Back Now. Update.

Than you to all who posted comments and sent such lovely emails about my dad. I really appreciated all your kind thoughts . All went as well as could be expected and now Im trying to get back to as normal as possible.

Right.
Wow things have really moved on since our Canadian helper came, Greg has been exceptional, sadly we only have him another week before hes off down south ...
He and Rik have built a beautiful retaining wall in the garden, and now we'll be able to back the wood van down into the garden and so much nearer the wood barn, which will halve the work of unloading wood every time ...it also looks lovely, built from all old stone we had laying around from fallan barns ect.. it fits in with our place and soon will look as if it always was there.
We picked the olives and even though we shared with our friends will still hopefully have enough to last me more or less the year... if I dont go mad with it... its excellent... thick, green and so fruity... Ive been dipping my bread in the barrel.... till rik caught me... Im supposed to be trying to lose some weight now....

The beans and peas we planted down in the orchard are just popping up, so hopefully we'll have  very early spring broad beans and peas, all part of my plan for more fresh -less freezer this year...I picked two cabbages this morning, plus a nice big bunch of carrots, not huge carrots but enough for a meal for three of us...and we still have plenty of cabbage and more coming on, the leeks look good, and the old ladies onions and just coming up, and I must say, I believe her when she says they will be big, the tiny shoots coming up even now are much thicker than the seed packet ones...
My peas on the main patch are three inches high now, a little sporadic but the mice didnt have too many...
I also picked the last two Pomegranates , and they were delicious, our first year of having the tree fruit, and we had 16... Im so pleased, it was the first tree we planted the autumn we arrived here.

Rik and greg are going to spend a few days refilling our log barn before he has to leave us. We hopefully have a welsh couple arriving early Dec for a while, they have a hard act to follow....