Countryfile Live

Good morning all! I hope everyone has enjoyed the weekend sunshine, it was glorious here in West Berkshire/Oxfordshire and I heard that it's meant to get even warmer towards the end of the week. Just to say a special thank you to Dawn and to Jo for your lovely comments on my last blog post, it really was appreciated!


We had a great day out to Countryfile Live on Saturday at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. It's the first time they've done this event and I think it was a huge success for them, though a few glitches with parking and layouts perhaps to think about for next year. We got there at 10am in order to spend a good amount of time there and we went prepped with a picnic blanket, plenty of water, Barry's collapsible bowl (best purchase I ever made!) and money of course! Barry was very excited to be walking along beside us, meeting lots of other people and dogs and other animals too - he got a kiss from a very cute Berkshire Piglet at one stage! It was a very hot and sunny day, a lot warmer than expected for lots of people so I'm glad we went prepared. It was easy to get down the pretty bridge and river area so we visited there often during the day to let Barry cool off properly in the water. He loves a swim and fetching a stick! (video on my Instagram if anyone's interested - @handmade_em).

There was lots going on at the event and plenty to take part in which is what made it such a great day I thought; fairground rides, lots of agricultural machinery to look at, local food produce stalls, Adam's farm area with lots of different livestock to see, an equine area and a dog area, not to mention the fantastic craft stalls. It was great to see stands such as The Woodland Trust so busy with people getting involved in planting more trees, we even took part in a quiz - I need to brush up on my tree knowledge! We enjoyed watching a few different events in the many arenas and enjoyed a very tasty hog roast roll for lunch followed by some lovely ice cream made in Yorkshire. We saw Adam Henson in the livestock area cuddling some cute Berkshire piglets. It was the Gloucester Old Spot piggies that I fell for though, they've always been my favourite pig breed, closely followed by Tamworths.

I most enjoyed the huge array of craft stalls on offer; it was nice to see so many artists, crafters etc. and even better to see their work and watch them making some too. I chatted with a few artists - I fell in love with so many pieces of artwork and I like to let them know how lovely they are. I only wish I could afford to buy them all! Sadly our lifestyle doesn't stretch to becoming avid art collectors, but I'm determined to save up for a few pieces in the near future. I was especially taken with Debby Mason's beautiful sea-inspired artwork. It's very rare you see Whale art and I'm obsessed with whales - Jack had to tear me away eventually! There was a beautiful Blue Whale piece and after dogs and horses they're my favourite animals. It's definitely going on my wishlist! These are a few other stalls that really stood out to me on Saturday, do take a look in case any of their wonderful items appeal to you too:


Debby Mason Artist
Hogben Pottery
Sally's Shed
Emily Cross Ceramics

Concentrating very hard in case I drop any of my ice cream!

It was a really great day and I'll definitely be going again next year and I would definitely recommend it to you all. We got home at around 5pm on Saturday feeling very tired after all the sunshine and walking. Barry had a snooze on my lap all evening but was back to his usual energetic self by Sunday morning! We had a quieter day yesterday; we went strawberry picking with a few friends, I cooked a roast dinner as we hadn't had one in ages and we also bought some bargain plants at the local garden centre, all of them 50% off. I got them all planted up before spending the remainder of the evening sprawled on the sofa watching some of the Olympics. Go GB! With a big cheer for William Fox-Pitt one of our GB eventers! 9 months ago he was in a coma after a bad fall while eventing in France and it's been a tough time for him to get back to the level he was at and now he's currently sat in gold medal position after dressage, with Cross country later today! I'll definitely be tuning into the cross country this afternoon while doing some crafting!

Have a great week everyone!

Em x

Summer Food & Sunshine

We've had lots of lovely warm sunny weather as have many of you no doubt. Yesterday was the first rain we'd had in almost three weeks so it was much needed and gave me a break from watering the garden. It was a bit of a shock to don the rain coat to walk the dog yesterday morning, but Barry relished the rain as much as we did!


With all this warm weather we have been enjoying plenty of salads and BBQs. The novelty of a BBQ has and probably never will wear off for me, I just find them so fun and it's something we both get involved in (I do all the prep, marinating meat etc. while Jack does caveman duties and mans the BBQ).

The man in his natural habitat, providing for others

As well as creating homemade dishes, it has also been nice to get out in the sunshine and visit Millets Farm where you can pick your own fruit and veg. We recently went and picked a punnet of raspberries and a punnet of strawberries and they were delicious. They also have a fantastic Butchers there and do an array of ready-marinated fresh meat for the BBQ, I love their smoky BBQ ribs!

Raspberry picking at Millets Farm Centre

We've had friends over for BBQs and it's been lovely being able to sit in the garden all evening, eat outside, have a cocktail or two. Our friend even made a tasty fruit salad for dessert the other week

I like to make my own kebabs; these were chicken kebabs that I marinated in Nandos sauce! Homemade Nandos is tasty!

Homemade Potato Salad with chives from the garden

We've had lots of colourful salads each day at work

Now as I stare out of the window the rain clouds have just passed us and the sun is trying to break through again just in time for Barry's afternoon walkies. He's been fine in the warm weather, he's got a makeshift paddling pool in the garden that he enjoys splashing in when it's been really hot and we've been delaying his daytime walks to after 9pm when the temperature has been much cooler, as he doesn't seem to understand when he's hot and still runs around like a loon!

Our back garden view last week - Those blue skies! I wonder when they'll cut the wheat, it looks almost ready and they've already harvested all of the Barley in the neighbouring fields

Finally, I have two very happy Mediterranean tortoises who have been enjoying our 'Mediterranean' weather in the UK!

Let's hope the warm weather returns in the coming days and we continue to have a nice summer mix of sunshine, cloud and warm weather! With the odd bit of rain to keep the plants happy and the water butts replenished.

Have a lovely weekend everyone, just in case I don't manage to write another blog post for a couple of days!

Em x

The Coles Wedding; My Best Friend Gets Married!

This is a long overdue post but I've spent the past week hardly moving from bed due to a severe case of tonsillitis. It's the most painful I've ever had it and it's completely knocked me for six. I've got no energy, but I've been on antibiotics for a few days now and they're beginning to do their job. My throat isn't so painful, just sore and easily aggravated by eating so I'm resting up as much as I can as I want to get back to work.

Firstly I'll go back to just before the bank holiday weekend when I headed to Suffolk where my best friend Jess lives, to help her set up for her and Robert's wedding. It was great fun, though extremely tiring for all involved but we had lots of giggles and I loved spending a good few days with my Bestie. Robert's a farmer and therefore the wedding theme was rustic/countryside. We did all the flower arranging too which was good fun, but not so much with hay fever which meant I spent more time helping to set things up in the marquee for the reception.

 

The Wedding Day

Jess, myself and one of the other bridesmaids went to a hotel in nearby Newmarket the night before the wedding. We all had manicures & pedicures before having dinner out and collapsing into our beds exhausted. Saturday morning dawned with not a cloud in the sky and the weather was beyond perfect for the wedding day, I like to think Jess' Mum Jan had something to do with that, to make the day extra special for her daughter. There had been a few tears the night before and the morning of, I wish so much that Jan was still with us and could be there to see her beautiful daughter get married, but I told Jess and completely believe that our loved ones are with us the whole time, so she'd have been there beside Jess giggling as we got our hair and make up done, as I helped Jess into her dress and as her Dad walked into the room to see Jess for the first time in her dress. I feel so honoured to have been a big part of the day and to see Jess so happy too. Jess bought each of the bridesmaids beautiful pearl bracelets which looked lovely beside our dainty bouquets of flowers. Jess's bouquet was extra special, with a photo of her mum attached so Jan would be walking down the aisle with Jess.

 

 

The bride, father of the bride, bridesmaids and flower girl travelled in style to the Church just along the road from where Jess and Robert live, in the form of a cute VW Campervan, meanwhile Robert went by Tractor!

 

 

The service in the church was lovely, it's a tiny little Church in Little Saxham, but it made the ceremony feel all the more special and intimate for Jess and Rob with their families. I was Maid of Honour and witness for Jess (I was so touched when she asked me about both roles) and I also looked after her little eight year old sister Millie (flower girl) who was extremely nervous about walking down the aisle, though Millie's Mum (Jess' stepmother) Trish was close by. Millie's so lovely and she held my hand tight which I think I appreciated just as much as she did! After the service it was great to see Jack who had been sat a few pews back from me, he looked super smart in his suit. We headed back to the reception venue where a vintage ice cream van served tasty ice creams and these were followed by Pimms and canapés. It was lovely to be able to sit outside the marquee for a while to enjoy the Pimms in the sunshine and see old friends from where Jess and I grew up. We were then seated in the marquee for a tasty main course of steak pie and mash, followed by a dessert of wedding cake - they had 3; a beautiful rustic sponge tower wedding cake, a tasty fruit cake made by Jess' mother in law and an Italian wedding cake too as Rene, Jess' mother in law is half Italian. The food was all delicious.

 

My place at the table with the handmade favours Jess had done which included a mini jar of homemade strawberry jam, a tea bag and a scone recipe card, cute!

 

Beautiful wedding cakes

 

The speeches were incredibly touching, especially Robert's who made special mention to Jan and the fact she wasn't with us. He had everyone in tears at this stage and it was special to raise a toast to Jan.

 

 

And then the reception began, with lots of music, dancing, evening sunshine outside and artisan wood fired pizzas for supper. Jess and I love a dance and were up on the dance floor a lot! It was an absolutely amazing day and I was so glad to be a part of it. Jess and Rob are now on their honeymoon in the Maldives and probably having a lovely time!

 

 

 

 

Jack and I

 

 

 

 

Back to my bed I go to continue to rest, hopefully I can shake the last of this tonsillitis away soon and feel better. I hate being poorly, I feel so low and sorry for myself. Not to mention to guilt of not being at work eating me up. Being happy and positive when you feel ill is hard!

 

Em x

 

 

Hen Do & Weekend With Jack's Parents

Morning All! I hope everyone is well and that you had a nice weekend.


Just a quick update on Barry for those wondering how the poorly patient is, he's doing much better. He has been home from the Vets for a week now and for the most part has been fine. There has been the odd bout of vomiting but nothing to be concerned about and he's getting his appetite back which is a big relief (he's so skinny!). He seems quiet still but I'm hoping that by the end of this week he'll be back to his normal bouncy self. Fingers crossed we don't have another flare up for a while.. He's starting to play with his toys again which is a very positive sign, we just want him back to normal!

On the rare occasions Barry wanders off and lets me out of his sight, he can be found sunbathing!

Making friends with Harvey the gorgeous Sausage Dog on Sunday! First time that Barry has met a dog smaller than him!

We headed back to Cambridgeshire for the weekend to spend some time with Jack's parents and for my best friend's Hen Do which was great fun, I think Jess really enjoyed herself. We had a lovely meal out in Browns in Cambridge followed by some drinks in a bar. I had a really nice time and it was great to see Jess having fun before her big day in two weeks' time! I had organised goodie bags for everyone attending the hen do and I had great fun buying bits and putting them all together. The other girls generously contributed and the glow stick bracelets and personalised badges proved the biggest hits. I sorted balloons too and Jess' lovely mother in law to be, Rene, made some beautiful flower arrangements for the table too - lots of the things Jess loves to make it special for her. The wedding is fast approaching and I know she's beginning to get quite nervous and stressed, it's also hard without her Mum here who suddenly passed away just before Christmas. So my intent is to make sure my bestie is well looked after and relaxed!

Hen Do Goodie Bags

Some of the bag's contents

Beautiful flower arrangement!

Jess and I

It was lovely spending some time with Jack's parents too. They own a windmill that sits on their property and it was National Mills Weekend so it was open to the public. It was great to see lots of people coming to visit the mill to find out about its history and have a nose inside. If anyone finds it of interest, here's a couple of website links:


Cattell's Mill Website: http://www.windmillweb.net/


National Mills Weekend: http://www.nationalmillsweekend.co.uk/pages_wind/willingham.htm




We've got a quieter week ahead of us which I'm relieved about as both Jack and I are tired after lots of travelling just recently. My brother is staying tonight as he's visiting a client near Reading tomorrow so that will be nice. They completed on their house purchase last Thursday so I'm looking forward to hearing all about their new home, with a possible visit planned for this coming weekend.


Other than that we will be making the most of pottering around in the garden and getting on with some DIY jobs in the house. I'm also dragging Jack out shopping on Saturday as he needs a suit for the wedding, so I think we'll head to Reading where there are plenty of shops.


Finally, just a few photos from my walk around Willingham while at Jack's Parents, everywhere looks so pretty even though everywhere stinks of pollen!!

Apple blossom

Lilac I believe? Please do correct me if I'm wrong!

Forget Me Nots back in our garden at home

Have a good week everyone!


Em x

Poorly Pup (Again)

Barry has been a very poorly boy again and it's been such a worry. It was only mid-March when he last spent three days at the vets due to sickness and tummy upset and it's now early May and we're back again with a similar thing :-( Sorry if this post is a little graphic to read!

Visiting Barry at the Vets yesterday in an attempt to persuade him to eat

It started on Thursday afternoon with almost constant sickness and for the first time ever Barry refused to eat any food. This is very out of the ordinary for him, especially when he was only being offered plain boiled chicken (because of the sickness) and usually he eats this with glee. He didn't eat anything at all that night and started to look very sorry for himself by the next morning after a night of sickness too. He still wouldn't eat the next morning and when diarrhoea started which was mainly just blood I got very concerned and took him straight to the vets (it was very startling and scary to see). The vet couldn't feel any obstructions and so it was put down to severe gastroenteritis like last time, only this time called Haemorrhagic Gastroenteritis because of the blood. The vet said that fresh blood in stools isn't too worrying compared with 'coffee granules' dark blood which pinpoints problems much higher up in the digestive system but it was advised he stayed in to get him straight onto fluids and medicine to try and get him feeling better. Off he went out the back with the vet and they rang later to say that he was bright, but still some sickness and diarrhoea and therefore they wanted to keep him in overnight to keep him on the drip. I rang a few times the next day and it was the same story, though the sickness had finally stopped. On Sunday morning the vet rang and said he was much brighter but still not eating and therefore they asked us to come in and try and persuade Barry to eat.


Barry was very happy to see us and we managed to persuade him to eat a tiny amount of chicken which at least was something. Saying goodbye to him again was horrible and he howled and cried. They managed to get him to eat a small amount more yesterday afternoon and the vet rang this morning to say that it had successfully stayed down which is good. He isn't interested in eating again this morning but the vet said she's happy for Barry to come home in the hope that he'll start eating at home. So I'm off shortly to go and pick him up and I can't wait to have him home, we've really missed him this weekend.


As to the cause of his tummy troubles, it's very hard to pinpoint it as frustrating as that is. The vet says he obviously has a very sensitive digestive system and she herself has terriers and that they are more susceptible to sensitivities and are also extremely fussy (which I can vouch for with Barry!). Barry is already on a very good food (Arden Grange) and has been on that for 4 months now having changed it from James Wellbeloved a while ago to try and help his sensitivities to an even better hypo-allergenic food. The vets advised we stay on Arden Grange for now to see how he gets on and then we'll have to consider what to try next if not. Deary me, they're such a worry! I'm just glad he's ok and hope he'll be much better soon and not have anymore flare ups for a while, it's horrible seeing him so poorly.


In other news (no sickness or other messy stuff!), my parents arrived yesterday to spend a few days with us. Dad has got stuck straight into the tiling here at our house, with Jack's help. Jack and I madly spent Friday evening clearing the conservatory and ripping up the old laminate wood flooring as well as moving items off of the kitchen worktops ready for Dad to tile the conservatory floor and the kitchen walls. My parents are staying with us until tomorrow so hopefully the tiling will get finished, there may just be some grouting for Jack and I to do. I certainly can't wait to see the finished look in both rooms. I cooked a barbeque yesterday with Jack's help and it was very tasty. I made a tasty salad too and we of course had to have corn on the cob on the BBQ as that's my favourite.

Quickly took a photo last night; Dad & Jack have made a good start on our new kitchen tiles!

It was lovely spending the day in the garden with Mum while the boys were busy tiling. The tortoises have spent all weekend in their run and are very happy in their outdoor home. We just missed having Barry running around too.

We had to share our strawberries with the tortoises yesterday! They're very dusty in this photo as they've been busy digging into the little 'cave' I made them in their run

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoyed the hot sunny weather; I can't wait to get my boy home, spend the afternoon with him snuggled up on my lap while I read your blog posts!


Have a great week all!


Em x

Lovely Bank Holiday Weekend With Family

Morning all, I hope you've enjoyed a lovely bank holiday weekend where I think the weather was pretty good considering it was a bank holiday and they can be a total wash-out.

Beautiful sunshine on Overstrand Beach, Norfolk

We loaded up the car on Friday afternoon and set off to North Norfolk to spend the weekend with my parents, brother and his partner. Usually the car journey from home to Overstrand is around four hours, but it took us well over five hours due to the volume of bank holiday traffic on the roads. I think Jack (who was driving) was rather frustrated with the constant crawling towards the end, but we did eventually reach Cromer where we picked up fish and chips for everyone from Mary Jane's (best fish and chip shop ever!) and took it back to Mum and Dad's where we ate it alongside champagne (we're not posh people, I think Mum and Dad were just very pleased to have their 'babies' home so it called for a celebration!). My brother Simon and his partner Jenna had arrived prior to us so it was lovely to catch up with them too and hear all their good news about the house they're in the process of buying. They are first time buyers so all the stress and excitement is new to them, but so far the buying process seems to be going smoothly.


We spent Friday evening having a good catch up and then we helped my parents with various jobs on Saturday to help them get ready for the garden party they had planned for Sunday. The weather on Saturday and Sunday was amazing and we can't believe how lucky we were! We all had pink faces by the end of Saturday where we'd caught the sun and it was so nice to feel warmth instead of an icy breeze. My parent's garden is so pretty at the moment; full of bluebells, tulips, blossoms, Camellias and Rhododendrons too. Jenna and I took Barry for a walk on the beach in the afternoon and it was beautiful down there and great to see lots of people enjoying the beach and sunshine. We spent Saturday evening having competitions with the Shuffleboard. I'm not sure if any of you will have heard of it, but we're all rather addicted to it now and it's great fun to play! It's a wooden table game where you push wooden discs down it and the aim is to get them through the different holes at the end of the board. I'm not too good at it but then I'm not very good at many games (I'm a sore loser!)

Sunbathing Barry - his fur is growing back slowly but surely

Shuffleboard in the sunshine

Beautiful colours in Mum and Dad's garden

The weather on Sunday was even better than Saturday and it made the party extra special for my parents. They had invited a big group of friends to come for a bbq for the afternoon and I think they all had a great time. I helped Mum with the food and we put on quite a spread. Mum's lovely friends Annie and Jenny made amazing desserts too which went down very well along with Dad's home brewed beer. Their close friend Hugh even played a few songs on his guitar including one he used to sing to me when I was very little called "The baby went down the plug'ole", look it up, very funny (lyrics here, but there are different versions and no-one is sure of who wrote it originally)! I'm glad that Mum and Dad had such a nice time with their friends and that the weather was kind to us all too. Barry was such a good boy around all the people at the party and he was very popular.

It clouded over and got a bit chilly as 6pm approached

Jack and I got up nice and early on Monday morning to take Barry for a final walk along the beach. It was low tide so you can get around the ends of the groynes rather than having to climb over them nearer the back of the beach. A fairly deep pool is always left at the end of the groyne though and Barry completely mis-judged this and ended up disappearing right under the water much to his surprise! Luckily he loves water and is a good swimmer and shook himself off before setting off again down the beach at 100mph! We then said our goodbyes to my parents, Simon and Jenna and endured another 5+ hour journey home (this time I gave Jack a rest and I drove). We eventually made it home all very weary. Sadly Jack had to go into work for a few hours so I just snoozed on the sofa in between putting on a few washes. We have a very tired pooch after all the playing, beach exploring and attention this weekend and Barry looked mighty pleased last night when we said good night and went to bed, I think Barry was asleep before we even reached the top of the stairs!

We've got a busy week ahead of us in terms of jobs to do around the house; I emptied the loft of nearly all of its contents the other weekend in order to sort through everything, throw things, bag things up for charity shops and sell other things on EBay. I've kept it all in the guest bedroom and slowly been sorting through it but now my parents are coming to stay with us this weekend I had better get a move on and finish sorting it. We've laid more loft boards in the loft so you can now walk around more easily up there and as I'm slightly obsessed with being organised, I don't want anything to just be thrown back up there and instead want to know what is in each box. My parents are coming to stay this weekend for a few days as my Dad is kindly tiling our kitchen splash back area and also tiling the conservatory floor. So he'll have plenty to do but have Jack's help too. The weather looks good this week so I'll be able to move my plants out of the conservatory too, more space again!


Finally, just a photo of my two very happy tortoises on waking up this morning to find a whole windowsill box full of home grown lettuce for them to devour! I've tried to leave it growing as long as possible and had better get some more planted ready - I'd quite like to enjoy some too, but it is a lovely treat for Squirt and Lola!

Have a good week everyone!


Em x