Florence's Ballet Top

Finally got this finished for Florence before she grows out of it so all she needs now is the ballet lessons and she is set to go!

Adam arrives in Oxford

It was a very proud moment to wave Adam off to Christ Church having fed him his last decent breakfast for the next nine weeks! Mind you high dining sounds rather grand in college so I don't think he is going to do too badly.

Dancing on Ice, well........

Standing up on ice would have been more appropriate!

Spurred on by Emily I agreed to try ice skating as a weekly form of exercise. We were lucky enough to have the rink almost to ourselves so didn't feel too much of an idiot during my first lesson, also meant no other human was in much danger. Took two big falls and have the bruises to prove it but my recklessness meant I picked up some speed and moved away from the edge by the end of an hour. Have new found respect for those celebs who take part in Dancing on Ice it was terrifying to start with and I now know how Bambi felt when trying to use his legs the first time.

Needless to say will be going back again, it was fun.

Baby Florence

Previously seen at the Hummingbird Tea Party as a bump baby Florence was born while we were in the States so had to make up for six weeks worth of cuddles on my first visit. She is absolutely adorable as to be expected but disgraced herself with a pretty bad nappy while I was there! There is knitting on the needles for her at the moment so must get clacking!

Not one, not two but three!

Can you believe it? Just after the rain Mark spotted a doe and her three fawns in the garden under the pear tree. I've seen her with one before but never two or three. They all looked the same age but I will have to do some research to see if they could all be reasonably from the same family. What a sight! Got them good and proper this time as the camera was handy. They seem to enjoy the pear windfalls very much as well as my garden plants of course!

From this to That!

After a dog walk across the fields of Duns Tew we gathered a bag of Willow Bank windfalls, (well we knocked them off the tree with a broom). Back home I set about turning them into apple sauce for the winter and all those joints of roast pork that we might eat between now and next Autumn. After about an hour of peeling and a further hour of cooking I had nine jars of sauce labelled and stored. Next challenge blackberry and apple jam but that requires another bag of windfalls! Guess I'll have to walk the dog again!

Red Sky at Night

One of the many beauties of the farm.