Wow...is All I Can Say!

Hi all...sorry I have missed a week...but Hubby’s “man flu” turned out to be full blown flu 😷 and guess who got it next?? Yep...me and my parents...thankfully we overlapped on the illest (is that even a word??) part of it so at least one of us could manage to feed the rest of us haha 😂 I’m glad to report we are all on the mend now and normal services are returning haha...speak to you all soon 👋xxx

Where Do We Start??

Hello again...how has your week been?  It’s been a slow one here not much has been done, we have Man Flu 🤒😷 in Songbird Cottage...Hubs is not well at all so we have ground to a halt but it’s not a bad thing, we have been working non stop so it’s giving the body a rest and time to recoup some energy...

We have the most amazing light streaming through the windows here....in fact most of the back of the house is glass and south facing, so the sun streams in most of the day...we have crystals hanging in the rooms...casting their pretty, sparkly rainbows all around...even with just a chink of sunlight...I find it quite magical and uplifting which has been a joy this week

NEXT UPDATE ON SONGBIRD COTTAGE

The next instalment of the work we have been doing...the garden is quite large...but was very, very over grown...it was a case of "Where Do We Start"...well cutting back seemed like a good place to start...so much to Hubbys delight new tools were needed 😁 so armed with a new chainsaw and chipper we went into battle...I felt a little upset cutting back so much but it was necessary...to regain control and let things “breathe”...everything was fighting for light and space...even the brambles...we cut back bramble spikes of 20ft or more!!

There were quite a lot of dead shrubs and trees...been starved of light, nutrients and space I fear and on more that one occasion the garden looked even worse than it did to start with...but I can happily say that the blank canvas is looking good and healthy...one tree that we left as it was a nice shape, even though it didn't have a leaf on it in mid summer, soon to our delight started to bud up and it turned out to be a beautiful Acer, so glad we left it....I really did have an overwhelming desire to just make something look tidy and together.....

 So in my need to make something look pretty...I found two pieces of trellis panels abandoned in the garden...I figured they would give some colour, interest and balance to the French Doors...so set about painting them in a lovely Sage Green...found two planters (different sizes but hey ho they will do the job for this year)..bought some lavender bushes and planted them up 🌸by the height of summer the lavender was spectacular and various other pots of bedding plants had joined them...it looked a picture...

And look 👀 who we found in the undergrowth...she is affectionately known as Ermintrude 🐄

She needs a bit of TLC but she’s as cute as a button 😍..you can just see a glimpse of the chipper by the side of her...that machine has been a god send and has worked brilliantly for not a lot of money, to be honest we’d have been lost without it...many boring hours spent shredding branches but great for the composting heap.

I feel like I want to rush ahead and show you everything that’s been done but I’m not going to...I want to bring you up to date just in time for when we start to rebuild the garden...something I can’t wait to do 😂

We have done some decorating in the house but as it was such a glorious summer, which looked like it was never going to end we did the outside work while we could...make hay while the sun shines!  There will be photos of some little indoor projects coming up in the next few weeks...

So for now I will take my leave until next week...hopefully the man flu will take it’s leave too haha...have a great week everyone, enjoy everything you do xxx

Happy New Year

Well Hello once again...here we are in a brand new year!

Can’t quite get my head around the fact that last year has flown by but I did feel...for the most part I was standing still and life just muddled along around me...

Towards the end of 2017 we started to embark on an adventure...an adventure to move home...I have always kept an eye on the local property market and one day I was very struck on a particular property that popped up...I had been looking for somewhere that would be suitable for us all to live together...hubby, me, my mom and dad and puppy dog of course haha...and there it was shining like a beacon from the page 😍 you had to look hard beyond the interior and decor in the photos but I loved it! When we went to view it for the first time...as soon as I walked through the door...I felt like I’d come home...I could have cried...it was quite an overwhelming experience! We all agreed that it would be just perfect...

This is a water colour I did of our new home

I can only tell you that we did eventually get the house...but it has been one of the most traumatic experiences of my life...one which I hope I never have to do again as this is our forever home thank goodness...what with buyers, chains, folks pulling out of chains at the last minute, solicitors, surveyors and the endless quite petty questions and requests...I never thought we were going to get there...but I did feel that this home was meant to be...destiny...and it never sold to anyone else...so despite the stress, anxiety and me dissolving into crying heap from time to time...we eventually got to call this place home the middle of last year! So welcome to “Songbird Cottage” ❤️❤️ A very apt name for our little place...we have a large garden and it’s full of birds and wildlife...it has just been such a joy to sit in peace and listen to that symphony of bird song...

I have a heart that’s full to bursting and full of gratitude...I feel so blessed to call Songbird Cottage my home...

I have lots of photos to share with you showing our progress and I’m so looking forward to reliving the past 6 months along with you...so until next week...

Happy New Year...wishing you a wonderful 2019...full of happiness and love...find endless joy in living in the moment and the small things...and leave sparkles ✨ wherever you go