Holiday Blues......

7 days in a beautiful villa, no neighbours, just sun, scenery and a lovely pool! We arrived at lunchtime on the 15th after an uneventful flight. Took a couple of wrong turns to get to the villa but made it in one piece. The hire car seemed sluggish, but i thought it was due to it being a smaller engine than my Mini. Then I realised i was driving with the handbrake on!
*embarrassing or what*


We spent a week doing very little, just lazing by the pool and generally recharging our batteries. A couple of trips to the local pottery place to pick up a few bits (mainly to replace the things i broke in the villa) *whoops* and then it was time to pack up and head home again :0(

The airport had obviously opened it doors to every chav in Portugal. Maybe it was day release for them? The queues were unreal, with shell suit clad bodies everywhere, laden with bags of cheap booze and Portuguese goats cheese to take home and probably throw away. With the promise of 'great deals' behind us we headed for the restaurant (what i really mean is canteen). As nearly all the flights were delayed, ours included, the shelves were bare! Except for a lone samosa and a festering chicken roll. After a couple of hours waiting, the flight left Faro and we headed home, mumbling the words 'private jet'. We finally got home at 1.30 on Sunday morning.

We spent all day Sunday, washing clothes and getting ready for work on Monday. I will never have just one day off before work again. The garden has gone beserk with beans, chard, tomatoes and courgettes.
I picked 5 vases of sweetpeas and still left loads to pick later!








I have just got back from a 3 day trip to Stockholm and Milan. I'm soooo tired and am back again tomorrow for another trip. Jason is in Helsinki tonight and home tomorrow lunchtime. We will pass on the motorway and i won't see him again until Saturday :0(

Checked on the hens as soon as i got in, and found an egg from Laverne. That means Shirley and Babs aren't laying! They all seemed fine huddled up together. Definately need more chickens!

I will hopefully have more time to write in Lyon on Friday/Saturday so until then........Bye C x x

Update! Shirley laid an egg today!!! Yay!

One more day!

Day 6 at work today and just one more day until i'm off!!!! The week started well with a 3 day trip to Berlin and Nice. Had a lovely time flying with 2 friends. Lunch in Berlin and shopping and chatting in Nice. Oh the glamour!

Stand by on Monday morning, resulting in a Munich and back with the oldest crew I have ever seen! Kiev and back yesterday (yes former Russia). Far too long a flight for my liking. No one caught smoking, but several mobile phones on! Managed to have a sneaky ciggie behind an old house in the middle of the airfield. Refreshed and relaxed was ready to fly home again. They have given me a Paris and back today, landing at 8.30pm tonight and will find out tomorrows duty tonight, when i get back.

Jase got a double (4 flights) on overtime today (Ker-ching) so got up early with him at 5.15 this morning (i must be mad). Going to pop in Andover to get a few last minute bits for our holiday on Sunday. Really excited now. A week in a private villa, own pool and lots and lots of sun! (Probably jinxed it now, flash floods and monsoon weather).

The girls are fine. Babs still moulting, Laverne laying the odd soft egg and Shirley laying well. Am redesigning the garden at the side of the house to accommodate another eglu or eglucube. Haven't decided which yet. Need to redo the outbuilding roof, paint the outside doors and water proof the utility room brick work before we buy anything chicken related..........well thats what he says! :0)

Bye for now!

Back from Andover now, got some shorts/tshirts in Next, Grow Your Own and Practical Poultry magazines from Smiths, (sad I know). Also went into Waterstones, my favourite shop, for some holiday reading and suntan lotion and nicorette gum from Boots.

Now, before you all start rejoicing at the thought of me giving up, I'm not. Just want to cut down a little. Popped the gum in my mouth, not bad. After 10 mins, I felt good and the craving had gone away. Psychological? Maybe, but it worked. Then the sweating started. Then the hiccups. Then the dizziness. Spat the gum out and lit a ciggie. Felt better. £6 wasted but at least I tried. Off to sit in the garden now and read my mags. (and smoke)!

A couple of hours peace before I have to get ready for work.

July at last, but waterproofs for chickens?

Here we are in sunny (?) July and the weather is still pants! Jason's Sister and her Boyfriend arrived on Friday night after a long drive down from Scotland. It has been pants here. Constant rain but we made the most of it. We visited Stockbridge and a Homes and Gardens fair. I managed to get 2 'bistro' sytle chairs which I have been searching for. The lady at the fair was too busy to get lunch, so I got her a couple of sandwiches and we did a deal on the chairs!!!!!
We went to Romsey Farmers market yesterday and bought some bits and bobs, then came home for a huge roast dinner, crumble and cheese and crackers. A game of scrabble after dinner and then started cooking scones at 11pm for them to take home for Jason's Mum, I must be mad!

They enjoyed the break and it was lovely to see them. Shame they left this morning to drive back again.

Far too much eating and drinking and the obligatory game of Monopoly! Have put on 3 stone in 3 days i think!


The river Test on the way to the fair was really high. The rain hasn't really affected us as such, but the constant down pours are driving me nuts. I like to be outside 'pottering' round the garden picking, weeding and tying in!

The girls have been issued with waders to access their nice, boggy run. Babs had a bath yesterday as her frilly knicker feathers were matted with *cough* fertiliser. She was walking like John Wayne and I thought we had a repeat performance of her egg bound times. She happily sat in the plastic trug, whilst I gave her a shampoo and set. She is looking pretty again now and seems fine. I think her moult is nearly over as the garden is no longer covered in ginger feathers. Fingers crossed for eggs soon.
Laverne and Shirley are popping the eggs out daily, so Chris the Postie was happy when he got a box last week. need to get more chickens I think, as demand is greater than supply. Its good business sense! Well thats the argument I think I'll use!


Off to eat a scone or 4 now................see you all soon. C x x