This week...

... the snow has remained on the ground. Although in the last couple of days it has begun to melt. The crocus buds have survived the pile that covered them and today's sun has opened them up.

Shortly after writing this yesterday other events over took me. John came up to inform me that the cellar was flooded and far worse than back in the summer. Initially we assumed it was rapidly melting snow. There was far too much to bale out by hand. John went off to town to purchase a pump and while he was gone I discovered that there was a leak from the mains water pipe outside our back gate. I phoned the water company and very late last night two men came to fix the leak. Our water pump had been keeping the water at a level but it was not going down. However once the leak had stopped it began to go down. Eventually at about 2 am which of course became 3 am BST we switched it off and went to bed. When got up to make the tea today it was still at the same level but abut an hour later when we went down for breakfast it had all drained away. So now the newspaper is down to soak up the residue. the cat tray is back in place and everything is back to normal. During the week as food has been short a magpie has been raiding the sparrows meal worms. I missed getting a photo of him facing away from me. He has the most vivid green and purple tail. Last Sunday John took this of Allotment Robin he is a very friendly little chap and very inquisitive. I have finished a new piece of weaving. This yarn has been in my stash since the children were little. THe warp and the black weft are quite a thick yarn and the white not quite so thick. Both black and white are 12 rows but the difference in the yarn means the bands are different sizes. Of course I cannot find anything suitable in the stash to line it. But I do have the yarn line dup for the next piece.