I blame facebook! Or something 🙂
What’s been happening? Davies and Scarlett have been doing some maths workbooks I picked up from the school. Davies hated them, got the idea of what the book was asking but found them tedious, repetitive and pointless once he’d grasped the concept. Scarlett really enjoyed them, particularly one using money. She was less keen on one to do with estimating, weighing and measuring 🙂 She’s decided she might bother learning to read as she finally sees some point in the idea but is now worried it will be too hard. My plan is to spend some time with her on it as soon as I can as I think once she realises how easy it will be for her (which I am sure it will now she wants to do it) she’ll lick it in no time and that will be the end of that.
Davies sold some postcards from the craft shop and Jinty has offered to sell them from the shop and Rachel offered to sell them from the castle. I reckon he’ll be doing really well on them this season.
I’ve been looking at grants for the croft and realising there is lots we can access which unfortunately mean yet more of my time needs directing somewhere else in researching that more and then applying but at least things remain finacially viable for us which is of course key to making this life work, particularly given I am intending jacking in the only actual guaranteed income generating thing we do between us!
We have Lynda and Stuart here with us this week which means life is more disjointed than ever – they ar staying at Fliss and Sandy’s B&B but |Fliss and Sandy are away til Friday so Ady is cooking their breakfast in return for us getting to use the house and kitchen for the rest of the day including cooking our dinner. Much easier in terms of bigger kitchen, dishwasher, electricity and more space, not to mention not needing to trek Lynda and Stuart up and down to the muddy croft but meaning we’re away from the croft all day long and need to remember to take all ingredients down to Fliss’ each morning. The kids are enjoying unlimited access to Lynda and Stuart, TV and internet though 🙂
The piglets are doing well – I know I’ve not announced their birth on here but I’ve done it everywhere else so it seems a little pointless to make a formal announcement here. It is very exciting to have them here at last, makes me feel like a real crofter 🙂 Losing three was hard – we’re not sure quite how they died but two out of the three had been mauled and eaten by rats which was very unpleasant. Lessons learnt for next time and we’re focussing on the positives of having four, knowing Tom and Barbara are both fertile, she can carry and birth piglets and seems to be a great mother happily feeding and tending to them. We always intended keeping two to fatten ourselves and have sold the other two already so that’s good. We’ll let them go at 8 weeks or so and will be moving the remaining pigs to a different spot with a more permanent home and plans for a better maternity area for next time too. I’m hoping we’ll manage a second litter this year. The broody hen had two pipped eggs under her last night so fingers crossed there are chicks on the way too which will be great – hens can join the egg laying flock, cocks can be fattened for eating. Turkeys are on their way in June so it feels like the livestock side of the croft has really come to life just in time to mark our year anniversary :).
We’re off for a few nights at the end of May, mostly so we all visit the dentist but will also look forward to a little off-island respite and time to ourselves. Everything feels so much more possible now the sun is shining but I know we are all still slightly reeling from such an intense first year and a long, kept having relapses winter. This is definitely the right life for us although we still have a few tweaks to make to the details but a chance to grab some perspective and some deep breaths without feeling bad about sitting down is much needed. Gav will croft – and Bonnie-sit – so we can actually do that at the end of May I hope.
:-(. To the rats getting to the piglets.
I’m still quite good at blogging if you ever want to pop over!
Are you collecting the toilet on that trip? What dates? Come to J&J’s!
Comment by Mich — 24 April 2013 @ 6:58 am
Note to self. I shouldn’t invite ppl to other ppl’s houses.
Comment by Mich — 24 April 2013 @ 6:59 am
@Mich, well, perhaps in general, but that hardly counts 🙂
Comment by Jan — 24 April 2013 @ 9:29 pm