January has been a funny month. I didn't go back to work until the 9th, but we'd both been ill over the new year, and that dragged on well into January. It felt at the time like nothing was being done, but when we got to the end, I felt like we'd achieved quite a bit. Let's see... Chickens First of all, the chickens. We picked up two new ladies, of course - Skippy and Daisy. They're settling in nicely, gaining more confidence and loudly demanding treats along with the others. The older chickens were very shouty for a couple of days, but soon got used to the idea of the newcomers. They're still separated at the minute - we did try a little supervised mingling today but that's a story for February's post... The other chicken story was that Bessie started showing slight signs of being unwell, and as she is pretty elderly for an ex battery chicken (five and a half!) she was carted off to the vets very speedily. She had a rattly chest and an inflamed reproductive system, but after a new hormonal implant and a week of twice-daily antibiotics (neither of which she was pleased about), she seems to have made a full recovery. We would probably have mixed in the new chickens by now, but didn't want to make her more stressed while we were catching her every day to give her tablets... DIY progress Despite both human and chicken illness, we did manage some DIY and house sorting progress in January. I (finally) painted the second coat of yellow on the kitchen walls, we had a good sort out, got a few of the new thermal blinds finished up, and we rebuilt the bed and properly moved into the new bedroom. Very exciting. Making things I started making a few things again in January too. The thermal blinds are an ongoing project, of course, and I finally got round to making soap, and making a start on finishing a rag rug that's been sat in a box for years. The soap was a new recipe for me, but it seems to have worked better than the previous one I'd tried, and should be ready in a few weeks. Plotting and scheming The festive season is usually my favourite time for plotting and scheming for the current year. As I was ill, all this extended well into January. I made plans for all kinds - house and garden projects, work, excursions, meal planning etc. I love planning and making goals - it makes things far more likely to happen. I like it even more if I can do it in a cafe with a piece of cake, of course. Outside Not that much happened outside in January, aside from tending to the chickens. We've had a few snowy days (nothing too disruptive), a load of drizzle, and a bit of sunshine, but overall it's been pretty January-y and mostly the weather for staying cosy indoors, apart from an occasional brisk walk. My mind has turned a little towards the garden though, and on the list for the year is doing something more interesting with this space outside the house. That's about all there is to report for January I think. The usual round of house and car insurance comparisons (YAWN - but I did save us almost £200 so always worth doing). I do feel refreshed after a long break, even though I was ill for quite a bit of it. And it's nice to have a more regular supply eggs now we have two younger chickens again. February is already proving to be more outdoors than January, and some of my plans are coming to fruition (although never as quickly as I'd like), so let's see where that takes us...
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Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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