Back to work

We were back to work today (including Laura - can't have her resting too much!).  Yesterday, Laura and I did the Sainsbury's/launderette thing in the morning and then Ben and Lucy called for a cuppa on their way home from Scotland in the afternoon.  Bob did a bit of pottering around work in the morning, like sorting out the extension reel we had been using for the hot air gun and hairdryers to thaw the pipes.  I can't remember if I said, but the outside electrics tripped at one point (that's in addition to the caravan circuit tripping!) and we narrowed it down to the extension cable.  He checked the plug and the wires were a bit loose so he thought that was it, but it wasn't.  So he checked the sockety bit on the reel - nothing obvious so he then decided to unwind the whole thing.   About half way through all the loops of cable were completely melted together!  Oops, guess it got a tad hot!  No doubt you are supposed to unwind the whole lot, but because we usually just use it for one drill or a couple of low-energy bulbs, we don't usually bother and didn't even think about it this time.  So, we now have a much shorter extension cable!

So, today's work has been to sort out the oak we picked up just before Christmas for the two outside doors.  We have a pile of planks of various widths so they needed sorting out to give something like the correct finished widths.  That done, Bob has been routing tongue and grooves into them to slot them together and next they will need sanding.  We found some little stained glass panels at a local salvage yard so we will put them in to give a bit more light in the kitchen and hall . . . . . just got to work out how you do that on a ledge and brace door.

While Bob has been woodworking, Laura and I put a coat of Danish Oil on all the oak beams, posts and purlins upstairs in the house.  They look tonnes better for that - not so dry and dusty as they did before - you can see the difference in this picture.  Oiling wood is a really nice job to do, really satisfying as you see the grain and colour come out as if by magic.  People of a certain age may remember Rupert Annuals in their Christmas stockings and they always had a magic painting page where you just paint over it with water and the colours appear by magic.  That is just what it is like putting oil on dry wood. 

Once that was done we got on with insulating the walls upstairs and managed to do the first layer on the bedroom walls.  Need to finish the roof insulation next and then we can put the next layer on the walls.  Then it'll be ready for plasterboard and that will seem like progress!

Right, better go now - we're off to the pub in the next village for a pizza and a pint - yum!

We've killed the houseplants!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.  We had a lovely time at Carol and Graham's in Peterborough and saw most of the family.  Ben and Lucy came on Christmas Eve and stayed until midday on Christmas day and Mum and Dad were there for the day itself.  Too much to eat, too much to drink, a thorough warming up and luxuries like dry loo paper!  Bob and I both commented on how strange it seemed to be so out of touch with the outside temperature - it was strange to feel toasty warm and open the curtains to see the cars iced over and snow still on the ground!

Definitely back to earth with a bump when we got back here though!  Everything in the caravan was completely frozen.  I'm not sure the houseplants will survive - you know when a lettuce gets stuck at the back of the fridge, freezes and the leaves go see-through?  Well that's what the poor plants look like now!  The water in the loo was completely frozen solid and the shower head split because the water left in it froze.  So, first job was to switch on all the heaters, but that kept tripping the electrics and so we had to turn some off.  Then two hairdryers and the hot air gun on the pipes outside.  Luckily we got home while it was still light, but it was just about dark before we'd got the outside tap and stopcock thawed.  Phew, thank goodness for that . . . .  hold on, not so quick!  Still no water in the caravan - we've not had that problem before, so we moved the hot air squirting to the pipes that feed the van.  After three hours we gave up and filled a water carrier for drinking and a bucket for flushing (one flush between three of course, mmm, nice!) Before we went away, we attempted to drain the caravan pipes using the drain valves underneath, but there is obviously more to it than that and some water must have been left in the pipes.

At 7 o'clock this morning we heard the magical sound of water trickling into the toilet cistern - yeah! we thought, we don't have to do any more thawing out.  Intending to go straight back to bed, I got up to turn a tap on to flush the water through and get it flowing properly.  No need, I could hear water flowing in the kitchen . . . . . from the pipe under the water heater not the tap!!!  So, in just my nightie-T-shirt and spotty black bedsocks (it's a unique look!) I frantically mopped the water into the sink as fast as I could while Bob leapt into some jeans and legged it down to turn the stopcock off.  This meant we were in a worse state as we now had no water at all.  We had to melt snow to flush the loo! Luckily, after flooding the worktop the water had flowed down the hole where the pipes go through, filled up all the plates in the cupboard below then flowed again through the bottom hole where the pipe goes out under the caravan.  This did at least mean that the rest of the kitchen didn't get soaked and it was all contained in that one corner.  One of the plastic joints in the copper pipe had split, so all we needed was a new elbow joint . . . . on a Bank Holiday!  Why is it always a Bank Holiday?!  Luckily, one of the 'everything merchants' in town was open and we got the part quite easily - apparently, at just after 10am, Bob was the fifth person to go in for pipe fittings, so I guess a lot of people were in the same situation! 

Anyway, it was then very easy to fix and luckily there were no problems anywhere else.  Laura did a sterling job washing all the plates and cutlery to put back in the now dried out cupboard (it's one way to get the spring-cleaning done!) while I did a bodge-job fix on the shower head with silicone and gaffer tape (no-one's tried it yet!) and Bob re-taped all the lagging on the pipes.  All calm and back to normal again - and we all feel shattered!  So, after a walk round the block (oh, don't worry, I had got dressed earlier!) we came back to a warm, tidy caravan for a cuppa, christmas chocolate and a nap!  Now when I say warm caravan, that's by our standards - Laura is wrapped in a blanket hugging the heater!  Bless her, I bet she's wishing she hadn't come to stay!

The chickens were fine while we were away thanks to some very kind neighbours who called round twice a day with a flask of water, collected eggs and even fed them chopped up sprouts!

We have a new Christmas follower.  Now, I have a choice, this is either sister-in-law Annette, work friend Annette from 25 years ago (surely it's not that long ago!) or a complete stranger Annette  . . . . and I've just found out it's sister-in-law Annette and, yep, it's still exciting!

Happy Christmas to you!

Well, here we are back in the big freeze again, another morning with no water, snow and icicles everywhere and thick ice inside the windows.  Our neighbour with the min/max thermometer reported -16 on Sunday night and we can well believe it because it was still -10 at 9 o'clock in the morning (just a ridiculous temperature for daytime!).  Today has not been so bad, I didn't even have to thaw the windows with my hairdryer today!  We have not had any post for about a week, so apart from the few cards that arrived early we don't have any . . . . . . or maybe no-one's sent any!  Last year we went for about 10 days with no post and then it only arrived because a neighbour saw Pam the postie in the village, collected everyone's mail and delivered it for her.  Can't blame her really, it's OK for us to venture out on the icy, ungritted road now and then, but to be doing it all day must be a nightmare and last year she got stuck and so did the tractor that came to help her out!



The caravan version of a Christmas Tree

 We have actually had quite a nice few days in a very corny sort of way.  As well as getting on with insulating the roof, we went gathering holly and ivy from our little wood to decorate the caravan.  There was a hazy winter sun trying its best to break through, but just managing an apricot glow through the snow-laden branches - could have been a scene from one of Woolworth's cheapest Christmas cards!  Lovely though in real life.  On Friday afternoon, we set off after lunch to deliver a few cards to neighbours . . . . we didn't get back until 5.30pm!  We delivered a few then met one neighbour and stood in the middle of the road putting the world to rights for a while, then stopped for a coffee at the next while she arranged her holly and candles.  Then we walked across the snowy fields to another house, back across the fields and another cuppa in front of the last neighbour's woodburner.  All very nice, but thinking about it it does sound corny!  We were also invited out for tea and cakes on Monday afternoon and have an appointment for tea and mince pies somewhere else on Thursday afternoon - all very civilised! 

So, we are winding down for Christmas now.  Tomorrow we have to collect the oak for the two external doors in the morning and we are meeting Bob's Dad for a pub meal in the evening.  I have some festive cooking to do to take with us to my sister's on Christmas Eve and we will have to hire a jack hammer to dig up some leeks from the frozen garden to take too!!!  Then we have to try and sort the chickens out for the two days we'll be away.  I have bought them some corn cobs and a stalk of sprouts to hang up in their run as a treat.  The biggest worry is water - it just freezes over so quickly.  Neighbours (I'm going to have to introduce you to everyone sometime instead of just saying 'neighbours') are going to keep an eye on them and top up the food if necessary and last year they bought a flask of hot water round for them (bless 'em), so hopefully they'll be OK.  Talking of chickens, I forgot to tell you the big news!  Peggy has started laying - what a clever girl.  They are perfect miniature eggs and very brown.  No sign of any from Bonny yet, but I don't really blame her, I'd wait for warmer weather too I think.

So, I hope you all have a very Happy Christmas - drive carefully if you're driving and don't eat too much  . . . .  well only a bit too much!

Christmas shopping . . . . . aarrghh!

Ho, ho, ho!  I should now be feeling christmassey having had a mega Christmas day yesterday.  I was starting to feel a little panicky at the weekend having not done any Christmas shopping at all and hearing all sorts of people saying they'd just about finished!  So Bob and I went Christmas shopping on Monday . . . . well, we drove over to Stockport to collect out cast iron radiator which is our Christmas present to ourselves, so that was two presents done!  We had to go to the bank in town on the way home and managed to pick up another couple of things.  Then on Tuesday I booked a day off with the boss and went to Shrewsbury vowing not to return until I had got everything - and I managed it!  I really wasn't looking forward to it - you know, shopping is just not my thing at all.  That said, it wasn't tooooo bad.  I have to say, Shrewsbury is a much nicer place to shop than the places I used to go - Northampton, Peterborough and Milton Keynes.  Everyone always seemed so stressed there, pushing and shoving with grumpy shop assistants.  But there was a really nice atmoshpere in Shrewsbury, shop assistants were helpful and cheerful and other shoppers just seemed more friendly, holding doors open, smiling and joking - just much nicer.  Don't get me wrong, I still don't like shopping, it just wasn't as bad as it could have been.  I got home at about 4pm having popped into Oswestry to get a couple more bits and then I spent all evening wrapping it all up.  Phew, all done!

Yesterday, the last day before the return of the big freeze, we made more mortar and put the last two extractor fan vents in, then used up the rest of the mortar around the back boxes for sockets.  Have you ever tried getting sockets straight and level on a random stone wall, wel it's not easy!  They are packed out with bits of slate, stones and mortar which will hopefully hold them in place.  Today we have been trying to clean up the purlins and woodwork upstairs.  Some parts of them are a bit dodgy so we have tried to remove the soft bits, some parts have been whitewashed which is fairly easy to get off and other bits have several coats of amazing paint.  However they used to make paint, it certainly sticks to wood.  Some bits just won't scrape off and if you use a hot air gun on it it kind of melts and soaks into the wood a bit more.  The same if you use paint stripper and sanding just seems to polish the paint rather than removing it!  We've tried all of them and there is still paint there, so we'll just have to keep having a go.  Once our shoulders and arms could take no more above-head sanding, we moved onto other jobs.  Bob boarded in the bit in the utility room where all the cables congregate ready for the fuse boxes (I know, they're not called fuse boxes anymore!) to be screwed on.  Lets hope he has all the cables grouped together properly or the electrician will be confused!  I have done some more insulation in the walls in the kitchen.

Yesterday evening we had a go at felt-making at the smallholders meeting.  It was quite messy and made your arms ache, but we had a laugh . . . . . especially when we looked at the finished result!  It looks like an old rag . . . but we're proud of it!  Now who shall we give this wondrous homemade gift to this Christmas?!!  Any of our parents should be proud to own it shouldn't they?  Tee hee, don't worry we wouldn't do that to you!  Here's how you could make something just as wonderful!  Take some washed (and in this case dyed) wool which has been carded (this is were they kind of comb it to get all the fibres going the same way which is the stage at which it would be spun into knitting or weaving yarn).  Then you pull bits off and lay them on a piece of bubble wrap (this is a very ancient art, but I didn't know they had bubble wrap way back when!).  Then put another layer on top with the fibres going at right angles to the first lot and then a third layer going the same way as the first.  Then you put warm soapy water all over it, lay a piece of net curtain on top and rub round and round all over it using a scrunched up palstic bag.  The bag and net curtain are to stop the fibres sticking to your hands.  After a while the fibres start knitting together and then you can turn it over and carry on, and on, and on!  Eventually it turns into felt and is quite firm and strong.  I think Bob and I were being too gentle and kept getting thin bits and holes.  When it almost felt, you can decorate it.  Everyone else used sequins, feathers lace and sparkly wool - in which case you arrange the decorations on top then lay a very thin layer of wool fibres over and then carry on with the water and rubbing.  Bob and I decided on a punky version of a Union Jack instead - well, it made everyone laugh!  We've decided it's an old battle flag and has certainly seen some action - it even has a bullet hole!

Frozen Jeans

Tee hee!  Look at my new jeans!  These had been on the line overnight and froze as stiff as a board.  Bob took them off the line to ask if I wanted to put them on . . . errrm, no ta!  This was a couple of days ago and they have now thawed out because it has actually been quite warm.  Well, when I say quite warm, I mean in comparison.  All the snow and ice has melted leaving just mud!

We have grabbed the opportunity during this heatwave to get on with all sorts of bits that can't be done in arctic conditions.  So we've squirted expanding foam all over the place, mortarred in (or should it be mortared in . . . or is that not really a word at all?) all the pipes and cables going through walls, built-up the threshold in the kitchen/garden doorway ready for the doorframe and painted various bits of cast iron pipe to make up extractor fan vents.  We have to have four extractor fans (just don't get me started on that subject - why on earth we can't be trusted to open the window I don't know!), but we can't bring ourselves to put plastic grilles on the walls where the extractors come out so we came up with a cunning design which uses bits and bobs we have lying around.  Not sure if you can see on this picture (not recent, by the way!) the little round black thing in the brickwork, well that is our patented design - four short pieces of small cast iron pipe shoved into a piece of 4" plastic pipe (which goes through the wall and connects to the extractor), then two bits of cast iron gutter surrounding the little pipes which is what you see from the outside.  They look a bit like gattling guns!  When I made the first one and came bounding down from the workshop pleased as punch to show Andy, the builder, he looked completely non-plussed and just said "Why?" which made me laugh.  Well, we think they look better than a plastic grilles.

Yeah!  Hello to Juliette (my new follower) - oh I get so excited when someone new 'joins', that's a bit pathetic really isn't it?!

Solar tubes

Today we have had Paul the roofer and Steve the plumber here.    Luckily, it has been a sunny day and so the side they were working on was relatively warm - I did say relatively, it was still flipping chilly, but at one point Paul was actually too hot! 

They spent most of the time sorting out the frame on the roof for the solar panels.  Unfortunately, because the roof is quite short (down its slope), the panels have to go at the top of the roof so they had to take some of the ridge tiles off, so they could get the top couple of slates off, so they could put in the flashing pieces for the pipes to go through the roof.  When we did the roof, we managed to find some old, clay 'hogsback' ridge tiles which were a really good match for the originals at the slavage yard and, luckily, they had exactly the right number.  This of course means we have no spares, so the pressure was on a bit for Paul to get them off without breaking them.  He managed it, but we had really done too good a job of sticking them down so it did take a long time.  It was not very nice seeing someone rip up our hard work, and, having been so careful about everything, seeing things put back differently.  We were waiting for some clever method of re-attaching slates in the middle of a roof (normally, the nails are covered by the slate above which stops water getting in), but the magic method is silicone or 'Pink Grip'!  Bit of a disappointment, but I guess you can't see it once done.   Don't get me wrong, he didn't bodge anything, it is just builders' ways which are, by necessity, different to ours.

Another niggle, and one we will definitely have to do something about, is the rubber seal on the flashing for the pipes.   It's bright orange!  I don't know if they do them in grey or black for on a slate roof, but we have orange.  They actually look like comedy plastic boobs sat on the roof!  Anyone old enough to have watched Kenny Everet will know exactly what I mean.  I did spend yesterday afternoon carefully crafting a piece of lead to go over the top to hide it, but it's actually the bottom you see most, so that's no good.  Think we'll have to find some paint that you can put on rubber and do that.

Anyway, here's what the frame looks like.  The tubes fit in vertically and there are 30 of them in all.  It will spoil the roof somewhat, but we just have to think of the cheap, environmentally-friendly hot water . . . . and the payment from the Government.

On another subject, this morning we woke up to no water for the first time.  Not bad going I suppose.  So, no shower, teeth cleaning, cuppa or anything and only one flush between us!  All we had was the water from my hot water bottle which was still quite nice and warm for a quick wash and also meant the chickens could have a drink.  The weak point in our water system is the outside tap which is near the mains and the junction for caravan water.  Although it is insulated, it is a bit vulnerable and I guess with prolonged -10 temperatures the freeze travels further and further down until last night it reached the caravan branch.  So, half an hour warming pipes with a hairdryer and hot air gun did the trick - just what you need before breakfast!  We have made sure it is defrosted now though so that tonight the freeze will have to start all over again and hopefully won't get as far as the caravan bit.  Might put a jug of water in the fridge tonight though for teeth cleaning, etc.  I know that sounds silly, but I think the fridge is probably warmer at 4 degrees than the caravan at night!

Roof insulation

Well, you'll be pleased to know that today has been lovely.  The sun has been shining and it has actually felt quite warm - I think it got up to +4 at one point, but the sun just makes all the difference.

This afternoon we have been getting on with the insulation in the roof of our bedroom.  We have to put 2" between the rafters (which we've done) and then 3" underneath, then plasterboard, etc.  Above the purlin (the beam running across the middle of the roof) we are actually going to put 4" of insulation.  When we were doing the roof we had to put big steels along the purlins to help them out - you can just see it in this picture.  The steel is most chunky in this section of roof because the original purlins were most dodgy in this bit and if we stuck to the specified 3" insulation you would be still able to see the steel.  So, we might as well up the insulation and hide the steel in one go.  If all goes to plan, you should just be able to see the bottom of the purlins running across the ceiling.

Oh, those steels were a nightmare for us for quite a long time.  The structural engineer specified the size and told us we'd think of a way to get them in!  We had them made locally and then they sat in front of the caravan for some time.  I don't know how many nights we spent wondering how on earth we were going to get them onto the roof and into place.  They varied in size and so we started with the smallest.  Luckily, because the house is built on a slope, the scaffolding at one end was about head height and so it was fairly straightforward to put things up there, nip up the ladder and then move them to where they were needed - no carrying big, heavy things up ladders which was brilliant.  So, once the steel was up there we balanced two pieces of wood from the scaffold poles across to the purlin, lifted the steel up and then slid it gradually down the wood.  The worst part was when we had to tip it over the end of the wood, hoping we'd got it in just the right place - each end just balancing on the wall.  All this was actually relatively easy with the smaller steels, but the two big ones (in the picture) sat in front of the caravan for ages and every time I walked past them my stomach churned.  Though it was hard, heavy work ( we could only just carry them between us), we did it using the same method as the others and, oh boy, what a relief it was!  Definitely a beer and a curry celebration!  We had had numerous offers of help, but were so nervous about what we were doing we didn't feel we could involve anyone else!

Actually, not true, Laura helped us with one set.  In the middle barn some of the rafters were good enough to keep which meant that we couldn't put the steels in from outside and so had to haul them up inside using ropes and a ladder.  While Laura and I hauled on a rope each, Bob manouvered the steel rung by rung up the ladder.  All went well until one of the ropes snapped!!!  Luckily everyone was standing well clear (we do think about Health & Safety sometimes - see even hard hats!) and the steel jammed against a stone in the wall and we were able to sort it out, but after that Laura was suddenly not too keen on the job! 

Anyway, we managed all the steels with no injuries and hopefully, apart from covering them up with plasterboard, we don't have to think about them ever again!

BRRRRRRR! It's still cold!



OK, we've had enough winter for now thanks!  Today has been pretty miserable weather-wise - it's actually been above freezing which is warmer than it has been for a while, but it has been raining which means the snow is slushy (with ice underneath) and where there's no snow there's mud.  I slipped over on the snowy ice carrying our hot drinks - no damage done, but in the two seconds it took me to stand up again, shlurrrp, my clothes had soaked up about 6 gallons of icey water and I had snow up my sleeves . . . and I spilt the coffee!



Kitchen studwork - looks as though we're trying to
do a really naff, exposed timber, pub style room!



We have been a bit frustrated because of the weather.  Earlier this week, we had to make some mortar to make good around the holes we'd made for the plumber and electrician to poke cables and pipes through walls.  Trouble was that the sand was frozen!  So, we had to break off lumps of sand and put them in the cement mixer and I stood there pointing the hot air gun into the mixer while the sand tumbled round warming up.  We then used hot water to mix it with.  Oh, I don't know if you're supposed to do all these things, we just make it up as we go along!  We also wanted to get on with the roof insulation, but before we can do that we needed to squirt some expanding foam right into the eaves to close up any little gaps between the wall and the slates (don't want wasps crawling in and making nests).  Of course if you read the instructions on these products they all say to store between 5 and 25 degrees!   Ha, ha - we don't have anywhere that doesn't go below 5 degrees in this weather . . . . unless we take a carrier bag full of tubes of silicone, cans of squirty foam, etc to bed with us!  Then of course you can't use the foam when it's colder than 5 degrees - that'll be about May then.  It only takes 10 minutes to do the foam, but we just couldn't get on with it.  With today going up to a balmy 3 degrees, we decided we'd just have to get on with it, so we plugged in all the big builders lights we have and pointed them at the eaves in the hope of raising the temperature a tad (they do get quite warm - really useful for thawing out fingertips while working) and so that job is done - seemed to work OK.  Don't know if you have ever used this stuff - it's brilliant stuff, but you do have to be careful not to overdo it.  When we put in the tiny windows in the extension we used it between the stone and the frame.  Bob did one and it looked OK, he went off to do something else and when he came back the foam had expanded and almost covered the whole window - it looked so funny and he was horrified!  So, when we'd finished doing the eaves we did go outside and check that it wasn't billowing out under the roof and down the walls! 

Today, as well as the squirty stuff, we put up some more bits of oak in the kitchen.  These will house the above counter sockets and light switch.  I also treated all the oak beams and posts in the kitchen to a coat of danish oil for a bit of protection.  I was a more than a little horrified at how dark it went - it honestly looked as though we'd used some cheap teak-colour stain and it looked so nice before!  Thank goodness though, as it has soaked in and dried, it has lightened a bit and it now has a warm colour (rather than plain orange!) - phew!

Studwork in the stone extension - the phot is taken
from the corridor and nearest to us is what will
be the bathroom and beyond that is the utility room

The plumber has been here for a short time (two afternoons) - he has to keep going off to sort out burst pipes!  He has got on quite well though and we now have pipes all over the place as well as cables.  He still has to sort out toilet waste pipes and run the pipes for the solar panels, but that should be quite straightforward as Bob has done all the holes through walls and so it is a fairly straight run.  The solar panels should be delivered on Tuesday.  They are actually evacuated tubes rather than flat panels - we're told these work better in the winter than the traditional ones (I wasn't really expecting either to work in winter, but apparently they do which is a bit clever isn't it?).  As our roof faces south (pretty much) we will qualify for the Government payment for microgeneration which should amount to about £400 a year for 20 years (as well as cheap hot water) which is not to be sniffed at.  Initially, we didn't want to put anything modern on that side of the roof, but there's not much point in putting solar panels on the wrong side just to keep the old-fashioned cottagey look.  If they are to go on any roof, then they probably blend in to slate better than any . . . sort of, and we have made sure all the frames, etc are black.  They'll be fine . . . . I'm sure they will . . . . . won't they?

We bought our other woodburner this week, so now the shop has two for us in their storeroom - we sit in the caravan huddled round the oil filled radiator and think of our woodburners!  We also had the bath delivered, so we can think of hot bubbly baths too.  Oh, and we've ordered our one and only radiator, so soon we'll be able to think about that too.  Because the kitchen wood burner has a back boiler, you have to have a 'dump radiator'  for it to lose some heat to if necessary.  This will be in the en-suite upstairs and we have gone for an old-fashioned cast iron one rather than a modern panelled thing.  This is our Christmas present to each other - as it costs four times as much as an ordinary one, it is the only way we can justify it!

PEEPO!
Bob's trapped inside the wall!