The Soggy Cumbrian Vixens

*kicks off hunter rubber boots and wonders off to make a nice warm comforting pot of nice tea* A very wet and soggy greeting to you all *waves a soggy paw*. Well today and in fact this week at work has been a wash out, we have had flooding in our home again, tack room for the first time in about a year also managed to get water in. So did the office, and one of our staff member’s accommodations. Water just ran straight though the valley and because we are in a natural basin we caught the brunt of it, and it was the type of flood that also brought in sticky mud with it as well. But I am glad to say the flood water has gone and all the buildings that managed to get flood water inside them are not well and truly free of flood water. Oh and hello everyone it’s Motoko blogging for you all today *sips freshly made tea*. Shall we now take a lot at what the weather has in stall for us all for the next few days?

Hmm, well that is an improvement weather wise isn’t but not a vast improvement I must say. Still any improvement is better than not improving so I am happy with the weather. Right then proper blogging time, yes it’s been a long hard week but I am glad to say that work is over for us all for another week and that means that we can all dry out in front of the log fire for the next few days, and relax and play games and just recharge ourselves before we head on out into the vast wilderness of Cumbria. Been wearing waterproofs 100% of the time while at work, from 05:00 till 17:00 and I can tell you I shall be glad to leave them to one side over the next few days. Ocean rainwear is fantastic for working in all weather in Cumbria but it does start to feel heavy after a few hours of wearing it and working in it. Lest our 66N gear is lighter but that is not for yard work that is for wearing while riding on a trek!

As some of you may have read on my twitter stream my friend Ritsuko (we call her Neko as that is her nick name she has always had) has her long lost sister over for a while. I did a blog called “Two Nekos Are Better Thank One” if you wish to read up on the story behind that if you want to catch up on things. Well I can tell you now Ritsuko and her sister Chinatsu are twins and apart one being diabetic and one needing glasses they are identical to each other, even have the same (by chance) style of free flowing hair. This proves them with plenty of moments where they can create a sea of pranks, cheekiness and mischief moments. Ritsuko is still working even though her sister is here and her sister follows her around and helps out with small jobs like doing the water buckets and that kind of easy going job. But Ritsuko has lent Chinatsu a set of yard coveralls and waterproofs, of which have “Ritsuko” on the name badge, so as you can guess once Chinatsu has removed her glasses they start to pretend to be each other and it provides them is much amusement while everyone else works out who is really who! Both are extremely ticklish so that plan failed and stopped speaking English as well so it was even harder to see who was who, and Chinatsu had contacts on so getting one to read something would also fail. In the end all became clear when Chinatsu took of her borrowed hunter rubber boots I could see that they were 2 sizes too big! Her borrowed waterproof bottoms had covered them up! They looked angry that their plan had been foiled, and now she has correct fitting hunter rubber boot so I will have work out who is who all over again!

Some of you now know that I and Jenny partake in a kind of kink called “Pony Play” and for myself and Jenny it is non-sexual and at the moment we are helping a very good friend of ours plan, design and work out a photo shoot. The subject of the photo shoot is all about “Pony Play” and myself and my friend Sam Mia shall be modelling for my friend. We have designed custom made tack and costume items for the shoot and we don’t think there is anything like what we have designed, as it is all bespoke. We have used the same leather work people that made a lot of Anna Roses gear. So as you can see my friend is really trying to make a go of this shoot and I know my friend shall be just fine, and even better now that myself and Jenny are to give full advice on the matter as well as Sam Mia and I modelling for my friend, nothing can go wrong.

Well I must depart now and have a shower, ocean waterproof rainwear is not breathable and wearing them over coveralls makes one rather hot. So I shall end the blog today, and we have fish and chips cooking I better have a fast shower!

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

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Motoko & Jenny Carter

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It’s a bit chilly and frosty isn’t it

Cumbria has once again been flexing is muscles and showing us, along side Mother Nature who runs Cumbria. So Cumbria once again is now a cold, windy, and wild landscape and everything is chilly and covered in frosty jackets over the grass and trees and waters. It is so cold that in our bedroom when we breathe we can see our breath and one night this week our jug of night water, it wasn’t a lot of ice but enough to show how frightfully cold it has been of late. For this reason I and Jenny have been sleeping downstairs on the sofa bed which is in front of the fire, that way we can have a nice relaxing and warm night of wonderfully snug sleep. Now it is time though to see if it is going to last, the cold weather that is! Here is the weeks forecast.

My word it looks like this cold weather has swept in and is going to stay hanging around for a few days. Time to wear even warmer clothing under our coveralls and waterproofs, working in this cold weather seems to make work twice as hard. It slows down everything that we do, and everyone looks worn out and sleepy, and not just the staff, the horses also look a little fed up with this colder weather as well.

This morning was a full on mission to drag myself up from my bed when I and Jenny got a call from a staff member to say that some of the horses had managed to break out and a few were in the yard and some had wondered off into the horizon. Jenny hid her head into her pillow and looked at me though one sleepy eye and I knew all to well what that meant, and so I got up and chucked on some trousers and jumper. Slipped into my coveralls and then chucked on my 66N rainwear, and grabbed a torch and my bunch of keys for the yard and wondered on up to the yard. It was freezing cold, and the frost sparkled on the grass as my torch light shone upon it. The frost made a wonderful romantic crunching sound under my hunter boots, as I wondered up I wished I had put socks on as my feet were already starting to feel the cold. The night was very still, and the stars sat in the sky looking down at heaven on earth, and her name is Cumbria, such a clear I could see each sparkling spectacle so clearly.

It’s moments like this I really wish I had my wife at my side to enjoy it, but that was not to be, for she was a snug and warm vixen back in our den. I bet Amanda was also tucked up nice and warm in her bed and she prob had not even heard the phone go off, she is getting very confident now at home and is sleeping far better now than she has done since she has been living with us. She said it was because she is getting to know the staff, and the area, and also getting to know us even more and she feels so at ease around us and she can at last be her true self without feeling shy or timid. I think that is wonderful to hear and it made both Jenny and myself grin.

So here I am walking up the drive and all of a sudden in my touch light I spot a naughty pony munching the crisp frosty grass, so I charge in and it looked shocked at being chased by me and it ran back up to the yard, where then I managed to find a spare head collar and attach it to the pony before leading it into an empty stable. Well that was one of eight horses caught up, now for the rest of them. One staff member Anna was geared up and huggled outside her staff accommodation with an arm full of head collars, and upon seeing me, started swearing about the “F***i** horses” My younger sister then shuffled out looking half awake and was ready to lend a hand in the great horsey herd up ha ha as we all called it. We all got into the mule and drove to the field where the horses had broken though. They did a proper job on the fence I can tell you, they took out a good five meters of fence, which fixing in the dark with a shivering person holding the torch was worse than running after the frisky horses.

I would like to add that this was all kicking off at 04:00 when I got the phone call so I and everyone helping was not amused, not one bit amused. Becky is always prepared and had thought to make a flask of tea, so we all sat on the tail gate of the mule and drank tea before we tackled the horses. Once we finished our tea which was getting colder with each sip we took from the mugs, which were thermal mugs I hasten to add, we started to get the horses back. The swearing, yelling, laughing and shouting that ensued from that moment onwards was manic, and after two whole hours we managed to round up the horses, I and Anna lead them back in to the yard and Becky followed on behind the mule. We put them in the stables; shut them in, but before that we checked them over for any signs of being hurt. One we checked them over, we then had to go back out and fix up the fence in case the cows next door wondered on in.

Fence fixed, cows onside, horses in stable for the night, tea now fully ran out, it was time to wonder back to our bed. By this time it was 09:00, and I just wanted to curl up with Jenny and sleep. Once I got home Jenny was up and was making tea, so I arrived home at the right moment, I didn’t get back to bed but I did have a nice nap on the sofa. Now though I am teaching Amanda how to play Tommy Emmanuel’s song “I’ve Always Thought of You”, so I shall end the blog for today!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carter

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All Photographs Unless Otherwise Stated Are Taken And Owned By Us, And Are Not For Public Use.

I declare the Top Hoof Pony Test Track Open!

A very good afternoon to you all (I say afternoon, but now it’s evening!), and it’s been a cool and wet morning at work today, oh yes and it’s Jenny blogging for you all this afternoon. There is nothing better and coming home to a house filled with that fantastic smell of baking cakes, and that is what I and Motoko were greeted with as we arrived home. Amanda had been baking while I and Motoko were both at work, and she enlisted the help of our two friends Sam Mia and Moria who have been staying with us over the new year, and are still here today with us, though they are going home this evening. It always turns that out that it’s rare that Motoko and myself get the chance to have a Bank Holiday off, and it was rare that we only worked half of one today; it has worked out well though. As we get to spend the rest of our afternoon with our friends. Now with New Year over and so on I think we should reinstate our blogs weather forecast, so here it is!

Waterproofs are needed at work this in the next few days at work, from what I can tell from that weather forecast! I am so used to working outside in all weathers now that the weather doesn’t faze me like it used to when I was younger and working outside in all weathers and at all times of the year. I think I would go as far as to say that working outside in all the seasonal weather year in and year out has toughened me up. Motoko moans about the weather a lot and then always ends by saying “Well Cumbria will be Cumbria”, and Amanda makes no comment at all. Amanda regards the weather as one of the hazards of working outside! I remember when we handed her out work uniform and she looked at the ocean rainwear, and laughed and said “Expecting costal weather”. Day later when we were working in high winds and ice cold rain she waddled over to us and said “now I know why you have oil skin style waterproofs here!”. Still the rain and wind has not been as bad as it has been, so we should all be lucky we have not had major floods and things like that.

So down to the blog’s main subject then, now we have covered the topic of weather. The subject today is about the grand opening of our pony play off road carting track. Motoko and myself were stuck for a name to call it and Amanda came up with the name, and all three of us loved the name and so we have called it ‘Top Hoof Pony Test Track’, as that is the name Amanda came up for it. It’s a play on the Top Gear BBC TV ‘Top Gear Test Track’. We opened the track on 1st of January 2012, and Sam Mia and Moria where the first people to be able to have a cart ride around it and indeed have a go at searing the pony cart!

We have what we call the ‘Pony Play Field’ for years and we put up a proper static wooden twin stable block complete with tack room, then that is as far as we got with it. But in 2011 we really set about designing an off-road pony cart track so that we don’t have to go off-road cart in public areas anymore. We do pony cart to local farm shop and friends home and local pub now and then, but that is all the on-road carting that we do, and we have informed the local police of our activates to cover ourselves and we follow the highway code and everything we do is with-in the law. But we also used to pony cart off-road in a local wood, but after a polite warning from a very police local bobby we decided to turn our pony play field into an off-road pony cart track. But we were faced with a few questions before we started our project and they were, what did we want the track to be like and how were we going to do it.

The best way to plan this was to start with a few bullet points, and then work out from that what we wanted and how we wanted to do it. I and Motoko sat around the kitchen table with notepad, laptop, pens and plenty of tea and started to plan our track. This went on for a day days, with us making notes and doodling track layout designs and seeing how we could use the space we had to make a first class track. Amanda then started to show an interest in our project so then it ended up with all three of us sitting down and drinking tea and making notes, it really was turning out to be a very big project, and it was fantastic that Amanda wanted to help plan and design it. I would like to point out that this is all of our own ideas and work, and that our track is totally bespoke to us, and designed by us for our personal pony play wants and needs.

Below are a few things that we three wanted on the Top Hoof Pony Test Track!

• A long straight section of track that runs passed the stable block and tack room

• The whole track a part from a few sections shall be in good quality wood chippings and maybe have some added rubber blended in as well. There should be anti-weed mat under the wood chippings and the track should be able to drain well when it gets wet

• The track should be 3 meters wide throughout the whole course, this allows plenty of freedom while carting on the track, and also means that (should we need to) be able to have two carts on the same track at the same time

• There has to be a water splash to make things fun, so shall add two The water splashes will be build into the track and two different points and have high banks either side of the track

• A flat track will be a little dull, so using the soil we have taken away to lay the track, we can make a small hilly section

• There should be a small wooded area that we can cart though, this will break the scenery up and also provide a nice change of atmosphere

• Have a rugged and bouncy part of the track, so we will have a small part of the track filled with crushed and them compacted rubble / stone

• Solar powered lights around the edge of the track for the whole track

• Add solar panels to the stable and tack room roof to power a few outside lights in the evening

• Make everything wildlife safe and set up bird nest boxes, hedgehog homes, feeders for birds, wildlife area with long grass for the animals to frolic in

• Although our pony play field has a high hedge around it, put up post and rail fence on the inside of the hedge to give it added security

• Add extra security on the entrance gate, and to the stable and tack room door

• Install a wireless camera inside one of the stables to a port inside tack room so that a laptop can be used to view the camera

• Fit a washing area for the pony and the pony cart to one side of the stables or tack room

Everything that I have listed in the bullet point list we did indeed carryout and put into operation. So after we made the list we then had the task to measuring the field up correctly and then working out the size of the track and the shape of it, we knew that we wanted it to be 3 meters wide so it was just a matter of designing the shape of it and where we were going to place the water splashes and so on. The biggest task was working out where to plant the small woodland area of our track, but once again we sat down with graph paper and set to work planning it all out.

The whole grand design was planned out and then re-planned and re-planned again, each time we changed the design we thought of new things to add and also things that we could do with out and so removed them, We worked out how much soil we needed to remove to make the track, and how much chippings we would need to fill the track and how much chippings we needed overall. Also worked out elevation for the manmade hill that we planned out and worked out how the hill will look using only the soil we removed to make the track. Worked out the manmade hill so well we only needed to use the soil removed for the track, which was cost effective and eco-friendly. We then had to think about planning and legal side of building this massive project and so after we had the final design drawn up we hunted out advice and once all was approved we were able to get things underway!

Whole idea of this place is so provide a safe, and privet place to have some fantastic carting fun, and so because of this we also needed to have a place to relax and rest in, and so we planned and designed a small shelter with wooden table and chairs which was located to the side of the washing area. The shelter has sides and a back but no front so you can look out. This shelter though designed by us was going to be built by a company that built timber homes and that kind of thing, and in fact they built our tack room and stable block in our pony play field, a few years ago. The washing bay was the first thing to be built and I, Motoko and Sam Mia built it ourselves one weekend. Then the shelter was the second item to be built and once it was up we could then start on the rest of the project. Below is a picture of ‘The Pony Yard’ area of our super Top Hoof Pony Test Track!

As you can see it’s a nicely thought-out and compact little set up we have going, and it’s designed to be like a real mini equine yard. We even made an inclosure fenced around with post and rail fencing with electric fence on the top to keep the pony girl (that’s Motoko) from climbing out! The Pony Yard is along side the left-hand-side of the field’s perimeter hedge and is in middle (if you standing at the fields entrance looking to the bottom of the field).

• The Shelter: Here you can relax and enjoy a drink; it has back and side walls with an open front so you can look out across the pony cart track and half of the pony yard inclosure. There is custom wooden seats and table (which can’t be moved) and a built in BBQ which is of a good size with a chimney. There is a clear plastic roof to this shelter.

• Stable 1: This is my pony’s stable, and has a built in single sized wooden bed. It also has a mirror and a light and has a wooden floor with rubber matting to cover the wood. Then on top of the robber matting there is a good covering of straw. There is also a corner table as well, and a small metal sink in the other corner. This stable has two safety glass windows. There is also a small camera in this stable so you can plug a laptop into the camera cable which ends in the tack room and watch my pony without being there in person, this is handy

• Stable 2: This stable is almost the same as ‘Stable 1’ but it has no built in bed and no metal sink; it also only has one safety glass window

• Tack Room: This is home to Motoko’s hand made bespoke pony cart and I must say that it’s a stunning cart and we really did put a lot of thought into it. There is not another cart like it in the world I can assure you of that. Also in this room there are a few hooks to hang items of pony play tack like bridles and so on and bits of tack for carting and spare things. Also a few wooden chests to house bits and bobs and pony play harnesses and the like. Also a good work top with a sink which can also have hot water. Access to this room is though the wash area. I also have a coverall and some wellies kept here and waterproofs and a few other items of clothing

• Wash Area: Wash area is such a handy place to hose down the pony and the cart after a good carting session. There is an overhead hose and a normal ground level hose. The flooring is concrete but is covered up with non-slip rubber matting that is been bolted down to the floor. There is one side wall and back wall and the other side is the front of the tack room and entrance to the wash area is open fronted. There is a clear slanted roof to the wash area

• The Pony Yard Inclosure: This makes the yard all-in-one and a post and rain fence stats from the shelter runs down to the track, then along the track and ends by the wash area. So it really seals the yard up. To enter the yard at all you must go though a gate in the inclosure fence from the pony cart track. Along the post and rail fence on the top is two strands of electric fence, which is linked to the fencer unit in the tack room, this is to keep the pony in

That is the pony yard over and done with; it’s now to talk about that fantastic track! I thought it would be easier to talk over the track in yet again more bullet and number points. So below is a picture diagram of the layout of our track, the order of the numbers indicates the direction you start the track, though you can do it the other way. The green boarder is the field’s perimeter hedge.

1. The Start / Long Straight – | Surface: Wood Chippings – : So as the section name suggests this is indeed the start of the track, it’s a really nice long straight so you can get a really good speed up, this leads into the manmade hill

2. The Manmade Hill – The Red Zone Area – | Surface: Wood Chippings – : From all the soil we removed to make the track we formed our own little wonderful hill, you have to run up it and then it levels out before dropping rather step with a twist at the end, this leads into the tracks first water splash

3. The Gravelled area 1 – | Surface: Compacted rubble and stones – Gray Zone Area – : This gave the cart and pony a chance to get a grip right after the small hill section, and leads to the water splash and then finished right by the first wooded area. This surface gives the pony and card super grip

4. The Water Splash 1 – | Surface – Muddy Water – Blue Zone Area – : Muddy Water – : We wanted a water splash in the section as it would be fantastic run wiz down the hill then the gravelled area and then run straight though the water, it would be dramatic and fun, we were right. Driving the cart though the water splash after coming down the hill is just fantastic fun, and it sounds great as well as the cart hammers though the water

5. The Wooded Area 1 – The Orchard 1 – Green Zone Area – | Surface: Wood Chippings – : We planted a range of apple trees around the track to make the track more interesting, and indeed we can pick the fruit

6. The Gravelled area 2 – | Surface: Compacted rubble and stones – Gray Zone Area – : After rushing though the wooded orchard area, we thought we would add another gravelled area to really get some good grip up and speed as well, so when you reach the next area which is a water splash it will make the splash more fun

7. The Water Splash 2 – | Surface – Muddy Water – Blue Zone Area – : Another fun water splash, we wanted two water splashes and this is the larger one of the two

8. The Wooded Area 2 – The Orchard 1 – Green Zone Area – | Surface: Wood Chippings – : We planted another area with a good range of apple trees around the track to make the track more interesting, and indeed we can pick the fruit

Well now this really sums up all the information and goings on to do with the Top Hoof Pony Test Track! Now I must relax and then finish off the washing before we all wonder off to bed. I think everyone today is feeling most sleepy and worn out, so I shall end the blog for now.

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carter

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All Photographs Unless Otherwise Stated Are Taken And Owned By Us, And Are Not For Public Use.

Happy New Year From The Cumbrianvixens =^.^=

A very good evening to you all, It’s Jenny blogging for you all today, and this is going to be a really short blog as it’s new years evening and we have Sam Mia and Moria over for new year, and they are staying the night, yay!

This year has had its good and bad points, and I suppose you can say that about every year we live. Though it’s not every wear which we adopt a young girl either, or undertake a huge project like turning a riding school into an equine trekking Centre either.

This year really has been magical for me and Motoko, and we are both keep to let 2012 of the lead and let it run wild. Adopting Amanda on 4th April of this year (2011) was the highlight of 2011 for myself and Motoko, and we will always look back on that and remember that on that day even more happiness was brought into our lives.

I, Motoko, Amanda and indeed Sam Mia and Moria wish you all a very happy new year and hope that 2012 shall be fruitful, productive and full of happy memories.

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon in the new year, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carter

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All Photographs Unless Otherwise Stated Are Taken And Owned By Us, And Are Not For Public Use.

Happy Christmas From The Cumbrian Vixens =^.^=

Hello and a very good evening to you all. This evening it is I Motoko blogging for you all this evening, and for once this blog is not going to have a weather forecast, for this is just a short Christmas blog, a short update for everyone who reads.

Well Amanda is super excited about having her first Christmas with us, and I can assure you that I and Jenny are just as excited as she is about the whole thing. Amanda has a stocking which she says has not been used for many-a-year and so I and Jenny think it’s about time that it was put to good use. So I and jenny have put a gift from each of us into the stocking, now that was the easy party. The hard part was sneaking into her bedroom without making any of the bells ring. But some how I managed and she is none the wiser for the sneaky intrusion!

I and Jenny would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a brilliant new year. I hope tomorrow is full of enjoyment and happiness for you all.

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carter

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All Photographs Unless Otherwise Stated Are Taken And Owned By Us, And Are Not For Public Use.

Enter, the Christmas tree

A very good evening to you all and tonight it is me, Motoko blogging! Isn’t it cold out in our little corner of the wonderful land that is Cumbria? Sleet, icy cold rain and strong winds are what we have all been subjected to of late. But will this weather carry on? Well let’s see what the weather shall be like for the week ahead shall we?

Well now it looks as if this cold, frosty and wet weather is here to stay with us for a while, but I think you know that we shall have to just carry on like we always do, and face each day and its weather as it comes. Just wear warm clothing and soldier on, and we shall be ok. I and Jenny have stocked up on plenty of logs for the wire to warm out house and hot water, and we are now sleeping mostly in front of the fire now that winter has well and truly arrived. It may be cold but you know I find this season full of great romantic moments and for this reason I really do love winter. There is nothing better than cuddling up to my wife Jenny under a warm blanket in front of the log fire and have Jenny read to me for a while. With only the sounds filling the room is that of the fire, the harsh weather hammering the windows, the sound of Jenny turning the pages in her book, and her enchanting voice as she reads to me.

The date 15th December 2005 is a most important date for I and Jenny for this date is the day that we entered into our civil-partnership. Regardless whether people regard it as a marriage or not, I and Jenny do regard it as a marriage, and we shall continue to do so. So we call it wedding anniversary, not a civil-partnership anniversary, and as you have guessed 15th December is our wedding anniversary. Both I and Jenny worked on our wedding anniversary this year, as we do as a rule each and every year. Amanda made a fantastic cake for our wedding anniversary and sad to say that after all three of us had a third helping of cake each, the cake has now gone. She also gave us a wonderful homemade card which I and Jenny will treasure for ever and ever. I and Jenny gave each other a card and a small gift each, I reserved from Jenny some more Tibetan incense sticks and I gave Jenny more bees wax candles. Our Friend Moria gave is some homemade blocks of Lavender, which seems divine. We have put the lavender blocks in the wardrobe and chest of draws.

To celebrate our wedding anniversary this year, today I, Jenny and Amanda went off to buy a Christmas tree today, and we have brought but a fantastic tree. It was a little to high to fit into our home so after carefully trimming the tree it now stands call and proud in the corner of the living room. We spend the afternoon putting the Christmas decorations and Christmas lights onto the tree. The last thing to add to really finish the tree off was the Silver Star that I and Jenny made together the very first Christmas we spent together, we always put the star on together and this year was no different. All that was ended to be done to bring this tree to life was to turn on the Christmas lights, this honour was Amanda’s and counting down from five she switched them on. Taking a few steps back to view the tree, and we all agreed that we did a very good job decorating the tree, and we all went to make a cuppa after all our hard work.

This year I know that Christmas going to be very festive and full of many happy moment, and this is the first Christmas that I and Jenny are going to have with Amanda, so this makes Christmas this year even more festive and fantastic than ever. We have asked Amanda what she would like for Christmas and she replied “I have already had my Christmas present for this year and for every Christmas after that there after”. Jenny asked her what that was and Amanda looked at me and Jenny and replied “You are my Christmas present”. She then gave us a great big hug each and then snuggled down into what she calls “her chair” and started to read. We respect Amanda’s wishes but I and Jenny have brought Amanda one small present each and a joint big present. Was hard to get the big present past Amanda without her seeing what it was, Ritsuko was roped into helping with this as Jenny was still at work. Ritsuko bounced into our home and pounced onto Amanda and then sat on her. While this was going on, I rushed up stairs and popped Amanda’s present into mine and Jenny’s wardrobe. Once the gift was hidden away, I came down stairs to find that Amanda was sitting on top of Ritsuko!

Having friends over is always fantastic for us and tonight Sam Mia and her wife Moria are here, they have brought videogames and mulled wine so they re more welcome than normal! Oh I really do love mulled wine; there is nothing better than a warm glass of mulled wine after a hard working winter’s day. Our friends are going to stay the night as well, which is nice and that also means we get help with the washing up *grins*. They are in the bathroom at the moment which is why I am able to type this blog as at the moment we are getting a few drinks and snacks together for the evening while our guests are having a shower. Plan watching a few 007 James Bond films and then play a few videogames, which shall be fun I am sure. An early night though may be had for all as everyone seems to be worn out, and Moria unlike the rest of us has been working very hard today.

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carter

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Amanda Carter The Super Vixen and her first Christmas

A very good evening to you all, tonight its Jenny blogging again for you all tonight as Motoko has been doing a lot of the blogs of late, not including the blog before this one. So I feel that I should blog a little bit more to make up for the lack of posts I have done, but as always before the blog starts, lets check out the weather for our little part of Cumbria. This week so far has been 45MPH winds, driving rain and dark.

Well now this is a surprise and if we are to believe the weather forecast it’s only going to be cold and frosty and a lot less rain. If this is true it shall be a very welcome rest bite from all the harsh wet weather we have been subjected to over the last few days. Working on the yard in full 66N waterproofs or Ocean waterproofs is not what I would call enjoyable when out in strong wind driven rain that sings the face and rain so cold that it numbs you to the bone. Last night the weather was so bad that the roof was rattling and the windows shock. I and Motoko are sleeping in the living area of our home on the sofa bed at the moment as that is the room with the fire, and Amanda’s bedroom is joined onto the living area. She opened her door last night to say goodnight to myself and Motoko when she saw that water was flooding though the sand bag defence we had put up by the front door. All three of us spring into action and armed ourselves with a broom each and wellington boots and started brushing all the water out of our house via our homes back door. I was worried about Motoko doing all of this as she has been off work with her old knee problem, but she seems ok for it, though her knee tonight is a lot more sore than it was this morning. We managed to get the water clear and reinforce our sand bag defence and got to bed at about 03:00 this morning so all three of us are totally zonked out, and tomorrow shall be a lay-in for everyone.

Now then as the blogs title hints, this year is the first year that I, Motoko and Amanda shall be celebrating Christmas together as a family. I still can’t believe it, and I and Motoko are just as hyper and excited about it as Amanda is. Seeing the look in her eyes as we talk about Christmas and what we re going to do, and the food we are going to have is just magical and for once I and Motoko really are looking forward to Christmas. You see as a rule, we work Christmas morning and have done for a long time now. Motoko gets up more early than normal and brings me up a cuppa and a mince pie and she wishes me a Happy Christmas. We then open one present each and then have a hearty porridge breakfast and then head on out to the yard. Before we go we cram the food into the Rayburn until it take any more, and that slow cooks while we are at work. We come home in the early afternoon and set the table, and enjoy the festive meal and then sleep. We then open our Christmas presents and then sit and read and enjoy mulled wine or a glass of port each. Watch the log fire and have a romantic evening indoors while the crisp and cruel weather of winter blows and howls around our house. But this year is going to be very different, very different indeed.

We have arranged that some of our other staff members will do Christmas morning and Christmas evening this year, which is a lot to ask but they seemed happy to do it. Motoko’s younger sister Becky and Anna doing Christmas Morning and Tesia and Ritsuko are going to do the Christmas evening. So that means we have no work to do on Christmas day so we can have the whole day with our fantastic daughter Amanda. The whole day is going to be about her, and really bringing her into our family. Motoko, I and Amanda all waddled off to the local farm shop and spend two whole hours looking though the festive meats and treats they stocked, we all went for a traditional turkey. Amanda hasn’t had turkey in many years and so turkey it was; a decision which was loved by all. Have also asked our friend Moria if she could make our Christmas cake this year as my Christmas cake last year as fantastic, if you could get though the icing! Moria and Amanda sat in Sam Mia’s and Moria’s kitchen planning the cake, the cake design is a closely guarded secrete and Moria or Amanda are spilling the beans and telling us what it is going to be. But rest assured that what ever style of cake it is, it’s going to be fantastic as Moria is a fantastic master of baking cakes. Today we have baked mince pies and we have been very greedy and ate most of what we have baked, so we need to bake some more tomorrow! Today we have also been writing cards and I can’t stop smiling as I write each one as they all end in “love from Jenny, Motoko and Amanda”. Wrapping gifts also came into play today and Motoko this year chose the wrapping paper, we take it in turns each year to choose and this year she opted what she says is “Super Funky Reindeer!” Soon we are all going to go and pick a Christmas tree as well, which shall be good fun. All in all I really can’t wait fro Christmas this year as I know it’s going to be fantastic. Amanda really has been the missing part of me and Motoko’s lives.

Motoko today has been more productive than normal, considering the late night we all had and the fact that she is in a great deal of pain at the moment. She has been busy writing out a few Christmas songs for Amanda to learn how to play. Amanda has not learnt the piano by having lesions; instead she has self taught herself. So Motoko write out some very well known Christmas songs but noted them to be simple and easy to learn. She spent a whole morning doing this with Amanda. The end result is most pleasing and Motoko is pleased with her handy work, she used to composing music though not writing out Christmas tunes!

Also today was catsuitfriday, and today even though we all felt half awake we all took part. Well not all as Motoko opted out as she though that a tight catsuit would hurt her knee, and she thought it was better to be safe than sorry. Which I think is very wise of her as if she hurts her knee when it’s in its current stage it will set her back even longer in healing time.

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carter

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All Photographs Unless Otherwise Stated Are Taken And Owned By Us, And Are Not For Public Use.

So why do I call my wife Motoko “Moo”? Another Cumbrianvixen blog!

A very fine evening to you all, for tonight’s blog it’s me Jenny and looking back it’s been Motoko blogging of late so I think that it is only fair that it’s mine to now to blog. Cumbria is back to its old self with wind and rain dominating most of the weather of late, but will it last? Let’s check out the forecast for our little corner of Cumbria shall we, with our much loved Cumbrianvixens weather forecast!

Well the weather forecast could have been far worse I suppose, at lest it is not going to rain everyday. It has been so wet of late that we have once again placed sand bags inside and outside of the front door and back door of our home to stop the water. The water runs though the yard and down the yards driveway of which our home is built next to, so the flood water flows down the drive and straight into our home. This as you can guess creates a lot of very hard work and to prevent as much flood damage as we can we defend our home with sand bags. It’s very lucky that we have a stone floor throughout our home so at lest we don’t get ruined carpets, and the rugs can hang to dry. I think that is enough moaning about the weather though now don’t you!

I have been asked many times online “Why do you call Motoko ‘Moo?’” Well there is a very simple reason as to why, and I am only to happy to tell you the reason. When I and Motoko started dating I had no understand of the Japanese language or indeed know anything really very much about Japan or the Japanese people. I and Motoko spoke broken English to each other a lot to start with as her English was poor and my Japanese was nonexistent, and I always had trouble pronouncing her name out loud. I always used to pronounce her name “mow-ta-ko”, she never minded this though I used to get a not of raised eyebrows from her now and then. One day were out for a walk and we stopped to have lunch and we sat and watched a heard of cows. While we ate our lunch some of the braver cows slowly wondered up to either ask for one of our sandwiches or just to be nosy, I offered a cow a bite of my sandwich which it declined and so I leaned forward and when “Moooo” to the cow. The cow was less than impressed with my understanding of its cow language and it wondered off. How ever when I did say “Moooo” Motoko instantly turned to me and said “hai?” which is the word ‘Yes’ in Japanese. After I stopped laughing which also scared off the other cows that had been creeping in, I decided that my pronunciation “mow-ta-ko”, sort of sounded like “moo” so right there and then I told her “I’m going to call you ‘Moo’ from now own, you respond to that and I can pronounce it!” to which she looked at me and shrugged and replied “oke”. So that is the long story of why I call Motoko ‘Moo’. I can pronounce her name now but I use ‘Moo’ far more, and only tend to use her name if we are having an argument or if I need to get her attention fast.

One of the most romantic thing I enjoy doing with my fantastic wife Motoko is to sit down in front of our log fire on the sofa bed that’s folded down with a blanket and a warm glass or red wine or a hot mug of rich and creamy cocoa and read. We can be reading to ourselves or we can read to teach other, reading to each other is something that we have always done and will continue to do. I read more to Motoko than Motoko reads to me though if I am honest, and that is only because sometimes she finds it hard to read English out loud for a long period of time. But when she reads to me I love her voice which still has plenty of Japanese undertones and accent even for a Eurasian (well she’s half Japanese and half Canadian but she says she Eurasian he he). Her wonderful voice captures me and I could go on listening to her read to me all evening, I enjoy it that much. When she gets tired though her reading slows and she outs down the book and apologises for having to stop, and always ends with a cuddle. I used to read to Motoko every time she came to Cumbria when she got time off, she flew to England, arrived in Cumbria and straight after a hot soak in the bath she would seek me out with a book printed in England and asked me to read to her, of which I was and still am always happy to do. She sits in front of me focusing on me and giving me her undivided attention, and when I stop reading to her she always says thank you, and as I said before she gives me a super cuddle.

Our daughter Amanda has also ordered a Libidex catsuit, it’s their ‘Duchess’ style of catsuit and it arrived and I have to admit that it looks fantastic. She has had her eye on this type of catsuit from Libidex for a long time and had been saving up for a long time to get it and at the moment came where she could at last buy it. It’s nice that she purchased it from Libidex as I and Motoko only buy out rubber and latex from them. Their craftsmanship is unmatched in our opinion and their range is very extensive.

They are good and building catsuits and have the seams in the right places unlike some that has a seam running though the middle-front of the garment for example. Amanda’s catsuit is back with red seams and is using it as part of her costume design idea she has for our staff Christmas party we are holding this year. She plans to go as a sci-fi Kunoichi, which is a female Ninja. The catsuit fits her costume idea well, it really looks a great sci-fi catsuit and it fits her very well, and looks great on her.

Amanda also ordered an open faced hood, also from Libidex to complete her costume idea; this makes her the out of all three of us, the only one who owns a rubber hood! Hood is as I have said is open faced but has covers the chin as well, and like the catsuit it’s well made and fits her ever so well. Also like the catsuit the hood has a back zip to get in and out of the hood and has a hair guard so you don’t get your hair caught as you zip or unzip the hood. It’s also plain black and no coloured seams.

Our Daughters catsuit is really just the same as my Libidex ‘Princess’ catsuit, which Motoko brought me this year, and which I really enjoy. I and Motoko shall be wearing out catsuits to the staff Christmas party as well, though that depends on how cold that it is going to get from now on, but that shouldn’t stop us, we hope!

Motoko, due to the fact that she was leading the yard first week long trek last week, had Monday and Tuesday off work. I also gave Sam Mia the same two days off work as well as she was Motoko’s trek leaders assistant for the trek. The trek as a whole went very well indeed and was enjoyed the staff (Motoko and Sam Mia) and by the customers as well, even though the weather was bitter, wet and very windy. Motoko really needed the time off (as did Sam Mia by the sound of it) and Motoko was what she called ‘Hibernating’ for a lot of her time off. Though for Monday she must have managed to pluck enough energy to arrange a get-together with a few of our friends in the evening. My wife is a massive fan of a Japanese singer, composer and performer called Tsukiko Amano; in fact my Motoko has met Tsukiko Amano twice, and has all but one of her CDs! Monday night was a Tsukiko Amano night, and Motoko was setting up microphones and lots of other musical bits and bobs while I take-away was being ordered. Our good friend Ritsuko (who we call ‘Neko’ which is Japanese for cat, and is one of Motoko’s oldest Japanese friends who is working for us on our yard and has been for a few years now) arrived with more drums and cymbals to add to my already father full drum-kit. Ritsuko is a fantastic bass guitar player and drummer and that night she was being the drummer. By the time everything was set up the living room was packed with people and musical instruments and kit, and I would have joined in but arm was hurting.
The whole evening kicked off when Motoko came down from bedroom wearing knee high combat boots with red laces, black jeans with thick leather belt, and short t-shirt which showed off her belly button piercing. She had on a few wrist bands as well and a small think collar, picked up her guitar, and Ritsuko counted everyone in by beating her drum sticks together and counting everyone in, in Japanese. The music started and didn’t finish till 1AM the next morning! The assembled company included the following;

• Motoko: Lead Singer and Rhythm Guitarist (She always plays Rhythm when she is playing Tsukiko Amano music)
• Ritsuko: Drums
• Sarah: Second Singer and Lead Guitarist
• Mel: Keyboards and computer backing music (Had to have computer pay bass guitar line as Ritsuko was playing the drums and she normally plays the bass guitar. As a rule I always play the drums allowing Ritsuko to play the bass.)

Once they had all stopped playing they put on some CD music, which was also Japanese. The music was from anime and videogames, of which I enjoy, though I and Amanda at this point had gone up to mine and Motoko’s bedroom as we both felt very worn out after working a busy full day. Amanda slept in mine and Motoko’s bedroom as it was no loud for Amanda to get any form of sleep in her room downstairs at that time due to Motoko’s get-together. Motoko at last joined us for bed at about 2AM and then slept most of the day, which I am not surprised. Motoko signs very well indeed and you can really hear that Japanese accent when she does, and of course she sings in Japanese! I can sit and listen to my good wife Motoko sing and play for hours.

Well this is the end of the blog for tonight, it has taken a while to type out in-between doing one or two other small jobs around house. It’s time now to enjoy a cuppa and a few biscuits with my fantastic wife Motoko and my brilliant daughter Amanda.

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carter

Our Online Gaming Playstaion 3 ID

All Photographs Unless Otherwise Stated Are Taken And Owned By Us, And Are Not For Public Use.

A total day of full relaxation *munches pocky, sips green tea*

Afternoon everyone *waves*, and this afternoon it’s Motoko blogging today, and it’s been a good morning and afternoon so far. Weather has been a bit dark, foggy and rainy, as well as very cold today I must say. So shall we see if it’s going to carry on? Let’s check out the weather forecast for our corner of Cumbria shall be now?

Now then it looks like this weather has set in for a while, and well at lest it is not snowing as of yet, but I am sure if we let it snow I shall yes? For now I am glad there is now snow, but you know, I am not to happy about all this rain either though. This means that work shall be tough for a while and turn out of the horses shall be monitored very carful from now on, as we don’t want to ruin the remaining grass. Our home as you know floods very bad with enough rain so I hope that the additional sand bags I have defended our front and back door with this morning do the trick. We also have now a broom, well two brooms in the porch ready to fight any floor water head on that may break though our defences, but it’s hard work I can tell you.

Today I have had off work and I am also off work tomorrow, and this is because I was leading a week long trek with Sam Mia, which went very well indeed and all the customers said that they had a really fantastic time which is good news! So as you can imagine I was rather worn out so Jenny gave I and Sam Mia a few extra days off work to recover. The few days off are as you can guess most welcome and today I have done nothing what so ever that can be called productive. Morning started off most lazy indeed and sat around house having a nice warm bowl of porridge in my underwear sitting in front of the fire. Then I sat down after I at last got dressed and finished off designing our daughters Christmas present from Jenny and myself. I know that Amanda is going to love it!

It’s been a bit of a “back To Your Roots” day for me, full of Japanese snacks, music, videos and speech. It’s nice to just not worry about my English and just speak in my natural language and play music in my natural language. I don’t dislike talking English but sometimes I find it hard when I am this worn out, and sometimes I find it hard to understand English speaking songs too when I am worn out. It has been nice to sit and watch anime and drink green tea from a can. Another Japanese snack I enjoy is called Koara No Marchi Choco, which are chocolate flavoured koala bear snacks. They have to be my all time favourite snacks next to pocky or green tea cake!

Been watching two of some my all time favourite anime shows, and they are Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex, an Haruhi Suzumiya. Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex was the main reason why I changed my named to Motoko, long story around that, but that is why I renamed myself to Motoko. It has a fantastic well written story as well, and is very deep and very engaging, the characters are also well planned out and each has their own deep background and small story behind them. I have all three films as well which are just as amazing as the anime shows. All the characters develop along the story as does the story around them and the setting which the story is set. It’s also very action packs and full of amazing fight scenes.

As for Haruhi Suzumiya, it’s so hyperactive and just funky that it can never fail to make me smile. It’s also slightly perverted on a very low non treating way, which I also what I really enjoy about it. It’s entraining and is light relief, it’s really a bit of stupidity to make people feel happy, and it really makes me smile. This anime is also full of school girls and bunny costumes, so what is there not to like about it!

Well I must end the blog for now as I have other things to do, I shall leave with you some awesome Tsukiko Amano live music.

That is all about it for the blog this evening but We shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carterr

Our Online Gaming Playstaion 3 ID

All Photographs Unless Otherwise Stated Are Taken And Owned By Us, And Are Not For Public Use.

Krin Drog Dovahkiin

Krill dovah krait do keizaal, welcome to my blog! Today it is the krilot, krin dovah kriid dovahkiin Motoko do keizaal! Yes that’s right I have been speaking in the language of dragons, but I shall try and keep to English, as my English can be bad enough sometimes, even worse when I am sleepy from a hard days work. As with every blog that I and my brit (dragon for beautiful) wife do, here is the local weather forecast for the next few days. So far the weather has been foggy and very wet.

Oh the weather looks very wet to say the lest, this means it’s time to place sand backs in and out of the house by the front door to defend our home from the worst of the rain. It’s a hard to job to get flood water out of our home, and it’s always all hands to the brooms. Which to us means we have to sweep the water that arrived though the front door; back out though the back door. This can take up to thirty minutes to a whole afternoon, I am just glad that we have a stone floor, water can’t hurt that.

But enough of the weather, it’s time to open the doors to a snowy and mountainous region called keizaal (which means Skyrim). Yes that’s right I and my good wife Jenny and our daughter Amanda have as last got our vixen paws on The Elder Scrolls Skyrim, and my word what a stunning, most engaging game it is. From the moment we started the game we were blown away by how fantastic the game looked, felt and played, from the smallest leave to the biggest mountain, everything looks stunning and really pulls you into the rugged bron (Nord) landscape. Right from the moment you see the firs dragon arrive you know how the game is going to turn out, and although you can’t engage this dragon at that point in the start of the game the massive scale of the dragon was so impressive and we know they would be a challenge each and every time we got to engage on in a battle.

We all got different copies of the game and I must say that I do like the PC version better, but I really do enjoy playing the PS3 version as well both have good and bad points though the bad points do not ruin the game in any way shape or form. I for one am playing a play-though on both PS3 and PC with different characters, and by doing this I really can see the radiant story at work, as I have been to different locations on PS3 and PC for the same quest, as you can guess I was so happy that radiant story works as well as Todd Howard said t would. I must say that Todd Howard and his team and produced such a inspiring and wonderfully crafted game, really is fantastic. We can see us playing this for years to come; it’s just that engaging to play.

Combat is a big part of The Elder Scrolls and Skyrim is no different, and I am really impressed with how they have handled it and improved it to such a point where it fees as if you’re really swinging that sword or pulling back the strong of hunting bow. Walking up to a small keep I spotted a bandit archer, so I took him out with a stealthy shot with my bow, someone heard my dispatched foe fall and land in the river below, the strong current of the water carried him away. Before I knew it I was swarmed by armed bandits all wanting to put me into an early grave. Stealthy approach now was the last thing I wanted to do, so I equipped a sword in my right hand and a healing spell in my left had, and rushed at the keep. The first bandit lunged at me but I swung my sword and with luck that activated a well animated kill, and I watched as my character plunged y sword into his chest before pulling it put and slashing his throat open, he span around and tumbled down to the floor. An orc with an axe is not the kind of person who will be easily persuaded to stand down, as she swung at me he took a load of my health, I bashing him and he staged back. I run up the steps of the keep while casting heal with my other hand, now I had full health again and I plunged my sword into the orc, two well aimed slashes and he fell dead. I was now outside on a bridge, with multiple bandits now rushing towards me. Rushing at them I was lucky enough to be rewarded with another animated kill sequence and my foe fell from the bridge and like the one that fell before him, he was carried off by the current of the river below. There was too many to deal with and so with a thu’um (a dragon shot) I sent them all to an early grave, all the bandits laid dead and I looted their gold. Though my surround sound speakers I heard a tremendous bellow behind me, I span around and a dragon was hovering right behind me. Equipping my bow I was ready to engage him.

So that was a little tease of the combat, and how in a short space of time you can mix and match the weapons and spells you need in an instant so you can deal with any given situation as you see best to tackle it. Now after a battle there is nothing like a nice relaxing walk home, and so that’s just what I did. The world is a live with people farming, hunting, smiting, crafting, you name it they are doing it. Walking up to people in Skyrim is so much better than in the last Elder Scroll game. For one you are not forced to stare at their face when you start to talk to them, once you ask them something you can walking around and look else where. If you stroll to far away they will just stop talking to you, if your talking to a person at a farm and they working hard, when you talk to them may just keeping looking at their work when they talk to you. Others may stop and have a fuller conversation with you. Hearing people talk in a town is also vastly improved with more voice actors at work than ever before in an Elder Scrolls game, and really is a pleasure to hear, the better voice acting the bigger voice acting cast really makes the world come alive and makes you feel as if your there. If you walking around in underwear the towns men and women will make comments such as “Its going to be a cold night, you may want to cover up your . . delicates” which made everyone laugh, even a child running around said “your naked!”.

Everyone needs a home a place where they can call their own, and like in other Elder Scrolls games, you can get a home. You can only own homes in five of the holds but I think owning five homes is more than enough. It would have been nice to own a home in Dawnstar but we can’t have everything. Our friend Sam Mia likes Dawnstar as it reminds her of her birth place in northern Iceland! Home owning in Skyrim has been taken a step further than owning a home in The Elder Scrolls Oblivion, and is a lot more engaging and immersive than before. For one you can use the bookshelves to store books, you simply have to activate it and then click on the books in your inventory and then after you have performed this action the books show up on the bookshelf. Some can store more than others, and it’s a great way of displaying and storing all the books and skill books you can brought, found or stolen! There is an alchemy room you can purchase as well so you can make potions to your hearts content with our having to travel else where to do this. It’s always been something I wanted to do in Oblivion but couldn’t where I wanted to store weapons but have them displayed, and at last my wish has at last come true. You now have weapon racks in your home where you can store or display weapons in your home, it’s always good to have a weapon handy isn’t it so why not store them where you can reach it when you need it. If you are married (yes you can get married in this game, regardless of sex, age or race) your partner can move in with you, cook you dinner and set up store. If you sleep next to your partner you also get a bonus as well.

Wildlife in Skyrim has also been greatly revamped and improved from The Elder Scrolls Oblivion, and that like all the other improvements draws you more into the game. Seems to me as if the animals now has a greatly improved AI system, as bears can hunt other wild animals and wolves can also hunt other animals. I have seen a pack of wolves hunt and kill a mountain goat before spotting me and then turning to attack me. The wolves are so much better looking now and have different colours of coat depending on the area where they are living, same for bears as well. Insects now play a part in the world of Skyrim as well, from small glow bugs to butterflies they are all in the world of Skyrim. You can also find insects that you can’t interact with like ants running over a small fallen tree, small details like this really show the level of detail the game developers were aiming fore. Not every animal wishes to attack you such as chickens, highland cattle and even bears will warn you off before they engage you in a battle. Birds now fill the skies of Skyrim and I am not sure if you can interact with them, they do fly over head and cast shadows on the ground as they fly. Fans of The Elder Scrolls will be pleased that Mud Crabs make a return as well!

The quests and missions you are given be it story driven main quest or a side quest or a radiant mission they all feel well though out and planned out. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between radiant story and a scripted quest. As I have said before in my blog so far that I and Jenny have only spotted that something was powered via radiant story when we did the same quests on the PC and then on the PS3. It sent us to different locations but with the same objective. It also had different loots and bandits as well, which goes to show radiant story working in all its glory. The main quest feels like it flows very well and is a really engaging story, I’m not going to spoil anything here but I will say that if you are thinking about getting this game you shall not be disappointed. Of course there are side quests, and infinite radiant story quests, guild quests and other assorted quests to keep you amused for months and months. The guilds are different in the way they work from The Elder Scrolls Oblivion and each hold has it’s own guild, for example the companions are the “fighters Guild” of Skyrim and they are only in Whiterun. The guides also have and infinite radiant story quests, so once again these should keep you busy for hours, and hours.

Skyrim the collectors edition for they PS3 is my version which I have and my good wife Jenny has the PC version, Amanda our daughter has PC version. Each version plays very well, very well indeed. The PS3 can lag ever so slightly but nothing that as stopped game play or ruined the game enjoyment. The PC Version runs very well on the set up that I have. It runs on ultra very well, and the world looks fantastic and better than the consoles do. But that is because it’s running on a powerful PC, the PS3 version looks great as well so don’t worry about getting it for a console. Of course PC version can be modded and run of a higher setting, but this should not sway you. Many people wonder if an Xbox 360 controller will work the with PC version and although we don’t own an Xbox 360 the back of the box states that it can work with one. Remember you need to have a steam account in order to activate the PC version, but you don’t of you are running it on a console.

To celebrate the launch of The Elder Scrolls Skyrim, I and Jenny, and our daughter Amanda, all went over to our friends home. Sam Mia and Moria also had their copy arrive as well so we had an 11/11/11 Skyrim party, full of snacks made by Amanda. A great Icelandic pie cooked by Sam Mai and an awesome pudding by Moria. It was a warm and welcoming party and we spent two nights there at our friend’s home.

It’s always nice to spend time with friends and the ones you love. We played a lot of Skyrim and in-between that we had a run each morning. Sadly I and Jenny and Sam Mia had hockey team practice that Friday or we would have been lunching into the world of Skyrim long before that. But Moria had work so we would have felt bad if we started to play it with out her, so maybe it was just as well we didn’t have Friday morning free to play Skyrim!

Well that is it for my Skyrim blog; I am most worn out after a busy and very wet day at work, and my English is starting to get rather poor.

I need to have a nice relaxing sit on the sofa before dinner and then I think an early night is in for the order. I wish you all a very good evening. Below is a picture of Jenny resting her feet upon the Skyrim box!

That is all about it for the blog this evening but we shall blog again real soon, so take care!

Click the banner to learn about our wonderful paradise in England, which Is Cumbria.

As always we are supporting the RNLI, click the banner below to find out what the RNLI is all about and what do can do to help and support them.

Motoko & Jenny Carterr

Our Online Gaming Playstaion 3 ID

All Photographs Unless Otherwise Stated Are Taken And Owned By Us, And Are Not For Public Use.