The New Year starts here.....

That is wonderful news,Gee.it must have been a nightmare situation for your family,waiting for your son in laws results..and I bags the first slice off your lovely cake..it looks almost big enough to share with everyone ! :o)...Love the Hippo,wallowing in the mud,and the Albino Squirrel is gorgeous.. Great purchase with your pavers..it should help a lot...It all pales into insignificance when you have had personal problems,doesn't it? ..Happy squelching with Millie,in the woods..and you have the promise of spring to look forward to now..take care xx

so pleased your son in law isnt as ill as feared. lets hope they solve what ever is the matter.

the rest of the blog is great too, an albino squirrel is unusual as they normally get predated early on. A camellia wow, mine are still tight green buds her in East Yorks. yes I'd say bluebells for those green shoots too. just like mine in the garden.
my iris are also poking through. I really must get the border dug but it is so wet at the moment.

I'm so pleased to hear the good news about your son in law. It must feel like a big cloud has lifted from you. I hope he's feeling better too :o)
I don't know how you enjoy your daily wallow in the mud lol ... but I do like your slabs. Have you got enough to replace the lawn completely ? You won't have any more mowing to do, and your garden will look more pleasing without that patchy lawn :o)
The cake looks nice ... but I'll only have a small slice thank you, because I'm trying to loose a few lbs (all my clothes have become too tight :o( lol)

that is great news about your son in law,what a fantastic bargain from ebay.great blog and the cake looks yummy mmmmmm:)))

Great news Gee, and a great blog, I won't go over our fields in this wet weather. Nice to see your garden getting ready 4 spring and love the paving stones will look great.
Just off to have a slice of your cake with my tea..:)

This is a happy start for the new year for you and your family Gee. I hope they get SIL sorted out soon. I love the walk, even though it is muddy it was worth it, to see all the heralds of Spring. It will be a wonderful sight when the bluebells come out. You are very naughty showing that scrumptious cake. I have put on all of its calories just looking at it and will now go off on a long walk to try and get rid again. Your paving stones are going to be a great improvement on a patchy lawn but I hope you will leave a wee bit for Molly to roll about on. Have a very Happy New Year.

Glad you all like the cake :) My son in law is getting along fine but has to attend anticoagulant clinics, I think for at least 6 months. He is managing to do more each day.

There are 66 paving slabs and 22 half slabs so I will use them all up and the rest of the grass will turn into flower beds - I am looking out for low growing plants to put in the extra spaces and have already bought a couple of little ones (any old excuse). The open circle will have grass in it, not particularly for Millie, Scotsgran, as she quite likes to lay on warm concrete, but the tortoises need a little bit of grass to graze on. There will probably be a second open circle and I plan to scatter that randomly with seeds and see what happens! I am really looking forward to getting on with it but heavy rain again today and forecast for the weekend will mean further delays. Never mind, I am enjoying the bowls on TV at the moment :)

That's brilliant news Gill the best ever :o)) I'm very happy for you and your family ,I loved your blog as always you bring a smile to our faces , ' Your ' squirrel is so cute ! I guess he sees you often and isn't frightened of you ..
Well done with the slabs they really are a bargain they should save you some work as well once they are down... I almost forgot to thank you for the cake it was delicious I had a huge piece , Mmm Yummy :o))

Such a relief for you to hear the good news for your son-in-law ... I think your ebay purchase will make a lovely addition to your garden ... not long until you have a fine display from the miniature Daffs and Iris ... :o)

Wonderful news Gee and a relief for you son in law and his family. yes please i would love a piece of you scrummy cake Thank you :0)

Thats great news.

Really pleased to see that your son in law not suffering from cancer Gee. Such a relief for all of your family. the treatment for clotting seems so much better now than when I had the same trouble in my early twenties. Wow those woods are wet, wet, wet! That Hippo keeps following you around. The white squirrel is so pretty amidst all that mud and muck

What good news for you all , Gee .
Be careful now that you don't inadvertently get into some mud-wrestling !
I love that squirrel .

Thank you all, it is like having a heavy weight removed!

I feel cheated if I walk in the woods and don't see the white squirrel now - the gene obviously passes on every couple of years so they are not so uncommon in our woods, but lovely to see.

Like you, Dorjac, I had a couple of blood clots, both associated with pregnancy when I was in my twenties. Now the alternatives to warfarin seem much simpler.

No mud wrestling for me, Driad, I have enough problems lifting my feet out of it. I swear I come home taller :)

Great blog, full of miracles. That white squirrel was the first messenger of good news. It is fantastic, how pure and white the squirrel is, compared to all that mud around. I see the white squirrel for the first time in my life. Are they common over there?

Fantastic news Gee! I'm so pleased that worry is no more, everything must look rosy after that. Who cares about muddy wetlands, you and Milly can run through and kick up your heels, those pavers will wait, a smashing project to look forward to later. Such a treat to see your snowy squirrel, he IS a beauty! I'm really enjoying my cake thanks very much.....hey Sandra you've already had a piece!!

Thanks, Katrina. The white squirrel is an albino with red/pink eyes. They occur every few years but rarely more than one at a time. Often they stay much deeper in the woods but this one is quite close to a major (if muddy!) footpath :)

Super blog Gee with wonderful news at the heart of it -so pleased for your son in law all the family must be so relieved and thankful.
Your wallowing hippos are such fun! You and Millie are very brave to soldier through daily! the white squirrel so pretty how nice of him to stop by for you, Well done on your great buy from EBay I'm sure they will look lovely when the weather allows you to lay them, your cake will be gone by now I'm sure but looks sooo yummy - sorry to have missed a slice!
Enjoy your year Gee :o)

Lol,Janey..but it was only a small piece..so you could have some too .:o) x and I left you a bit too,Neellan ..don't worry..enjoy :o) x

Thanks Bloomer :o)

:o)) xx

Great news for SIL, your family must be very relieved. i'd forgotten about the tortoises. I sowed a summer flowering mix a few years ago and had a great show the first year and because they self seeded I still get flowers popping up. Some of the local councils sowed their roundabouts with wild flower mixes. They look great. The birds love them too.

was that a white squirrel??

love the paving - look forward to seeing it properly laid . there are some brillinat deals on eBay, my only prob is "pick up only"

Wonderful news, I am so pleased for you all......l loved the blog, great fun, I agree it has been so wet here too, and it is pouring with rain this evening, have not had a day without rain since I don't know when..... You really do make the most amazing cakes, that is huge,so plenty for us all.....lol

Hi Gee, I spoke with the zoologist and I was told, that albino squirrels are very rare, they are born with frequency of 1:100 000. That means, he was a real miracle, waiting there for you :-)
And something more - they are more vulnerable then naturally coloured squirrels. Now wonder, miracles are fragile.

Thank you, all. Another grey day here and heavy rain overnight so still no chance of doing much in the garden. The good news is that my neighbours have finally replaced the broken down fence in the back garden so it will be secure for the tortoises in the summer and I have gained another foot of planting space along the fence! I think I will plant some more pyracantha as the birds love them so much and they are a favourite of mine, in spite of the thorns.

Yes, Fran, it's a white squirrel, an albino. I love Ebay bargains but it is a job finding the right things close enough to collect. I am very lucky in that my family will transport me :)

there is an eBay "man with a van", or there used to be, that might come in handy sometimes ...

Good news about the fence Gee and the extra foot will indeed be a blessing....a good choice Pyracantha we love them, too.

You saved the best til' last. I am so happy for you receiving such good news after such a worrying time.

It is a very damp and soggy world here too and I love to see glimmers of hope in the garden. Today I picked a little bunch of mahonia flowers, heather, twisted hazel, winter jasmine and ivy. Mind you the wind was SO cold!!!

Hello Gee.. that's great news ..
wishing your son-in-law best of health in the future..
what a relief for you all !

Your little bunch of flowers sounds lovely, Wildrose, I am a bit disappointed with my mahonia so far, no flowers at all.

Thanks, TT, he is getting better all the time and hopes to return to work soon (docs permitting!). We really do appreciate just how lucky he has been.