Jake

Happy 10th birthday Jake.... x x x

How to move a track vehicle over a Medieval Bridge

How to move a track vehicle over a little old Medieval Bridge ?
It's something that is done very carefully.

After weeks of having the company of the demolition crew next door.

Seems as if Frankie de tabby and Freya are going to have to find something else to nose at out of our kitchen window.

We know someone is really going to miss Josh.

We took Freya out to see them off over our little bridge.  They've gone.

This is the finished result. One two hundred year old cob cottage that was next to Soggibottom has GONE.
The demolition crew have finished, but there is still work to do outside. We now have to wait for a new fence. The rubble of the cottage that's left is going to help build a new water course, hopefully it will also help with our flooding problem. Seems as if the dust hasn't settled yet. More photo's to follow over the next few months. There is so much more to do. It's going to take time. We would like to think we have the same guys to build the water course.

It's not been an easy job to take down the old cottage next door to us because the walls were so very close to Soggibottom.

 The demolition crew have been very good. There has also been a fair amount of tea and coffee being passed over the wall. They have worked in the snow and cold and deserved every cup of tea and coffee even if they have at times made us hold our breath. They knew what they were doing.

 One of the guys even gave us a very bespoke chopping board for our kitchen this morning.

 It's Tim's hobby. One that we approve of. Thanks Tim, but no way can we use it. This is for show purposes only, it's too good to use. What a lovely thought.

It's definitely a different outlook around here.

 Another view from a different part of the village. We will get used to it.

Update on my tomato plants.
They were lacking light over the last few weeks because of dull dark days and the fact that our window's were netted, the scaffolding around the cottage didn't help the light factor. They looked really sick. I moved them into our greenhouse thinking they would pick up. Then I brought them back in the kitchen. They were resting here while I took their photo. I turned my back, Frankie de tabby who was nosing out of the window decided to put his large paws on the tray and up turned them onto the floor. Hum... going to have to sow some new ones.
At least we have more light in the cottage now.

Afternoon tea at Soggibottom.
The postman called with a package this week, it's my belated Mother's Day gift from Karina.
Hannah, Mew and who is the waiter ?

Could it be Frank who in this photo has half of his fish dinner around his face?

Thanks for all your very positive comments over the last months guys.
We only ever have the very best visitors over this side of the bridge. 
Freya Rose Blossom can be found as usual over at the Catflap Cavalier.
See you all soon. X X X

Week six of demolition. Happy EASTER.

I have to stop playing around with our photo's it's becoming an addiction. But great fun.
Thank you for all your comments in our last post. Kiann, is home, up and moving around on two crutches.

We know it's Easter weekend, but it's been so unlike Easter this year. It's cold, dark and miserable.No Easter bunnies dancing around here. This is how the 27th March started for us. Tree surgeons.
The Ash tree outside our cottage was felled after all.

Piece by piece, branch by branch.

Until it was reduced to a pile of logs.

This, suddenly appeared over our little bridge, we weren't too happy to see it. There was no where for it to go anyway except back off the way it had come.
At the end of the day when all had gone quiet, we found unfortunately our little bridge had been damaged. Just what we didn't want ! 

The culprit had obviously reversed over our bridge, but we have no evidence as to who it was, we do have our suspicions !

The whole thing was being watched closely by Lily our neighbour's granddaughter.

Also by nosey Freya Rose Blossom. It was sad to see the tree go.
On the other side of Soggibottom cottage there were other things going on.

Our back wall and window was netted up, 

and the fun began.

Our new view from our kitchen window.  One bright spark who was passing on their way to the park (it's just behind the mound of rubble) commented on how lucky we are and so much more light in Soggibottom Cottage...

Personally, we think it depends on perspective.
Another fun filled day tomorrow after a whole four days off from the noise and dust.
After all, all that rubble and cob has to be shifted somewhere. We look forward to lorry loads of it CAREFULLY disappearing over our little bridge.

I'll leave you with Frankie de tabby's photo. Freya Rose Blossom and Frankie de tabby can be found over at the CATFLAP CAVALIER.

SOGGIBOTTOM Cottage wishes everyone a very happy Easter x x x

Kiann and Karina our STAR's

There are things that are more important that walls and cob cottage's that are being demolished. .
If you have never seen our granddaughter Kiann before, actually you probably have if you look way back on our posts.
Here she is.
Kiann had surgery on both of her Achilles tendon's today, Kiann has Charcot Marie Tooth Syndrome... just like another beloved member of our family, Karina.

Except when Karina had the same operation CMT.. wasn't known.......Karina spent six weeks in plaster of Paris when she was seven years old.
Nana could not help but retell the story.
Mum wouldn't take her medicine.
Except when her Dad said if she took half of it, then he would swallow the other half.
The reply...
"If you like it so much, you should have all of it"...
How lucky are we that we have such beautiful, strong, loving, steadfast kids and grandchildren.

That's our granddaughter and she smiles.

My brain over the last few days does not compute as to dust and noise, or to being woken so early in the morning.......
We stood well away from our kitchen wall at one point today. JUST IN CASE !
BIG GULP... Hopefully :-) over the next few days we can show you.
Kiann, yep, you follow in your mum's footsteps we are so proud of you.  XXX
Lots and lots of love Nana and granddad x x x 

What is cob, how to demolish a cob cottage and dyeing mohair with red onions.

There's so much going on down here this week.
If Freya's nose grew every time she looked out of the window to see what's going on, she would be an extremely long nosed dog.

It's now day two of week number five since the demolition of the cob cottage next door started.

Beyond the point of no return.. This once beautiful old cottage is disappearing before our eyes.

It used to be beautiful before it was left for over eight years waiting to be knocked down.
Like the cottage next door Soggibottom cottage is made of cob and local stone.

Cob is a word that comes from old English meaning lump or rounded mound. It's sand, straw and water. We live in a mud house. A red mud house at that.
 By this photo of the wall next door, you can still see the straw in the mud.
At times we have had to take away parts of the interior walls of Soggibottom. Especially when we first arrived and took the old worn out kitchen units (I should have said tired kitchen units).  We had to go right back to the cob wall, the straw was as golden as the day it was put there over three hundred years ago.

At least cob is supposed to be non toxic and completely recyclable. Did I forget to mention the resistance to weather.  In warmer weather the walls tend to contract and in wet weather they expand. But no so much that you ever notice it. It's warm in the Winter and cool in the Summer.

The guys have been extra careful taking the cottage down. It's been done mostly by hand. It was snowing when they were all trying hard to make sure that the walls fell to the interior of the old building and not fall outwards towards us this afternoon. It was cold, a big fat zero degree's.
This is Freya's new best friend by the way.

Now you see it.

Now you don't.

We have a completely different view from one of our windows. There are houses there.
Also a view of the original road through the village. The main road used to go over our little bridge at one time called Monks way. It went.past Soggibottom Cottage and curved around the corner. Until the railway decided to put a rail line across it splitting the village in two. Nothing much changes, except instead of a railway line there is going to be another new road.

I've been trying to create this afternoon. A pan of red onion skins.
 

Some hard to see beautiful white mohair.

I normally wet the mohair and then dump place the mohair carefully in with the onion skins. Then put it on a low heat for half an hour or so. Wash out the mohair with warm water when you think you have the depth of colour you want.

I promise the mohair does not smell of onions.

I'm happy enough with this colour, it will be slightly lighter when it dries.

The tree outside of Soggibottom cottage. I thought I would add it, just in case it isn't there this time  tomorrow.

Freya and her nose are, as usual over at catflap cavalier. 
See you all with another update soon. X X X 

Freya Rose Blossom, and a close run thing with flooding.

Freya Rose Blossom is our little star so we thought we would like to share her fame with everyone.

 Besides Freya being our little star, it was a much better photo to start the post with than this one.
The guys are back and getting stuck into the serious business of demolishing the house next door...

There is a protective net around the house, that comes very close to Soggibottom.

When I say close, I mean close. You might also notice sandbags in the corner by the wall, we made good use of them over the last couple of days.

Last Thursday night it was a close call, we were expecting the water to come around the corner again. New flood gate in and all sandbagged at the back. We were ready.

It's amazing how inventive you can be when it's needed. We got ready for a flood again and low and behold our lucky fairy must have been watching us because all of a sudden.

The water stopped here, right beside the scaffolding poles of the cottage next door, by the entrance to the park.

This is the view on Thursday morning, the rain started and never stopped.At least we didn't have snow like the rest of the country.

Thursday was also the day that Karina's felt art was framed and went onto the wall, it looked so good until I promptly knocked it accidentally. It fell, and the frame fell to bits.  It's now on it's way to be framed properly and not with a brought do it yourself frame.
There are things we are good at and things we're not so good at. Framing isn't on our good list.

 The water has gone and the cottage is dry and back to it's beautiful old self today.

The guys have been working hard again this morning, the chimney's of the cottage next door are down.

As usual Freya can be found over at the cat flap cavalier. Miss Nosy will miss the demolition crew on their day off tomorrow.
Have a great weekend, we'll be back next week.