Heather's birthday

We weren't too sure what today's weather was going to be like, so our idea of going to the zoo for Heather's birthday got shelved...even if we didn't mind a few showers I know from past experience that the animals tend to stay in their shelters and all you see are empty enclosures. So, instead, we headed up towards Fleetwood and Farmer Parr's which has farm animals as well as a few more "exotic" things like owls, snakes and our favourites - the white chipmunks which are hilarious, charging round their large cage and going so fast in their wheels that their little legs are almost invisible! But here's me with Elvis - a huuuge pig, whose sty partner was even bigger than him!

And this Alpaca had been well and truly trimmed so that he looked more like a bouffanted poodle - if there is such a word as "bouffanted"!

There's also a museum that has all sorts of vintage paraphernalia from farm vehicles to mock ups of old shops and wartime memories. Here's the birthday girl with a huge WWII jeep. There was a very dark, atmospheric area that had been made up to immitate the trenches and really gave the feeling of having gone back in time. There were some rather creepy scenes with dummies that slightly freaked me out...I kept expecting them to turn and look at me! We had a go at some of the old wooden games too - bar billiards, a sort of shove halfpenny board with wooden discs and a bagatelle. We giggled at this sign outside the cobbler's shop too...... ........how rude!!!
So, after a few hours of stroking goats, patting pigs, touching snakes and giggling at chipmunks, we headed off to the nearby Marsh Mill where we went to the carvery for a lovely roast - won't need much for dinner tonight!
Unfortunately, despite the cream and tablets, the nasty bites that have plagued me got worse. I felt quite unwell yesterday, with a temperature and a fluey feeling. This morning I awoke with a very swollen eyelid as some little pest had got me just below my brow overnight. So, after our lunch we called in at the surgery and I've now been given some antibiotics and an extra strong antihistamine. It seems that I have had a severe allergic reaction to the bites and an infection set in which caused the temperature. I don't like doing things by halves!
So, I've stocked up on insect repellant, closed the bedroom window (annoying) and the house now smells like a lemon grove as I'm burning lemon oil and have lemongrass incense sticks smoking away trying to repel whatever blighters are after me. Thomas and Tara don't have fleas by the way! We were trying to buy citronella candles or oil but there was none to be had anywhere, so just hope that the lemon oil works. Any suggestions for keeping biters away would be much appreciated!
Would I swap and go back to life in the city though? No way!
My little tripod arrived from Amazon this morning - really quick. So, I am all set for making some more tips and techniques videos now. I'll post details on here of course and, as I have no idea how to add a separate listing for them on here, I'll use the "You Tube techniques" tag in my labels list so you can easily go to any posts that contain them. Hope that made sense.
Well, I may not be requiring dinner tonight, but my little girl and boy are making it pretty clear that they are ready for theirs and I suspect that they can smell the turkey and beef trimmings that I brought back in my napkin this afternoon. So, I'd better go and feed them before their complaints get any louder.