Back!

Finally we made it back home to France. I had to trade my lovely little car in as the situation with the windscreen wipers was just so ridiculous. I was paying more and more money for a mechanic to 'try' fixing this or that with no results. I said goodbye to my dear 'Baby' and hello to 'Zazz'. I have to say, it's a lovely car and I've become very precious about it, wiping it down often as it's not really the most practical colour for the muddy roads!!!

 The ponies coped well while we were gone and Moomin and the son took such great care of them. They had some good weather, which was a relief and the sun shone when we returned (is that a sign?)

All ponies took the opportunity for a sunbathe.

I have some lovely pictures for paintings and the good news is, the Studio will be built soon. I can't wait to get back to work :D

First though, we'll be building the field shelters as the rain has come back and looks set to stay!!!

I'm going to try to sort a better routine so that I can blog more and visit more of my blog friends.  Sometimes I waste time idly browsing FB and then feeling depressed with the rubbish that people post, their rants and propagandas just bring me down.
It's like a personal forum for people to throw their oppinions out into the world. I mostly use it for spinning and art groups, I don't want a daily leture on how everyone else insists we live our lives! At least with blogs you can visit like minded people and not have graphic images thrown at your screen!!! 
So a FB break for me and a new laptop routine, I feel better already :D

Stranded!

I am such an unhappy bunny. We travelled back to England to pick up a van and transport our remaining bits of furniture and garden plants to our home in France. The first leg of the journey was fine. The troublesome car was left at the garage where they had a week to sort out all the problems and fix it once and for all.
We came back across the channel and gave the hired van back but not only was the car still broken, the mechanic was off on a trip to London and left no word of when the car would be repaired!!!

I've been so low all weekend and just can't seem to find a way forward. Do I sell the car and get a newish one? If so, which one can I get in a hurry without making a mistake?

Our ferry ticket has been changed to 'open' as we have no idea when we'll be able to travel. I'm so homesick it's just not true. It's lovely spending time with friends and family but I want to be back with my children and my animals. Moomin and her brother are holding the fort gallantly, but they're keen for us to get back as food for the animals is getting low and they have no means to get it delivered.

What a mess!!!

Road Trip.

Today Moomin and I went for a long drive to Rennes. It's an hours drive along unfamiliar roads to a big city. What would persuade me to go on a journey in my still dodgy car? Wool! Of course ;) I put out a call on FB for fiber in France and I've had a great response with varying types of wool being offered. This wool however was something a bit special, over 50kilos of good Angora wool, well, the lady selling said it was good!
It's a difficult moment when you drive a long way, meet someone in a car park and feel obliged to buy what they're selling. I could have walked away and not regretted it, however, at the bottom of some of the bags I saw soft glistening fiber. Was it worth a risk? Well, I must have thought so as I bought it, eeek!

 Even though I was sore and tired, I had to wash a small bucket full to be sure I hadn't made a mad mistake. Fae always loves to help me sort my wool :D

 A tremendous amount of dirt came out of the fleece and it's pretty nice.
I followed instructions from Namaste farms on Youtube for cleaning Angora and I won't do it again. I'm normally very careful and gentle with the fleece, but the instructions were to use lots of really hot water, soap and keep the fleece moving. Well, for me that's a sure way to cause the fiber to felt, but the instructions were explicit that all would be well. It could have been any combination of factors, like my use of the washing machine to spin dry the wool, but there were definite felted portions of the wool and next time I'll stick to my usual method. I'm also buying a small spin dryer to get the water out as it just goes in one direction and not back and forth like a washing machine!

 Back to the spinning wheel and this kind of ugly yarn was at the top of my fiber bag and I wanted something yellow to spin so gave it a go. I have no idea why I bought it because it's just not my normal colour!

 It's actually really pretty when it's spun and in the sun looks like pure gold. I've found a lovely shawl pattern that I want to try with it, but I'm heading back to the UK soon, so it's going to have to wait a while.

While in Rennes, Moomin and I celebrated our journey with a long walk around Ikea nearby. We finally found the perfect bed slats (who sells beds without the slats? Ikea, that's who!) so that Moomin could sleep in comfort for a change and then a whole lot of nik naks found their way into our greedy bag. I even treated myself to a tiny orchid, I adore orchids <3

I fell in love with this kitchen and went back to it a couple of times before deciding to take a few photos. Moomin suddenly pointed out that this kitchen is very like Susan's from Desperate Housewives. Well, that's it then, now I really want it :D

Shawl, snow and soap!

Such a lot has happened this week. We had snow and seriously low temperatures, but nothing compared to the UK! Merlin's hollow was completely frozen over.

 Walley was so confused as this is his favourite bathing place. The hollow filled up during the long days of constant rain, but was beginning to smell a bit stagnant so I was glad that Walley didn't get a stinky swim!

 The ice made beautiful casings for the shrubs but sadly took it's toll on the spring flowers who poked their heads out a little too soon. My primroses are a terrible sight, but hopefully they'll rally round and try to flower again!

 To make life simpler, my lovely man cut a doorway in the back of the garage wall. Has anyone ever been so excited by a doorway??? It's made life so much easier as the garage is now our feed and tack room and I don't have to carry heavy feed buckets all around the house to the ponies. I'm a happy bunny :D

 Yesterday we went on a soap making course. It was great fun and a lovely day spent with my man and some new friends. It was a lot like a chemistry class but with lovely smells and as one lady pointed out, a bit like Breaking Bad :D

We want to make our own soaps and creams as another step towards self reliance, but also because there are almost no chemicals in this recipe other than the lye that causes saponification and that neutralises after a few weeks!

 My soap looks a little like ravioli above, but below, the colour has changed and it looks and smells like a lemon drizzle cake. T scented his with orange and peppermint soap for a Wake Up soap. It's such a refreshing smell :D

Here is the finished Lake Scarf. I'm so pleased with it and can't wait to make another.

 I think it captures the colours around the lake pretty well.

 I had fun taking these pictures and have some more things to bring to this spot for a photo session :D

 Today the weather is lovely so we'll be having a typical Sunday, pottering around the house, doing some chores and playing with the ponies. Have a lovely day everyone.x