so that cats will come and pur on him. I said if he does that I'll cut nipple holes in it! He quailed and has decided to put the suit away. Though I am thinking of sorting out a fury off cut for them to sit on as they really do love the stuff!

Appart from that me and Al were getting a bit worried about He as she hadnt come in for her dinner or breakfast. We where just beginning to get concerned when she turned up. Babara then came round and asked if we'd missed He yesturday, I said yes we where just getting worried when she turned up. She then demanded to know why we hadnt told her the cat was missing for over 24 hrs! a) shes a cat and she does that sort of thing and b) we hadnt realised due to running off for training courses and what have you that she had been missing for that long. The poor thing had been locked in the garage!

Oh well shes safe now. I had assumed she was out hunting the cows in the fields! On the plus side she is now being very keen to be around us and be stroked 🙂