The sun...

...made a short appearance today, and as there's nothing quite the same as the smell of freshly aired washing after blowing in the fresh air, I made my way across our garden with a basket of bits. Pegging it out, and looking to see if there were any hints of fresh buds on trees, I wandered back across the lawn.
Now I'm a snowdrop addict, I love the little white nodding heads...and I've been looking for evidence there are some in my new garden...today, I found two...hardly showing they're so low to the lawn, but they're there! Now I know that though we've still two months of winter left, it won't be long 'til spring, and a whole new discovery of the garden will unfold.

...and the battle of the bunnies will start this weekend. We have a rabbit warren in the garden, and they're eating anything that's still green, but before new plants are planted they need to be dealt with. They're under part of an old small shrubbery which is on it's way out, so I'm hoping that disturbs them enough to send them over...or under the fence and into the field next door.

A slow...

...process, but this is how our "new" kitchen looks at present.

The dark door is the old bakers oven, which now houses the boiler. The radiator is going...

The old doors and missing wall...

And now it's one....

The quarry tiles are on the same(or nearly) level as the concrete, so hopefully can be tiled over.

At least I've got a kitchen I can still use...

It's all in...

...a day, as they say.

They also say...football's a funny old game!

On a day when West Ham have new owners, with the revelations of how deep their debt was, what the plans for their future are...Portsmouth have lost their court case against delaying a winding up order. Those gentleman on television talk of a change in the city of Manchester. I would think there'd have to be a bit more history before that happens...money doesn't history buy. My team...Charlton, have announced no price increase for next season tickets, if bought before the end of March, and the availability of some five hundred five year season tickets, and PP said Nicky Bailey wasn't going anywhere!

I'm sitting multi-tasking...writing, listening and watching...and cheering!

Also one of my local teams, who went out of business before Christmas, are being resurrected. Their new owner is the owner of the King's Lynn Speedway team...so out of disaster a new future comes for King's Lynn...

I've been busy making my little spacers in a variety of colours...they're the little beads which can be used in many ways.

And the wall...

...came tumbling down.

Over the weekend we knocked nails out, cut holes in plasterboards, pulled wood apart, dismantling the stud wall between the old utility room and the small sitting room, and removing the frames and doors to the two rooms. Now I stand in delight at the light which pours through the stained glass french doors, and leaded light windows to a much nicer space.

Now we have to decide, do we replace a door, or do we leave it open to the little hallway which leads to it.

Next step...rebuild a small piece of wall, and remove a radiator!

Exciting...isn't it!?

And the football goes on.

I'm wondering what makes one club any different to another!?

Portsmouth (who are losing to Coventry as I type) owe several millions to other clubs, HMRC, have been late in paying their players several times this season...and had until 5pm today to pay some of the money to the clubs owed for transfers already completed(at present they're not allowed into the transfer market)...they didn't make it, so now the Premier League are deciding how to divvy up the £7m television money owed to Portsmouth between those clubs who they owe. Portsmouth have asked for the money to be given to them...as a loan? Now what makes this club any different in their debt to that of a local Norfolk club which disappeared just before Christmas, as King's Lynn were wound up. The size of debt is hugely more, both have fans...players and a long history...so, is it just because one is a league club and the other a non-league club?

It's a cold, tough world out there, and unless you can find yourself a sugar daddy with true and deep pockets..who also understands and loves football, it'll get tougher for more clubs. The above is just that little visible tip of the iceberg...with the Titanic sailing steadily towards it.

Next Monday...

...a new football programme debuts - Late Kick Off.

Aimed at the Football League teams within their regions, my local East Anglian programme is fronted by ex-Ipswich player...or at least that's how the local news magazine show advertised it. Me? I think of him as an ex-Charlton star...a hero...and someone I always thought of as a gentleman.

Matty Holland has a new job, and he's the face in front of the East Anglian cameras dealing with our local teams. So, if you're an Ipswich, Colchester, Peterborough, MKDons, Southend, oh! or a Norwich supporter...then he's the man for you...I'll be watching even though he's not reporting on my team, I'll be spying.

The regional programmes start at 11:35 on Monday 18th January on BBC1...dealing not with just the football on the pitch, but the clubs behind the scenes.

In amongst everything I see Norwich also made a statement upping their debt by £5m...to £22.?m...

A favourite...

...colour. I think this is my favourite glass to use. It just reacts quite naturally to the heat from my torch, and depending how you do that you get the most wonderful colours...

I call it Shadow Grove

The moving...

...of rooms has started. Our present kitchen is small, dark and not very nice, and one thing we decided on when buying our cottage was to move it.

We have two rooms that have light pouring into them all day, and have a view of the garden...rather than the churchyard opposite. The water is already there, as one is a tiny utility room, and with a thin partition wall between that and a small sitting room, which we'll never use as one...we can take it down with ease, and open this space up.

Well, we've ordered ourselves some units...just a couple for the sink and a larder cupboard. The kitchen is my one extravagance, I've been saving for it. I had an AGA previously, and that's it...the man comes in a weeks time for the survey. Oh, to get back to one...I can't wait!

We have a large hand built oak table, which needs some work, but will be beautiful once the orange modern varnish is removed...we were lucky in acquiring it. That will be the main surface in the kitchen, and over time we'll find ourselves an old cupboard for crockery, odd dining chairs...and the bits and pieces that gradually makes it mine....

My minds eye has a picture, now I just need to make it happen.

Seems my team's Saturday match is in doubt. After the pre-Christmas big freeze and snow, we now have the next. Though we've only had a sprinkling here so far, further south is suffering...my brother in law did not make it home from work tonight... My team is in South East London...and that's quite white, and though the ground staff team have worked hard, it will be decided before the weekend, but it looks as though a postponement is more than a possibility. This comes hard on last weekends postponement, which saw Norwich catching...and over-taking us on goal difference. Do we need this match to keep us sharp, or the postponement to get some of our injured players back?! Do we need Norwich to get a points difference too? They've signed two players this week too...we've extended a defenders loan spell until the end of January...

Some additional pieces of jewellery were added to my Etsy jewellery shop tonight...some simple "Little Misses" bracelets, and adults bracelets and necklaces...