Just Humans Being...

Yulembo , a set on Flickr. Hello Everyone! We are being our usual disorganised selves, which seems to be the norm, especially at this time of year... I am really craving a long holiday - it's 2 years since we were on our way to the south of France for a month & 4 years since we were in Bavaria. Cornwall sort of closes down in January & lots of folks go away at this time of year... It doesn't help that we are being bombarded with emails & post featuring special offers for this & that, but I am continuing to focus on saving & filling our sealed pot - ready for next winter. We have had a really great Solstice, Christmas & New Year. Our trip to Stoke was lovely & so nice that Rose & Asa joined us - the grandparents loved seeing them both too! Sime wants to get our photos up from the trip, so we'll sort it eventually. We also visited our friends, Kath & Jim in Glastonbury  - which was great! More photos to follow... On our return home,

Hello Folks & thanks for all your comments & good wishes! Our phone line came down in the storms on Friday night, which means no telephone or internet & our mobile phones have no signal within a mile of the house... We're visiting a free WIFI pub to get our fix, but looks like we're in for a quiet week or more... BT are "hoping" to get us reconnected by January 7th! See you when we're back on & look forward to some quiet time during January to catch up properly with everyone...  Happy New Year!!! Love Kay, Sime & Hugo xxx

From here Hello everyone! Hope you're all enjoying the festivities, our feet have barely touch the ground these last few days - so we apologise for not visiting other blogs, let alone keep our own up-to-date! We have had the first of 3 days at home today, which has been great & in the usual Smith way - we are doing everything last minute, so there is frantic Secret Santa activity happening, baking, putting our tree up & delivering cards to our fellow villagers... It's all nice, hectic but lovely to be spending time with our young chap & kitties. The girls are working until this evening & will be over later tomorrow, when we shall be feasting & sharing our gifts. We have lots of photos to share of our recent trip up north & of Hugo's circus show, but think that'll have to be another time... Hope you all have a wonderful time! Love & best wishes, Kay & Sime xx

Hello! After a hectic week, we have arrived in Stoke... We are here with 2 of the 5 kidlets, Rose & Asa. Sal & Ryan couldn't get any time off & Hugo is with friends because he has his circus show on for the next week - he texted earlier to say the first performance went fine & although they made mistakes - the audience didn't notice! It should be nicely polished by the time we see the last show next Sunday... Just want to say thank you to Amy, who is looking after the kitties - meaning they've been able to stay at home (they hate catteries) & this makes us really happy! So we're now off to eat & tomorrow we shall be visting our folks... It's Sealed Pot Sunday & if you check out  Saving For Travel  - you'll be able to read how well everyone is doing, including us. It's not too late to join in... Hope you enjoy the music - We love Papa M, his records keep us company on most road trips! Kay & Sime

Jubilee Wharf , a set on Flickr. Yesterday it was cold, but sunny & we had to take Hugo to a circus meeting at Jubilee Wharf . Normally, we would relish popping into Miss Peapod's , but in our quest to save money, we refrained... We did manage to call on Rose & Asa - we got to see their "Pot Of Gold" which they have started for our family holiday next year. We also briefly caught up with Sal, who was working, but nice to get the chance to say hello... Last night, we had the coldest night since last winter, so we slept in long johns & thermal tops... We even had to get up & find an extra blanket. Must have been the clear sky! Cold again tonight & although it's not nice, we all agree that the wood burner has made a massive difference - it's just wonderful! Kay & Sime xx

Slow Cooker , a set on Flickr. We've found the perfect way to simmer a pan of food on the wood burner... This is Sime's quinoa chilli, which we had with cornbread. Just great not using the electric hob & making the most of the stove heat. We also boil the kettle on it & fill our flask, so there's always a supply of water for hot drinks. Makes us feel good that we're using less electricity! Apparently, in the last 12 months - we've used 4600 kWh, but have nothing to compare it with, it seems a lot though... Does anyone else know their usage? It's cold here tonight... Hope it's warm where you are! Kay & Sime xx

Heartlands & Carn Brea , a set on Flickr. Hi Folks, Hugo's circus group are hotting up their rehearsals ready for a week of shows starting next Sunday, so today we dropped him off at the venue, Heartlands & as it was our first visit - we enjoyed a look around & catching up with friends. We then decided to head up to Carn Brea , a place we've been meaning to visit for the last 10 years, so as it's on the doorstep of Heartlands - it was the perfect opportunity, although the freezing cold wind got a bit too much! We're linking up with Saving For Travel for Sealed Pot Sunday, as we're spending the next 12 months saving for a holiday with the kidlets in December 2013. You may remember we started with £10 & have decided to pay into the pot each time we save, instead of spending. We managed to add £14 from an old tub I'd started saving a few years ago, Sime put in a £1 instead of buying a second hand travel guide from the library. Last night,