Where there's a will...

There's nothing quite like pain to impede one's progress.

When we came to Charlotte Vale Farm 11 months ago I had two kinds of agonising arthritis in my hands as well as carpal tunnel syndrome (at least, that's what the doctor's diagnosed, but I am not left handed and that is where it hurt most of all). I put it all down to the stress of moving house almost single handed. After surgery in May I felt I had been given my life back. I could live with the niggling pains in my hip as long as I could get out and do some weeding.  I abandoned myself to my sewing and knitting, spinning and weaving throughout the winter. Then, one icy morning, I slipped as I was cleaning my windscreen. It felt like a shotgun blast through my left leg.