Kitten update - 12 days old

All 4 of my gorgeous kittens now have their eyes open for short periods, dont they look even more scrumptious?

They all seem to be doing well, nursing okay and getting plenty of rest which means Meg gets more time between feeds to have a break from them and pester us for food and milk.
It is going to be hard to part with them when the time comes thats for sure.
Which is your favourite?

Postcard No. 3 - View from the marshes, leigh on Sea

This card is postmarked 11.30 am on August 24th 1909.

Its addressed to Miss B Haines

72 Woodhays (Woodheyes) Road,  Neadsen (presumably Neasden?) N.W.

Message reads:

Dear Bertha,

I am very sorry I did not see you Saturday night. I want to tell you something may i write a letter?

Yours loving Joy

In an unusual twist, the sender has also added her address at the top of the card which reads

Emsleigh Villa, Elmesligh Drive, Leigh on Sea.   I have looked on 1911census.com but there is no-one there called Joy or Joyce at the same address just 2 years after this was posted.

Bertha was 17 at the time as i have found her on 1911 census aged 19. She is a dressmakers assistant, born in Hull, Yorkshire and living with her parents Frederick & Emily Haines.

What a mysterious message it is. I wonder what Joy wanted to tell Bertha and how strange that she asks if she can write her a letter to do so.  Just one of the annoying parts of documenting these postcards is that you may never know just what the message meant.

New Facebook group - We Love Postcards

I have begun a Facebook group called We Love Postcards
Its so that we can share our love of them, post pictures of them from our collection and chat to others who do the same.
If you join us then please spread the word around to all Deltiologists and lets see if we can make it a popular and much used Group.

R.I.P Robin Gibb - Thank you for the music

Barry Gibb's moving tribute to his brother.

Meg's kittens 4 days old

Meg becomes a mummy

I haven't had time to research any more postcards because...
On Saturday 19th May at 6.05 am, my darling cat Meg began giving birth to her first litter of kittens. By 7.45am she had brought 4 gorgeous kittens into the world. 
Its the first time i've had a pet like this have young so i didnt know what to expect. I've been pacing up and down as much as Meg the last few days wondering how it would go but, she did brilliantly and i cant believe it was all over in 1 hour, 40 mins.
She is being a very attentive mum and looks after them brilliantly. 

Postcard No. 2 - A Joyous Birthday

This is one of 3 cards i bought from a seller on eBay because of the beautiful photos on the front. I thought they made a nice change from the scenic type too.

A Joyous Birthday

To:

Miss T Maiden

6 Somers Road,

Halesowen

Nr. Birmingham

Card is franked but the year has not come out.

Stamp is a 1 Penny red with George V so date may be between 1911 and 1935.

Also the card is made in Great Britain rather than the more common ones which were printed in Berlin so it could mean its post WW1.

Message reads:

Dear Trissie,

Just a card to wish you a Happy Birthday & I hope you will have lots of good things.  Will you thank Aunty dear for her letter, and tell her I will answer it as soon as ever I get time.

With heaps of love & xxx from Elsie.

Searching in the 1911 census I could not find a T. Maiden so I next went to 1911census site and used their address search.  I found the house and the family were called Maiden but there was no T. Maiden. Looking down the list of children I found a Beatrice Annie Maiden. Trissie must be short for Beatrice. What a lovely name.

Beatrice is 5 in the 1911 census so if we say its after WW1 then she may be 13 perhaps.  Her father John was a jobbing gardener from Kidderminster, Worcs and at the time she had 3 siblings,  Edwin John,  Reginald William & Percy.

In the message, Elsie says to thank Aunty which may mean Beatrice’s mother, so Elsie and Beatrice would be cousins.

It’s a sweet message and a beautiful photo on the front.

If you know anything about this card or if you think I have made a mistake, please let me know via the email address on the right hand side of my blog.

Postcard No. 1 Leigh on Sea, Essex

I had many reasons for buying this postcard. The first being that it is a view not that far from me. And is a path i have walked along with the sea on one side and the railway on the other.  I just love the animation in the picture. Families strolling along by the sea whilst their children run on the beach and paddle in the sea.  The second reason is that this is a card posted in August 1914 one month after the outbreak of WW1.

It has a bitter sweet feel to it and i wonder how many of the men in the picture went on to their deaths in France and beyond.

The years from late 19th century up to 1918 are the period of history i most enjoy and the reason so many of my postcards that i intend to feature on this blog, will be from that era.

Sadly at some point in its life a previous owner has seen fit to go over the text in green highlighter which along with the card having been written in pencil now makes it very hard to fully decipher.  I can't be certain of either name so my research has been very limited, but here is what i have found.

*********************************************************************

 

Lower Walk, Leigh on Sea – Posted on 31^st August 1914

Addressed to:

Mr G. Husby?

281 Portobello Road,

Notting Hill

Message:

Dear George,

Hope you arrived home safe and was ready for work on Monday morning. It rather dull here this morning but that does not affect us much.

With best of love,

From

Alice Bysouth?

c/o Mrs Frost

?? Leigh Ville Grove

Leigh on Sea

Research

I reckon Mrs Frost is Lillie Frost of 59 Leighville Grove, Leigh on Sea. Alice is staying with her, maybe for the summer?

I believe Alice’s name may be Bysouth.  I have found a lot of Bysouths in Romford but can’t say for sure if it is her obviously, so don’t think I’ll find out much about her.

The fact that she writes her address on the bottom of her message suggests that George is not a relative or he would have known the address but someone she has met maybe who she wants to reply to her.

I have looked up George Husby, Hasby, Harby but nothing coming up with that address so may do an address search on 1911census site.

Address search found nothing. George was not living there in 1911, but the people who lived at that address in 1911 also had a boarder so maybe George was boarding in 1914.

Without a confirmation of George or Alice’s last names I can’t really go any further.

I wasn't particularly lucky with this one but thats the way it goes. If you have any knowledge of anybody mentioned in this post please contact me at the email address on the right of my blog.

Postcards - little snapshots of history

I have recently purchased some lovely old postcards via a great internet markeplace site called Delcampe and particularly from one of their many postcard sellers Old_Postcards

I've always loved buying postcards when i've been away and either keeping them for souvenirs or sending them to family at home but i never realised until recently just how fascinating they are.
Each one is a small snapshot of history especially if it has been written and posted to someone. The message on the back can be a funny one, sad one, mysterious one or just a few words of thanks, they all meant a lot to both the sender and recipient.  My favourite era of postcards to collect is 1900 to 1920's which apparently was known as the golden age. It was a time when postcards were really popular and people would use them a bit like sending texts today. They would be sent to say 'thank you for a lovely day' , 'arrived home safely' or 'isabella had a baby boy'. People would send them just for others to add to their collection as collecting postcards was a big deal at the time.

Being a family history buff I cant resist being nosy, reading those messages and doing some research on the people mentioned.  What was the senders relationship to the recipient? Boyfriend and girlfriend perhaps, mother and daughter? I cant resist the thrill of the chase to find out more about them, 1 postcard at a time, which i will do in my next post.

So here are the first three postcards i bought.

These are all of views which are fairly local, so they have a double interest for me.

Do you have a postcard collection, if so how many and what made you begin?

A typical day in the life of...

When you have pets/livestock they can consume a large amount of any free time you may have.  A typical day for me (as of May 2012) may go something like this...

Wake up courtesy of one or more of my 4 cats. Domino will reach up from the floor and either nudge you, paw you (with claws out) or, and this was back a few years now, claw the tender underneath part of any bare feet found to be sticking out of the bedclothes (Ouch!).
Lucy will walk over you meowing delicately until you stir and
Meg, before she was pregnant, would leap from the windowsill or cabinet onto our sleeping forms, waking us up with a start and a few chosen expletives.
Jack, bless him tends to keep out of the wake up call and leaves it to the others to do the job.

Having given in to their demands i go downstairs, open the cat flap and feed them.  As Meg is our youngest cat and also due to have her first litter of kittens in a week or so, I feed her first and in another room to the other three. This is because she has always been a hungry cat but since being pregnant her hunger knows no bounds and if you feed the others first or together she will be in their bowls grabbing chunks and scoffing them.

Then its time to check the 4 newly hatched chicks, give them fresh water, food etc and check their bottoms (just what you need before breakfast, right?)

After breakfasting ourselves and getting dressed i go outside to open the chicken run and then their house. 4 very sleepy chickens, Bella, Buffy, Penny & Rags slowly emerge and begin the day with some tasty pellets. In the winter months i give them porridge with raisins to warm them up.

Then its next door, which is the other half of the old chicken run which has been divided into two, to say good morning to Harvey my 22 week old, white and silver agouti, short haired, guinea pig.  You can hear his 'wheeks' for miles but despite sounding friendly, the moment i open the door to his cage he is off hiding and is as scared of me now as he was when i got him back in March.  I give him a bowl of pellets and a handful of hay and check his water.  He will eat food from my hand but as soon as i go to touch him he is off. So sad as he is a lovely little fella otherwise. Any advice gratefully welcomed.

A visit to the pond to throw the fish a handful of pellets and i'm done for the time being.

If its a work day, (I only do 2 mornings a week now due to cuts at work) I am back home by lunchtime whereupon I give Meg another half a sachet of kitten food to help her growing babies along with some milk which she adores (in fact i think she is an official addict of the stuff)

Check the chicks again and freshen water, food etc.

Let the chooks out into the garden to free range and watch their delight as they rush out and begin exploring.

Late afternoon I will throw a handful of corn mix or sweetcorn out to the chooks for them to peck at. This keeps them going overnight.

The evening sees me shutting the chooks away for the night and collecting any eggs.  Feeding the cats and locking the catflap.  Changing water and food in the chick brooder.  Making a welcome drink and sitting down with a sigh.

Heaven knows where i will find the time to look after 3 or more kittens after next week too.  I think i need a 30 hour day.

Having said that i wouldnt be without any of them though,  I have to be mad dont I?

4 chicks - 1 week on

I can't believe its been a week already since my first chick hatched.  The owlbeard is a manic little soul, not keen on being picked up, it is growing wings and flexing them a lot. I am fairly certain 'it' is a 'he'. Mainly because he has been so loud with cheeping, has a long tail already even if it is fluffy at the moment and is generally full of himself. Remind you of anyone ladies?

The Speckled Sussex was second to hatch and is really tall now and full of beans.  Its quite a friendly little soul with some lovely markings. I cant wait for it to be fully feathered as they are a stunning looking chicken. 

The Brahma was third, and it is a sweetie too. Just as tall as they Sussex and as gentle too with a funny rolling gait as it walks. It is a bit of a gannet though and along with Sussex number 1 is first to the food bowls every day.

My last chick, my second Speckled Sussex ,who i never thought would survive beyond the first few hours is now hard to pick out amongst the other 4. It is not quite as tall as its brother/sister Sussex but is about 95% strong on its legs now and is developing a fairly healthy appetite.  To begin with we could not make it eat or drink but once it was showing signs of walking and balancing better we isolated it along with the brahma chick and amazingly the brahma literally turned 'mum' and showed it how to drink and eat and encouraged it to do so, even to the point of feeding it by mouth just as an adult bird would to its baby. it was fascinating to see and makes me love my little Brahma chick even more.

Anyway here they all are now, and sickly chick is second from right and looking great.

from l to r we have brahma, speckled sussex, speckled sussex, owlbeard

not so poorly now eh

making bread the traditional way

Today we made bread, my son and I.

 
My son being a strapping 19, almost 20 year old heard i was going to give traditional breadmaking another go and decided he wanted to do it with me.
I have made loaves in the past in my old breadmaker but have only done it by hand twice, one success and the other a dead ringer for a concrete doorstop!
We wanted to make the bread for lunchtime so i found a really speedy recipe on the net.

Bread in four easy steps

Kids can help with this super-simple bread recipe. Use whichever flour you like, granary, wholemeal or white

Recipe uploaded by

Sara Buenfeld

 

Ingredients

• 500g granary, strong wholewheat or white bread flour
• 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp clear honey

1. Tip the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl and mix together with your hands. Stir 300ml hand-hot water with the oil and honey, then stir into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins, until the dough no longer feels sticky, sprinkling with a little more flour if you need it.
3. Oil the loaf tin and put the dough in the tin, pressing it in evenly. Put in a large plastic food bag and leave to rise for 1 hr, until the dough has risen to fill the tin and it no longer springs back when you press it with your finger.
4. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Make several slashes across the top of the loaf with a sharp knife, then bake for 30-35 mins until the loaf is risen and golden. Tip it out onto a cooling rack and tap the base of the bread to check it is cooked. It should sound hollow. Leave to cool.

Speckled Sussex are a tough breed

Our poorly little Speckled Sussex chick which we virtually had to hatch ourselves as it was stuck in the membrane is out of Intensive care and is now eating and drinking with assistance.  Its main problems now are that its right leg is not as strong as the left and it has a tendency to lean to the right which makes it look a bit like Tiny Tim from Dickens A Christmas Carol. In fact i can almost see the little crutch under its wing.
It is amazing though how in a day it has gone from this..

 

to this...

 

It has a long way to go and a fair bit of TLC and some gentle physiotheraphy on its leg to try to give it a fair chance in life.

brahma chick hatching

3 healthy chicks and a poorly one

Chick number two, a speckled sussex hatched out around 3pm yesterday. It came out so quickly that i actually almost missed the moment.  I saw it was making good progress with chipping round the shell and then 10 mins later i got up to look and just saw it fully push its way out.  Its now fluffed up nicely and showing signs of eating a few crumbs. The owlbeard chick decided to put it firmly in its place and let it know he/she was top chicken.  I had no idea they began the peking order so early, its astonishing.

speckled sussex chick minutes old

wow, hatching is such hard work!

Chick number 3, a brahma, had a bit of trouble hatching and after a long period of getting nowhere beyond the first tiny hole eventually fought its way out around 10pm last night.  It too is finding its feet okay. I will be checking to see its eating and drinking later today as the egg yolk its absorbs just before hatching can keep them going for 24 hours or more.  I was quite tired by this time and so i managed to get a small video of the hatch but no still shots, but here is one of all three of them instead.

brahma chick is the one at the back

When it comes to chick number 4 though its another story. There is a lot of theories about helping chicks out fo the shells. If nothing happens then some say you should accept natures decision and that it probably wouldnt have thrived.  But i have done this a few times now and although we had heard no sounds coming from the egg i knew there was a fully formed chick inside so our policy was to give it a fair go.  We broke through the shell and amazingly heard it faintly cheeping. Trouble was it was stuck to the membrane and to remove it meant a possible loss of blood and shock to the chick.  We decided to open the membrane just enough to free the beak so it could breathe and then leave it overnight and give it a chance.  This morning it was still going so after much discussion hubby and i helped it fully out as the blood was not so bad now. we found that it had not totally absorbed all the yolk and so it is alive but very, very weak and poorly. It is in the incubator by itself now on a kind of chicken life support. We will just have to see how it goes.

fight little one, fight

chamois owlbeard - my first chick is here

After a long day of waiting and encouraging the first chick hatched last night around 10.30 and it was the chamois owlbeard. I have nicknamed it Goldilocks as when the light came on its fine damp down was like strings of golden thread.

nice big hole now it means business

got the lid to open at last, now for the moment of escape

almost there...

At last, freedom and i'm soooo exhausted

looking good and drying off

stop taking pics now i'm too tired

Oh if you must, heres my best side

After about 20 mins of it struggling around trying to find its feet I noticed that its legs were sliding out to either side, a telltale sign of possible splay foot which can cause problems for the chick and stop them getting around so i acted fast and found an old flannel and put that at the bottom of the incubator so that it could get a grip.  Within minutes literally, it had found its feet and was much stronger.
This morning it has fluffed up really well and is trying hard to encourage the other 3 to join it.
There are chips in 2 of the remaining 3 which is a good sign and means another day of waiting and pacing.  Thank god i love doing this so much or i would be a nervous wreck by now.