Max and Paul's Excellent Adventure

We were in awe the first time we walked Melody down our street. Picture postcard houses everywhere. This place was built in the 1500's and it's done well to stay up that long! All the vertical timbers are load-bearing rather than the decorative fascia boards you see in more recent places. the levels in the older places are quite 'organic' Another perspective - side view. Outside is a well that's still usable. And the house next door with exquisite thatch. The cat in the window added authenticity. A lot of cottages were built to house the staff serving the owners of Croxton Manor. A lot of these places still have their traditional thatched roofs which have a life expectancy of 30 years before replacement is required. 'Rose Cottage' Just gorgeous! 'Orchard Cottage' 'The Old Appleyard' 'Chef's Cottage' 'Honeysuckle Cottage' Downs Barn (Where we are.) Barn conversions are a bit of a thing in England.  Some are simple and some,...

Our third house sit in a row finishes with a beautiful place in Croxton, Cambridgeshire, which was not far from our previous sit. We had dinner with Simon and Francine that evening as they had to leave at 3.30 the following morning. We joined hands for prayer and Simeon gave thanks for the meal and our arrival to care for the doggo. Melody is a 5-year-old rescue greyhound and a timid specimen, but we won her over fairly quickly. She has a wonderful nature and has been described by her owner as a '45mph couch potato' which, I must say, is an accurate description. The 5 bedroom barn conversion is very comfortable and the entrance is quite impressive.    With plenty of natural light and a grand piano in the corner, the home was delightful. The back of the house The backyard is not too shabby either. The surrounding homes and countryside are equally beautiful. Stay tuned.

Max managed to get 3 dog sits back to back enabling us to travel directly from one sit to another. The only drawback is that we had to go back to London from Cricklade first before travelling on a train to the second sit in Cambridge. We had been to Cambridge before for a previous sit however this one is in the south in a very well-to-do area. Jon, the home-owner, picked us up from the train station in the run-around family car which, of course, in Cambridge is a Range Rover. It's the first time we have done a stay in a yard bigger than a postage stamp. This was a 1/3 of an acre and a beautiful garden to sit drink our morning coffee contemplate the day. We really enjoyed the company of the two dogs we were looking after. Monty and Blue.         As we complete a sit, we get a review from the pet owner which then goes on the dog-sitting site for other pet owners to see. So far, we have received perfect scores which make it easier to get 'better' sits.  We took the...

Woohoo! Another stone circle to visit and what a beautiful day for it! This one is supposedly the largest in the world. Actually, it is called a 'henge' as it has a particular type of earthwork of the Neolithic period, typically consisting of a roughly circular or oval-shaped bank with an internal ditch. We were hoping to feel the same energy we felt at the circle in Cornwall but to be honest, it was not as strong. It didn't take us long to realise why as "they", the illustrious decision makers, in their wisdom put a road right through the middle of it, destroying the whole energetic point of it.  Sacrilege, I say!  People feel that the energy that flows from the earth's ley lines to the circles flow through the stones in a circular direction. Once the road was put through, it severely hampered the flow. Putting aside our astonishment at this level.of stupidity, we made the most of a very pretty area. You can wander onto farmland to see these stones up close. ...