Making myself do it!

Walk that is! After planning my route around the lake, everything around me held me back from actually getting out to build up some strength. Yesterday I made myself go. I took the dogs and the Moomin who is back from the UK for a few months before leaving for good. It's been a difficult time, facing that empty nest but the work around our little farm has kept me from dwelling on it too much.

The canal is a great place to start building my muscles as it's the only really flat place to walk around here. We did a usual route at quite a pace and I felt so much better after.
Today I'm going to tackle a more hilly walk and will be taking the dogs alone. It's too strenuous for young legs, apparently! She had her birthday last week and I can't believe she's now 20! Where did all those years go?
I'm not getting maudlin, I'm getting the dogs and heading out the door :D

Outlander capelets.

Autumn evenings are for lighting the fire and watching old episodes of Outlander.The first season was my favourite and I adore the knitwear so much. I'm feeling very inspired to make some lovely items for the Christmas fair next month. I'm not sure what people will think! I love the colours in the wool used here, so I'm going to have a go at spinning something similar.

I have a lot of Teeswater Texel fleece that has a delightful crimp and curl. I accidentally felted some when washing it but didn't mind as I thought I would use it for felted animal hair. Then I watched the episode that introduced us to Geillis Duncan and fell in love with her little capelet. The curly locks would be perfect along the edge of this, so I threw a bundle in the dye pot and played with food dye.

The colours are sooo yummy. I used food dye on wool many years ago and it's still bright and perfect now, so I'm not worried about it fading too much. Once it's felted it should be set in it's colour.

All week I've been working on these little Christmas trees for the fair. I don't mind if I sell them or not, they're really just to make my table look festive :D

The walking hasn't gone well this week as I've been rushing around with the horses. They had a big hay delivery, so the pallets had to be cleaned and the old hay moved or put in their field.
This morning as I pulled the tarp back, this little fellow plopped out. He's sooo adorable, I think I'm in love <3

He's only tiny, about 2.5 inches, but I'll keep an eye out for him as I sort the hay, I wouldn't want to step on him! I'm struggling to think of a name for him but I'm sure one will come to me. I already have Trevor and Neville who live under the Studio;  maybe I'll find more inspiration in Harry Potter. We're working our way through the movies again. I never tire of them.

Rough.

This is the route I plan to take next year.

The weather has been stormy, wet and windy lately. It's caused a few problems with my muscles but mostly it's good to lay in bed and listen to it raging outside!
Tonight however, I have a nasty, sore throat and a blocked nose. It's probably nothing, just the warning sign I sometimes get to slow down and take it easy.

Whaaat?

Two posts in one day! What is going on???

Well, this has been happening a lot lately! To the left is the new kitchen and to the right is the old kitchen. This space in between was a corridor with a toilet under the window. It was such a waste of space! Today the wall on the right came down and now our downstairs is totally open plan. The cats aren't quite sure what to make of it. I've swept and washed the floors and the sofas have been thoroughly hoovered.

We lit the fire tonight to celebrate :D

On Wednesday we went into the village for the Halloween celebrations. I put dark scary make up on and no one noticed!!! Apparently the orbs around my face are a good sign. There are 7!

 The village took a lot of care over the decorations. The bars were blacked out with spooky ornaments and scary people serving.

 This is the view down to the main street. We had free hot roasted chestnuts and there were bowls of pumpkin soup available for a small donation. The crepes were normal price, but looked very good.

There was a big parade and the maire, dressed as a ringmaster came and greeted us and was clearly happy to see us joining in. I love this little village so much <3

A rare moment!

I'm having a sit down after my breakfast this morning as I stupidly took an extra dose of painkillers last night and I feel sick and dizzy today! I always take my tablets before bed so that I can sleep off the nasty side effects, but taking extra doesn't give me the time I need to get my head straight. I hurt my finger a couple of days ago, hence the extra tablets!

Today another wall will be coming down in the house, so we will then be completely open plan downstairs. Monday is my major housework day, so I've no plans to get to the studio but when I do, I'll be weaving as my finger is no good for fine detail work.

This is what I was making before squashing my finger.

 There was some comotion outside and I grabbed my phone in time to capture this terrifying sight!

 Ta daa, it's Dexter :D  He came to tell me he was hungry and where was his dinner!

 I fed the cats and came back later to find!!! Gigi, not only sitting on my work but clearly she couldn't care less :D

What would I do without my constant distractions <3

Walking again.

The progress on the house is slow and we had a lovely kitchen for a day and then we knocked a wall down so it's all under dust sheets, which hasn't really stopped the dust from getting in everywhere! The wiring is almost complete and the cooker and fridge are finally connected. It's very exciting :D

As if I don't have enough on my plate I've decided to get back to walking, but this time with a goal in mind. I'm going to get myself fit enough to walk the length of our wonderful lake at Guerledan.

Here is a link to a tourist page and features a lovely video of the lake.  Guerledan Lake.

A dear friend, Val, is walking the Camino de Santiago which is a whole lot further than around my little lake. She's talking about walking in honour of the migrant caravan as she puts it. I've spent a day or two thinking about her words and have decided to do something similar.

In my case, I'll be walking for all displaced people but also to show that even someone with a chronic condition such as mine can still live a fit and healthy life. I would love to do more walking and even take one of the ponies along as a pack pony, but maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm going to do the walk next year as everything along the lake has now shut down for the winter and I plan to camp one night half way around the walk. The route can be completed in a day but I want to do this slowly and take the opportunity to meditate and be completely focused on the moment at hand.

I love the lake so much with it's ever changing face and I'm so looking forward to spending time alone with nature and my thoughts.

This is my favourite spot. In the summer this little beach is submerged but in winter the water level drops as the gates are open for the hydro-electric station.

So, my plan for today is to do some baking and then take the dogs to explore a part of the lake that I'm not used to. I'll build up my distances over the coming months :D