the further adventures of Genghis Pudleduck

 

Fans of Genghis will be delighted to know that he has been visiting as the flood waters go down. You can just see his partner, eating the weed by the bank.

Sensibly, when a swan tells him to get out of the way, he does,

 

but just waits on the bank until he can get into the water again

Swans

This picture shows some of the swans, including the near-adult cygnets who have settled here as the worst of the floods go down. We haven't seen much of them this year as they nested further away, but this area seems more comfortable for them at the moment.
The geese & ducks were here earlier, including Genghis, but I didn't manage to get a picture then.

Christmas begins this afternoon in Denford at our lovely pub: lights, tree, mince pies & hot pork rolls!

Floods

A lot of friends have wondered how we are faring. 

We are fortunate - all new builds have to be above the 1000 year floodline.

This is the highest it has been since we've been here; what you can't see in the photo is how fast the water is flowing.

It has not gone above our bank, but it has covered the water meadows as far as the river.

The birds are struggling - this shows the swans trying to eat their usual water cress, and the 2 ducks you can just see are the only ones we have seen.

good news & gorgeous fabric

I last wrote about the tests done for our Energy Performance Certificate. We received an A which really pleased us as we had been predicted a B and had worked to improve our efficiency. It was the first that the East Northants Building Inspector had seen. Our thanks to their department who have been supportive and easy to work with for the last 3 years.

This beautiful fabric is from mayakotan who import it from Guatemala. We met Jude at a Fair Trade fair in Oundle selling scarves, table runners & cushions. She kindly agreed to sell us some of the original fabric so that I can make my own cushions. Our thanks to her & her family.

Keith has set up his weather station ( a gift from 2 Christmases ago!) and here it is in the garden, from which you can see the flooded water meadows

APT; EPC & SAP

Or: Air Pressure Testing, Energy Performance Certificate & Standard Assessment Procedure.

LABC, who are providing the warranty for the house, did these today. Jamie came all the way from Wales. We had a good chat about the Centre for Alternative Technology (see our post on 14 September 2009) where he did a course on sustainable construction.

He taped up all the ventilation ducts, and put this contraption over the front door (to the dismay of our postie who had to leave the post outside!). The air is sucked out to create negative pressure, and we can then feel the draughts where air is leaking in. We did very well, thank goodness.

He gathered all of our information on energy use & insulation and will give us a rating in the next few days. This is our last step before being signed off by the Building Inspector, so more about that next week.

staircarpet, a wardrobe & meteorites

John Kerr has fitted all of our carpets beautifully, and here is the final one:

Keith is fitting our wardrobe, here are the early stages:

 

It will not look empty for long!

We have added another of Anja's meteorites to our collection

And I have been enjoying the new kitchen, making the Christmas cake & pudding ready for our first Denford Christmas.

all moved in!

 The house is looking more like our home, although there are still a lot of boxes around the place.
Having got used to Kindles over the last couple of years, we finally ditched a lot of books, and gave 10 boxes full to Oxfam. We still have plenty, as you can see from the lovely hall bookshelf that Keith has made:

Here, unpacked, are our 2 lovely dressers, big table and chairs:

And here is the family (minus Edmund) gathered for my birthday, with Joe in pride of place:

We were taken by Anja Penger-Onyett's ceramics which we saw at Art in Action. She calls them "meteorites" and we went to see her at Blunham (just off the A1) where she and her husband made us very welcome, with excellent coffee, whilst we chose some to put on the deck.

Last Saturday, the Brights and Martins had a great get-together with Keith managing the barbecue. As at many such gatherings, I was in no state to take decent photos, but did get a nice one of Kirstin & her partner Paul, and the cheesboard with Lindsay presiding (and Shona distracted by her father's lovely St. Clements' cake which can just be seen)

so, although there are still jobs to be done (the porch, tiling the utility room, more woodwork, and of course, the curtains!) it is really beginning to feel like home