it never rains but it pours ................

I swear that one day I will meet myself coming back the other way!

Is it really almost four weeks since my last post?

Jubilee weekend was a damp squib in more ways than one ...... I came down with a cold which travelled to my chest so I spent half term coughing and spluttering and taking to my bed quite frequently.   It was just as well that I had no minded children that week - I have taken the decision to resign from the Early Years Register and just stick with my school drop offs and pick ups, mainly because I have the grandchildren to help out with during the day and also because the demands of Ofsted regarding paperwork is just way too much.   Apparently the number of registered childminders has halved since Mr Blair & Co came into power  and I am convinced it's because of all their bureaucratic demands. 

 Right off the soapbox now!

Thursday of that week was my husband's keyhole surgery day as part of ongoing investigations into the problems with his knee replacement ..... biopsy results and next consultant's appointment is on 26 July.   In the meantime his referral for the collapsed right knee came through with an appointment in Harpenden on 18th June with a different consultant, who didn't seem too impressed with the previous work on his left knee and immediately arranged for a total right knee replacement on 7th August.  So here we go again  ....... he was off work recovering for 6 months last time.

We had only been back from the hospital for an hour when Ellie came screaming down the stairs saying she could see a fox in with the chickens.  I charged down the garden in my best Moshulu slippers and to my dismay she was right .....  there were two of them and we were too late to save 5 of our 12 girls.  In the piddling rain sliding around in chicken poop and mud I found the survivors huddled together under a bush and got them locked in their shed as quickly as I could.  They were traumatised for a few days and egg production virtually stopped but as you can see now they have managed to brave the outside world again under a very watchful eye.

Arrangements are in hand to re-position and reduce the size of their run so that we can put a wire cover over it too and they will be closer to the house.

A lovely blogland friend was passing my way on the 17th and I was so excited about meeting her ...... Dancing was born in Luton and went to the very same school that Ellie attends now and we share many memories of the area.  Isn't it marvellous how blogland brings us together?

Well my old bod had other ideas and threw a water infection at me just to top things off!   I was so disappointed and our meeting just wasn't to be at this moment in time but we are both looking forward to the next opportunity.

Following a dose of anti-biotics I am now getting back to my busy old self.  My eldest has been visiting from Scotland .... yesterday he went with his sister and Ellie and Jack to the Lowestoft Air Festival.  They had a great day in the sunshine and we are a planning now to go next year with a stay over so that we can enjoy the whole weekend.  The children's parents were at Knebworth House for a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert and I toddled off to Flitwick for the Originate Vintage & Craft Fayre.   It was a very quiet day with a slow stream of visitors in the early part of the day despite all the advertising ..... I did quite well though and wasn't too disappointed and I had met some new like minded people.

I've been working on another hexi patchwork in a pink colourway this time

Well I had a very early start this morning having dropped my son off at the Airport at 4.30 a.m. in the piddling rain yet again  (thankfully it's only 5 mins away) and  have an early start tomorrow as I have a new member in my after school possie and she will be arriving at 7.00 a.m.   I'd better get a jiggy on and tidy up before bedtime.