Merry Christmas and our exciting news

Merry Christmas! I hope you've all had a great time with friends and family celebrating the season.

Our Christmas has been fairly relaxed. Christmas eve was spent with my best friend and her family, then topped off with a quick visit to some of our neighbours/friends (also a young family with children). The kids were full of the Christmas spirit and we loved it.

Yesterday was spent with my mum, sister and her fiancee after unwrapping pressies at home. The excitement of the day before led to one overtired little girl along with subsequent behaviour, the less said the better. Whilst it was great to see family I confess to preferring Christmas day at home.

Now onto our big news... we've bought more land!!!

I'm sure I've probably mentioned the wilderness next door, a field covered in brambles that has been neglected for the last 20 years at least; well now it's OUR wilderness.

Ever since we moved in we have coveted the land, if only because we like our privacy and I've always worried someone would decide to do something with it.

It all started about 4 months ago when I popped into another of our neighbours, Annie, to have a chat. This invariably ends with her offering me glass of wine, me saying I shouldn't and then being over at hers all evening and wondering home merry.

I mentioned how we'd always wanted the land and in true country fashion she knew who owned it; an elderly lady with failing health and even directed me to her house. James and I drafted her a letter asking her to consider us if she ever wanted to sell. A few days later she gave us a ring, we agreed a price and it went to the solicitors. Now they know how to make their cut, so after four months of constant chasing it finally became ours a few weeks ago.

We have a friend, Kev who may be able to help us clear it,  but in the meantime we've made a start with a hedge trimmer, chainsaw and streamer, but it's slow going.

We had a bit of an adventure this weekend with the kids forging through the brambles and found a polytunnel frame!!!! Now as to plans, all I know is that I want a small orchard and more planting space, otherwise it's all up for grabs, so I'll need some ideas. It's about an additional acre and a half and I did a quick map so you can see our original plot in red and the new land in green.