I've done it again & left it a month since I last wrote.To be honest I really dont have time to write this blog. So much is now happening & I am doing some more costume work that I seem to have little spare time. Therefore I have decided for the moment to not write this blog for a while. As & when we are up & running & hopefully not so busy then I will start again. I apologize to all who read my meanderings & maybe enjoy them.
Thank you for your support.

Having read back over the last few blogs I now realize that I truly am way behind with recounting all that has happened.
The last month has seen real progress. We now have our new septic tank installed & working. The contractors are great & we get on very well as we do with all the tradespeople we are working with. They have also put in the car park which looks splendid. There is ample room to park 3 cars & it could probably take more. They are now lowering the kerb at the front to allow easier access from the road. Before Easter(when I had a kitchen) I got a bit carried away with home cooking for them. It started with bacon sandwiches in the morning & then homemade biscuits in the afternoon. And with the run up to Easter I decided to make homemade hot cross buns! They went down very well. The better half & I decided we had better practice our bread making skills in preparation for the B&B. Well the 1st attempts were bad as I didn't put in enough yeast but after that they improved no end. In fact at Easter we didn't buy any bread but made it all. Easter was really lovely.We had all our friends up from London again. The weather was a bit of a shame as they had all brought gardening clothes to help with planting out. Never mind we did some painting instead. I say all, but P doesn't do DIY so instead he provided & cooked all the meals, & excellent meals they were to. Easter Sunday was the better half's birthday,& earlier in the month when the weather had been better, C suggested that we take a picnic to Kessingland beach for a birthday party as it was her better half's birthday as well. As Easter approached & the forecast became more gloomy we were unsure but hoped it would still happen. Easter morning with the snow coming down, the better half woke up & said "I am not having a **** birthday party on the beach!" So instead everyone came to us. There were 12 of us & C did the most fantastic food with a large carrot cake for a birthday cake. We all had good fun.
All my friends have been so generous with plants & seeds for me. I would like to say a big thank you to them all.
So with Easter out of the way we had to knuckle down to serious work in the house. 1st priority was to rip out the old kitchen & lay the new floor ready for the kitchen to go in. Then we had to take out a couple of radiators in readiness for the new french doors. Unfortunately as one came off we couldn't stop the water coming out so it drained the system. It is a very old central heating system & the better half couldn't sort it out. So now we have no hot water or central heating. It is amazing how quickly you get used to being cold. It took me back to my childhood days when CH didn't exist. We do have a wood burning stove in the sitting room & an electric shower so not all was lost. Th plumber doesn't start just yet so this is an ongoing situation.
The kitchen people turned up with the electrician on Monday to sort out power etc. He is also doing a lot of other work for us & was having a general look round We have to have a new circuit board(apparently ours is illegal) & when he looked at it he said he could smell burning! To cut a long story short there were sparks & we had to turn the power off. So now we had no hot water, no heating & no electricity which meant no shower! This situation lasted a day & a half & he came & sorted it, all but temporarily so things are slightly better. I knew moving to the country would mean a simpler life but this is crazy.
I said the guys were coming to put in the new doors, well they arrived only to say that the holes should have already been cut in the walls Our builder said they were doing it all so with a bit of toing & froing they are now being fitted next week! Sometimes I just wonder how it all gets done.
Another auction tomorrow, lots of teapots apparently which are very important for a B&B! But I mustn't buy anymore occasional tables, we now have more than enough. We nearly bought a piano for £10 but decided as neither of us plays it wouldn't make much sense.
Next week the kitchen gets finished & the plumber starts. We really are moving on though our planned opening date of 1st May wont happen, we think the end of May now.
So we are going down to London to visit our friends over the May Bank holiday. What fun.
I think I had better do some work now. I will try not to leave it so long next time.

I have just received an email from this site telling me that I haven't written for a month. I didn't realize that it had been so long & I apologize to any one out there who may for some strange reason enjoy reading about our life! We are so busy you can't believe & I don't have time now to write a full blog as the kitchen fitters are about to arrive as are the men to put in the new french doors(fire regs again). I promise I will write a full account soon. Hope you all had as good an Easter as we did despite the weather.

I really am running out of ideas for titles for these blogs so will probably end up numbering them, hence the question marks.
Another jam packed week or so. My friend C came to stay ostensibly to help pack up the house. well we finished that pdq & then went out in the garden, she also being a keen gardener. We got loads done,stripped the turf off the new border, planted all the cowslips she had given me & divided the shrubs I had to move in preparation for the new car park.
I have attempted to lay the hedge as the front, it doesn't look bad but bit back at me. It is blackthorn & I got a thorn in my knuckle. I didn't think much of it even though it was sore. The next morning was a different story. My hand had swollen to twice it's normal size. I had to go to the doctors about something else so showed her my hand. She said it was common to get blackthorn poisoning But is the swelling didn't go down in a few days to come back. Luckily it has gone done & stopped being painful.
The builders have started & we now have a fine layer of brick dust all over the house. Something you have to live with during building work.It is all shaping up well. I find it difficult to imagine the changes planned, so it is a great relief to see that they do work. The better half has been working hard, removing radiators, skirting board old carpet & anything else that gets us one step nearer the B&B. I have now moved all my workroom stuff over to the new garage. It looks great with it's smart black & white checked flooring. The laundry room will be amazing, a good light clean space for all those sheets & towels that will need doing.
We have had to cut down a lot of hedging & a couple of small trees to make way for the car park(the chain saw is now in use) so had a surplus or branches etc. We decided to have a bonfire & it was so successful that we had one three nights running & have got rid of all the rubbish that is burnable. It saves taking it to the tip. I must add that I will be planting hedging & trees to replace all we have cut down.
You may remember me talking about a duck who used to come round for bread, well we haven't seen him for a couple of weeks & I was hoping that he had found a lady friend. We were telling J of the cider farm next door about him & he said he had seen a squashed duck on the road, so maybe he has gone to the big pond in the sky. I hope up there he has a mended wing & can fly all he wants. Talking of the wild life, while C & I were gardening, there were a couple of pheasants in the garden. I had dug a hole for a plant & had gone to get some bonemeal for it. When I came back this big pheasant was sitting in the hole! They really are stupid birds.
The septic tank has arrived & is sitting on the lawn like a large grey spaceship. They are going to have to dig a very large hole for it, I'm glad I don't have to. Hopefully it will go in next week & there won't be some pheasant sitting in it!
The saga of the fire doors rumbles on. We now have to have intumescent strips round them, the hinges I bought aren't big enough & the locks aren't big enough so they all have to go back. Will it never end?
The cards & flyers for the B&B are just about finalized & look fantastic. I must now knuckle down & work on wording & pics for the web site. This is all getting very real & I am starting to realize that we may actually have real paying guests staying one day. Very scary!
Tomorrow I am having a day off. C & I are going out to a nursery, then a hotel for lunch & to look at their rooms for inspiration. After lunch we are going to Beth Chatto's garden so I can get ideas for my gravel garden. so really it is a fact finding mission & not a jolly at all!
And then on Saturday we are off to the auction again. Can't wait.
With that I will sign off.

The frocks are gone & thanks to this beautiful weather I am out in my garden & thoroughly enjoying myself. I must say that most of the week has been spent shifting soil; digging out old clay soil & digging in rotted leaf mould & compost, & as yet I haven't planted anything, but even so it is great fun & better than any work out at the gym! I have gone mad & ordered vast amounts of plants for which I don't really have the beds yet but it feels great. My hornbeam hedge for the gravel garden has arrived & will go in tomorrow. The better half has buried the pipes & cables to the work/laundry room & I have painted the fence so once I have dug over the ground I can plant my 1st plants. The weather looks set fair for the week so I can also start on the front garden. In one way this is great but I have to start packing the house in readiness for the builder starting in just over a week. I think I know what most gardeners out there would choose.
I have been having trouble with my arms, & after a couple of visits to the doctor it turns out I have Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. I thought it sounded unusual but having mentioned it to a few people it turns out quite a few friends & relatives have had it. A steroid injection later & it is much better, so I shall have one in the left wrist as well & hopefully that will be the end of it.
We had a lovely day at our friends last Saturday. Her daughter has chosen a really lovely dress design & I am looking forward to making it. We had a great meal & it was good to catch up with all the news. This was the better half's 1st visit outside Suffolk(except the odd trip to Norwich) since we moved not that he seems that fussed.
So, coming together, at last we have all our quotes in & although everything is above what I budgeted at least I now know & we can make informed choices about what we do. We have also had approval from the environmental agency to go ahead with the new septic tank. This is very exciting & with the builder starting I can now start to believe that the B&B really will happen. We have also got our email account for the B&B up & running which is another step in the right direction. I have even had an inquiry & request for a brochure. Unfortunately we aren't that ready!
This venture is turning out to be a catalogue of firsts, & today was another. We attended our first auction. My budget for extra furniture is not very big. We have decide to buy all the beds new but hope to get most other bits in sales or auctions. Anyway the better half researched it & there is one in Lowestoft every couple of weeks. So we decided to go today & just have a look & see how it all works. Suffice to say we came away with an estate car full plus the roof rack. What fun, I'm sure it could become addictive. There are real bargains to be had & it is interesting to watch the other punters & see what they bid for. I was positive that we wouldn't get anything & would be out bid but not so. We lost out on a couple of bits but were good & set ourselves a limit on what we would bid & didn't exceed it. Can't wait for the next one.
Our friends P&J have been on holiday in the Carribean but are back now & seem to have a great time. They are coming at Easter to help with decorating. It will be great to see them, as I do miss my friends.
It is now getting late & I have another busy day in the garden tomorrow, so will sign off.
Goodnight.

The outside of the garage is now finished & looks mighty fine. I was very impressed with the speed that H worked. He finished in 5.5 days instead of the 8 he estimated so we are now up for finishing off the inside prior to moving my workroom. I say we but in all honesty I mean the better half as I am busy finishing costumes. He is doing brilliantly & I think is thoroughly enjoying himself.
My week of catering for guests is over & I feel went well. I loved every minute of it which I hope bodes well for when we have paying guests. I seem to be at my happiest when tending others needs which is something that has only happened over the last few years. Maybe it has something to do with getting old!
Our friends C&D stayed overnight & we had a great evening. We have known them since our days in Balham when they lived next door. They are now near Andover so we see each other less often but that makes visits more special. C is very good for me, she is always calming for me when I get stressed & can usually come up with a solution for any problem I might have. D decided to go through our CD collection after dinner(& several single malts!) Now I have to say that my taste in music is not great & I really thought he would take one look & dismiss the lot but he actually found some gems & seemed impressed. I shall have to go through them again sometime though God knows when. There really aren't enough hours in the day.
On Sunday the better half's brother & wife C&L came for lunch. We all get on really well & had a lovely day, eating & chatting. The day just went & it seemed no time til they had to leave. They bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers, roses & lillies. I love flowers in the house & always have some posy or small vase of fresh flowers in the hall. That has stopped since we moved as there is no point during building work, so this was a great treat. L also showed me how to use Excel on the computer. Spreadsheets are a bit of an unknown to me but will be necessary in running the B&B, so this was very useful.
As to building work, suffice to say we are still waiting on quotes & no work has started yet, very frustrating.
We get to go out next weekend, all be it to Essex. I may be making a wedding dress for a friend's daughter & we are going down for a chat. I will tell you more next time.
Time to sign off now as I really must do some work. I long for the sewing to be over so I can get on with my garden. This is coming on well & has stopped looking like a pile of sand & rubble & shows some semblance of being the gravel garden C has designed.
Hopefully next time I write the frocks will be gone!

As the title of this blog says,where does the time go? I hadn't realized that it has been over a week since I last wrote. Apologies to anyone out there who has been waiting in anticipation for the next chapter in my life!
So what has been happening since I last blogged?
THe better half's daughter,partner & 3 grandchildren came up for the day. It was lovely to see them & although I am not a great lover of kids, they are very sweet girls & were well behaved. It was a shame it poured with rain while they were here as they couldn't run around outside, but managed to keep themselves amused mostly by chasing the cats! This was not appreciated by the cats but they tolerated it! I have to say that the 4 year old came up with a novel use for a bidet. On looking round the house & coming to the bathroom, she announced when seeing the bidet "and thats where you bath the cats!" So now you know.
I have not mentioned the wildlife in our garden for a while. Well they are all still here, the pheasant with his mate,the mole(or moles) who have yet to be seen but thanks to the molehills make their presence known, & the ducks from next door's fishing lakes. One in particular has become quite a regular. He obviously has a damaged wing so cannot fly, but waddles round from the front of the house on to the lawn near the back door. I have given him the odd bit of bread so now every day he appears mid morning in the same place & waits for his bit of bread. Woe betide me if I am late coming out! He quacks away at me the moment I appear & doesn't stop until he is fed. We are hanging lots of fat balls for the birds & these are proving very popular. We have all sorts come down & feed & I have noticed how different birds feed in different ways. The blue tits & great tits like to feed individually on the balls, taking turns to come down & feed, whereas the long tailed tits will cluster up to 5 or 6 to a ball no problem. The robins just fight with everyone & the blackbirds & sparrows hang around on the ground waiting for bits to fall off. It does make for fascinating watching, though I don't think I am quite up to being a twitcher.
H has turned up & started on renovating the garage. He is doing a fantastic job & is getting on really well with the help of the better half (who is now christened 'the boy'.) He went home for the weekend but will be back Monday morning to finish the job. Then I can move all my workroom stuff out there & free up some room in the house. I want to be out before the building work starts as dust & rubble don't really mix with fine silks. My 1st lot of costumes are finished & I am now working on Sound of Music frocks. I make the national dress outfits that the girls wear so this is quite a regular job since they grow up & then have to be recast. So it is another trip down to London next week. When I went down last time I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I thought that being back in London would make me feel homesick. On the contrary, it felt claustraphobic & dirty & smelly & I couldn't wait to leave, so I am obviously a country girl at heart.
We are still getting quotes in & I obviously under estimated the cost of everything. The money is running out fast & I might have to raid next years tax money. It is all slightly frustrating as the time is ticking by & nothing is happening yet. The better half assures me that it will all take off shortly & we will soon be living in a building site. We have made a start on the garden though.
Last weekend J&C popped in to see us. She had done our garden design & wanted to get it to us before they went on holiday. Well it is fantastic & affordable. She has designed it so that it can be an ongoing project & I don't feel I have to try and do it all at once.
So yesterday was such a lovely day that I decided to start to tackle the area immediately behind the house, this will be the area our B&B guests can use. The swimming pool was there so it is just an empty space with some paving now. J has designed a gravel garden which is not too difficult to do & can be planted up gradually. It is also a good reason to take a day off & visit Beth Chatto's garden for inspiration.
Next weekend we have two lots of guests coming, and with H staying all week I have a serious amount of catering to do. My problem is I am running out of ideas of what to cook & feel that my food is becoming boring. The better half assures me it isn't & is always very appreciative of what I cook so I will trust him & carry on as before.
I think I will close now as I am at last getting sleepy. I should explain that I am writing this at 4 in the morning.
Another by product of this project is that there is so much going round in my head that I can't sleep, so have to get up & do things while the better half sleeps soundly upstairs!
Goodnight.

All the trees in the garden have survived. In fact the better half hasn't even started it up yet. It has been far to wet & windy for tree pruning.
Well all the things I said I was waiting for last time have happened, the roof is off the garage (it was asbestos, so disposed of safely)the highways man has been & sees no problems,we have had the quote from the builder, & a contractor has been to quote for digging the hole for the new septic tank & creating a car park. All very exciting & expensive. We have also had a kitchen design man in. This I am especially excited about. He is a really lovely guy & has come up with a great layout. I feel very privileged to have a bespoke kitchen, such a treat.
My aunt had an enjoyable stay & we managed to get her upstairs to see the layout. She is amazing,91 with perfect hearing & 20/20 vision. They left Monday pm & then we had to get the tarpaulins on the garage roof . I am not good up ladders & it was quite windy but we did it thanks to the better half being so good at these things. When the roof guys came back with the official receipt they were amazed that we had covered it & said many roofers weren't as quick as us. I could see a new career beckoning if it were not for my fear of heights!
In our previous life in London we both belonged to a gym. So when we moved I had no plan to join up here thinking there wouldn't be one near us. What a joy it was to see one on the edge of Bungay. so I have joined but not the better half as he is so busy & active outside. Yesterday was my induction, I was dreading it as I haven't been for three months but I really enjoyed it & shall try & go 3 times a week.
I suppose the most exciting thing that has happened this week is that we have a web page, though it is only a holding page at the moment. My cousin's son K is a graphics & web designer. So last week I rang him just to let him know that we were starting to think about advertising & marketing. Well before I know it we have purchased a domain name & then it turns out that he was coming up our way at the weekend to buy a puppy so could pop in & see the place to get a feel for it. So they turned up on Saturday, had some coffee, & he took away literature & photos. His kids were very good & patient as I don't think I would have wanted to detour for a couple of hours to talk to some old people about Dad's work if I was on my way to collect a puppy.
Anyway, Sunday evening with my Aunt & family here I get a text from K to say check my emails as he has done a preliminary design for cards & a web page. It is all looking fantastic & I am very impressed with him as it is all a different language to me.
Today I am paying a flying visit to London to do fittings. Going down lunchtime, fitting at teatime & straight back.
I am quite looking froward to 2hrs on the train to read my book & relax as I have always loved train travel.
So the rest of the week will be finishing the frocks & then if the weather is okay, H will come up & start sorting the garage out.
Suppose I had better go & find some smart clothes for London!

There is no getting away from it now. With the holiday season well & truly over we have to get down to the business of setting up this business.
I have also agreed to do some work. In my former job I made costumes for West end theatre & films. Several of the shows are long running musicals which get recast. So when a new costume is needed it makes sense to use the original maker. So when I was asked to do 3 frocks I couldn't really say no as I have made them for a long time. I have to say I am not over excited about doing them but the money will come in very useful. This week I have had to knuckle down & start which is hard as the garden beckons & I have so much I want to do outside.
All the work to be done inside is sort of on hold as we are waiting for quotes from the builder, a visit from the highways man about our drive & a man to come & look at our garage roof which we suspect is asbestos.
I'm not good at waiting & want everything done now, so maybe the frocks are a good distraction.
Today we both went & got our hair cut. We both seem to have chosen well as neither of us look like skinned rabbits & the better half is especially please as it only cost him £6!
We have a lot of friends & family coming up over the next few weeks to visit. It will be good practice for me, my cooked breakfasts are definately improving. The first is my Aunt this weekend. Her son's wife is bringing her up . She will be 91 in a month or so & is amazingly spritely for her age. However she is not good with stairs ,but as we have a downstairs ensuite it means she can stay over.It will be lovely to have her up here.
Then we have the better half's daughter with fella & 3 grandchidren but only for the day. Then his brother & wife, & so it goes on. I feel very flattered that they all want to see us but suspect it is as much to see the house as us!
A word about internet shopping. It is a very dangerous thing. Last night we ordered sheets for the bed, 3 small pedal bins for the guest bathrooms & a chainsaw for the better half. What a strange selection & will any of the trees in my garden now be safe?

I'm back & ready to go!
We have had the most fantastic Christmas & New Year.I won't go into to too many details but suffice to say all went very well. Our house guests had a good time & we all ate, drank & were merry. Everyone mucked in & helped with preparation,clearing up & washing up. H was as good as his word & put our new front door on, complete with all locks & hinges. It was slightly strange on the Thursday morning to eat breakfast with the front door wide open(to set or dry or something!)I should explain that the dining room is open plan to the hallway.
J&C did a complete survey of the garden & C says she will do us a plan of our dream garden. I said could she also do one that we could afford. I'm sure it will be lovely & can't wait to see it.
The other J (female) has taken loads of photos of the house & garden which she has sent on a CD.I have yet to look at them but hopefully will put some up on the blog. Still haven't sorted that out, but it is a New Year's resolution.
Talking of which we had a lovely New Year, the better half's sister & her fella came up. it was quite quiet but we went to Southwold on New Year's eve afternoon & walked down the pier. then came back & cooked a nice supper & drank a very large amount of alcohol & went to bed slightly squiffy at 2am.
We also went down the pier at Southwold on Boxing day, this is becoming a habit, but it is so beautiful there & only a 15 min drive from us.
Between Xmas & New year the better half's son & his girlfriend came for an overnight stay. It was lovely to have them here but they had problems finding us. I have sent instructions to all my other friends who have found us no problem, but they insisted that the SatNav would get them here.
Well they ended up in a field & had no map with them, so we had to give instructions to their mobile(which kept getting cut off due to lack of signal) & they eventually made it about an hour late. The youth of today, they so rely on technology! There has to be something said for good old-fashioned maps.
On the Sunday before New Year we decided to take down the swimming pool. Had I mentioned we have a pool?
Well it is an above ground one, plastic held up by scaff poles & in the wrong place outside the dining room window. Anyway, the better half had pumped out most of the water & there was just a few inches left to scoop out with buckets. Oh the glamour, wrapped up warm & in my wellies bucketing out water, & then mopping out the last few drops & all the leaves from the surrounding oaks. I should mention that while doing this the Better half discovered that the pump in the septic tank had packed up & it was filling up fast! But he is so clever & found an old pond pump & connected that instead, so crisis of overflowing sewage averted! This country life has it's moments.
The pool is now down & stored away safely in one of the stables. It gives me a chance to see the space more clearly & think about the type of garden I want there. it will have to be something quite simple to begin with as if we open in April I only have a few months. I should explain that I plan to do the garden landscaping & planting myself to try & keep costs down. It should also help with keeping fit.
Now the holidays are over & we have to get down to business. The last month has seemed like one long holiday as neither of us are going out to work, but we have to remember that getting this place up & running as a B&B is a job.
Today we decided to take down the old coal bunker which the previous owners had left full of old rubble. That was a job & a half but we did it, keeping the hardcore for the new car park & bagging the rubbish to go to the tip(which we have yet to find!) What we did find was an old grave stone. I was completely spooked as I thought the initials said FH(mine) but actually they said EH with the date 1894. Apparantly this house used to be an old Methodist chapel but nobody said anything about burials. And we have to have the pit for the new septic tank dug right where we found it!
On that note I think I will close.