Time is certainly flying by at the moment, I can’t believe it’s so long since I posted last and as ever I feel that I need to provide an update, for myself and anyone else who happens to be reading.
Malina is growing fast and I have to say I’m happy that all her clothes have either come from friends or relatives, as hand-me-downs and gifts, not forgetting to mention the hand crocheted hats and toys that Gosia has crafted. I doubt that my Yorkshire blood would have coped with the expense of buying new for such a short period of use. I’m also happy to report that the reusable nappies that we purchased, all twenty-four of them, are working out very well and the washing machine is only put to the test every second day. It’s good to know that we are not adding to the smell of burning nappies in the air as you walk past some houses in the village nor adding to a future landfill problem. Even the washing liquid is environmentally friendly!
The pups are also making good progress and we have started the weaning process. Unfortunately nature has left us with only four pups from the original seven, but the ones that remain are fighting fit and willing to take on anything that moves; chickens, cats, bicycles! Timmy, the smallest of the pack, even made a bid for freedom last night and was only found after a two man search with torches at 11 O’clock!
Indoor sowing of plants continues with tomatoes, peppers, some more chilli’s, celeriac, masses of basil and a whole host of salad greens. Outside sets of onions, spring onion seeds, radish and some broad beans have made there way into the raised beds. We even had the top field spread with some of natures finest bovine NPK mix, all we have to do now is decide on our final planting for the summer. The rye that we sowed in the autumn has done well so far so we are likely to grow the crop on rather than turn it over as a green manure.
The house is getting more and more attention as the weather improves and I have managed to fill in some of the deeper depressions in the earth rendered walls, ready for the first of the lime coats, although it’s quite possible I’ll do a bit more work on some of the window surround first. I also took the opportunity to relocate some of the sockets I had randomly placed in the walls, deciding that they should all sit at a standard height. The concrete work in the basment that I had decided on was put on hold as I discovered that I can have a premix delivered on the back of a truck, two cubic meters at a time once we are in April, which should save me a lot of work mixing by hand. The cost difference is negligible and it should be a manageable load for one person to lay before it sets.
And finally, I have spent a good few evenings now building my new website. It’s not ready yet and on reflection I think it is likely to become an extension of the blog rather than a replacement, so I’m afraid you long suffering readers will have to suffer some more. If you have a minute please visit www.winkos.co.uk and if you have another minute tell me what you think of the format so far; any feedback will be appreciated.
Now back to it, the baby needs walking, the puppies nappies need changing and I have to plaster the dogs!
Winkos: a straw bale building adventure in Poland 
You are an excellent writer, you make me laugh, always good, this story will make a fine book one day and Micheline is going to love that I think
Your too kind and I admire your patience to get so far, so far, in your reading 🙂
I am happy to know things are coming along for you. I love hearing about the antics of your dog Timmy.
Thank you, I’ll provide a Timmy update in my next post. He may be the smallest, big he has the most spirit:)
Sounds like a busy life . . .
If you are doing a website, make sure you have the subscription by e-mail option for new entries. I took a look at it, and it looks good.
Most blogs I know that transition to a dedicated site lack that feature, and to be frank, I don’t take the time to go and check out blogs just to see if there’s anything new.
I would also suggest not ‘tweaking’ stuff too much once it goes live. That’s another problem with some sites . . . they tweak and tweak, and that increases the chance of glitches, as well as disorient users (i.e. where the heck did he put that link I’m looking for!)
However, having said that, it sounds as if you are keeping this blog, so that might not be that much of an issue.
Thanks Emilio, appreciate the feedback; I’m hoping that that’s as complicated as it gets and that I don’t add too much more to it, other than content! If anything I think the headline menus will reduce in number making in more minimal. The blog will almost certainly stay where it is, the pros outweigh the cons. Thank again, Eddy
I love Gosia’s crochet, baby and toys look amazing!
Thank you I’ll pass it on. Hopefully she will be able to sell a few in the future; toys that is, not babies!
Website looks fine, and will be good, after a few tweaks and some proof-reading.(Calendar not Calandar). Is there no .Pol, or .PL , or is .CO.UK preferable? Anyway, I am sure it will be a hit!
Those hand made toys are so good, you should sell them on the site. Have a web shop, I reckon they would do really well. Baby Winkette looks really happy, as do the pups. Seems to me that the Winkos have really got it together.
Al the best to all, Pete.
Thank you Pete, I’ve put my colander right 🙂 At least that’s how I normally misspell it! .co.uk works for me at the moment, although I’m tempted to go with .EU as well; our future market for visitors and possibly soft toys! Incidentally we had a phone call 7 minutes after publishing asking how much we wanted for the owl 🙂
Thanks again Pete, look out for more proof reading. Cheers, Eddy