Tuesday 5 April 2016

We rescued a hedgehog!

For the last few days the boys (our dogs, Archie and Kiko) have been going bonkers every time they go in the garden, so yesterday evening my mum went to investigate and discovered that there was a little hedgehog trapped under our garden gate. We were a bit scared for a while as he didn't seem to be moving, but eventually we realised that he was alive so it was all action stations as, based on the dogs' behaviour we suspect he had been stuck there since the middle of last week.

After we freed him we mashed up half a pouch of Pedigree Chum and gave him a bowl of water.  Well the little piglet got stuck in and devoured the lot, so we gave him the other half of the pouch!  We then snuggled him into a little safe space for the night, leaving him with a box and lots of leaves in case he wanted to build himself a little shelter, and the plan was that this morning I would take him over to the fields behind our house.  

I am happy to report that this morning he was snuggly nestled into the box, and hardly visible under all the leaves!  I was so pleased.  I feel like we saved the little fella!  

Here's a little video I took last night of Piglet having some food.  I'm afraid it's not a very good film but you can see (and hear) that he's tucking in nicely to his doggy food dinner...


After all the excitement, we said our goodbyes and then Nelly and I took him (still nestled into his little nest-box) to the local nature reserve and released him.  We went back about an hour later and his box stood empty, hopefully this is a sign that he was happy to head off into the wilderness, and we keep our fingers crossed that he will do well and have a happy little life.

Monday 4 April 2016


This might be a good time to introduce you to my brood.  My very small house is quite a busy little house and I like to think of it as the Centre of the Universe!  It is occupied by one granny (my mum), one mummy (me), one stinky teenager (my daughter, Nelly), a hamster called Cornelius, a Pomerhuahua called Archie, a Japanese Chin called Akihiko (Japanese for bright prince - we call him Kiko), and a cat called Billie (she's a girl, named after Billie Piper)!  It's relatively mayhemish at all times, but I love it!  

Nelly has an ASD diagnosis which brings a lot of laughter into the house, and occasionally a little stress!  She's obsessed with Harry Potter and Autism!  She does incredibly well at coping with ASD and with the world, and she brings a great deal of joy into many, many people's lives.  My mum is a type one diabetic, she's not in great health physically but she is always on form mentally - she is smart and funny and sharp as a tack.  She is also the most contrary person I have ever known and has an instinctive inability to ever do anything she's told! Archie the ginger pomerhuahua came from a rescue centre when he was one and although he was only a pup he had suffered very badly, which means he is a total bag of issues and drives us all crazy!  The cat is of the opinion that she runs the household, the hamster thinks he's Houdini and Kiko our black and white chin just can't quite believe he lives in this squashed madhouse - he's certain he belongs in a temple in Japan!



Saturday 2 April 2016

A lovely day


Since 2003 I have worked every year at Glastonbury festival as a campsite steward. I am part of an amazing team of friends and the festival is my happy place - yep, even when it rains!  However this year the excitement level has been upped as my lovely daughter, having turned eighteen, has been invited to join our team, so I will get to share the experience with her and I cannot wait!

Today we drove to Street in Somerset so Nelly could do her first Glastonbury training session, and for me it was obviously a refresher, but in fact it was the best training we've had because it was run by such a lovely chap.  


It was so nice because lots of our team were there to do the training, so Nelly was introduced to some new faces and we had a nice chance to catch up before the festival - and to hear some exciting baby news for one of our Glastonbury friends, too.  


After the training we called in to visit our team leader who lives nearby, and again, had a lovely chance to catch up on the gossip and start building the excitement and anticipation for Glastonbury 2016.

As well as all this Glastonbury excitement, I also experienced  a Frankie and Benny's restaurant for the first time - and will definitely be going back - not sure how this has managed to elude me for all these years!  

All in all, a really lovely day...  Glastonbury baby!!! 

Friday 1 April 2016

I made a card today!


I know that doesn't really sound all that exciting but it is months since I had an opportunity to sit down and design a new card.  I was propelled into action because a friend moved house, and I wanted to deliver a nice card and some nice bubbly (she's a Prosecco fan!) for her to enjoy once she had moved in. It was especially important to me to make a really personal 'new home' card, as this move was not really her choice and so she was feeling very emotional about it.  I wanted to make something that would give her a sense of belonging to her new place. This was the end result...

It was so nice to be crafting again, and especially nice to dig out some of my Tim Holtz crafting tools.  My mum is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and I just love the SU! stamps and tools, so these days I tend to stick with their products, but I am a massive Tim Holtz fan too!  

I have lots of essays to do over the next few weeks, but once they are out of the way my plan is to spend my summer doing lots of card-making and lots of reading.  Happy times ahead - and hopefully for my newly moved friend, too!