There are times at New Year's Eve.

There are times at New Year's Eve we think too much about the passing year and not enough about all the good times yet to come.
Best foot forward and into 2013.............
A very happy New Year to everyone from Soggibottom Cottage x x x 

Freya is back with her paws on the keyboard over at Catflap Cavalier.

Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings from Soggibottom

As promised, one Christmas tree.
Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings from Soggibottom Cottage.

Floods in the South West of England a few days before Christmas

Frankie de tabby and our kitchen Christmas Tree.
It seems such a  long time ago since we were last here.  As most know who visit Soggibottom's blog, the blog is better known for it's photographs rather than too many words.
Although we never have a shortage of words at Soggibottom cottage, we always love showing photo's on here. Although, there have been some very choice words over the last few months.
No good singing rain, rain go away, that doesn't work, the rain keeps coming.

Tonight, a few days before Christmas the South West of England has red flood warnings.  There are 190 flood warnings through out England and Wales.

NOTE ..
 If the water looks deep, too deep to drive through, it probably is, don't drive through it.....
Sandbags help to protect your home, but only up to a point... as for our new flood gate..... Ours and our neighbour's.

They have yet to be tested. We really don't want to put them to the test.

Our lap top's internal workings.
We have been blogging since 2007 on this laptop, it won't be having such a great Christmas this year.
Mark officially pronounced it a gonna this afternoon. AH !

Many thanks to our daughter in law Becca for lending us her laptop. Also to Mark, for making it easier for us to find all our photo's, so we can blog again. Aren't kids great !

All is not entirely lost ref a new lap top, somewhere in the post a few days after Christmas there is a parcel heading our way. Paws up Freya.
Will the new lap top sing and dance... ?
OF CAUSE IT WILL....
When all said and done, stuff is only stuff....

All in all the last few months have been a real dog's dinner, not just for us, but for all those that have had their homes and lives turned up side down by water.
Molly the Wally really did have the right idea when she included this mat in Freya's Christmas parcel swap.
There are so many people to thank.
Highlights over the months of drying out the cottage and then trying to put it back together again, people's kindness, in giving not only their time, but their understanding.

We never thought for one moment Soggibottom would be put back in time for Christmas Day. The very first Christmas Day we spent here in the cottage, it snowed, the magic of snow on Christmas day. So different from this year, when it will probably rain and we will be on flood watch. 
To all those that have had their homes and lives changed by the recent floods, take heart guys. It's hard work, but it all goes back. Not quite as it was or as you might expect, but stuff is only stuff. Lives and paws are more important.

Freya has been so spoilt for parcels, she now automatically raises her paw when the postman calls.
Is that paw high ? She tries to get away with a token of raising her paw just an inch from the floor. 
One parcel Freya had a few weeks ago was from Molly the Wally. Freya's Christmas parcel exchange on  CATFLAP CAVALIER. WOW... Freya is still chomping her way through all the goodies.

Reading her way (with help) through a beautiful dogie cookbook......  Recipes to follow in the New Year on Freya and Frankie de tabby's Catflap Cavalier. What is the good of having something good if you can't share it..

So much more to blog, we might not have been able to show photo's over the last few weeks, but we have still been snapping. So many to thank and so much to yet blog.
Now, where is that button that takes us back to all of our photo's ?
On flood watch so have to go.. the button will still be there in the morning........
In case it isn't. Have a magical Christmas....... Thank you for every single card, parcel and good thought.... we will be back.....  x x x

INSURED ... flood...

Yep, here it is, a picture of our window, not being there.
Last Friday it was the coldest day of the year, I think tonight is going to top that.

Well, when your home is flooded, that's exactly how is is.
A real dog's dinner.
Over the last few months, it has been hard trying to get back to any kind of normality. BUT IN THE END YOU DO... Here at Soggibottom Cottage, it is still going to take us into Feb/March,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, probably longer.
Over the last few months I have lost my temper with too many people. I am so sorry..
Not their fault, because you have to have a flooded home to understand exactly how it is.

It isn't pleasant that 's for sure.......

We didn't have to stay here, we could have moved out.. BECAUSE WE WERE INSURED ..Our insurance policy said so.
Our insurance policy said lots of things.

BUT...... Hum. I really want to say who they were...

In reality, we live at the bottom of a hill. near to a park..
The park has a stream.

We have a very old Frankie de tabby and a very young Freya Rose Blossom... HUM...

We have dried out Soggibottom cottage, for all those that have visited us. SHE WAS WORTH IT..
We love our home.. We love this cottage........

To all the guys that have visited over that last few weeks, We just want to say a huge thank you.

From Phil  the floor, to Dave the fire, to Tom, the window guy  who arrived here at 8 a.m, on a very cold and frosty morning so part of our furniture could come in, via the window.. AH, THANK YOU.................. Not forgetting the furniture guys .... ,.
There are kind people around..................

 

If you ever need a place to live.. come to Devon, in the South West of England..(might have to have a scuba diving course first)...... Thanks to STEVE...for helping us over the last few weeks to get our cottage in order.
.
Most of all there are special friends on blogger. Ah, now, I really do not want to embarrass anyone by giving out names..... YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE..............
Thanks guys.. you have made the last few months bearable,  better. By being there !
xxx
...

New flood gate

Flooded twice in one week, it's probably not going to break any records as it seems most of the South West have had their own share of water. Every flooding has it's own story. I don't think being flooded three times in seven weeks breaks any records either. Well, the cottage is called Soggibottom.

After 350 years she is still standing. Same scene, different day.

We would like to thank everyone who has left a comment of best wishes over the last few weeks.
All good thoughts help, there are times when we really have been standing on an island surrounded by water.
The island being Soggibottom cottage. It's helped us to be able to share, and know we aren't alone, most of all you have helped to encourage us to try and be back, up and running as normal.
All good intentions of getting around to thanking you all personally went out of the window last Wednesday, as water gushed around in the corner of the cottage again. We dried our small hall way out. The water never got any further than our hall way.
It was ready and dry enough in here to have a new floor on Thursday.
Sand bags and flood gate were still in, so the guys had to climb over the defenses.

You have to start putting things back at some time, even when the weather forecast tells you there are flood warnings. Living with a concrete floor isn't a good experience. It might have been better if we had had some furniture. But as that went out of the door when we were flooded in October, Freya, Frank and I set up camp on the floor in front of the fireplace.Frank gave his garden chair that he normally sits on outside to Tony. You do what you have to do, you make the best of what you have, we are thankfull it wasn't worse.
This photo is from last night, when the water once again started to come through the door. Not sure if Frank thought he was going to help.

Quilts came off of beds, towels, curtains, cushions, blankets, in fact anything that might help us keep the water at bay. My half empty linen cupboard is now completely bare. Once again the water made it to the door of our living room. We started to bail water from the hall in the end, and then the water level went down. As it did before.

Our new flood gate came yesterday morning, as it was raining so much it wasn't possible to take down the flood defenses that were already in place and replace them with our new flood gate. But here it is, it might have a good test tonight as water tables are high and it's raining heavily again. WE ARE ALL ON WATER WATCH AGAIN.

It clips to the inside of the door frame and the screws at each clip tighten to form a water tight seal.. we hope.

This morning the new flood gate seemed to be the talk of the village. I thought you might like to see some of our passing traffic.

There has been so much devastation from flooding here in the South West this weekend, as I said before, back in October, it all dries out. The best thing to do if you start to lose the battle of keeping your home dry is to head to another level, thankfully we didn't have to do that, but we would have done if we had to. 

Never drive into flood water. Never think by walking through the water you will be safe. You can't see what is under your feet and most flood waters have strong currents that can knock you off of your feet and sweep you away. Never be fooled into thinking it's clean water, it isn't, it's full of nasty bugs and other things that will make you ill.  

Where ever you are keep dry and safe this week.
Thanks again guys, we know your out there. x x x

Flood no. 2....6 weeks and four days after flooding in October.

Six weeks and four days exactly, since Soggibottom flooded at the start of October.

I wish I could say that the photo of Freya was taken six weeks ago, but it was taken at 8.a.m. this morning.

We aren't the only ones in the South West of England today. There are houses and cars that have been trapped by flood water.

If anyone ever wonder's exactly what  colour the water is when you get flooded, mostly it's this colour.

Not such a beautiful muddy red, kind of sewerage dirt and who knows what else.
Can there be anything else ?

Our little car has been bashed by someone who wasn't looking where they were going earlier this year.
She's now survived flood water for the second time.. Luckily it was parked where the old garage used to be and the spot is slightly raised from the rest of the road.

The cottage window boxes survived again..

With help from our flood gate that was in the front of the door all night, our bed quilts and some of the contents of my linen cupboard. We managed to keep most of the cottage dry inside this time.

We also have sandbags around the doors. More heavy rain forecast over the next few days, we are all taking our turn for water watch.

CAT AND DOG BED

Apart from the squabbles over the new cat bed/

dog bed. Things are starting to come together at the cottage again after weeks of camping out in one room because of the flood at the beginning of October.....
Hopefully we will be back to blog visiting and normal blogging soon. There are only so many times you can photo a concrete floor, then it becomes terribly boring. See you all soon.

Poppy day

It really is taking time to get things back into a livable condition here at Soggibottom after the whole place flooded, seems like weeks ago,............................ it was... weeks ago. We have lost count of the days now as they seem to mingle into each other.

Small stream.. BIG PROBLEM when the water tables and the amount of rainfall and the high tides go together, We live near to the South West Coast...  Tide times Rule.. who ever thought that at 20 minutes past four in the morning, there would be a flood in the cottage.

.

This is our biggest problem, one that has yet to be solved. Underwater wells and water tables....
A high bank that surrounded and cut off the cottage from the playing field, well, we really thought the high bank (mini dyke) would do the trick. Just goes to show you, how you should never take things for granted.

Lots and lots of berries on the tree's this year, is that because we are going to have a hard and cold Winter or because of the the amount of rainfall ?

There is only so much brown muddy water that you can take in.

They aren't my shoes by the way.

We have all made the best of things over the last few weeks.

It's what we are really good at..

Freya was a bit too quick for the camera, in her enthusiasm to try new things out... she is over at the CATFLAP CAVALIER .
Not our usual post on such a special  Sunday.
We all wear our poppies with pride XXXXXXXXXX 

One month after flooding. BAD DAY in progress. Approach at your own RISK

One month has past since the cottage was flooded.

Not much has changed, except the weather has got colder. So, I can't really give an update on how we are progressing putting the cottage back together again.

Although we do have a new fireplace now. All that's missing is a fire to go into it.

The oak we used is what is known as green Oak, it has yet to dry out. When it starts to dry it cracks slightly and takes on a very bespoke look all of it's own. It will be another six months before we can wax the wood. No stain, just wax polish. You'll note that the fireplace is sitting on top of our concrete floor. The reason why everything is so dusty at the moment. At least we are dry.

Freya has had post during the last few weeks.  Every time something comes through the door from the postman, Freya sits and holds her paw up. Not everything has been for Freya, Frankie de tabby had a hand knitting blanket to sit on from Caroline over at Uniqart.

Caroline also sent some new knitting needles to replace the ones I lost in the flood.

How kind and thoughtful is that ?

Especially as a few days later Caroline and her family were on holiday and near to Hurricane Sandy.

We had a postcard from New York the day that Hurricane Sandy decided to wreak the lives of so many. Allie had been visiting New York a few weeks before. Thanks Allie, it got here. The postcard arrived on a very memorable day for New York.

Thanks again for all the kind thoughts and replacements for Freya's new toy box. She hasn't got a new toy box yet, but Santa Paws is coming and it won't be long before the one she lost is replaced.

Freya Rose Blossom is over at the catflap cavalier as usual, along with

Frankie de tabby. Although Frank is beginning to show his age, he really is as big as he looks. Just slightly lighter in weight than he used to be. I'm pleased to say Frank is conducting himself in a very graceful manor considering his best seat is no longer there. Just as well as his food dish is where he can find it.