Postive Thought #1

First of my many positive thoughts for this year.

One of the advantages of living here at the Edge of the World, is that even on the shortest day it was still light gone 4pm and means I get home to the boys to take them out in the daylight (even when it is raining lol).

Of course, this is backed up by the fact that the mornings are deep and gloomy until 8ish, but then when I was living in the Back of Beyond I can remember it being dark and gloomy when I was heading to work and that was about 8am ish so I generally have longer days.

The other positive factor about living here, is the temperatures, while BoB was freezing and having snow falling before christmas, here it was still mild (well it would be with all that wet falling from the sky) and I love that.

I love that in ten minutes I can be at the beach and paddling despite it being very fresh and very cold.. it is still better than having to take a day trip. Now I can make a flask of coffee or hot chocolate and go and watch the waves crash on the shore every day if I want (I don't always have the time, or so I tell myself) it doesn't cost me anything in diesel, and I can even go on the bus if I want to save even more.

Sunny Sunday

It was lovely and sunny here at the Edge of the World, although there was a cold edge to the wind at times. The garden was sheltered enough to enjoy the sun while the washing blew around on the line to dry beautifully.. now all I have to do is the mound of ironing I have although a good film will see me spin through it.

Yesterday I made oriental salmon, marinated in soya, honey and chilli, then baked in the oven the sauce turns rich and syrupy and served with plain rice makes an interesting and healthy meal. Unfortunately I also baked an apple and blackberry crumble, although I made it tart rather than sweet and had it plain rather than with cream or icecream/custard.

This morning saw me put the last of the rubbish I have sorted out into the dustbin. I am still looking for the watercolour set and paintbrushes I know I had but haven't yet found and I am positive that I didn't dispose of them but as it was three years ago now when I packed up the Back of Beyond I can no longer remember clearly.

I have no regrets about leaving, it wasn't the right place for me and I love living here down in Cornwall despite being so far away from the little family I had, but after Dad died I briefly considered moving to Australia until I worked out the costs involved but this was a happy compromise.

Cool July Days

Seems like Summer has mysteriously disappeared into the ether.. even down here at the Edge of the World it is cool, grey and liquid substances that drop ceaselessly from the darkened skies.

I don't mind being cold and damp, but everything is dulled by the lack of sunshine and warmth. It seems dismal and winterlike but it is only the middle of July. We should be having long sunny days, with glorious sunsets and morning dew.

I want to go out and explore, but costs of fuel make that somewhat prohibitive and the weather does not make me inclined to do much walking as any views are blighted by a mistiness that hides the beauty that is Cornwall.

Here's to hoping that the weather and my mood improves.

Blowing a Hooly

It's blowing a hooly out there today.. the winds are blowing in from the South West and made our walk this morning much more interesting as autumnal fallen leaves are blowing around high up into the air.

Murphy made me jump this morning, a huge gust of wind startled him and in turn as he leapt against me and I of course was daydreaming as usual. There wasn't anything other than the wind and the leaves but Murphy is a bit of a girlie when it comes to loud noises and wind seems especially scary to him.

We are hoping for a quiet bonfire night; at the Back of Beyond the fireworks would have started by now and continued on pretty much until Christmas and New Year which wasn't that much fun.

We are expecting visitors on Sunday night, apparently a witch and skeleton are going to pay a visit... what do we dress Murphy up as?

Wet and Windy

Yesterday was wet and windy at the Edge of the World. Even young Murphy wasn't too inclined to come out for a walk at 6.15am and I persuaded him to wear his cissy coat. It is lightweight and waterproof, he wore it for no other reason that it would keep the majority of him dry as my time in the mornings are limited and a dryish dog is better than a soaking wet one.

It is dark in the mornings when we go out, and dark when we get back home so Murphy has to settle for a walk around the roads as it is too dark to see the ball in the park. Luckily the afternoons are a little different and he gets a chance to play ball giving him much needed running around.

On Sunday, the weather was lovely, warm and dry and we took Murphy down to Gwithian beach for a run around. He is getting better with other dogs, still occasionally slipping into old habits but after 10 mins of running wild he stayed more with us and fetching his ball from in the surf. After he had enough of that, we took him the other side of the dunes to a freshwater pond, and this time he had to swim a little to get to the ball. It was a little deeper in the middle and in one of his hastes to get the ball by bouncing up and down he disappeared under the water (having found a deeper bit); he was a little uncertain after that but didn't seem to be scared of the water.

I must admit, I had envisaged in that short period of time when he disappeared under the water that I would be having to resuscitate him after wading in to find him and I was so relieved to see him running around normally. He had a few extra treats that evening and he was so tired he went to bed early.

Slugs

Something I have noticed that is different between the Edge of the World and the Back of Beyond is the slugs.

Strange thing to notice, I know, but somethings just catch your attention and after last week's downpours the number and variety of slugs, snails etc just caught my eyes.

At the Back of Beyond after rain we were deluged with large, fat, black moist slugs (squelching underfoot if you were unlucky enough not to notice) but down here, we have a variety of colours ranging from Black to a pale fawn colour and every variety in between along with an equally huge number of snails with every pattern going.

Perhaps it is the position, further south west than the Back of Beyond, or possibly being more urban but it is truly fascinating.

Glorious Sunshine

The weather is gloriously sunny, all I can see is hazy blue skies and sunshine.

Fridays are good because I get to finish earlier than during the week which is nice, and will get home and still be able to enjoy the weather.

Luckily this morning I woke up, albeit a little later than I should have done, but then some numpty forgot to set her alarm last night and so I had some extra snooze time. Still managed to get everything done before leaving for work, including making my lunch and washing up the breakfast dishes.

I have a busy weekend ahead of me, tomorrow I have an appointment with the building society, then later a trip to a rescue centre at Newquay before heading to Penryn to watch a rugby match in aid of a young man paralysed by the game. Then on Sunday, the bike trip to Jamaica Inn, my first trip on the bike in almost a year.

It was once of the sacrifices I had to make, yes I could have taken him out on my own up at the Back of Beyond but more urgent things like decorating/tidying up/decluttering needed to happen and that allowed me to come down to the Edge of the World. One little sacrifice I didn't mind taking.

The bikes are now safely in the garage, the house is gradually taking shape with things in the right places though I fear it will be a long job, but this weekend is for us to enjoy ourselves and Saturday night will be the Chinese take-away from the Hong Sing which does the most wonderful food and extremely bad for the diet.

Have a good weekend all.

Hot, Hot, Hot

I was lucky, I had an extra day off work to try and get some tidying up done. Moving a few boxes here and there gave us a bit more space in the living room. The washing was hung out on the line, and the sun shone brightly.

I phoned BT again, the fourth attempt to get a working phone line and it is costing a small fortune having to use the mobile and once more we have been told to wait 48 hours and someone will call... I beg to differ and if I have to ring them again there will be trouble!

Then a trip over to the storage container, to pick up the last few things, and hand back the key. If we had waited any longer we would have had to pay more rent, so it was crucial to get things done this weekend just gone, even though it would have been nicer to have had a bit more time to sort things out before taking them to the house; still beggars cannot be choosers.

Into town, and the great address change, now we can do all the licences, insurances, bank accounts etc... a raft of paperwork is about to move so apologies to Royal Mail who are doing well finding us in amongst the building site which is opposite.

Tomorrow is back to work, a more normal day well for me at least. SOH has the heat to contend with as he negotiates his lorry in amongst the holiday makers and traffic works delivering cream and milk to shops and the like.

Tre Agan (Our Home)

It's officially ours, the money has been wired and I will be collecting the keys to Tre Agan this afternoon.

So long to the old homestead at the back of beyond which now belongs to someone else who I hope is very happy with her choice.

Say hello to Tre Agan, the official residence of Sage and SOH

With views from the front door over to the North Coast and Portreath (only 3 miles away), and views of Carn Brae from the rear it is a good location.

PS. anyone noted that the downsizing didn't really happen as this is also a 3 bedroom house with a garage lol...

Still it has plenty of storage, and isn't too near to town, but not to far away to be within walking distance. Just need to ring the utility companies and sky to arrange for a satellite dish.

Millstone changes into Stepping Stone

I always viewed the house at Cranfield as a Millstone, as I have mentioned before, well as of about 30 mins ago the finances were all sorted out and the new owner has taken possession of the keys.

Ergo, it has now converted into a Stepping Stone, to a new life, a new house and a something that I have long wanted to be : mortgage free.

It is a relief to have had the phone call to say it was all done and dusted. Now we can concentrate on the paperwork for the new house, which is hopefully arriving this week, once signed we will be on our way to obtaining the keys for Tre Agan.

So still a gypsy, but now a free gypsy as I no longer need to make any mortgage payments, insurance payments and miscellaneous other tied payments related to the mortgage. Free from any other bills other than the ones for necessary living like food etc. Tonight we celebrate our non-house owning status and boy are we two happy people living at the Edge of the World.

Wishing the new owner, joy and happiness for her and her family, I hope she enjoys the peace, tranquility that was the Back of Beyond.

Sparking off - an unfortunate series of events

Part of my unofficial duties of where I am staying is to help with the animals, many of whom are surrounded by electric fencing; of a suitable low voltage.

Though when they touch it, the pigs they do squeal loudly - ear splitting in fact, but they only do it when they are about to be fed and are too eager to get to the food first.

Normally with the ponies I turn off the fence before hopping over to give them some hay and some nuts, but not on Friday night. Instead I did Merlin's and then Dillon.

This is where the fun started, or not if you were Dillon, I hoped over the fence and bless him, ever eager for his nuts he lunged forward to meet me and my hand touched his headcollar at which point he wheeled away fast and I was left with a finger throbbing where the electricity had surged through to the metal work on his headcollar.

Poor Dillon, he still hasn't forgiven me yet even though over the weekend well Saturday I was feeding him treats and scratching his rump to try and make it up to him.

Leanne's (Somerset Seasons) box of Dorset goodies arrived on Saturday, and I had a marvellous time going through the contents... can't wait to try the recipe for Dorset Apple Cake - Thank you for this... once I am settled into a more permanent location I will do a similar giveaway with Cornish goodies instead though sadly you might have to miss out on the clotted cream :-)

Back to the folds of Winter

Over here in the West at the Edge of the World, the cold fingers of Winter are reaching out, not as badly as for those living in the East of the Country where snow and ice are making lives so much more difficult.

It seems strange to see on the news the weather only 300 miles away and yet so different to what I wake up to.

Even that is small stuff in comparison to the snowfall that the East Coast of the US has received and is still receiving, they are expecting another 18 inches on top of the 3ft they have already but they still manage to run their services and some hardy souls are skiing to work in the capital.

Take note England for when we even get 2 inches of the white fluffy stuff we grind everything to a halt for days.

I can't wait for the warmer days to return, last weekend we even had warm sunshine and light winds, enough for me to ditch my coat for a waistcoat for a short trip into town and not notice the cold. But I am keeping an eye out on the first signs of a real spring emerging though Sally over at Cornwall beside the Sea has seen the first daffodils blooming at Portreath.

The end of an era

Today is officially my last day of employment with the University at the back of beyond; one of the advantages of a job in HE is the hols and I gave enjoyed having a long holiday to recuperate after getting a sinus infection. Still it was nice to sit on the seafront at Portrearh yesterday, hot chocolate in hand, watching the surfers in the sea and I am looking forward to having a go later next year.

This is also the end of the first decade of this century, if you take 2000 as year 1, and it is a good time for a fresh start leaving all the problems behind where they belong. No bad thing, remember the good things that have happened and leave the bad things behind and use the new year as a new beginnning.

I have some work lined up, and am looking forward to neing the new girl on the block. I brought a large diary to use for work details and feel as excited as I remember I was when starting a new year at school, just thankfully no homework.

I dont make many new year resolutions, but this year I am making an exception. Mine is Carpe Diem or sieze the day and moment.

Hpw about you?

Home

is where you put it, and in my case now a caravan is my temporary home, but it is a start lol.

Arrived yesterday at 5pm after leaving the Back of Beyond at 11am. It was -3 at BoB and the snow and ice were hazardous until I reached the outskirts of the wondrous Milton Keynes then as I drove South and West watching the temperature rise up to 6 before drooping to 1 just outside Launceston where there was a fair amount of snow on the A30. By the time I reached my final destination it was back to a balmy 3 and this morning we are blessed with blue skies and sunshine at the Edge of the World.

The ratz seemed to enjoy the experience, they sat in their cage on the passenger seat and popped their heads out to see what was happening throughout the journey and today they are going on a further trip back up to Bodmin where they are going to stay with a friend until I can accommodate them. They dont know how much they are going to be missed.

Hmmm Bah Humbug

I have a long journey in front of me tomorrow, and have snow and ice today and overnight... it couldn't have held off until Sunday and given me a break lol still never mind, I have now written out my christmas cards, baked two desserts to take with me and dismantled the ratz cage having transferred them into temporary accommodation for the trip.

Just need to finish packing, tidying up and hoovering then a clean up before I am ready to leave. Still can't quite believe it, and today is technically my last day at work as I am on holiday next week. After nearly 30 years, I still remember my first days and have many highlights of my time at the University of the Back of Beyond, though there have also been many downs; one recent one was hearing of the recent death of a friend and colleague, tragically he was diagnosed with an agressive form of cancer and I only heard yesterday that he had passed away on Sunday. Charlie was one of the drivers in the MT section, and could always be guaranteed a smile and a joke when you met him, I think he would like to be remembered that way by all that knew him.

I will miss some of the people, but not the new regime that is in place. Where once the University was education with a sideline of business, now it seems to be a place where business rules with education on the sideline and in the long term this will do them no favours as staff are leaving with experience and skills much needed. Still not my problem any more, and I am looking forward to a fresh start.

I have my P45 and am ready to hit the work market at the Edge of the World, so anyone out there want a hard working, multi skilled person able to put their hands to most things IT (would have said most things but hopeless at DIY) please get in contact.