Merry Xyulesolmas everyone!

I hate the Americanism (sorry American people!) "Holidays". If you have something specific to celebrate this time of year be proud to say what it is!!
I'm not a Christian so I rarely say Christmas, preferring instead to use the more secular Xmas (something my staunch Salvation Army Grandparents hated with a very un-Christian like passion).

So here it is though...whatever you like to call the winter celebration.

Today was Solstice, the shortest day of the year, and in celebration of that we did what we have done nearly every year, we put up our tree.


We get our tree from friends who have acres of baby pine trees and have invited us for the last two years to help ourselves.
I find cutting our own tree odd in the sense that when you are outside they all look like teeny tiny scraps that will look like the ugly tree none of the other trees wanted to play with but when you get it home you realise that its grown 5 inches and bushed out like a fluffed up hen.
Sure its not the fullest or the softest (the piercing "Ow!"'s that came as the kids decked our trees sharp branches seem to be another Basford tradition) but it seems more down to earth, more level headed than a genetically modified "ideal" tree or worse the plastic perfection of the false one!

Anyway, next year we plan to buy some baby trees of our own and add a little neutral carbon to our festivities.

The tree wasn't the only exciting thing to happen today. This afternoon our new puppy came home!!

Merle (which means blackbird)is a tiny fluff of Yorkshire terrier and seems perfectly happy to come live with us, has fallen in love with Jenny the vegan collie (who is trying to stay aloof but stuck her nose through the pen bars every time he squeaked)tried to make friends with Biko the cat (who hissed then went to lie by the fire and pretend nothing had changed). He had an alert hour and some dinner then went "plop", all tuckered out, fast asleep, been a long day for a 'lil pup.
Like a new mum I am left wondering if I should wake him soon for some more play so he doesn't wake at 2am crying.

Anyway, Xmasy wishes aside here's a preview of what the (almost) car-less family will have to offer in 2010!

Gardening
With more emphasis on what we eat and a lot more planning than in previous years we hope to bring you more insight into our self-sufficiency(ish) lifestyle.

Home
As we are finishing some home improvement and starting some new eco-home plans this coming year we will have lots to share, starting with how we fit a family of 5 in what is basically a 1 bed house.

EnvironmentWe have been talking about it forever but we hope 2010 will be the year that we do something with our land. A radical re-think of how we keep our horses and a plan to plant coppicing woods and "old" woodland on our acreage means lots of plans, debates and pictures on how we get on.

Cycling
Now that we are set up with a trailer the bikes should be back out in force once the ice lets up for a few days.

There will, of course, be much more than this but these are some of the main points I want to cover in detail over the next 12 months.
The (almost) car-less family is very excited about 2010 and what it will bring and hope all our regular readers (and new ones of course!) will come along for the ride with us!

Thanks for stick by the last 5 months!





Love, Kelly, Kim, Ollie, Owen and Alfie xxx