Marmite - our new pig

She's a fast mover and very cute. Polo has become a little mumsy!

R.I.P. Toffee

Tuesday 25th tragedy strikes. Toffee, Meraud's pretty guinea pig is dead. She went from quite well in the morning but a bit quiet to collapse in the afternoon. Our neighbour who is medically qualified thought that she might have had a stroke. we tried to warm the pig up with a hot water bottle and Meraud decided that veterinary advice was needed. I felt very anxious as I had to pick up Tegen from her bus stop and didn't know where the vet's surgery was but my lovely neighbours were very reassuring and made a cup of tea for me and offered to take girl and pig to the hospital. Of course there wasn't a lot they could do but give a muscle relaxant and a painkiller. Toffee died at about 8.10pm. She was tucked up in a towel over a hot water bottle next to Tegen, who was using her new laptop to do her english homework. Tegen noticed Toffee seemed to be trying to get up, Meraud went over and said to me that Toffee had made a funny noise but then she was very still and her eyes went glassy and we knew she had gone. Next minute Dad has to be txted and the neighbour's daughter and much sobbing goes on. Neighbour duly appears and we discuss funeral arrangements - difficult as we only have a patio here. However there is a border at the end of the courtyard and we decide to find a spot there.
Next day we do the deed. Meraud comes back from school and decorates it and plants 2 miniature pansies. A replacement is considered as Polo may be lonely on her own. I do some research on the web and find the Omlet site very helpful on this topic. (I still fantasise about keeping chickens). Thursday, Mike returns and we all go the Goonhavern to the pet shop and fall for a little sandy coloured job that we hope is also a girl.
Introductions seem to go well but I still worry about gender and eventually have to web it. You would not believe the graphic images of guinea pig bottoms there are on the web ! and I am very grateful for them and believe that we have indeed got 2 girly pigs. After some thought pig is named Marmite. Friday, all seems to be well on the pig front and much relief is felt, by me at least. I am left with the dogs this weekend as family goes back to Whitchurch. Meraud has invitation to Goape party and Tegen to stay with friends. Mike has found a very nice B&B on a farm nearby. Hope he remembers to bring back things from neighbour's garden.

We've been here almost a month!

Seems like ages since I last wrote anything - mainly because internet access has been difficult. Firstly there was no room to put the computer until our furniture arrived from Whitchurch. The guys loaded the store beautifully but communication had let us down and I wasn't present as planned to make sure that the things we needed were accessible. So Mike and I had to dig almost everything out to get to the sofa and desk and all the other bits and bobs necessary to life. This resulted in a trapped nerve in his shoulder and a lot of pain over the next few days.( Eventually cured by lifting a large bag of compost into the back of the car for me.) Squeezing into Penty Gwyn has been a struggle - it was alright for holidays but to bring everything and try and have the same things around you as before has proved very difficult , especially for the girls.
They are getting on as well as usual sharing a room but if I wasn't available to tidy up a bit for them then blood would be shed. We thought there would be plenty of room in the store but as fast as we take something out we seem to put something else in!

I have been enjoying some lovely walks with the dogs - Crantock headland and beach, Metha Wood, Newlyn Downs, it is wonderful to have such choices. The weather has been good too, just a few showers. We went to watch the zapcat racing at Watergate Beach last sunday.it was very exciting in the biggish surf. one of the pilots was thrown out of his boat like some kind of human canonball and fortunately seems to have been merely shaken up. I have since found some videos on You Tube showing zapcats in action.Definitely going back 12/13 October to watch the final.
Daughters seem to have made friends at school and college and seem happier now. They are going back to Whitchurch this weekend as Meraud has been invited to a Goape birthday party and can't miss an opportunity like that. I just hope they come back happily and can settle again.

Have got a doctor, joined the library and still feel a bit lonely but I'm coping.

Well the great adventure starts..finally! we hope to have exchanged on our house in Shropshire by next Tuesday and are busy packing up boxes and chucking stuff out. I resigned from my school library job on thursday last - the day my daughter Tegen got her GCSE results a*,4Xa's,4xb's and 2 c's. Huge pride beating in parental chest. All was well until she had a crisis later that afternoon. Which subjects to take? I thought this was all decided but no. She had to phone Truro College with her results and final choices between 4 and 5pm that day and so spent a frantic hour or so on Msn consulting her pals. Final choice is Medieval History, English Lit, Fine Art and Psychology. well you can't go wrong with an 'ology' can you? at least it's almost a science as her disappointed father says. I write this at the end of a tiring day - washing, clearing out the shed etc.
I don't know why i am creating this but I wanted to write what i felt about this move and both my daughters do this kind of thing on bebo, my space etc. but I am going to try this out. I've never really kept a diary before and sometimes regretted that. we'll see