Just Humans Being...

For two weeks due to the need for time off... We're staying on this farm... In a beautiful part of Wales... See you soon! Kay, Sime & Hugo  xxx

We visited Shugborough, ancestral home of the Earls of Lichfield, on our way back from Stoke - 2 weeks ago... Sime had wanted to visit the estate & surrounding area for a long time. His Grandmother, Hilda Rhodes was originally Companion Housekeeper to Lady Anson, Patrick Lichfield's Grandmother from the mid 1950's. She eventually went on to be the Housekeeper for the Earl himself, up until she retired in the late 1970's. Sime spent every Sunday visiting Hilda & her second Husband, Joe - who was Caretaker of the Hall & grounds. He has very many fond memories of his Nan & also of meeting the Earl & his Grandmother. He chose to approach the grounds from the village of Great Haywood, as it was a regular walk that he would take with his Nan & he wanted to see if it remained the same as it was 40 years ago... Amazingly - it was! This little street in Great Haywood remains unchanged... The pedestrian route through the bridge... The canal lock. Moored...

We have cleaned 12 properties in the last week & occasionally have worked into the evening. We seem to have been out lots too & so we ended up shelving No Impact Week because we really didn't have time to think about it - let alone do it! So as well as clean... We visited St Ives Guildhall... And saw  Mark Thomas Who was a brilliant storyteller... We ran the home education meeting & fought off a church cafe - who had taken over our space during the Summer & who announced that the kids were no longer allowed to play in the music room. The place is a teenage centre which we get to use during the day, we use it because it is perfect for teenagers - a fully equipped music studio in the attic, a kitchen - where we can support the kids to dish up some lunch & it also has a basement for chilling out in. So a battle began... Sime & the kids decided to continue with their usual racket & yesterday, we heard that the church group want to swap their day - phew!...

One day soon , we'll have time to do so much more... Like do a post about Shugborough Hall, think about the No Impact experiment, finish off our living room, make the house look presentable, have friends round for meals & grow things... This is our one & only vegetable this year - grown accidentally from our own compost! It had fallen from the plant when we arrived home from work & it was delicious! We are now off out to St Ives to see Mark Thomas - looking forward to it, but we'll suffer for it tomorrow... We'll be running the teens home ed group & will no doubt be a bit tired! Nevermind, it's all good fun! Kay :)

We got back in the early hours of yesterday, worked & we're working again until Wednesday. When we'll have a day off to be volunteers at Hugo's home education group...  We had a very productive time in Stoke, got lots sorted again around Bebe & had great fun with her during a meal out... We also saw Grandad Gerry & Nana Footstep (Sime's Dad & Step-Mum), which is always lovely! I had a tooth out - the tooth I had filled a couple of months ago...  Apparently, the filling had been put directly on to the nerve of the tooth, so no wonder I'd been suffering (my jaw has had a dull ache for a while & my tooth was very sensitive to cold drinks & food). The filling hadn't set underneath, so this dentist said he wasn't surprised that I'd had a metallic taste in my mouth. The guy was lovely, he was very patient with my stupid behaviour & Sime was with me throughout holding my trembling hand! We had a bit of free time too - saw a film ...

I hate uniforms, always have done. When I was at high school, I did all I could to put my own stamp on it - especially in the last two years & was always getting into trouble for wearing my red socks or a t-shirt instead of the school blouse & my extra large men's chunky sweaters, instead of the grey v-neck... A year before moving to Cornwall, I changed my job & worked for a housing association as a community visitor - which unfortunately, had a hideous navy & grey uniform. I thought it looked great with my red baseball boots & it actually thrilled the old folks I visited! When I started work down here for Social Services, I was back to wearing my own rags. Then one day I had a phone call from the boss of my department, she said she had seen me out & about with a client & she was horrified at my clothes! She said that I should be wearing slacks & a smart top & not the "left-wing, socialist, hippy outfit" she saw me in & that she had...

I'm starting to feel better, my heart is slowing down (a little), but at least it's in the right direction... I've even been able to iron work bed linen - without breaking into a sweat...  We've cleaned a large house today & for the first time ever - Sime was hotter than me! An over active thyroid is difficult to live with. And even harder is to see what my pig-headedness does to Sime. He gets all ate up when I refuse help & I have watched him become exhausted with the extra pressure of holding me together. A few days ago, I started taking the anti-thyroid drug - Carbimazole. I hate giving in & I hate taking it, but if it makes Sime feel better - I have to do it. The good thing is (in my opinion) - it takes between 6 to 8 weeks to kick in, but I'm already improving! Which means my herbal mixture of tinctures must be working... I'm taking mainly bugleweed with small doses of lemon balm & motherwort. I've also just started taking l...

We have just booked another holiday for next year... The owners of the holiday homes we take care of are not going to be happy! But it's been a long time since we've had a Summer holiday, so we will be camping in France for a couple of weeks & we're already excited! We've also heard from our lovely friends who live in Switzerland & we're hoping to visit them for the Winter Solstice...  Our not going abroad idea didn't last very long - time to update the passports!!! Kay & Sime xx