THE END OF 2017

Well I have to say that this is a year I'm glad to see the back of. This year's been a year of loss for us, what with Izzy passing in March , then Hamish in September. We still miss them and think Hamish is still here on occasion then realise he's not.
I also lost a good friend and old work colleague in November, she was younger than me and her illness once diagnosed took her quicker than anyone realised it would. She was a lovely person and will be missed.

So not a year I can look back at without a sadness coming over me, but life would not be life if there were not trials to go along with the triumphs. And I give thanks to have had these people and animals in my life to enrich it.

But the year was not just about loss, thank goodness. There were things that made it a good year too!

I attended the Sasha Celebration Weekend in May along with Paul and we had a great time meeting up with people and relaxing and in my case talking dolls!

The Chat n Snap was well attended in October and people enjoyed the day meeting up with old friends and making new ones. Money was once again raised for a good cause, which is an added bonus.

On the doll front, well it's been a very good year with some unexpected dolls arriving like James and Christy, I have to say both of them were not looked for but arrived none the less. Although I have now sold James on , Christy is still with me and I hope for a good while yet.

My other dolls have increased this year, more little Wichtels and Schoenhuts have arrived to build a collection, even though I was not intending to add so many different dolls. A few Natterers have arrived too.

Most of the Schoenhut dolls

The Natterers

The Wichtels

But I have also managed to down size very slightly on the clothing side and also a couple of the less played with dolls.

Also this years been harder to get the stories from my head onto the blog mainly due to work commitments and also faffing about! I'm very good at faffing about and I'll need to get that in check!

We've had a great year with regard to the house and garden and finally managed to start a few long planned changes. The folly is half completed and will be continued once the spring arrives.

Finally the outhouse is gone and the ugly patio and a lovely new space is waiting for the spring so that we can really make good use of it.

And we have removed the wall between the kitchen and dinning room , opening up the space.

Looking at these photos makes me realise just how much we've done this year, so it's been a very productive year for the house and garden.

Of course being us, we now have lots of projects on the go at once but we'll slowly make our way through the things that need doing until it's all done and hopefully looking lovely.

But that's all for next year!

I thank you all for your support this year , your friendship and encouragement with my blog posts.
Receiving feedback via comments or when we meet does help make it worthwhile and although I'd still ramble away if I did not get any, they'd probably be fewer and further between!.....

So come on 2018 we're waiting......



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