Rejoist, methinks the excitement is building

Joists going up in our side! Everything seems to be happening at once now, with about half a dozen men on the case. Brickwork elevating, joists cementing, windows framing, doors opening up and the office is a study in construction as Fiona inspects George's handiwork.

Barbara's been to visit today and liked what she saw, particularly as the whole place lends itself to a promenade a la William Shakespeare. A project for next summer, methinks. Fifi Babitt suggested a Victorian melodrama - she has the prosthetics in the form of handlebar moustache courtesy of Delius. That face fur she's modelling is the product of a five minute feline fur brushing.

Spoilt, our cats?

Now I'm not saying our cats are spoilt but I do think they own us rather than vice versa, particularly the Birmans. I woke up at something dark o'clock this morning to find Babooshka on my pillow and me pushed out on a limb. She stayed there the rest of the night while I had to make do with what space I could - and as for trying to get a wash, forget it. And then there's Delius; he just expects to use my phone as and when he wants to - probably ringing for a takeaway. Here he is on the miaowbile.....

Not a lot to report on the barn. It's all progressing very nicely, the roof is expected to go on in about ten days, lots of wood has arrived for joists. We're still waiting for costs for the installation of the heating so can't give the go ahead on the bathrooms yet, but kitchens have been agreed, so just flooring and tiles to decide on but there's no rush just yet.

I've had a crash-day (which is SAH terminology for not being able to do anything, completely wiped out) but did go to my writing class tonight. It was my turn for feedback which meant I had to read out a piece of my work which was then critiqued by my peers and tutor. Phew, well received and is now posted on the Prose and Comms blogspot (So I Came Home). Fifi Babitt has been extremely hard at work in the office and is back on the road and off to Telford tomorrow.

Our baby's not gone down the plughole

No, this isn't Fifi Babbitt loitering outside public loos - this is the entrance to our new study. Not finished yet but it won't be too long before we're all set up in there.


It's been soooo cold today but our bold builders haven't let up. How George lays bricks, let alone manages to pick them up, in this weather is beyond me, but most impressive. They're up that scaffolding, biting wind cutting through them (their cheeks get very cold), and still have a sense of humour. And we had some snow today. For about five minutes. It doesn't snow much where we are in Cheshire which is good news as there'll be no building hold-ups, but bad news for the Fiflet as she likes the snow.


I've had a bit of a bad brain-day today, again, which is a bit boring. I think there's a cold trying to break through the brain drugs but not quite succeeding, just leaving the dregs of feeling grot and hot. Hopefully it'll give up the fight soon.


Delius evidently tried tap dancing today and must've fallen off, much to Dad's surprise - he visited the little boy's room and found our big boy asleep in the basin. But there was absolutely no danger of him going down the plughole.

Happy birthday to you, and you, and you, and you..................

Saturday night was celebration night. Hannah's birthday, Lynne's birthday, Robin's birthday, Gwen's birthday, Lynne's and David's hasta la vista, Penny's, Fiona's and Sarah's haircuts - the roll of honour for celebratory victuals was endless but a convivial evening was had by all and this subba managed to make it through to coffee......(did cheat and have a longer sleep beforehand though, watched over, as ever, by the mighty Boosh).

Sat with Penny today whilst she had a practice run to Warrington for her trial couple of days at the Coroner's Office. Found the way there dead (ha ha) easily but on the way back - well,why is there so much traffic on the road these days? Mayhem on the motorways on the way back.

Fiona's off to Sheffield tomorrow then down to Wycombe via Snorbans (happy birthday Daddy Formby), away 'til at least Wednesday.

Oh, yes, and Delius 5 - phone chargers 0....yup, Penny became the latest victim of the Nokia-gnawing, not-so-phantom charger chewer..........

You've read the blog, now meet the cats.....

Much has been mentioned in this blog about the exploits of Delius. Indeed, you may be forgiven for thinking he is our only feline. Not so, here's a lowdown on the rest of the furs, in chronological order, three of whom are pictured above in their usual state of luxury:

Babeski - the matriarch who is, despite all odds, probably going to outlive everyone. She's about 14 years old now. Fiona has had her since she was a tiny fluffball. Some 10 - 12 years ago she had a very serious accident in which she lost her tail and was left a little disabled at the rear end. Consequently she can be extremely grumpy and will most definitely attack if her back and back legs are approached. She's recently been involved in a fracas with cat/cats unknown but once again survived against the odds (picture posted earlier in December - see archive).

Phoebe - Hannah's pride and joy, acquired from the RSPCA in Blackpool. Phoebe loves hanging around in carrier bags or in drawers and likes to eat alone, usually behind a curtain. She's also been pretty careless in the tail department, losing it when running under a gate that had a board attached to keep the tortoise (more on her at a later date) in.....Phoebe's the tabby pictured and, despite her foibles, is extremely loving and kind.

Biffur - Biffur has birth connections with Boosh Barn as his mother, Daisy, was born here. There were four kittens born in the pig sty. We had one, Penny had one, Lynne had one and one we couldn't catch so it stayed roaming around the farm. Penny ended up with the one we wanted as she was caught first, put in Penny's car where she (the kitten) found her way behind the dashboard and needed the full might of not only the RAC but also the AA to extricate her, write off the car and then wreck a brand new fitted kitchen.....anyway, we took Daisy who turned out to be a bit of a strumpet, got herself pregnant and had four kittens. We kept 2 - Biffur and George. Sadly George died in a roadrage incident at the beginning of last year and Daisy is on the missing cats list down in Buckinghamshire. Biffur, however, is still with us but spends a lot of time outdoors so has not been photographed for this post*.

Babooshka - mother of Delius, pure-bred Birman, and Fiona's 40th birthday present, pride and joy. She is constantly vying with Babeski for the throne and has been witnessed on at least two occasions attempting a coup by trying to push her down the stairs. Alternates between extremely loving and extremely calculating. She had a wild, passionate affair with a very large black stud, resulting in five kittens, Delius being the first-born and only one to be born without assistance from the resident midwife (aka me). I had to hand-deliver the other four as Babooshka couldn't possibly push any more. In fact, number 5 (now owned by Penny and called Snefru), was delivered by the vet, at the vets, after a midnight dash with Snefru half in, half out of the back passage......we know it was Sneffy as he has a curious kink at the end of his tail from being coaxed out into the big wide world.

Delius - first-born son of Babooshka, not yet 12 months old and a serious contender for the title of Biggest Cat In The World.......Ever. He's a fur of simple brain, living only for cat food, caressing and cable chewing.

* I have lovely pictures of Biff but they're on my laptop which I can't use due to cable-chewing incident, as reported yesterday. It is not proving easy to purchase a replacement.

And today's barn and brain report - all's ok on the barn front. Scaffold is being erected although not yet complete due to extremely windy weather. Will take pictures tomorrow but slept a lot of today. Brain started off exceedingly well and lively - for about an hour - but then rapidly went downhill, descending into the very, very, overwhelmingly tired department, resulting in bed for most of the afternoon. Not too bad currently but temperature a bit erratic. Memory's not so good either, I think, but I can't quite remember.....

FATHER CHRISTMAS DROPS IN FOR DELIUS

Today was decoration day. The tree's been up for a week but we couldn't find our lights so had to buy more and it's only taken a week to get some! All our furniture is in storage, on-site admittedly, in a container (known affectionately as Colin). Our furniture takes up about three-quarters of Colin whilst a neighbour has availed themselves of the last quarter, the bit nearest the door. And guess where the Christmas decs are? Yep, at the back. No matter, you can never have too many Christmas lights, or so I'm told.

This year's tree-theme is silver. Delius, our youngest of 5, was so underwhelmed by the preparations for his first Christmas he slept right through it all. However, looks like Father Christmas is dropping in here early......