World Diabetes Day

When I sat at the computer I had an entirely different post in mind ....  then I found out what 'day' it is today.  World Diabetes Day, a day designed to raise awareness of this condition, that is so prevalent in todays world, one which is close to my heart as my Lovely Hubby was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in June of this year.

We struggled at first to get things under control, but we did, and although we had a bit of a 'blip' through eating ready meals and a bit of junk food while coping with losing Mum we are now firmly back in business and sorting out our lifestyle again.   Lots of fresh veggies and some fruit, low carb meals and basically just good honest home cooked food with the emphasis on eating smaller healthier meals regularly and the most important meal of the day......breakfast. 

 LH loves his cooked breakfast once he gets in the routine, although I do understand that cooking your eggs and bacon at 5.30am in the morning is tough at first, it is the healthiest meal for him and really helps him get his blood sugar balanced for the day ahead.  Who needs 'Sugar Puffs' when you can tuck into home produced Eggs Bacon and Sausage.

If you see lots of folk wearing blue today it's because they're supporting World Diabetes Day, if you need more information on diabetes visit Diabetes UK a brilliant site for info, help and lots of good advice.

Sue xx

Remembrance Sunday

On Sunday Lovely Hubby will be in the village hall for the Farmers Market, running my stall in my absence as I am zooming up the motorway to spend 2 days with my Mum and Dad. 

Being Remembrance Sunday the Farmers Market goes on for an extra hour to allow stallholders and customers the chance to go to church if they want to or to visit the Memorial on the corner where the wreaths will be laid.  It's very poignant in this village as one of our own lost his life in Afghanistan two years ago.  There is also a two minutes silence at eleven o'clock as we, like millions of others all over the country stand to remember our fallen heroes from past and current conflicts and wars. 

 Each and every soldier, sailor, airman and woman is a hero in my opinion.  We also remember those that have returned to their families injured, in body or mind, and pray and hope that these sacrifices will not be in vain, that one day this world will find peace.

I always give thanks that my two brave, brave men came back to us, to rebuild their lives, to move on and to continue loving and being loved by us, their family.

Wear your poppy with pride..........and remember.

Sue xx

Life is too short......

Shamelessly stolen from another Blog.

Sue xx

Learning from the Animals

Archie the town cat with the immaculately fluffy tail brought to the countryside by us when we moved here. He spends his nights hunting and his days cleaning his tail and then sleeping....not a bad life.

He sits relaxing staring out at the world, allowing me a photo.....if I'm quick!

He curls up with his friends and has a snooze whenever he feels the need.

At times he leaps into action .....

... showing us his skills, agility and beauty, sometimes wanting a pat on the back for doing well, but mostly doing it just because he can.

We can learn a lot from animals.  Take what life throws at you, learn from it, make the most of it ... live it well... we only get one!!

The animals are keeping me grounded at the moment, walking the dogs in the fresh air (yes, Archie comes nine times out of ten), cuddling with Lovely Hubby and the cats and Rosy on the sofa in the evenings in front of our roaring log fire. 

My Dad is now out of hospital with strict instructions to rest, to take time to get back to normal..... what's normal..... it's different for each and every one of us......normal is good, especially when it's your own version of normal.

My version of normal ........ my family and friends safe and well, doing what they want to do, when they want to do it.

Sue xx

Patchy Blogging

Sorry for the patchy Blogging of late, there's reasons ..... lots of reasons. 

As this Blog is about 'Our New Life in the Country' it doesn't always seem right to encompass all the personal things that go on.  When I do you are always right there with your support, love, prayers and good wishes, but I'm not, by nature, the type of person who goes out of her way looking for sympathy or extra support, I've always managed on my own, helped others and I find it hard to lean on and accept support when sometimes maybe I do really need it for myself.

I'm always there for my family when they need help, in any way I can give it.  I know how hard it is to have help refused so I am opening this Blog post today to just let you know what has been happening here in deepest darkest Oxfordshire and in the corners of England that my family call home, the reason why, for a while I have lost some of my bounce, why things seem a little 'bit too much'.

Simply a list (I can't find any words in me to accompany it).

Losing Mum (Jessie)

Seeing my Lovely Hubby in the depths of despair.

My eldest son sadly splitting from his wife.

My younger son struggling to cope with a bad dose of flu, alone in his home many miles away.

Wanting to get LH back on track with his healthy diet to control his diabetes.

Me being diagnosed with very high blood pressure this week. (I now hold the record in the family 210/110).  It's being monitored this weekend and will be sorted out I hope.

My Dad having a heart attack

The final one could really have been the 'icing on the cake', but he's alive thanks to the quick thinking and the clear headedness of my clever Mum. She noticed the symptoms, listened to his calm words telling her it would be alright and not to worry, ignored them, and did what her head told her to ..... phoned for an ambulance and paramedic. With their help, and that of the wonderful staff at Wythenshaw Hospital in Manchester, my Dad was operated on within hours of the attack and lives to fight another day.

The doctors have said that his healthy diet and lifestyle are what has saved him, running an allotment, minding the farm for us, dancing three times a week, generally being so very active for a man of his age..... almost 81.

What else can I say in this strange post except ..... thank you for reading and I know you will understand any absences from my Blog.

Sue xx

Jobs this week.......

This week has been about tidying the farm and making the best of what we have.

The polytunnel is slowly being emptied of the compost in the raised beds ready for our move, so the outside beds have benefited from all the freshly dug compost which has neatened them up nicely.  We want this place to look good for prospective renters when it gets advertised as soon as we definitely have our new home, (we are looking at a very likely candidate tomorrow, we're very excited!!).  It's been lots of hard work but I've had some very good help to do it.  The cats of course think all these nice clear beds are just huge cat litter trays solely for there use.

The bed and a half at the back still have lots of lovely 'chicken food' growing in them (weeds), I harvest a good bowlful every couple of days, the chickens needs freshly growing things to keep their eggs nice and tasty and their little bodies healthy, so until the frosts come and kill off the weeds they are ideal.

I've also been busy in my little workroom, making up Christmas gift bags and other items to sell at my final few Farmers Markets.  We have decided that we will stop doing them from the end of December, so I have four more Farmers Markets and two more Craft Fairs to sell off all my remaining stock.  I want all my regular customers to get lots of bargains in time for Christmas so they can give them as gifts, or just treat themselves.

It's been lovely to spend a bit of time playing with pretty things and seeing what I can make out of what I have left.  This time last year I was already wallowing through fields of mud trying to look after lots of big pigs ..... what a difference.

Sue xx

It's November........

It's November .....the sun is shining, it's unusually warm and the dogs are loving the doggy walks at the moment.  They enjoy them all the time, but these last few days the fields have been full of rabbits basking in the sunshine, pheasants roosting low in the trees just waiting to be scared by a barking dog.  Rosy loves it when they suddenly take to the air with the loud hollow sounding flapping of their low flying wings, she chases them for a couple of hundred yards and then comes back with a cheeky grin on her face looking for the next poor victim.

The early morning sun shines low across the fields, rising to it's full height by late morning, warming the farm with its rays and clearing any last lingering mists that may have been left by a chilly night.

The skies are gorgeously blue giving the farm a Spring time feel, only the leaves slowly falling from the trees and the weeds dying back show us what time of year it really is.

Even the crops in the fields all around us are having a real growth spurt with this unseasonal weather.  We walk the fields each day the dogs, Archie the cat and I, storing in our minds the memories of these beautiful days, knowing that all too soon we will be rushing through harsh winds and wading through mud to get our exercise.

Sue xx