The sheep get a new home

Today my hubby finished building yet another shed the shelter for the ewe lambs. They are in the top of our two paddocks and have no real shelter to speak of. The boys in the bottom paddock have the benefit of the woods at the bottom to shelter from sun but the girls have nothing really. It's taken him quite some time to figure out the design as it had to fulfil quite a long list of criteria:

• It had to be sturdy - to try to make it survive the strong winds we get up on our hill. 
• It had to be light and airy enough that the girls would actually be tempted to go into it (sheep are notorious for ignoring all manner of offers for shelter). They have been, thus far, sheltering from the strong sunshine we've had under an old flappy tarpaulin we erected for them in the corner of their field whilst we thought about their permanent shelter. Once we managed to work out a combination of knots that would elude Flossie - our naughtiest sheep - it worked out quite well, but there's no way it would afford any protection from the elements during the winter. 
• It had to be portable - so that we didn't have to get the planning department involved and so that if the ground got poached around it in the winter, we could move it elsewhere in the field
• It had to be big enough so that when we eventually breed the girls (they should be going to a ram next year) then they'd have somewhere large enough to lamb in.

Hubby has managed to incorporate all of these features and the wood arrived this week in order for him to begin building it. He decided to build it on our driveway, as the field is quite sloping, and tow it down later - once fully built. It didn't take too long in the end and I'm certainly pleased with the result. Our neighbour towed it down in the end, as he has a 4x4 and so could use much lower gears to tow it down gently (and not pull it to pieces, thus ruining hubby's hard work).
The girls were thrilled with the arrival of their new house, not least because it was being pulled by A CAR!!! Our sheep get ridiculously excited at the arrival of motorised vehicles in their field. I have no idea why. They will fawn over them like they are long lost members of their family, jumping up, sniffing, licking, trying to get in...very odd behaviour in a sheep I'm sure you'd agree.

Daffodil asking Jasper for a fuss...

So, after having given the neighbour's car a good going over, they turned their attention to their little wooden house (after a brief detour to visit Jasper in his pushchair - they also have an unhealthy attachment to the pushchair and Daffodil has a particular fondness for Jasper). Suzie marched straight in, and baa-ed loudly (amplified by the enclosed space) - scaring the bejeezus out of the three young children who were also in there investigating. Suzie is the matriarch of our mini flock and so if she approves, the rest will follow!



Here they are chasing the 'sheep kennel' (as Ellie called it!) down the field...

"Hey! Come back with our house!"

I am thinking of making a sign to hang outside the shelter, to make it seem more homely. I was going to call it 'Tŷ Dafad ('sheep house' in Welsh) as these sheep, although a Dutch breed, came from a Welsh flock and our family is mostly Welsh! Hubby's suggestion was 'Mi Casa Ewe Casa'! Any other suggestions?

Rainbow roll

I have a small sewing business (Bye Baby Bunting) where I make things to order; most of the things I make seem to begin with the letter 'B'. I have no idea why, it has just happened this way! I mainly make personalised bunting, bags, blankets and bibs. I have also made some other one-off pieces. My most recent commission is for a set of egg-cosies! I'm still working on the pattern for those...


Here is the rainbow pen roll. I'd been toying with the idea of making a pen roll for some time but just wasn't sure on what look I wanted to go for. Eventually I stumbled across this blog post at Chez Beeper Bebe and decided that a rainbow was definitely the way forward! Matching each pen to its own fabric colour pocket seemed a lovely idea. I've seen lots of tutorials for making pen rolls but decided to make my own up. I really disliked the visible seam lines on the outside of the rolls and so I went about mine differently. I shall be posting my own tutorial very soon so will give more details then...

Here's the open roll

...and here it is closed

September goings on

After having completely bored regaled you with my arthritis news, it's now time to tell you what's been going on with the little darlings.

September saw the beginning of a new era in our household - the first of our offspring entering the hallowed halls of the education system. Ellie has been desperate to start school ever since we first went for a look around our local village school, last year! She's settling in well, although she's absolutely exhausted by it all. She's also suffering with having to be separated from her best friend, who has gone to a different school. Said friend is also suffering quite badly. They've known each other since birth, possibly even before then - if babies are capable of cross-womb communication (although I suspect they aren't) - as we met Sophie's parents at our antenatal classes. They went to the same nursery, playgroups and ballet classes and there have been countless sleepovers and meals at each other's houses. We've even taken the opportunity to 'adopt-a-granny' and Sophie's is affectionately known as Grandma to all three of our children, as well as her own actual grandchildren!

Jasper has started nursery one day a week and, predictably, they've all gone a bit gaga over him. It has to be said that he is a handsome chap! I am obviously biased but everyone who meets him is in raptures over him - they can't all be wrong, can they? Anyway. So, he's settled in well at nursery and is thoroughly enjoying all the attention, as well as interacting with some babies of his own age, as he's not had much of that to date.

Tabs has started going to nursery two days a week now, instead of one, although she's finding it a bit strange not having Ellie there anymore. I think she's quite liking being the big sister there now though! She's also started at the pre-school that's attached to Ellie's school one morning a week. No-one else from Ellie's nursery, or from her group of friends, went to the same school as Ellie and so she's having to start all over again with making friends. We decided that to make it a bit easier for Tabs, she could go to the pre-school for a couple of hours a week so that she could make friends beforehand. On the day that she goes, it's not actually at the preschool, the session is in the woods behind our house at a Forest School. The session is held come rain or shine and the kids love it. They get to explore the woods, get dirty and just be kids. They also learn fire safety and how to react if they get lost. Not bad for three year olds!

A diagnosis!

For a few months now I have been suffering with crippling pain in my joints. Not all of them at the same time and with varying degrees of pain. Some days my wrists and fingers have been so bad that I've been unable to lift my baby, drive or even turn a tap on. Other days my hands have been fine but I've struggled to walk because of the pain in my knees and feet. Worrying indeed for a 34 year old!
Anyway, I've finally been diagnosed with having something called psoriatic arthritis. Basically, my immune system is a little over enthusiastic in its bodily defences and so sees anything and everything as something to be attacked with gusto. Unfortunately, this includes its own cells! The symptoms are pretty similar to those of rheumatoid arthritis but with a slightly more optimistic outlook in the long term.

 Whilst I'm not exactly thrilled with the prospect of having what I consider to be an 'old person' disease, at least I am now able to be treated. The long-lasting steroid injection in my derrière has done absolutely nothing at all for me though, rather disappointingly. Before starting on my medication (a rather strong drug called methotrexate - an immune suppressant) I had to have a pneumonia vaccination which left my poor arm in a state somewhat reminiscent of Wesley's limbs when he is recovering from being "mostly dead all day" (The Princess Bride - world class movie :D).

So, I have started my medication and haven't reacted to it, so that's good! (Crippled) fingers crossed that things will improve soon and that my (beaten down) immune system won't now be bombarded with nasties from the germ-monsters darling children.