 Hello All It is not until something goes wrong that you realise how important certain things are to the full and effective functioning of a small business and how stresful your life can become without them. Whilst there are some things that you can probably make a plan with, or you can bodge with a cheap purchase to get through a couple of days of a trying situation. Some items are apparently indispensable, and my advice is that if you have one of these things then a spare is probably essential. Not a spare however that is quite old and unreliable, and that you only take out of the cupboard when you are desparate for an extra machine during a rush period, which is what we had been relying on, but one that is nearly new and can actually do the whole job if required. Now I hasten to add at this point that if ever you do a business analysis and discover that your indispensable piece of equipment is your partner, by which I mean the person you share your life with, I am not advocating that you immediately go out and get a replacement. I guarante that this would not help you to create a stress reduced environment in which to work. So next week I very much hope to be the recipient of a shiny brand new vacuum packing machine, or a repaired fully functioning vacuum packing machine, or better still both. If not I may disintegrate into a mass of chocolate munching, romcom watching, large cardigan wearing, over emotional blob resembling a human.  In other news we have had two baby lambs not miracle births but certainly surprises and we have rather a large group of bottle fed babies that we have acquired en route to swell the numbers, because Gavin didn't think we had enough animals. So even though I have not been at the market, which I have missed terribly, (no gossip, you see) I have have not been sat idly by twiddling my thumbs.
During my quieter moments I managed to empty some more boxes from our house moving at the beginning of the year and have even persuaded Gavin that a trip to the tip might be a good idea. He started to sweat and come out in hives at the thought of throwing things away, but I was quite surprised at how he got into the swing of it after a while and managed to do it with a spring in his step and joy in his heart ;) Only another 50 boxes to go and several rooms and we should be there.... ;) Oh my how can it be possible to accumulate so much rubbish in 13 years. Note to self become a minimalist. I wonder if that is even possible when you are a farmer????? See you all soon Helenx
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 Soozie preparing for her war on slippers  So this morning now that the house is quiet and empty, I woke to the consequences of a bored puppy who now that the children have returned to their respective educational establishments for the new academic year, has a few boring adult people to entertain her...oh yes.... and a slipper that had been shredded across the carpet in the living room. I never new there were so many layers in a slipper. Now as all sensible people know, there is no domestic vacuum cleaner on the planet that would not have had a blocked pipe from an attempt to remove the traces of said slipper through the seemingly quick vacuum method. So I reached for my trusty broom. I thought I would just do a quick sweep and then a follow up with a vacuum but it appears the broom on its own managed to remove an awful lot of dog hair, dust and slipper. I had always scoffed at the inefficiency of using a broom to clean a carpet when I lived in Zimbabwe. But looking at my clean carpet now and the large ball of slipper, hair and dust in the pan, I am not so sure. The advantages of the ancient broom and sweeping method are that there is no need clean a thousand filters, or spend hours with a skewer or tweezers removing unwanted items that have lodged in the bend. They are cheap to replace at a mere 15ish euros as opposed to the hundreds one could spend on a vacuum cleaner (probably manufactured by someone who does not have the same political view as yourself ;)), and they very ecological, if you buy the natural material ones, and environmentally friendly as the only electricity charge is for boiling the kettle to recharge the operator. They also give you a pretty good aerobic workout for free.........well actually for the cost of a clean floor:) Looks like a win win situation all round. Interestingly even if your children have observed the ancient sweeping method of cleaning it may still be required to provide instruction to refine the technique. I discovered with my neice who stayed with us recently that despite having been exposed to many brooms in Zimbabwe, where they are the preferred tool to clean with as they always work in a power cut, (the operator can always just refresh with water ;)) she did need some direction with the issue of coordinating the long handle and avoiding the walls. And also whether the push or pull towards method worked better for her slight stature. She finished the task happy with the result, had done something useful and did not complain once about how heavy the vacuum was to carry around unlike other children (and maybe even Mummys) who have passed through these four walls. Ok so in order not to make the vacuum cleaner feel totally unloved they are undeniably the number one weapon in the war against the flea. So I guess in my house considering the amount of animals we have there will always be a place for both. Happy cleaning! Helenx  Post war on slippers |
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November 2021
Helen FranklinI am farming sheep and goats on the Dordogne/Gironde border with my husband and our 3 children. We have an on farm butchery and sell our meat direct to the public via the markets and delivery points in our local area |
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