Wow, so the 'naughties' are behind us and now we're stuck in the 'teenies'... sounds more like a bad kids tv show or the latest invention for a one-hit-wonder pop band than a decade in my opinion!

We've had a super time over Xmas here, its been our first Christmas in the chalet with space to put up the Christmas tree and the log burner keeping the place warm it's all been very festive :)
Kes loved opening her presents, although she was rather impatient waiting for Christmas day as she sniffed out the parcel with her new balls in it and spent a few evening with her nose pressed up to the parcel staring beseechingly at me to let her open it early!

We also had a minor incident with the cat's present - a big bag of catnip. Dae managed to get hold of the whole bag one night and ripped the whole thing open all over the floor... it meant we missed the fun of watching them play in it, and even now Me'a and Nanook are licking the carpet most evenings, the hoover just doesn't seem to be picking it all up lol

The snow was pretty good fun down here, not so deep as to be a hideous pest, but we were without running water for 5 days when all the pipes froze so I was very relieved when everything thawed.

It was the battery chickens first snow, and I'm not entirely sure that they were that impressed by it, I made sure to put lots of straw down in their run, just looking at their feet in the snow made me feel very chilly!

So, after a great Xmas its been a pretty rubbish start to the New Year. They say bad luck tends to come in 3's, well I've had four already so I want a break now ok? First of all my car's alternator broke just before the snow, £80 for a new one (ouch), thankfully I was able to use my man's car for the week but meant I had no four wheel drive just when I needed it most and we had to stack the little car full of all the animal feed just when I needed to stock up, grrr!

Then my wonderful old goat, Winston Pinkerton, had to be put to sleep. RIP Winnie, you were the coolest goat dude ever. It was his time to go, he'd reached the grand old age of about a million years old and he just wasn't coping this winter so it was time to make the hard decision.

Then Kes got a gastric bug, not sure if she found something gross to eat in the snow or just picked up a bug on one of our walks, but she was very poorly for two days and nights (lots of throwing up and tummy ache, so none of us got any sleep), and had to have antibiotics and painkillers, another £60 (ouch again) but thank goodness she's over it and back to her old self again. She really feels sorry for herself when she's ill and worst of all she was really hungry but wasn't allowed to eat, so she felt doubly sorry for herself!

Fourth (and hopefully last) my wonderhorse Isha has just been seen by the vet (I haven't had the bill for that one but it will be a BIG ouch), she's been diagnosed as having strained her suspensory ligaments in both front legs... any of you with horses will know this is a horrid injury :( She now has to stay in the stable for at least a month... now this is a horse who finds it impossible to stand still for more than 30 seconds, so its not going to be a very good month for either of us :( 

I've bought oodles of things to keep her amused in the stable and have looked up lots of stretching exercises that I can do for her while she's in the stable so hopefully she won't get too stiff or too bored.

She hasn't even tried to take her frustration out on me yet, she's being very polite about it all (we are only 5 days into the month though). I've bought a football for her and she does wang that across the stable, rather funny to watch, as long as she just keeps taking her anger out on that we'll be fine lol

So, fingers crossed that the year didn't start the way its going to continue and all the bad luck is done with now.

Now the hecticness of xmas and new year is behind us I've got loads of site updates to crack on with and lots of new styles coming soon, so do keep checking back. The first things to be put up online will be some new gown styles, new corsets, and also a new range of more casual tops and jackets. All very yummy so I'd better knuckle down so you can actually buy them all and send lots of money my way so I can pay all my vet's bills lol 

Maybe I should just put a link on the website "fayley's animal fund, all donations gratefully received"! Or maybe run a campaign like the WWF, but instead of sponsoring a panda you can sponsor one of my chickens? I'll send you a photo and box of eggs ;)

Happy New Years to you all, lets make it a good one from now on :) Kes and fayley xx