Well autumn is in full swing and you are probably wondering if I have dropped off the edge of the planet as it’s been SOOOOOO long since I penned you a little note, dear Reader. In truth, I have been plucking up the courage to write this one for some time and then with all that’s happened over the last month, I simply haven’t had a spare moment to tell you.
So let’s start at the very beginning, shall we? Huff, Puff and Snuff made their final journey – a sad but happy day for all of us.
I never cease to be amazed at how well Poppy and Primrose deal with abattoir day. Far better than I do for a start. I feel wonderfully relieved that my haphazard hobby farming over the last three years hasn’t resulted in them being put off meat for life. Quite the opposite, dear Reader, they love being a part of it all, caring for the animals until D-day and knowing where the food on their plate comes from. So thanks to Puff, roast pork on that first Sunday was truly delicious and made Primrose’s 8th birthday lunch all the more special.
Yes, dear Reader, our dear little Primrose turned 8 at the beginning of this month. Where does the time go I wonder? Anyone wanting to give a group of 7/8 year olds a fun birthday treat (as well as the inevitable sugar rush…..and believe me it was epic) should give Chocolate Craft in Alresford a ring.
Vats of tempered chocolate and 8 children are seriously seriously entertaining when mixed together. Best birthday party I’ve sorted out in years and the children all went home with a mountain of chocolate – much appreciated by their mums and dads!
Before all of that, there was Poppy’s first day at school. Not a moment too soon as far as she was concerned. Talk about wishing her life away! Her school bag was packed the first day of the summer holidays. Inevitably, the house is much quieter without both the girls during the day and the dogs wait patiently for their playmates to return home. However, I am busying myself with rather a large project and I feel that although this is the end of an era, a new chapter is heading my way in more ways than one.
And then Dora turned one. Still pretty half pint-sized for a spaniel but rather more grown up these days. Sweet and mad in equal measure but always utterly adorable Isadora. Even Monty has succumbed to her charms.
However I digress dear Reader. The bit of news I really wanted to share with you has been rather harder to pop into words than I thought. Not least because it was not an easy decision for the four of us to make.
After 3 years of living in our cosy cottage and settling into village life, we’ve decided that the time has come for pastures new and the house is on the market. At this point in time, the future seems a little uncertain but rest assured dear Reader, we won’t be going too far. In fact, we wouldn’t think of leaving the countryside we have come to know and love. Dare I say it….we are looking for a farm perhaps? Jerry is already resigned to the fact that his life from now on will feature rather more animals than he ever imagined when we married. Poor chap. I keep reminding him of all the bacon sandwiches he has enjoyed in that time…..
I hope you’ll wish us luck, keep all fingers and toes crossed and bear with me over the next few months as we search for a new home and try to find a new owner for our little cottage. I’m already looking forward to setting up camp at a new Margot and Jerry HQ. That’s if keeping the cottage as a ‘show home’ doesn’t kill me before then, dear Reader……